Newcastle University Academic Track Fellowships NUAcT

Fellow News & Events

News & Events

Fellow highlights

Events

NUAcT Seminar Series

Come along to meet our fellows and the NUAcT team and be inspired by the diverse research happening at Newcastle University!  The seminar series showcases fellows latest research, research culture initiatives & fellowships journeys.  

  • Thursday 23rd November 2023, 1:30-3:30
  • Farrell Centre, Eldon Place
  • Refreshments available!

Speakers

Hub for Biotechnology in the Build Environment

Magdalini Theodoridou: Magda’s research focuses on Biological Self-healing for Sustainable Building and Smart Heritage Conservation. Magda joined the Hub for Biotechnology in the Build Environment as a NUAcT Fellow in 2020, and her vision is to develop a world leading group where novel biotechnological processes are developed and explored to create a new generation of Living Buildings and Living Heritage which are responsive to their natural environment

Marin Sawa: Marin's work explores biology in action, particularly photosynthesis, to design ecosophical interfaces of technology and aesthetics for sustainable change from molecular to macro scale and from inside to outside. Her NUAcT fellowship research develops architectures of photosynthesis-powered bioelectronics with areas of investigation spanning from molecular-scale interfaces between the living and non-living in device design and digital biofabrication to autopoiesis to wider ecology, with a view to contribute towards the reduction of global electrical waste.

Jane Scott: Jane’s research is located at the intersection of programmable materials, knitted fabric design, textile technology and biology. As a textile specialist her research challenges the established understanding of smart materials for architecture; applying principles derived from biology to the development of environmentally responsive textile systems composed of natural and sustainable materials. Jane’s NUAcT research will focus on the potential to design with biology using textile fabrication processes. She is developing a new generation of living textiles for architecture; knitted fabrics that adapt their properties in response to environmental stimuli, acting as a programmable interface to maintain a healthy environment in buildings.

 

 

  • Wed 6th December 2023
  • 2-4pm (talks 1-2 festive refreshments and chat after)
  • Bedson Building (Barbara Strang Teaching Centre) BSTC 1.48
  • With Festive Refreshments!

Speakers: 

Obinna Abah

Obinna’s current research is in the emerging field of quantum science and technology with the aim of realizing efficient quantum thermal devices and quantum dynamic processes. I combine a variety of tools to model quantum devices as well as quantum dynamics processes that are operating far from equilibrium.  Obinna is a co-convener of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics working group for African Strategy for Fundamental and Applied Physics.

Hannah Bloomfield

Hannah’s research focuses on Climate resilient net-zero energy systems. A key goal of her work is to demonstrate how weather and climate information can be clearly communicated to end users including: industry professionals, other academics, policy makers, and the general public.  Hannah has recently been thinking about the weather conditions that could be particularly good or bad for wind and solar power generation over Africa. The whole Continent has been considered initially, followed by detailed studies for existing wind and solar farms in Senegal and Kenya. 

 

Engagement, Outputs and Awards

Christopher Stewart has been named as this year’s winner of the WH Pierce Prize for microbiology which is presented to a scientist who has used microbiology to make a significant contribution to One Health advancements.

Well done to James Dawson who has been successful in securing a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). The grant will support James to research and help develop next-generation batteries to achieve the performance required for the electrification of transport and the grid-scale storage of energy from renewable resources. 

Huge congratulations to our two NUAcT fellows Kate Beckham and Kesha Josts (both based in the Biosciences Institute) who have been awarded Royal Society University Research Fellowships! These fellowships are awarded to outstanding scientists with the potential to become leaders in their fields.

Dr Oskar Jensen has been shortlisted for a prestigious history prize for his book Vagabonds.  He is one of six authors in the running for the £50,000 Wolfson History Prize. The book Vagabonds: Life on the Streets of Nineteenth Century London brings the Dickensian city vividly to life. From beggars and thieves to musicians and missionaries, porters and hawkers to sex workers and street criers, Dr Jensen unites original research, first-hand accounts and testimonies to tell their stories in their own words.

Dr Jensen is a NUAcT Fellow who is researching the history of song at Newcastle University’s International Centre for Music Studies.

We are delighted to announce that Srikanth Ramaswamy has been selected for a 2023 Lister Prize.  Srikanth’s research seeks to understand the mechanisms through which neuromodulators shape cognition in mammalian brains and utilize this knowledge to build computational models of how the brain implements cognitive functions.

The flexibility of funding provided by a Lister Prize will empower me to build a multidisciplinary team to open up a new research direction at the interface of biological and artificial neural networks.

Congratulations to the NUAcT fellows shortlisted at the Newcastle University Open Research Awards. Great to see the inspiring work they are doing to make their research more transparent, robust and inclusive.

‌Many congratulations to James Dawson who has been awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry Harrison-Meldola Memorial Prize.  James won the prize for outstanding contributions to the understanding and modelling of ion transport and interfaces in energy materials.

Rachel Maclean’s new exhibition which opened in opened at Kunstpalais, Erlangen in Germany in April 2023 features a deepfake British spy thriller starring Sean Connery and Marilyn Monroe. The centrepiece of the exhibition If it looks like a duck is Rachel’s latest film, DUCK which presents a British spy thriller starring Sean Connery and Marilyn Monroe.

Srikanth Ramaswamy has been announced as a winner of a Springboard award from the Academy of Medical Sciences. Srikanth’s work will look at Cellular and synaptic effects ofhistaminergic neuromodulation in the human neocortex. Srikanth follows in the footsteps oftwo other NUAcT fellows, Adam Wollman, & Ana Viñuela who won the award in the last round.

Jane Scott working with colleagues from the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment has created ‘The Living Room’ displayed in the Farrell Centre. The structure is grown from fungal mycelium, sawdust, and wool. This innovative technique uses organic,locally available waste materials andmicrobial processes to radically reduce the environmental impact of construction, while asking us to reconsider the relationship between the built and natural environments.

Marin Sawa's work has been showcased in the Eco-vision exhibition in Beijing, among aninternational collective of artists and designers (i.e. Oron Catt, Daan Roosegaarde).

Catherine Walker's creative book Young People at a Crossroad: Stories on climate education, action and adaptation from around the world was highly commended by the Geographical Association for their Publishers Award. The creative project bookfeatures 11 reflections by young researchers,a set of thematic summaries, a teacher and student guide, & gorgeous illustrations by Maisy Summer. Catherine is hoping to extend the resources to teachers and schools in the North East

Three NUAcT fellows have successfully co-run a brilliant field course to Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The trip led by James Riding, Alice Cree and Mark Griffiths, NUAcT Fellows based in Newcastle University’s School of Geography, Politics and Sociology involved twenty seven stage 3 Geography students.  It is thought to be the first undergraduate field course in geography to take place since the war in Bosnia (1992-1995) and the siege of Sarajevo (1992-1996).

Christopher Stewart and Amy Vincent (who will be starting as a NUAcT fellow later this year), have been selected as members of the network of  the UK Young Academy made up of early career researchers and professionals established to help tackle local and global issues and promote meaningful change. Amy has been appointed to the executive group, formed of 7 peer-elected members who will help to shape the activities of the UK Young Academy 

 

Dr Chris Stewart