 He returned full-time to the University in October 2007, and continued working there until his death.He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1993, was President of the Society for General Microbiology from 1997 to 2000, and was awarded the Leeuwenhoek medal lecture of the Royal Society in 2000.He was named a Knight Bachelor in the 2007 New Years Honours list.