Departmental news

Earlier this July, we proudly hosted our annual Scientist Experience trip funded by the X-Ray Material Science Beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)Link opens in a new window in Grenoble.

The trip offers sixteen female Year 12 Physics students from across the UK a once in a lifetime, all-expenses paid opportunity to visit the prestigious European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.

WMG at University of Warwick was proud to welcome the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) last month.

Comprising over 20 representatives from some of India’s leading companies and education institutions, the Confederation was welcomed by Dean of WMG, Professor Robin Clark, before being introduced to Warwick by the University’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Stuart Croft. Talks and presentations by some of WMG’s leading academics followed, showcasing the depth and breadth of WMG’s diverse activities, plus its research and key strengths.

James Harrison from Warwick Law School and co-author Mark Wielga (from Nomogaia) have been awarded this year’s best scholarly article prize by the Business and Human Rights Journal. The article compares the effectiveness of six grievance mechanisms that allow workers and communities to complain about human rights abuses that corporations have allegedly perpetrated against them.

Does access to real-time information about air pollution levels change how people feel about living close to a recycling plant?

A new study by Dr Juliana Carneiro and colleagues in China and the USA looks at data from China to understand the impact of real-time environmental data disclosure on people’s housing preferences, and creates new insights into the economic benefits of environmental transparency.

The incineration of household waste as a means of creating energy has become a popular option for waste management, as an alternative to burying the waste in landfill.

Governments regard it as a sustainable option, but local residents can be opposed to the construction or expansion of these “Waste to Energy (WtE)” incineration plants, often citing health or environmental concerns.

Efforts to mitigate these fears by providing disclosure of environmental information have until now largely focused on one-off reports of negative incidents, or infrequent updates from inspection visits.

Dr Carneiro’s study takes advantage of a relatively recent policy in China – the 2017 IEN policy, which has made it a legal duty for plants to display real-time emissions data on public billboards at their entrances – to explore how such a detailed level of information influences local residents’ perceptions of risk and their decisions about where to live.

The paper, Real-time emissions data disclosure of Waste-to-Energy incineration plants and public risk perceptions: Evidence from the housing market sets out a theoretical model and then tests this against empirical data from over 35,000 housing transactions around 13 WtE plants.

The research finds:-

• After the implementation of IEN, the housing price gradient – the difference in price for properties close to a plant and those further away – become much flatter. This suggests that buyers are less concerned about buying a property close to a WtE plant that shares real-time information.
• The biggest change was seen in properties within 2km of a plant
• The most significant positive effects were seen where the plants had a good track record of complying with emissions limits, and up-to-date pollution control equipment.
• The change is not driven by a reduction in pollution, but a change in the level of local residents’ concerns about living close to a plant

The researchers hope that their findings will be of interest in many countries where environmental projects face local opposition.

Dr Carneiro said: “This research was driven by a desire to understand how transparency in environmental data can influence public perceptions and behaviour, especially around controversial infrastructure like Waste-to-Energy incineration plants.

Using China’s 2017 IEN policy as a natural experiment, we found that real-time emissions disclosure significantly reduced the housing price penalty near these plants—by about 34.7%, which translates to a meaningful economic gain for residents.

What’s especially compelling is that the effect was stronger near plants that complied with emission standards and used advanced pollution controls, suggesting that transparency works best when paired with good performance.

We believe these findings offer important insights for policymakers looking to build public trust and acceptance through data-driven environmental governance.”

Photo: An aerial view of residences in Pudong, Shanghai, China, a district where one of the WtE plants in the study is located.

Read more: Real-time emissions data disclosure of Waste-to-Energy incineration plants and public risk perceptions: Evidence from the housing market, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Volume 133, 2025, 103207, ISSN 0095-0696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103207Link opens in a new window.

Every year, several awards and prizes are granted to a selection of our graduating students to recognise and celebrate the success of our top performers! We are proud to announce this year's winners.

As part of the School of Engineering’s 60th anniversary celebrations, we are proud to announce that on Thursday, 17 July 2025, Colin Furze received an Honorary Doctor of Science (Hon DSc).

Colin Furze is a British inventor and YouTuber known for his imaginative and often outrageous engineering creations, including a hoverbike, underground bunker, and several world-record-breaking inventions.

The Department of History at the University of Warwick encourages outstanding postdoctoral scholars to apply to The British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme. Applications are welcomed from candidates who have a strong research profile and meet the following eligibility criteria:

• a UK/EEA national, have completed their doctorate at a UK university or have a strong prior association with the UK academic community.
• not yet have held a permanent academic appointment.
• within three years from the date of your successful Viva Voce examination this means that they must have completed, or be due to complete, their viva voce between 1^st April 2023 and 1^st April 2026.
• The British Academy does not allow for resubmissions for the Postdoctoral Fellowship. If you have previously applied and failed to reach the Second Stage of the competition, you are not eligible to re-apply. Previously unsuccessful applicants will only be able to submit another application if specifically invited to do so by the British Academy.

HOW TO APPLY

Prospective applicants are required to identify an academic mentor within the Department of History. Candidates should approach their mentor to discuss the project at the earliest opportunity. Applications will require approval from the proposed host department.

If you are interested in applying for this scheme and you meet the necessary eligibility criteria, please submit the following information by email to artsprojsupport@warwick.ac.uk by 5pm on Wednesday 13 August 2025 for the purpose of an internal selection round:  

• A short description of your proposed project (maximum 2 A4 pages)
• A copy of your CV (maximum 2 A4 pages)
• The name of your proposed mentor at the University of Warwick. Please ensure that you have the agreement from the proposed mentor before applying.
• The name of your proposed referee (please note that referees will not need to provide a statement for the internal selection round).

If the application is approved, candidates will be invited to submit their full proposal through Flexi-Grant, the British Academy’s application portal. They will be supported in this process by the University’s Research and Impact Services team. For more information about this and for any other enquiries about the scheme, please contact the above email address. The deadline for submissions to the British Academy is Wednesday 1 October 2025.

The discovery was first published online in Nature Astronomy in April, by then PhD student, and now postdoc, James Munday and has since been featured on the cover of Nature Astronomy’s June issue. James, supervised by Dr Ingrid Pelisoli and Prof Pier-Emmanuel Tremblay, discovered a type Ia supernova progenitor within a mere 50 parsecs. Type Ia supernovae are standardisable candles used to measure cosmological distances and were instrumental in the discovery of the accelerated expansion of the Universe (Nobel Prize in Physics 2011).

The 75th UK Diamond Research Conference was held at the University of Warwick from 7th to 10th July 2025, bringing together over 120 delegates from academia and industry to explore the latest advancements in diamond science and technology.

The University of Warwick's Department of Economics has once again demonstrated its commitment to world-class teaching and student experience, securing the top spot in the Russell Group for student satisfaction in the 2025 National Student Survey (NSS), and achieving an average positivity score of 93% for Teaching on my Course.

With a response rate of 76%, final-year undergraduate students rated the Department highly across multiple themes, earning Economics its strongest-ever performance in the survey to date. The Department achieved first place among all Russell Group universities for key categories of the survey with percentage of satisfied students in brackets:

• Teaching on my Course (93%)
• Learning Opportunities (88%)
• Assessment and Feedback (83%)

High scores were also achieved in the following categories:

• Organisation and Management (92%)
• Academic Support (91%)

Professor Jeremy Smith, Head of the Department of Economics, said:

"We are incredibly proud to see our students recognise the dedication and excellence in the quality of teaching of our staff. These results reflect not only the academic rigour of our programmes but also the inclusive and supportive environment we strive to maintain."

Students rated the Department particularly highly on individual questions, including:

• How good are teaching staff at explaining things? (96%)
• How often is the course intellectually stimulating? (97%)
• How well does the course challenge you to achieve your best work? (95%)
• How well does your course introduce subjects and skills in a way that builds on what you have already learned? (92%)
• How often have you received assessment feedback on time? (96%)
• How well organised is your course? (93%)
• I would recommend the University to future students (93%)

While some areas (IT resources and visibility of feedback action) presented opportunities for development, the overall satisfaction remains exceptionally high - outperforming institutional averages and reaffirming Warwick Economics’ status as one of the UK’s leading departments in the field.

The Department's continued success feeds into Warwick’s strong standing in the Teaching Excellence Framework and league tables including the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, The Guardian and the Complete University Guide.

Professor Jeremy Smith added:

"These insights are vital not only for internal reflection but also for future students looking for a vibrant, intellectually rewarding place to study. We are grateful to our students for their feedback and proud to champion their voice as part of our teaching journey."