Three distinguished figures have received recognition from the University of Strathclyde during its November graduations.

Dr John Anderson, President of the US National Academy of Engineering, and Albert Yurvati, Professor of Medical Education at University of North Texas Health Science Center, have received honorary degrees from Strathclyde.

Michael Bonsor, Managing Director of the Chancery Rosewood Hotel in London, has also been named the University’s Alumnus of the Year for 2024.

They have joined around 2800 students who have been awarded their degrees at the University’s Barony Hall, at a week-long series of graduation ceremonies.

Dr Anderson’s career in Chemical Engineering spans nearly 60 years at some of the leading educational institutions in the US, including Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University, where he served as Provost and Vice-President, Case Western University, where he served as President, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. He has published more than 100 research papers and has emphasised in his career the importance of engaging internationally to share knowledge, collaborate, and promote understanding of systems thinking, to advance the impact of engineering across the globe.

Dr Anderson was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 1992 and was appointed in 2014 by then US President Barack Obama to the National Science Board, remaining there until 2020.

Professor Yurvati is an internationally renowned academic cardiothoracic surgeon who has worked in his discipline for nearly 40 years. He is the only person to win all three of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons’ awards: the Orel F Martin Medal; the Mary E Luibel Distinguished Service Award and the Guy D Beaumont Jr. Award of Academic Excellence. In 2012, he became the first surgeon in the world to identify and fix the Xiphoid process, a cartilage structure at the tip of the breastbone, as the source of an unidentified pain for many patients following heart surgery.

Professor Yurvati has been a Visiting Professor at Strathclyde’s Department of Biomedical Engineering since 2018 and has pledged a significant legacy to the Department for a Chair and Scholarships, in addition to supporting an existing STAR Scholarship.

Mr Bonsor graduated from Strathclyde in 2000 with a degree in Hotel and Hospitality Management. For a decade, he worked with the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts in the US and oversaw the launch of the Michelin-starred L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in New York. He then returned to the UK as Hotel Operations Manager at Claridge's in London.

He joined Rosewood as Hotel Manager in 2013 and rose to Managing Director in four years. Under his leadership, Rosewood London won the Catey Award for Hotel Group of the Year in 2017. He will hold the same post at the Chancery Rosewood, which is due to open in 2025.