Departmental Events

STEAR Easter social event! Thursday 21st March, 5 - 6:30pm 🥚

Our student reps (STEAR) are organising an Easter social event. They're incredibly keen to have more staff attend these socials so they can build a community with us. They understand that when things go out of hours it may not be possible for staff to attend, but if you do have some spare time on Thursday 21st March (5-6.30pm) please do come along to our foyer.

Our students really want to celebrate with us and build a community so please do come along if you can, even if just for part of the event! 🥚

🌲 DEG Seminar

There is no seminar this week due to cancellation by the speaker. Apologies for any disappointment.

🌲 Sustainability Education Conversation

Date / Time: Wednesday 20th March at 12:05

Location: Zoom - Zoom link

Speaker: Dr Sarah Gretton and Alice Jackson

Title: Interdisciplinary Real-world Sustainability module

The Sustainability Enterprise Partnership Project module is a 15 credit ‘work related learning module’ that was piloted in semester 1 of the 2022/23 academic year with third year undergraduate science students (from Biological Sciences, Creative Computing, Geography, and Physics) at the University of Leicester. It was developed to build on an institutional project to provide sustainability audits for local business with student auditors. In this module, students work initially in groups and laterally individually, and are partnered with a local businesses. They use raw data (previously collected), to produce two pieces of work that were then fed back to the business to use. The Written Industry Report (group) provided the business with an overview of their current sustainability performance, with reference to relevant local and national policy and legislation as well as industry benchmarking data. Suggestions for which sustainability initiatives to aim towards and how to achieve those are provided in the Detailed Implementation Plan (individual). Alongside these, students complete a Professional Reflection Portfolio which includes their Carbon Literacy Training evidence form and some reflective questions about their skill development. This presentation will review the pilot delivery of this module, and discuss lessons learnt around the delivery of real-world interdisciplinary sustainability module.

Other Events

Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2024 - Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

The University is celebrating neurodiversity week from Monday 18th to Sunday 25th March 2024.
Click here to read more!

🎫 Research Seminar 15 March - Chemistry

Date / Time: Friday 15 March, 13:00-14:00

Location: C/A/122

Prof Peter O'Connor University of Warwick

Title: 'Advanced mass spectrometry approaches to molecular analysis in polymers, biomolecules, and small molecules' 

Modern advanced mass spectrometry offers remarkable, and very useful, capabilities that are not widely known outside of the mass spectrometry community. In this lecture, we will explore some of these relatively straightforward, but uncommon approached to molecular analysis. Our research laboratory at the University of Warwick focuses primarily on FTICR mass spectrometry, which offers the highest resolution and accuracy currently possible, but FTICR mass spectrometers also offer the highest experimental flexibility in terms of a wide variety of methods to generate fragments and analyse them. In this lecture, we will show the use of high resolution tandem mass spectrometry for study of the molecular structures of polymeric materials, where we also employ modified Kendrick mass defect analysis to rapidly separate the large number of fragment ions into a few fragment series which denote the endgroups and modifications. For biomolecule and small molecule analysis, the variety of tandem mass spectrometry approaches, including CID, ExD, IRMPD, and UVPD along with 2-dimensional mass spectrometry, allow for remarkably high cleavage coverage. We will show examples for proteins, proteomics, lipid analysis, and small pharmaceutical molecule analysis.

🎫 Call for interest: “Heritage” at York - Workshop on 10th May

Several departments in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities have research and teaching that relate, in one way or another, to “heritage” – also a buzzword for certain funders, and an attraction for students. We would like to explore ways of collaborating more effectively in this area. A first step is to learn more about relevant research that is already underway in the Faculty (and, where appropriate, beyond it).

We would therefore like to invite colleagues whose research touches in any way on the idea of “heritage” (however they define that term) to participate in a workshop on 10 May 2024, 2-5pm, in the Treehouse (BS/104, Berrick Saul Buiding). We ask participants to introduce their own heritage-related research in a short presentation of no more than 5 minutes and 5 slides.

Please indicate your interest by sending a short title for your 5-minute presentation to Laura Reid in History of Art (laura.reid@york.ac.uk) by 1 May 2024. The aim is to include all relevant research, so there will be no selection process, but we will try to organise the presentations into logical (or at least interesting) groups, and send a running order before the event.

Colleagues are also welcome to attend and participate in discussion without giving a presentation, though we hope that many colleagues will feel inspired to present their research. There will be a drinks reception after the workshop (5-6pm in the Treehouse).

Please join us if you can!

Nicky Milner, Laura Stewart, and Liz Prettejohn, The Heads of Department of Archaeology, History, and History of Art

Internship Opportunity

💻 Applications open for summer vacation on-campus internships

Careers and Placements invite academic departments and Professional Services to submit expressions of interest for recruiting students through the York Internships summer programme. APP (Access and Participation) and YCEDE funding may be available. If you wish to apply for funding, please submit your expression of interest by 31 March. Find out more via the bottom 'drop-down' on the York Internships web page. 

It's a brilliant opportunity to support current students in developing their employability through internships and gives colleagues an excellent way to fund a specific project of value to the Department.

Angela Purdham, Industry Liaison Officer

Good News and Media Engagement

Luke Andrews and Oliver Wilson will be hosting the Yorkshire Palaeoecology Group meeting in our department on the afternoon of the 24th April, 2024. This hybrid meeting is for anyone with an interest in archaeological or palaeoecological research. We are currently inviting people to register their interest in attending the meeting. If you're interested, please fill in this questionnaire. We warmly welcome all to join (despite the name, your work does not have to be relevant to Yorkshire to be of interest to this group!)

⭐ Richard Friend was quoted (and joint paper with Samarthia Thankappan and Bob Doherty et al was referenced) in article published in the Diplomat about the impact of hydropower development in the Mekong on fisheries and nutrition https://thediplomat.com/2024/02/where-have-all-the-mekong-rivers-fish-gone/

⭐ Richard Friend was invited to present his work on systemic risk to the Global FEWTure Alliance programme led by the University of Maryland.

⭐ Lindsay Stringer is a co-author on a paper published in One Earth which builds on her IPCC work and identifies the key research gaps in climate mobility. The full reference is: Simpson N, Gilmore EA, Siders AR, Holden P, Anderson B, Singh C, Sabour S, Stringer LC, Sterly H, Williams PA, Meyer ALS, Cundill G, Rosengaertner S, Nunow A, Amakrane K, Trisos CH. 2024. Research priorities for climate mobility. One Earth https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2024.02.002

⭐ Sarah Bridle was invited to appear as an expert speaker at a workshop held as part of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission's Food Conversation. The Food Conversation is a UK wide project asking citizens what they want from food. This workshop was introduction for citizens to the food system.

⭐ Congratulations to Jamie Carr, Banki Chunwate, Ellie Jew, Josh Kirshner, Rob Marchant and Lindsay Stringer, who together with colleagues from Nigeria and UCL published a new paper in Regional Environmental Change linked to Lindsay's Royal Society International Collaboration award: Salisu, A.T., Barau, A.S., Carr, J.A, Chunwate B, Jew EKK, Kirshner JD, Marchant RA, Tomei J, Stringer LC 2024 The forgotten bread oven: local bakeries, forests and energy transition in Nigeria. Reg Environ Change 24, 40 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-024-02194-8

⭐ Darpan Das along with Sohail Ahmed and Josh Kirshner published an article, titled 'Opportunities and challenges associated with the uptake of residential clean fuel usage,' in Current Environmental Health Reports. Click here to read: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-024-00438-7

⭐ Anika Haque was invited to the AXA IM UK headquarter in London on the 7th March to give a talk on her reserach. It was a very well attended event where more than 100 AXA employees were present.

⭐ Angela Purdham and the Employability Team welcomed back 9 of our Alumni to our Semester 2 Employability Showcase event 'Grill our Grads' in which all 4 UG programmes were represented. Our brilliant alumni shared their experiences, career journeys so far and top tips with UG and PG students from the Department before taking their questions in the panel session. Valuable connections were made over the networking session. We will soon have some snapshot footage to use at future events and visit days thanks to Paul Drury-Bradey. Thank you to various colleagues in the Student Services Team for their help with the planning and promotion.

⭐ Christopher Lyon published a new paper, ‘Words matter: ‘enduring intolerable suffering’ and the provider-side peril of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada’, in the Journal of Medical Ethics.  

Research Opportunities and Updates

Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) - Upcoming Webinars

The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) will be holding a series of webinars which staff at York have been invited to attend. Please see below details:

How We Fund: a deep dive into our approach to funding and our funding terms followed by Q&A When: 20th March from 14:00-15:00 GMT Led by: Antonia Jenkinson, CFO/COO; Tammy Thomas-Brown, Director of Procurement, Alexander Berry, Principal Lawyer Register here |

What We’re Working On: an introduction into ARIA’s model and our focal research areas followed by Q&A (Part I) When: 18th March from 15:00-16:00 GMT Led by: Pippy James, Director of Product and Programme Directors Suraj Bramhavar (Nature Computes Better), davidad Dalrymple (Mathematics for Safe AI), Jenny Read (Smarter Robot Bodies) and Jacques Carolan (Precisely interfacing with the human brain at scale) Register here |

What We’re Working On: an introduction into ARIA’s model and our focal research areas followed by Q&A (Part II) When: 3rd April from 15:00-16:00 BST Led by: Pippy James, Director of Product and Programme Directors Gemma Bale (Scoping Our Planet), Angie Burnett (Programmable Plants) and Mark Symes (Future-proofing Our Climate) Register here.

Ahead of the webinars, you may find the presentation on Aria's model and our opportunity spaces helpful.

If you are not able to join the live sessions, please register using the links above to be informed when the presentation recordings are available.

Should you have any questions or require further information, please contact hello@aria.org.uk.

Recruitment Announcement: Co-Leads Needed for the YESI Resilient Socio-ecological Systems Research Theme (x2)

YESI is in search of two Co-Leads for our newly named 'Resilient Socio-ecological Systems' theme as the current position holders’ three-year term is nearing its end. Successful candidates will become integral members of the YESI team, contributing to shaping the institute's strategic direction under the leadership of Professor Lindsay Stringer. Currently, the Research Theme leads are as follows:

• Environment and Health – Professor Pete Coventry and Dr. Katherine Brookfield (ongoing)

• Food, Water, and Waste - Professor James Chong and Dr. Liz Rylott (ongoing)

• Resilient Ecosystems – Professor Colin Beale and Dr. Julia Touza (See Theme Lead advert for full handover details)

You will be an internationally recognised researcher with expertise in the broad area of socio-ecological systems and/or resilience (commensurate with your career stage). You will be an inspiring, collaborative interdisciplinary leader who can harness these research strengths. Applications are welcome from permanent academic and research staff across all three Faculties, and at all career stages from lecturer to professor, including permanent research fellows at Grade 7 or above.

Applicants should upload a CV and a statement (up to 2 pages) identifying how they fit the role description and person specification and outlining both a short-term (initial 6 months) and longer-term vision for the theme. Full details about the theme lead roles can be found here.

For informal enquiries: please contact YESI Director Prof Lindsay Stringer, or the current role holders: Prof Colin Beale or Dr Julia Touza.

Apply by 14 April 2024

Spring 2024 funding: Laura Bassi Scholarship

The Laura Bassi Scholarship was established in 2018 with the aim of providing editorial assistance to postgraduates and junior academics whose research focuses on neglected topics of study, broadly construed. The scholarships are open to every discipline and the next round of funding will be awarded in Spring 2024:
Application deadline: 24 March 2024
Results: 10 April 2024

All currently enrolled master’s and doctoral candidates are eligible to apply, as are academics in the first five years of full-time employment. Applicants are required to submit a completed application form along with their CV through the application portal by the relevant deadline. Further details, including previous winners, and the application portal can be found at: https://editing.press/bassi

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