12 May 2023
John Hutchinson, professor of evolutionary biomechanics, has been elected in recognition of his outstanding contribution to science, joining a handful of other fellows from the college.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
RVC professor John Hutchinson has been elected a fellow of the Royal Society.
An RVC professor has been elected a fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) as recognition for its outstanding contribution to science.
John Hutchinson’s research straddles the fields of evolutionary biology and biomechanics, particularly how very large animals stand and move. His work also covers how locomotion evolved in different groups of land vertebrates, especially across major evolutionary transitions.
Extant and extinct animals – including birds, crocodiles, dinosaurs and elephants – have been studied by Prof Hutchinson using combinations of theoretical and experimental techniques, such as motion analysis, 2D static mechanics and 3D computer simulations.
Research has featured in 500 news stories since 2002, and his team has appeared in TV documentaries, including by David Attenborough.
After gaining a bachelor’s degree in zoology at the University of Wisconsin in 1993, a PhD in integrative biology at the University of California followed in 2001, after which he spent two years as a National Science Foundation Bioinformatives postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University.
He joined the RVC as a lecturer in evolutionary biomechanics in 2003 and became professor in 2011.
On becoming a fellow, Prof Hutchinson said: “This is a great honour and privilege. My career has benefited from the robust support of my family, my research team and external collaborators, the RVC and much more. I am enormously grateful for this.”
Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society, said: “I am delighted to welcome our newest cohort of Fellows. These individuals have pushed forward the boundaries of their respective fields and had a beneficial influence on the world beyond.
“Among this year’s intake are individuals who were at the forefront of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic response, and those working on global challenges, from TB to climate change. They are pioneering scientists and innovators from around the world who have confounded expectations and transformed our thinking.”
