Scientists 2010-2021

"These portraits represent extracts from an ongoing project
to photograph leading British scientists in their working environments. The exhibition follows on from a similar display at the Royal Society in 2010/11 and presents 29 recent pictures drawn from a collection of more than 100 portraits of scientists, taken over three decades. As the collection has grown, it has captured change over time. 

This becomes apparent not only in the equipment, working environments and buildings which form the backdrop to these portraits, but in the people themselves. The photographs in this exhibition, all taken since 2010, reflect changes in society, with more women pursuing successful careers in science. The purpose of collecting these portraits remains unchanged: to create a photographic record of exceptional people who apply their curiosity, creativity and imagination to science."

Gilean McVean is a professor of statistical genetics whose research uses mathematical, statistical and computational approaches to learn about fundamental biological and evolutionary processes, particularly recombination, mutation and natural selection.

He is photographed at the Oxford Big Data Institute, where he is Director.

With extensive research in the field of solar energy, Jenny Nelson’s work is centred on enhancing the performance of materials and technologies in photovoltaic devices, while also reducing their carbon footprint.

Jenny Nelson photographed with a group of PhD students at the Physics Department, Imperial College London, where she is a Professor of Physics.

Peter Higgs is a particle physicist who has made invaluable contributions to our understanding of the Universe through his work on fundamental particle interactions. He was awarded the Nobel prize in physics for proposing the existence of the Higgs boson. The search for the sub-atomic particle has made him a household name.

He received an Honorary Degree from the University of Cambridge in 2012, where he was photographed in academic robes.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell is an astrophysicist, responsible for the discovery of pulsars while working as a radio astronomy graduate student. Her subsequent research covers gamma ray, X-ray, infrared and millimetre wavelength astronomy.

She is photographed with Radcliffe Observatory, University of Oxford, in the background. She currently holds a Professorial Fellowship in Mansfield College, University of Oxford, and is a Visiting Academic in their Department of Physics.

Stanley Cowley ‘s research focuses on the study of the Earth’s and other planetary magnetic fields, such as Jupiter’s and Saturn’s. He has collaborated in several space missions with organisations such as NASA and the ESA.

Stanley Cowley photographed in his office at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester.

Ottoline Leyser specialises in control of shoot branching in Arabidopsis (common name: Wall cress) and is highly recognised for her contributions to plant science. She is also an advocate for policy, equality and diversity, ethics, and engagement in science.

Ottoline Leyser in her office at the Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, where she is Regius Professor of Botany.

Jim Al-Khalili is a theoretical physicist, author and well-known broadcaster. His current research focuses on open quantum systems and the application of quantum mechanics in biology.

He is shown in the main piazza at the University of Surrey, where he is Professor of Theoretical Physics and holds the University chair in the public engagement of science. A statue of Alan Turing FRS (1912-1954) by the artist John W. Mills can be seen in the background.

Joanna Haigh’s research is dedicated to the study of the Sun’s influence on the Earth’s climate and atmosphere. She has made major contributions to understanding and addressing climate change.

Joanna Haigh in her office at the Faculty of Natural Sciences Imperial College London where she is a professor of Atmospheric Physics.

Salvador Moncada is a pharmacologist and medical scientist with wide experience in pharmacological research. He has been involved in the development of treatments and drugs to tackle diseases such as malaria, epilepsy, migraine, and cancer.

Salvador Moncada at the Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre, University of Manchester.

Elizabeth Blackburn is a molecular biologist and biochemist. She is a Nobel laureate who discovered how chromosomes are protected by capping structures, known as telomeres, which play a central role in how we age. She is keen to apply her discoveries to reduce human suffering and has investigated telomere length in people with cancer and chronic stress.

She was awarded an Honorary Degree from the University of Oxford in 2011, where she was photographed in her academic robes.

Linda Partridge is a geneticist who studies the processes of genetics and ageing. Her research is directed at understanding how the rate of ageing evolves in nature and the mechanisms by which healthy lifespan can be extended in laboratory models.

She is photographed at University College London, where she is a Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Healthy Ageing.

John O’Keefe is a neuroscientist and Nobel laureate who discovered that animals have an ‘internal GPS’, where individual cells respond to an animal’s physical position in space, creating a cognitive map.

He is photographed in his laboratory in the Anatomy Building, University College London, where he is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience.

Michael Benton has made key scientific findings in the field of palaeontology. His contributions to the study of life on Earth have helped to answer major questions about evolution, biodiversity and mass extinctions through time. He is also the author of several children's books on dinosaurs.

He is photographed at the School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, where he is Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology.

Carol Robinson is a pioneering chemist working in the application of mass spectrometry techniques to problems in chemical biology. She is the current Dr Lees Professor of Chemistry at Oxford, the first woman to hold this post. Her predecessors include Cyril Hinshelwood FRS (1897–1967), whose portrait by Douglas Hardinge Anderson is visible in the background.

She is photographed in her office at the Oxford Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory.

Valerie Beral is an epidemiologist who studies the role of hormonal, reproductive and infectious agents in cancer. Her work has helped to identify a number of causes of cancer and she is the principal investigator behind the Million Women Study, which looks at how lifestyle and reproductive factors affect women’s health.

She is photographed in the laboratory at the Cancer Epidemiology Unit in Oxford.

John Gurdon is a developmental biologist and Nobel laureate, best known for his pioneering research on nuclear transplantation and cloning.

Andrea Brand is a neurobiologist whose work has led to new insights in the biology of neural stem cells, which could lead to future treatments for neural disorders.

Photographed outside the Gurdon Institute, a research facility at the University of Cambridge, named after John Gurdon.

William G. Hill's research has contributed to major developments in the study of the genetics of finite populations. He has also applied his research methods to help advance farm animal improvement programs.

William G. Hill at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, where he is Emeritus Professor of Animal Genetics.

Steve Sparks is geologist and volcanologist whose research interests are in the applications of fluid mechanics in modelling geological flows and applying statistical methods to the assessment of natural hazards.

He is photographed at Burrington Combe – a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, Somerset. Burrington Combe was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1952, in recognition of its unusual geology.

Sheena Radford is a biophysicist who investigates protein folding – the process by which a protein reaches the unique three-dimensional structure that allows it to perform its function. Her research is heralding advances in the treatment of diseases caused by misfolded proteins, such as Alzheimer’s disease and dialysis-related amyloidosis.

She is photographed at the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Leeds, where she is currently Professor of Biophysics.

Anne Ferguson-Smith is a mammalian developmental geneticist and authority on genomic imprinting, using mouse genetics to explore gene regulation and function.

Malcolm Ferguson-Smith is a geneticist and pathologist, who has made significant contributions to human genetics. His work on genome mapping has shaped our understanding of human evolution and he has been a pioneer of methods for prenatal diagnosis of genetic diseases.

This father and daughter portrait is taken in Malcolm’s home office in Cambridge, surrounded by his research papers, books and journals.

Varinder Aggarwal is an organic chemist. His research focuses on asymmetric synthesis with applications in medicine and drug design, including helping to provide a more effective vaccine against tuberculosis.

He is photographed in the laboratory at the University of Bristol, where he is Professor of Synthetic Chemistry.

John McNamara is a mathematician, behavioural ecologist and evolutionary biologist whose research involves developing new methods and models for the study of animal behaviour. His approach, which considers physiological changes during an animal’s lifetime, and the differences between individual animals, has provided a framework for building more holistic models of behaviour.

He is photographed in his home office in Bristol with a collection of cacti.

Wendy Bickmore is Director of the Medical Research Council's Human Genetics Unit. Devoted to the structure and organisation of the genome, among many other findings, her research revealed that different human chromosomes prefer different positions in the nucleus of cells.

Wendy Bickmore in her office at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, with the Edinburgh castle on the background.

 Six portraits featuring past Presidents of the Royal Society (PRSs), whose collective presidential terms have spanned 1990 - 2020. 


Featuring (clockwise from top left):

Robert May, theoretical ecologist, PRS 2000 – 2005; photographed at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, November 2006.

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, biophysicist, Nobel Laureate, PRS 2015 – 2020; photographed at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UKRI, May 2015.

Paul Nurse, geneticist, Nobel Laureate, PRS 2010 – 2015; photographed at the Royal Society, June 2010.

Aaron Klug, chemist, PRS 1995 – 2000; photographed at the Royal Society, February 1997.

Martin Rees, UK’s Astronomer Royal, PRS 2005 – 2010; photographed at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, January 2007.

Michael Atiyah, mathematician, PRS 1990 – 1995; photographed at the Royal Society, March 1991.