Appointments

The founding director of Imperial College London's Statistical Advisory Service has been appointed as the first Aviva chair in statistics at the University of East Anglia. Elena Kulinskaya will explore the statistical nature of risk in the newly created post. She has previously held research and teaching posts at universities in the UK, Australia and Russia. Her areas of expertise include health, social, environmental and business statistics. She will take up her new role in March 2010.

A specialist in cancer nursing and end-of-life care has been appointed at the University of Southampton. Alison Richardson, a former professor of cancer and palliative nursing care at King's College London, previously led a team that developed national guidance on improving cancer services for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. In her new post, she will lead clinical academics at Southampton and head the development of a research strategy for nurses and therapists. The post is a joint appointment with Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Malcolm Cross has started as director of research and enterprise at The Open University. His remit is to support the research community at the OU, develop new opportunities for collaborations and partnerships, and assist in the recruitment of research students. Dr Cross has previously worked at the University of Bath and Newcastle University. He has more than 15 years' experience in technical and managerial roles.

A prominent legal expert has been recruited by Northumbria University. Paul Maharg, director of the Innovative Learning Technologies Development unit and co-director of legal practice programmes at the University of Strathclyde, has developed learning tools to support legal education and has published widely on the topic. His areas of expertise include interdisciplinary educational design and the use of information and communications technology within legal education.

Patrick Stevenson, professor of German and linguistic studies and head of research in modern languages at the University of Southampton, has been rewarded for his contributions to the understanding of German studies. Professor Stevenson was honoured with the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Prize by the German Academic Exchange Service, winning EUR10,000 (£8,950) and a four-week research visit to a university in Germany.

Two former business school leaders have been presented with companionships from an organisation representing business and management education. Anthony Hopwood, former dean of the Said Business School, University of Oxford, and John Saunders, former dean of Aston Business School, Aston University, were awarded the titles by the Association of Business Schools.

A chemist whose expertise includes the crystallisation process involved in the formation of seashells, bones and teeth has joined the University of Leeds. Fiona Meldrum, who has been appointed to a chair in inorganic chemistry, has previously worked in Australia, Germany and the US. She joins Leeds' School of Chemistry from the University of Bristol, where her recent research has focused on bio-inspired mineralisation.

Richard Knapp has been appointed assistant dean at Swansea Metropolitan University's faculty of humanities. During his 17 years at the institution, Dr Knapp has helped to develop its resources for performing arts courses, including the creation of the Townhill Theatre, which is used by students and community groups. He succeeds Nick Potter in the post, who has taken over the role of head of quality at Swansea Met.

Michelle Anderson has been announced as the new director of library services at The Robert Gordon University. She joins from the University of Lincoln, where she has worked since 1999. Prior to joining Lincoln, she held a number of other roles in higher and further education, and has also worked as an information professional in commercial research and development.

Coaching and mentoring expert Peter Hawkins has joined Oxford Brookes University as a visiting professor in its department of management and organisational studies. Professor Hawkins has worked with organisations worldwide advising on coaching strategy. He is co-author of Coaching, Mentoring and Organisational Consultancy: Supervision and Development, one of the field's best-known texts.

The recently formed Society of Biology has a new chief executive. Mark Downs has taken charge of the representative body, which was created by a merger of the Institute of Biology and the Biosciences Federation. He joins after five years as executive director for science and enterprise at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People. He replaces Ken Allen in his new post, who was interim chief executive at the organisation.

Two e-research specialists have been appointed by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of a programme to maximise the use of e-technologies by social scientists. David De Roure, professor of computer science at the University of Southampton, takes on the position of national strategic director of e-social science. Marina Jirotka, reader in requirements engineering at the University of Oxford, is the new deputy director of the programme. Professor De Roure and Dr Jirotka will be expected to draw on national and international e-social science initiatives to develop a plan for exploiting the technologies within the social sciences in the UK.

Andrew Mumford has joined the University of Hull as lecturer in war and security studies. He was previously based at Pennsylvania State University in the US as a research fellow in the International Centre for the Study of Terrorism. He is also founding convenor of the British International Studies Association's Insurgencies and Small Wars working group.

A microbiologist from the University of Aberdeen has been rewarded for research that could lead to the development of new antibiotics and novel methods for sterilising food. Gail Ferguson, a senior lecturer in medical microbiology, was presented with the Wain Medal, which is named in memory of the late Louis Wain, honorary professor at the University of Kent, and is awarded annually to a young scientist who excels in biochemistry. Dr Ferguson is currently conducting research into bacteria that flourish at the bottom of the sea.