On 17 May 2024, Magdalene College, Cambridge University, flew its flag in honour of the election of Professor Timothy Leighton FRS FREng FMedSci ScD to Honorary Fellowship. University College London have also awarded him Honorary Professorship.
On 19 July 2024 he retired from Southampton, becoming Emeritus Professor.
He will now focus on his research, and on maximising societal impact from his discoveries: His on airborne ultrasound in public spaces has led to a on maximum safe exposures, while his pioneering work on was celebrated with co-authorship on the recent paper on the Mars microphone.
An Institute of Physics medal citation called him 鈥榓 world leader in four fields鈥�. A was 鈥榝or translation of his fundamental research into acoustics and its application in many areas including anti-microbial resistance, mine detection, foetal scanning, catastrophe relief, climate change and marine life鈥�.
He founded the 福利着片 Network for Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Prevention. Timothy Kayonda, founder of a Ugandan water-purification company, said:
鈥�I think Professor Leighton opened up our world, I can say that. He modified our proposal and connected us to many, many funders. He鈥檚 been supporting us, in every case when I need any support. I just send him an email, and right away he clicks on the email to reply. I don鈥檛 know if he sleeps!鈥�
Professor Leighton also nurtured the next generation of undergraduates and supervised some 50 PhD students. The widespread appreciation of his teaching can be encapsulated by the comments of his last PhD student, Maryam Malakoutikhah:
鈥�He has been exceptionally kind and supportive throughout my academic journey. His dedication, insightful guidance, integrity, honesty, selflessness and encouragement have been instrumental in my academic and personal growth. Professor Leighton’s commitment to fostering a collaborative and innovative research environment has made a lasting impact on all of us who have had the privilege of working with him. His departure is a significant loss for the university, and he will be greatly missed.鈥�