Academy Award-winning optical designer Iain Neil of ScotOptix received an honorary doctor of science degree at University of Strathclyde in Glasgow 12 November.
Neil, an SPIE Fellow, has won 12 Scientific and Technical Academy Awards for his pioneering work in optics and lens design for cinema, more Oscars than any other living person.
He has also won the Fuji Gold Medal, two Emmy Awards (US television awards) and has more than 150 patents issued worldwide for his optical design systems.
His Oscar achievements, second only to Walt Disney in total awards, are the result of "outstanding science," said Dimitris Drikakis, Executive Dean of Strathclyde's Faculty of Engineering, who presented Neil with the honorary doctorate.
"I consider it a tremendous privilege to have been considered for this honorary degree," Neil said at the degree-granting ceremony.
The Oscar legend is the founder of ScotOptix, which specializes in the design and manufacture of zoom lens systems. Neil and his company work as optical consultants with companies in Europe, North America and Asia.
Neil graduated in Applied Physics from Strathclyde in 1977 and was named the university's Alumnus of the Year in 2003.
He was a plenary speaker at the 2009 SPIE Optics + Photonics symposium and discussed his work in lens design in an SPIE Newsroom video.
More information in the University of Strathclyde press release