It does not often happen that the Royal Society elects two professors from the same university in the same year as Fellows. That is why it is all the more pleasing that, at the end of April, the prestigious British scientific academy elected the two ETH professors Simon Lilly and Timothy Eglinton to the Fellowship.
“For me, this election is a huge honour,” says Simon Lilly, Professor of Astrophysics. This is above all because it is based on scientific excellence and not on administrative work or the academic rank that someone has achieved. Lilly was awarded this honour for his studies in the field of astrophysics.
Research into the origins of the universe
The Royal Society says that his early work produced convincing research evidence about the history of the origins of the universe. These findings were vital in the development of theoretical models for the composition of galaxies.“By connecting data from various epochs, his imaginative work has provided valuable new insights into how the various galaxy populations change with cosmic time,” says the Royal Society on its website.
The carbon cycle in the geological past
Timothy Eglinton, Professor of Biogeosciences, is also delighted with the award, and for a very special reason: his father, chemist Geoffrey Eglinton, is already a Fellow of the Royal Society. “I feel very privileged, and I’m proud to follow in his footsteps as a Fellow.”
The Royal Society says that this leading biogeoscientist has revolutionised research work into the Earth’s carbon cycle. He was the first scientist to develop methods for using radiocarbon dating at molecular level to study the carbon cycle today and in the geological past.
This has led to studies on the transport and deposit of carbon in river systems, and on the question of how changes in the Arctic Ocean are affecting the biological pump – the process by which carbon is transferred from the surface waters down to the deep sea.
Like Leibniz and Newton
Being appointed as a Fellow of the “Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge” is regarded internationally as one of the highest scientific accolades – not least because it is the oldest scientific academy in the world. It was founded in 1660 to promote experimentation in the natural sciences.
Fellows are elected for life. The list of current Fellows comprises about 1600 leading figures from the fields of natural sciences, medicine, engineering and technology. Giants from the history of science such as Isaac Newton (1642-1727), Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716) and Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) have also been Fellows. Sir Isaac Newton was even President of the Royal Society from 1703 to 1727.
Receive the Funding Newswire each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.
