Academics honoured for career excellence

Professor Alan Walker, from the university’s department of sociological studies, has been made a Fellow of the British Academy, while Dr Paul Reynolds from the university’s department of civil and structural engineering has been awarded a five-year Leadership Fellowship from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Prof Walker, who specialises in social policy, is a world authority on the social aspects of ageing and directs the UK’s largest research programme in this field.

He will now join only 900 other scholars in the British Academy who have achieved such a distinction in the humanities and social sciences.

Prof Walker said: “This is a great honour for me as the British Academy invites relatively few social scientists into its fellowship.

“I am very pleased that my work has been recognised in this way and I think that it is also a great tribute to the department of sociological studies and the faculty of social sciences, which have been huge sources of support for many years.”

Prof Walker was one of just 38 new Fellows to be elected to the prestigious Academy this year.

The fellowship bestowed upon Dr Reynolds, meanwhile, means he will be able to build on his position as a leading researcher in the area of human-induced vibrations.

He said he was “thrilled” and added: “My approach to future civil engineering structures is synonymous with technologies already adopted in other engineering-led sectors, such as semi-active vehicle suspension systems and active noise control in aircraft, so the scope of the fellowship includes development of technologies that can be adopted by industrial stakeholders. I am looking forward to advancing my research in this area.”