The latest sustainability research, stories, and events from the
South Coast to South America and beyond.
We hope you're all well and enjoying the warm weather. In this month's bulletin we have news of exciting upcoming events, our latest Spotlight interview, and various updates from across our research community including new videos and podcasts. Enjoy the bank holiday weekend and have a great month!
Research with Impact
Join us for a feast of food research!
You are warmly invited to our interdisciplinary workshop, 'Food for Thought', which we are co-hosting with the Sustainable Healthcare Group at the Centre of Equitable Global Health Research on Thursday 12 June, 2pm to 4pm in Gallery Room 1, Bramber House.
We'll hear quickfire presentations from food researchers across numerous disciplines and departments. The event is part of the University's busy Summer of Research 2025 programme.
We've been hard at work putting together an extensive publication covering SSRP projects and events over the Programme's lifespan. The result is a compelling document of our international, innovative, and impactful research.
We'd love to see you at the launch of the report coming soon (date to be announced), where we'll enjoy short presentations from members of our research community over complimentary refreshments. Please note this will be a hybrid event.
SSRP Spotlight series: Sustainable supply chains
and governance
In our latest Spotlight interview, Dr Qingxiu Bu, Reader in Global Law in the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, tells us about working with the United Nations, influencing environmental policy in China, and the benefits of interdisciplinary research.
Introducing the Sussex School for Progressive Futures (SSPF)
Find out about the SSPF, a new hub for interdisciplinary education, research, and global and civic engagement based around the University's transformational themes of environmental sustainability, human flourishing, and digital and data futures. The School is a key pillar of the University's 2035 Strategy.
For Earth Day on April 22, we shared a beautiful short film of local communities collecting crucial ecological data in the cloud forests of Ecuador's Intag Valley. This is the work of the Ecoforensic CIC organisation established by SSRP researcher Professor Mika Peck.
Stories of struggle, resilience and sustainable development in Syria
Two new podcast series, produced by SSRP researchers Dr Mirela Barbu and Professor Martin Spinelli, shine a light on NGOs working in Syria and Syrian women amid prolonged conflict in the country. The new series follow Dr Barbu and Professor Spinelli's initial SSRP-funded 'Agricultural Voices Syria' project.
SSRP's Alice Clark will present her research monitoring biodiversity off the Sussex coast as part of the diverse programme for Soapbox Science, a public event showcasing female and non-binary science researchers, on May 24, 11am to 2pm.
UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme is accepting applications for the 2025 MAB Young Scientist Awards. The awards are for researchers 35 years-old or younger conducting research within marine, island or coastal biosphere reserves.
What does energy security mean in our age of conflict, climate crisis and trade barriers? And can, or should, it be achieved without fossil fuels? In an engaging article for The Conversation, our Professor Peter Newell and Research Associate Freddie Daley reflect on these complex questions.
In a new blog, Dr Justyna Robinson reflects on the findings of her SSRP project with The Mass Observation Archive, in which thousands of local volunteers recorded their everyday activities and experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. The result is a fascinating glimpse into a turbulent time.
SSRP researcher Professor Emily Lydgate will share her expertise in a webinar (7 May, 2 to 3pm) on the intersection between organisational standards, trade and the Net Zero transition. Professor Lydgate has co-written a report on the same subject, which the webinar will draw on.
Our internet star Professor Fiona Mathews is back from her latest research trip to Ecuador, and back on YouTube shorts! In this new video, Professor Mathews gives an update on her work protecting the Andean Bear, 'fundamental engineers of the habitat.'
Joycelyn Longdon, PhD researcher at the University of Cambridge, presents her concept of 'Rooted Innovation'. She will explore how we might reimagine and redefine technology, beyond a tool for extraction and domination. This is followed by a drinks reception co-hosted by the Sussex Digital Humanities Lab and SSRP.
Join Professor Gilly Forrester on her quest to better understand how we evolved and develop into the upright, walking, talking, tool-using great apes that we are today.
My Psychology is a new talk series that invites the public to join in the ceremonial occasion of Professorial appointments at the University of Sussex.
How Important are Organisational Standards to the Net Zero transition?
2pm to 3pm
Online
The British Standards Institution recently commissioned the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy to research issues at the intersection of organizational standards, trade and the net-zero transition. This event brings together the authors of the resulting report to present their main findings and discuss how to navigate the current challenges facing trading firms in the net-zero transition.
This exhibition invites you into the world of sight impaired collaborators and their experiences of Wakehurst’s wild botanic garden in the heart of Sussex. Immerse yourself in a soundscape composition, feel a tactile forest crafted with foraged nature, and meet the collaborators. You will leave inspired to think and feel differently about ‘nature’. Lead researcher of the project is Dr Karis Jade Petty of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Sussex.
Slowing Down Alzheimer's Disease: What Really Works?
6pm to 8pm
Chowen Lecture Theatre, Medical Teaching Building, Brighton and Sussex Medical School
This inaugural lecture from Naji Tabet, Professor of Dementia and Old Age Psychiatry at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, will examine the major advances in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease that have emerged in recent years.
Environmentally-adjusted Productivity Measures for the UK
1pm to 2pm
Jubilee G22 and online
This seminar, led by Professor Matthew Agarwala of the Bennett Institute for Innovation and Policy Acceleration, explores the relationship between productivity measures, growth and sustainability. More specifically, he views environmental protection expenditure as capital investment.
Memorial Gardens, College Road, Crawley, West Sussex
This public event is all about sparking curiosity and excitement in young minds, encouraging them to explore the world of STEM. Researchers from the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine at the University of Sussex will be there throughout the day with a range of interactive exhibits including space talks, thermal cameras, AI demos, plant health apps, and quantum tech.
Women and non-binary scientists will bring their research to the seaside in this public event.
Soapbox Science features demonstrations and discussions on everything from the science of taste to the psychology of sleep, and SSRP researcher Alice Clark presenting her research into marine biodiversity off the Sussex Coast.
Food for Thought: A Workshop Exploring Food Research at Sussex
2pm to 4pm
Gallery Room 1, Bramber House
This interdisciplinary workshop will showcase food-related research from across the University. We will enjoy quickfire presentations from researchers from various disciplines and departments, who approach the topic of food from a variety of angles and perspectives. The event will provide plenty of food for thought to discuss and digest.
Sussex Digital Humanities Lab Annual Keynote Lecture: Rooted Innovation
2pm to 4pm
Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts
In this 'Summer of Research 2025' talk, Joycelyn Longdon, PhD researcher at the University of Cambridge, will present her concept of 'Rooted Innovation'. She will explore how we might reimagine and redefine technology, beyond a tool for extraction and domination, but as a generational practice of craft. The talk is followed by a drinks reception co-hosted by SHL and SSRP.
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