Scotland’s vibrant research sector to receive over £705.5K in the latest RSE Research Awards Programme

We are pleased to announce that 69 exceptional research projects were selected at the autumn 2024 Research Awards open call.

Over £705.5K will enable research across all academic disciplines, with projects including tackling the impacts of air pollution on health, the development of a novel measurement tool for the subsurface Net-Zero energy transition, assessing wetland diversity in Scotland using ecoacoustics, and an investigation into how women’s participation in martial arts influences their recovery from gender-based violence.

In this latest round, lead investigators represent 10 of the 19 Scottish higher education institutions; however, the reach of these awards extends beyond Scotland, with collaborators representing 41 institutions in total, including international institutions in Australia, Copenhagen, France, Ghana, South Africa, Sweden, and Thailand.

The RSE’s Research Awards Programme runs twice a year in spring and autumn. It aims to support Scotland’s research sector by nurturing promising talent, stimulating research in Scotland, and promoting international collaboration.

RSE Vice President, Research, Professor Anne Anderson OBE FRSE commented,

“The RSE’s Research Awards Programme is crucial in supporting Scotland’s vibrant research community. These awardees will drive forward knowledge, address global challenges, and make valuable contributions to Scottish society. On behalf of the RSE, I congratulate these outstanding researchers and their international collaborators, and I look forward to following the outcomes of their work.”

The RSE is grateful for the ongoing support from the Scottish Funding Council with contributions also from the RSE Scotland Foundation.

The full list of RSE Research Awardees autumn 2024:

Small Grants

• Dr Alex Antoniou, University of Glasgow
  Imperialism and emperor worship: Local responses to the emperor’s divinity
• Dr Jesse Barker, University of Aberdeen
  Out of frame: Ecomedia in Spain
• Dr Alexis Cartwright-Taylor, Heriot-Watt University, with collaborators Dr Hannah Menke, Heriot-Watt University and Dr Ian Butler, University of Edinburgh
  A novel and transformative micro-physical measurement tool for the subsurface Net-Zero energy transition
• Dr Simon Cook, University of Dundee
  Glacial lake outburst flood risk in the Caucasus
• Dr Rosa Filgueira, University of Edinburgh
  Mapping change: A knowledge graph of Scotland’s 19^th-Century gazetteers
• Dr Marine Ganofsky, University of St Andrews
  Enchanted spaces: Rococo architecture as aphrodisiac in 18th-Century French libertine fiction
• Dr Elizabeth Haythorne, University of Edinburgh
  Do endocrine disrupting chemicals from plastic pollution, impair the metabolism and function of pancreatic beta cells?
• Dr Afiya Holder, Edinburgh Napier University
  Connecting the dots: The transformative potential of African-Caribbean-Scottish heritage tourism
• Professor Martin Lee, University of Glasgow, with collaborator Professor Cristina Persano, University of Glasgow
  Unique speleothems of the Inner Hebrides
• Dr Sze Chong Lim, University of Dundee,e with collaborator Dr Susan Levy, University of Dundee
  Reintegration pathways of women in custody: Exploring the role of creative practices in custodial settings
• Dr Corentin Loron, University of Edinburgh
  Constraining the source of Martian sedimentary organic matter
• Dr Vasilis Louca, University of Aberdeen
  The wetland symphony: Assessing wetland diversity in Scotland using ecoacoustics
• Dr Chloe Maclean, University of the West of Scotland, with collaborator Dr Rebecca Gordon, University of the West of Scotland
  How does women’s participation in martial arts influence their recovery journeys from gender-based violence?
• Dr Tom Montgomery, University of Stirling
  Electronic performance monitoring and the future of fair work
• Dr Nina Morris, University of Edinburgh
  Urban camping: Motivations, practices, and challenges
• Dr Souvik Naha, University of Glasgow
  Physical culture, race and masculinity in Britain’s Colonial Army, 1858-1939
• Dr Miracle Israel Nazarious, University of Aberdeen, with collaborators Professor Javier Martin-Torres, University of Aberdeen and Dr Bartosz Kurjanski, University of Aberdeen
  Long-term underwater validation of a liquid sampler-ion analysis instrument
• Dr Aedin Ni Loingsigh, University of Stirling
  Jardins ouvriers: The hidden nature of French allotment gardens
• Dr Victoria Okoye, University of Edinburgh
  Worldmaking through the Black spatial poetics of Igbo masquerade
• Dr Lucas Pagura, University of Glasgow, with collaborator Dr Clare Harding, University of Glasgow
  Down to brass tacks: The role of copper in metabolic flexibility of toxoplasma gondii
• Professor Michael Penman, University of Stirling
  In search of Scotland’s lost Royal Mausoleum: A GRP survey of Dunfermline Abbey, Fife
• Dr Zhen Qiu, University of Dundee, with collaborator Professor Seth Grant, University of Edinburgh
  Cost-effective AI for human brain synaptome mapping
• Dr Francisco Ruiz-Raya, University of Glasgow
  Is phenotypic flexibility in adulthood determined by environmental variability during development?
• Dr Bashir Saade, University of Stirling
  Continuity and change in the transmission of musical knowledge in early 20th Century Ottoman Egypt: The case of Amin Al-Buzari
• Dr Craig Smeaton, University of St Andrews, with collaborators Dr Tobia Politi and Stefano Bonaglia, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
  Fjord flux: Quantifying carbon fluxes from mid-latitude fjords
• Dr Shira Tal, University of Edinburgh
  Is linguistic redundancy beneficial for infants?

Research Collaboration Grants

• Dr Lesley Anne Barnes Macfarlane, University of Glasgow, with collaborator Professor Emile Zitzke, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
  Rationalising childhood contributory negligence: An exploration of international perspectives and approaches
• Dr Linden Bicket, University of Edinburgh, with collaborator Dr Rebekah Lamb, University of St Andrews
  Catholic women writers in Scotland and beyond
• Professor Helen Bond, University of Edinburgh, with collaborators Professor Heike Omerzu, University of Copenhagen and Professor Catrin Williams, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
  Crafting lives of Jesus: Ancient and modern retellings
• Dr Anitha Devadoss, Heriot-Watt University, with collaborators Professor Helen Bridle, Heriot-Watt University and Dr Suman Singh, CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIR-CSIO)
  Robust electrochemical sensor for ultra-sensitive detection of water pathogens
• Dr Jacqueline Jenkinson, University of Stirling
  Parading the ‘Second City of the Empire’ – exploring Glasgow’s municipal governance during key British imperial events, c.1880s-1930s
• Dr David McMenemy, University of Glasgow, with collaborator Professor Steven Buchanan, University of Stirling
  “More than one way to burn a book?”: Culture wars, censorship, and neutrality in Scottish public libraries
• Dr Nelson Oppong, University of Edinburg,h with collaborators Dr Pius Siakwah, University of Ghana and Dr Mohammad Amir, University of Edinburgh
  Fuming Cities: African Network for Ideas on Cities and Energy (Africa-NICE)
• Dr Heather Price, University of Stirling, with collaborator Professor Ruth Doherty, University of Edinburgh
  Scottish researcH partnership for Air Pollution health Effects – plus (SHAPE+)
• Professor Melanie Ramdarshan Bold, University of Glasgow, with collaborators Professor Ann Steiner, Uppsala University, Sweden and Dr Macarena Garcia-Gonzalez, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona
  Exploring audiobooks in cross-cultural contexts: A comparative pilot study of audiobook usage and engagement among upper-primary
• Dr Jess Rickenback, University of Edinburgh, with collaborators Dr Naomi Schwartz, University of British Columbia, Canada and Dr Watchara Arthan, Mahidol University, Thailand
  Growing resilient networks: Establishing SEASaN, a savanna science network for Southeast Asia
• Dr Lisa Schölin, University of Edinburgh, with collaborators Dr Gearoid Brennan, NHS Lothian/University of Edinburgh and Professor Elizabeth Hughes, Glasgow Caledonian University
  Acute Response to emergency Mental Health and Substance use (ARMHS) Research Network – The ARMHS Research Network
• Professor Julie Welburn, University of Edinburgh, with collaborator Dr Aurelie Bertin, Institut Curie, France
  Structural insights into membrane-protein interactions at intercellular connections

Personal Research Fellowships

• Dr Andrea Brock, University of St Andrews
  A new environmental history of early Rome and the foundation of its republic
• Dr Oliver Charbonneau, University of Glasgow
  Mohonk: Making the US pedagogical empire
• Dr Anna Crawford, University of Stirling
  Ice-sea interactions: How iceberg deterioration is influenced by sea-ice conditions
• Professor Jacqueline Kinghan, University of Glasgow
  Strengthening the sector: Exploring the working lives of criminal legal aid lawyers in Scotland
• Dr Maya Mayblin, University of Edinburgh
  Ecofeminism and anti-feminism in Catholic Amazonia: Interventions to address the compounding harm of rainforest deforestation
• Dr Lauren McWhinnie, Heriot-Watt University
  Mitigating the impacts of rapidly expanding Arctic tourism on whales in northern waters
• Professor Katarina Trimmings, University of Aberdeen
  Cross-border protection of children: The 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention

International Joint Projects (Stream 1)

• Dr Parvez Alam, University of Edinburgh, with collaborator Dr Christofer Clemente, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
  The biomimetic design of discontinuous mechanical metamaterials based on structural mechanisms in starfish endoskeletons
• Professor Fiona Macpherson, University of Glasgow, with collaborator Professor E.J. Green, Johns Hopkins University, United States
  New foundations of the structure of perception

International Joint Projects RSE-DAAD (Stream 2) – Supported by the Scottish Government Berlin Office

• Professor Dominic Chalmers and Dr Felix Honecker, University of Glasgow, with collaborator Professor Matthias Waldkirch, EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht, Germany
  Deceptive entrepreneurship in digital spaces: A conceptualization and empirical investigation
• Dr Jianglin Lan, University of Glasgow, with collaborator Dr Yu Feng, Technical University of Munich, Germany
  A real-world data-driven simulator for interaction-aware autonomous driving benchmarking
• Dr Julien Maes, Heriot-Watt University with collaborator Dr Jenna Poonoosamy, Institut für Fusion Energy and Nuclear Waste Management (IFN-2), Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ), Germany
  Multi-phase flows in chemically evolving porous media
• Professor Rod Mitchell, University of Edinburgh, with collaborator Dr Nina Neuhaus, Universität Münster, Germany
  Impact of treatment regimens on fertility in boys
• Dr Rainer Schulz, University of Aberdeen, with collaborator Professor Dr Axel Werwatz, TU Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
  The allocation of residential real estate through listing platforms

International Joint Projects RSE-CNR (Stream 2)

• Professor Beth Scott, University of Aberdeen, with collaborator Dr Christian Ferrarin, The Institute of Marine Sciences of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISMAR), Italy
  Oceanographic iMpacts of Blue Renewable Energy in coastal regionS (OMBRES)
• Dr Enrico Tubaldi, University of Strathclyde, with collaborator Dr Gabriele Fiorentino, Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the National Research Council, Italy
  Reduction of Uncertainties in risk assessment of structures and infrastructures against Natural hazards (REUN)
• Professor Massimo Vassalli, University of Glasgow, with collaborator Dr Lucia Gardini, INO-CNR, Italy
  IN-ROOTS: Indentation experiments to dissect the plant ROOTS mechanotransduction

International Joint Projects RSE-NSTC (Stream 2)

• Dr Yue Hu, University of Edinburgh, with collaborator Assistant Professor Chieh-Ting Lin, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan
  Novel hole transport materials for stable and efficient perovskite solar cells
• Dr Jamal Ouenniche, University of Edinburgh, with collaborator Professor Tsung-Sheng Chang, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
  Advancing data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodologies: Addressing methodological issues

Ireland-Scotland Bilateral Network Grants – Supported by Scottish Government Office in Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs

RSE award:

• Dr Annie Sorbie, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, with Dr Mary Tumelty, University College Cork, Ireland
  Regulating for the workforce of the future: addressing the healthcare workforce crisis in Scotland and Ireland

RIA award:

• Dr Helen MacGrath, University College Cork, Ireland, with Dr Teea Palo, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
  Actioning sustainable futures within the artisan food and drink sector        

International Bilateral Visits

Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Italy and the RSE Bilateral Exchange Programme (Outgoing Programme):

• Dr Mioara Cristea, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland, visiting colleagues at the University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy
  Climate change conspiracies and collective actions

Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Italy and the RSE Bilateral Exchange Programme (Incoming Programme funded by Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei):

• Professor Carlotta Marianecci, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, visiting colleagues at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland
  Physical and acoustical characterisation of novel nanobubble compositions

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the RSE Bilateral Exchange Programme (Incoming Programme funded by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences):

• Dr Csongor István, Gedeon Institute for Soil Sciences, Hungary, visiting colleagues at the University of St Andrews, Scotland
  Non-destructive, spatial mapping of animal burrows by combining archive images, subsurface remote sensing, and deep learning techniques

The Slovak Academy of Sciences and the RSE Bilateral Exchange Programme (Incoming Programme funded by the Slovak Academy of Sciences):

• Dr Jaroslava Panakova, Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology, visiting colleagues at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland
  Photographic digital platform of Siberia and Russian Arctic

The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the RSE Bilateral Exchange Programme (Outgoing Programme):

• Professor Anselm Heinrich, University of Glasgow, visiting colleagues at the University of Baribor, Slovenia
  Theatre ecologies in 20^th-Century Slovenia. German-language theatres and companies, 1918 – 1945

The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the RSE Bilateral Exchange Programme (Outgoing Programme):

• Professor Marian Wiercigroch, University of Aberdeen, visiting colleagues at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
  Advanced modelling techniques for energy transition technologies

The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the RSE Bilateral Exchange Programme (Outgoing Programme):

• Dr Long Ye, University of Edinburgh, visiting colleagues at the Ljubljana, Slovenia
  Hybrid laser additive manufacturing and plasma electrolytic polishing for high precision and complex metallic parts

National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), Taiwan and RSE Bilateral Exchange Programme (Outgoing Programme):

• Dr Yu-Lin Hsu, University of Glasgow, visiting colleagues at the Financial Technology Innovation Research Centre, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
  Corporate reporting and data mining

National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), Taiwan and RSE Bilateral Exchange Programme (Outgoing programme):

• Professor Kay Tisdall, University of Edinburgh, visiting colleagues at the National Taiwan University, Taiwan
  Children’s Human Rights: Lessons from Scotland and Taiwan

National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), Taiwan and RSE Bilateral Exchange Programme (Outgoing programme):

• Dr Szu-Hsin Wu, University of Dundee, visiting colleagues at the National Taiwan University, Taiwan
  Making it a home for migrant workers through transformative services

National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), Taiwan and RSE Bilateral Exchange Programme (Incoming programme funded by the NSTC):

• Professor Chao-Yi Tai, Department of Optics and Photonics, National Central University, Taiwan, with collaborator Professor Amin Abdolvand, University of Dundee
• Professor and Director Tak Chung Albert Yeung, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan, with collaborators Professor Sondipon Adhikari, University of Glasgow, Professor Omar Laghrouche, Heriot-Watt University, and Professor Jonathan Knappett, University of Dundee
• Associate Professor Hung-Chieh Chang, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, with collaborator Professor Kay Tisdall, University of Edinburgh
• Professor Yun Hsin Chou, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan, with collaborator Professor Sukanlaya Sawang, Edinburgh Napier University