Leverhulme Trust awards £3 million to 30 exceptional researchers
The Leverhulme Trust has announced the winners of the 2022 Philip Leverhulme Prizes. Chosen from over 300 nominations, the Trust offered five prizes in each of the following subject areas: Archaeology, Chemistry, Economics, Engineering, Geography, and Languages and Literatures. Congratulations to the winners, who are listed below.
Now in its twenty-first year, this scheme commemorates the contribution to the work of the Trust made by Philip, Third Viscount Leverhulme and grandson of William Lever, the founder of the Trust. The prizes recognise and celebrate the achievements of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future careers are exceptionally promising.
Professor Anna Vignoles, Director of the Leverhulme Trust, said:
“In its twenty-first year, this scheme continues to attract applications from an array of researchers of an incredibly high calibre, and the decisions get harder every year. The Leverhulme Trust is delighted to award prizes to academics undertaking work on an impressively wide range of topics, from robotics to Romans, labour markets to Black British literature, and greenhouse gases to disability and wellbeing. We are very proud to support these researchers through the next stage of their careers.”
Each prize is worth £100,000 and may be used for any purpose that advances the prize winner’s research. Detailed citations for each winner will be published on our website in due course.
Archaeology
Dr Chiara Bonacchi, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, for her work on public archaeology; heritage and identity; political uses of the past; digital heritage; computational methods; Iron Age, Roman and Medieval heritage.
Dr Marianne Hem Eriksen, School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, for her work on archaeology; archaeological theory; archaeology of the body; gender archaeology; architecture and archaeology; Scandinavian later prehistory–early medieval period.
Dr Corisande Fenwick, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, for her work on empire and state formation; agriculture; technology; Islamic and late antique archaeology; North Africa and the Mediterranean.
Dr Patrick Gleeson, School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen’s University Belfast, for his work on landscape archaeology of later prehistoric and medieval Europe, with the main research focus on royal landscapes, cult and religious transformation.
Dr Sarah Inskip, School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, for her work on osteoarchaeology; bioarchaeology; palaeopathology (especially infectious diseases); archaeological science; historic archaeology.
Chemistry
Dr Bryan Bzdek, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, for his work on physical and analytical chemistry of aerosols.
Professor Nicholas Chilton, Department of Chemistry, University of Manchester, for his work on computational chemistry.
Dr Brianna Heazlewood, Department of Physics, University of Liverpool, for her work on physical chemistry; chemical physics; chemical reaction dynamics; ion-molecule reaction studies; cold chemistry.
Professor Rebecca Melen, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, for her work on the synthesis and applications of main group compounds.
Dr Ruth Webster, Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, for her work on homogeneous iron catalysis for the atom-economic preparation of organic and main group compounds, underpinned by detailed mechanistic evaluation.
Economics
Professor Abi Adams-Prassl, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, for her work on labour economics and applied microeconometrics.
Dr Stefano Caria, Department of Economics, University of Warwick, for his work on development economics; labour economics; behavioural economics.
Professor Thiemo Fetzer, Department of Economics, University of Warwick, for his work on political economy; international development; growth.
Dr Sandra Sequeira, Department of International Development, London School of Economics and Political Science, for her work on development economics.
Professor Daniel Wilhelm, Department of Economics, University College London, for his work on econometrics.
Engineering
Dr Sebastian Bonilla, Department of Materials, University of Oxford, for his work on semiconductor optoelectronic materials and devices.
Professor John Orr, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, for his work on minimising whole life embodied carbon.
Dr Daniel Slocombe, School of Engineering, Cardiff University, for his work on microwave engineering.
Dr Harrison Steel, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, for his work on engineering new biotechnologies that combine the strengths of synthetic biology, robotics, control engineering and artificial intelligence.
Professor Jin Xuan, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, for his work on energy and AI.
Geography
Dr Maan Barua, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, for his work on human geography, particularly environmental geography; political ecology; urban studies.
Dr Sarah Bell, European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter, for her work on interdisciplinary qualitative research in the intersections between disability, wellbeing, social inequality and environmental change.
Dr Anita Ganesan, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, for her work on atmospheric greenhouse gases and ozone depleting substances.
Professor Ed Manley, School of Geography, University of Leeds, for his work on urban systems; spatial cognition; human behaviour; agent-based simulation; choice modelling and decision-making; data science; mobility.
Professor Isla Myers-Smith, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, for her work on global change biogeography.
Languages and Literatures
Dr Joanna Allan, Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, for her work on African studies and Hispanic studies (regional specialism in Spanish-speaking Africa); environmental literatures; energy humanities; nonviolent resistance studies.
Dr Josie Gill, Department of English, University of Bristol, for her work on Black British literature.
Dr Joseph Hone, School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics, Newcastle University, for his work on bibliography; history of the book; literary studies.
Professor Preti Taneja, School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics, Newcastle University, for her work on combining ethics, politics and aesthetics; developing pioneering hybrid creative forms, including via literary prose to advocate for minority rights.
Professor Sam Wolfe, Faculty of Linguistics, Philology, and Phonetics, University of Oxford, for his work on French and romance linguistics.
In 2023 the Trust will invite nominations for prizes in: Biological Science, History, Law, Mathematics and Statistics, Philosophy and Theology, and Sociology and Social Policy. Further information regarding the nomination process is available here.