Professor of Regional Economic Development, University of Birmingham After completing an undergraduate degree in geography, Anne has spent nearly all of her career conducting applied research of relevance to academia and policy in research centres/ institutes in the higher education sector. She started her career at the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS) in Newcastle. Apart from a short stint at the Department for City and Regional Planning in Cardiff she has spent most of her time at the Institute for Employment Research (IER), University of Warwick. She joined the University of Birmingham as Professor of Regional Economic Development in June 2017 in City-REDI (Regional Economic Development Institute). Her research interests span employment, non-employment, regional and local labour market issues, skills strategies, urban and rural development, migration and commuting, associated policy issues and evaluation. She has published in high profile journals and has written numerous reports for UK Government Departments and agencies. Anne is experienced in disseminating the results of her research to academic, policy and practitioner audiences.
Research Engineer, Deakin University Amol is a textile technologist presently working at the Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) at Deakin University. He holds an MTech (IIT Delhi) and a PhD (Deakin University) in Textiles. Before his PhD, he spent several years in the textile industry focusing on Quality assurance, Research & Development and Product Development. His research interests are the dyeing and finishing of textiles and the environmental impact of textiles. He has worked on many collaborative industrial projects developing sustainable chemistry in fibre manufacturing and fabric processing. He keenly follows developments in the area of circular textiles and fibre-to-fibre recycling.
Associate Professor, Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University Alessandra is a materials scientist with a passion for all things space, snorkelling, microscopy, the environment, environmental and STEM Education. Alessandra leads a team of researchers with interests in polymers, textiles and sustainable materials. They work closely with industry partners to increase the sustainability of the textile and manufacturing industry. When Ale is not in the office, she is most likely training teachers and students on how to identify microplastics in the environment, or hunting microplastics herself, equipped with a snorkelling mask, a set of fins, lots of sampling bottles and a keenness to understand what it takes to look after this (only livable!) planet a bit better.
Associate Professor in Maritime History, University of Portsmouth Dr Ann Coats FRHistS, FSNR, FHEA Ann is Associate Professor in Maritime Heritage at the University of Portsmouth Ann.coats@port.ac.uk. A British maritime historian exploring social, cultural and global connections from the 17th–20th centuries, Ann’s focus on naval administration and dockyards incorporates personal, professional, local and international social networks. Since November 2021, Ann has been the project lead for the 3-year University of Portsmouth workpackage 3.1 People and the Sea, within Unpath’d Waters Arts and Humanities Research Council Project (https://historicengland.org.uk/research/current/discover-and-understand/coastal-and-marine/unpathd-waters/). Shipwrecks provide exciting and unique evidence of societies which built, supplied and crewed the vessels. Unlike sites on land, shipwrecks are unaffected by people (although not by the undersea environment) until discovered, so they preserve a single moment in time. Mary Rose is a celebrated example, but some wrecks at the Needles are not yet identified. There is a myriad of new stories to tell. The Analogue-Digital Connector illustrates insights gained from connecting digital and archival sources. Seven Needles wrecks were selected in discussion with the Maritime Archaeology Trust from its database. Proceeding from their data to archival catalogues, archives were searched to reveal new authentic data and make them publicly available to new audiences. ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5793-6809 Ann's 2000 University of Sussex DPhil thesis is ‘The economy of the navy and Portsmouth: a discourse between the civilian naval administration of Portsmouth dockyard and the surrounding communities, 1650 to 1800’. One 1996 research outcome was to co-found the Naval Dockyards Society which explores the civil branches of navies and their material culture and publishes dockyard-related research (https://navaldockyards.org/). Publications include - Sea routes and anchorages II: ‘Portsmouth, Spithead and St Helen's: “his Ma.ts Shipps returning out of the Sea in any distresse, with thelosse of cables or Anchors or with her masts borne over:board, Portsmouth is a safe place to save men ships & goods, whereas comeing any further a Southerly storme may bee the destruction of all”, Britain from the Sea in the Age of Sail, Chaline, O., Kowalski, J-M. & Harding, R. (eds.). Paris: Sorbonne Université Presses (2019) - ‘Portsmouth Dockyard: contested buttress of state, royal and religious power in the 17th century’, Les arsenaux de Marine, du XVIe siècle à nos jours. Le Mao, C. (ed.). Paris: Sorbonne Université Presses (2019) - Twentieth Century Naval Dockyards: Devonport and Portsmouth Characterisation Report (Historic England, 2015, co-authored) http://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/twentieth-century-naval-dockyards-devonport-portsmouth-characterisation-report/ - The Naval Mutinies of 1797: Unity and Perseverance (Woodbridge, 2011, co-authored) - ‘English naval administration under Charles I - top-down and bottom-up - tracing continuities’, in Transactions of the Naval Dockyards Society, Pepys and Chips (2012), 9-30 - ‘Bermuda Naval Base: Management, Artisans and their Enslaved Workers, 1795–1797’, Mariner’s Mirror, 95(2) (2009), 149-178 ‘From “Floating tombs” to foundations. The contribution of convicts to naval dockyards and ordnance sites’, Age of Sail, 2 (London, 2003), 28-42
Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies and Media Arts, McMaster University Dr. Alex Sévigny, APR is an associate professor of communication studies and communication management at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is an expert in public relations, communication management, and data-driven communication strategies, most recently using AI, augmented and virtual reality. Dr. Sévigny is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Professional Communication and the chief examiner of the Accredited in Public Relations program for the Canadian Public Relations Society. His research interests include the use of artificial intelligence and big data in communication, political communication, and strategic communication. He is currently finishing a book with co-author Martin Waxman on how AI is transforming strategy and workflow in the creative professions. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Sévigny is also an active public relations practitioner and consultant.
Senior Lecturer in Photojournalism, University of South Wales I am a senior lecturer in photojournalism, for ten years I was the course leader for BA Photojournalism at the University of South Wales in Cardiff and I now look after the BA Journalism course. I've been involved in photography for the last 35 years, moving from analogue to digital. As well as digital image making I also have an interest in "alternate processes": wet plate collodion, cyanotype, pinhole, salt prints & gum bi-chromate. I've been at the university since September 2008, previously I taught for eleven years at Birmingham city university on the BA and MA course in Visual communication department.
