Hart-Davis to Receive the Ralph Coats Roe Medal at the Honors Assembly

Hart-Davis to Receive the Ralph Coats Roe Medal at the Honors Assembly Hart-Davis to Receive the Ralph Coats Roe Medal at the Honors Assembly Hart-Davis to Receive the Ralph Coats Roe Medal at the Honors Assembly Adam Hart-Davis Adam Hart-Davis, DPhil, is one of eight leaders from the field of engineering who will be recognized at this year's Honors Assembly. Hart-Davis, a well-known scientist, author, photographer, historian, philanthropist and radio and television personality, will receive the Society's Ralph Coats Roe Medal during the ceremony, to be held Nov. 17 during the ASME 2014 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Montreal, Canada. Hart-Davis, a reside of Devon, U.K., is being recognized for his efforts to educate the public about science, technology, engineering and mathematics by making STEM both inspirational and accessible in multiple media formats; and for celebrating engineers and the lasting impact of their contributions to the world. Established in 1972, the Ralph Coats Roe Medal recognizes an outstanding contribution toward a better public understanding and appreciation of the engineer's worth to contemporary society. After three years of postdoctoral research in Canada and the United Kingdom and a stint as science editor at Oxford University Press, Hart-Davis joined the science department at Yorkshire Television in 1977, where he worked as a researcher, producer and executive producer on programs such as Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World; Scientific Eye, a television series used in 70 percent of U.K. secondary school and in 35 other countries; and the equally successful Mathematical Eye. He was a presenter on a number of programs including Local Heroes, What the Romans Did for Us, and its spin-off series How London Was Built. Hart-Davis has been a presenter on more than 100 radio programs about science and technology including two series of Engineering Solutions. He has written numerous articles, and is the author or editor of nearly 30 books including Chain Reactionsâ€"Pioneers of British Science and Technology, and the children's pop-up book, Inventions - A History of Key Inventions That Changed the World. Hart-Davis is president, patron or honorary fellow of some 35 organizations including the British Science Association, Merton College, the Royal Photographic Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Society of Dyers and Colourists, the Institution of Lighting Engineers and the Newcomen Society. His honors also include the Institution of Engineering Designers' Gerald Frewer Memorial Trophy, the Royal Academy of Engineering's inaugural Public Promotion of Engineering Medal, the Institution of Incorporated Engineers' Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation Medal, the Royal Television Society's Judges' Award for Educational Television, and the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators' Horace Hockley Award. Hart-Davis received his bachelor's degree in chemistry, with first-class honors, from Oxford University in 1966; and his DPhil in organometallic chemistry from York University, U.K., in 1968. He holds 14 honorary degrees.