TRAIL-BLAZING chemistry professors at Durham University have been elected to a leading scientific body for producing work of international importance.

Judith Howard CBE and David Parker have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the highest distinction awarded by the scientific community in the UK.

Prof Howard specialises in the analysis of structures at extreme pressures and temperatures and was awarded a CBE in 1996 for her services to science. Prof Parker joined Durham University in 1982 after securing first degrees at Oxford University and a NATO fellowship in Strasbourg.

Their awards bring the number of fellows in Durham University's chemistry department to five and the overall standard of research from the leading department has helped it achieve a top 5*A rating in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise.

Vice-Chancellor of the university Sir Kenneth Calman said: "The university is tremendously proud to have people of world-class quality at the heart of its research community."