Robert Winston, Professor of Science and Society and Emeritus Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College, runs a research programme in the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, on improvements in transgenic technology in animal models, with a long-term aim of improving human transplantation. He has around 300 scientific publications in peer-review journals on reproduction and embryology. He is also Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, Chairman of the Royal College of Music and was voted “Peer of the Year” by his fellow Parliamentarians in June 2008 for his expertise and work on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
His appointment as the first Professor of Science and Society at Imperial College London, a university with one of the strongest international science bases, will focus on the crucial importance of improving communication and public engagement with science. Concentrating on advancing the understanding and interaction between scientists and the public through a range of initiatives that will include conducting research into the most effective methods of science engagement and evaluating its impact, he will be using his experience and contacts to co-ordinate and build on existing outreach activity, establishing a dedicated schools laboratory and seminar facility based at the College to give pupils and teachers experience of hands-on science in areas such as DNA analysis and robotics.
He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, an Honorary Fellow of Queen Mary College, and holds honorary Fellowships of the Institute of Biology, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. He has been awarded honorary doctorates at seventeen universities.