Major research grant news
Leeds researchers are to play leading roles in two major collaborative research projects announced this month.
School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering (SPEME)
Professor Simon Biggs of SPEME, is heading a consortium of 10 universities awarded £5 million in funding by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council to study the decommissioning, immobilisation and management of nuclear waste. The research will have substantial input from industry, including:
- Sellafield Ltd
- National Nuclear Lab
- Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
Each university involved in the project is contributing to related PhD studentships, bringing the total value of the project closer to £10 million.
The project, named DISTINCTIVE, builds on the earlier DIAMOND project also led by Professor Biggs, and, with DIAMOND creates the largest ever research programme into nuclear decommissioning.
School of Education
Professor Mike Baynham and Dr James Simpson are members of a consortium of four universities (Birmingham; Birkbeck, University of London; Cardiff and Leeds) that has been awarded funding of £1,973,527 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council for a linguistic research project: Translation and Translanguaging: Investigating Linguistic and Cultural Transformations in Superdiverse Wards in Four UK Cities.
The research will focus on multilingual interactions between people in contexts of business, legal advice, community sport, and libraries and museums. Analysis will provide detailed evidence of how people communicate across languages and cultures.
The interdisciplinary project will involve academic researchers from a broad range of subject areas, including business and entrepreneurship, cultural heritage, education, law, sociolinguistics, sport and exercise sciences, and social policy. The project will be run in collaboration with partners from private, public, and third sectors, including:
- Migrants’ Rights Network
- Business in the Community
- Law Centres Network
- Sporting Equals
- Equality and Human Rights Commission
and, in Leeds specifically
- Harmonious Communities at Leeds City Council
- Refugee Education Training and Advice Service
- Leeds Museums and Galleries