PPLS Review of 2021
Happy New Year from the School of PPLS!
The start of the year is a perfect time to reflect on what we achieved over the last 12 months and we’re proud of how our community pulled together in what was another challenging year.
You’ll find some of our highlights from 2021 below, a clear sign our community has overcome adversity to achieve success and continued to make an impact. We can’t wait to see what 2022 brings!
January
The first episode of the PPLS student vlog series, My PPLS Journey, is launched. Watch the whole series below.
February
Research finds that Edinburgh’s Bilingualism Matters Centre has been highly successful in changing the international debate on multilingualism.
March
Head of School, Professor Holly Branigan, is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
April
Professor in Linguistics, Alice Turk, is awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant of €2.5M. Funding from this scheme is given to academics whose achievements mark them out as exceptional leaders in terms of the originality and significance of their research.
May
Philosophy lecturer, Dr Brian Rabern, wins the Outstanding Innovation in Digital Teaching Award at the Teaching Awards 21.
June
New podcast from Lothian Birth Cohorts, Who gets to be 100?: The podcast, is launched. The podcast celebrates study participants’ 100th birthday and explores the secrets of long, healthy lives.
July
Psychology student, Lucy Glover, is chosen for the Olympic Great British rowing team.
August
Philosophy professor, Michela Massimi, is shortlisted for the Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year award.
September
PPLS academics, Dr Anne Templeton (Psychology) and Dr Wataru Uegaki (Linguistics & English Language) are awarded UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowships, which support early career researchers with remarkable potential.
October
Psychology research features in BBC dementia documentary, 'Dementia and Us'. Psychology professor, Rob McIntosh, was a consultant for the show and psychology graduate, Alicia Willoughby, can be seen in episode one, undertaking cognitive testing for her undergraduate dissertation.
November
Philosophy professor, Shannon Vallor, secures funding of £690k to lead on a new research project: “Making Systems Answer: Dialogical Design as a Bridge for Responsibility Gaps in Trustworthy Autonomous Systems”.
December
Psychology professor, Robert Logie, elected 51st Bartlett Lecturer for lifetime contributions to Experimental Psychology.