Human Geography research at the University of Aberdeen

The Human Geography Research Group at the University of Aberdeen comprises an active group of doctoral, post-doctoral and established academic researchers. We have been very successful in securing external grant income, producing high profile research outputs, influencing public policy development and engaging with stakeholder groups. Ongoing and recently completed research has been funded by Research Councils UK (ESRC, EPSRC, etc.), Government Departments including DFID, the Scottish Government and various local authorities, the Leverhulme Trust, the Carnegie Trust and the Brazilian Research Council.  Our research is inherently interdisciplinary, which we regard as a strength of the Human Geography Research Group, and coalesces around four cross-cutting themes: rural and urban transformations; sustainabilities; local – global politics of scale, and governance. These themes are explored within three broad areas of activity, namely nature, culture and livelihoods; transport and mobilites; and development, politics and social justice.

Group members are integral to the success of high profile, interdisciplinary research initiatives including:

• The Rural Digital Economy Hub is one of three multi-million pound Research Council-funded research nodes.  It involves five members of academic staff in Geography and Environment, including the director (John Farrington), co-investigators (Colin Hunter and John Nelson) and associate investigators (Antonio Ioris and Lorna Philip) who supervise the work of a number of research fellows and research students.  The dot.rural Hub brings some 60 new appointments to Aberdeen University and is designed to have a transformative impact on the capacity of rural communities, business and agencies to engage with and utilise existing and emerging digital technologies across four major research themes:  ‘Healthcare’, ‘Accessibility and Mobilities’, ‘Enterprise and Culture’ and ‘Natural Resource Conservation’ with each theme based on exemplar projects implemented UK wide.

• Geography and Environment is a key partner in ACES, the Aberdeen Centre for Environmental Sustainability (http://www.aces.ac.uk).  ACES brings together researchers working on environmental sustainability across the University of Aberdeen and the Macaulay Institute (to become the John Hutton Institute in April 2011) to facilitate new research collaborations, supported by a strong focus on community and capacity building

• Geography and Environment hosts the Centre for Transport Research (CTR) which is supported by a major funding partnership with the world’s largest transport provider, FirstGroup. CTR’s research focuses on three broad themes: Transport, Energy and Environment, Transport and Society and Transport and the Digital Economy with further details available at here.

Network, working-group, conference activites

Antonio Ioris is the coordinator of an interdisciplinary research network undertaking research in the South American Pantanal (www.aces.ac.uk/PantanalInternationalNetwork.htm)

Rowan Ellis organised a recent workshop where questions of social justice and urban politics were the focus, brining together scholars from Aberdeen and other UK and North American institutions.

Lorna Philip is co-convening a working group entitled “Diversity in Demographic Processes Across Rural Space” at the 2011 European Society for Rural Sociology Congress (http://esrs2011.maich.gr/)

The Centre for Transport Research recently hosted the 5th International Symposium on Travel Demand Management in October 2010 (http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~wpg018/news/news.php?news=237)

Bill Neill is organising an international conference about Titanic memory and heritage to be held in May 2011 (http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/talks.asp). A flyer can be downloaded here

Jillian Anable is transport and aviation co-topic coordinator within the Demand Reduction theme of the UK Energy Research Centre.