Glittering prizes

Mo Mowlam, secretary of state for Northern Ireland, will receive an honorary doctorate of laws from Queen's University, Belfast in December.

The university is also to award honorary law degrees in July to Northern Ireland's first minister David Trimble and deputy first minister Seamus Mallon.

SDLP leader John Hume, whose honorary law degree from Queen's was announced in 1995, will also receive his award in July.

Queen's is also conferring honorary degrees on: Sir Robert Cooper, chairman of the Fair Employment Commission (LLD); Ray Davey, founder of the Corrymeela Community (LLD); Brendan O'Regan, founder and president of Co-operation Ireland (LLD); Robin Shanks, former Queen's senior pro-vice-chancellor (LLD); William Twining, Quain professor of jurisprudence at University College London (LLD); actor Simon Callow (DLit); writer Edna O'Brien (DLit); physicist Philip Burke (DSc); Ivan McCabrey, executive chairman of Mivan (DSc (Eng)); Sir Robert McNulty, chairman of Northern Ireland Growth Challenge (DSc (Eng)); and Gerry Robinson, head of Granada and chairman of the Arts Council (DSc (Econ)).

David Richardson, reader in molecular biology at the University of East Anglia, has been invited by the Society for General Microbiology to give this year's Fleming Lecture.

Ian Clark, Arthritis and Rheumatism Council research fellow at UEA, has won the first Young Investigator Award from the British Society for Matrix Biology, for the research he and his team have carried out into regulation of the breakdown of tissues in arthritic disease.

Malcolm Haines, professor of physics at Imperial College, has been elected dean of the Royal College of Science from September 1 to August 31 2002. He will succeed Michael Mingos.

Harry Rothman, professor of economics and social science at the University of the West of England has won the 1999 Anbar Golden Page Award for readable content in the field of strategy for his work as editor of the management journal Technology Analysis and Strategic Management.