Two of the University of Aberdeen's most highly respected Professors are retiring today (Tuesday, October 7). Professors Hugh Pennington and Anthony Seaton retire with emeritus status after nearly 40 years of distinguished service for the University.
Professor Hugh Pennington is one of the few members of the University who can be said to be known by almost every household not only in Aberdeen but in Scotland and the UK. He is informed, understandable and seen by the media and the public as a man who knows his subject and can be trusted to give the public an honest view.
Professor Pennington's position as Professor of Bacteriology at the University has been held with high regard. In 1979 he was appointed to the Chair of Bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen and his research in Aberdeen focused on the development of new and improved typing ('fingerprinting') methods for bacteria. Over the last few years he has written widely on a number of subjects. These include a commentary on the recent SARs outbreak (with its origins from China) and a comparison with syphilis (whose origins were thought to stem from France), BSE (mad cow disease), smallpox, anthrax and their potential use in bio-terrorism, the retention of human organs and the Bristol Heart surgery enquiry.
Professor Pennington's academic and clinical skills and foresight were harnessed to the benefit of the nation, at the request of the Secretary of State for Scotland, through his appointment as Chairman of the Expert Group into the inquiry into the E.coli 0157 outbreak of food poisoning in Central Scotland in 1996. He has also made an outstanding contribution to the science and practice of medical microbiology, to the health of the nation and to public understanding of science. In recognition of these achievements, he was conferred an honorary degree earlier this year from the University. He has just newly been appointed as President of the Society for General Microbiology, the UK's largest microbiological society.
He is sorry to leave his post at a time when the emergence and spread of killer viruses prove that not all the lessons of history have been learnt. Speaking on his retirement, Professor Pennington, said: "I qualified in
medicine 41 years ago and have enjoyed an extremely varied career working for the University of Aberdeen."
Professor Pennington has newly written a book, When Food Kills, which is published by Oxford University Press. The book covers history, politics and the law as well as science - and the connections it makes, like those between 1930's nuclear physics, E.coli, and molecular biology, and the links between manslaughter in 19th century mental hospitals, syphilis, the Nobel Prize, and the prospects for successfully treating vCJD.
Also retiring from the University is Professor Anthony Seaton CBE, who joined the University in 1988 and whose role was Head of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine until December 2002. He held a Departmental Chair and was an Honorary Consultant Physician with Aberdeen Royal Hospitals.
He joined the Department in 1988 after many years as Director of the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh. In his earlier career he had been a consultant chest physician and had edited the medical journal Thorax. From 1991 to 2001 he served as the first Chairman of the UK Government's Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards, a role in which he led the development of all the current Standards for control of air pollution in Britain. His past research has led to standards to protect workers in the coal, asbestos, wool and chemical industries, and the aim of his research has always been to demonstrate practical methods of disease prevention. In Aberdeen with his colleagues he has proposed new concepts of the causation of asthma and of the relationships between heart disease and cancer. He was appointed CBE for his services to medicine in 1998.
Speaking on his retirement, Professor Seaton, said: "The measure of a successful career is whether it has made a difference. It would be nice to think that I have made some improvements to the prospects of workers in industry but, just in case, I do not intend to stop trying now just because I am drawing my pension. I shall continue to collaborate with my excellent colleagues here and in Edinburgh as long as I am able."
Professor Jon Ayres will take over Professor Seaton's role as Head of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine and Dr Hamish McKenzie will take over as Head of Department of Medical Microbiology.