Teaching Professor of Law, University of Colorado Boulder Derek Kiernan-Johnson studies the ethics of using narrative and visual rhetoric in legal persuasion and how judges make decisions and express them in writing. He teaches students how to dissect and synthesize law and fact, how to express and critique legal analysis and argumentation, and how to understand the American judicial opinion in historical and comparative context. Derek went to public schools in Boulder, Colorado, and to college at Princeton University. At Princeton, he studied religion, dramatic performance, and music, writing Experiencing Toxcatl: an Ixiptla's Perspective (1996), a study of an Aztec sacrifice from the sacrificee's viewpoint, and Durch Sühn und Buß der Gnade Heil: Suffering and Salvation in the Operas of Richard Wagner (1997). He then studied English cathedral architecture at Wadham College at Oxford University before returning for law school at the University of Michigan. His studies at Michigan focused on constitutional law, education law, and meaning and performance in the law, the last interest of which culminated in Meaning in Miranda (1999). After law school Derek returned to Colorado to clerk for Justice Michael L. Bender of the Colorado Supreme Court. He practiced law for six years at Caplan and Earnest, LLC, representing public-school clients in general-counsel, transactional, and litigation settings. Derek joined the CU Law faculty in 2007. Derek enjoys spending time with his family, following UK & European soccer, hiking, cooking, playing billiards, enjoying beverages such as tea, beer, wine, and distillates, and identifying & tracking things like birds, cultural trends, and mammals.
Associate Professor of Geology, University of Richmond David Kitchen earned a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Geology from Queens University Belfast. After working for two years as a petroleum geologist in the North Sea, he started teaching Earth Sciences as lecturer at the Ulster Polytechnic and later as a member of the faculty at the University of Ulster Following ten years of active teaching, research and research supervision, Dr. Kitchen was appointed to the position of European Officer for the University with a major focus on international research and development. During this time, he worked closely with the European Commission in Brussels, with particular focus on research policy, regional development, and the EU Framework research programs. He was directly involved with project development and funding for higher education and research initiatives in both East and West Europe. Dr. Kitchen was then appointed as director of international programs at the University. He led faculty research collaboration with Universities across the European Union, USA, Canada and Mexico. While focused on research administration during this period of his career, Dr. Kitchen continued to supervise research students and taught geology as adjunct professor with the UK's Open University. In 2001 Dr. Kitchen moved to the United States to work at the University of Richmond. As Associate Dean in the School of Professional & Continuing Studies, he directs the university’s summer undergraduate program and leads a team that delivers high-value professional education programs and courses to the community in Central Virginia. As an Associate Professor, Dr. Kitchen teaches 2-3 courses a year on natural hazards and climate change. He is an active member of the environmental studies course team and has served as representative to the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors, Environmental Fellow for the Associated Colleges of the South, as a College Fellow, and as coordinator of university environmental programs. His interests have long focused on natural hazards and climate change. He is currently writing a textbook on natural hazards and has written a textbook on global climate change first published internationally by Prentice in 2013, then Routledge in 2016 and now a second edition for Routledge in 2023. His interests have long focused on volcanoes and volcanic processes, especially related to the British Tertiary Volcanic Province. Dr. Kitchen considers himself privileged to have visited and studied many active and ancient volcanoes across the world and is currently writing a textbook on natural hazards. His geological interests extend to ancient climate and climate change, and he has written a textbook on Global Climate published internationally by Prentice in 2013, Routledge in 2016 and a second edition for Routledge in 2022.
Professor and Executive Dean, School of Engineering, Edith Cowan University Professor Daryoush Habibi is a Pro Vice-Chancellor and the Executive Dean of the School of Engineering. As a Pro Vice-Chancellor he works on the University’s strategic priorities in selected regions in Asia and the Middle East, including the establishment of a Branch Campus in Sri Lanka. As the Executive Dean of Engineering he has initiated and led the expansion and growth of engineering education and research programs at Edith Cowan University (ECU), and the development of an exceptional teaching and research environment and infrastructure, supported by highly skilled academics, to position ECU as a global leader in engineering education and research. Professor Habibi promotes a strong focus on students, supports a quality agenda in research, and leads a comprehensive community and industry engagement profile at national and international levels. Under his leadership ECU has been ranked in the world’s top 175 universities for Engineering and Technology by the globally-recognised Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2020. This places ECU in the top 1% of the world’s universities for Engineering and Technology. Professor Habibi is a professional engineer with 27 years of experience in industry and academia. Prior to his appointment as the Executive Dean of Engineering, he was the Head of School of Engineering from 2006 to 2015, during which time he initiated and led a program of rapid growth in ECU’s engineering portfolio, making his School the fastest growing engineering school in the nation. His other professional experience includes Telstra Research Laboratories, Flinders University, and Intelligent Pixels Inc., where he served as Vice-President Engineering. Professor Habibi’s research interests include engineering design for sustainable development, reliability and quality of service in communication systems and networks, smart energy systems, and environmental monitoring technologies.
Professor of history, University of Reading “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” Thesis Eleven of Karl Marx’s Theses on Feuerbach (1845) is both a call to action and a demand that we situate philosophical thinking about the world within history. This sums up my interests as an intellectual historian. My research and teaching explore the ideas, concepts, and ways of thinking about the world that dominated nineteenth and early twentieth century thought, and situates these ideas, concepts, and ways of thinking within their historical context. My work ranges across both the history of the left, especially early nineteenth century radicalism, Chartism, and the life and writings of John Stuart Mill, and the history of science, especially phrenology, Darwinism, and eugenics. In each of these areas I seek to understand how ideas and concepts developed within the context of their own time - radicalism in dialogue with contemporary conservatism, Darwinism in interaction with capitalism and imperialism - in order to understand them historically. This is a relevant and urgent activity because ideas and concepts formed in very different historical circumstances continue to frame our thinking today. History is the present interrogating the past in order to shape the future. The first step is to understand the past.
Associate Professor of Psychology, University of South Wales Deborah is a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered Health Psychologist and British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered Psychologist. After finishing her Psychology BSc and PhD in Cardiff University, Deborah worked in Cardiff University Institute of Medical Genetics, on research finding out about the psychological effects of screening women's ovaries more often when they had a history of ovarian cancer in their family. Deborah then started work as a lecturer in University of South Wales, where she is now an Associate Professor of Psychology. Deborah's research is about the psychological and social effects of women's reproductive health problems. Her research has included infertility, ovarian cancer screening, uterine fibroids, and heavy periods. As well as developing and testing ways of helping women to deal with these challenges, Deborah has contributed to expert panels, Welsh Government initiatives, continuing professional development events, and supervises a number of USW students on reproductive health topics.
