Imperial College London Postgraduate Awards Ceremony 2003

An Honorary DSc (Medicine) has been awarded to Professor Sir Peter Morris, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England since 2001. He was previously Nuffield Professor of Surgery and chairman of the department of surgery at the University of Oxford, and is also president of the European Surgical Association.

Lord Oxburgh, chairman of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology and a previous Rector of Imperial, and Sir John Pattison, Director of Research, Analysis and Information and Head of Genetics at the Department of Health, have been elected to the Fellowship of Imperial College.

Fellows are recognised by the Council as 'persons of distinction and persons who have rendered significant services to the College or to the community.' They are permitted to use the letters FIC after their name.

Mr Colin Kerr, departmental administrator of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial, has been elected as an Associate of Imperial College. Associateships are awarded to long-standing members of staff who have 'rendered exceptional service to the College'.

Notes to editors:

1. Full details of this year's Fellows, Associate and Honorary Graduate:

• Peter Morris, FRS, FRCS, became president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in July 2001 and will serve for three years. Before this he was Nuffield Professor of Surgery and chairman of the department of surgery at the University of Oxford. He is also president of the International Surgical Society and a former president of the European Surgical Association. He is a fellow of the Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences, a foreign member of both the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, and holds numerous honorary fellowships, including those of the American College of Surgeons, American Surgical Association, Australasian College of Surgeons, the Edinburgh College of Surgeons and the German Surgical Society.

• Lord Oxburgh, KBE, FRS, is chairman of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, and was Rector of Imperial College London from 1993 until January 2001. He previously acted as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Defence, and was Head of the Department of Earth Sciences and then President of Queens' College at the University of Cambridge. He has been a member of the Science and Engineering Research Council, the Natural Environment Research Council, and the Advisory Council for Science and Technology, was a member of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education (the Dearing Committee) and was elected to the Royal Society in 1978.

• John Pattison, FRCPath, FMedSci, is Director of Research, Analysis and Information and Head of Genetics at the Department of Health. He was previously Vice-Provost of University College London and Professor of Medical Microbiology at University College London Medical School. He has held a number of honorary appointments and is currently Honorary Consultant at the Public Health Laboratory Service and University College Hospitals NHS Trust. Sir John was also Chairman of the Physiological Medicine and Infection Board at the Medical Research Council from 1992 to 1995.

• Colin Kerr is departmental administrator of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London, and has served four successive heads of department. He has served as Chairman of the College Committee for Departmental Administrators and Assistant Directors and is currently Honorary Treasurer of the ICU Athletics Club. He has been a major contributor to educational programmes with an international dimension within his department.

2. A full list of living Fellows of Imperial College London can be found on the web at: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/P602.htm

3. A list of recent Imperial College London Honorary Graduates can be found at: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/P483.htm

4. Consistently rated in the top three UK university institutions, Imperial College London is a world leading science-based university whose reputation for excellence in teaching and research attracts students (10,000) and staff (5,000) of the highest international quality.

Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions, which enhance the quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture. Website: www.imperial.ac.uk