Fellowship focus: Advancing dialogues on Victorian mobilities between Britain and India with a focus on representations of mesmerism (a form of hypnotism).
During her Fellowship Dr Barik will undertake archival research on collaborations, encounters and cross-cultural exchanges between the UK and India on the topic of mesmerism in the Victorian era. Her research will consider how mesmerism facilitated trade and traffic in goods and people between the UK and India (focusing on England and Calcutta), and explore the intersections of race, class and gender these interactions brought about. Leveraging knowledge in Surrey’s ‘Victoriographies’ and ‘Mobilities in Literature and Culture’ groups, the Fellowship will include a joint publication to disseminate research, a public lecture at Surrey, and an exhibition at Visva-Bharati University.
Fellowship focus: Developing an AI-driven assessment of malaria interventions to identify effective control policies in Nigeria.
Ninety-five per cent of the world’s malaria cases occur in the WHO African Region, with Nigeria being the most affected country. Dr Oyeyemi plans to leverage the ‘OpenMalaria’ model from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and use AI-based simulations to identify the most effective malaria control policies for Nigeria. This state-of-the-art epidemiological model could be extended to other settings and geographical contexts, helping to shape policies across Sub-Saharan Africa. The Fellowship will contribute to the Sustainable Developments in Neglected Communities programme in the Surrey Institute for Sustainability, and align with key UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Fellowship focus: Combining empirical and theoretical insights on intersex issues and LGBTQ+ politics.
While intersex is increasingly recognised as part of the LGBTQ+ acronym, there are concerns that this framing can obscure the unique needs of intersex individuals. Bringing together two of the leading scholars in this field, and leveraging knowledge within Surrey’s Sex, Gender and Sexualities Research Centre, this Fellowship will foster much-needed critical discussion on the subject. Dr Prandelli and Dr Griffiths plan to hold a seminar on the tensions and possibilities of the LGBTQ+ acronym, begin research on the historical and contemporary tensions across and beyond the LGBTQ+ acronym, and establish a network that enables innovative intersex research.
Fellowship focus: Investigating the human acceptance and psychological benefits of nature-based solutions to the climate crisis.
Nature-based solutions such as urban parks and street trees can mitigate climate and health risks at a time when an increasing proportion of people live in cities. This Fellowship will combine Tongji University’s knowledge of landscape architecture with Surrey’s expertise in environmental psychology to conduct research which explores people’s acceptance of, and the psychological benefits offered by, nature-based solutions in UK and Chinese cities. Deepening an existing partnership, the Fellowship will take a holistic approach, focusing on the interrelationships between biodiversity, climate change and human health.
Fellowship focus: Promoting evidence-informed pedagogical use of Generative AI in learning design and teaching in the higher education sector.
Generative AI (GenAI) has significant potential to transform educational practices in higher education. Current research is largely student-focused, with little attention given to academics’ perspective. Addressing this gap, Dr Tzirides’ Fellowship will investigate how GenAI can enhance academic staff’s learning design practices, and translate research into actionable guidance for teaching staff on using GenAI responsibly, balancing innovation and efficiency with ethics. Outcomes will include a workshop and demonstration of GenAI tools for Surrey staff and a collaborative case study where participants use the CyberScholar GenAI Writing Tool in educational scenarios.
Fellowship focus: Re-thinking traditional design practices by integrating ecological principles into scenographic thinking and production.
Award-winning ecological designer, community artist and academic Dr Beer will bring her 3 Cs (Co-creation, Celebration and Circulation) framework for sustainable scenography to the GSA. She will run an all-staff workshop with the aims of exploring how to make theatre more sustainable and re-thinking the systems that underpin the creative process. The Fellowship will include a lecture to researchers in the Institute for Sustainability, and a series of workshops with undergraduate students, which will include short performance pieces shared with the wider University community.
Fellowship focus: Exploring the impact of Generative AI on hotel marketing, and how employees can use it effectively.
Generative AI (which can create original content in response to a user’s prompt or request) has the potential to enhance aspects of hotel marketing, but understanding the human experience is vital to using this emerging technology effectively. In this Fellowship Professor Li and Dr Liu will use a combination of in-depth interviews and scenario-based experiments to assess how it affects the quality and productivity of hotel marketing employees. The research will also explore the impact of Generative AI on factors such as employee job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and beliefs about automation. Fellowship outcomes will include a hybrid seminar for international participants on Generative AI in tourism and hospitality.
Fellowship focus: Exploring the growth of complex predicates in Dravidian languages of southern India.
Languages change over time, but how do grammatical structures such as ‘complex predicates’ (multi-word structures that behave like a single verb) evolve? Focusing on Dravidian languages, which have some of the most intricate verbal systems found in any language, this Fellowship examines how the expansion of grammatical systems is regulated and facilitated by existing language structure. Dr Puttaswamy will collaborate with Surrey Morphology Group, using fine-grained coding of variation across different complex predicates to test the hypothesis that speakers notice patterns in their language and extend them to new environments through analogy.
Fellowship focus: Establishing intellectual property (IP) protection for acoustic signatures in physical spaces.
Room Impulse Responses (RIRs) – a form of acoustic data representation – play a critical role in today’s audio technology applications. However, they may not meet the legal criteria for IP protection because they fall into a unique category as modelled representations of physical realities. Aimed at reducing uncertainty around IP in digital audio signal processing, Dr Khan will work with academics in Surrey’s Institute of Sound Recording to review existing standards, interview audio practitioners, and develop guidelines for digital audio researchers who want to protect their research outputs as a commercial asset and resource.
Fellowship focus: Exploring the use of AI and digital tools to make green hydrogen production more efficient and sustainable.
Improving the efficiency of green hydrogen production is critical in the global shift to sustainable energy. The primary aim of this project is to develop a ‘digital twin’ – a virtual model which can simulate and optimise green hydrogen production processes in real time. What sets this Fellowship apart is its interdisciplinary approach. Dr Halog will collaborate with academics from chemical engineering, sustainability, civil engineering and business with the aim of not only providing technical solutions, but also helping industry to develop sustainable business practices, enabling greener and more circular operations.