From Kilmarnock Academy to Nobel Prizes
26 Sep 2011 14:02:54
Kilmarnock Academy celebrated two of its most noted former pupils last
week at a one-day conference entitled “Global Citizens, Local Roots”.
The Academy is the only school in Scotland to have nurtured two Nobel
Prize winners – Lord John Boyd Orr and Sir Alexander Fleming. The conference
celebrated this unique achievement and re-assessed the lives of both men, as
well as looking at the role of the school itself in producing a steady stream
of notable scientists. Speakers included Professor Hugh Pennington, Emeritus
Professor of Bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen and Kevin Brown,
Curator of the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum in London.
The event was part of Glasgow Caledonian’s outreach programme,
connecting the university with local communities. It was organised in
conjunction with the university, the Ayrshire Federation of Historical
Societies, and with the co-operation of East Ayrshire Council. It was
financially supported by the Wellcome Trust through the Centre for the Social
History of Health and Healthcare, Glasgow.
Provost Stephanie Young, who attended the conference, said: “The event was a
wonderful way to celebrate these two influential men who passed through
Kilmarnock Academy in their formative years. It was fascinating to hear the speakers
discuss topics such as Scottish education at the turn of the 19thcentury as well as the lives of Boyd Orr and Fleming who went on from
Kilmarnock Academy to make such an impact across the world.”
Photo caption: Left to right – Robert Pyper, Bryan Paterson,
Professor John Stewart, Elaine McFarland, Kevin Brown, Provost Stephanie
Young, Sir Hugh Pennington, Catriona MacDonald, Dr Neil Dixon