Congratulations to the winners of two major society awards

The winner of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award is Emeritus Professor of Social Sciences Michael Billig, who is based at Loughborough University.

Professor Billig's career began at the University of Bristol, where he worked on experiments which created the foundation of social identity theory, and authored books exploring intergroup relations, fascism and antisemitism, and racism.

After moving to Loughborough University in 1985, he has written on a variety of topics including rhetoric and ideology, the royal family, writing in the social sciences, and humour.

On receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, he said:

"I feel very honoured to receive this award from the BPS. It is completely unexpected - a very nice surprise!"

The winner of the 2023 Presidents' Award is University College London's Professor of Developmental Psychology Essi Viding.

This award recognises a researcher who has made outstanding contributions to psychology, with recognition given to Professor Viding's work exploring children and young people's mental health and developmental risk of psychopathy.

Professor Viding said:

"I was incredibly honoured and delighted to receive this award. The work that the award recognises has most definitely been teamwork, so this is also an award to students and colleagues, past and present.

"The BPS has played a significant role in my career journey. An early career award from the BPS was definitely a big boost at a critical juncture of my working life. I have also engaged with the BPS on issues such as psychologists in the media, and over the years have found The Psychologist's coverage of multiple debates and discussions in our field hugely helpful."

You can read more from Professor Billig and Professor Viding in The Psychologist, with both having done an interview about their work and careers following news of their awards.