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Professor Asad Madni is joined by cartoonist and artist Kate Charlesworth, whose library of work includes commissions from national newspapers, theatres, wildlife trusts, Greenpeace, New Scientist, Aardman Animations and Spitting Image.
The Duke of Edinburgh has also been made a royal honorary fellow of the RSE, joining the society’s patron the King, the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) recognises and supports expertise from across academia, business, and public service and describes its 1,800 Fellows as “among the most distinguished in their fields”.
Professor Madni led the development of the control system for the Hubble Space Telescope’s star selector.
The star selector forms part of Hubble’s Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) system, enabling it to track objects in space more accurately.
The Hubble Telescope was launched by Nasa on April 24 1990 with the ongoing mission to understand the universe.
Hubble has transmitted images from deep space ever since, including some of the most famous images of the cosmos such as the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field and the Pillars of Creation.
Professor Madni is also lauded as the inventor of the GyroChip, a component that is used around the globe in a variety of aircraft for navigation and stabilisation, and in passenger vehicles for stabilisation and protection against rolling.
Tens of millions of these components have been produced and incorporated in modern cars, which in turn has made vehicle travel safer worldwide.
Professor Madni said: “I was overjoyed when I received notification that I had been elected an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
“To be included with past recipients of this accolade whose contributions have shaped the evolution of human progress is a most gratifying and humbling experience.
“I feel truly fortunate to have my and my team’s scientific and technical innovations and contributions play an important role in saving millions of lives around the world, in helping us extend the limits of space exploration and enhancing our understanding of the universe, and in providing for the defence and security of our nation and our allies.”
Another new fellow is Professor Patricia Findlay, who is professor of work and employment relations at the University of Strathclyde, as well as being the director of the Scottish Centre for Employment Relations.
She said: “I’m delighted to become a fellow of Scotland’s national academy.
“The RSE’s focus is on how dialogue, research and innovation can support policy that addresses important challenges and opportunities in Scotland and beyond.
“This aligns closely with the substance and orientation of my own academic work as well as my priorities as a citizen.
“The RSE provides an epicentre for interdisciplinary engagement, debate and action and I’m excited to be a more direct part of that as a newly elected fellow.”
Cartoonist and illustrator Kate Charlesworth is also part of the 2025 cohort. Her early work was published in LGBT+ newspapers such as The Pink Paper and Gay News, and in 2019 she published Sensible Footwear: A Girl’s Guide, an autobiographical chronicle of British LGBT+ life.
She has also worked as an artist for world-famous Aardman Animations, had commissions from a range of newspapers including The Scotsman and The Guardian, and has produced educational materials for a variety of groups in the UK and internationally, and her work has featured heavily in New Scientist.
She said: “I was absolutely delighted, thrilled in fact, and more honoured than I can say to hear about my RSE fellowship.
“For over half my working life I’ve lived in Scotland – constantly inspiring, always surprising – as this fellowship splendidly demonstrates.
“An adopted Scot, a Leither, and now an FRSE. What riches.”
Also joining the RSE’s 2025 new fellows is David Field, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which runs both Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park.
He previously served as chief executive of the Zoological Society of East Anglia, zoological director of the Zoological Society of London and curator of Whipsnade Zoo.
He said: “The RSE inspires the world in scientific endeavour so to be recognised and elected as a fellow is a true privilege.
“I am excited and emboldened to now use my experience in conservation and zoology to further the aims of the RSE, and moreover, I feel worthy to sit alongside that incredible network of fellows that embodies the RSE.”
President of the RSE, Professor Sir John Ball, said: “It is my sincere pleasure to welcome each of our new fellows – from the worlds of academia, public service, business and the arts – to Scotland’s national academy.
“They represent excellence in their fields and will reinforce our ability to tackle the challenges that Scotland, and indeed the wider world, faces now and in the future.
“Across a range of disciplines, they have each shown an unshakeable commitment to their research, work or craft, and it is exactly this superlative level of accomplishment that makes them belong as fellows of the RSE.
“I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all of our new fellows, and I hope they will avail themselves of all that our great national academy has to offer them.”
