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Eleanor Robson's research on mathematics in ancient Iraq has delivered impact in two key areas: improved teaching practices in the UK, USA and Pakistan; and increased public understanding of ancient mathematics and Middle Eastern history. Impact on teaching was primarily achieved through video conferences, a multimedia pack for schools downloaded over 14,500 times internationally, and a US teacher training programme. Impact on public understanding of ancient mathematics and Middle Eastern history was achieved through museum exhibitions, art works, radio programmes and contribution to non-specialist publications.
Research at the University of Cambridge, Department of Physics on sensitive techniques for measurements of magnetic and electrical properties of materials led to the selection of Dr Michael Sutherland as an expert witness in a series of major police investigations involving fraudulent bomb detecting equipment. Scientific evidence Dr Sutherland presented in court was key in securing guilty verdicts, leading to the breakup in 2013 of several international fraud rings with combined revenue in excess of £70 million. This criminal activity had caused significant damage to the reputation of the UK in Iraq and elsewhere.
Memory of Fire, the 2008 Brighton Photo Biennial, shown across nine venues, had public impact, as measured by audience figures, audience comment on the website and in gallery comment books, attendance at public events and in education programmes, and the analyses of the event in an independent audit and Audience & Visitor Evaluation Report. Its longer term impact derives from the stimulation of discourse about the role of imagery in the conduct of war, over a period in which the UK has continually been at war, and in which the media's treatment of war has been of pressing public concern.
The Leeds unit's MoD-funded research programme in hypervelocity impact dynamics has: saved the MoD two years in ballistic development and £1.5m-£2m in costs; guaranteed robustness and reliability of MoD computations; enabled the MoD to deliver advanced research output cost- effectively under severe budgetary pressures; continued to underpin a £4m annual income for the MoD's War Technology consultants QinetiQ; provided the MoD with a world-leading explosion- simulation capability. MoD codes underpinned by the Leeds research have, during the REF period, led to a reduction in front-line casualties of British Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and enabled government agencies to make quantifiable assessments of threats to transport and public-building infrastructure, e.g. in the planning of the 2012 Olympic Games. QinetiQ have used the codes with industry to develop a new explosive perforator for oil extraction that has: "halved the R&D process, time-to-market and cost of oil-well exploitation"; improved oil flows by 30-40% in tests undertaken by oil companies, and; yielded substantial (but confidential, see §4e) recurrent licensing royalties.
As a consequence of research carried out at the University of Stirling, as set out in this case study, enhancement of the capacity of National Sport Associations has been achieved:
Research at Bradford has focused on the Biological Non-Proliferation work of the Bradford Disarmament Research Centre (BDRC). The research-informed impact of this work is two-fold. Firstly BDRC has influenced, and continues to influence, decision- and policy-making involving 170 States on how to strengthen global governance through improvements to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC). As a consequence of this influence BDRC has changed the practices of institutions and individual researchers and thus has, through novel training and curriculum development, helped foster a culture of biosecurity to reduce the risk of inadvertent or deliberate misuse of life and associated science research.
Emerging from investigations of social exclusion during the 1990s, the Unit's research into minority rights has led to outputs and consultancy ranging across political participation, identity, rights protection and international criminal law. The impact claimed here falls in two main channels. Firstly, research on socio-economic group rights, amplified by Castellino's work as co-chair of the relevant UN delegated group, has made a significant input into the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015-30. Secondly, research has been incorporated into practice and capacity- building through projects involving judiciaries, advocates, statutory bodies, and NGOs. Beneficiaries include the public across 194 states who will benefit from implementation of SDGs over their 15 years lifespan; and civil society bodies and their users.
This research in Libya has had several significant impacts with wide reach for a range of different groups, both national and international. It has made fundamental contributions to the archaeological mapping of Libya (a country of extraordinary archaeological richness but still poorly recorded), to the development of typologies of sites and artefacts, and to dating frameworks. This has delivered major related impacts for management of cultural heritage by the Libyan Department of Antiquities (DoA), and for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and archaeological mitigation work by oil companies in the Libyan desert. There have been additional benefits through dissemination of new historical models, as well as protection of heritage sites during the 2011 conflict.
Poor people define poverty to include a simultaneous lack of education, health, housing, mployment and income, among other factors. Recognising this, Sabina Alkire and James Foster developed an axiomatic methodology of measurement that incorporates multiple dimensions of poverty — the Alkire Foster method (AF). The AF method provides a robust, `open-source' measurement tool for policy-making. One key impact is an AF index covering 100+ countries, published annually in the UNDP's Human Development Reports. Another is national adoption by three governments and a multidimensional poverty peer network of 22 governments and agencies. The AF method is also incorporated into other internationally recognised well-being measures such as USAID's 19-country Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index, and Bhutan's Gross National Happiness index.
Researchers at the Hull International Fisheries Institute (HIFI) in the School of Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, have shaped policies that govern the regulation, conservation and enhancement of freshwater fisheries for national and trans-national governments and their agencies and institutions.
The reach of this research is international as it underpins fisheries policies and guidelines across Europe. Its significance is considerable because these policies regulate the sustainable use of freshwater fisheries; it protects them from alien and genetically-modified fishes; and they prohibit genetically-modified fish in Europe. Our research also shapes European legislation on controlling fish-eating birds. As a result this research has produced significant and broad impact.