This prestigious scheme aims to support outstanding early career researchers who have recently completed their doctoral studies, by providing funding to progress their own research agenda and develop their skills as independent researchers. In an extremely competitive application process, several hundred applicants across all subject areas were considered for ten positions.
Each Fellow will be supported by a mentor within their chosen School and offered bespoke career advice, a dedicated training programme and one-to-one support to develop a strong application for a prestigious externally funded fellowship.
The Fellows come from the arts and humanities, social sciences, life sciences, mathematics, built environment and engineering.
Two Fellows are mathematicians: Maxime Fairon’s research will focus on integrable many-body systems, while Mats Vermeeren will investigate variational structures in integrable systems and beyond.
In engineering, Nicolette Formosa will research collision avoidance in a connected and autonomous vehicles environment.
Three Fellows will address environmental issues: Rundong (Derek) Yan will develop a digital twin to optimise the economic return from ultra-large offshore wind turbines, Thomas Stanton will research anthropogenic material in freshwater systems, and Ben Roberts will seek to reduce extreme heat in sub-Saharan African hospitals.
In health and wellbeing, Chris McLeod, who is currently Chair of the LGBT+ Staff Network, aims to increase children’s vegetable intake at breakfast time while Jade French will explore twentieth-century literature and health humanities.
Fellows will also address critical social issues for marginalised groups. Laura Jenkins, who will undertake her extended Fellowship on a part-time basis, will bring a conversation analytic approach to improving children’s engagement with the Youth Justice System, while Ronan Lee will explore the concept of social vitality for Myanmar’s Rohingya refugees.
Professor Steve Rothberg, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research said: “I am delighted that we have again been able to recruit such high calibre and diverse candidates. The cohort comprises five of our excellent current postdoctoral researchers and five outstanding new recruits to Loughborough. They are future research leaders and I look forward to getting to know them during their Doctoral Prize Fellowships.”