Honorary Graduates
(Chronological list )
The names of deceased graduates are printed in italics.
Master of Arts (MA)
George Harris Thomson, Secretary-Treasurer of the Royal College of Science
and Technology from 1947 to 1964, Registrar of the University from 1964 to
1966 July 1966
Charles Geoffrey Wood, University Librarian March 1967
William B Paton, County Librarian, Lanarkshire - First Head of the Scottish
School of Librarianship, Scottish College of Commerce, 1946-50 April 1972
Gustav Heiberg, Chief of Division, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs July 1975
Charles Stewart, formerly Depute Bursar (Finance) in the University
Administration Oct 1975
Louis McGougan, Bursur of the University of Strathclyde March 1976
Duncan Matheson, formerly Director of Physical Education in the University July 1983
Walter Underwood, formerly Planning Consultant to the University July 1983
Zbigniew Byszewski, former Consul-General for Poland in Scotland June 1986
John Turner, Organist to the University and Glasgow Cathedral July 1990
Susan Wighton, who worked as a nurse in Palestinian refugee camps July 1990
Andrew Miller, Director of Libraries, City of Glasgow District Council July 1990
Tommy Orr, former University Security Controller July 1990
James Arnold, Director and Village Manager, Lanark New Town Nov 1990
Graham Douglas, Draughtsman, Royal Commission on Ancient Building and
Historical Monuments of Scotland July 1992
Yvonne Carol Grace Murray, Athlete May 1995
Master of Science (MSc)
Ronald Ewart Nicoll, Professor of Urban Planning March 1967
George Gray, formerly Chief Technician in the Department of Metallurgy in the
University July 1979
Andrew Clunie, formerly Laboratory Superintendent in the Department of Pure
and Applied Chemistry in the University (posthumously) June 1981
Robert T McCrone, formerly Laboratory Superintendent in the Department of
Civil Engineering July 1987
John S Taylor, Former Senior Prosthetist/Orthotist Nov 1993
Peter Francis Herbert, formerly Director of Estates, University of Strathclyde July 2000
Master of Letters (MLitt)
Fr Columba Ryan, formerly Chaplain to Roman Catholic students in the
University July 1981
Charles Geoffrey Wood, formerly University Librarian July 1985
Doctor of Science (DSc)
The Rt Hon The Lord Todd of Trumpington, the Chancellor April 1965
The Rt Hon The Lord Adrian of Cambridge, Master of Trinity College,
Cambridge April 1965
Sir Robert Robinson, Waynflete Professor of Chemistry in the University of
Oxford from 1930 to 1955 April 1965
Sir Andrew McCance, Chairman of the Board of Governors (latterly of the
Council) of the Royal College of Science and Technology from 1950 to 1964 July 1965
Michael James Lighthill, Royal Society Research Professor in the Imperial
College of Science and Technology, London April 1966
Herwart Opitz, Professor of Machine Tools and Organisation of Production
in the Rheinisch-Westfalische Hochschule, Aachen, West Germany April 1966
Sir Gordon Sutherland, Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge April 1966
Vladimir Alekseevich Kirillin, Vice-Chairman of the Council of Ministers and
Chairman of the State Committee for Science and Technology of the USSR Oct 1966
Sir William Cook, Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Defence April 1967
Harold Montague Finniston, Vice-Chairman of the British Steel Corporation March 1968
Bernard Paul Gregory, Director General of CERN (European Organisation for
Nuclear Research), Geneva March 1968
Sir Martin Ryle, Professor of Radio Astronomy in the University of Cambridge March 1968
Sir Owen Saunders, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London March 1968
John Samuel Forrest, Director of the Central Electricity Research Laboratories April 1969
Reginald Victor Jones, Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of
Aberdeen April 1969
Max Tishler, President of the Merck Sharp and Dohme Research Laboratories;
later Professor of Chemistry, Wesleyan University, Middleton, Connecticut April 1969
John Monteath Robertson, Gardiner Professor of Chemistry in the University of
Glasgow April 1970
John Macfie Holm, Chairman of the University Court (in absentia) June 1970
Jan de Vries, Netherlands Academic and International Authority on Planning April 1971
Sir Frederick Sydney Dainton, Dr Lee's Professor of Chemistry, University of
Oxford June 1971
Thomas Gibson, Regional Director of the Glasgow and West of Scotland
Regional Plastic and Oral Surgery Service, Western Regional Hospital Board;
Visiting Professor, Bioengineering Unit, University of Strathclyde April 1972
Carl Hirsch, Professor and Head of the Department of Orthopaedics,
Karolinska Institute, Stockholm June 1972
John E Jacobs, Director of Biomedical Engineering Center, Northwestern
University, USA June 1972
Jerzy Romuald Werner, Professor of Automotive Engineering and Director of
the Institute of Vehicles; formerly Rector, Politechnika Lódzka, Poland April 1973
James H H Merriman, Member for Technology of the Post Office Corporation,
Visiting Professor, Department of Electronic Science and Telecommunications,
University of Strathclyde April 1974
Edward M Wright, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen April 1974
Sir Alan Howard Cottrell, Master of Jesus College in the University of
Cambridge April 1975
Ernst Otto Fischer, Professor in and Director of the Inorganic Chemistry,
Institute in the Technical University of Munich April 1975
Douglas Samuel Jones, Ivory Professor of Mathematics in the University of
Dundee April 1975
Basil John Mason, Director-General of the Meteorological Office April 1975
Paul Germain, Professor of Mechanics in the Faculty of Science, University of
Paris Oct 1975
George Steedman Hislop, Executive Vice-Chairman of Westland Aircraft Ltd April 1976
Alexander Thom, Emeritus Professor of Engineering Science, University of
Oxford July 1976
George Herbert Hitchings, formerly Vice-President in charge of Research,
Burroughs Welcome Company, USA April 1977
Mieczyslaw Serwinski, formerly Rector, Politechinika Lódzka, Poland April 1977
Cesare Marchetti, Physicist July 1977
John B Adams, Executive Director-General, CERN, Geneva April 1978
Edward Galas, Professor of Biochemistry and Rector of Politechnika Lódzka,
Poland Oct 1978
George Robert Bishop, Director of the Department of Physical and Natural
Sciences, Euratom, Ispra, Italy April 1979
August Carl Helmholz, Professor of Physics in the University of California at
Berkeley April 1979
Philip Ivor Dee, Emeritus Professor of Natural Philosophy, University of
Glasgow April 1980
Knud Jansen, Chief Orthopaedic Surgeon, Copenhagen County Hospital and
University Clinic, Denmark April 1980
Sir Samuel Crowe Curran, first Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University Nov 1980
Sir William Rede Hawthorne, Master of Churchill College, Cambridge, and
sometime Hopkinson and ICI Professor of Applied Thermodynamics in the
University of Cambridge April 1981
Rolf Leis, Professor of Applied Mathematics and sometime Rector of the
University of Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany April 1981
Frank Stuart Spring, sometime Freeland Professor of Chemistry in the Royal
College of Science and Technology, Glasgow April 1981
David Jack, Director, Research and Development, Glaxo Group April 1982
Edward Victor Buchanan, Electrical Engineer April 1983
John William Fozard, Aeronautical Engineer April 1983
Jerzy Kroh, Rector of Politechnika Lódzka, Poland April 1983
Isabella Helen Mary Muir, Director of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology,
London April l983
Blodwen Lloyd Binns, Botanist April 1984
Robert Simpson Silver, formerly James Watt Professor of Mechanical
Engineering in the University of Glasgow April 1984
Thomas Burness King, Professor of Metallurgy in the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology April 1985
Peter Lewis Martin, Consulting Engineer April 1985
Sir Hans Leo Kornberg, President of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science Aug 1985
Sir Henry Chilver, Vice-Cancellor of Cranfield Institute of Technology April 1986
John Maurice Houlder, Chairman of Houlder Offshore Ltd;Visiting Professor in
the Department of Ship and MarineTechnology April 1986
Admiral Sir Lindsay Bryson, formerly Controller of the Royal April 1987
Sir Robert Lickley, Engineering Designer April 1987
Boris Vladimirovitch L'vov, Chairman of the Analytical Chemistry Department of
the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute Nov 1987
John B Stenlake, Honorary Professor of Pharmacy in the University July 1988
Horst Klinkmann, Professor of Medicine and Chairman of the Department of
Internal Medicine at the Wilhem-Pieck University, Rostock, East Germany Sept 1988
George Murdoch, Former Professor of Orthopaedic and Traumatic Surgery,
University of Dundee July 1989
Abdel-Aziz Mahmoud Abou-Khadr, Former President, University of Alexandria,
Egypt July 1989
Alastair C Paterson, President of the Institution of Civil Engineers July 1989
Sir Edward P Abraham, Professor Emeritus of Chemical Pathology, Sir William
Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford July 1989
Jack E Baldwin, Waynflete Professor of Chemistry, University of Oxford July 1989
James A McFadzean, Director of Research, Rhône-Poulenc Limited July 1989
Yassin Abdel Ghaffar, Professor of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Egypt April 1991
Wallace Foulds, Consultant Ophthalmologist July 1991
John Burbidge, internationally renowned Engineer July 1991
Malcomn Ferguson-Smith FRS, Professor of Pathology at the University of
Cambridge April 1992
Thomas Kailath, Hitachi America Professor of Engineering, Stanford University May 1992
Alan Rudge OBE, Managing Director, Development and Procurement,
British Telecom, and Deputy President, Institution of Electrical Engineers May 1992
Sir James Black, world-renowned Pharmacologist Nov 1992
Professor Kenneth Calman, Chief Medical Officer, Deparment of Health April 1993
Sam Thorburn, Consulting Civil Engineer July 1993
Professor John R Hillman, Director, Scottish Crop Research Institute July 1994
Professor Ian N Sneddon, former Simson Professor of Mathematics,
University of Glasgow July 1994
Professor Thomas L Blundell, Chief Executive, Biotechnology & Biological
Science Research Council July 1994
Professor Trevor Mervyn Jones, Director General, Association of the British
Pharmaceutical Industry Nov 1994
Professor Paolo Maria Fasella, Director General, Science Research and
Development Commission of the European Communities May 1995
Professor Jutta Schaper, President, International Society for Heart Research July 1995
Professor Wolfgang Schaper, Director, Max Planck Institute July 1995
Professor Pierre Potier, Director, Institute de Chimie des Substances Naturelles
du CVRS Nov 1995
Santiago Calatrava Valls, Architect Engineer July 1996
Robert B O’Connell , Managing Director, Merck Ltd Nov 1996
Jan Alrik Harald Hult, Emeritus Professor of Solid Mechanics, Chalmers
University of Technology July 1997
Ronald Morton Cresswell, alumnus and Chairman, Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical
Research July 1997
Alexander McLean, Alumnus and Director, Ferrous Metallurgy Research Group,
University of Toronto July 1998
Sir Richard Sykes, Chairman and Chief Executive, Glaxo Welcome plc July 1998
Sir Alec John Jeffreys, Royal Society Wolfson Research Professor, University
of Leicester Nov 1998
Sir Philip Cohen, Director, Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation
Unit, University of Dundee April 1999
James Dickson Murray, Mathematical Biologist July 1999
Louis Joseph Nisbet, Microbiologist and Alumnus June 2000
Iain Thomson Boyle, Medical Adviser to the University Nov 2000
Thomas Hugh Pennington, Professor of Bacteriology, University of Aberdeen May 2001
David Hamilton Lawson, Consultant Physician, Glasgow Royal Infirmary July 2001
Dugald Cameron, OBE, Visiting Professor, Department of Design, Manufacture
and Engineering Management May 2002
Julia Goodfellow, CBE, Chief Executive, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences
Research Council May 2002
Richard John Brook, OBE, Director, Leverhulme Trust July 2002
Lord Robert Winston, Professor of Fertility Studies, University of London July 2002
Sir Harold Kroto, Joint Nobel Laureate 1996. Discoverer of C60 Nov 2002
David Hamblen, Former Chairman, Greater Glasgow Health Board. Member
of the Advisory Board of the National Centre for Training and Education in
Prosthetics and Orthotics May 2003
Professor Derek Calam, Visiting Professor in the Department of
Pharmaceutical Sciences Nov 2003
Professor Vivienne Nathanson, Director of Professional Activities for the
British Medical Association July 2004
Datuk Dr Kamal Salih, Chairman of the Board of Governors, International
Medical University, Kuala Lumpur July 2004
Marshall Meek, Royal Designer for Industry (RDI), Naval Architect May 2005
Sir Duncan Michael, Senior Vice President, The Royal Academy of
Engineering July 2005
Krisana Kraisintu, Former Director, Research and Development Institute of
Thailand’s Government Pharmaceutical Organisation June 2006
Gue See Sew, Managing Director, Gue & Partners Sdn Bhd and Past President
of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia July 2006
Peter Travers Hughes, Member of University Court and Chief Executive,
Scottish Engineering July 2006
Mr Tom Allan, Chairman, Maritime Safety Committee, International Maritime
Organisation Nov 2006
Mr Colin Smith, Director, Engineering and Technology, Rolls-Royce June 2007
Professor Frank Walsh, Executive Vice-President , Wyeth Research June 2007
Professor Asit Biswas, President, Third World Centre for Water Management,
Mexico July 2007
Rolf Kjaer, Newbuilding Director, Color Line Marine, Norway Oct 2007
Allan Baxter, Senior Vice-President for Medicines Development,
GlaxoSmithKline July 2008
Professor Karen Vousden, Director of the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research
in Glasgow July 2008
David Sibbald, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist July 2008
Professor Joseph Fragola, Vice President, Valador Inc. Nov 2008
William Surles McArthur, Manager, Space Shuttle Safety7 and Mission
Assurance Office, Lyndon B Johnson Space Centre May 2009
Bill Scott, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for the Scottish Government July 2009
Alex Dorrian, Executive Vice President, Thales International July 2009
Professor James Gimzewski, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and
Biochemistry – UCLA May 2010
Professor George Salmond, Professor of Molecular Microbiology,
University of Cambridge July 2010
Dr David Stirling, Former Chief Scientific Officer & Executive Vice President,
Celgene Corporation, USA July 2010
Mr Alan Gavin, Marine Director, Lloyd’s Register of Shipping July 2010
Dr Mohamed Eisa, Chief and Deputy Director of the Environment Branch
in the United Industrial Development Organisation July 2010
Sir Charles Kao, Joint Nobel Prize in Physics 2009, Pioneer in the
development and use of fiber optics in telecommunications Sept 2010
Professor Eric Cornell, Joint Nobel Prize in Physics 2001, Physicist with
National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA and Professor at
University of Colorado Nov 2010
Professor Roy Glauber, Joint Nobel Prize in Physics 2005, Professor of
Physics at Harvard University Nov 2010
Professor Steven Chu, US Secretary of Energy, Joint Nobel Prize in Physics
1997 Nov 2010
Doctor of Laws (LLD)
Sir David S Anderson, Director of the Royal College of Science and Technology
from 1946 to 1959 April 1965
Sir Edmund Hirst, Professor of Organic Chemistry in the University of
Edinburgh; Chairman of the Academic Advisory Committee of the University of
Strathclyde April 1965
The Rt Hon Frank Cousins, Minister of Technology April 1965
Sir Peter Meldrum, Lord Provost of the City of Glasgow April 1965
The Hon The Lord Birsay, Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of