Prof Jan Borgman
Prof Borgman spent much of his academic career at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He was a professor of astronomy there, a faculty dean and also president of the university. He has also served as president of NWO, the Netherlands's Research Council. Since his retirement, he has served as president of ESTA, an advisory council of the European Union. Under Prof Borgman, the Kapteyn Observatory in Roden was opened in 1965 with a 61-cm reflector. Borgman also started a "photometry" working group for space research.
Lord Lewis
Lord Lewis has agreed to chair the final judging panel for the second time. Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, he held the chair of inorganic chemistry there for 25 years. His main research interests include the chemistry of clusters, catalysis, macrocyclic ligands and magnetism. He has become very involved with environmental issues and serves on a number of committees dealing with environmental concerns. He has been a Warden of Robinson College since its inception in 1975.
Dr William Harris
Dr Harris is the newly appointed director general of Science Foundation Ireland, the national foundation for excellence in scientific research. He came to Dublin via the University of South Carolina, where he served as vice president for research. He was founding president and executive director of Columbia University's Biosphere 2 Centre in Arizona between 1996 and 2000 and served as the director for mathematical and physical sciences at the National Science Foundation in the US.
Prof Werner Rathmayer
Prof Rathmayer is professor of biology and past president for research at the University of Konstanz in Germany. His main research interest is in the neurobiology of invertebrates. He was chairman of the standing committee for life and environmental sciences with the European Science Foundation and is past president of the German Zoological Society. He is currently vice president of the Academia Europaea and a member of the German Academy Leopoldina. He also serves on a number of international project evaluation panels.
A judging panel including leading international scientists will select the RDS/Irish Times Boyle Medal 2001 winner. The shortlist of finalists' names is chosen by leading Irish scientists but the final selection is made by researchers living outside Ireland. The final judging panel is selected only after it emerges which scientific disciplines are represented. The four shortlisted scientists are involved in astronomy, biochemistry and paleobiology and the second judging panel reflects these specialisations.
This international panel includes scientists from Britain, Germany, the US and the Netherlands. It includes: Lord Lewis, chair, Prof Emeritus at the University of Cambridge; Prof Jan Borgman, University of Groningen, the Netherlands; Dr William C. Harris, director general of Science Foundation Ireland; and Prof Werner Rathmayer, University of Konstanz, Germany. The result will be announced in mid-November.