Blog - Page 36 of 165 - Research Outreach

Rethinking leadership in complex adaptive systems

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Professor Sloan researches the characteristics of effective leadership in complex global systems, considering the roles of leaders who need to deal with a range of actors in complex situations such as human trafficking.

Leadership is a cornerstone of business school syllabi, but it is usually focused on organisational leadership. But what about the leadership needed to deal with global issues that cross geographic, […]

Durability of wood – integration of experimental and numerical approach

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A cross section of cut pieces of wood. Serene Gambarelli and Josipa Bosnjak research the tensile strength of soft- and hardwood and use a numerical model to capture the complex behaviour of wood, aiming to further our understanding of materials to be used in construction.

If a building is to have a lifetime of fifty years or more, it is important to be able to predict how the construction materials will fare in that timespan. […]

A new strategy for the treatment of chronic wounds

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A number of people are working in what looks to be a scientific laboratory. Everyone is wearing white coats, and one woman is leaning against a countertop. Dr Manuela Martins-Green investigates the impact of increased OS levels on wound healing by stimulating chronic wound development in a diabetic mouse model.

Wound healing is highly regulated, but oxidative stress (OS) can disturb this healing process in chronic wounds. To better understand the process of initiating chronicity, Dr Manuela Martins-Green and her […]

Cascading energy: Explaining fluctuations in the solar wind

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An image of the sun emitting rays of energy, and the Earth's magnetic fields dispersing the energy. Dr Charles Smith has explored fluctuations in solar wind, using the latest theory of fluid dynamics to understand how dissipation of energy might provide better explanations than previously used Alfven wave models.

Originating from the dynamic upper reaches of the Sun’s atmosphere, the influence of solar wind can be felt throughout the solar system. We sat down with Dr Charles Smith at […]

A life in literature: An interview with Professor Nicholas Royle

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Creative abstract landscape. Interview with Nicholas Royle, who is Professor of English at the University of Sussex and founding director of the Centre for Creative and Critical Thought. Since publishing his first work of criticism – Telepathy and Literature – in 1991, his creative output has been consistently varied and rewarding, blurring any firm conception of form or genre. Royle remains most widely known, perhaps, for his introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory, written with Professor Andrew Bennett. The book is a remarkably creative and ever-evolving project which appraises literature through a shifting array of lenses, prompting us to reassess what we ultimately mean by the ’literary’ as distinct from other forms of writing.

Nicholas Royle is Professor of English at the University of Sussex and founding director of the Centre for Creative and Critical Thought. Since publishing his first work of criticism – […]

How geometry expresses the Second Law of Thermodynamics

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A new thermodynamics approach based on a groundbreaking geometrical understanding of entropy.

Physicists have long struggled to explain how the inevitable increase in the universe’s entropy can be reconciled with the reversible laws of quantum mechanics. Now, Professor Chris Jeynes at the […]

Parachute science and Caribbean plastic pollution

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Plastic pollution on beach. Marine litter research in the Caribbean’s Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is imperative for protecting local communities and ecosystems from the effects of plastic pollution. Work to resolve the damage caused by marine debris, however, is being undermined by ‘parachute science’, where scientists from outside SIDS conduct research and leave without consulting or collaborating with local experts. Dr Aleke Stöfen-O’Brien and her colleagues from the World Maritime University, Sweden, are tackling this important issue to promote more equitable and sustainable ocean governance and international scientific collaboration.

Marine litter research in the Caribbean’s Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is imperative for protecting local communities and ecosystems from the effects of plastic pollution. Work to resolve the damage […]

Rethinking psychiatric medication: An interview with Will Hall

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Will Hall discusses his work in mental health advocacy, schizophrenia and coming off psychiatric medication

Influential mental-health advocate, therapist, and researcher Will Hall talks to us about his latest research on psychiatric drugs, carried out at Maastricht University in the Netherlands with fellow pioneers in […]

Empathic engineering design for accessibility for deaf curling athletes

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McLeod and Friesen have developed a team-based design course for computer engineering students, built on the principles of empathic design and focused on accessibility for deaf curling athletes

Deaf curling athletes are particularly disadvantaged as they rely on visual cues for their sweeping commands rather than audible ones. Professor Bob McLeod and Professor Marcia Friesen, from the University […]

Microwave soil heating can reduce arsenic absorption of rice plants

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Dr Graham Brodie researches microwave heating of soil and the application of microwave-generated biochar as a means of reducing arsenic absorption in rice.

Rice is a staple food for much of the world’s population, but it is also highly prone to absorbing environmental arsenic compared to other cereal crops. Biochar from microwave-assisted pyrolysis […]