Five members of the University of Glasgow have been appointed to the newly announced 18-strong Scottish Science Advisory Committee (SSAC), by The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE).

Set up under the auspices of The Royal Society of Edinburgh, The SSAC is a high-powered, independent body, created to identify priorities, inform policy in science and technology and advise Scottish Executive Ministers on issues of scientific importance. Under the Chairmanship of Professor Wilson Sibbett, the committee will work to help develop policies and practices in science which promote the social and economic wellbeing of Scotland.

Thirteen of the 18 appointees are University academics of whom five are from the University of Glasgow, viz: Professor Muffy Calder (Computing Science), Professor John Coggins (Director, Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences), Dr Graham Durant (Deputy Director, Hunterian Museum), Professor Sally Macintyre (Director, MRC Social & Public Health Sciences Unit) and Professor Andrea Nolan (Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine).

The broadly based membership of the Committee has been chosen by the RSE's Council from over seventy high quality applications received in response to public advertisements and widespread consultation.

The membership encompasses a broad range of expertise in science and technology, business, ethics, education and public life. Experts in their respective fields, the members who have been invited to take up these prestigious, voluntary1* positions were selected on individual merit. It is anticipated that members will serve on the Committee for at least two years. In seeking to promote a high level of new and innovative thinking and to ensure that the make-up of the Committee remains well in tune with its evolving programme, the RSE will review the SSAC's membership on a regular basis.

The University of Glasgow's members are:

Professor Muffy Calder BSc, PhD, CEng: Professor of Computing Science, University of Glasgow. Professor Calder's research interests are in modelling and reasoning about the behaviour of complex software systems using mathematics and automated reasoning tools. She has long standing industrial collaborations with many world leading IT companies. She sits on the board of the National eScience Centre, which has been established to stimulate and sustain the development of e-Science in the UK, to contribute significantly to the international development of e-science and to ensure that its techniques are rapidly propagated to commerce and industry. In addition, Professor Calder has a particular interest in how science and technology are perceived outside academia and is particularly interested in developing a better public understanding of the science behind computer science.

Professor John Coggins MA, PhD, FRSE: Director, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Dean, Faculty of Biomedical & Life Sciences and Professor of Molecular Enzymology, University of Glasgow. Professor Coggins leads one of the largest unified academic biological and biomedical science departments in Europe. His research interests focus on the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of amino acids and nucleotides as potential targets for novel drugs and herbicides. As the Research Awards Convenor of The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Professor Coggins has a particular interest in the career development of young scientists.

Dr Graham Durant BSc, PhD: Deputy Director, Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow. A geologist by training, Dr Durant has a very active interest in promoting the communication of science. He was the Founder and Director of the Glasgow Dome of Discovery and Director of Science at the Glasgow Science Centre (GSC), Scotland's largest Millennium project. He is now an Honorary Associate Director of the GSC. In addition he is a member of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, Public Understanding of Science and Technology Panel and Chairman of their awards panel. Dr Durant is also a member of the Science Communication Advisory Panel of the Scottish Science Trust.

Professor Sally Macintyre OBE, FMedSci, BA, MSc, PhD, FRSE: Director, MRC Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow. Professor Macintyre is a social scientist by training whose research career has focused on the field of health where she has published widely on the patterning of health by gender, socio-economic status and place of residence. Professor Macintyre also has a broad interest in the physical and biological sciences, and their role in society and has at different times been President of the Sociology and Social Policy section and the Medical Science section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. She is currently the Chair of the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland, Project Group on Post Mortem and Organ Retention and a member of the MRC Horizon Scanning Group.

Professor Andrea Nolan MVB, MRCVS, DVA, PhD, Dipl.ECVA, Dip.EVCPT: Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Professor of Veterinary Pharmacology, University of Glasgow. Professor Nolan is the first female Dean of a Veterinary Faculty in the UK and Ireland and has recently been appointed Chair of the Committee of UK Heads of Veterinary Schools. She is a member of the UK Veterinary Products Committee and an honorary member of the Association of Veterinary Teachers and Research Workers. Professor Nolan was recently a recipient of a Pfizer academic award for animal health research.

The Head of the Committee's Secretariat is Dr Avril Davidson, formerly of Research & Enterprise and Student Recruitment & Admissions at the University of Glasgow.

Further information about the RSE and the SSAC appointments can be found on its website at http://www.royalsoced.org.uk

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First published: 3 May 2002