The life-long honour is bestowed upon the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from across the UK and the Commonwealth, acknowledging their excellence in the field of science.
He is the fifth º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Vice-Chancellor to be made a Fellow.
Professor Jennings was nominated for the honour in recognition of his national security science leadership and his pioneering contributions to the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
He transformed the use of science for national security purposes by developing disruptive new capabilities and overseeing their widespread deployment in investigations and the protection of critical national infrastructure. His personal research devised novel multi-agent models for efficient interactions and applied them to save lives in the aftermath of disasters, monitor the natural environment and win Olympic medals.
Speaking about the Fellowship, Professor Jennings said: “It is true honour to be a made a Fellow of the Royal Society. I am a strong believer in team science, and I would like to thank the 100+ PhD Students and Research Fellows who I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my career and the 400 co-authors that I’ve published with. This recognition would not have happened without their inspiration and collaboration.”
There are approximately 1,700 Fellows and Foreign Members in the Royal Society, including around 85 Nobel Laureates. Each year up to 52 Fellows and up to 10 Foreign Members are elected from a group of around 800 candidates, who are proposed by the existing Fellowship.
Speaking about this year’s Fellows, Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society said: “It is an honour to welcome so many outstanding researchers from around the world into the Fellowship of the Royal Society.
“Through their careers so far, these researchers have helped further our understanding of human disease, biodiversity loss and the origins of the universe. I am also pleased to see so many new Fellows working in areas likely to have a transformative impact on our society over this century, from new materials and energy technologies to synthetic biology and artificial intelligence. I look forward to seeing what great things they will achieve in the years ahead.”