Glittering prizes

Adrian Bird, Buchanan professor of genetics at the University of Edinburgh, has been awarded the 1999 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine - Pounds 0,000 towards further research and a personal award of Pounds 45,000. He shares the award, for work on DNA methylation and gene regulation, with Herbert Jackle, director of the department of biophysical chemistry of Gottingen and Jean-Louis Mandel, professor of genetics at the University of Strasbourg.

James Callow, professor in the school of biological sciences, University of Birmingham, has been awarded the University of Melbourne's Edward Clarence Dyson Universitas 21 Fellowship.

Jennifer Birkett, professor of French studies, Ceri Crossley, professor of 19th-century French studies, and Dennis Wood, professor of French literature, have each been awarded the French government medal Chevalier dans L'Ordre des Palmes Academiques. The award is given in recognition of research that has furthered study of French literature and culture internationally.

Writer and director Bryan Forbes, former chief executive and head of production at EMI/MGM; educationist Michael Stern, who has spent more than 20 years in schools in South Africa, and Oscar-nominated actor Sir Ian Holm have received honorary degrees from the University of Sussex.

The University of Westminster has awarded honorary degrees to: Lord Sheppard of Didgemere, chairman of London First and former chairman of Grand Metropolitan (DLitt); Sir John Egan, chief executive of BAA (DLitt); Leonard Peach, commissioner for public appointments (DLitt); David Potter, chairman and chief executive of palmtop computer company Psion (DSc); Ian Stewart, director of the mathematics awareness centre, University of Warwick (DSc); and Phillip Sycamore, solicitor and former Law Society president (DIur). Maureen Guirdham, former head of the university's management centre, Brian Godbold, director of design at Marks and Spencer, and William Shaw, businessman and governor at the university, have been made honorary fellows.

The University of Oxford will award honorary degrees this summer to Dame Muriel Spark, author and dramatist (DLitt); Sir Tony Wrigley, master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and president of the British Academy (DLitt); Sir Simon Rattle, conductor and former music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (DMus); Sir John Walker, director of the Medical Research Council Dunn human nutrition unit at Cambridge and Nobel prize-winner (DSc); Andrew Wiles, professor of mathematics at Princeton (DSc); Aharon Barak, president of the Supreme Court of Israel, (DIur); and Jean-Pierre Vernant, professor honoraire au College de France (DLitt).

10 peopleThe Times HigherJJanuary 29 1999 'He has proved to be an energetic and creative manager, "difficult to dislike even when he shafts people"'