Professor Graham Reed elected as Fellow of the Royal Society

This year an outstanding group of researchers from across the world have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences. One of the newly elected Fellows being, Professor Graham Reed, Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton.

Being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) is one of the highest honours a scientist can achieve.  Candidates must have made 'a substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics, engineering science and medical science'.

Graham Reed is among the earliest pioneers of Silicon Photonics technology, having founded his group in 1989. The group have remained at the forefront of the technology ever since, demonstrating a plethora of world firsts. Reed is also the founder of LiDAR company Pointcloud, and the CORNERSTONE Silicon Photonics foundry service based at the University of Southampton. He is the recipient of numerous international awards, and a Fellow of The IET, Optica, SPIE, The European Optical Society, The Royal Academy of Engineering, and now The Royal Society. Silicon Photonics technology has transformed communications in data centres, is being integrated into electronics chips to increase data density and speed, as well as serving numerous emerging applications such as healthcare, environmental monitoring, space communications, imaging, and quantum.

Professor Graham Reed said: “I am delighted and humbled to be elected as a Fellow of The Royal Society.  I have been fortunate to work with an incredible group of people over the years, both within my group and beyond, and I see this honour as recognition for the work we have collectively been able to contribute to the field of Silicon Photonics. It is also gratifying to see the technology that we helped to pioneer making a real difference in the world.”

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, said: “It is with great pleasure that I welcome the latest cohort of outstanding researchers into the Fellowship of the Royal Society. Their achievements represent the very best of scientific endeavour, from basic discovery to research with real-world impact across health, technology and policy. From tackling global health challenges to reimagining what AI can do for humanity, their work is a testament to the power of curiosity-driven research and innovation.

 “The strength of the Fellowship lies not only in individual excellence, but in the diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences each new member brings. This cohort represents the truly global nature of modern science and the importance of collaboration in driving scientific breakthroughs.”

The Fellows and Foreign Members join the ranks of Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Dorothy Hodgkin.

About The Royal Society:

The Royal Society’s fundamental purpose, reflected in its founding Charters of the 1660s, is to recognise, promote and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity. 

Scientific research and innovation advance our economic, social and cultural wellbeing, provide health benefits and are key to a sustainable long-term future.

The Royal Society has three roles that are key to fulfilling its purpose: 

• Charity: As a registered charity, the Royal Society undertakes a range of activities that provide public benefit either directly or indirectly. These include providing financial support for scientists at various stages of their careers, funding programmes that advance understanding of our world, organising scientific conferences to foster discussion and collaboration, and publishing scientific journals.  

• Fellowship: As an independent Fellowship made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from across the scientific landscape, the Society recognises excellence and elects Fellows and Foreign Members from all over the world. Fellows and Foreign Members are elected for life through a peer review process on the basis of excellence in science. There are currently approximately 1,800 Fellows and Foreign Members, including around 85 Nobel Laureates. Each year up to 73 Fellows and up to 24 Foreign Members are elected from a group of around 800 candidates who are proposed by the existing Fellowship. 

• National academy: As a national academy, the Society represents the UK research community and collaborates with international partners to advocate for science and its benefits. It provides authoritative and independent advice on matters of science that support the public good, including policies that promote excellent science and scientific issues that inform public policy.