Ten University academics appointed to 2021 Research Excellence Framework
Research England, a council within UK Research and Innovation, have appointed 10 academics from the University of Leicester to serve as panellists in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF).
The panellist appointments follow several rounds of nominations, where subject associations and other organisations with an interest in research were invited to nominate candidates.
Comprised of academics and research users in the top of their fields, the panellists will use their expertise and knowledge to assess the excellence of submissions from academic research departments from universities across the UK.
Professor Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Leicester said:
”I am delighted to see the appointment of so many of our academics to REF2021 panels.
“This reflects the quality and excellence of both the research and reputation of our colleagues to be nominated to this prestigious group of REF assessors.”
“It is a great honour to be selected to be a panellist in the REF assessment exercise. This is recognition of the esteem with which these researchers are considered within their research area.”
REF is Research England’s assessment of research quality in UK higher education institutions. REF allows universities to demonstrate the impact of their research on lives, societies and communities, to benchmark their research against other UK universities, to secure future funding, and to build profile and reputation to attract prospective students and researchers.
Between May 2021 and February 2022, 34 subject-based expert panels will undertake peer-review of Unit of Assessment submissions across three key elements: research outputs, impact, and research environment.
University of Leicester confirmed appointees and their roles are:
Main panel A: Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
- Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, Cardiovascular Sciences at the College of Life Sciences - Deputy Chair: Main Panel A;
- Professor Pat Heslop-Harrison, Genetics and Genome Biology at the College of Life Sciences - Panel member, Sub-panel UoA 5 Biological Sciences. Interdisciplinary representative for Main Panel A.
Main panel B: Physical Sciences, Engineering and Mathematics
- Professor Martin Barstow, School of Physics and Astronomy at the College of Science and Engineering - Panel member, Sub-panel UoA 9 Physics;
- Professor Manolis Georgoulis, School of Mathematics at the College of Science and Engineering - Panel member, Sub-panel UoA 10 Mathematics.
Main panel C: Social Sciences
- Professor Sue Page, School of Geography, Geology and Environment at the College of Science and Engineering - Panel member, Sub-panel UoA 14 Geography;
- Professor David Mattingly, School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the College of Social Science, Arts and Humanities - Panel Chair, Sub-panel UoA 15 Archaeology and (by virtue) member of Main Panel C;
- Professor Paul Baines, School of Business - Impact Advisor, Sub-Panel UoA 17 Business & Management;
- Professor John Goodwin, School of Media, Communication and Sociology at the College of Social Science, Arts and Humanities - Panel member, Sub-panel UoA 21 Sociology.
Main panel D: Arts and Humanities
- Professor Martin Halliwell, School of Arts at the College of Social Science, Arts and Humanities Panel member, Sub-panel UoA 27 English Language and Literature Interdisciplinary representative for Main Panel D;
- Professor Peter Lunt, School of Media, Communication and Sociology at the College of Social Science, Arts and Humanities - Panel member, Sub-panel UoA 34 Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and I.M.