Departmental news

Join us for an enlightening talk on Innovative Design and Nature - which will discuss a concept that takes inspiration from nature to create smarter, more sustainable buildings and bridges.

This lecture, accompanied by stunning model displays and demonstrations, will present Nature-informed designs using a ‘form-finding’ approach that allows buildings to be shaped by forces acting on them. The results will be discussed in the context of structural failures and will be contrasted with famous structures, such as Sydney Opera House, the ‘Nest’, and the O2 Arena - examples of dictated architectural forms.

New, constant stress arch forms will be presented. Their response to loading is so good that materials as weak as snow can be used in their construction. Further comparisons with the iconic Gateway Arch in St. Louis will provide new design insights. Nature, as a teacher of good design, challenges our belief that… ‘we can build whatever we like’…

More information

Our exhibition of models and interactive displays showing 'form-finding' design, an activity presented by our computer-aided design specialist Martin Millson will take place at 18:00-18:30 & 19:15-19:45.

The talk will be followed by a Q&A session.

This event is suitable for 18+. 14+ are welcome with an accompanying adult.

Complimentary light refreshments will be available prior to the lecture, including some vegan, gluten and dairy free options.

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Warwick Medical School has been ranked 10th out of all UK medical schools for incorporating planetary health into medical education.

Congratulations to all those who have recently been granted their awards for Doctor of Philosophy in Physics and Master of Science (by Research) in Physics.

Warwick Law School students have won the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Pro Bono Award for 'Best Contribution by a Team of Students'. The awards, run by LawWorks with the support of the Attorney General, recognise and celebrate the outstanding pro bono work undertaken by law schools and law students across the UK. The Warwick team, represented by Law students Ella Cowell, Kieran Balendran, Clare Mellor, and Tani Ilemobola, received their award from the Attorney General, the Rt Hon Lord Hermer KC, in the Cholmondeley Rooms of the House of Lords on Wednesday 23 April.

The UK’s biofuels policy has been quietly pushing up pump prices and making them more volatile, but the resulting environmental gains are found to outweigh the economic costs, despite the added cost to drivers, according to a new study from Dr Nikhil Datta and Johannes Brinkmann published by the CAGE Research Centre at the University of Warwick.

Based on current government estimates for the social cost of carbon, for every additional £1 cost to consumers the RTFO has achieved an average £5.70 worth of carbon saving.

Exploring the impact of the Government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation on prices at the pump, The Cost and Benefits of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation finds:

• Over the past five years, the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) has added an average of 3.5 pence per litre to unleaded petrol and 6 pence per litre to diesel - an increase resulting from a combination of rising biofuel prices and escalating RTFO requirements.
• The RTFO has contributed significantly to volatility in fuel prices at the pump, causing price spikes of up to 8 pence per litre for unleaded petrol and 14 pence per litre for diesel, peaking in late 2021 and mid-2022. This heightened volatility is driven primarily by large swings in biofuel prices, which are closely linked to global food markets and sensitive to supply disruptions caused by major geopolitical events, such as the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• Over the past decade, the RTFO has delivered substantial benefits by significantly reducing carbon emissions. Based on current government estimates for the cost to society of carbon emissions, for every additional £1 cost to consumers, the policy has generated an average carbon-related saving of £5.70.

In The Cost and Benefits of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation the researchers also highlight indirect impacts on pump prices resulting from industry-standard wholesale pricing practices and suggest policy adjustments, such as better accounting for double-counted biofuels, to reduce price volatility.

They compare the RTFO’s carbon savings costs against alternatives such as the UK's Emissions Trading System. Margins not accounted for are also discussed, such as decreased fuel consumption as prices rise, and efficiency losses in fuel economy from using biofuel blends like E10.

Dr Nikhil Datta, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick said:

“We carried out this analysis to understand how the RTFO affects fuel prices at the pump for consumers and compare that to the benefits of the policy. The most striking finding was how volatile biofuel prices, especially biodiesel, has resulted in fluctuating prices for consumers. Despite that, given our current net-zero targets, the policy does provide a net-benefit to the UK.”

Johannes Brinkmann, PhD student in economics at the University of Warwick continued:

“We document that price swings in global biofuel markets have quite an impact on prices at UK fuel pumps as biofuel regulations became stricter over time.”

24 April 2025

• Read the full report: The Cost and Benefits of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation by Johannes Brinkmann and Nikhil Datta. The analysis assumes that the biofuels used to meet the RTFO adhere to the relevant government rules and regulations on their composition and sourcing.
• The ESRC CAGE Research Centre is based in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick. We use economic analysis to address real world policy issues informed by history, culture and behaviour..

Warwick Medical School has been awarded £440,000 by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) for a major new study exploring how job quality affects workers' health.

Warwick School of Law has highlighted its deep connections with Africa through a series of impactful academic events in Nairobi that celebrated collaboration, inclusion, and global engagement. Marking the University’s 60th anniversary the School of Law hosted three interconnected events in Nairobi, Kenya, showcasing the transformational impact of Warwick's partnerships in Africa. These events demonstrate the Warwick Africa Hub's dedication to building equitable partnerships through the exchange of knowledge, collaborative research, and inclusive education.

Warwick Law School, the Department of Politics and International Studies and the University of Nairobi’s Faculty of Law, hosted a vibrant and intellectually rich workshop on 28 March 2025, exploring “Law and Development Perspectives of Environmental Governance in Africa.” The hybrid event brought together leading academics, practitioners, and students for a day of critical reflection and dialogue on some of the most pressing legal and developmental issues facing the continent.

Congratulations to Professor Susan Carruthers, Professor of US/International History, who has had an article linked to the 80th anniversary of Belsen published in The Conversation.

Read the article in full

Clothing can kill. So, too, can the absence of personal protective equipment. For decades, the medical establishment has understood the role of fabric in both spreading contagion and guarding against its transmission — but never with greater urgency than 80 years ago.

On April 15 1945, British troops liberated Bergen-Belsen concentration camp near Celle in northern Germany. Shocking scenes awaited behind the barbed wire.....

We congratulate Prof. Julie Staunton (Theoretical Physics Group), who has received the 2025 Wohlfarth Memorial Lecturer Award from the IoP Magnetism Group. She delivered a plenary lecture at the Magnetism 2025 conference which took place in Sheffield on the 7^th and 8^th April.