Departmental news

Congratulations to Warwick Law School’s Professor Ana Aliverti, who has recently been appointed as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

The Academy’s Fellowship welcomes 45 new leading social scientists this autumn. All elected for their excellence in their fields and substantial contributions to social science for public interest.

Dr Kogila BalakrishnanLink opens in a new window, WMG’s Director of Client and Business Development (Southeast Asia), was pleased to welcome guests from the British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce on Monday (9th September).

The delegation was made up of 15 Malaysian government officials on the JPA-BMCC Management Development ProgrammeLink opens in a new window.

The officials were particularly interested to find out more about research projects and education programmes in relation to digital technology and energy transition.

After meeting with Dr Balakrishnan and Hopi Sen, WMG’s Director of Policy, the group headed to the Energy Innovation Centre where they heard more about WMG’s world-leading energy and battery technology research.

The delegation then enjoyed a guided tour of the engineering hall and the Centre for Imaging, Metrology and Additive Technologies (CiMATLink opens in a new window), in WMG’s International Manufacturing Centre.

Dr Kogila Balakrishnan, WMG’s Director of Client and Business Development (Southeast Asia) said: "It was a pleasure to welcome the delegation and showcase WMG's strengths in digital technology and energy transition.

“We are excited about the possibilities for collaboration that may arise from this engagement, particularly in fostering innovation and developing skills for the future."

Find out more about WMG’s education programmes here: Study | WMG | University of WarwickLink opens in a new window 

Find out more about WMG’s research capabilities here: Research | WMG | University of WarwickLink opens in a new window 

Professor Sascha Becker is one of 45 new Fellows appointed this week to the Academy of Social Sciences in recognition of his excellence in research and his significant contributions outside the academic world.

A small number of fellows are elected each year by the Academy to highlight the importance, breadth and relevance of the social sciences to understanding and tackling the varied challenges facing society today.

Professor Becker, who has recently returned to the Department of Economics after several years as the Xiaokai Yang Chair of Business and Economics at Monash University, Melbourne, works on labour economics, political economy and economic history. He recently published on forced migration, genocides, the legacy of the Hapsburg Empire and the persecution of Jewish academics in Nazi Germany.

Commenting on his Fellowship, Professor Becker said:

“I feel honoured to be named a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

“I would like to pass on thanks to the colleagues who nominated me and the Fellows who elected me into the Academy.

“Social sciences are key to understanding the past, present and future of our societies and the Academy champions the vital role social sciences play in education, government and business."

Will Hutton FAcSS, President of the Academy, said, “It’s a pleasure to welcome these 45 leading social scientists to the Academy’s Fellowship. We look forward to working with them to further promote the important role the social sciences play in our daily lives.”

The Academy's Fellowship comprises 1,600 leading social scientists from academia, the public, private and third sectors. Their expertise covers the breadth of the social sciences, and their practice and research addresses some of the major challenges facing communities, society, places and economies.

All Academy Fellows are elected for their excellence in their fields and their substantial contributions to social science for public benefit. Selection is through an independent peer review which recognises their excellence and impact.

• Read a short profile and Q and A with Professor Becker on the Academy's website here.

Congratulations to Giuseppe Cannizzaro who has been awarded the 2024 Wolfgang Doeblin Prize of the Bernoulli Society

Dr Sarah Bennett, Head of Bio-Analytical Shared Resource Laboratories, has been shortlisted for the 'Outstanding Technician of the Year' Times Higher Education (THE) Award.

Dr Ian Hancox, Director of Research Technology and Technical Strategy said: “Sarah’s nomination for Outstanding Technician of the Year is a testament to her exceptional skills and dedication."

“Her innovative approach to the facilities she leads and her contributions to enhancing institutional research culture for technical staff have been invaluable. This recognition highlights the vital role she plays in enhancing our Technician Commitment.”

Find out more.

WMG at the University of Warwick is hosting Micromobility UK, on Wednesday 18th September, at the Oculus building located on the Warwick campus. This will be the largest in-person conference, in the UK, focussing purely on micromobility.

Sponsored by NatWest, the event will also showcase the Clean Transport Accelerator – a programme supporting businesses to develop products and services to help address the UK’s net-zero goals.

Visitors can expect to see a jam-packed agenda with speakers on topics such as last-mile logistics; accessibility and inclusion; battery safety and future e-scooter regulations.

Discussions will also be held around making towns and cities safer for all micromobility, from scooters to larger cargo vehicles.

Expert speakers include:

• Julian Scriven, Managing Director, Brompton Bike Hire

• Katie Miller-White, Transport Innovation Coordinator, Transport for West Midlands

• Caz Conneller, Director of Community and Culture, Loud Mobility

• Adam Norris, Founder, Pure Electric

• Peter Eland, Technical Manager, The Bicycle Association of Great Britain

• Michelle Gardner, Deputy Director of Policy, Logistics UK

• Robin Haycock, Chief Technology Officer, Fernhay

• Kay Inckle, Campaigns and Policy Manager, Wheels for Wellbeing

• Andrew Bradley, Net Zero & Transport Lead, NHS

• George Beard, Head of New Mobility, TRL

• Lizzie Gaden, E-Scooter Trial Stakeholder & Contracts Manager, Transport for London

• Shayan Yaghoobi, Engineering Lead, Office for Product Safety and Standards, DBT

• Kevin Savage, COO, Delivery Mates

• Alfie Brierley, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Motor Cycle Industry Association

• Rob Hill, Fire Investigation Officer, London Fire Brigade

• Phil Ellis, Cofounder, Beryl

• Mark Riley, Delivery Design Manager, Royal Mail

Exhibitors include Composite Braiding, if.vehicles, Ebco, Bo Mobility, MTD Ltd, AlsoBikes, DOCK-Y, Warwick University Science Park, Eskuta, Spokesafe, Komodo Bikes, Business Growth West Midlands, Maeving, Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub, Transport for West Midlands and Beryl. There will also be live demos and the chance to trial micromobility vehicles around a dedicated route.

Professor David GreenwoodLink opens in a new window, Director of Industrial Engagement at WMG and CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult at WMG, said, “We are absolutely delighted to host the 4th annual Micromobility UK conference.

“This year is going to be an important one for micromobility. We now have a new government and feel optimistic that we will see new policies around micromobility enabling the sector to really flourish.”

To register for the event visit: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/news-and-events/events/micromobilityuk/Link opens in a new window 

During a year of research leave, Prof. Beat Kümin has investigated the phenomenon of depositing chronicles and objects into tower spheres on top of prominent buildings like churches, town halls and fortifications. Documented from the Middle Ages to the present, seemingly only in and around territories of the erstwhile Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, the custom provides fascinating insights into how local societies saw themselves and what they wished to pass on to successive generations.

The project, supported by the German Gerda Henkel Foundation, has so far identified over 1600 sites and thousands of separate deposits (at one Zurich church, there were no fewer than 20 between 1505 and 1996). The funder has just released a video series of six episodes (accessible in both English and German) documenting field work in Switzerland in autumn 2023.

[English Trailer] [Episodes] [Project Homepage]

Blending ordering within an uncorrelated disorder potential in families of 3D Lieb lattices preserves the macroscopic degeneracy of compact localized states and yields unconventional combinations of localized and delocalized phases—as shown in Liu et al. (Phys Rev B 106:214204, 2022). Danieli, Liu and Roemer proceed to reintroduce translation invariance in the system by further ordering the disorder, and discuss the spectral structure and eigenstates features of the resulting perturbed lattices. This strategy, herewith implemented in the 3D Lieb lattice, highlights order restoration as experimental pathway to engineer spectral and states features in disordered lattice structures in the pursuit of quantum storage and memory applications.

Professor Sascha Becker has been elected to the leadership team of the Society for Institutional and Organisational Economics (SIOE) as Second Vice President.

He will become First Vice President next year, and anticipates taking on the role of President in 2027 when one of his responsibilities will be to host the SIOE Annual Conference at Warwick and give the Presidential Address.

Founded in 1997 as The International Society for New Institutional Economics, SIOE promotes interdisciplinary study of the institutions of social, political and commercial life, aiming to integrate an economic perspective with strategic management, political science, law, and history.

As well as the annual conference, SIOE awards several prizes for outstanding contributions to the field at different career stages.

The Society was co-founded by three Nobel Laureates in Economics - Oliver Williamson, Ronald Coase, and Douglass North. It prides itself on its international outlook and membership.

Commenting on his election, Professor Becker said: “I am delighted that the members of SIOE elected me into the leadership team of SIOE. It will be an honour to host SIOE at Warwick in 2027.”

• SIOE website: https://www.sioe.org/