Two new Fellows for Imperial in latest Royal Society election

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-Royal Society Fellows at Imperial

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By Abigail Smith
Tuesday 23 May 2006

An engineer and a medic at Imperial College London are among 44 distinguished scientists newly elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society.

Professors David Ewins  of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Marc Feldmann  of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology are recognised for their contributions to science, and are permitted to place the letters FRS after their names. These new additions bring the number of Royal Society Fellows at Imperial to 61.

Professor David Ewins is an expert in the field of vibration engineering and the dynamics of rotational machinery, and has made major contributions to the design of gas turbines. He is currently the director of the Centre of Vibration Engineering at Imperial, which includes the Rolls Royce University Technology Centre. He comments:

"Throughout my career, with my colleagues and students at Imperial, I have worked closely with Rolls Royce so I'm pleased that the Fellowship explicitly recognises that long collaboration."

Having studied mechanical engineering at Imperial as an undergraduate, Professor Ewins returned in 1983 as Professor of Vibration Engineering and set up the Centre of Vibration Engineering in 1990. He also served as Pro Rector, International Relations, at the College from 2001 to 2005, supporting overseas students at Imperial and promoting their contribution to the community both academically and socially. On his election to the Fellowship, he says:

"I'm absolutely delighted and a little awed. I'm very conscious of the particular prestige that the Fellowship bestows and I feel privileged to have been selected this year."

Professor Marc Feldmann, head of Imperial's Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, is recognised for his discovery of anti-TNF (tumour necrosis factor) treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, which has led to a new therapy used by more than a million patients. He says:

"I'm very pleased that my work on anti-TNF therapy has been recognised. This is a great personal honour but it couldn't have happened without the very important contribution of many talented colleagues. These particularly include Sir Ravinder Maini and Professor Fionula Brennan at Imperial, and Dr Jim Woody of the pharmaceutical group Centocor."

The work of Professor Feldmann and Sir Ravinder has led to the development of new drugs which have proved effective in patients previously resistant to treatment and also protect the joints from further destruction. The two were awarded the Crafoord Prize in 2000 and the Albert Lasker Award in 2003 for the development of this new therapy.

Fellowships are given to distinguished scientists by the Royal Society in recognition of 'contributions to science, both in fundamental research resulting in greater understanding, and also in leading and directing scientific and technological progress in industry and research establishments'.