University of Birmingham celebrates research impact

The University of Birmingham brought together researchers, research enablers and external partners at The Exchange to celebrate impactful research on an evening that also highlighted the University’s 125-year history of research that has helped to change the world.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn, award-winning journalist and reporter and University alumna (French and History, 2004), hosted the Awards, welcoming over 20 University of Birmingham colleagues and their external partners to the stage for applause, certificates and - for the winners - a commemorative glass sculpture, produced by local artist Nadia Lammas.

On the Awards, Professor Dominique Moran, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for Research Impact said: “The annual University of Birmingham Impact Awards are a moment to pause and recognise the commitment and efforts of our research community to create research that makes a difference to the world beyond academia. This year is particularly special as we place the winners in the context of our 125 history and the long view of how their work today will shape the future.”

External partners and collaborators involved in the award-winning research were also welcomed to the stage, including the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the McPin Foundation. Dr Mark Pickel, Chief Financial Officer of the Biltmore Estate, said of the collaboration with Dr Faye Sayer on heritage and wellbeing in historic houses: "The impact of this project on Biltmore is helping us recognise practical ways that we can create new strategies that we have never thought about before, to help us maintain our relevance and our sustainability for the next century."

To mark the 125th anniversary, attendees also learned more about examples of impactful research from the University’s history and its connection to our expertise today, inspired by objects in the University Collections including:

• The development of the world’s first patient controlled variable rate pacemaker and the future of early detection and remote monitoring in healthcare.  
• The role of beetle elytra in helping to demonstrate the rapidity of climate changes during the Ice Age and our ongoing research focused on creating a greener, more sustainable world.
• The ongoing legacy of Professor Stuart Hall and the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies in global social justice and the work of the Stuart Hall Archive Project.
• How technology, through research centres like the Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing and the forthcoming Birmingham Transformative Humanities Lab, can help us evolve understanding of the arts and the humanities.
• The enduring influence of Professor Mike Kosterlitz’ and Professor David Thouless’ Nobel Prize-winning work on phase transitions and metamaterials.

The annual Impact Awards form part of the University’s research culture, focused on creating an environment where world-leading research can thrive. The full list of winners is included below, with further details available on the University of Birmingham Impact Awards page.

Full list of winners

• Support for Impact: Caroline Durbin, Research Communications Manager in the College of Life and Environmental Sciences.

• Global Health: The Birmingham Symptom-specific Obstetric Triage System (BSOTS) team, led by Professor Sara Kenyon MBE.

• Connecting Cultures: Dr Faye Sayer

• Inclusive Impact: Dr Holly Birkett

• Thriving Planet: Dr Xilin Xia

• Ethical Research Impact: The PrecisionTox team led by Professor Aleksandra Cavoski, Professor Robert Lee and Dr Laura Holden.

• Fairer World: Professor Sabine Lee

• Life-Changing Technologies: Dr Robert Neely

• Early Career Researcher: Dr Benjamin Perry

• Civic Purpose: The West Midlands Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (WM-CRVA), led by Dr Emma Ferranti