ACADEMIC PROMOTIONS 2013 Introduction It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you our colleagues who have been promoted recently: their achievements are a cause for celebration. The promotions process is a rigorous one, and I thank all those who took part. The work of the University Promotions Committee is not easy, as we recognise and reward contributions across a broad range of activity which makes up academic life. The University works hard to support staff development through formal and informal means. In the past year, we have
improved the support we provide for mentoring, launched the Reflect, Plan, Develop (RPD) scheme to supersede appraisal, and I have led a working group on the experience of female academics. We will continue to invest in nurturing the career development of our academics and our professional services staff members. I congratulate all those who have been promoted this year, and look forward to hearing more about our colleagues’ achievements in the future. Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow Vice-Chancellor
This year has been our best yet for promotion: we saw a 50% year-on-year increase in applications and it was wonderful to see the diversity of work, and the quality of cases that people provided. The high volume of applications was matched by a high success rate for applicants, which is a good indicator that the promotions procedures are working well in being able to recognise the excellent work that our staff members do across a range of activities. It was particularly good to see staff recognised for contributions to teaching and learning: this is something that we hope will continue. The new appraisal scheme, RPD, provides a further opportunity for staff to talk about their future career plans, which may include applications for promotion. We have asked each school to ensure that appraisers meet with their heads of school after all the RPD meetings have taken place to ensure that all colleagues are properly encouraged in their career development, and that where appropriate such career plans are discussed and supported. Margaret Ayers Director of Human Resources
Promotion and Reward The University has a number of ways of recognising the outstanding performance and contribution of its staff, whether this is through promotion, re-grading when jobs change or through additional increments, one-off payments and team awards. Through these processes, the University aims to encourage staff to improve their own performance while meeting nationally and internationally recognised standards of excellence. Details of the various schemes which operate for all groups of staff are available on the HR webpages: www.kent.ac.uk/hr-staffinformation/
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Academic promotions 2013
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Introduction Humanities has had a strong showing in the promotions round this year, reflecting the quality of our staff and the exciting work being done. Colleagues have been promoted based on a range of activites: their teaching excellence and support for students, their impact and outreach work, their publications, the grant money they have secured, and their ability to lead others in a variety of ways. Some successful applicants chose to focus on a small range of such activities, while others made their case across a wider selection. In total, there is a great deal of impressive work being done across the faculty. Dr Simon Kirchin Acting Dean
New Professors Dr Gerald Adler, Kent School of Architecture Dr Catherine Waters, School of English As Deputy Head of KSA, I have concentrated on expanding the School in a sustainable manner, consolidating its undergraduate teaching while building up its postgraduate provision. I serve on the Queen’s Anniversary Prize and the RIBA Research Awards panels and as External Examiner at Cardiff University, and Lead Examiner at the Architects Registration Board. I have also worked in quality assurance in Switzerland and Austria and am active in the Heinrich Tessenow Society in Germany. My research in architectural history focuses on German Modernism at the start of the 20th century, while my most recent book on the British architectural practice Maguire & Murray deals with the transition of modern architecture on these shores from the Brutalism of the 1950s to the ‘Romantic pragmatism’ of the 1980s. Gerald Adler
Since my appointment as Reader in 2009, I have been involved in a wide range of impact-related activities associated with the 2012 Dickens bicentenary, such as the co-organisation of the major international travelling conference, ‘Dickens and the Idea of the “Dickensian”: A Tale of Four Cities’. As well as completing a number of publishing projects, including series editorship of a six-volume reference collection on Dickens for Ashgate Press, I served as
President of the international Dickens Society in 2010 and gave a number of plenary addresses. I’ve brought strategically important new networks to Kent, including the University of Buckinghambased ‘Dickens Journals Online’ project and the University of California-based Dickens Project. My broader interest and expertise in Victorian print cultures are reflected in my current AHRCfunded research on Victorian ‘special correspondence’. Catherine Waters
Readers Dr Thomas Baldwin, School of European Culture and Languages (SECL) Dr Philip Boobbyer, School of History Dr Pratik Chakrabarti, School of History Dr Tamar Jeffers McDonald, School of Arts Dr Simon Kirchin, SECL Dr William Pettigrew, School of History Dr Natalia Sobrevilla Perea, SECL Dr Axel Stähler, SECL Sarah Turner, School of Arts I came to Kent in 1995, with an expertise in Russian intellectual history and a remit to teach modules on modern Europe. My research has always been informed by an interest in spirituality and religious philosophy, and this was reflected this year with the publication of my study of the American religious leader Frank Buchman, The Spiritual Vision of Frank Buchman (2013). For the last five years, I have been Deputy Head of the School of History, a job that that has become increasingly important with the expansion of the school – there are six new full-time staff this autumn.
workshop for nearly 100 participants to discuss the development of a national resource for archiving historical newspapers digitally. I also completed editing a book on the impact of the 1812 Cadiz Constitution in the Atlantic World. Natalia Sobrevilla Perea
Senior Lecturers Dr Patricia Baker, SECL Dr Paddy Bullard, School of English Dr Paul Fretwell, School of Arts Dr David Grummitt, School of History Dr David Haney, Kent School of Architecture Dr Deborah Holmes, SECL Dr Edward Kanterian, SECL Dr Hans Maes, School of Arts Dermot O’Brien, School of Arts Simon Smith, School of English Sian Stevenson, School of Arts Dr Steven Willis, SECL This year has seen many changes in Music and Audio Arts, for which I am Curriculum Leader. We began the year as part of the School of Arts, but have since separated to become the School of Music and Fine Art. During the past year, I have focused on establishing our new undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes. We now have three undergraduate and three postgraduate programmes with a structure that is innovative and economical, allowing overlap between programmes and collaborative modules with Fine Art. Within our new school, I have also established Skills Enhancement Week, offering skills workshops to students and hosting visiting speakers from arts organisations and industry. Paul Fretwell
Philip Boobbyer
Over the last year at Kent, I have continued with my teaching and administration and have combined it with my research on independence in Latin America. Supported by a British Academy International Partnerships and Mobility Grant, I have travelled to Chile and Argentina and organised an international workshop in Canterbury Cathedral with the support of KIASH. Work on a British Library Endangered Archives grant has continued, allowing me to work towards the digitalisation and preservation of provincial newspapers in Peru. In June, I led a
My research focuses on applied performance, creating innovative theatre projects within the local community. This has led to the formation of StevensonThompson, run alongside my colleague, Jayne Thompson, launching an innovative collaboration between the company and the Sidney De Haan Research Centre, and exploring the potential of emerging virtual technologies to impact on the wellbeing of an ageing population, specifically those living with dementia. My teaching draws directly on professional experience, emphasising professionalisation, employability and inclusivity. I am also actively involved in student support, which extends to my role as Master of Keynes College. Sian Stevenson
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Dr Philip Boobbyer Dr Paul Fretwell Dr Natalia Sobrevilla Perea Sian Stevenson
Academic promotions 2013
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FACULTY OF SCIENCES Introduction The Faculty of Sciences celebrates its staff each year by a variety of means including promotion. This year, staff were promoted in every school. As well as being good in all aspects of their work, our newly promoted colleagues have shown excellence in the spheres of teaching or research. As a faculty, we place great value on the scholarship of our colleagues and their contributions to the common good of their school, the faculty and the University. We are proud of the students we teach and their achievements, of the impact our staff have had on those students and on the teaching of their disciplines nationwide. We are equally proud of the intellectual insights that underpin our leading research and enterprise activities. Professor Mark Burchell Dean
New Professor Dr Alex Freitas, School of Computing My main research interests are the creation of new types of data mining (or machine learning) algorithms and their application to real-world data in biology (for example, predicting the functions of genes or proteins) and in the pharmaceutical sciences. I recently received an EPSRC research grant for a “discipline hopping” project, where I am hopping from computer science to the pharmaceutical sciences. The goal of this project is to develop a new computational data mining method that helps to predict the volume of the distribution of a candidate medical drug into the human body. As part of this two-year project, which started in January 2013, I am spending half of my time doing research in the Medway School of Pharmacy, in collaboration with Dr Taravat Ghafourian, Lecturer in Pharmaceutics. Alex Freitas
Readers Dr Gareth Howells, School of Engineering and Digital Arts Dr Colin Johnson, School of Computing Dr Stéphane Launois, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science (SMSAS)
Dr Gavin Mountjoy, School of Physical Sciences Dr Dan Mulvihill, School of Biosciences Dr Ali Nokhodchi, Medway School of Pharmacy Dr Jing Ping Wang, SMSAS An expert on novel pharmaceutical formulations, during the last few years I have focused on particle engineering for oral and pulmonary delivery of drugs. My research in this area led to over 100 publications during 2007-2013, with around 2,000 citations, and as such I was able to attract the interest of the pharmaceutical industry, including funding from Colorcon (UK) and TEVA (US). In my research, I often deal with solving practical problems in drug delivery technology and therefore the findings of my research can be quite appealing to the industry.
My research focuses on the search for novel multiferroics, technologically important materials which may form the basis of the next generation of electronics such as memory devices. In the last year, I have secured funds to support this research from the Royal Society and was recently awarded an EPSRC first grant. My research also plays an important role in the learning initiatives of SPS students, with undergraduate research projects as well as lecture material based on the properties of materials and characterisation techniques. Over the last year, I have been an active member of both the University and SPS Athena SWAN committees, assessing and implementing best practices for women in science. Donna Arnold
Ali Nokhodchi
My research work is at the interface of mathematical physics, algebra and geometry, especially algebraic and geometric structures of nonlinear differential and difference equations. Currently, I am working on an EPSRC-funded project on partial difference equations with continuous symmetries and conservation laws. This interdisciplinary project draws ideas and techniques from several areas of mathematics such as difference equations, algebraic geometry, difference algebra and Galois theory. I am organising an international mini-workshop in Canterbury this year on ‘Algebraic methods in theory of differential and difference equations’ partially supported by this project and plan for a workshop in Leeds next year. Jing Ping Wang
Senior Lecturers Dr Donna Arnold, School of Physical Sciences Janet Carter, School of Computing Dr Diana Cole, SMSAS Dr Kay Foster, School of Biosciences Mark Heller, SMSAS Dr James Hopker, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences Dr Alfred Kume, SMSAS Dr Mark Price, School of Physical Sciences Dr Markus Rosenkranz, SMSAS Nick Wood, SMSAS
As Director of Learning and Teaching in the School of Biosciences, I have been instrumental in initiating and completing a comprehensive review of our degree programmes. In addition to providing enhanced module options for our undergraduate students, the review has also allowed both new and existing staff to develop exciting new modules based on their research expertise to integrate into our programmes. My teaching scholarship is currently focused on the development of student practical skills, particularly those enabling greater confidence in self-directed practical work. Kay Foster
My current research is focused on two main areas of sport and exercise physiology – the determinants of endurance exercise performance and adaptations to training. I have published papers on both of these areas in relation to cycling performance; specifically, how performance is affected by changes in metabolic and biomechanical efficiency, and how the training process affects physiological parameters related to endurance cycling. I have also recently co-edited a book, Performance Cycling: The Science of Success. More recently, I have started to translate some of my research from trained athletic populations to clinical patients in collaboration with East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust and the Medway Foundation Trust. James Hopker
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Dr Donna Arnold Dr Kay Foster Dr James Hopker Dr Ali Nokhodchi Dr Jing Ping Wang
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Academic promotions 2013
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Introduction The latest promotions round was a particularly successful one for colleagues in Social Sciences, with a virtual doubling of the number achieving promotion. In recent years, the University has tried to ensure that promotion reflects the full range of contributions that academics make, with criteria such as excellence in practice, leadership, and impact. It is thus pleasing to see that, this year, colleagues have again won promotion not only for excellence in research, but also for excellence in crucial work in teaching, enterprise and leadership. These promotions are a testament to the quality and range of contributions by the faculty’s academics – contributions which are crucial in building and sustaining the success of the schools and the wider University. John Wightman Dean
New Professors Dr Roger Giner-Sorolla, School of Psychology Dr Robert Jupe, Kent Business School (KBS) Dr Robin MacKenzie, Kent Law School (KLS) Peter McGill, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR) Dr Alisoun Milne, SSPSSR Dr Joachim Stoeber, School of Psychology Much of my teaching and research focuses on the “challenging” behaviour of people with learning disabilities. Such behaviour involves individuals injuring themselves or others. As a result, some are placed in environments like Winterbourne View (as shown on BBC Panorama in 2011). I currently have NIHR funding for research on the prevention of challenging behaviour in social care services. I am also involved in various activities resulting from the Winterbourne View scandal. I have written a service specification for specialist health and social care provision to be rolled out nationally and I am part of a Department of Health group developing guidance on the use of approaches such as restraint. Peter McGill
Readers Dr Donatella Alessandrini, KLS Dr Albena Azmanova, School of Politics and International Relations (Pol&IR) Dr Katherine Bedford, KLS Dr Ruth Blakeley, Pol&IR Dr David Boothroyd, SSPSSR Dr Marian Garcia, KBS 1 2 3 4
Dr Tracy Kivell, School of Anthropology and Conservation (SAC) Dr Patricia Lewis, KBS Dr Benjamin Lowe, KBS Dr Michelle McCarthy, SSPSSR Dr Maria Scaparra, KBS Dr David Wilkinson, School of Psychology Dr Simone Wong, KLS Dr Shaomin Wu, KBS I’ve been leading an ESRC-funded project aimed at mapping the US-led system of rendition and secret detention in the War on Terror. My team has produced the world’s most comprehensive database of flights by all aircraft linked to rendition operations between 2001 and 2006, accessed via an interactive map on the project website (www.therenditionproject.org.uk). In May, the Guardian newspaper published a series of linked articles about the project, including a guide to the interactive map. As Social Sciences Faculty Director of Graduate Studies, I have enjoyed working to ensure the delivery of the highest quality programmes for taught and research postgraduate students. Ruth Blakeley
My research focuses on understanding the cultural factors which act as a restraint on the growth in numbers of female-owned businesses and inhibit the performance of those businesses in terms of earnings and profitability. I have established a track record in writing about the gendered aspects of entrepreneurship and was among the first tranche of management researchers to write about its inherent masculinity. In addition to my research, I am also the KBS Director of Learning & Teaching.
Dr Paolo Dardanelli, Pol&IR Dr Zoe Davies, SAC Dr Andrea den Boer, Pol&IR Lisa Dickson, KLS Dr Emily Haslam, KLS Dr Matthew Hodges, SAC Dr Timothy Hopthrow, School of Psychology Dr Susan Hornibrook, KBS Dr Sarah Johns, SAC Sian Lewis-Anthony, KLS Dr Iain MacKenzie, Pol&IR Dr Lavinia Mitton, SSPSSR Dr Jane O’Mahony, Pol&IR Dr Adrian Pabst, Pol&IR Dr Stephen Pethick, KLS Maureen Shaw, Centre for Professional Practice Dr Joseph Tzanopoulos, SAC Dr Ayse Uskul, School of Psychology Dr Sophie Vigneron, KLS Dr Mario Weick, School of Psychology Dr Joanna Williams, Unit for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching I am an applied landscape ecologist who uses empirical data to address questions of importance to conservation management and policy. My research interests are diverse, but focus on three broad themes: improving conservation practice; understanding how species are affected by climate change and habitat loss/fragmentation; and investigating the ecological impacts of urbanisation, and how this might relate to levels of human wellbeing within towns and cities. I have two primary admin roles within SAC – I am the Academic Head for Conservation Biology and I run the popular DICEtaught MSc programme. Zoe Davies
Patricia Lewis
Senior Research Fellow Dr Kate Hamilton-West, SSPSSR
Senior Lecturers Dr Markus Bindemann, School of Psychology Dr Kate Bradley, SSPSSR Dr Ian Bride, SAC Dr Emilie Cloatre, KLS Dr Vicky Conway, KLS Dr Noreen von Cramon-Taubadel, SAC Dr Philip Cunliffe, Pol&IR Dr Eleanor Curran, KLS
As well as being Director of Learning and Teaching, my work has included several collaborative projects inside and outside of the University. Much of my research has involved my postgraduate students, for example my work with Dr Rose Meleady on the effect of mental simulation on co-operative and pro-environmental behaviour. Another major focus of my work over the last year has been my work with DSTL, a research arm of the Ministry of Defence. Together, we have developed a new way of collaborating and accessing funding. Timothy Hopthrow
Dr Ruth Blakeley Dr Zoe Davies Dr Timothy Hopthrow Dr Patricia Lewis 1
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