Ruth Bowyer
5 August 2013

Finding the UK's 100 leading scientists

The IES has worked closely with the Science Council for a number of years, and are delighted to help them celebrate their 10th Anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, the Science Council have launched a competition to identify the UK’s 100 leading and most admired professional scientists and we are looking for your help to identify them.

The Science Council works to increase awareness of the wide and diverse range of scientific careers and the ways in which professional scientists contribute to the economy and society. In 2010 they launched a framework of ten types of scientist to illustrate the wider range of career opportunities that exist in science. Therefore, the 100 winning scientists will be made up of the top 10 in each of the 10 categories of:

  1. Explorer
  2. Investigator
  3. Developer/Translational
  4. Service provider/operational
  5. Monitor/regulator
  6. Entrepreneur
  7. Communicator
  8. Teacher
  9. Business/Marketing
  10. Policy maker

Their aim is that the final list of 100 practising scientists will provide a rich landscape of examples of the ways in which scientists are applying science in the UK economy and society, as well as working to develop the future knowledge and skills on which their profession depends: the final list will illustrate what it means to be a professional scientist.

Nominate your colleagues! 
You can nominate individuals who demonstrate outstanding scientific professionalism for any of the 10 categories, and there is no limit to the number of individuals you can nominate. More details on assessment criteria can be found here.

Nominations should be made by filling in the nominations form (docx) and submitting it to the IES by Friday 13th September 2013.

Nominees must be currently practising as a scientist in the UK but can come from any sector of the economy, including self-employment. They do not need to be a member of the IES, can come from any field of science, engineering, technology or mathematics and may be operating as a scientist at any level (including technicians).

The final results will be announced on Tuesday 15th October 2013.

You can also contribute to the discussion on Twitter using the hashtag ‘#100scientists’.