Three members of the College community have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2025. Each year to mark the monarch’s birthday, extraordinary people from all walks of life across the UK are rewarded for their service and achievements in public life, receiving orders of chivalry or official honours.Infectious diseasesRowland Kao, Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology and Data Science at the Roslin Institute, part of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, is being made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to science and technology, specifically his work in mathematics and infectious disease dynamics.His focus is on understanding the movement and spread of infectious diseases among and between populations of wildlife, livestock and people. He has applied this to the understanding of key diseases including tuberculosis and Covid-19.Professor Kao has worked at the Roslin Institute since 2017 and the School of Physics and Astronomy since 2022. He also serves as Chair of the UK Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Science Advisory Council (SAC), and took up this role in 2025 having served as a member of the SAC from 2018 to 2024.Professor Rowland KaoI am honoured to be chosen for this award, and am especially pleased to see this recognition for animal science research. This underscores the importance of research in infectious animal diseases, and recognises its contribution to public health, through the wider efforts of many researchers and collaborators.”I am continually thankful for the hard work, skills, and creativity that colleagues and collaborators bring to everything I do, and am indebted to them for making it a pleasure.Rowland KaoProfessor of Veterinary Epidemiology and Data ScienceNobel winnerGabri Hegerl, Professor of Climate System Science, is being made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to climate science.Prof Hegerl's research focuses on the causes of climate change and the causes and consequences of extreme events. She has also been involved in International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and work with the world climate research programme on setting priorities for climate research. In 2007 her work for the IPCC was jointly recognised by the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which the Panel shared with Al Gore. Professor Gabi HegerlMentoring womenUrsula Martin, Professor Emerita of the School of Informatics, has been appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to Science and Education. Professor Martin is a steadfast advocate and mentor for women in computer science and mathematics, leading initiatives in the UK and US. Her research, initially in algebra, logic and the use of computers to create mathematical proofs, broadened to encompass wider social and cultural approaches to understanding the circulation and impact of computer science and mathematics. She has also worked at the Universities of Cambridge, St Andrews and Illinois, and at Queen Mary University of London. She is a Fellow of both the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Professor Ursula MartinI am delighted and humbled to receive this honour. I truly appreciate my good fortune in working with colleagues from so many disciplines within and beyond the UK, in organisations ranging from high-tech companies to libraries and museums.Ursula MartinProfessor Emerita of the School of Informatics Tags 2025 Research Staff Publication date 16 Jun, 2025
