April 8, 2020, by Katie Andrews

Three Nottingham experts announced as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences

Three scientists from the University of Nottingham have been conferred the award of Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Professor Tom Rodden, in the Faculty of Science, and Professor Sarah Hall and Professor David Fraser, in the Faculty of Social Sciences, are among 51 leading UK social scientists who have been awarded.

They have been elected on the basis of their outstanding contributions to research and to the application of social science to policy, education, society and the economy.

The Academy’s Fellowship is made up of distinguished individuals from academic, public and private sectors, across the full breadth of the social sciences. Through leadership, applied research, policymaking and practice, they have worked to help understand and tackle some of the toughest challenges facing us in modern times. Their work has contributed to the UK’s position as a world leader in the social sciences.

As Professor of Economic Geography, Professor Sarah Hall’s work is central to the development of innovative geographically sensitive readings of some of the most profound developments in global finance, including the rise of China and the economic implications of the UK’s changing trading relationship with the EU in relation to Brexit. She is currently a Senior Fellow with the UK in a Changing Europe, funded by the ESRC. Here she is providing analysis on the impacts for Brexit for the UK’s financial services sector.

Professor David Fraser, Professor of Law and Social Theory, works on research projects around legal theory, modern/contemporary legal history, law and popular culture, hate crime, especially antisemitism and Holocaust Denial, and legal aspects of the Holocaust. One of his major studies, of the Nazi war crimes trials which took place in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s, has been published by University Nebraska Press.

Professor of Computing, Tom Rodden, focuses on the challenges that emerge as computers move beyond the desktop to impact all aspects of our lives through a diverse set of mobile and computational devices either embedded into the world we inhabit or carried with us. In 2019, he was appointed as Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, to advise ministers and senior officials and ensuring that the department’s policies are supported by the best science and technology guidance available.

Commenting on the announcement, Professor Dame Jessica Corner, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange, said: “I am delighted that three of our academics have been recognised as leading social scientists on a national scale. It is wonderful to have some good news during this testing time and I congratulate Sarah, David and Tom for their continued outstanding contributions to their respective fields.”

Professor Roger Goodman, President of the Academy of Social Sciences, said, “We are immensely proud to welcome 51 new Fellows to the Academy who are so highly accomplished in their fields. They have been selected following a robust review by their peers and have been recognised for the excellence of their work and its applications in academia, business and the public sector.

“Over the course of their careers they have surpassed the normal requirements of their positions and many have used social sciences to deliver public benefit in the realms of social, economic and environmental policy, and in higher education, regional development, government and law. I offer our new Fellows my sincerest congratulations and look forward to collaborating with them to take forward the Academy’s ambitions.”

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