Celebrating Honorary Professorships with the University of Exeter

15 December 2023

PML has the pleasure of collaborating with many leading organisations and the decade-long formal partnership with the University of Exeter continues to go from strength to strength, from working on collaborative research topics including marine plastics, ocean carbon, geoengineering and Earth observation to supporting the next generation of marine scientists.

This year saw a bumper number of PML staff receive or continue their Professorships from the University of Exeter. An honorary appointment is a voluntary arrangement that allows esteemed individuals from other institutions and businesses to cooperate with academic staff at the University of Exeter.

Honorary Professors

Conferred on a person with involvement in the University that is regular and significant. The appointee should be of an academic standing equivalent to that of Professor. There must be a substantial connection with the University and the candidate must be academically qualified for the status. They will be a leading international authority in their subject including an outstanding contribution to education or research or both.

Prof. Icarus Allen, Chief Executive of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) and PML Applications Ltd.

Prof. Tim Smyth, Head of Science for Marine Biogeochemistry and Observations at PML.

Prof. Nicola Beaumont, Head of Science for Sea and Society at PML.

Prof. Pennie Lindeque, Head of Science for Marine Ecology and Biodiversity at PML.

Prof. Jerry Blackford, Head of Science for Marine System Modelling at PML.

Prof. Helen Findlay, Biological Oceanography at PML.

Prof. Ana Queirós, Marine and Climate Change Ecologist at PML.
 

Honorary Associate Professors

Conferred on a person who is academically qualified and a leading authority in the subject with an international reputation. The individual will also normally have experience of, and a demonstrated commitment towards fostering excellence in research and/or education. This may include contributions as a research lead or principal investigator, or leadership/management responsibilities. The proposed individual should contribute at an appropriately high level to the academic work of the University.
 
Prof. Matthew Palmer, Head of Science for Digital Innovation & Marine Autonomy at PML.

Prof. James Fishwick, Head of Smart Sound Plymouth and Head of Operations and Technology for the Western Channel Observatory, hosted by PML.
 

Visiting Fellowships at PML

PML has also provided visiting fellowships to four University of Exeter staff to facilitate collaboration and new ideas, who are:

Prof. Brendan Godley, Theme Lead for Exeter Marine and Director of Exeter’s Graduate School of Environment and Sustainability.

Prof. Hywel Williams, Professor of Environmental Data Science at the University of Exeter.

Prof. Jamie Shutler, Professor of Earth Observation and Climate at the University of Exeter.

Dr Ceri Lewis, Associate Professor in Marine Biology at the University of Exeter.

In addition, to help support Early Career Researchers, PML awarded the following Visiting Postdoctoral Fellowships:

Dr Sarah Nelms, Lecturer at the University of Exeter.

Dr Zara Botterell, Research Associate at the University of Exeter.

These join existing University of Exeter staff with PML fellowships:

Emerita Prof. Lora Fleming, Chair of Oceans, Epidemiology and Human Health at the University of Exeter.

Prof. Andy Watson FRS, Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Exeter.

Prof. Mike Allen, Associate Professor of Single Cell Genomics at the University of Exeter.

Dr Bob Brewin, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography at the University of Exeter & UKRI Future Leader Fellow.
 

Speaking about the value of the awards and ongoing collaborations between organisations, Prof. Steve Widdicombe, Director of Science at PML, commented:

“Honorary positions and fellowships help staff develop stronger collaborations with other organisations and scientists and these positions help recognise a long and productive relationship between the University of Exeter and PML".

Prof. Brendan Godley, Theme Lead for Exeter Marine and Director of Exeter’s Graduate School of Environment and Sustainability, added:
 
“I am delighted to have been awarded a Fellowship at Plymouth Marine Laboratory and look forward to helping to facilitate ever strong relationships between PML colleagues and staff and students at the University. The strength of these linkages further underlines that, along with Plymouth University and the Marine Biological Association, the southwest of England represent a globally significant powerhouse for marine research and education. This was clearly evidenced by the prominent roles played by our scientists at the recent UN Climate Change Conference”.

Other comments about the Professorships and Felllowships

Prof. Pennie Lindeque, Head of Science for Marine Ecology and Biodiversity at PML:

“This will be my 5th year of holding an honorary Professorship with the University of Exeter, and I’m extremely grateful for the position. From my experience the Honorary Professorship has allowed me to continue to develop excellent collaboration with colleagues at the University at a greater depth than may otherwise have been possible. The collaboration with colleagues ranges across areas from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at Penryn to Biosciences at Streatham, and a more recent collaboration with colleagues from the European Centre for Environment and Human Health. I’m immensely proud of the awards we have jointly won and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated working on joint research projects, but for me, perhaps the most rewarding activity is the joint supervision and mentoring of PhD students over the years. Being part of the career path of these amazing individuals has been thoroughly inspiring, they’re bound for great things”.

Prof. Helen Findlay, Biological Oceanography at PML:

“I am privileged to have been awarded this Honorary Professorship at University of Exeter. I have been working with colleagues from the University for over a decade, and this position consolidates that collaboration. I am excited about the opportunities for enhancing links with the University of Exeter and personally grateful for the additional recognition this position affords, particularly when representing our institutions at high level meetings such as the UNFCCC COPs”.

Prof. Ana Queirós, Marine and Climate Change Ecologist at PML:

“As a collaborator of the University for best of part of ten years, I have been honoured to receive this honorary Professorship. It has given me the impetus to collaborate more closely, through a new research award, with colleagues in the Dept. of Geography, in the areas of climate change and ocean planning. I am also in the process of developing a new PhD project with colleagues in the Biosciences Dept., to capitalise on synergies around the areas of marine conservation and blue carbon, and the excellent tradition of high calibre students at Exeter, highlighted by a recent joint master student who went on to pursue a PhD in a distinguished American University. All an all, it has been a delight to join the University team, and to be able to fly Exeter flag within high level research contributions to the United Nations Decade of  Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change”.

Prof. Matthew Palmer, Head of Science for Digital Innovation & Marine Autonomy at PML:

"This is a great way to demonstrate the close working relationships between PML and UoE teams working together with cutting edge environmental digital science skills and technologies, and it’s a personal honour to have this partnership recognised in this way".

Dr Sarah Nelms, Lecturer at the University of Exeter:

"Having done my PhD at PML, under the excellent supervision of Professor Pennie Lindeque, alongside supervisors Professors Brendan Godley and Tamara Galloway at the University of Exeter, I saw first-hand how the collaboration between the two organisations benefits both postgraduate students and research. Now, as a lecturer at Exeter, I very much value the opportunity to maintain a close working relationship with colleagues at PML through my visiting researcher fellowship. We are able to continue working as a team to generate new ideas and drive our research forwards".
 
Dr Zara Botterell, Research Associate at the University of Exeter:

“The PML postdoctoral fellowship has allowed me to maintain contact with my network, helped to publish papers from my PhD, and has also led to further exciting collaborations post-PhD.”
 
Dr Bob Brewin, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography at the University of Exeter & UKRI Future Leader Fellow:

"My honorary position has allowed me to continue to work closely scientists at PML, many of whom at the forefront of satellite and autonomous ocean monitoring."
 
Prof. Jamie Shutler, Professor of Earth Observation and Climate at the University of Exeter:

“I was honoured to be invited to become a fellow of the world leading Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and I’m looking forward to collaborating on some new areas of research”.
 
Prof. Hywel Williams, Professor of Environmental Data Science at the University of Exeter:

"I am really pleased to be a PML Honorary Fellow. In my work at University of Exeter and leading the Joint Centre of Excellence in Environmental Intelligence, I often talk to PML researchers about how data science and AI can be used in marine sciences. A number of new collaborations and PhD studentships are starting to emerge from these interactions and I can see lots of opportunities to grow in this area over the next few years".

 

Related information

University of Exeter