91快活林

Matt's research is focused on:

• the psychological and social dimensions of climate and ecological crisis (e.g. eco-anxiety)听
• the psychological, emotional and social implications of living in the Anthropocene
• the evaluation of nature-based interventions for mental health
• the exploration of alternative approaches to nature-based interventions - informed by multispecies and more-than-human methods, community and critical psychology and ecopsychology
• the study of human-animal relations - especially in ways that address ethical issues, challenge anthropocentric practices and promote care and compassion

Matt is experienced in working with a range of conventional qualitative methods such as interviews and focus groups, alongside innovative methods such as arts-based research, creative, visual and comics-based research. 听

He often works collaboratively - with community groups, charities, arts-based practitioners and other academics.听

His teaching focus overlaps with his research interests, and incorporates ecopsychology, ecotherapy, critical environmental psychology and mental health.

From October 2022 - October 2024 he was awarded an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Research, Development and Engagement Fellowship, titled 'Pavlov and the kingdom of dogs: Storying experimental animal histories through arts-based research'. The Fellowship involved the collaborative development of creative, arts-based and visual methods to challenge conventional perceptions of animal experimentation, the nature of scientific work, and the history of Psychology.

Sustainable healthcare practice

Heather is particularly interested in researching the sustainability of critical care practice to generate a more robust evidence-based to inform how to maintain quality critical care while sufficing within the limits of available environmental, financial and social resources.听 Her PhD thesis presented a conceptual framework of sustainability in critical care based on qualitative grounded theory research which explored the subjective perspective of people working in critical care.听 The PhD research findings are now being used to develop further studies focused on environmental sustainability under the umbrella title of the GREEN-ICU research project (GREeater ENvironmental sustainability in Intensive Care Units).听 Heather is leading the GREEN-ICU research studies as a collaborative project, with the first phase currently in the proposal stage.

Heather is an active member of the School of Health Sciences Sustainability Special Interest Group which includes planning and delivering the annual SHARE conference to provide researchers, clinicians, academics and students an opportunity to disseminate research and enterprise outputs related to sustainability and health or healthcare practice.

In addition to research about reducing the carbon footprint of healthcare, Heather is also interested in the interlinks between financial and social sustainability of critical care.听 Social sustainability includes sustaining staff as a people resource, and she recognises the need for further research about the resilience, agility and durability of staff to promote a healthy and flourishing workforce of healthcare practitioners.听

Critical care clinical practice and education

Heather has further research interests in clinical practice and education related to critical care nursing, drawing from her previous experience as a clinical nurse and her current role leading the Intensive Care Pathway at the University of 91快活林.听 She is interested in collaborating with other critical care researchers on projects addressing clinical outcomes, as well as patient and family experiences during the intensive care unit, rehabilitation and recovery stages of critical illness or injury.

I am a plant ecologist with specific interests in plant-plant and plant-animal interactions at the community and population level. My research focuses on determining the key factors involved in these relationships and assessing how resilient are these links in changing environmental conditions.

Current research project

• Conserving Endangered rhinos in South Africa

Wetland plant community

I am particularly interested in dynamic ecosystems such as wet grasslands, riparian and coastal habitats. I have experience with wet grassland habitat management and assessing changes in response to different practices.听Much of the focus of previous work has been on management and restoration of these habitats and听 this has expanded to wetlands and across taxa through collaborative work.

Invasive Ecology

I am also interested in invasion ecology, focusing on Invasive Non-Native plant species and understanding their influence and impacts on associated habitat and species. INNS competitive strategy and succes could be caused by the range of allelochemic released by the leaves or roots affecting neighbouring plants and their environment. I have started research projects examining the effects of sub-lethal exposure to allelochemical compounds released by Impatiens glandulifera on freshwater invertebrate and fish larvae development and behaviour. Similarly, I am interesting on the long-term impacts of Rhododendron ponticum听allelopathy on soil microbial community.

My research interests lie within the subject area of remote sensing, but in particular environmental remote sensing. As the main subject of my PhD thesis, and research beyond, I am keenly interested in the role of remote sensing in vegetation studies and how removal or changes to vegetation can affect our environment. This has led me to research in the application and modelling of different technologies but mainly focusing on the use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR).听 I have been involved in lidar and radar work with emphasis on interferometry (InSAR) and polarimetry applications (PolInSAR) for both biomass and forest structure determination, and also for the investigation of Savanna and grassland dynamics within a wider framework of contributing to knowledge of the terrestrial carbon cycle. Working on this theme has involved integration into my research of radar systems such as Sentinel 1, ALOS PALSAR, UAVSAR, and lidar systems such as GLAS, LVIS, and GEDI. I鈥檓 interested in both multispectral and hyperspectral remote sensing to complement my expertise in active remote sensing with recent collaborative research looking at the role of multispectral acquisitions from both satellite (Pleiades, World View, Landsat, Sentinel 2) and drone sensors (Parrot Sequoia) for the identification of plant species and health, and to enable mapping of animal foodscapes. My interests in hyperspectral mapping have enabled me to work closely with data such as from PRISMA and MODIS satellites to map ground cover and mineral composition on large spatial scales, and to identify hotspots in associated diseases such as Podoconiosis, and to conduct airborne and scanning research in the field of archaeology, investigating sediment deposits, and lichen coverage at Stonehenge.

In broader terms I am actively involved in climate change research related to landuse/landcover change, and the role of the terrestrial biosphere. 听My work involves collaboration with international groups such as the Global Ecology Lab at the University of Maryland, Edinburgh Earth Observatory at the University of Edinburgh, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and CEFAS at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. It also involves fruitful collaborations closer to home at the University of 91快活林 through my research centre, Centre for Environment and Society, and my excellent team of PhD students working in settings such as Cameroon, Ethiopia, Bahrain, Nigeria, India, Iran, Spain and the UK.听听

I encourage those interested in collaborating on remote sensing themed research to feel free to contact me and to begin the process of conducting high impact science.

My principal research interest is in Nature Based Solutions, (coastal, estuarine and riverine), which embrace natural processes in order to provide long-term sustainable solutions to flood management problems. This encompasses a wide range of areas, including sediment dynamics, hydrodynamics, water management, geochemistry and blue-carbon.听 My research is primarily field based where I design long and short-term monitoring programmes to enable in-depth understanding of hydraulic and sediment regimes.

On the coast and nearshore waters, my research is based around Nature Based solutions to flooding, habitat creation, pollution and carbon, which involves furthering the understanding of how the geomorphology and hydrodynamics of these sites evolve following breach. In terms of sustainability I work with very closely with ecologists investigating how previous land use, design and construction influence the development of these sites, which has a direct impact on the bio-diversity of these created systems, and which in the long-term influence the longevity and effectiveness of the designed coastal defence.听 If you click on the 鈥榞lobe image鈥� below my profile picture you can listen to a recording of a lecture which I gave at the ICE Coastal Management Conference in 2019, where I explain how Coastal Managers can improve fish habitat.听

In-land I work with a number of local organisations on the re-wilding, restoration and management of rivers and catchments in order to reduce peak flood levels and improve water quality. This involves assessing the suitability of the removal of defunct structures, installing small scale, up-stream, water retarding structures and where possible reconnecting water with its flood plain.听

Both on the coast and inland I am working towards quantifying the effects of different types of intervention, through this I strive to do is provide designers, engineers and managers with a greater understanding of the environment so that they can work with nature to provide longer-term, more sustainable solutions.

The 'globe' looking icons below my image at the top of the screen will take to a selection of presentations I have given at conferences.

My doctoratal research was in science education, formative assessment, classroom assessment, teacher assessment literacy, with a methodological focus of case studies, mixed methods and sociocultural perspectives. I have applied my research to a wide range of contexts including contributing to curriculum reform in Kazakhstan, using criteria based assessment and in my role as Assessment Editor and Curriculum Editor for secondary curriculum resources for Oxford University Press.

I have continued to research secondary science teaching and learning (11-19 years) including threshold concepts in A-level sciences, secondary school students understanding of the nervous system, learning about the brain, and the use of microscopes in the classroom and moss organisms. These I explore through the academic perspectives of models and modelling and developing Science Capital through engagement with science instruments at home.听

Through my work with trainee teachers and being an advocate for science educators through the Association for Science Education I have a personal, practical and academic interest in the emotional needs of teachers andd the links with science teacher recruitment and retention.

My research interests focus on the biological effects of various classes of aquatic environmental stressors, contaminants in particular, at cellular and molecular听 level - functional ecotoxicology. The key challenge is to understand the mechanism of action of newly emerged contaminats (pharmaceuticals, microplastics, personal care products) that听can negatively impact the health and physiology of marine organisms, and moreover, the potential for climate change to alter these responses.

Detoxification mechanisms and their use as biomarkers of environmental contamination (ie. metallothionein isoforms and expression levels,听CYP450听and the听glutathione听systems) in marine invertebrates and fish.

Induction of DNA damage in critical growth regulating genes, such as the听ras oncogene听and听p53听tumour suppressor gene, plus their role in development of a 'mutator phenotype' and genome instability.

Also, reproductive mechanisms of marine invertebrates and wonderful ways in which stressors (climatic or human induced, ie. pharmaceuticals, microplastics) interfere with sex determination/differentiation.

Andrew is interested in how spatial planning can help to deliver climate change adaptation and mitigation, manage coastal change and flooding, encourage integrated water management and regulate short term rentals such as AirBnB.

Through his private practice,听 has contributed to government, government agency and research organisation projects on

- delivering integrated water management through planning

- flooding, including multiple objective SuDS and best practice in Strategic Flood Risk Assessments.

He has published articles and blogs in town planning journals and websites on flooding and coastal change in England and Portugal.

I am a wildlife ecologist (a niche of the biological scientist profession) particularly interested in behavioural, population and spatial ecology of mammals. From an applied perspective, I seek to understand anthopogenic effects on wildlife to assist conservation decisions. My work occurs in terrestrial systems and often involves field studies on mammalian carnivores. My research has had an emphasis on investigating and mitigating human-wildlife interactions, predator-prey studies, habitat and species distribution modelling, as well as animal movement analyses. In addition to testing theory and providing ecological evidence across systems, a central theme has been to inform spatio-temporal decision making for management and planning.

My research interests focus primarily around the ecology of aquatic organisms with a specialism in fish. I am interested in the effects that pollutants have on the physiology, morphology and behaviour or a range of aquatic species, including crustaceans, teleost and cartilaginous fish species. I am interested in outputs from any kind of human activity, including sewage treatment plants, aquaculture facilities, agricultural run-off, pharmaceuticals and microplastic pollution. I focus mainly on larval fish as the early life stages are the most vulnerable and this is where many of the effects occur. I am interested in the sub-lethal effects of exposure to contaminants, those which do not kill the fish, but may make them unfit for survival in the wild, for example through reduced swimming or foraging capability, which can hinder feeding and can make them more vulnerable to predation. More recently I have started research projects examining the effects of microplastics and nanoparticles on fish and larvae and marine and freshwater invertebrates. The focus of this is the use of microbeads and nanoparticles found in cosmetics and skincare products, especially sunscreens, and the impacts they have on developmental processes of fishes.

I am also interested in the behaviour of captive fish in response to visitors in public aquaria. This has focused around both teleost and elasmobranch species and will extend to examine other organisms. In addition to the behaviour I am also interested in the sexual dimorphism of sharks, specifically the skin ad electrorecptive organs. I work in collaboration with the Kwazulu Natal Sharks Boards, examining the sexual dimorphisms of the dermal denticles (scales) on the skin of sharks.听This leads to insights into the mating behaviours of shark species, acts that have rarely been witnessed.听I am also developing projects with both the Inshore Fishery and Conservation Authorities and Natural England to determine how electric cabling may affect the behaviour of elasmobranch species and their behaviour.听My research interests provide exciting opportunities for final year projects for undergraduate students.听Projects I have been and am currently involved in include following:

Development and behaviour of zebrafish larvae exposed to zinc oxide and titanium dioxide

Determination of microplastic translocation in the velvet swimming crab (Necora puber)

Behaviour of the green shore crab (Carcinus maenas) exposed to microplastic beads

Behaviour of cherry shrimp (Neocaridina davidi) exposed to microplastic beads

Presence of microplastics in the sediments and biota of Chichester Harbour

Ability of archerfish (Toxotes chatareus) to learn new feeding behaviours

Contribution of aquaria in the conservation of rare and endangered species

Management and control of Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)

Investigating triggers for diapause egg production in Parvocalanus crassirostris

Habitat preferences for marine fungi

Professor Julie Doyle researches in media and communication and is an authority on climate communication.听Her research examines the ways in which media and culture shape our understandings of, and responses to, climate change.

With a particular focus upon visual and creative communication, Prof. Doyle works collaboratively with visual artists and cultural educators, and has provided consultancy for environmental NGOs, government and the sustainability communications sector on best practice for climate and environmental communication. Her research on media and climate change has been cited in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Scientfiic Assessment Reports (IPCC 2018, 2022).

Professor Doyle was a member of the founding Board of Directors of the International Environmental Communication Association (IECA) and was Director of the Centre for Spatial, Environmental and Cultural Politics. She was the University's Unit of Assessment Lead for Communication, Media and Cultural Studies; Library and Information Management (REF 2021).

Watch Professor Doyle's inaugural lecture, 'Communicating Climate Change in an Age of (Un)Certainty' (May 2017).

Research Impact

Professor Doyle co-authored a REF2021 impact case study on Mobilising Visual Communication for Socio-Political Change

My research career to date has focused on the development of innovative low-cost tools that tackle pressing global disease problems. In Malawi, I worked on a UNICEF-funded project 'Assessment of Drinking Water Quality for Low-Cost Water Technology Options in Rural Areas' which led to the re-design and improved management of rural wells, providing low-income communities with safer drinking water. More recently, I was involved in a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded project in India 'SaniPath Typhoid' which sought to enhance understanding of typhoid transmission pathways in Kolkata鈥檚 megaslums.

In Europe, new methods developed during an EU Interreg-funded project 'RISKMANCHE' have helped identify human faecal contamination of rivers and established viral removal rates in a full-scale wastewater reuse systems (Thames Water). This information is helping water companies and environmental agencies to meet international standards and more effectively protect public health, by detecting, or interrupting the transmission routes of human waterborne diseases.

I undertake research in the broad field of political ecology. My work is informed by intersectional feminist theory, critical development studies and environmental advocacy-activism around agrarian extractivism, with an empirical focus on responses to displacement, resettlement and dispossession in rural contexts in Indonesia. Current projects include work on the ways that gendered processes of mobility and migrant remittances unsettle linear analyses of dispossession associated with oil palm investment. I am also exploring ways to rethink feminist political ecology through engagement with anti-colonial environmental activisms in Southeast Asia and the practice of feminist political ecology pedagogy and research in diverse activist and professional contexts.

My research interests lie in seeking to bridge the disjuncture between climate change science, water resources management practice and local articulations and experiences of changing water environments. My work is critically engaged with understanding how developed economies organize and manage their freshwater resources with regards to transitioning towards sustainable futures in the context of climate change. At heart my research explores why climate change narratives are still failing to resonate with most citizens, and are still not embedded within organisational praxis, and seeks to determine what approaches may close these gaps in order to support transitions towards sustainable futures. Inherent to this line of questioning are explorations of emergent forms of citizenship, discourses of governance and the links between landscape, taskscape and community within the late capitalist era. I draw on the work of Karen Bakker, Noel Castree, Eric Swyngedouw, Neil Adger and Tim Ingold to undertake empirical qualitative fieldwork which interrogates the political, cultural and physical intersections which co-create our sense of place, and our intimate, immediate relationship with our water environments. Recent research projects have included 'Rewilding elders: understanding environmental activism during retirement'; 'WetlandLIFE: taking the bite out of wetlands'; 'Towards Hydrocitizenship' and 'Community water governance: understanding place and subjectivity'.

My research interests cover the geographies of sport and leisure. My doctoral research explored British cultures of adventure and the heroic masculinities associated with mountaineering. My more recent work is interested in the use, governance and regulation of public space for leisure and recreation, addressing issues such as access, property rights, citizenship and self-governance. Theoretically, my work cuts across human geography, sociology, politics, cultural studies, social history, sport studies and leisure theory. I employ a variety of theoretical tools to understand the spatial aspects of sport and leisure cultures - the spatial theories of Mikhail Bakhtin; Victor Turner's writings on liminality; gift theory; theories of affect; and, post-subcultural theories - and have contributed to the application of these approaches to empirical research in sport and leisure studies.

My current research interests include the social regulation of leisure in public space; countercultural sport; connecting people and communities through food and farming; and, the cultural heritage of waterscapes.

Methodologically, I specialise in qualitative and collaborative empirical methods and with Professor Neil Ravenscroft (University of 91快活林) and Dr Niamh Moore (Edinburgh University) have developed the concept of 鈥榗ollaborative story spirals鈥� to describe a method of contextualised and situated biographical and narrative research; an approach that has been utilised in European heritage projects.

My research has been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, British Academy, European Union (Interreg Programme), and Political Studies Association.

My areas of interest include environmental pollution, especially water pollution. My research focus mainly on Water, Sanitation and Hygene (WASH) issues including, health-related water microbiology, microbial source tracking (MST), faecal sludge management,听 waterborne disease control, water and sanitation safety plans, bathing water quality, water eutrophication and shellfish safety.

Barbara Grabher works within the field of Event Studies and more specifically contributes to the subfield of Critical Event Studies through her research on event-based regeneration/development and value negiotiations.听

Strongly informed by an interdisciplinary research approach, her interest lies in the socio-political and socio-cultural significance of events. With a focus on event formats such as the UK City of Culture, European Capital of Culture and Eurovision Song Contest, Barbara Grabher conceptualises events as 'tools for meaning making' (Grabher, 2022: 3), which serve as platforms to negotiate social, cultural and political values in cities, regions and nations.听听

Currently, Barbara Grabher is leading the project "Between Culture and Salt" (2021-ongoing), which explores in what way the concept of the Anthropocene and human-environmental relationships are informing the event-based regeneration process of Salzkammergut European Capital of Culture 2024.听

Dr. Catherine Kelly is a geographer with research interests in sustainability, tourism and wellbeing. Her lecturing, research and practices cross a range of these broad categories. Catherine's research areas have varied over her academic career - starting with rural geography, then moving into the field of heritage studies and then tourism (cultural, heritage, wellness and sustainable tourism specifically); with a more recent emphasis on the importance of 'blue spaces' for human wellbeing. She is interested in the importance of water-based 'therapeutic landscapes' for physical, psychological and social wellbeing. Catherine's research also looks at how wellbeing can be used to advocate for personal relationships with the coast and its stewardship/environmental conservation. She is interested in access to the sea - in physical, social and cultural terms. Since joining the School of Business and Law, Catherine is also interested in the role of the Blue Economy in tourism development and sustainable business practices.

Catherine's work on Blue Spaces has received widespread media attention resulting in interviews for the BBC, Guardian newspaper, Independent, and a range of high circulation magazines and podcasts. She is a regular invited speaker at public events and festivals in the UK and overseas. She sits on the newly created UK national Blue Space Forum for the Environment Agency.

I am interested in the delivery of drugs and particles to the nose and lungs, particularly the use of听in vivo-reflective听in vitro cell culture models of the airway epithelium; the barrier to drug absorption. This is a long-standing interest of mine; having worked on the Caco-2 cell culture model of the intestine, I was one of the first pharmaceutical scientists interested in developing a similar model of the nose and/or lung. I have used the 16HBE14o- cell line to study drug absorption, including the absorption of drugs from nanoparticles, and drug toxicity. More recently, our group has been studying the effect of mucus on airway drug absorption using two mucus-secreting cell lines (SPOC1 and UNCN3T) and also the effect of drugs and other chemicals on mucus secretion as a measure of irritancy https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2021.07.016. In addition, I am interested in the role of mucociliary clearance on airway drug delivery, particularly the effect of formulation variables, air pollution and other chemicals on this primary defence mechanism of the nose and lung DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.121054. This has led to general expertise in cellular toxicity https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2021.105022 which has been extended to studies of compounds found in processed water. I am also interested in the bioavailability of inhaled drugs in children and adults and how this can be optimised DOI: 10.1186/s13063-016-1437-7.

Examples of Current Projects

(1) A study of ultrafine particles in the atmosphere and their health effects. (PhD)

(2) Water Scarcity in the Southeast of England - Assessing the potential for resource augmentation through direct reuse. (PhD)

(3) The effect of nasal powders on nasal residence time using sheep tracheae to model

the nasal epithelium.

Examples of Previous Projects

(1) The use of in vitro models of the airway to investigate drug permeability and irritancy in the presence of mucus. (PhD)

(2) Effect of formulation variables on intranasal drugs used in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. (PhD)听

My research forms three major strands: (i) iceberg-keel scouring processes; (ii) macro- and microscopic sediment deformation (glacial and periglacial); and (iii) reconstructing glacial processes/environments.听听

I have played a key role in the conception, design and delivery of several collaborative research projects and I have been awarded internal and external funding for research to the value of ~拢400K. I have been Principal Investigator (PI) on projects investigating, for example: (1) iceberg-keel scouring in Antarctica, Canada, Greenland, The North Sea and Sweden; (2) the glacial history of the Khibiny Mountains, Arctic Russia; and (3) mapping and quantifying sedimentary and geological structures using the Metripol microscopic method. Current projects I am working on include, for example: (1) the fragmentation of ice sheets into ice caps, Qaanaaq, northwest Greenland; (2) the micromorphology of periglacial ramparted depressions (pingos, palsas, lithalsas) in Norfolk; and (3) mapping periglacial ramparted depressions in East Anglia. I am also involved in consultancy projects, providing expertise on the analysis of sedimentary thin sections e.g. for the Institute of Archaeology, UCL.

I have been primary supervisor of two University-funded PhD projects: (1) Assessing the genesis of periglacial ramparted depressions through a macroscopic and microscopic analysis of their internal structures鈥� (2017), and (2) 鈥楾he last Fennoscandian Ice Sheet: A palaeo-glaciological reconstruction on the Kola Peninsula and Russian Lapland鈥� (2022). 听Currently I am co-supervising two PhD projects (1) Do microplastics escape pro-glacial forelands? (University of Sheffield); and (2) Tracking critical minerals using ice sheet dynamics (NERC TARGET: University of Aberdeen).

As part of these projects I collaborate with some of the world鈥檚 most highly esteemed Quaternary, glacial and sedimentology scientists from institutions such as the Arctic University of Norway, British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Brock University (Canada), Brunel University, C-CORE Research & Development (Canada), Institute of Archaeology (UCL), Kola Science Centre (Russia), Manchester Metropolitan University, Maynooth University, National University of Singapore, Norfolk Geodiversity Partnership, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Scott Polar Research Institute (University of Cambridge), University College Dublin, University College London and Universities of Aberdeen, Florida, Hertfordshire, Liverpool, Newcastle, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Stockholm.听

I have published papers in several high-impact, international, peer-reviewed journals in which I present, for the first time, a novel conceptual model illustrating the style and intensity of sediment deformation by iceberg-keel scouring in variable grain sizes. I have also published in The Conversation: 听鈥楬ere鈥檚 why you should care about icebergs鈥� . In addition, I have presented my multidisciplinary research (and lead- and co-convened sessions) at many national and international conferences, workshops and research seminar series such as the Arctic Science Meeting, European Geosciences Union General Assembly, Ice Scour and Arctic Marine Pipelines workshop, International Conference on Permafrost, International Glaciological Society British Branch Meeting, International Micromorphology Symposium, the INQUA (International Union for Quaternary Research) Congress and the Quaternary Research Association Annual Discussion Meeting. I continue to develop my international research profile through roles such as journal peer reviewer; Editor for INQUA鈥檚 Quaternary Perspectives (2013-16); as an Advisory Board Member of INQUA鈥檚 TERPRO (Terrestrial Processes, Deposits and History) Commission (2015-present); as an Editorial Board Member for the international open access journal Open Quaternary (2018-present); and as Awards Officer for the Quaternary Research Association (2025-present).

My research interests revolve around three main areas:

1. LGBTQ equality issues and policies from a geographic perspective (locally, nationally, and transnationally);
2. The spaces made and used by LGBTQ communities such as neighbourhoods, bars, and social groups;
3. Issues of body image, shape and size amongst GBQ men, especially in the Bear subculture.

Most of my research has been done in partnership with LGBTQ community groups, charities, and activists from around the world. Through my teaching and research, I want to show and explore how we can use geography to improve LGBTQ lives.

My current research interests fall into two areas: 1. Understanding the properties of duricrusts and applying this knowledge in archaeological contexts; (2) Unravelling climate histories in southern Africa through the analysis of documentary evidence.

Duricrusts in landscape and archaeological contexts

My primary area of research concerns the development and environmental significance of silcrete duricrusts. The primary goals of this research are to (a) characterise the micromorphology and geochemistry of duricrusts developed in different landscape settings, (b) assess the extent to which duricrusts may be used as indicators of past environments, and (c) apply this fundamental knowledge for use in archaeological contexts. To date, my research has focused mainly upon non-pedogenic silcretes in the Kalahari Desert, central Australia, and the UK, with archaeology-related work in southern Africa and the Stonehenge landscape (UK). I am currently working on British Academy and Leverhulme Trust funded research using silcrete as an archaeological provenancing tool at Stonehenge and in the Makgadikgadi Basin, Botswana.

Reconstructing historical climatic change using documentary sources

My second research focus is the reconstruction of past climate variability through analyses of historical documents, particularly missionary and other colonial sources. Working with collaborators in Europe and southern Africa, I have developed novel methodologies to establish chronologies of hydroclimatic variability in the Kalahari Desert, Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), Madagascar and western India using these materials. I am currently working on British Academy funded research using documentary evidence to reconstruct a 19th century climate history of Mozambique.

With my research team and collaborators, I am interested in development of novel approaches towards measurement.

My research has been focused on the development of tools and resources that can study biological signalling molecules that play key roles in influencing the central nervous system and periphery. Such sensor devices offer advantages over other analytical approaches and biochemical assays, as they can study signalling in real-time from live cells/tissues. We have utilised our electrode devices to understand how transmitters change with age in the central and enteric nervous system.听

Another area that we have applied our approaches to is in the monitoring of the efficacy of drug administation to hypotensive babies. At present pharmaceutical drugs are regulated as manufactured, but often require dilution on the ward to obtain a suitable dose for the baby. This diluted drug is not as well regulated and little is known about its stability in various ward conditions. Our work focused on monitoring of drug concentrations to understand how these changes might impact the development of baby.

Finally, we have been interested in enhancing the student learning experience and providing educational activities that can be utilised to enhance student employability. We have developed novel learning and teaching approaches using electronic technologies that have had impact in the classroom and laboratory classes.听

My research to date has focused on the development and application of innovative approaches to protect and improve water quality. Examples of research in partnership with the water industry includes the assessment of hydrometric monitoring data and catchment scale modelling approaches to predict the timing and location of pesticide peaks in surface waters; investigations into the removal efficacy of pathogenic viruses and surrogates (bacteriophages) through indirect potable reuse technology; assessment of the health risks associated with the augmentation of surface waters with reused water using quantitative microbial risk assessment approaches; development and application of microbial source tracking techniques and pollutant source apportionment models to determine sources and loads of pollutants entering aquatic environments and analysis and comparison of the pollution performance of water and sewerage companies in England.

My research interests all center around entomological ecology. Anything to do with insects is interesting, particularly tri-trophic interactions between plants and insects. My specific current areas address questions in the field of population dynamics (mainly of herbivorous insects, but I am also working on vector populations), pollination ecology (biodiversity & conservation), dung beetle community dynamics and more generally biodiversity in the urban landscape.

Recently I have started doing more research into plastics/microplasticsin the environment. I am looking at questions such as effect on invertebrate feeding interactions, bioaccumulation in the food chain and trophic interactions (both aquatic & terrestrial).

Research activities at 91快活林 include:听

• Collaboration with chemists, engineers, biomedical scientists, and clinicians in the university
• Collaboration with physicists, chemists and engineers at universities other than 91快活林
• Collaboration with industrialists
• Collaboration with college and school-level staff and their research project students
• Collaboration with publishers and editors
• Collaboration with professional bodies
• Collaboration with university educators

I have a longstanding interest in nanoscience, nanotechnology and nanophysics, condensed or soft-matter self-assemblies and coarse dispersions, including colloidal encapsulation systems and the surface adsorption of functionalising polymers. I study complex formulations such as vaccines, particulate drug delivery systems and nanoencapsulation techniques in considerable depth. I work routinely with biosurfactants (such as proteins and peptides or gums), natural polymers, sustainable materials and synthetically modified materials.听

I am interested in recycling and re-exploitation of spent and soiled or spent materials or polluted environments. I am interested in the pollution of water systems and soils by heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and pesticides and by the role micro- and nano-plastic pollution plays in the damage to rivers, coastlines and seas. Work with microplastics (solid bodies) in terms of characterisation of adsorbates and organo-metallic or protein-polysaccharide biofilm fouling and the chemistry of seafoams also feature in my current research. I work with surface active molecules in the form of simple and complex foams and thin liquid films (foam lamellae). These structures relate to the quasi-2D-architectures created for a range of purposes; as means of sensing, synthesis and in their own right, to study processes such as statistical mechanics and energetics. As a nanotechnologist I also work in the field of miniaturised analytical systems 鈥� microfluidics, microarrays, sensors, diagnostic systems, and biosensors. I work in the context of product and process design and investigations associated with engineering and manufacturing process modelling. I work with the mechanics and rheology of a range of materials.听

I am interested in 'invention' and equipment fabrication and design. I am fascinated by physical and engineering applications of mesophase materials (liquid crystals), coarse and colloidal dispersions, and complex fluids, such as ionic liquids, thermotropic materials, gels and emulsions.听

Knowledge Exchange

My interest in knowledge exchange (KE) is manifested in university teaching and research but also in听professional body (RSC, RPSGB, IOM3, HEA) and STEM Ambassador work (schools, colleges, university summer schools). Yet more KE is undertaken by industrial consultancy (Smpl Innovations GmbH, Graphic Supplies, Cryolabs, Biofrontera AG, etc), industrially-related academic study (KTPs, KEEP+), pure academic research with chemists, biologists, physicists and engineers at the University of 91快活林 and the University of Sussex but also more globally (Bulgaria, France, Italy, Sweden, USA, China, India, etc). Even more KE occurs through RCUK grant reviewing activities (EPSRC, MRC, BBSRC), editorial board and editorships (CDDT, Current Nanomedicine) for scientific periodicals, publisher book reviewing (HEA, Elsevier, Wiley) and in text book writing for three fully-authored books (Wiley-Blackwell).

Past, present and future听research projects and topics:

• Plasma treatment of metals for vapour deposition
• Flax and hemp materials and their non-food use
• Nanomaterials in composite polymer materials
• Microemulsions for drug delivery
• Applications of coarse dispersions and complex fluids
• Thin liquid films and foams. Wetting transitions and thin liquid films
• Surface adsorption of polymers and proteins
• Nicotine replacement therapy and drug delivery systems
• 3D/4D听printing and photo-reactive polymers
• Recycling and re-assignment of waste absorbent cotton materials
• Physics of droplet impact, spreading and fluid mechanics
• Nanoparticle and polymer drug delivery systems
• Photo-dynamic nanoparticle therapy for cancer treatment
• Nanotechnology for pharmaceutical, medical and food packaging
• Food听physics and food process engineering
• Status indicating medical device materials
• Environmentally responsive encapsulated metal nanoparticles for sensor use
• Complex fluids, ionic liquids and liquid crystals
• Composite insulating materials
• The heavy metal content of industrial wastewater and landfill discharge/leachate
• Micro-plastics as 'nucleation' bodies for marine pollution and their role in seaborne and food-chain concentration,听based on surface physics and composition chemistry,听and the subsequent effects on geosystems and marine ecology

Awards

• Sosabowski, M.H., Piatt, R., Sarker, D.K. (2003) 鈥淵oung Chemists鈥� Learning Project,鈥� University of 91快活林 Innovation Awards 2003 - Prize Winner, Business Services, University 91快活林
• Dipak K. Sarker, Featured chemist: RSC News Chemistry World, Feb 2005, p12
• Chair of the Downland Section of RSC from (Sussex, Surrey, Hamphire, Kent) 2005-2008

Memberships

• Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). Fellow designated: CChem FRSC
• Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3). Fellow designated: FIMMM
• Institute of Nanotechnology
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), Academic Pharmacy Group
• University of 91快活林听 鈥� School Safety Officer (chemistry)
• University of 91快活林听 鈥� Sustainability representative - Applied Sciences
• University of 91快活林听 鈥� Sustained Impact Group听
• University of 91快活林听 鈥� Applied Sciences - Academic Standards听

Editorships

• Section Editor: Current Drug Delivery Technologies
• Associate Editor: Current Nanomedicine
• Special Issue Editor: Nanomaterials -听Synthesis, Properties and Application of Novel Nanostructured Biomaterials

Editorial boards

• Recent Patents on Drug Delivery and Formulation
• International Journal of听 Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education
• Open Colloid Science Journal
• Advanced Materials Reviews
• Advanced Materials Letters
• Asian Journal of Pharmaceutics
• Inventi Rapid-Impact: Pharm Tech
• Khimiya (Chemistry)
• Journal of Modern Medicinal Chemistry
• Journal of the Chinese Advanced Materials Society
• Recent Patents on Engineering
• ISRN Journal of Chemistry: Medicinal Chemistry
• International Journal of Information System and Management Research

Organising committees

• Waste Management Conference Team - KTP Project 2019/2020 (University of 91快活林)
• Conference Committee - 2nd International Conference on Advanced Materials 2013 (China)
• Organising committee: International Union of Advanced Materials - Academic Committee Member 2011, Hong Kong
• Advisory board: Advanced Materials World Congress (AM 2013, organized by the International Association of Advanced Materials), Turkey, September 2013
• International Advisory Board 2nd听World Conference on Science and Mathematics Education听, 15-17 Oct 2015, Cyprus

听

My research interests can broadly be classified under the heading of water-rock interaction. This covers the chemical and physical interaction of fluids with earth materials from high temperature igneous systems to environment mineralogy and fluid chemistry. Current research interests include the genesis of rare earth element and iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits, the influence of unsaturated zone flow on groundwater chemistry, particularly with respect to diffuse urban pollution, and the redox mineralogy of marine steel corrosion. The latter is an interdisciplinary project with civil engineering and microbiology colleagues.

In the past I have worked on the genesis of iron oxide-copper-gold mineral deposit systems in Sweden and Kazakhstan, including their geochronology, mineralogy and fluid chemistry, all with the aim of producing new and better constrained genetic models. I have also worked on a range of other mineralising systems including shear zone-hosted gold, karst-hosted bauxite and granite related Sn-W mineralisation.

Dr Helen Walker is a Senior Lecturer teaching on MSc Town Planning, School of Architecture and Design.听 Prior to joining the University of 91快活林 she taught at University of Sussex before appointment as Chair of Department of Urban Development and Regeneration at the University of Westminster.听 These roles included supervision at Masters and Doctoral level.

A qualified town planner, Helen formerly worked in local authority planning departments before moving into central government, firstly at the Environment Agency and subsequently as Senior Policy Advisor, Skills and Knowledge Team, Neighbourhood Renewal Unit.听 She was appointed as Interim Research and Programme Director, Academy for Sustainable Communities; subsequently HCA Skills and Knowledge Unit at the Office of Deputy Prime Minister, now MHCLG.听 Here she was also associate supervisor on the joint ODPM / ESRC post doctoral research studentship programme, supervising civil servants undertaking doctoral and post-doctoral research.

Helen was appointed as National Advisor: Sustainable Communities and Partnerships, Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government and subsequently as a Specialist Adviser, House of Commons DCLG Select Committee.听 She advised the Inquiry into built environment skills: Planning Matters 鈥� labour shortages and skills gaps also hearings for CLG Annual Report / Performance of the Department, and Coastal Communities.

Approach to teaching

In my teaching I endeavour to draw on my background in professional practice in the UK and also work overseas for the British Council.听 Wherever possible my lectures are illustrated with project based examples drawn from professional experience.听 The challenge of teaching planning topics to post graduates who are currently working in local planning departments ensures that teaching materials, content and approaches are up to date and relevant.

Research interests

My research interests are in the history of Town Planning, particularly the impetus for establishment of National Parks, the Garden City movement, emergence of community engagement.听 Other interests are political influences on the planning process, including regional government (and its demise), history of architecture and urban design.

Education/Academic qualification

Helen has a BA (Hons) in Urban Studies, an MA and DPhil in Contemporary British History

Keywords

Town Planning, history, theory of urban form, political movements, community engagement

My research encompasses avian ecology and conservation, focusing on human-bird interactions, urban ecology, citizen science, and extinction risk. I'm passionate about sharing my sense of wonder and excitement about the natural world, including finding effective ways to (re)connect people (particularly children and teenagers) with nature. I am a strong proponent of the conservation optimism movement, evidence-based conservation, and research transparency.

My research focuses on community voices in town planning in New Towns Harlow and Hatfield. I am exploring the main players in the planning system in both towns, and the social, historical, political, economic or physical background to the towns which results in certain voices being more prominent than others in local planning matters.听

I am a molecular ecologist with a longstanding interest in ecology and conservation. I am particularly interested in using molecular methods to study topics such as phylogeography, invasive species, the connection between genetic diversity and fitness, as well as adaptive genetic variation and how selection shapes genetic diversity. My current research focusses on using environmental DNA to detect rare species, as well as understanding introduction routes of invasive species.

Marine coastal ecosystems and carbon sequestration

My PhD research project is in cognitive archaeology.听 I am interested in the evolution of human culture and particularly the evolution of religion, because of a long involvement in the UK humanist movement.听 So I am investigating the cognitive abilities of hominins in the Pleistocene period, particularly the relationship between material culture and the hominin cognition, communication and culture system, in the lower Palaeolithic.

mail: r.ashby3@uni.brighton.ac.uk

I am currently based in South Africa working on a private game reserve. This has allowed me the opportunity to work with a wide range of leading scientists in the field and experience a range of research directions. My current research focus is on the Southern White Rhino, with particular interest in modelling their habitat utilisation and behaviour using an agent based model.

I am also an avid ornithologist and have worked with game birds and waders in northern England monitoring fledging and chick survival in particular looking at the black grouse, capercaillie, northern lapwing and the curlew. My passion for bird lead me to research the effect of burning on invertebrates in order to assess how this may affect the avian population within the savanna.听

Being based in the South African bush means currently my research interests are focussed on South African fauna and flora with heavy focus on the effects on management practises such as the effect of dehorning rhino, burning and bush encroachment, but I have previously focussed on heather moorland and red grouse management.听

My PhD research looks at the impact of pesticide loading on the aquatic community, specifically aiming to identify pesticide synergies which increase toxicicty and in turn have harmful impacts on aquatic populations, using mussels as a model organism. Prior to my PhD I completed two research projects as part of an MRes at UCL, the first of these modelled the risk to human populations of contracting Plasmodium knowlesi malaria, accross different land uses in South-East Asia. The second was a co-infection experiment identifying potential synergies between two amphibian pathogens, chytrid fungus and ranavirus, when both present in Majorcan midwife toads. This project further developed my skills in DNA extraction and qPCR analysis that I had gained from previous voluntary work with the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society London; here I assayed amphibian skin swabs and tissues for the presence of chytrid fungus. I also have a previous experience in animal husbandry, working as an animal technician at the European Xenopus Recourse Centre (EXRC) at the University of Portsmouth.

My research interest is exploring rare earth elements (REE) and associated minerals in weathered profiles at Miaoya, China and Ambadongar, India and understanding their exact genesis.听 During the weathering processes REE transport to secondary minerals due to their different chemical behaviour. Therefore, I will be analysing the mobilisation pattern and calculating the possible ore reserve of these elements at different weathering stages from primary to secondary deposits.

Studying at 91快活林 for my BEng and MSc in Civil Engineering broadened my knowledge of diverse disciplines, including geotechnical engineering, bridge design, and construction methods. However, the hydrological aspects were most impactful due to their direct relevance to the pressing environmental concerns from climate change. The practical significance of this field, both at the local and global level, piqued my interest and inspired me to delve deeper through further research. Consequently, I started my PhD in Civil Engineering in February 2023. My proposed project title is "The Effectiveness of Managed Realignment as a Coastal Flood Defence". In this study, I intend to investigate the impact of site morphology and seasonal environmental changes on the spatial and temporal reduction of mean high water levels and wave energy. My research aims to enhance the assessment techniques of potential realignment sites for coastal flood defences, ultimately improving their overall effectiveness and longevity upon implementation.

Sadie Rockliffe is an ESRC SCDTP-funded PhD student researching the lived experiences of visually impaired (VI) individuals in blue spaces, with a focus on wellbeing, interdependence, and accessibility. Her work is informed by therapeutic landscape research, critical disability studies, and blue space geographies, examining how people with VI engage with aquatic environments beyond ocularcentric assumptions.

Sadie鈥檚 PhD will explore how VI individuals navigate and experience blue spaces, particularly within the social practice of outdoor swimming. While blue spaces are increasingly recognised for their therapeutic potential, they are also shaped by systemic exclusions, inaccessible infrastructures, and normative assumptions about ability, movement, and perception. This research highlights how water鈥檚 materiality鈥攊ts movement, unpredictability, and sensory affordances鈥攃reates distinct embodied experiences, often overlooked in mainstream accessibility discourse.

The project is guided by participant-led inquiry, amplifying VI perspectives on blue space engagement. Rather than assuming all VI individuals interact with water in the same way, the research recognises diverse lived realities, shifting sensory capacities, and temporal experiences of sight loss. By centering sociomateriality, interdependence, and fluid accessibility frameworks, this study aims to rethink inclusion beyond static, infrastructure-based models, contributing to a more dynamic, participant-driven understanding of blue space access.

Before arriving at the University of 91快活林, Sadie spent over 20 years working with governing bodies and local communities to build inclusive accessible events and destination management strategies.