Newswise — John C. Gordon, chair of the Chemistry Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), Scotland’s National Academy of science and letters, as an International Fellow.
Gordon joins a cohort of leading experts in science, the arts, business, public life, and academia who the RSE recognizes for their contributions that shape society in Scotland and beyond. The RSE, which announced its 2025 Fellows on March 24, noted Gordon’s expertise in inorganic and organometallic chemistry and his accomplishments in chemistry for energy applications.
“Having been born and raised in Ayrshire in the southwest of Scotland, I’m extremely honored to become an International Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (IntFRSE),” Gordon said. “To be elected into Scotland’s National Academy and be in the company of current and past luminaries in their fields is truly humbling.”
The RSE draws on the combined knowledge of its Fellows to address societal challenges with an interdisciplinary approach. This year’s newest fellows include The Duke of Edinburgh, space technology pioneer Asad Madni, and cartoonist Kate Charlesworth.
“I look forward to interacting with Fellows from across different disciplines, and I hope that my experiences in service, outreach activities, and the external perspectives I might bring, having lived in the U.S. for several decades, can aid in shaping positive new initiatives for Scotland,” Gordon said.
In addition to his work in chemistry, the RSE noted Gordon’s commitment to science outreach and support of the development of early and mid-career colleagues.
Gordon said he was fortunate to have had several mentors who recognized the importance of doing that and is grateful for the efforts of those around him, including students, postdocs and collaborators over the years for helping him reach his achievements.
“I think what’s kept me interested in science and motivating others to go into science is that it’s clear the impact that science can have on humankind,” he said. “It’s important to show students that ‘Here are some real, tangible examples of how what you’re doing can be applied.’”
Gordon joined Brookhaven Lab in 2022, following almost three decades at DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
Gordon is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the American Institute of Chemists. He is a co-recipient of a DOE 2022 Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Hydrogen Program R&D award for his work in chemical hydrogen storage. In 2017, he was named an invited Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He was named a Laboratory Fellow at LANL in 2014.
He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 1990 and holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Glasgow. He conducted his postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland and LANL.
Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov.
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