Three British Asian scientists awarded prestigious Royal Society fellowships

Three British Asian scientists have been elected fellows of the Royal Society, Britain's independent fellowship of many of the worlds most eminent scientists, for their "outstanding contributions to science".

Krishna Chatterjee from Cambridge University, Subhash Khot from New York University and Yadvinder Malhi from Oxford University are among 50 distinguished people from across the world elected as the 2017 cohort of fellows of the academy.

Royal Society's president, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Venki Ramakrishnan, welcomed the latest batch into the ranks of the society.

He said: "Science is a great triumph of human achievement and has contributed hugely to the prosperity and health of our world. In the coming decades, it will play an increasingly crucial role in tackling the great challenges of our time including food, energy, health and the environment. The new fellows of the Royal Society have already contributed much to science and it gives me great pleasure to welcome them into our ranks."

Chatterjee has been recognised for his discoveries of genetic disorders of thyroid gland formation, regulation of hormone synthesis and hormone action, which have advanced the fundamental knowledge of the thyroid axis.

He has developed and leads Clinical Research Facilities at the University of Cambridge.

Khot is a theoretical computer scientist who is credited with providing insight into unresolved problems in the field of computational complexity.

He is best known for his definition of the "Unique Games" problem, and leading the effort to understand its complexity and its pivotal role in the study of efficient approximation of optimisation problems.

Malhi is an ecosystem ecologist who is credited with advancing the understanding of the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems and how they are responding to the pressures of global change, including climate change, degradation and loss of large animals.

They join the Fellowship of the Royal Society, which is made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from or living and working in the UK and the Commonwealth as well as some foreign members.

New fellows this year have been elected from across the UK and Ireland, including Bristol, Aberdeen, Lancaster, Reading and Swansea, along with those from international institutions in Japan and the US for their "outstanding contributions to science".

Seven of the new fellows are from Cambridge University, seven from London institutions, six from Oxford University, and four from the University of Edinburgh.

The Royal Society is considered among the premier scientific institutions of the world and has played a part in some of the most fundamental discoveries in scientific history.

Its purpose is to recognise, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.