Robert Gordon University
Media Experts
‘At Robert Gordon University we are privileged to have a wide and varied range of academics who are experts in their fields. Each of the academics featured in this publication has a vast knowledge in their chosen area and can provide insight into a range of topics. We hope that members of the media will find this directory a useful and efficient way of sourcing expert comment. Robert Gordon University is focussed on developing highly relevant leading-edge research that advances knowledge and provides tangible benefits to the wider economy and society. If you require an expert in a field that is not included in the directory please contact our communications office who will do their best to source the appropriate person.’
Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski PRINCIPAL AND VICE CHANCELLOR
CONTENTS
Architecture 6
Design, Innovation and Contemporary Art 19
Artificial Intelligence 7
E-Learning 20
Business Education and Accounting 8
Energy Policy 21
Cardiometabolic Health Research and Natural Product Drug Discovery 9
Entrepreneurship 22
Child Protection 10 Climate Change, Energy and Society 11 Collaboration Management 12 Community and Intercultural Relations 13 Community Nursing 14 Composite Materials 15 Condition Monitoring 16 Construction Law and Dispute Resolution 17 Criminal Law 18
Ergonomics and Health 23 Fashion and Retail 24 Fashion and Textiles 25 Human Factors Engineering and Usability Evaluation 26 Information Management 27 Intelligent Systems 28 Interaction Design and User Experience 29 International Criminal Law/Human Rights/Extradition 30 Law and Legal Education 31
Librarianship and Information Management 32
Self-Management in Long-Term Conditions 45
Mental Health and Wellbeing 33
Smart Data 46
Midwifery and Maternity Care 34
Social Media/Women in the Media 47
Multimedia Coding and Communications 35
Sociology of Health and Urban Cultures 48
Nutrition 36
Solar Energy 49
Obesity and Diabetes 37
Sport and Exercise Psychology 50
Oil and Gas Industry 38
Strategy and Policy 51
Pharmacy Practice and Medicines 39
Sustainable Housing 52
Pharmacy, Chemistry, Drugs and Poison 40
Terrorism and Conflict in Oil-Producing Regions 53
Psychology of Health, Physical Activity and Exercise 41
Tourism and Hospitality 54
Public Relations 42
Transport Policy 55
Renewables 43
Wind Energy 56
Retail and Marketing Trends 44
Architecture Professor David McClean
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Architectural education
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The architecture profession
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Aberdeen city architecture
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Community engagement with architecture
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Conservation skills and architectural heritage
The focus of Professor McClean’s research is on the development of methods of delivery and assessment that improve the learning process in architectural education looking at enabling students to develop the skills and sensibilities appropriate for the future of the architectural profession as it evolves over time. He is also passionate about the maintenance and conservation of our building heritage. Professor McClean is Director of Aberdeen City Heritage Trust. His commitment to architectural education across the UK involves him in the professional validation process of the Royal Institute of British Architects, work that has spanned four continents. He has also undertaken international consultancy work for the International Union of Architects.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Professor Chrisina Jayne
• Artificial Intelligence • Artificial Neural Networks • Machine Learning • Data Science
Professor Jayne has industry experience in leading Knowledge Transfer projects and in software development. She is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. She is a coordinator of the International Neural Network Society’s Special Interest Group on Engineering Applications of Neural Networks. She has published over 70 peer reviewed papers in international journals and at leading conferences.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Professor Jayne has more than 25 years’ experience in academia, teaching, designing and leading new programmes in the areas of computing, information systems and mathematics. Her research is in the areas of developing and applying novel methods for artificial neural networks, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Business Education and Accounting Professor Elizabeth Gammie Dip.M., B.A., C.A., Ph.D.
• Business Education • Professional Accounting Education • Gender Disparity in Organisations • Skills and competencies of audit teams
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Professor Elizabeth Gammie was appointed as Head of Aberdeen Business School in 2016 following several years as Head of the Accounting and Finance Department. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) and she has maintained strong links with her professional background serving on many Boards and Committees including the Council of ICAS, Expert Review Group of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Examination Board of the Institute of Directors. She is currently a member of the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB), the ICAS Foundation and acts as a Trustee for the Riding for the Disabled and a local independent school. With an extensive publication record she has undertaken several funded research projects on behalf of bodies such as ICAS, CIMA, IAESB and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Cardiometabolic Health Research and Natural Product Drug Discovery Professor Cherry Wainwright
• Cardiovascular Pharmacology • Identification of novel drug targets for cardiovascular diseases • Dietary intervention models of cardiovascular disease • Natural product drug discovery
Professor Wainwright’s research career spans over 35 years and has focused on the role of endogenous mediators in the pathogenesis of cardiac injury resulting from myocardial infraction (heart attack) and vascular injury resulting from atherogenesis (thickening of the artery wall). She employs a wide range of cellular, in vitro and in vivo models to identify new ‘druggable’ targets and to screen for potential pharmacological activity of extracts from a large (>5,000) collection of plant extracts.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Child Protection David Humphrey
• Child protection and safeguarding • Abuse, neglect and child death cases • Child protection policy and legislative developments
David Humphrey has been a social worker since 2002 and has had operational experience working in both a statutory children and families team and a specialist joint child protection unit. He has also held a strategic position, working as a training officer for an area child protection committee. Since joining RGU in 2009, his teaching interests have predominantly focused on working with children and families, including studies of child protection.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Climate Change, Energy and Society Dr Leslie Mabon
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Aberdeen post-oil
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Climate change adaption
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Coastal communities
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Fukushima nuclear accident
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Social dimensions of marine pollution
Dr Leslie Mabon is a social scientist with an interest in how people understand and respond to change and risk in the environment. He is especially interested in researching how environmental change can affect society and culture, and in understanding solutions to environmental problems that help the most vulnerable members of society. Dr Mabon’s current case studies include the future of Aberdeen after the oil industry; fishing communities in Japan following the Fukushima nuclear accident; and planning responses to excess heat in Asian cities. Dr Mabon’s research has been funded by the British Academy, the Japan Foundation and the Wellcome Trust among others.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
COLLABORATION MANAGEMENT Dr Marianthi Leon
• Collaboration management and processes • Teams’ efficiency and conflicts analysis • Design and decision making processes • Visualisations and Human Computer Interactions for Project Management • Building Information Modelling and 3D data acquisition
Dr Marianthi Leon has a long-standing interest and extensive research experience in collaboration management and high-tech applications to support teams’ efficiency. She is a lecturer on Project and Construction Management at Robert Gordon University while being involved in a number of research projects both within academia and industry. Coming from the built environment industry and being a registered architect, Dr Leon has expertise on three fronts: (i) managing multidisciplinary collaborations and conflicts (ii) the application of visualisation, 3D data acquisition and argumentation methods to support multidisciplinary teams’ efficiency (iii) transferring and applying this knowledge to the oil and gas industry.
01224 262206 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Community and Intercultural Relations Dr Sarah Buckler
• Gypsy Traveller issues • Minority communities and inter-ethnic relations • Community development • Community resilience • Art and music in the community • Business in the community • Business and international relations
Sarah Buckler has over 20 years’ experience working with minority and marginalised communities on a variety of projects. She has acted on an advisory basis to local and national governments regarding minority ethnic issues, including working closely with Gypsy Traveller communities and on arts-based community development projects. Sarah also has considerable experience regarding the role that business can play in the community and links to Corporate Social Responsibility. Sarah has a PhD in Social Anthropology and teaches in the School of Applied Social Studies. She is Course Leader for the MSc in Corporate Social Responsibility.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Community Nursing Professor Catriona Kennedy
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Community Nursing
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Long-term conditions
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End of life care in a community context
Catriona has expertise in a range of research methods and a particular focus on qualitative methods and evidence synthesis. She has been involved in four Cochrane systematic reviews, several published integrative literature reviews and writes evidence summaries for the Cochrane Nursing Care field. Catriona has also been involved in a number of studies with a particular focus around long term conditions, cancer and end of life care.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Catriona Kennedy is the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland Professor of Community Nursing in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. She has a background in Community Health Nursing, with a particular focus on long-term conditions and end of life care. Her particular areas of responsibility are around building research capacity and capability, with a particular focus on contributing to building a submission for REF 2020/21. This includes supervision of less-experienced staff and postgraduate students, building a portfolio of funded projects and high-impact journal publications.
COMPOSITE MATERIALS Dr James Njuguna
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Advanced composite materials toughness
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Impact resistance performance
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Materials failure analysis
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Nanomaterials and safer-by-design nanotechnology
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Durability, degradation and composites performance prediction
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Lightweighting
Dr James Njuguna has been at the forefront of research in polymer based-composite materials (and nanomaterials) for structural applications. The experimental and finite element analysis research work primarily focuses on lightweight structures, design optimisation, composite pipes among other lightweight engineering designs. His research focus on composites materials toughness and properties optimisation to improve impact resistance, mechanical and thermo-mechanical performance in engineering applications as well as developing understanding on identified failure modes. He has expertise on two fronts: (i) quantifying dynamic loading behaviour of structures such as damage, fracture mechanics, impact and crash, and (ii) composites toughness and reinforcement in order to improve dynamic performance of composite structures.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
CONDITION MONITORING Professor John A Steel
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Condition monitoring
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Accident investigation
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Acoustics
Prof Steel also worked with the police forces for 15 years, providing accident investigation support for civil and criminal cases. He is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Fellow of the Energy Institute (FEI).
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Professor John A Steel is Head of the School of Engineering and has spent more than 20 years involved in condition monitoring research using novel sensors.
Construction law and dispute resolution David Christie
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Construction law and disputes
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Dispute resolution
David Christie is a senior lecturer at RGU’s Law School. He is the academic responsible for the online Masters programme in construction law and arbitration which has students all over the world. David’s research interests take in the development of dispute resolution processes and techniques and issues of the legal issues around construction projects.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Criminal Law Dr Sarah Christie
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Scots criminal law
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Medical law
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Medical ethics
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Legal and ethical aspects of assisted dying
Her research interests also cover the area of medical law and medical ethics, where she has a particular interest in the regulation and ethical context of assisted dying. She was part of a team funded to investigate relatives’ experiences of post-mortem practice and has published on the existing regulation of end-oflife care and advance planning. She sat on the North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee and currently serves on the NHS Grampian Clinical Ethics Committee.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Dr Sarah Christie is Research Director at RGU’s Law School. Dr Christie’s research focuses on criminal law, and in particular issues of criminal responsibility and the justification for punishment at the limits of criminal liability. She has published on issues such as criminal responsibility when sleepwalking, responsibility for causing injury to the unborn, and the relevance of impossibility to the commission of crime.
DESIGN, INNOVATION AND CONTEMPORARY ART Professor Chris O’Neil
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Design and innovation
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Cultural policy and regeneration
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The creative economy
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Contemporary art
Professor O’Neil has worked with Local and National Government developing initiatives and strategies for growth, has led international cultural events and worked closely with industry to add value through design and innovation. He is passionate about releasing the potential of universities into the wider environment and as such has developed university partnerships with cultural institutions, SMEs and multinational design led companies.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
E-Learning Professor Lesley Diack
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E-learning
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Technology Enhanced Learning
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Interprofessional education
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Qualitative research and analysis
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Education research
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The Aberdeen Typhoid Outbreak 1964
Lesley Diack is professor of Transdisciplinary and Technology Enhanced Learning. She worked as a lecturer and researcher at the University of Aberdeen for a number of years, including a four year Wellcome funded project. In 2003, she moved to Robert Gordon University and has been actively working on, and researching, transdisciplinary and technology enhanced learning. She has worked on many funded projects totalling over £1.3m, including projects with the Scottish Government Health Department, the Digital Health and Social care Institute (DHI), Innovate (UK), Police Scotland, Cancer Link Aberdeen and the North (CLAN), Janssen-Cilag, and with collaborators in Europe, Japan and Qatar.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Energy Policy Professor Peter Strachan
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Energy Policy
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Professor Peter A. Strachan is Group Lead for Strategy and Policy at RGU’s Aberdeen Business School. His main area of expertise is on the subject of energy policy, oil and gas management, and renewable energy. His research has principally focused on financial support mechanisms, the planning environment, community ownership models and the social acceptance of major energy infrastructure developments.
Entrepreneurship Professor Alistair Anderson
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Small business and entrepreneurship
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Social aspects of entrepreneurship and SMEs
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Understanding of small business in practice
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Professor Alistair Anderson is Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Aberdeen Business School. He is a professor of entrepreneurship and expert on small business and entrepreneurship. His highly cited research, focuses on extending the economic aspects of small business. His expertise covers aspects such as the importance of location and the role of society in shaping enterprise. He is editor in chief of one of the world leading academic journals about entrepreneurship, but has a practical background in small business. He is amongst the most citied academics worldwide in the topic area.
Ergonomics and Health Dr Arthur Stewart
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Body shape measurement
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Body composition measurement
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Movement ergonomics in restricted space settings
Dr Stewart’s research interests fall within the realm of ergonomics and health, involving body size, shape and composition assessment tools, such as 3D scanning, ultrasound and anthropometry to relate body shape to functional performance and health. He has assessed healthy adults, occupational groups, obese and eating disordered patients and athletes. More recently, he has been involved in mapping space availability and movement in restricted built environment settings.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Fashion and Retail Karen Cross
• Process of fashion and textile design, manufacture and distribution • Contextual history and evolution of fashion • Designers, magazines and trends • Retail markets: value, mass market, middle market and luxury brands • Issues of ethics and sustainability • Fashion E-commerce
Karen Cross is a Senior Lecturer in the department of Communications, Marketing and Media The School of Creative and Cultural Business at RGU.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
FASHION AND TEXTILES Josie Steed
• British fashion industry • Traditional textiles industry in Scotland • Fashion & textiles future scenarios • Smart’ (Application of innovative technologies) textiles including for health & well-being
Josie’s research focuses on both traditional methods (for example hand-knitting/craft skills) and also the development and impact of new technologies and material science to fashion and textile design. She has worked on a number of research projects for the Scottish Government, the Arts & Humanities Research Council and Scottish Enterprise, and has authored key textiles publications and conference papers.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Josie Steed is the Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Fashion & Textile Design at Gray’s School of Art. A fashion industry insider, Josie has worked in the fashion and textile industry for a number of years and continues to work closely with industry.
HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING AND USABILITY EVALUATION Professor Patrik Holt
• Human Factors Engineering • Human-Computer Interaction & User Interface Design • Usability & User Experience Evaluation • Human Factors in Augmented & Immersive Virtual Reality • Visualisation of Complex Data & Interactive Visualisations of Smart Data
Professor Holt is a Computer Scientist with a background in Experimental Cognitive Psychology, Statistical Modelling and Cognitive Science. He leads the Robert Gordon User Experience Research Group (RGUx) in the School of Computing Science & Digital Media. Professor Holt has extensive experience in applied work R&D and consultancy, with industry across a number of sectors including defence, oil & gas and health.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Information Management Professor Rita Marcella
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The use of electronic media in political campaigns
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Social Media and Communications
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Information behaviour
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Information beliefs
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Business information
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Organisational communications
Professor Rita Marcella is Professor of Information Management at RGU’s School of Creative and Cultural Business. Following early experience in the oil and gas industry, Professor Marcella has spent more of her career in various academic roles at Robert Gordon University, most recently as Dean of Faculty. Rita is now focussing on research and teaching in information management. Rita has a number of personal research interests which include information beliefs and behaviour, political communication, citizenship information and organisational communications.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS Professor Nirmalie Wiratunga
Developing intelligent IT systems as solutions for issues including: • Self-management and healthcare monitoring systems • Reasoning with stream data from wearable and sensor devices • Personalised digital behaviour change interventions • Human activity recognition systems • ‘Smart Home’ and Internet of Things analytics • Asset management and anomaly detection • Social media analysis to enhance customer experience • Product recommendation systems • ‘Lessons Learned’ technology for the oil & gas industry • Text mining and information retrieval
Professor Wiratunga conducts internationally leading research in the fields of machine learning and intelligent systems with particular focus on Case-based Reasoning (CBR), Text Mining, Stream Data Analytics and Social Media Analysis. She works closely with industry and the commercial value has been shown through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP), EU funding and other external work involving for instance the European Space Agency, BT and the British Geological Survey. Professor Wiratunga has also been a visiting researcher at the Indian Institute of Technology Chennai, Universidad Complutense Madrid and TATA research Pune. She has published over 100 peer reviewed papers in international journals and at leading conferences. She serves as an executive member of the British Computer Society’s (BCS) Specialist Group on Artificial Intelligence (since 2001).
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Interaction Design and User Experience Dr Michael Crabb
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Human Computer Interaction
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User Experience
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Computer Accessibility
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Web Technologies
Dr Crabb is a Computer Scientist with a background in human factor engineering. His research expertise lies in how people use computers and the subsequent problems and opportunities for research intervention that is created because of this. Dr Crabb is a leading member within RGUx (Robert Gordon User Experience Research Group) and has experience in UX research activities both within universities and an industrial setting focusing on the accessibility of media services.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
International Criminal Law/ Human Rights/ Extradition Dr Paul Arnell
• Extradition • Human rights • International criminal law • Application of law across borders • Public law
Dr Paul Arnell is a Reader in Law and Postgraduate Director at RGU’s Law School. His research interests exist at the intersection of public international law and national law, particularly in the areas of criminal law, extradition, jurisdiction and human rights.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Law and Legal education Professor Ken Mackinnon
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Personal injury law
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Regulation of professions
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Regulation of legal education
Ken Mackinnon is Head of RGU’s Law School, and has experience of the law and legal education in three jurisdictions: Scotland, England and New Zealand. While in New Zealand, he was also an adjudicator in that country’s no-fault accident compensation scheme. He served on a Scottish Government working group looking at introducing no-fault compensation for injuries caused by medical treatment. Ken is a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s Education and Training Committee.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Librarianship and Information Management Professor Peter Reid
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Library Management
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Information Management
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Cultural Heritage
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Quality Management and Enhancement
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Culture and history of North-East Scotland
Professor Peter Reid is a Professor of Librarianship and Information Management at the School of Creative and Cultural Business at RGU. Peter has lengthy experience in library management and in the cultural heritage sector. He is a Past President of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professional in Scotland. Peter has worked closely with the Scottish Government - he created the ‘How good is our public library service quality standards’ and he also reviewed the ‘Every Child a Library Member’ programme on behalf of the Scottish Government.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Mental Health and Wellbeing Dr Steve Smith
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Solution Focused Interactions, Coaching and Counselling
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Communication, Language and Thinking
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Mindfulness-Based Stress Management
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Brief Psychotherapy
Dr Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Mental Health and Wellbeing, and an Enterprise Fellow of the University. His background is in Mental Health Nursing and he has over twenty years’ experience as a Solution Focused Therapist. He is an ordained Buddhist in the Soto Zen tradition and combines his experience in these fields in the teaching, research and practice of Solution Focused Interactions and Mindfulness Based Practice. He has applied his knowledge of mental health and wellbeing in the oil and gas industry, remote medical health care and organisational coaching.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Midwifery and Maternity Care Professor Susan Crowther
• Midwifery • Spirituality and childbirth • Continuity of care in maternity • Midwifery education and research • Sustainable midwifery practice • Rural and remote health care • International midwifery, particularly the New Zealand maternity system • Research methodologies, especially Hermeneutic phenomenology
She was one of the first consultant midwives in England, setting up a birth centre, introducing water births and increasing homebirths. In New Zealand, she worked as a caseload self-employed midwife, providing continuity of carer to a remote rural population. Susan has also been involved in undergraduate and postgraduate midwifery education, both in the UK and New Zealand. Her work in other regions has been for various NGOs over the years, including WorldVision, Family Care, BirthLink and USAID. She is currently a member of the Research Standing Committee for the International Confederation of Midwives, editor of three peerreviewed journals, advisor to the Council of Deans on Midwifery Education and to the Royal College of Midwives on continuity of carer upscaling in the UK. Susan leads on RGU’s research grouping for ‘Maternal, Child and Family Health Research’.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Susan has worked as a midwife in a variety of settings, including; middle-to-high income regions such as UK, France and New Zealand; and several low-to-middle income countries such as Ghana, Malawi, Armenia and Rwanda.
MULTIMEDIA CODING AND COMMUNICATIONS Dr Yafan Zhao
• Video Coding Standards and Implementation • Performance optimisation for Video Coding and Communications • Video Quality Metrics • Visual Saliency Models • Video Transcoding
Dr Zhao is a recognised expert in image and video coding and communications with particular specialisation in video compression industrial standards, perceptual quality metrics and transcoding. Dr Zhao also has extensive experience in advising Video communication companies in algorithm design, software and hardware implementation and performance optimisation.
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AREA OF EXPERTISE
Nutrition Professor Susan Duthie
• Mechanisms of action of dietary nutrients on human health and disease • Impact of plant compounds, including phytophenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins, on human health; cancer and vascular disease • Effect of micronutrients on cancer risk; differential effects of diet and supplements on malignant transformation • Impact of B vitamins and antioxidants on cognitive function and dementia in the elderly • Impact of natural products from underused ethnic foods on human health
Susan is a member of the Food Standards Agency (UK) Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP). She is on the editorial/advisory board of the European Journal of Nutrition, Clinical Science, World Journal of Gastrointestinal Pharmacology and Therapeutics and was First editor for the British Journal of Nutrition and the Journal of Nutritional Sciences. Susan is secretary of the UK Environmental Mutagen Society Molecular Epidemiology Group (UKMEG) and a member of several EU COST Action initiatives looking at the effect of diet on human epigenetics, DNA stability and in human biomonitoring. Susan is also a board member of Aberdeen Science Centre, an educational charity which brings STEM subjects to the local community.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Obesity and Diabetes Professor Iain Broom
• Obesity • Metabolic response to trauma, sepsis and cancer • Energy costs and control of protein deposition in humans in normal and pathological states • Protein kinetics in pathological states • Molecular biology and clinical management of obesity • Health economics
Professor Broom’s research focus ranges from the molecular level through to population health and health economics of the nation. Metabolic syndrome, although affecting overweight but non-obese subjects, is also part of his research focus. He is the author of over 200 research papers and has contributed to numerous textbooks and speciality publications.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY Professor Paul de Leeuw
• International Oil and Gas industry • Exploration & Production • Decommissioning • Business strategy • Procurement and supply chain
He is currently the Director of the Oil and Gas Institute at RGU, Chairman of the Oil and Gas Innovation Centre, Chairman of PlanSea and Vice-chairman of Robert Gordon College. Paul is a board member of the Oil and Gas Technology Centre and a member of the Scottish Government’s Industry Leadership Group for Oil & Gas. He is also a regular commentator on developments in the oil and gas industry. Paul holds a Master degree (Mechanical Engineering) from the University of Twente (Netherlands) and a MBA from the Cass Business School (UK).
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Professor Paul de Leeuw has worked in the oil and gas industry for over 28 years for a number of companies, including Shell, Marathon Oil, Amoco, BP, Venture Production and Centrica. His broad business and deep commercial background include senior leadership roles in strategy, commercial, business development, planning and supply chain. Before joining RGU in July 2014, Prof. de Leeuw was the Strategy and Commercial Director for Centrica Energy’s upstream business.
Pharmacy Practice and Medicines Professor Derek Stewart
• Development, implementation and evaluation of non-medical prescribing models of practice • Patient safety in general and medication errors specifically • Use, effectiveness and harm associated with complementary and alternative medicines • Access to medicines, particularly in remote and rural areas • Medicines adherence • Community pharmacist management of skin conditions
He has an international reputation in the field on non-medical prescribing education, policy, practice and research. He collaborates widely with academics and practitioners across the globe and is currently leading major research programmes in the Middle East and is a key player in a European Commission funded study of inappropriate polypharmacy being led by the Scottish Government. He has published over 110 peer reviewed papers, attracted research income over £2.5million and in 2011 received the UK Pharmacy Practice Trust Practice Research Award for his significant contribution to pharmacy practice research. He is also an executive editor with the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. He represents RGU and the pharmacy profession at many national and international forums, is a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and a Fellow of the Faculty of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
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Areas of Expertise:
Professor Derek Stewart has expertise in a wide spectrum of health services research methodologies and methods. His research spans many different practice areas, with particular focus on developing, implementing and evaluating models of care, and the safe and effective use of medicines. He has led pharmacy practice research generating evidence of impact on patients, professionals, organisations and society at local, national and international levels.
Pharmacy, Chemistry, Drugs and Poison Professor Donald Cairns
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Medicinal chemistry
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Design and synthesis of selective anticancer agents
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Rational drug design
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Molecular modelling of drug and DNA interactions
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Design of prodrugs for the treatment of nephropathic cystinosis
Professor Cairns leads the strategic planning, coordination, development and supervision of academic work at the School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences. Since arriving at RGU in 2003, Prof Cairns has been successful in attracting over £500,000 of external funding.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Psychology of Health, Physical Activity and Exercise Dr Francis Quinn
• Psychology of physical activity and exercise • Motivation and changing behaviour for healthy lifestyles • Psychology of physical health and illness • Psychological well-being
Dr Quinn is a chartered psychologist whose main interest is the psychology of health, especially lifestyles that are healthy or unhealthy, such as exercise, diet, etc. His main focus is the psychology of exercise and physical activity. This includes psychological factors affecting the amount of activity people do, how they maintain their activity, what their experience is of it, and how we can help people to change their behaviour. He has conducted research with healthy adults and with people who experience chronic pain.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
Public Relations Izzy Crawford
• Public Relations Industry • Employee Engagement
Izzy holds the Chartered Institute of Public Relations professional diploma and an MA (Hons) in Social Science from The University of Glasgow. She also holds the postgraduate certificate in Higher Education Learning and Teaching and is currently undertaking a PhD. Her primary research interest involves employee engagement strategies within Scottish Higher Education and how they integrate emerging corporate communication theory.
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AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Izzy Crawford is a senior lecturer in Communication, Marketing & Media and is Subject Leader for Public Relations, Media and Journalism. Corporate communication and public relations are her main areas of teaching and she worked in the communications industry for eleven years, joining RGU in July 2005.
RENEWABLES Dr. Ahmed Aboushady
AREAS OF EXPERTISE • Power Electronics Converters and Applications • High Voltage DC Transmission and DC Grids • Wind and solar energy grid integration • Distributed generation • Energy management in AC/DC microgrids
He is a Lecturer at School of Engineering, Robert Gordon University. His research interest is power electronics applications in power systems and, more recently, involved with DC transmission and distribution networks with DC/DC converters for integration of large scale renewables. Dr Aboushady, alongside two other team members, won a £25k contract with OGIC and Technip Umbilicals in Jan 2017. He has published 17 peer reviewed technical articles, a textbook on medium voltage DC/DC converters and has a UK patent-pending application. He is the associate editor of the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development Journal and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is also a peer reviewer for EPSRC as well as for a number of renowned international journals and conferences.
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Dr Aboushady received his B.Eng. (Hons) and MSc degrees in Electrical and Control Engineering from the Arab Academy for Science and Technology (AAST), Egypt, in 2005 and 2008 respectively. His PhD degree in Electrical Engineering was awarded from University of Strathclyde, UK, in 2012.
Retail and Marketing Trends Andrew Turnbull
• Retail price wars • Seasonal shopping patterns, including Christmas, Black Friday, Cyber Monday etc. • Retailer performance • All marketing communications techniques and channels • Marketing trends • New retail developments • Online Retail • Online Shopping
Andrew Turnbull is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communications, Marketing and Media at RGU’s School of Creative and Cultural Business. Andrew has vast experience in food retail marketing and alcoholic drinks marketing, having conducted research into place marketing issues. He is now also involved in golf club management and marketing.
01224 262036 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Self-Management in Long-Term Conditions Dr Lisa Kidd
• Self-management and supported self-management in longterm conditions • Person-Centred Care • Patient and Public Involvement in Research
Lisa established and leads the Supported Stroke Self-Management Network, a global network of academics, practitioners and policy makers with an interest in stroke self-management, in partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University, University of Southampton and Kingston/St George’s Universities, London and is a member of various third sector organisations within the fields of selfmanagement, including The Alliance Scotland’s Self-Management Network.
01224 262389 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
Lisa has a clinical nursing background and has specific research expertise in the areas of self-management, long-term conditions and patient and public engagement in research. She is particularly focussed on developing, evaluating and implementing complex self-management support interventions in practice and understanding how practitioners can be supported to facilitate people’s self-management. As such, her research is consistently underpinned by a commitment to patient and public engagement and engagement with a broad spectrum of communities of practice, including nurses, allied health professionals, clinicians and policy makers.
SMART DATA Professor John McCall
AREAS OF EXPERTISE • Industrial Applications of Machine Intelligence • Smart Data Technologies • Truck and Vessel Scheduling • Data Analytics for Decision Support • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
He has over 20 years research experience in naturally-inspired computing and over 110 peer-reviewed publications in books, conferences and journals. His research focusses on the study and analysis of a range of naturally-inspired metaheuristics and their application to learning and optimisation problems, particularly in expensive resource intensive operations. Application areas of this research include oil and gas operations, vehicle scheduling, staff rostering, process optimisation, and data analytics for decision support. John has led several industriallyfocussed research projects using intelligent software components to add value and realise cost efficiencies. He is CEO of Celerum Ltd., an RGU spin-out which provides general optimisation and consultancy services and is Technical Director of PlanSea Ltd. which specialises in scheduling software for offshore vessel fleets.
01224 262206 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
John McCall a Professor of Computing Science and Director of the Smart Data Technologies Centre.
Social Media/ Women in the Media Professor Sarah Pedersen
AREAS OF EXPERTISE Digital & social media
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Blogs (weblogs)
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Portrayal of woman in media
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Academic & educational publishing
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Edwardian women
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Edwardian Aberdeen & its newspapers
Professor Sarah Pedersen is Professor of Communication and Media and the Director of Research in Communication, Marketing and Media at RGU’s School of Creative and Cultural Business Professor Pedersen’s expertise focuses on communication of the written word through technology and how gender is represented in media. Her research has focused on communication through a variety of forms of media, including newspapers and electronic media such
as scholarly journals and blogs, and covers both historical and modern, cutting-edge technologies. She has published on the subjects of social media, particularly women’s use of social media; blogging; Facebook frape; teens online; publishing through blogging; police use of blogs and the Mumsnet discussion forum. Her recent book is entitled Why Blog? and investigates the myriad motivations behind blogging including key differences between male and female bloggers. She has also published on the subjects of the history of educational and academic publishing. Her PhD thesis investigated women’s use of daily newspapers in Aberdeenshire in the Edwardian period, with chapters focusing on the suffrage movement in the area and women in the First World War. She has also published on Scottish women’s history during the Edwardian and First World War periods and her book The Scottish Suffragettes and the Press is published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2017.
01224 262036 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
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Sociology of Health and Urban Cultures Chris Yuill
• Health inequalities • Urban cultures
Chris has worked in the School of Applied Social Studies since 1993. He has expertise in the social aspects of health, in particular health inequalities and health in the workplace. His second main area of expertise is urban cultures and what makes certain cities creatively successful.
01224 262389 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
SOLAR ENERGY Dr Firdaus Muhammad Sukki
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Solar Concentrator
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Solar Photovoltaic
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Building Integrated Photovoltaic
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Renewable Energy Technology
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Renewable Energy Policies
Dr Firdaus Muhammad-Sukki received his MEng degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Imperial College, London in 2006 under the Yayasan TM scholarship. In 2009, he received studentship awards from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and Yayasan TM to pursue his postgraduate study in Glasgow Caledonian University, from which he obtained his PhD in 2013. Dr. Muhammad Sukki is a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and an associate of the City and Guilds, London (ACGI).
He has been an active researcher and is currently a Lecturer in Robert Gordon University, United Kingdom. His research interest is in solar energy, particularly in terms of designing optical solar concentrators to create a low cost solar photovoltaic system. On top of the technical aspect of solar technology, he also carried out a number of non-technical research including market trend and financial analysis related to renewable technologies for countries such as Malaysia, Japan, Nigeria, Cameroon and United Kingdom. He has excellent track record in collaborating with research universities in Malaysia, the UK, and Saudi Arabia. He has published numerous articles in high impact factor journals (e.g. Nature, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Applied Energy, Energy, Renewable Energy, Energy Policy etc.), as well as presenting in various conferences related to his area. Prior to joining the academia, he was a communication engineer in Malaysia’s largest telecommunication company. He was in charge of the leased line servers for Malaysia’s network and was involved in major projects related to the telecommunication while holding the post.
01224 262206 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Sport and Exercise Psychology Bryan McCann
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Sport and exercise psychology research and practice
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Athlete development and motivation
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Youth physical activity and sport
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Inter-professional and multidisciplinary education
His teaching interests include sport and exercise psychology, student placements, research concepts, and multidisciplinary and inter-professional education. He is a BPS Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist, HCPC Practitioner Psychologist and is a committee member of the BPS Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Bryan is also the RGU lead for the award winning Aberdeen Youth Games programme and the successful RGU GO: India project.
01224 262389 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Bryan has considerable experience of providing sport psychology support to local, national, international and Olympic level athletes, coaches and sport officials in a range of sports, including football, golf, swimming, rugby, hockey, shinty and skiing.
Strategy and Policy Dr Ian Broadbent
• Strategic Management • Oil and Gas Management • Strategy • Renewable energy development and policy • Offshore renewables industry
Ian is a Senior Lecturer in the Strategy and Policy Group in the Department of Management. He is the Director of MBA programmes at Aberdeen Business School, and module coordinator for the Strategic Management modules on the MBA and MBA Oil and Gas Management courses. He teaches in the subject areas of strategy and renewable energy management
and supervises a number of MSc and MBA consultancy projects and dissertations. He also runs the Business Simulation for MBA students during Leadership Week, and has delivered the Business Simulation for corporate clients. Ian’s research interests include renewable energy industry development and policy, with a particular focus on the offshore renewables industry, where he has completed a number of consultancy projects. He was a named researcher from 2015-16 on the RiCORE project (Risk-based Consenting of Offshore Renewable Energy), funded by the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement 646436). He is also interested in the use of simulation software to teach concepts in strategic management. Prior to joining RGU and completing his MBA, Ian spent nine years in the pharmaceuticals industry, where he was a Principal Scientist at Pfizer.
01224 262036 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
SUSTAINABLE HOUSING Professor Gokay Deveci
• Sustainable, low-energy housing design • Affordable housing • Innovation within housing construction
He has proved that sustainable and energy efficient design is possible on a restricted budget and ‘affordability’ has not been achieved at the expense of design or construction quality. His research-based practice has designed and built a number of low-energy housing projects, including the first ever social housing project in Britain to meet ‘Passivhaus’ energy standards.
01224 262206 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Professor Deveci has an international reputation for his expertise in affordable and sustainable low-energy housing. His contribution to innovative housing design, especially relating to low-cost solutions that uses appropriate technology and building materials, have won him a host of prestigious accolades including from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) and the Saltire Society.
Terrorism and Conflict in Oil-Producing Regions Professor Stephen Vertigans
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Terrorism
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African politics
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Conflict in oil-producing regions
Professor Vertigans is a sociologist by background with research interests in violence, corporate social responsibility and the energy sector, and Islamic movements. He has in-depth experience in strategic management, community planning, performance management and governance from previous posts in Local Government and the Audit Commission.
01224 262389 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
Tourism and Hospitality Andrew Martin
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General tourism issues
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Tourism Policy
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Hotel & hospitality impacts on the economy
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Tourism strategic development & marketing
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Low cost carriers
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People development in the hotel/tourism/events sector
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Hotel development
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Economic and social impact of Tourism
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Whisky & Wine Tourism
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Peripheral Tourism
Andrew Martin is Director of the Scottish Centre of Tourism (SCoT) at RGU. Andrew has extensive experience of working in the hospitality industry including: leisure club openings, as a HR Manager for a group, and General Management positions with Marriott/Swallow Hotels.
He is frequently invited to advise Public and Private sector tourism organisations and associations on business development and marketing. He has experience of large scale project management in the tourism area with three successful European Social Fund projects; looking at management and supervisory skills gaps and devising innovative products to bridge these, and Entrepreneurship in the Tourism industry. Andrew is Vice-Chairman of the Aberdeen City and Shire Hotel Association and is Director of the Scottish Centre of Tourism (SCoT). The Centre has achieved national recognition for its research involving the investigation of skills shortages in the tourism/hospitality industry and entrepreneurship related to tourism and small business enterprises (SMEs). He is a past Chair of Moray Tourism Development, and is still closely involved with the Grampian Transport Museum, being a former Trustee. Andrew has contributed to research publications on tourism marketing, tourism policy and delivery, management skills and hotel management.
01224 262036 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Transport Policy Professor David Gray
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Transport Policy in Scotland
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Transport in remote, rural and island communities
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Transport, energy and climate change
He also advised the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee and the Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee during their scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s Draft Budget. He is currently involved in a number of projects including CARE North + (low carbon urban transport), a European Interreg 4b North Sea Region project. Professor Gray leads RGUs involvement in the Offshore Renewables Institute (ORI), collaboration between the Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee and RGU.
01224 262036 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
Professor David Gray is Professor of Transport Policy at RGU’s School of Creative and Cultural Business. Professor Gray is a Board member of the Highlands and Islands Regional Transport Partnership. He was an expert advisor during the preparation of Scotland’s National Transport Strategy and has acted as an adviser in the preparation of Scotland’s Strategic Transport Projects Review and to a number of bodies including the UK Commission for Integrated Transport and Defra.
WIND ENERGY Dr Yashwant Sinha
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Renewable energy
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SMART cities
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Energy storage
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Wind turbines
His research interests include maintenance management of offshore wind turbines, condition monitoring, failure diagnostics, prognostic maintenance, failure analysis, monitoring solutions, computational modelling, offshore based service delivery and management and offshore based electrical power generation and transmission.
01224 262206 newsdesk@rgu.ac.uk
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Dr Yashwant Sinha is a lecturer at the School of Engineering. Dr Sinha gained his PhD from Robert Gordon University through research on Optimisation of Offshore Wind Turbines Maintenance. He obtained an MPhil degree from University of Cambridge, UK and an engineering degree (distinction) from Sikkim Manipal University, India. He previously worked in the services industry for eight years.