Welcome to our new Fellows: Wales has the talent to thrive

The announcement today of the Learned Society of Wales’ 44 new Fellows is an opportunity to celebrate the depth and breadth of Welsh research, innovation, leadership and creativity.

Over half (52%) of our new Fellows are women. We actively work towards a Fellowship that reflects Wales’s diversity and are delighted to reach the milestone of electing the highest proportion of women in our history.

As ever, our new Fellows come from across the arts, humanities and sciences, and this year reflect the importance to Welsh society of a vibrant cultural life. Musicians Professor Helena Gaunt, Dr Iwan Llewelyn-Jones and Professor Iain Quinn combine performance with leadership and scholarship roles, Chris Catling is chief executive of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, and Claire Curneen’s figurative sculptures are collected and displayed around the world.

Wales’ reputation for doing vital work on climate and the health of our planet is also reflected in our new Fellows. Professor Simon Creer uses molecular approaches to assess biodiversity across biomes, while Professor Sarah Davies explores the impact of weather extremes on coastal landscapes and heritage, and Dr Emma McKinley, who is the academic lead of the Severn Estuary Partnership, uses her research to support effective ocean governance.

There are notable strengths too in engineering, not least in the use of AI. Professor Cinzia Giannetti has done pioneering work on the application of AI in manufacturing, while Professor Yacine Rezgui was behind the university spin-out, Optimise AI, which improves energy and carbon management of non-domestic buildings.

A snapshot summary of all our new Fellows can be read here.

“Welcoming our new Fellows to the Society is always one of the highlights of the Society’s year,” said Professor Hywel Thomas, President of the Learned Society of Wales.

“I congratulate them on this recognition of the excellence the 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.”