A NUMBER of outstanding researchers from Oxford University have joined the ranks of scientific royalties such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Dorothy Hodgkin and Stephen Hawking.

Professor Raymond Pierrehumbert, Professor Peter David Nellist, Professor Xin Lu, Professor Ehud Hrushovski, Professor Benjamin Berks, Professor Timothy Behrens are among 60 scientists from around the globe elected as fellows and foreign members of the Royal Society.

The Royal Society – world's oldest independent scientific academy – revealed on Tuesday they are some of the 51 new fellows that were selected for their contributions.

The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and the Commonwealth.

Every year new members are elected for life through a peer review process on the basis of excellence in science.

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The newly-elected researchers from Oxford University are well-known in their industries that range from biochemistry, mathematical logic and cancer research to oceanic and planetary physics.

Professor Xin Lu, who is director of the Oxford Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, is recognized by the Royal Society for her significant contributions to the cell biology of cancer, particularly on her work on a tumor suppressor protein.

Oxford Mail:

She has directed Ludwig’s Oxford branch since it was established in 2007.

In addition to her Ludwig post, she is also a Professor in the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford and a fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists.

President of the Royal Society Venki Ramakrishnan said: "At this time of global crisis, the importance of scientific thinking, and the medicines, technologies and insights it delivers, has never been clearer.

"Our fellows and foreign members are central to the mission of the Royal Society, to use science for the benefit of humanity.

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"While election to the Fellowship is a recognition of exceptional individual contributions to the sciences, it is also a network of expertise that can be drawn on to address issues of societal, and global significance."

Mr Ramakrishnan also added that this year’s electees have helped shape the 21st century through their work at the cutting-edge of fields from human genomics, to climate science and machine learning.

The president added: "It gives me great pleasure to celebrate these achievements, and those yet to come, and welcome them into the ranks of the Royal Society."

The new fellows and foreign members come from Sweden, Israel, Germany, Australia, Canada and UK-born scientists working in Europe and beyond.

Their discoveries range from the first planets outside our solar system, to the creation of the world’s smallest molecular engine, new mathematical proofs and treatments for debilitating global disease.

Their ranks also include six Nobel laureates – three in chemistry, two in physics, one in medicine – as well as internationally recognised leaders in industry and science policy.