Eight researchers have been awarded Anniversary Fellowships by the University of Stirling to carry out research which addresses the needs of society.
The three-year fellowships were launched as part of the University’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2017, to enable researchers to contribute to its interdisciplinary research themes of Global Security & Resilience; Living Well; and Communities, Cultures & Society.
The fellows include Alisa Mandrigin, Pamela Rackow, Albert Vila-Cabrera, Adam Linson, Elisa Fuentes-Montemayor and Clare Bird in the Faculty of Natural Sciences, and Qian Gao and Miranda Anderson in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
Professor Judith Phillips, Deputy Principal (Research), said: “Our eight interdisciplinary early career scholars will deliver world class, thematically- based outcomes that directly address the needs of society.
“We are delighted that many of our leading areas of research attracted applicants who wanted to make a positive contribution to society through working across challenge areas addressed in our research programmes.
“Our successful fellows are leading the way on topics such as land use changes and opportunities for the provision of forest functions and services, how the brain hears (or mishears) sound in context, improving treatment for PTSD, development of child-friendly spaces, and cognitive humanities – where cognitive sciences meets literature and history, as well as digital visualisation in relation to cultural heritage and climate change.
“These are all exciting interdisciplinary research areas, covering the University themes and programmes of research, led by our stars of the future.”
Deputy Principal (Research)
These are all exciting interdisciplinary research areas, covering the University themes and programmes of research, led by our stars of the future.
For Clare Bird, the Anniversary Fellowship has enabled her to return to Stirling after many years away.
“I am working on the genetics and ecological interactions of a group of marine micro-organisms called planktonic foraminifera,” she said. “Although smaller than a pinhead, these organisms make a calcite shell and have created a fossil record that enables reconstruction of past climates and underpins climate change projections.”
Adam Linson, who is researching contextual learning, said: “I was awarded an Anniversary Fellowship to investigate post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), specifically in terms of vulnerabilities in adaptive biological systems.
“This draws on aspects of computing science and philosophy, alongside other disciplines including biology, ecology, and medicine, for developing models and understanding their implications.”
Elisa Fuentes-Montemayor, whose research is looking at the impact of long-term and large-scale woodland creation on biodiversity and the ecosystem, said: “This fellowship has given me the opportunity to focus on my research, continue building an independent career as an investigator and work towards becoming a leader in my academic field.”
Ecologist Albert Vila-Cabrera is studying the impacts of global change on forest ecosystems.
“This research will contribute to our understanding of global change impacts on key ecosystems such as forests, which have a major role in the regulation of nutrient and water cycling, atmospheric composition and climate.”
Miranda Anderson is looking at distributed cognition as a way of understanding and making a case for the mind-expanding value of art and literature.
“The Anniversary Fellowship enables me to draw on the wide and exciting range of work and thinkers advancing this research area in Scotland and beyond,” she said.
Background information
Media enquiries to Rosie Free, Communications Officer, on 01786 466169 or rosemary.free@stir.ac.uk