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Professor Seamus Ross Appointed to Royal Society of Edinburgh

Submitted on Tuesday, June 07, 2016

ross-seamus_royal-societyProfessor Seamus Ross has been bestowed the prestigious honour of election as a Corresponding Fellow (CorrFRSE) of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), for his research leadership and advancement of the fields of digital humanities and digital curation.

At the Induction ceremony held in Edinburgh, Scotland on May 16, 2016, the lead nominator Derek Law, Emeritus Professor at the University of Strathclyde, introduced Prof. Ross as “one of the founding fathers of the discipline and … an internationally acclaimed researcher and practitioner with a significant public profile as an advocate of digital curation and preservation and of related public policy issues at both national and international levels.”

The designation of Corresponding Fellow is reserved for those who are not residents of the UK and who have attained high international standing in a given subject. “He has advised governments throughout Europe, is a regular assessor of EU programs, and is himself engaged in major research projects,” added Law.

Prof. Ross’ research focuses on emerging technologies in their representation, analysis, storage, and dissemination of humanities scholarship. In addition to his innovation on characterizing the risk of digital transience to societal memory, he is known as for pioneering research in digital preservation and curation and for his investigations into digital materials and data. His work has led to a greater understanding within the public about the role of memory institutions such as libraries and archives and about digital curation in contemporary society.

“Long ago, I saw the need to capture data electronically and wanted to help create international standards, with the goal of promoting public understanding of the significance of digital preservation and curation. This brilliant honour is a truly humbling acknowledgement of my scholarly contributions to date.”

For his appointment as Corresponding Fellow, Prof. Ross was presented with a certificate by RSE president Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, and has been named a member of the RSE for life.

“We are thrilled that Prof Ross’s contributions to shaping the fields of digital humanities and digital curation have been recognized by his election,” Interim Dean, Professor Wendy Duff.

The 1,650 current Fellows of the RSE come from a diverse range of disciplines and work within Scotland and abroad to provide advice to the government and parliament of Scotland, act as mentors to aspiring entrepreneurs, and facilitate educational programs and events for the general public. There are just 80 Corresponding Fellows.

Before he joined the Faculty of Information in 2009 as Dean and Professor, Ross served as the Founding Director of the Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute at the University of Glasgow and an Associate Director at the UK Digital Curation Centre.

“For his remarkably energetic and enthusiastic commitment to digital humanities and digital curation research and to the advancement of public policy and public understanding in the area, the Society is honoured to admit Professor Seamus Ross,” concluded Law.

Congratulations Dr. Ross!

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