Queen's Anniversary Prize awarded

The University has been presented with a prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize, recognising sustained pioneering work of the Institute of Petroleum Engineering (IPE) in innovation and research excellence, as the IPE celebrates its 40th anniversary.

The ceremony was held at Buckingham Palace and the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall made the presentations, with the Prince presenting the Queen's Anniversary Prize Medal to the Principal, Professor Richard A Williams, and the Duchess presenting a scroll, representing the Certificate, to Professor Dorrik Stow, Director of IPE.

In its submission to the Royal Anniversary Trust, which administers the prize, the IPE outlined how its research and innovation activity spans exploration to production technology and also harnesses its findings to enhance interdisciplinary work being carried out, including in medical research.

University Principal Professor Richard Williams, said, “Heriot-Watt University has a long heritage of leadership in innovation. Receiving the Queen's Anniversary Award, one of the UK's most prestigious national prizes for world leading research, is a great honour for the staff, students and alumni at the University and a very special accolade in this 40th year since the founding of the Institute of Petroleum Engineering.”

IPE Director Prof Dorrik Stow said, “The Institute has been a pioneering research facility since oil first flowed ashore from the North Sea. The scope of our research has provided advances to technology central to the oil and gas industry, but it has also opened up new directions for innovation.

“This award is a great acknowledgment of the breadth of our work. We remain focused on innovation, not just in our research but also in finding new ways to work with industry and other partners to ensure the oil and gas sector remains progressive and relevant and that our knowledge can be used as widely as possible to answer the challenges which are facing society.”