Staff and alumni recognised for their service to military education, social equality, gene therapy and higher education, and to technology in the West Midlands
University of Birmingham Professors David Dunn and Martin Coppack, and alumni Dr Tom Goodman, Professor Alan Boyd and Professor Paul Bartholomew have each been recognised in His Majesty the King’s New Year Honours List for 2026.
Academic and military educator Professor David Dunn has been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his services to military education and to recruitment.
Professor Dunn joined the University of Birmingham in 1991 after roles teaching at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and completing his PhD in War Studies at King’s College London.
Since 2000, Professor Dunn has chaired the West Midlands Military Education Committee, overseeing the relationship between universities in the region and the University Service Units that recruit officers from them, and strengthening the linkages between the Ministry of Defence and the national Military Education Committee.
David Dunn, Professor of International Politics, said: “I am delighted to receive this award and the attention that it brings to my work in the area of military education in the Higher Education sector. This recognition is not primarily for my academic and media contributions but for the support and service that I have given to Military Education in the broadest sense and in particular to the university service units of the West Midlands - Officers Training Corps, University Air Squadron and University Royal Naval Unit.
“Supporting the units to develop and train their students in these key skills has been an abiding passion over the years. It has also been an inspiring and rewarding pursuit as the students who commit to these units benefit enormously as a result.”
Financial inclusion and consumer policy expert Professor Martin Coppack becomes a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM), for services to social equality and inclusion.
Professor Coppack joined Birmingham in 2025 and is Professor of Practice in Financial Inclusion and Consumer Policy in the Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management (CHASM). His career has focused on using research to engage commercial, regulatory, government and civil society organisations to create change for consumers.
As the former Director and now Senior Adviser of Fair By Design, Martin focused on eliminating the poverty premium – the extra costs poorer people pay for essential services like insurance, credit, payments and energy. The poverty premium is now at the top of political and regulatory debates on fairness in essential services, with Martin’s work leading to tangible policy and practice changes to tackle it and increase financial inclusion in the UK.
In December 2024, Professor Coppack was appointed to the government’s new Financial Inclusion Committee, tasked with developing a new financial inclusion strategy for the UK.
A graduate with both a first degree and a doctorate in Computer Science from the University, Dr Tom Goodman becomes a Medallist of the British Empire (BEM) for services to Technology in the West Midlands.
Dr Goodman is CEO and founder of HackTheMidlands, the UK’s first 24-hour ‘creative marathon’ open to people of all ages and backgrounds. He is also the organiser of TechMids Conference – a flagship West Midlands event which brought together 210 technologists and 24 world-class speakers in Birmingham in November 2025.
Dr Goodman graduated with a first-class honours degree in 2018 and completed his PhD at Birmingham in 2022, for his dissertation on geometric approaches to pitch estimation of acoustic musical signals. He served as a Trustee of the University of Birmingham Guild of Students from 2020 to 2022.
Dr Goodman said: "I am incredibly honoured to receive the British Empire Medal for services to Technology in the West Midlands. This recognition reflects the hard work, time and energy that so many organisers have poured into the region’s tech community - without them, none of this would be possible. I hope it helps me to continue giving back to a community and city that I care deeply about and encourages others to do the same."
Dr Goodman has held several roles at the Birmingham branch of BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT, including Chair, Secretary, and Inclusion Officer. He is currently the branch’s Treasurer & Community Engagement Officer.
Professor Alan Boyd FMedSci is appointed MBE for services to gene therapy and to medical education.
Professor Boyd graduated from Birmingham in 1980 with degrees in biochemistry and medicine before embarking on a career as a pharmaceutical physician, working for Glaxo, ICI and Zeneca and then setting up Ark Therapeutics Ltd. He founded Boyds Consultants in 2005, where he currently serves as President and CEO, to support early-stage life-science companies translating ideas into medicinal products and treatments.
Professor Boyd was appointed an Honorary Professor of Medicine by the University in 2009 and serves as a Leadership Mentor for those students interested in the health sector and a pharmaceutical career.
He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2021 and served as President of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine from 2015 to 2019.
Ulster University’s Vice Chancellor since 2020, Professor Paul Bartholomew, has been appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to Higher Education and Public Service.
After beginning his career as a diagnostic radiographer in the NHS, Professor Bartholomew moved into higher education in 2001, completing his Doctor of Education (EdD) in Learning and Learning Contexts at Birmingham in 2013. He is an established leader in higher education curriculum design and was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2017.
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Professor in International Politics
Professor David H. Dunn's research interests are diverse and have evolved and broadened over his career.
