Learned Society of Wales welcomes new Fellows tackling key world challenges

15 academics from Cardiff University have achieved the prestigious honour of joining the Learned Society of Wales.

The Learned Society of Wales, the national academy for arts and sciences, has elected 44 new Fellows, celebrating the depth and breadth of Welsh research, innovation, leadership and creativity.

15 of our staff members have been elected this year in recognition of their expertise and experience across research, educational practice, and leadership.

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

• Professor Stephen Cushion, School of Journalism, Media and Culture
• Professor Adam Hedgecoe, School of Social Sciences
• Professor Mary Heimann, School of History, Archaeology and Religion
• Professor Melanie Jones, Cardiff Business School
• Professor Yingli Wang, Cardiff Business School
• Professor Peng Zhou, Cardiff Business School

College of Biomedical and Life Sciences

• Professor Colin Berry, School of Biosciences
• Professor Dafydd Jones, School of Biosciences
• Dr Kathy Seddon, Wales Cancer Research Centre Partner
• Professor Phil Smith, School of Medicine
• Professor Marianne van den Bree, School of Medicine

College of Physical Sciences and Engineering

• Professor Ake Fagereng, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Professor Jonathan Gillard, School of Mathematics
• Dr Emma McKinley, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Professor Yacine Rezgui, School of Engineering

Welcoming the news, Professor Wendy Larner, Cardiff University's President and Vice-Chancellor, said: “I am delighted that so many of our Cardiff University colleagues, from across multiple disciplines, have been honoured with admission to the Learned Society of Wales.”

Hywel Thomas, President of the Learned Society of Wales, said: “Welcoming our new Fellows to the Society is always one of the highlights of the Society’s year. I congratulate them on this recognition of the excellence and importance of their work and contributions to life in Wales and beyond. We look forward to bringing their experience and knowledge to our work on policy and researcher development.”

“I am also thrilled that our work on equity, diversity and inclusion is starting to see the Fellowship include increasing numbers of women. In three of the last five years, women have made almost or just over 50% of the new intake. This has been the result of concerted efforts to embed our EDI commitment at every turn, to make the nomination process more accessible, and to run a series of events that specifically target women academics and civic leaders who might be interested in joining the Fellowship.”

Explore the full list of new Fellows, where they work, and their areas of specialism.