Oxford academics honoured by the Royal Society

Professor Harry Anderson is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and a fellow of Keble College. His research focuses on the use of synthesis and supramolecular assembly to explore structure-property relationships for the creation of functional molecular materials. He has pioneered the investigation of conjugated porphyrin oligomers, encapsulated pi-systems, nanorings and two-photon absorbing dyes, and he has worked closely with physicists and photobiologists to understand the relationship between molecular structure and function.

Professor Judith Armitage is Director of the Oxford Centre for Integrative Systems Biology and a professor in the Department of Biochemistry, as well as a fellow of Merton College. Her current research looks at bacterial behaviour, in particular environmental sensing and the control of flagellar motor rotation. Combining biophysics and in vivo light microscopy with molecular genetics, she discovered a new protein partitioning system that exerts spatial control over sensory signalling pathways.

Professor Gideon Henderson is Head of the Department of Earth Sciences and a fellow of University College. From 2008 to 2012 he was co-Director of the 21st Century Ocean Institute, part of the Oxford Martin School. He is also an Associate with the Oxford Geoengineering Programme, having helped to found the programme with the Oxford Martin School in 2010. His research focuses on understanding long-term climate change and the carbon cycle, and therefore to improve prediction of future change, and he has developed new techniques for determining the timescales, magnitude and effects of past global climate change.

Professor Christopher Schofield is a professor in the Department of Chemistry, where he is Head of Organic Chemistry. A fellow of Hertford College, his research focuses on developing a chemical understanding of biological systems of medicinal importance. His work has opened up new fields in antibiotic research, oxygen sensing and gene regulation. He has pioneered structurally informed functional assignments for uncharacterised oxygenases.

Professor Andrew Wilkie is Nuffield Professor of Pathology at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine. His research looks to better understand the mechanisms underlying human congenital disorders, particularly those affecting the skeletal system. In 1995 he discovered the cause of Apert syndrome, a severe condition characterised by craniosynostosis (early closure of the cranial sutures) and syndactyly (fusion between the digits) of the hands and feet. He has also made major contributions to the role of telomere dynamics in congenital anomalies, and many of his findings have led to the development of diagnostic tests in clinical use today.

Professor Julia Yeomans is a professor at the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics and a fellow of St Hilda's College. Her research combines her expertise in statistical physics with the power of modern computers and focuses on theoretical and computational physics, particularly statistical physics, soft condensed matter and biological physics. She has developed novel numerical and analytical modelling tools to investigate a wide range of complex fluids.