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Honorary Fellowships

15 July 2012

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An author, broadcaster and presenter, the professional head of the UK Armed Forces and the first Welsh women to have been appointed a High Court judge are amongst those to be honoured by the University at our annual degree ceremonies (16-20 July).

Tony Robinson, General Sir David Richards GCB CBE DSO ADC and The Hon. Mrs Justice Nicola Davies DBE join 10 other eminent individuals from the fields of medicine, finance and science, amongst others, to receive Honorary Fellowships.

Honorary Fellowships are awarded to individuals who have achieved international distinction in their field.

More than 7000 students will graduate in this year’s ceremonies, and approximately 19,000 people will be welcomed to Cardiff for the celebrations. The event is one of the biggest in the University’s calendar and the ceremonies will be broadcast live on the BBC Big Screen in the Hayes area of Cardiff and streamed on the University’s website.

The Honorary Fellows for 2012 are:

Lynne Berry OBE is Deputy Chair of the Canal and River Trust, Associate at Civil Exchange and a senior visiting Fellow at CASS Business School, London. She was Chief Executive of WRVS, the General Social Care Council, the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Charity Commission and the Family Welfare Association. She has served on many Government bodies was recently named one of the '100 Women to Watch' by Cranfield University.

Dr Jean Botti is the EADS Chief Technical Officer and a member of the EADS Executive Committee. He holds 12 patents and four defensive publications for his work at the Delphi Corporation and is elected as a Delphi Hall of Fame Fellow; he also holds 11 patents outside of Delphi. Dr Botti was elected to the European Research Board as the representative for Aeronautics and Space and is a board member of ONERA (the French research institute for Aeronautics and Space).

The Hon. Mrs Justice Nicola Davies DBE is a High Court Judge. A former pupil of Bridgend Girls’ Grammar School, she was called to the Bar in 1976 and became a QC in 1992. Her practice as a barrister was in the field of medical law. Dame Nicola is the first Welsh woman to have been appointed a QC and a High Court Judge. She is a Master of the Bench of Gray’s Inn.

Iain Gray joined the Technology Strategy Board as Chief Executive in 2007. Prior to joining the Technology Strategy Board, Iain was Managing Director and General Manager of Airbus UK. Educated at Aberdeen University and Southampton University, Iain is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and in 2011 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Professor Terry John Lyons is a British mathematician, specializing in stochastic analysis. He is a founding Member and Director of the Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance, and was the Director of the Wales Institute of Mathematical and Computational Sciences between 2007 and 2011. He has been a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh for over 20 years and a Fellow of the Royal Society since 2002.

Baroness Eluned Morgan was elected as the youngest Member of the European Parliament in 1994 at the age of 27, serving in that role for a period of 15 years representing Wales on behalf of the Labour Party. In 2010 she was appointed as the Director of Low Carbon Business Development for SSE (Scottish & Southern Energy) in Wales. She was raised to the peerage in 2011 and sits in the House of Lords as Baroness Morgan of Ely.

Dr David Andrew Arlwydd Owen, RTTP, OBE is the inventor on a key patent to treat Parkinson disease patients. In 1990, he joined the Medical Research Council to lead interactions with industry, initiating activities such as the first proof of concept funding. In retirement, he remains active in Technology Transfer and investment.

General Sir David Richards GCB CBE DSO ADC is currently Chief of The Defence Staff, the professional head of the UK Armed Forces and the principal military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence and the Government. During his career he has served in the Far East, Germany and has undertaken tours of duty in Northern Ireland. He has commanded forces in Sierra Leone and Afghanistan. His operational awards include a Mention in Dispatches, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, the Distinguished Service Order and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. In addition, he is a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.

Tony Robinson is presenter of the popular programme Time Team. He played Baldrick in the series Blackadder and wrote and starred in the children’s series Maid Marian and Her Merry Men. Tony has written 26 children's books and presented more than 40 TV documentaries including the acclaimed Me and My Mum. As a children’s television writer he has won two RTS awards, a BAFTA and the International Prix Jeunesse.

Professor Heather Stevens CBE was one of five founding managers to set up Admiral Group plc, Wales’ top FTSE-100 company. In 2007 Heather and husband David founded The Waterloo Foundation, an independent charitable trust of which she is Chair. Heather is also involved with the Foundation’s Environment programme, rainforest conservation and marine work, and recently set up the Size of Wales project to protect rainforests, of which Cardiff University is a partner.

Martyn Williams MBE is one of the most decorated and successful British rugby union players of all time and is widely regarded as among the best openside flankers in the world. As well as captaining his clubs and his country, he has represented Wales at three World Cups winning 100 caps for Wales, two Grand Slams and two Triple Crowns, and completed three British and Irish Lions tours (2001, 2005 and 2009). In addition Martyn continues to be a major ambassador for the charity Velindre Cancer Care Wales, leading and supporting fundraising ventures on their behalf.

Sian Williams has been a broadcast journalist for the BBC for more than 26 years. She's been a senior producer for Radio 4, helped launch BBC News 24 and has reported from around the world. Sian presented BBC Breakfast for 11 years, the audience more than doubling during her tenure. She is a Radio 4 presenter, co-hosting Saturday Live, is a BBC1 newsreader and is part of the BBC Olympics presentation team.

Ewart Wooldridge CBE BA (Oxon) FRSA has been the Chief Executive of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education since it was founded in January 2004. The Foundation is recognised by independent assessments for transforming the Higher Education sectors’ capacity for leadership. In his previous career he was Principal of the Civil Service College, and has had leadership roles in TV and media, local government and the arts.

This year the University is also recognising the significant contribution of Professor Sir Keith Peters, who served as the University’s Chair of Council from 2004-2011.

Sir Keith web

Sir Keith has been a major influence in UK medicine for more than three decades. His research on elucidation of the immunological mechanisms underlying diseases of kidney and blood vessels has led to new treatments of these diseases.

He was a founder Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and initiated discussions which led to the establishment of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, the Francis Crick Institute. Born in Neath Port Talbot and educated at the Welsh National School of Medicine, (now Cardiff University), he was Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge from 1987 to 2005, where he was also head of the School of Clinical Medicine. He was Knighted in 1993 and elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1995.

Sir Keith will receive an Honorary Doctorate for his contribution to both medicine and the University (Friday 20^th July at 11.00am).