Edinburgh's science and technology legacy

The founding of The University of Edinburgh in 1582 attracted some of the world's greatest thinkers to Edinburgh and played a key role in establishing the city region's international reputation for science and technology.

Famous alumni include: Joseph Lister, pioneer of antiseptic and aseptic surgery; James Young Simpson, pioneer of anaesthetics and chloroform; David Brewster, inventor of the kaleidoscope; Joseph Black, who discovered magnesia; James Dewar, inventor of the vacuum flask, cryogenics and cordite; James Hutton, the 'Father of modern Geology' and James Clerk Maxwell, a pioneer in electromagnetism, astrophysics and colour photography.

This legacy for invention continues today with more recent breakthroughs including the amniocentesis test in pregnancy, pioneered by David Brock; the first genetically engineered Hepatitis B vaccine, developed by Ken Murray;  the forerunner of industrial assembly robots, designed by Stephen Salter; and Dolly the Sheep, the world's first cloned mammal, created by Professor Ian Wilmut.

Across the wider city region, the University of St Andrews, founded in 1413, is the oldest university in Scotland. Its famous alumni include John Napier, inventor of logarithms and the decimal point, who gave his name to Edinburgh Napier University. At Heriot-Watt University, the Department of Mechanical Engineering building is named after James Nasmyth, the Edinburgh-born engineer who invented the steam hammer.

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