THE family of a successful Scottish physicist has donated £500,000 to help the next generation of scientists follow in his pioneering footsteps.

The University of Glasgow's School of Physics and Astronomy will now be able to fund one postgraduate student every year at the Institute for Gravitational Research thanks to the Professor Ronald Drever Scholarship.

Professor Drever, who helped establish gravitational wave research at the university, will now be helping fund research on the topic after his family used part of his estate to establish a scholarship in his name.

As well as the substantial portion of his estate which has now been passed on to the university, the professor's medals and honours have also been donated for future display in the Hunterian collection.

The first scholarship is expected to be awarded to a student next year.

The Drever family said: "We are delighted that Ronald’s life work was demonstrated during his lifetime, and his legacy will provide the opportunity to further this ground breaking research over the years to come.

"Ronald received bursaries at crucial points in his early studies, and it is brilliant that the historical investment in Ronald can be perpetuated, supporting future physicists in this field.

"His impressive array of international award trophies and medals have been donated to the University trust for future display as part of the Hunterian collection; of artistic merit in themselves, they celebrate the scientific achievement and will act as inspiration for future generations of physicists."

Members of Glasgow's gravitational waves research team recently made large contributions to the first detections of the waves in 2015, 110 years after they were first proposed.

Born in Bishopton in 1931, Professor Drever graduated from Glasgow University in 1953 before receiving his PhD there in 1959.

After joining the university as a researcher he established their first dedicated gravitational wave research group in 1970 where one of his PhD students, James Hough, would go on to found the Institute for Gravitational Research.

After leaving for CalTech in 1984, Professor Drever, along with colleagues, proposed the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), which would go on to be the site of the world's first gravitational wave detection.

As well as detecting these waves, the observation also proved correct Albert Einstein's proposed ripples in spacetime in his 1916 general theory of relativity and was also the first direct evidence of the existence of black holes.

Professor Martin Hendry, head of the School of Physics and Astronomy, said: "We’re honoured and grateful that Professor Drever chose to donate such a substantial sum to the University of Glasgow, where he began his career and made his initial contributions to the field of gravitational wave research.

"In the three decades since Professor Drever left the University, we’ve made huge steps forward at the Institute for Gravitational Research and as part of the LIGO and Virgo collaborations.

"We’re looking forward to continuing our work with the assistance of postgraduate students so generously funded by the Drever family."