Professor Abbe Brown is among the new Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) recognised as outstanding individuals whose contributions are shaping society in Scotland and beyond.
The Professor of Intellectual Property Law at the University of Aberdeen is among the 2025 cohort celebrating leading minds from across science, the arts, business, public life, and academia.
Others include cartoonist and artist Kate Charlesworth whose vast library of work includes commissions from national newspapers, theatres, wildlife trusts, Greenpeace, New Scientist, Aardman Animations, and Spitting Image.
Pioneer of space technology, Professor Asad Madni, has also been elected as an Honorary Fellow alongside David Field, Chief Executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and Professor Patricia Findlay who is professor of work and employment relations at the University of Strathclyde.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), Scotland’s National Academy was established in 1783 for ‘the advancement of learning and useful knowledge’. Its 1800-strong fellowship provides independent expert advice to policymakers and inspire the next generation of innovative thinkers.
Professor Brown’s research explores the levels of intersection between intellectual property and other legal fields and the possible impact on key societal challenges including health, digital technology, disability, climate change and ocean governance. She maintains strong links with the legal profession and with policy making in Scotland.
She said: “I am honoured to become a Fellow of the Royal Society Edinburgh. I look forward to contributing to its ongoing impact in addressing key societal challenges, in Scotland and more widely.”
President of the RSE, Professor Sir John Ball PRSE, said: “It is my sincere pleasure to welcome each of our new Fellows – from the worlds of academia, public service, business, and the arts – to Scotland’s National Academy.
“They represent excellence in their fields and will reinforce our ability to tackle the challenges that Scotland, and indeed the wider world, faces now and in the future.
“Across a range of disciplines, they have each shown an unshakeable commitment to their research, work or craft, and it is exactly this superlative level of accomplishment that makes them belong as Fellows of the RSE.
“I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all of our new Fellows, and I hope they will avail themselves of all that our great National Academy has to offer them.”