CECHR Annual Report 2013/14

ANNUAL REPORT2013/14

Centre for Environmental Change and Human Resilience

2 CECHR Annual Report 2013/14

Contents

Page

University of Dundee (a profile in brief ) 3

Forward from the Principal 4

Operations Team and CECHR Board 5

Director’s Cut: Reflecting on the Year Past 6

Priorities for the Year Ahead 7

About Us 8

Perspective from the James Hutton Institute 9

Communications and Social Media 10

CECHR Associate – the Why and Who of it 11

CECHR_Grad: the Next Generation 12

Diary of Events 13

Change Maker Workshops 2013/14 14

Events Programme in Pictures 14

CECHR Artist in Residence 15

‘Incubator Fund’ Awards 2014 16

Research Grant Successes 17

Selected Larger Grants to University-based CECHR Associates 18

Examples of Research Impact 19

Publications: A Selection from the Corpus 20

Academic Associates 21

New Sustainability MSc Programme 22

CECHR Annual Report 2013/14 3

HistoryThe University of Dundee is a leading Scottish institution and one of the world’s top Universities for Life Sciences, Medicine, Engineering, Computing, Art & Design, Humanities, Law and the Environment.

Founded in 1881 as University College, Dundee, and subsequently part of the University of St Andrews, the University of Dundee was granted its Royal Charter in 1967 establishing it as an independent body.

Key FactsWith 18,000 students from 145 countries, we truly are a global university. Most students are based in the city of Dundee, though more than 5,000 study by way of distance learning. Whilst our international reach is broad, our identity remains strongly Scottish – from a country with over 500 proud years of experience in higher education.The University of Dundee is a key pillar in the region’s economy, employing 3,000 staff and attracting tens of millions of pounds in research funding every year. Annual turnover is around £220 million.

Research Profile and StrengthsResearch at Dundee delivers impact by harnessing expertise across disciplines to tackle some of the challenging problems the world faces today. We promote the sustainable use of global resources, shape the future through innovative design and improve social, cultural and physical well-being.With high-quality teaching, world-leading research, and a superbly designed £200 million campus with an unrivalled position in the heart of Dundee, it’s no surprise that 2014 sees us as top of the class for student experience in Scotland for the 5th year in succession, and again in the UK top ten.1

1 Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey (200-2015)

University of Dundee (a profile in brief )


I continue to be excited not just by the contribution CECHR is making to the University’s transformation vision, but by its potential to achieve even more. The clue is in the name. The Centre for Environmental Change and Human Resilience is truly interdisciplinary in its approach and is making a real difference in terms of our key challenge to promote the sustainable use of global resources.

This year CECHR has reached important milestones in graduating nine PhD students and establishing the “Associate Programme” which has driven grant acquisition involving 18 Schools and Divisions worth nearly £2 million to the University. And its international recognition is growing exponentially through an extensive programme of lectures and workshops and visiting speakers. I look forward to seeing many more milestones being reached during the next few years.

Forward from the Principal

The Centre for Environmental Change and Human Resilience is truly interdisciplinary in its approach and is making a real difference in terms of our key challenge to promote the sustainable use of global resources.Professor Pete Downes, Principal and Vice Chancellor, October 2014


Operations Team and CECHR Board

(from left to right)Dr Peter Moug – ResearcherProf Ioan Fazey – Deputy DirectorLouise Henderson – CommunicationsProf John Rowan – DirectorJean Duncan – Resident ArtistTracey Dixon – Social Media

CECHR Governing Board

Professor Margaret Smith, OBE Deputy Principal & Dean of Nursing, College of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing

Professor Clare Halpin, FRSE Head of Plant Science Division, College of Life Sciences

Professor Nic Beech Vice Principal and Head of College, College of Arts and Social Sciences

Professor Tim NewmanDean of EPM and Head of College, College of Arts, Science & Engineering

Professor Colin CampbellDirector of Science Excellence, James Hutton Institute

Tracey Dixon - Photography

Director’s Cut: Reflecting on the Year Past

Looking back, this has been a momentous year in the CECHR journey (we pronounce it as ‘checker’). We have moved on from the foundational phase, which emphasised capacity building and fostering the interdisciplinary community. The new phase is about realising the power and reach of a critical academic mass to tap increasingly competitive funding streams and translating this research into societal impact. Exemplar projects include Chris Connolly’s (Neuroscience) research into the impact of pesticides on honeybees; Andrew Allan’s (UNESCO Water Centre) Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation research examining climate change impacts in coastal Bangladesh; Anna Moss’ (Environment) climate change adaptation indicators programme for the UK and Scottish Governments, and Ed Hall (Environment) and Thilo Kroll’s (SDHI) Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Scottish and Southern Energy Distribution seeking to increase the resilience of vulnerable citizens to extreme weather.

In the year past we have established a new CECHR Office in the University and welcomed a number of new arrivals to the operations team. These include a dedicated Marketing and Communications Officer - Louise Henderson – now the acceptable face of CECHR; Ioan Fazey as a new Deputy Director driving forwards our social dimensions of environmental change; and Peter Moug as a resilience researcher. In terms of outreach our @CECHR_UOD Twitter-feed has gone global (with over 23,000 followers) due to Tracey Dixon’s tireless efforts; whilst Jean Duncan’s Artist in Residence collaborations with academics and the wider public continue to grow, ranging from glacier retreat in Iceland to coastal hazard in Montrose.

Our key targets moving forward are to build profile through our research excellence and to maximise the impact of this work to help transform people’s lives, locally, nationally and internationally. The alignment with the University’s strategic Transformation agenda is self-evident, particularly in relation to the priority thematic area of ‘managing global resources sustainably’. As a conscious strategy we created the ‘CECHR Associate’ programme, which within three months has recruited over 50 researchers from the James Hutton Institute and from all Colleges of the University - spanning 18 academic Schools/Divisions. In the year 2013/14 CECHR Associates shared collaborative research funding in excess of £40 million, 27 PhD students and generated c. £2 million income to the University. In this time 175 papers in the peer-reviewed international journal literature have been published along with many more book chapters, reports and policy guidance notes. The academic programme of symposia, workshops and lectures enjoyed strong support and is an important element in outreach activities locally and nationally. We welcome your interest.

Prof John Rowan, CECHR Director


‘Erosion’ by Jean Duncan 2014


Priorities for the Year Ahead

CECHR is at an exciting stage with many new opportunities on the horizon. Interest and recognition of the need for human societies to respond to global environmental change is increasing, as is the need for interdisciplinary approaches that span the social and natural sciences and engage with diverse stakeholders. The challenges are enormous, but CECHR is well placed to respond given its ability to rapidly bring together different expertise across Dundee University and the James Hutton Institute, and through its linkages with other institutions around the world.

Exciting new developments include the continued building of interdisciplinary capacity through the ‘Change-Maker Workshop’ series and the postgraduate conference ‘Facing the Future’ in May 2015. CECHR will also be leading the Scottish Alliance for Geosciences, Environment and Society (SAGES) ‘Society Theme’ initiative ‘Transformation in a Changing Climate’ linking policy makers and academics using innovative ‘futures consciousness’ methods in collaboration with the International Futures Forum.

Such forward thinking complements other initiatives to consolidate CECHR’s diverse expertise in the field of resilience, around flooding, community resilience, town planning and geo-engineering – and feeds directly into Scottish Government and other policy fields. CECHR is also further internationalizing its relationships, with new linkages and collaborations being forged with partner institutions from around the world, including CSIRO (Australia), WATERnet (Zimbabwe), and the Charles Darwin Foundation (Galapagos).

Generating impact by translating our research into tangible social benefits is a key objective as is maintaining our relevance as we continue to grow.

Prof Ioan Fazey, CECHR Deputy Director


About Us

CECHR was established in 2009 as a Strategic Partnership involving the University of Dundee and the James Hutton Institute - then the Scottish Crop Research Institute. It was founded to create an internationally significant academic community working together to tackle the major global challenges of water, food, energy and health security. The rationale was to provide an enabling environment uniting multiple excellent, but hitherto unconnected research groups, in both institutions. A systems-based socio-ecological approach is evoked seeking to increase resilience in pursuit of more sustainable and equitable futures for all. The modus operendi is also consciously interdisciplinary pitched across natural and social science divides in recognition that real-world complex, shape-shifting (wicked) problems defy traditional single disciplinary approaches.

CECHR’s core values are consistent with the University’s Transformation vision, placing a premium on valuing people by nourishing creativity and innovation; working together by blending multiple disciplines to tackle complex and seemingly intractable problems; promoting integrity and trustworthiness; making a difference by concentrating on problem-solving; and finally by focussing on excellence we ensure our research and teaching are of the highest quality to enhance academic reputation.

Conceptual framework illustrating food, water, energy and health

Governance, economy and regulationAgriculture and carbon landscapes

Demography and social justice

FOOD WATER ENERGY HEALTH

Climate change and ecosystem servicesAdaptive engineering and built environment

Tools and technical systems

Concept-based research clusters cross-cut main research themes to frame specific research questions and deliver policy relevance

Uncertain social and environmental futures

Increased resilience and sustainable livelihoods


Perspective from the James Hutton InstituteBy Professor Colin Campbell, Director of Science Excellence & Member of the Governing CECHR Board

The James Hutton Institute in Brief

The James Hutton Institute brought together two of Scotland’s most prestigious land-based research institutes – namely the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Aberdeen and the Invergowrie-based (Dundee) Scottish Crop Research Institute. Created on 1 April 2011 the new institute was founded with a vision to become a world leader in research and engagement delivering evidence-based solutions to the global challenges facing land and natural resource use, both now and in the future.

The combined power of the Institute is evident in a staff compliment of over 600 researchers and outstanding facilities spanning state-of-the-art analytical labs, informatics and computational facilities, glasshouses and experimental farms. The Institute’s Postgraduate School has over 120 graduate students, registered at 30 different universities from around the world.

The aspirations of CECHR and the James Hutton Institute are highly complementary and build on 10 years of established collaboration arising from the co-location of the University’s Plant Sciences Division within the Institute’s Invergowrie estate. Co-funding interdisciplinary CECHR PhD Studentships and strong support from the highest level promoted new connections. We are delighted to have Prof Colin Campbell, the Director of Science Excellence for JHI, sit on our governing CECHR Board.

Reflecting on the value of the initiative to JHI Colin writes: ‘CECHR is an excellent initiative which extends our networks and capabilities to address areas of mutual interest around some major global challenges. We have benefitted enormously from it through joint funding and joint PhD students and learning new ways of combining our talents and promoting our science. The energy and enthusiasm of the participants and students is a major part of CECHR’s success and it has invigorated all who take part in it.’

Colin is responsible for the strategic development of the institute’s research excellence agenda - applying to scientists, facilities and resources. He has 25 years of research experience in soil microbiology/soil science, with particular expertise in fundamental and applied studies into the effects of pollutants on soil health and how microbial diversity contributes to ecosystem functioning. He is also Director of the Institute’s Post-Graduate School.

The energy and enthusiasm of the participants and students is a major part of the CECHR’s success and it has invigorated all who take part in it.Prof Colin Campbell, October 2014


Communications and Social Media

Of course all self-respecting organisations have a social media presence. In the year past we have pursued four development strands. The first was a significant upgrade to the CECHR Website (www.dundee.ac.uk/cechr), whilst the others involved growing the Twitter profile, establishing a Facebook identity and launching the CECHR_SPHERE, a blogging site for PhD students and associates’ to report and share their field and research experiences when travelling around the world.

Since its first tweet in February 2012 the @CECHR_UoD Twitter feed now (October 2014) attracts over 24,000 followers and continues to go from strength to strength with influential followers spanning the spectrum of science, policy and socio-environmental activism interests. These include media-savvy educators such as Iain Stewart @Profiainstewart; politicians such as Paul Wheelhouse, the Scottish Government’s Minister for Environment and Climate Change @PaulWheelhouse, and the former French Prime Minister and current Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development @LaurentFabius. It also includes important NGOs and campaigning organisations - such as Former US Vice-President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project @ClimateReality and the Nelson Mandela Foundation @NelsonMandela.”

Inti Keith (front Centre) blogging from her residency in the Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos Islands

Our Facebook page has recently gone live providing a forum to exchange information and ideas, and to promote communication and networking. Somewhat alternatively the CECHR_SPHERE, has been strongly adopted by our graduate students undertaking fieldwork and internships across the world. Recent postings from Antarctica, Tasmania, the Galapagos, Jamaica, Paris and Iceland attest to our international credentials and provide perceptive and valuable insights about their experiences.

We are delighted with the massive success of the @CECHR_UoD twitter feed which has grown from its first tweet in 2012 to attract a staggering 24,000 followers.Professor John Rowan, November 2014


CECHR Associate – the why and who of it

The CECHR website was re-launched in June 2014 (www.dundee.ac.uk/cechr). At its heart lies a new Associate Programme providing a showcase of the University’s environmental portfolio in a single space – inclusive of key collaborators from the James Hutton Institute (JHI).

The benefits of joining the Associates programme include membership of a progressive and dynamic interdisciplinary community of practice; a strong collaborative research culture; a supporting academic programme; horizon-scanning of future funding calls; and support from the CECHR Operations team in terms of marketing and communications. In return Associates have responsibilities to promote and share best research and teaching practices; mentor graduate students and early career researchers; and provide key reporting data (grant income, paper outputs, events and outreach activities) to evidence the trajectory and impact of the CECHR initiative.

The Associates Programme was launched in June 2014 and by the end of September 51 academics had joined the initiative along with 27 PhD students. There is representation from all four Colleges of the University and from the James Hutton Institute (below) – including 14 Schools and Divisions and more than 20 discrete disciplines spanning the natural, social science and legal spectrum. Contributing disciplines include Geography, Plant Sciences, Ecology, Microbiology, Civil Engineering, Physics, Forensics, Nursing, Architecture, Planning, Design, History, Economics and Law.

CECHR’s value lies in having a coordinated and aligned multidisciplinary community working collaboratively within an interdisciplinary context. The key themes shown illustrate the strategic priorities, but point to a breadth of expertise providing capacity to react opportunistically to new opportunities. For more information on becoming a CECHR Associate, please contact Louise Henderson ([email protected]).

College of Medicine,Dentistry & Nursing

6%

College of Life Sciences

6%

James Hutton Institute

14%

College of Arts, Science &

Engineering 17%

College of Arts and Social Sciences

57%

CECHR Associates by College Affiliation

Relative Proportion (%)

Key

Them

es

Water Futures

Sustainability/Resilience

Socio-Economic

Legal & Governance

Health Futures

Food Futures

Environ. & Climate Change

Engineering & Built Environment

Energy Futures

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%


CECHR_Grad: the Next Generation

PhD Students are the heart and soul of the CECHR initiative and we have a thriving postgraduate community (CECHR_Grad), currently comprising 27 PhD students drawn from across the University, a quarter of whom are co-supervised by researchers from the James Hutton Institute. The research projects span interests in food and water security; biodiversity and landscape sensitivity; resilience of health systems to climate change; natural flood management; renewable energy policy and social justice. Since 2013 nine students have completed their PhDs and all have already found employment in academic and professional capacities (see below).

Graduate Division/School Topic Where now

Ahmed Alrajeh Business Management accounting Postdoc, University of Dundee

Canford Chiroro* Geog/JHI Drought risk and resilience in Malawi Postdoc, University of Surrey

David Yawson* Geog/JHI Virtual water, climate & UK food security Lecturer, Univ of Gold Coast, Ghana

Geoff Wood* CEPMLP/Law/ Physics Renewable energy policy in Scotland Lecturer, University of Stirling

Jing Lee UNESCO International legal protection for ecosystems Lawyer, Environment Ministry, Malaysia

Laura Booth Geog Visualising glacial processes in Iceland Manager, Tay Estuary Forum

Tim Lewis Geog/JHI Soil erosion and seedbank biodiversity Environmental Manager, Sirius UK

Wenni Deng* Civil Eng/JHI Engineering novel geotextiles Lecturer, Southeast University, China

Yumiko Yusada UNESCO Governance and NGOs in the Mekong basin Postdoc, University of Dundee

* Recipients of CECHR Scholarships

Congratulations to the following CECHR_Grads who’ve completed their studies in 2013/14

Sku Ncube, ‘mapping ecosystem services in the Tweed basin’ and based in the UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science.

Eco-Design11%

Growth of the CECHR_Grad Cohort, University of Dundee

Health & Development

11%

Energy11%

Water15%

Resilience / Sustainability

15%

Climate & Environ. Change

18%

Food19%

Regi

ster

ed/G

radu

atin

g Ph

Ds

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Year

Current PhD Cohort Graduating (XCECHR)

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Current PhD (CECHR_GRAD) Research Themesn=27


Academic Programme: Diary of Events

An important element of CECHR is provision of a stimulating academic programme for both internal stimulation and promoting external relations. A strong array of international speakers complimented our UK-based collaborators. A common feature of all the events has been the warmth of the welcome and the animated and sometimes very passionate discussions arising. Recommendations for future visitors are always appreciated.

Date Event Brief Description Present

Sept 2013 Workshop ‘CECHR New Futures’ visioning workshop to co-develop new priorities for the CECHR initiative and links to Transformation.

50

Oct 2013 Seminar Dr Marius Classeen (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa) ‘Climate, water and development: A South African perspective’.

48

Oct 2013 Workshop ‘Horizon 2020 Opportunities in the environment and climate change calls’. Led by Neil Stewart, RIS. 45

Nov 2013 Seminar Dr Debra Davidson (University of Alberta) ‘It’s Not all About Consumption! Why the Nature of the Resource Matters’.

35

Dec 2013 Seminar Andrew Hewett (University Finance Director) ‘Every product tells a story’ discussing creation of sustainable global supply chains.’

25

Jan 2014 Lecture Professor Christopher Smout (Historiographer Royal) ‘Environmental lessons from the history of the Firth of Forth’.

75

Jan 2014 Seminar Dr Peter Fox (Environment Agency) ‘Coping with the flooding of December 2013 and January 2014’. 60

Feb 2014 Symposium Annual CECHR Symposium themed ‘Transformation’, featuring research presentations by colleagues from University and the James Hutton Institute.

70

Feb 2014 Launch Opening of ‘Melt’, an Exhibition by Jean Duncan, CECHR’s Artist in Residence along with British Geological Survey.

40

Feb 2014 Lecture Professor Phil Hanlon (University of Glasgow) lectured on his ‘Afternow Project’ examining the future of public health in Scotland.

85

Mar 2014 Workshop ‘Urban Indicators: Transformation and Climate Proofing: Bridging the Policy/Practice Divide’ with Profs Patrizia Lombardi (Turin), Mark Deakin (Napier) & Dr Anna Moss (Dundee).

35

Apr 2014 Workshop ‘Social Dimensions of Environmental Change Workshop’, exploring the contribution of humanities and social science.

30

May 2014 Lecture Professor Helen Ross (University of Queensland) ‘Reconciling Resilience’. 65

Sept 2014 Conference ‘Conference on Climate Change and Sustainability’, two day conference (Geddes/CECHR) - 11 invited experts including Alex Hill (Met Office), Adrian Leaman (Useable Buildings), Prof Derek Clements-Croome (Reading) & Prof Stuart Gulliver (Glasgow).

90

Sept 2014 Lecture John Foster (Lancaster University), ‘After Sustainability – the end of Pretending?’ 90

Oct 2014 Seminar Helen Grayshan (Solar Cities Scotland) ‘Fuel Poverty in Dundee and Community Owned Renewable Energy – a Solution?’

30


Change Maker Workshops 2013/14

Self-organisation and innovative practices are the hallmarks of the CECHR_Grad postgraduate programme. Last year and this, the students have co-designed and organised a series of Workshops throughout the academic year. They are aimed at PhD and Masters students across all disciplines and they are intended to equip the participants with practical skills in collaboration, negotiation and leadership.

Change Maker Workshops 2013/14

• Facilitating and Participation I – October 2013 This workshop aims to provide delegates with a good

understanding of what facilitation is and to introduce them to a range of facilitation methods and techniques to enable effective input based on participation and learning.

• Facilitating and Participation II – November 2013 Those who attended the first workshop were encouraged

to apply and practice the methods and techniques they learnt in the previous workshop to scenarios and experiences drawn from their own PhD topics.

• Governing the Commons – November 2013 This workshop investigated the challenges of working

with policy and natural resources.

• Using Social Media for Knowledge Exchange – February 2014

The workshop was structured around the role and use of social media in enhancing the impact of academic research.

• Managing Change During Crisis and Uncertainty – February 2014

This workshop examined how researchers responded to and managed change during crises.

• Hosting a workshop – March 2014 How to plan, manage and facilitate workshops.

Events Programme in Pictures

Prof Chris Smout (left) & Prof Chris Whatley | John Foster, Lecture | Helen Ross, Lecture

Change Maker Workshop | CECHR 2014 Annual Symposium


CECHR Artist in Residence

The year past has been incredibly productive for our Artist-in-Residence Jean Duncan. In truth Artist-in-Residence is something of a misnomer. Peripatetic might be more apposite considering her travelling, inspiring and being inspired by conversations with staff and students from the University, the James Hutton Institute, the British Geological Survey, the Nethergate Writers, Montrose Museum and Creative Scotland to name only some (see www.dundee.ac.uk/cechr/about/artistinresidence). Below is a selection of the projects.

‘Melt’

Jean spent a week with a group of scientists from BGS at their glacier monitoring station in southeast Iceland, funded by Dundee City Council and BGS - talks about the project, an exhibition of work by Jean and photographs and artifacts from the scientists was held in the University’s Tower Foyer during March and April.

‘Ice River’

‘Montrose Bay, the Changing Coast’

This year’s long project was funded by Creative Scotland in-volving collaboration with geoscientist Dr Fraser Milne and photographer Tracey Dixon. The aim was to use art-based public engagement to improve understanding of coastal change and environmental risk. One of the main outcomes was an album of poetry, photographs and stories by local people about the beach. The ‘Shifting Sands’ Exhibition in Montrose Museum recorded 3,500 visitors over the summer ([email protected]).

‘Southesk Tides’

‘500 Years of Agricultural Plants’

Over the summer Jean worked with Professor Geoff Squire and Gladys Wright on one of JHI’s flagship public outreach initiatives ‘Living Field Programme’ making drawings to illustrate the web pages, educational packs and an e-book.

Outreach

Jean also gave invited presentations about collaborative working at the Annual Symposium of the Tay Estuary Forum and to the Royal Scottish Geographical Society AGM in April of this year. She is also involved in the current series of CECHR ‘Change maker’ Workshops.

‘Living Field’


‘Incubator Fund’ Awards 2014

In June applications were invited for ‘incubator grants’ to share from a fund of £5,000 to support new projects aligned to CECHR’s mission. These are expected to be interdisciplinary and collaborative, and this year applicants were explicitly linked to the University’s Transformation Agenda. Funding can be directed towards any aspect of the research process e.g. academic exchange, hosting a workshop, initiating a pilot study or preparing a grant application. Thirteen proposals requesting in excess of £28,000 were submitted, from which the winning three were selected by Prof Deborah Peel, Prof Chris Spray and Dr David Rodley.

‘Ties to the Tay: Creative Transformation in Sustainable Tayside Communities’, by Dr Susan Mains (Geography) and a galaxy of collaborators including Gail Low (Humanities); Jacquelyn Malcolm (DJCAD) and Matthew Jarron (Museum Services). The project proposes a forum to explore the complex and dynamic relationships Taysiders have with the River Tay, developing methods for documenting, and sharing, different understandings of wellbeing, community and belonging. It builds on on-going collaborations with residents, artists and community groups in the Tayside area before and after the arrival of the V&A Museum of Design coming to Dundee’s waterfront. CECHR funds will support a series of three workshops leading to a large funding proposal (see the blogsite: tiestothetay.wordpress.com).

‘Using Minecraft with School Pupils to digitally Reimagine and Build Dundee’s Waterfront’ Derek Robertson (Education) and Dr Deepak Gopinath (TRP) will use the computer game Minecraft (via PS3 and Xbox consoles) in local schools to explore the rich learning potential that this digital resource offers in terms of supporting and enriching curriculum learning. The funds will purchase multiple licences and controllers enabling real-time collaborative team building in Minecraft. A journal paper using the empirical evidence is planned.

‘Bioleaching of Valuable Metals from Fly-ash’ by Prof Geoff Gadd (College of Life Sciences), Dr Tom Dyer and Prof Rod Jones (Civil Engineering). The aim is to demonstrate metal bioleaching from fly-ash using geoactive fungal strains with defined properties relating to metal and mineral transformations. Fungi are capable of a variety of metal and mineral transformations notably through excretion of metabolites such as organic acids. Fly ash is a significant waste product containing high concentrations of metals of varying value and toxicity, and there is growing interest in better means of metal recycling and recovery, especially those metals of commercial significance. The financial resources will be used to cover analytical costs and the proof-of-concept results will support a major grant application.

4J Artist’s Minecraft Vision of Dundee’s new waterfront


Research Grant Successes

CECHR Associates are collaborating on externally funded research programmes totalling in excess of £40 million and generating almost £ 2M income to the University of Dundee in 2013/14. These funds come from a variety of sources including NERC, EPSRC, ESRC, BBSRC, AHRC and cross-research council thematic programmes such as the ‘Living with Environmental Change’, ‘Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation’ – along with EU (FP7), UK and Scottish Government sources – including the recently established Centre for Expertise on Climate Change (ClimateXChange) and Centre for Research Expertise for Waters (CREW).

Over the next three years CECHR will continue to work towards our ambition to establish Dundee as an internationally recognised centre of excellence in resilience and sustainability evidenced by the quality and impact of our research – featuring our innovative interdisciplinary approaches spanning science, social science and policy; building capacity through innovative teaching and consultancy programmes; and generating impact through engagement with government and civil society.


Period Funder Award CECHR Lead Project

2014-17 CARIAA £270K (£7.4M)

Mr Andrew Allan ‘Deltas, vulnerability and climate change: migration and adaptation (DECCMA)’. 15 Partner Institutions.

2014-17 EPSRC £183K Dr Andrew Brennan (Civil Engineering)

‘Seabed ploughing: modelling for infrastructure installation’. Lead Mike Brown (Civil Eng).

2014-17 SFC £149K Prof John Rowan (CECHR)

‘Climate change impacts on the water resources of Bangladesh examined through the lens of loss and damage’.

2014-16 TSB £170K Dr Ed Hall (Geography)

‘Improving the response to energy disruption for vulnerable people in extreme weather events’. KTP with SSE.

2014-15 CREW £140K Prof Chris Spray (UNESCO)

‘Methods to assess the role of catchment management to protect and improve water quality in a cost effective way’. With collaborators CEH & Westcountry Rivers Trust.

2013-17 ESRC / AHRC

£125K (£310K)

Prof Terry Dawson (Geography)

‘Mining relationships among variables in large datasets from complex systems (MIRACLE)’. ‘Digging into Data’ Programme.

2013-17 BBSRC £448K Prof Frank Sargent (Molecular Microbiology)

‘Metal-hydrido intermediates in enzymes: atomic level mechanistic insight and technological applications of hydrogenases’.

2013-17 NERC / ESPA

£500K Prof Terry Dawson (Geography)

‘Which ecosystem service models best capture the needs of the rural poor? (WISER)’. Collaboration with CEH.

2013-16 SSHRC, Canada

£35K Prof Graeme Morton (History)

‘Extreme weather and patterns of emigration: Scotland, 1770-1988’.

2013-15 EU FP7 £175K Ms Elizabeth Kirk (Law)

‘The European Union and the Law on the Protection of Marine Biodiversity in the Arctic’, Marie Curie Fellowship.

2013-14 NERC £63K Prof Geoff Gadd (Geomicrobiology)

‘Cobalt: the roles of geology, geomicrobiology and geometallurgy in its mineral formation and recovery’.

2012-17 NERC £487K (£2.4M)

Dr Mark Cutler (Geography)

‘Global Observatory of lake responses to environmental change (GloboLakes)’. Consortium award, five partners.

2012-16 NERC £265K (£4.0M)

Mr Andrew Allan (UNESCO)

‘Assessing health, livelihoods, ecosystem services and poverty alleviation in populous deltas’

2012-16 NERC £228K (£2.1M)

Dr Sue Dawson (Geography)

‘Will climate change in the Arctic increase the landslide-tsunami risk to the UK?’ Consortium award 8 partners

2012-15 EU FP7 £184K (£4.4M)

Dr Andrew Brennan (Civil Engineering)

‘MERMAID: Innovative multi-purpose offshore platforms: planning, design and operation’. 28 partner institutions.

2012-15 RESAS £494K (£4.2M)

Prof John Rowan(CECHR)

‘Developing a national climate change adaptation indicators framework’. Centre of Expertise on Climate Change.

2012-15 EU FP7 £321K (£1.2M)

Dr Jonathan Knappett (Civil Eng.)

‘Geotechnical design solutions for the offshore renewable wave energy industry (Geowave)’. 10 partner institutions.

2012-14 AHRC £212K Prof Colin Reid (Law)

‘The privatisation of biodiversity: New approaches to nature conservation law’.

2012-14 DEFRA Darwin

£252K Prof Terry Dawson (Geography)

‘Galapagos marine invasive species: prevention, detection and management’. Collaboration with Southampton.

2010-14 BBSRC £856K (£1.9M)

Dr Chris Connolly (Neuroscience)

‘An investigation into the synergistic impact of sublethal exposure to industrial chemicals on the learning capacity and performance of bees’. Insect Pollinators Initiative.

Selected Larger Grants to University-based CECHR Associates


Insect PollinatorsPollinators contribute over £400 million per year to the UK economy by fertilising crops and thus playing a major role in national food security. Since the 1980s honeybee numbers have halved, three species of bumblebees have been lost and most butterfly species are in decline. The Insect Pollinators Initiative explores factors influencing pollinators health and vitality. Dr Chris Connolly (Neuroscience), and colleagues from RHL, Newcastle and UCL, were awarded £1.8M from the BBSRC (2010-2014) to examine the ‘cocktail-effect’ arising from exposure to multiple agro-chemical pesticides at sub-lethal doses, and how this impacts on foraging, navigation and potential colony collapse behaviour in honeybees. The papers and parallel outreach activites led to Chris being awarded the 2014 Stephen Fry Award for Public Engagement by the University of Dundee. The significance of the work led to Chris being invited to present to the House of Parliament “Why pick on the neonicotinoids?”, informing MPs on the importance of environmental pharmacology as it relates to DEFRA’s ‘National Pollinator Strategy’. He was also recently been appointed as an Expert Advisor to European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Scientific Committee.

Earth ObservationGloboLakes is a five year NERC Funded Research Consortium (£2.4 M), with partners in Stirling, Dundee, Glasgow, Reading, PML and CECHR (2012-2017). Its aim is to establish a satellite-based observatory with archive and near real-time (NRT) data processing for 1000 lakes worldwide. For the first time this will enable trends in water quality and quantity to be detected. Dr Mark Cutler, along with Profs John Rowan and Terry Dawson (Geog), leads the catchment and climate workpackage which forms the foundation for determining lake sensitivity and attributing causes of change. The research has a very strong stakeholder engagement profile with water utilities and regulatory bodies involved as beneficiaries. Clear pathways to impact include stakeholder workshops, media outreach and through science days and web-based NRT information on water hazards such as blue-green algal blooms.

Ecosystems and PovertyLow-lying delta regions are probably the most vulnerable type of coastal environment and their ecosystem services face multiple stresses in the coming decades. ESPA Deltas (Assessing Health, Livelihoods, Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation in Populous Deltas) is a five year £4M initiative funded by DFID/ESRC/NERC through the ESPA Programme. This multi-disciplinary project focuses on the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) delta in Bangladesh. Within the 20 partner institutions, Mr Andrew Allan and Dr Ali Rieu-Clarke (UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science), are responsible for analysing governance arrangements for ecosystem services, livelihoods and health outcomes that are resilient both now and in the future. With strong stakeholder engagement the Dundee team has a pivotal role in working directly with the Planning Commission of the Government of Bangladesh. This work has also led directly into a new £7.4M DECCMA Project started in 2014, which will examine ‘migration as an adaptation strategy’ within the GBM, Nile, Mahanadi and Volta deltas.

Examples of Research Impact


Publications: A Selection from the Corpus

According to the bibliographic search tool Scopus, our current cohort of 51 CECHR Associates published 175 peer-reviewed journal papers in the period 2013-2014. Complementing these, were a correspondingly large number of book chapters, project reports and increasingly important policy-briefing notes. The diversity of the subject matter and journal selection evident reflects the breadth of our disciplinary expertise, whilst its excellence is reflected in the quality of the host journals shown, e.g. Nature, Transactions of the Royal Society, Global Environmental Change etc.

AlWaer, H., Bickerton, R. and Kirk, R.D. 2014. Examining the components required for assessing the sustainability of communities in the UK. Journal of Architecture and Planning Research (in press).

Bao, Z., Benson, S.M., Cui, Y., Dionne, J. A., Maher, K., Boerjan, W., Halpin, C., Nelson, R., Nichols, D., Ralph, J. and Ramakrishnan, T.S. 2014. In search of clean, affordable energy. Oilfield Review, 26, 1, 4-15.

Clarvis, M.H., Allan, A. and Hannah, D.M. 2014. Water, resilience and the law: from general concepts and governance design principles to actionable mechanisms. Environmental Science and Policy, 43, 96-110.

Deng, W., Hallett P.D., Dong-Sheng J., Squire, G.R., Toorop, P.E. and Iannetta, P.P.M. 2014. The effect of natural seed coatings of Capsella bursa-pastoris L. Medik. (shepherd’s purse) on soil-water retention, stability and hydraulic conductivity. Plant and Soil (in press).

Iacob, O., Rowan, J.S., Brown, I. and Ellis, C. 2014. Evaluating wider benefits of natural flood management strategies: an ecosystem-based adaptation perspective. Hydrology Science, doi:10.2166/nh.2014.184

Johnson, S.N., Ryalls, J.M.W. and Karley, A.J. 2014. Global climate change and crop resistance to aphids: Contrasting responses of lucerne genotypes to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide Annals of Applied Biology, 165, 62-72.

Matthews, R.B., Rivington, M., Muhammed, S., Newton, A.C. and Hallett, P.D. 2013. Adapting crops and cropping systems to future climates to ensure food security: The role of crop modelling. Global Food Security, 2, 24-28.

Kirk, E.A. 2014. The ecosystem approach and the search for an objective and content for the concept of holistic ocean governance. Ocean Development and International Law (in press).

Murphy, B. J., Sargent, F. and Armstrong, F. A. 2014. Transforming an oxygen-tolerant [NiFe] uptake hydrogenase into a proficient, reversible hydrogen producer. Energy and Environmental Science, 7, 4, 1426-1433.

Palmer, M.J., Moffat, C., Saranzewa, N., Harvey, J., Wright, G.A. and Connolly, C.N. 2013. Cholinergic pesticides cause mushroom body neuronal inactivation in honeybees. Nature Communications, 4, 1634.

Poppy, G.M., Chiotha, S., Eigenbrod, F., Harvey, C.A., Honzák, M., Hudson, M.D., Jarvis, A., Madise, N.J., Schreckenberg, K., Shackleton, C.M., Villa, F. and Dawson, T.P. 2014. Food security in a perfect storm: Using the ecosystem services framework to increase understanding. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 369, 1639.

Reid, C.T. and Nosh, W. 2014. Whose ecosystem is it anyway? Private and public rights under new approaches to biodiversity conservation. Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, 2, 112-135.

Rieu-Clarke, A. 2014. Notification and consultation procedures under the Mekong Agreement: Insights from the Xayaburi Controversy. Asian Journal of International Law (in press).

Stuart-Smith, R.D., Bates, A.E., Lefcheck, J.S., Duffy, J.E., Baker, S.C., Thomson, R.J., Stuart-Smith, J.F., Hill, N.A., Kininmonth, S.J., Airoldi, L., Becerro, M.A., Campbell, S.J., Dawson, T.P., Navarrete, S.A., Soler, G.A., Strain, E.M.A., Willis, T.J. and Edgar, G.J. 2013. Integrating abundance and functional traits reveals new global hotspots of fish diversity. Nature, 501, 7468, 539-542.

Vitolo, C., Elkhatib, Y., Reusser, D., Macleod, C.J.A. and W Buytaert. 2014. Web technologies for environmental big data. Environmental Modelling and Software (in press).

Wise, R.M., Fazey, I., Stafford Smith, M., Park, S.E., Eakin, H.C., Archer Van Garderen, E.R.M. and Campbell, B. 2014. Reconceptualising adaptation to climate change as part of pathways of change and response, Global Environmental Change, 28, 325-336.


Academic Associates Name Institution Division Expertise

Prof Claire Halpin UoD Plant Sciences Plant Biology & Biotechnology

Prof Frank Sargent UoD Molecular Microbiology Microbiology & Biofuels

Dr Ariel Bergmann UoD CEPMLP Energy Economics

Prof Graeme Hutton UoD Architecture Architecture

Dr Johnathan Knappett UoD Civil Engineering Offshore Engineering

Dr Lorens Holm UoD Architecture Urban Theory

Dr Andrew Brennan UoD Civil Engineering Foundation Engineering

Dr Thomas Dyer UoD Civil Engineering Concrete Engineering

Dr Husam Alwaer UoD Architecture Sustainability Indicators

Dr Chris Connelly UoD Neuroscience Neuroscience

Dr Fraser Milne UoD Geography Geoscience

Dr David McGloin UoD EPM Physics

Dr Sue Dawson UoD Geography Coastal Hazards

Dr Pete Ianetta JHI Ecological Sci. Ecology

Dr Eirini Politi UoD Geography Remote Sensing

Prof Margaret Smith UoD Deputy Principal Internationalisation

Prof Adrian Newton JHI Cell & Molecular Sci. Plant Pathology

Dr Alison Karley JHI Ecological Sci. Ecology

Dr Blair McKenzie JHI Env. & Biochem. Sci. Soil Science

Dr Roy Neilson JHI Ecological Sci. Soil Ecology

Prof Geoff Gadd UoD Geomicrobiology Geomicrobiology

Prof Thilo Kroll UoD Nursing/SDHI Health

Prof Sue Black UoD CAHID Forensics

Prof Niamh Nic Daeid UoD CAHID Forensics

Dr Ed Hall UoD Geography Vulnerability

Prof Nic Beech UoD CASS VP & Head of College

Prof Tim Newman UoD Head of CASE Biophysics

Prof Colin Reid UoD Law Environmental Law

Ms Elizabeth Kirk UoD Law Environmental Law

Dr Sarah Hendry UoD UNESCO Water Law

Prof Graeme Morton UoD History Scottish History

Dr Johnathan Mendel UoD Geography International Security

Ellie Harrison UoD DJCAD Activism & Art

Dr Fiona Smith UoD Geography Human Geography

Dr Nick Taylor UoD DJCAD Human-Computer Interactions

Dr Megan O’Neill UoD Geography Policing & Security

Dr Lorraine Van Blerk UoD Geography Development Studies

Dr Beverley Searle UoD Geography Housing

Prof Colin Campbell JHI Science Excellence Soil science

Prof Deborah Peel UoD TRP Planning & Sustainability

Prof Ioan Fazey UoD Geography Resilience & Transformation

Prof John Rowan UoD Geography Environmental Change

Prof Terry Dawson UoD Geography Global Change

Dr Deepak Gopinath UoD TRP Planning & Sustainability

Dr Anna Moss UoD Geography Climate Change

Dr Peter Moug UoD CECHR Resilience

Prof Chris Spray UoD UNESCO Catchment science

Dr Alistair Rieu-Clarke UoD UNESCO Water Law

Mr Andrew Allan UoD UNESCO Water Law

Dr Kit Macleod JHI JHI Catchment Science

Dr Andrew Black UoD Geography Hydrology


New Sustainability MSc Programme


A Year in Pictures

Centre for Environmental Change & Human ResilienceUniversity of DundeeDundeeDD1 4HN

t 01382 388692e [email protected] www.dundee.ac.uk/cechr

Centre for Environmental Change and Human Resilience

Research Initiative between the University of Dundee & the James Hutton Institute.

Documents

CECHR Annual Report 2013/14