The latest inductees into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame have been announced at the James Watt Dinner!
A Past President of the Royal Academy of Engineering is one of four new members of the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame
Sir Jim McDonald, GBE FREng FRSE is one of four engineers inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.
Jim was born in Glasgow and studied electrical engineering at Strathclyde University spending 7 years in the electric utility sector before returning to Strathclyde in 1984 as lecturer in Electronic and Electrical Engineering. He was appointed to the Rolls-Royce Chair of Electrical Power Systems in 1993 and became Principal and Vice-Chancellor in 2009. In 2012 he was knighted for services to education, engineering and the economy, and Knight Grand Cross in 2023 for services to engineering, education and energy. In 2019 he was the first Scottish engineer to become President of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Sir Jim co-chairs, with the First Minister, the Scottish Government’s Energy Advisory Board. He is Chair of the Independent Glasgow Economic Leadership Board and is a past-Chair of the Board of the Glasgow Science Centre.
He is joined by Dr David Milne, OBE FREng FRSE engineering entrepreneur and co-founder of Wolfson Microelectronics, Scotland’s first university spin-out; Sir Alfred Yarrow, who relocated his shipbuilding business from London to the Clyde, beginning a dynasty of Yarrow shipbuilders; and David Boswell Reid, the grandfather of air-conditioning. (see page 2 for further details of these three).
Their induction was announced at the annual Institution of Engineers in Scotland (IES) James Watt dinner, held in Glasgow last night. (Friday 4 October 2024).
Gordon Masterton, Founder and Chairman of Judges for the Hall of Fame, said: " The Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame was launched in 2011 and now has 60 members whose lives tell the story of almost 500 years of world-beating engineering innovators who created huge improvements in the quality of life and economy of Scotland, the United Kingdom and, through the impact of their discoveries and the Scottish diaspora, the world. Celebrating these role models for their exciting and inspirational careers in engineering is our mission.”
Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said “I am delighted to see Sir Jim McDonald's well-deserved induction to the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame, partly in recognition of his five transformative years as President of our Academy. He is a visionary leader whose prodigious energy, talents and social conscience have made prolific contributions across public life.”