54 Notable alumni of
Heriot-Watt University
Updated:
Heriot-Watt University is 1068th in the world, 372nd in Europe, and 74th in the United Kingdom by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 54 notable alumni from Heriot-Watt University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Kygo
- Occupations
- recording artistcomposerrecord producerdisc jockeylyricist
- Biography
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Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll, known professionally as Kygo ( Norwegian: [ˈkỳːɡuː]), is a Norwegian DJ and music producer. He garnered international attention with his December 2013 remix of the track "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran and his December 2014 single "Firestone" (featuring Conrad Sewell). In late 2015, he reached one billion streams on Spotify faster than any other artist, and by June 2016, he had reached two billion streams.
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Greg Wise
- Occupations
- film produceractorfilm actorstage actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Matthew Gregory Wise is an English actor and producer. He has appeared in several British television programmes and feature films. He played the role of John Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility, which also starred Emma Thompson, whom he later married.
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Irvine Welsh
- Occupations
- novelistfilm directorwriterscience fiction writerplaywright
- Biography
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Irvine Welsh is a Scottish novelist and short story writer. His 1993 novel Trainspotting was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short films.
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Nivetha Pethuraj
- Enrolled in Heriot-Watt University
- Studied human resource management
- Occupations
- modelactor
- Biography
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Nivetha Pethuraj is an Indian actress who appears in Tamil and Telugu films. She made her acting debut with the Tamil film Oru Naal Koothu (2016). She then made her Telugu debut with Mental Madhilo (2017). Her notable productions include Chitralahari (2019), Paagal (2020), Das Ka Dhamki (2023) and the crime thriller television series Paruvu.
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Chris Whitty
- Occupations
- epidemiologistphysician
- Biography
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Sir Christopher John MacRae Whitty KCB FRS is a British epidemiologist, serving as Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government since 2019.
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Jack Ross
- Occupations
- association football playerassociation football manager
- Biography
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John James Ross is a Scottish professional football coach and former player, who was most recently the manager of Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership.
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Adam Crozier
- Occupations
- entrepreneurchief executive officerbusinessperson
- Biography
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Adam Alexander Crozier is a Scottish businessman who was formerly the chief executive officer of media company ITV plc, operator of the ITV television network covering most of the United Kingdom.
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Gary Younge
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Gary Andrew Younge FAcSS, FRSL is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and academic. He was editor-at-large for The Guardian newspaper, which he joined in 1993. In November 2019, it was announced that Younge had been appointed as professor of sociology at the University of Manchester and would be leaving his post at The Guardian, where he was a columnist for two decades, although he continued to write for the newspaper. He also writes for the New Statesman.
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Henry McLeish
- Occupations
- politicianassociation football playerbiographer
- Biography
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Henry Baird McLeish is a Scottish politician, author, academic and former professional footballer who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2000 to 2001. With a term of 1 year, 12 days, he is the shortest serving holder of that office. He served as the Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2001.
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John Thomson
- Occupations
- world travelerphotographerphotojournalistgeographerwriter
- Biography
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John Thomson FRGS was a pioneering Scottish photographer, geographer, and traveller. He was one of the first photographers to travel to the Far East, documenting the people, landscapes and artefacts of eastern cultures. Upon returning home, his work among the street people of London cemented his reputation, and is regarded as a classic instance of social documentary which laid the foundations for photojournalism. He went on to become a portrait photographer of high society in Mayfair, gaining the royal warrant in 1881.
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Hassan Ali Khayre
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Hassan Ali Khaire, in Wabxo Galguduud popularly known as Hassan Khaire, is a senior politician and is the former prime minister of Somalia. He was appointed on 23 February 2017 by Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed "Farmaajo" and resigned on Saturday July 25, 2020 after MPs passed a disputed vote of no confidence.
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Jock Clear
- Occupations
- engineer
- Biography
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Jock Clear is an English senior performance engineer working for Scuderia Ferrari, where he is currently the driver coach for Charles Leclerc, alongside Calum MacDonald for Carlos Sainz Jr. Before moving to Ferrari, he worked at Mercedes, where he was the performance engineer for Lewis Hamilton (2013–14) and Michael Schumacher (2011–12). He was also the race engineer for Nico Rosberg (2010–2011), Rubens Barrichello (2006–2009), Takuma Sato (2003–2005), Jacques Villeneuve (1996–2003), David Coulthard (1995) and Johnny Herbert (1994).
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James Nasmyth
- Occupations
- photographerpainterastronomermechanical engineerengineer
- Biography
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James Hall Nasmyth was a Scottish engineer, philosopher, artist and inventor famous for his development of the steam hammer. He was the co-founder of Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company manufacturers of machine tools. He retired at the age of 48, and moved to Penshurst, Kent where he developed his hobbies of astronomy and photography.
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Irma Sluis
- Enrolled in Heriot-Watt University
- Studied in 2009-2011
- Occupations
- sign language interpreter
- Biography
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Irma Sluis is a Dutch sign language interpreter. She is an interpreter in Dutch sign language (NGT) and international sign language (Gestuno) and has published about working as a sign language interpreter in the Netherlands. Since 2005 she has been working with the Dutch broadcasting organisation NOS where she interprets the morning news.
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Mohammed Al Barwani
- Years
- 1952-.. (age 73)
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed Al Barwani is an Omani billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman of MB Holding Group of companies, which operate in oil and gas exploration and production, oilfield services, engineering and mining.
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Fiona Hyslop
- Occupations
- businesspersonpolitician
- Biography
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Fiona Jane Hyslop is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Transport since 2024. Hyslop has served in various offices under first ministers Salmond, Sturgeon, Yousaf and Swinney; as education secretary, culture secretary, and economy secretary as well as in junior ministerial roles. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Linlithgow constituency since 2011, having represented the Lothians region from 1999 to 2011.
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Gordon Shedden
- Occupations
- racing driverracing automobile driver
- Biography
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Gordon William Shedden is a British auto racing driver. He last competed in the British Touring Car Championship for the Halfords Racing with Cataclean team. He has previously won the series on three occasions; in 2012, 2015 and 2016, driving for Honda/Team Dynamics each time. He also spent two seasons in the FIA WTCR, from 2018 to 2019, driving for the Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team.
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Graham Watson
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Sir Graham Robert Watson is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England from 1994 to 2014. Watson was the chairman of the Parliament's committee on citizens rights, justice and home affairs (1999–2002). He then served for seven and a half years as leader of the Liberal Group in the European Parliament, first as leader of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Group (2002–2004) and then as leader of the new Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group (2004–2009). From 2011 until 2015, he was the president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. From 2015 to 2020, he was a UK member on the European Economic and Social Committee. He is currently an adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.
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Kirsty Smith
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Kirsty Anele Smith is a Scottish footballer who plays as a defender for English Women's Super League club West Ham United and the Scotland national team.
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Trygve Reenskaug
- Occupations
- computer scientistengineer
- Biography
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Trygve Mikkjel Heyerdahl Reenskaug was a Norwegian computer scientist and professor emeritus of the University of Oslo. He formulated the model–view–controller (MVC) pattern for graphical user interface (GUI) software design in 1979 while visiting the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). His first major software project, "Autokon," produced a successful computer-aided design – computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) program which was first used in 1963, and continued in use by shipyards worldwide for more than 30 years.
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Michelle Ballantyne
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Michelle Lorraine Ballantyne is a British property developer, former politician and former nurse who served as Leader of Reform UK Scotland from January 2021 to February 2022. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region from 2017 to 2021, having been elected for the Scottish Conservatives.
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Colin Clark
- Occupations
- farmerpolitician
- Biography
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Colin James Clark is a Scottish politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gordon from 2017 to 2019. He is a member of the Scottish Conservatives.
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Brian Monteith
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Brian Monteith is a British politician, public relations consultant and commentator. As a member of the Scottish Conservatives, he was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Mid Scotland and Fife region from 1999 to 2007. Later a member of the Brexit Party, he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North East England from 2019 to 2020.
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Sarah Boyack
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Sarah Herriot Boyack is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region since 2019, and previously from 2011 to 2016. She formerly represented the Edinburgh Central constituency from 1999 to 2011.
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Luke Crosbie
- Occupations
- rugby union player
- Biography
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Luke William Crosbie is a Scottish professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for United Rugby Championship club Edinburgh and the Scotland national team.
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Lee Jones
- Occupations
- rugby union player
- Biography
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Lee Jones is a Scotland international rugby union player. He played for Glasgow Warriors in the Pro14. He plays primarily at Wing but can also cover at Scrum-half.
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David Martin
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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David Martin is a Scottish politician who has served as co-convener of the Citizens' Assembly of Scotland since 2019. A member of the Scottish Labour Party, he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1984 to 2019, having first represented the Lothians constituency until 1999 and then for the Scotland constituency. He was the United Kingdom's longest serving MEP and the second longest serving MEP in the whole European Parliament.
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Richard Thomson
- Occupations
- politiciancouncil member
- Biography
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Richard Gordon Thomson is a Scottish politician. He is a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gordon from 2019 until the seat's abolition in 2024. He was also previously the leader of the SNP group on Aberdeenshire Council. He was the SNP Spokesperson for Business and Trade from 2022, and SNP Spokesperson for Wales and Northern Ireland until 2024.
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Manuel Cortes
- Years
- 1967-.. (age 58)
- Occupations
- trade unionist
- Biography
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Manuel Cortes is a British trade unionist who served as the General Secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) between 2011 and 2022.
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Ruaridh Mollica
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Ruaridh Silvio James MacGillivray-Mollica is a Scottish-Italian actor, writer, and director. For his performance in the film Sebastian (2024), he was nominated for a British Independent Film Award. On television, he appeared in the Channel 5 series Witness Number 3 and the BBC Three series Red Rose (both 2022).
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Maria Gordon
- Occupations
- geologistpaleontologist
- Biography
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Dame Maria Matilda Gordon DBE LLD, sometimes known as May Ogilvie Gordon or May Gordon, was an eminent Scottish geologist, palaeontologist, and politician. She was the first woman to be awarded a Doctor of Science degree from the University of London and the first woman to be awarded a PhD degree from the University of Munich. She was also a supporter and campaigner for the rights and equality of children and women.
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Nathif Jama Adam
- Born in
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Kenya - Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Nathif Jama Adam, EGH, is a Kenyan banker, writer and politician. Adam has served as the governor of Garissa County since August 2022. He was initially elected to the position in March 2013 to become the pioneer Governor of Garissa County and served until 2017. After failing to win the 2017 elections, he was elected once again in August 2022. Prior to joining politics, he was the Managing Director of First Community Bank. He was also previously a Senior Vice President and the Head of Sharjah Islamic Bank's Investments & International Banking Division. He co-authored the first book on sukuk investments.
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Sarah J. Tabrizi
- Occupations
- biologistneurologist
- Biography
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Sarah Joanna Tabrizi FMedSci FRS is a British neurologist and neuroscientist in the field of neurodegeneration, particularly Huntington's disease. She is a Professor and Joint Head of the Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases at the UCL Institute of Neurology; the founder and Director of the UCL Huntington's Disease Centre; a Principal Investigator at the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL; and an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, where she established the Multidisciplinary Huntington's Disease Clinic. The UCL Huntington’s Disease Centre was officially opened on 1 March 2017 by UCL President and Provost Michael Arthur.
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Linda McAvan
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Linda McAvan OBE is a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire South and Yorkshire and the Humber from 1998, when she was first elected in a by-election following the resignation of Norman West. She served until her resignation on 19 April 2019.
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Stefan Müller
- Occupations
- mathematicianuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Stefan Müller is a German mathematician and currently a professor at the University of Bonn. He has been one of the founding directors of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences in 1996 and was acting there until 2008.
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Kay Cohen
- Occupations
- fashion designer
- Biography
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Kay Cohen is an Australian fashion designer and business woman based in Sydney, Australia. Cohen has led a number of lingerie design brands, most notably as founder and creative director of Pleasure State and as general manager and creative director of Elle Macpherson Intimates. Cohen is the inventor of the Biofit uplift bra.
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Suraj Abdurrahman
- Years
- 1954-2015 (aged 61)
- Enrolled in Heriot-Watt University
- Graduated with Doctor of Philosophy
- Occupations
- architectmilitary officer
- Biography
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Suraj Alao Abdurrahman CON, was a Nigerian Army general who served as the Command Officer in Charge of the Armed Forces of Liberia, with former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the Commander-in-Chief. According to then President Johnson Sirleaf, General Abdurrahman "was an exceedingly exceptional gentleman officer whose contributions lifted the Armed Forces of Liberia to professional greatness and emplace our military amongst UN peacekeepers”.
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Alison Suttie
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Alison Mary Suttie, Baroness Suttie is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She was appointed a life peer in the House of Lords in September 2013. A party whip, she is a member of the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs team. She is also a trustee on the board of IPPR.
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Lisa Kearney
- Occupations
- judoka
- Biography
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Lisa Kearney is a Northern Irish retired judoka, who competed in the −48 kg category. Kearney, who lives and trains in Belfast, competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as a member of the Ireland Olympic team.
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Saada Salum
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Saada Mkuya Salum is a Tanzanian CCM politician and a nominated Member of Parliament. She is a former Minister of Finance.
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Michael Riddell-Webster
- Years
- 1960-.. (age 65)
- Occupations
- military leader
- Biography
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Major General Michael Lawrence Riddell-Webster, CBE, DSO is a retired British Army officer. He served as Governor of Edinburgh Castle from 2015 to 2019.
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Archy Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope
- Years
- 1946-.. (age 79)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Archibald Johnstone Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope, PC, is a British Liberal Democrat politician.
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Joanne Yeoh
- Occupations
- lecturer
- Biography
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Joanne Yeoh Pei Sze is a Malaysian violinist who has performed both locally and on the international stage. She has won numerous awards including The Outstanding Young Malaysian Award, the National Academic Award and the British Council's Professional Achievement Award. She currently lectures as an Associate Professor at Universiti Putra Malaysia and is on the panel of music examiners for Trinity College of Music London. Although classically trained, she also plays in contemporary settings. She has released three solo instrumental albums Pulse of the Metropolis in August 2005, After A Dream in 2013, and Life, Interrupted in 2021.
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Liam Burns
- Years
- 1985-.. (age 40)
- Occupations
- trade unionist
- Biography
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Liam Burns is a former president of the National Union of Students in the United Kingdom. He took office on 1 July 2011, succeeding outgoing president Aaron Porter. Burns stood for NUS President as an independent but is a member of the Labour Party.
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Bernard Dacorogna
- Occupations
- mathematicianuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Bernard Dacorogna is a Swiss mathematician, born 15 October 1953, in Alexandria, Egypt. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Geneva in Switzerland and his Ph.D. at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK, in 1980 under the supervision of John M. Ball. He is professor at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland. He is a specialist of the calculus of variations and of partial differential equations. He has written several articles and books. The Chaire de la Vallée Poussin 2018 of the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) is attributed to him.
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Hilde C. Bjørnland
- Years
- 1966-.. (age 59)
- Occupations
- professoreconomist
- Biography
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Hilde Christiane Bjørnland is a Norwegian economist. She is a professor of economics and Provost for Research and Academic Resources at BI Norwegian Business School.
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Evelyn Tweed
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Evelyn Tweed is a Scottish politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Stirling since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was a councillor in Stirling for Trossachs and Teith ward from 2017 to 2022.
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Paul Rooney
- Occupations
- television producerconceptual artistsound artist
- Biography
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Paul Rooney is an English artist who works with music and words, primarily through installations and records.
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Henry Musasizi
- Occupations
- accountantpolitician
- Biography
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Henry Ariganyira Musasizi is a Ugandan business administrator, certified public accountant and politician. He is the reelected Member of Parliament for Rubanda County East and a representative for NRM, the ruling political party in Uganda.
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Harry Melville
- Occupations
- chemist
- Biography
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Sir Harry Work Melville, KCB, FRS, FRSE was a British chemist, academic, and academic administrator, who specialised in polymer research. He spent his early career in academia as a lecturer and researcher, before moving into administration as a civil servant and university college head.
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William Samson
- Years
- 1943-.. (age 82)
- Occupations
- computer scientistastronomer
- Biography
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William Byars Samson is a Scottish astronomer, academic, computer scientist and a researcher in the fields of Astronomy, Databases, Artificial Intelligence, and Artificial Life.
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Iain Baikie
- Occupations
- physicist
- Biography
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Iain Douglas Baikie, MBE, FRSA, FInstP, CPhys is a Scottish physicist, inventor and company Director. He specialises in Material Science. Baikie supervises PhDs at Imperial College London and the University of St Andrews in thin-film electronics. In 2000 he founded a company- KP Technology in Wick. In 1997 Baikie was appointed Professor of Applied Physics with a Chair in Materials Science for his work on surface work function and the scanning Kelvin probe and is visiting professor at the Nanotechnology and Integrated Bio-Engineering Centre at the University of Ulster, Belfast. He is an honorary professor at the University of St Andrews.
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Robert Adam
- Occupations
- photographerbotanist
- Biography
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Robert Moyes Adam was a Scottish photographer and botanist known for his work with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
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Henning Skumsvoll
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Henning Skumsvoll is a Norwegian politician representing the Progress Party. He is currently a representative of Vest-Agder in the Storting, he was first elected in 2005. He was elected vice leader of the Vest Agder Progress Party in February 2004.
