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UK scientist scoops top international Japan prize

17 December 2003

Professor John Lawton, Chief Executive of the Natural Environment Research Council, has today been named as a laureate of the prestigious 2004 Japan Prize. The award is in the category of the Science & Technology for Conservation of Biodiversity and marks the 20th anniversary of the prize.

John is recognised for his outstanding work of international value on ecological aspects of biodiversity. He has been a passionate natural historian and conservation practitioner from his early teens. His professional work at the universities of Oxford, York and Imperial College London, ranges from studies of the assemblages of plant-eating insects (one of the most species-rich group of animals in the world), through studies of an astonishing variety of other species and natural communities, to ground-breaking experimental work on biodiversity and ecosystem processes using the Ecotron at the Centre for Population Biology.

He has made major contributions to environmental NGOs, including a five year period as Chairman of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and a trustee of WWF UK. He now leads the UK's foremost funding body in environmental research, the Natural Environment Research Council.

John Lawton said, "I am thrilled to receive this fantastic recognition. I have been lucky to have great opportunities to contribute to a subject I love, the biodiversity of our natural world, and I've worked with some outstanding colleagues along the way. To see how much others value what I have done is such a reward."

The prize announced today by the Science and Technology Foundation of Japan includes a certificate of merit, a commemorative medal and a cash award of 50m Yen. The award will be presented during the 2004 Japan Prize week in April 2004 in the presence of many honourable and distinguished guests.

The Japan prize is an international prize established in 1985 to recognise scientists who have made original and outstanding achievements in science and technology, thus contributing to the progress of science and technology and the promotion of peace and prosperity of mankind. Three other awards were also announced: Dr Honda, Kenichi and Dr Fujishima, Akira (Japan) receive prizes for their work on photocatalysts, and Dr Keith Sainsbury (New Zealand) for sustainable fisheries research in Australia.

Further information

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411727 or 411561
Mob: 07917 086369 or 557215

Notes

1. Brief biography of Professor John Lawton:

Career

  • 1968 -71: Zoology Demonstrator, University of Oxford.
  • 1971 - 82: Lecturer/Senior Lecturer/Reader/Professor, University of York.
  • 1989 - 99: Director, NERC Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College London.
  • 1999 - to now: Chief Executive, Natural Environment Research Council.

Honorary positions, prizes and professional activities

  • Honorary visiting professorships at both University of York and Imperial College, Silwood Park (continuing).
  • Recipient of the first President's Gold Medal of the British Ecological Society 1987.
  • Honorary DSc University of Lancaster 1993.
  • CBE, Queen's Birthday Honours List 1997.
  • Zoological Society of London Frink Medal 1998.
  • Honorary Fellow British Entomological Society 2001.
  • Society for Conservation Biology, La Roe Award 2002.
  • Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, Member 1990 -96.
  • 48 graduate students have successfully completed PhDs under John Lawton's supervision.
  • Over 320 papers, articles and book chapters.
  • Scientific advisor and presenter of two major BBC programmes, QED series, 'The 300 million years war' (1985) and 'The State of the Planet' with David Attenborough (2000).

Full biography available if required.

Press release: 29/03