Royal Society of Edinburgh funding for Heriot-Watt analysis tasks

Three analysis tasks at Heriot-Watt University are being
awarded a share of virtually £730,000 in funding from the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE),
which helps analysis to sort out society’s most urgent challenges.

The awards are a part of the Society’s Research Awards Programme, which goals to assist Scotland’s analysis sector by
nurturing promising expertise, stimulating analysis in Scotland and selling
worldwide collaboration.

The Heriot-Watt tasks are amongst 73 “exceptional research projects” to obtain greater than £729,000 as a part of the RSE’s spring 2025 Research Awards open name. All three Heriot-Watt awards are Research Collaboration Grants.

In our School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, historic constructing
supplies skilled Dr Craig Kennedy is collaborating with Professor Michael Penman, a historian from the University of Stirling, to develop new methods of conserving stained glass utilizing superior scientific strategies and historic and archival analysis. The undertaking is known as, Developing a multidisciplinary method to evidence-led conservation of stained glass, and can contain the event of a community of researchers and heritage professionals.

Dr Kennedy stated: “Our research combines historical and scientific research with existing craft to find new ways of understanding our heritage of stained glass windows and to develop new ways of conserving them for the future. We are thrilled to receive this award.”

In our School of Social Sciences, our signal language decoding and linguistic inclusion skilled Professor Jemina Napier is main a collaborative analysis undertaking exploring home abuse in signing deaf communities. The undertaking is known as CEDARS: Collaborative Exploration of Domestic Abuse Research in Signing deaf communities.

Professor Napier, who’s Chair of Intercultural Communication at Heriot-Watt University, stated: “UK research on domestic abuse hasn’t really considered deaf British Sign Language users. The CEDARS project aims to bring together key domestic abuse researchers, stakeholders, practitioners, and deaf domestic abuse survivors. They will explore how various methodological approaches and disciplinary expertise can be harnessed to better understand the needs of domestic abuse survivors and perpetrators who are deaf signers – producing a roadmap for a new research agenda. So the RSE’s award will help us progress this important work.”

Also in our School of Social Sciences, Assistant Professor in Languages and Intercultural Studies, Dr Mette Sommer, is
collaborating with Dr Kate Rowley, a deaf psycholinguist at University College London, and Dr Dai O’Brien, Associate Professor of British Sign Language and Deaf Studies at York St John University, on a undertaking to form deaf research educating throughout generations. The undertaking is known as Shaping deaf research pedagogy throughout generations.

Alongside lead investigators from 16 of Scotland’s 19 universities, the RSE stated its spring 2025 awards additionally included collaborators representing 39 establishments in whole, together with worldwide establishments within the United States, Australia, Italy, Rwanda, Germany, Portugal and Brazil.

RSE Vice President, Research, Professor Anne Anderson OBE FRSE, stated: “The RSE’s Research Awards Programme plays a vital role in strengthening Scotland’s dynamic research community. I do not doubt that the recipients of these prestigious RSE awards will advance knowledge and make meaningful contributions to Scottish society. On behalf of the RSE, I congratulate these exceptional researchers and their international partners, and I eagerly anticipate the impact of their work.”

The RSE’s Research Awards Programme runs twice a 12 months in spring and autumn.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland’s nationwide academy of science and letters and was established in 1783 to deploy data for public good.