SMMI Deputy Director Professor Susan Gourvenec elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
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Professor Susan Gourvenec, Professor of Offshore Geotechnical Engineering and Deputy Director of the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute at the University of Southampton, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Susan is internationally recognised as an expert in offshore geotechnical engineering across academia and industry. Her major engineering achievements include offshore foundation design methods which are now part of international standards that govern industry practice globally. Susan is a passionate educator and champion for equality, diversity and inclusion in engineering and a practitioner of multi-disciplinary research, working across life sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities.
She joins over 70 new experts who have made exceptional contributions in their sector and reflect the Academy’s Fellowship Fit for the Future initiative to promote outstanding engineers from underrepresented groups.
Professor Gourvenec is the Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies - Intelligent and Resilient Ocean Engineering, and a contributor to Engineering X, an international collaboration that brings together some of the world's leading problem-solvers to address the great challenges of our age. Read more here.
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Early Career Lecture Prize for SMMI's Dr Sam Robinson
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At the recent European Society for the History of Science meeting in Brussels SMMI's Dr Sam Robinson was awarded the Society's Early Career Lecture Prize. The prize is awarded in light of the quality of the awardees' scholarship and the originality of their historiographical approaches. Work that is indicative of the talent, innovative spirit, and creativity among the younger generation of historians of science.
Sam's lecture was titled 'Ocean Science Diplomacy: the History of a fluid concept' and was based on his work for a recently completed ERC project 'Inventing a Shared Science Diplomacy for Europe' (https://www.insscide.eu/) and his recent publication in the Journal Centaurus that can be read here (https://doi.org/10.1111/1600-0498.12342) [open-access].
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Testing the Waters of Ocean Narratives
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An Ocean Narratives Workshop, an interdisciplinary event arising from the first phase of the Ocean Narratives Project, based at the University of Southampton was held on 14 October 2022. Ocean Narratives is a pilot research initiative launched by multi-disciplinary team Susan Gourvenec (Engineering), Stephanie Jones (English), Bindi Shah (Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology), Dina Lupin (Law) and Les Carr (Electronics and Computer Science), following a recent institution-wide Sandpit on Narrative and Storytelling. The project is supported by the Higher Education Innovation Fund, the Web Science Institute, the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute, and the Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities, with seed funding from the Sandpit enabling global collaborations with Jacqui Ayling, (University of Southampton), Buhle Francis (Rhodes University) and Jiswin Joseph (Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kerala, India). Read more here.
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Multimillion pound grant to safeguard our oceans
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Red tubeworms surrounding a deep-sea hydrothermal vent. Image credit: Ocean Networks Canada
Southampton researchers will receive over £3.5 million (£3,570,000) over the next ten years to provide expert advice on important topics like conservation, fisheries, climate change and deep-sea mining. This long-term funding will allow deep-ocean experts to help define humanity’s relationship with the ocean for decades to come. They can support the UN Sustainable Development Goals for the ocean, advance access to deep-ocean science, and build international capacity to manage the deep ocean, our planet’s largest ecosystem. Continuing efforts by University of Southampton scientists and their colleagues to protect the ocean for future generations have received a funding boost from Arcadia – a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. This new grant will allow experts to continue highlighting the science needed for conservation at international negotiations, such as United Nations Ocean Conferences and meetings that design rules for future deep seabed management.
SMMI member, Dr Maria Baker, the Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative's (DOSI) Executive Director and Senior Enterprise Fellow in Ocean and Earth Science at the University of Southampton, said: “We are delighted to continue our successful and supportive partnership with Arcadia who share our vision. As a network of over 2,500 experts from more than 100 countries, DOSI’s international ties mean that we are ideally placed to provide the knowledge needed for effective policies in both national and international waters." Read more here.
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Highlight on the National Infrastructure Laboratory
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The National Infrastructure Laboratory is part of a network of research facilities around the UK underpinning a £466Bn national infrastructure investment pipeline.
Located at the Boldrewood Innovation Campus, it is currently the home of over 100 staff and researchers including SMMI Deputy Director Professor Susan Gourvenec, and SMMI experts Dr Sheida Afshan, and Dr Katherine Kwa.
Four major laboratories serve researchers and industry, and accommodate undergraduate teaching:
- The Large Structures Testing Laboratory provides a flexible, data-rich environment capable of applying loads up to 2.5MN on a 30m x 15m strong floor.
- The Testing and Structures Research Laboratory conducts mechanical testing over a wide range of materials, temperatures, and strain rates.
- The Geomechanics laboratory undertakes fundamental soil element testing.
- A 130 g-tonne geotechnical centrifuge allows accelerated scale modelling of geosystems that interact with the ground.
Current research includes improving the performance of offshore renewables and transport infrastructure in a changing climate.
Follow this link for a virtual tour of the facilities, on-screen or via a VR headset. Read more here.
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NOTE: CALLS COMING SOON AND WITH NO DEADLINE, TOWARDS THE END OF THIS SECTION.
Annual call for Worldwide Universities Network Research Development Fund - INTERNAL DEADLINE 11 OCTOBER 2022
With the aim of fostering international collaborative research, the 2022 round is focused on the theme of Mobilising for a Sustainable Future. Within this theme, the areas of focus correspond to seven of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Applications may work within one, or between more than one, of these SDGs – please see the Research Networks Sharepoint page for further details. This annual competitive fund is aimed at bringing together researchers to undertake innovative, high quality, sustainable research that addresses global challenges. The 2022 funding comes with an internal deadline for submission of Tuesday 11 October 2022. Applications should be sent using the “ Expression of Interest for WUN RDF 2022” and the “WUN RDF 2022 budget template“ available on the Research Networks page, to partnerships@soton.ac.uk. An internal panel will determine which ones will go ahead to complete the maximum of two proposals that may be submitted by each member University for the official deadline of 24 October 2022.
NERC - Pushing the frontiers of environmental science research - DEADLINE 17 JANUARY 2023
Apply for funding to pursue an ambitious, high-risk and high-reward project in environmental science. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for NERC funding and at lecturer level, or equivalent. Further details here.
NO DEADLINE CALLS:
Innovate UK - Fisheries and Seafood Scheme - NO DEADLINE
This supports projects based in England that secure sustainable growth across the catching, processing and aquaculture sectors and that protect and enhance the marine environment. Further details here.
EPSRC Postdoctoral Fellowship - NO DEADLINE
Apply for a fellowship focusing on either: Energy or Mathematical Sciences. You must have either a PhD or at least four years’ experience in a relevant field by the start of your fellowship. An eligible UK research organisation must host and support you during your fellowship. Your fellowship can be up to three years long. This is prorated for part-time fellows, at a minimum of 50% FTE. The project can use one or a combination of discovery science, innovation, instrumentation and technique development or software engineering. Further details here.
NERC - International ocean discovery programme – workshop funding support scheme - NO DEADLINE
This supports UK scientists in the organisation of, or participation in, IODP-related workshops, sandpits, training, outreach or other events. Eligible workshops must make use of IODP samples, data or results, or involve planning for the collection of such materials. Further details here.
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10-16 October 2022 - Maritime UK Week
Maritime UK Week 2022 will shine a spotlight on the latest developments in the maritime sector and engage people across the UK with the world of maritime. People around the country are invited to explore the world of maritime through a series of careers fairs and open days. There will also be a programme of events bringing maritime professionals together to help make progress on key issues like diversity and inclusion in the sector. Read more here.
11 October 2022 - Frontiers Forum talk - Prof Johan Rockström - A safe and just future within planetary boundaries - Online
Prof Johan Rockström pioneered the planetary boundaries framework – a science-based health check of the nine processes that keep our planet stable and resilient, and which serves as a guide for human development in the current era of rapid global change. Johan’s keynote will be followed by a discussion on the economic and social implications of maintaining a safe and just operating space for humanity within the limits of our planet. Contributors include Prof Peng Gong, a leader in global efforts to develop scientific strategies for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Register for the event here.
11-12 October 2022 - Marine Energy Transition Forum 2022 - Antwerp
Progress report: Is the stage now set for shipping's decarbonisation?
The Marine Energy Transition Forum provides a platform for some of the leading experts on shipping’s energy transition to share their knowledge and insights. By the end of the Forum, delegates will have a clear and informed picture of what has been achieved in the decarbonisation of shipping – as well as the scale of the task ahead. Read more here.
12 October 2022 - MarRi-UK - Innovation through MarRI-UK - Online conference
A day of exciting webinars and virtual demonstrations that showcase some of the most exciting breakthroughs in UK Innovation. Featuring Keynote Speaker - Petra Wilkinson, Director of Maritime, Department for Transport. Read more here.
8-10 November 2022 - Marine Autonomy & Technology Showcase (MATS) - Southampton and Online
During MATS 2022, the aim is to explore the information needs of users of Marine Autonomous Systems (MAS), review the current technologies available to enable the data gathering for MAS users and explore the methods of taking that data and making it exploitable information for the user need. Presentations will focus on work undertaken or planned to be undertaken in the 12 months since MATS 2021. New for 2022 there will be a new theme added on Sustainability and Net Zero Capability. Read more here.
29 November - 1 December 2022 - Scaling Decarbonisation Solutions - Reducing Emissions by 2030 - Rotterdam, Netherlands
The social demand for an environmentally conscious transition of sea trade is encouraging ship owners and regulators to take on this challenge with technical and operational solutions to meet the environmental goals. To further investigate, The Royal Institution of Naval Architects and Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) have partnered to offer a conference that will provide a platform to discuss the scalability of current technologies and policies that will transform the shipping industry. Read more here.
16-17 February 2023 - Wind Propulsion Conference - London
The current use of alternative fuels and renewable energy sources within the shipping industry is still relatively scarce. Growing environmental legislation and concerns are driving the need to develop and apply innovative alternative power and propulsion technology for ships. Now, industry players are increasingly putting a modern spin on one of the oldest concepts in shipping: harnessing the power of wind for ship propulsion. Call for abstracts deadline: 30 November 2022. Read more here.
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