Professor James Evans new role

03 Jul 2024

Leading the Future: Welcoming Professor James Evans as Associate Dean for Research and Celebrating Our New Research Team

We are pleased to announce that Professor James Evans will be taking up the Associate Dean for Research role from 1 August 2024 for a term of three years. A Professor of Geography and former Head of the Department of Geography in the School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED), James is currently the Director of the Manchester Urban Institute (MUI) where he leads the ‘Smart and Sustainable Cities’ research theme.

Professor Evans’ research focuses on how cities learn to become smarter and more sustainable. His work on Urban Living Labs has been foundational across the social sciences. James led the University's involvement in Triangulum, a £25 million Horizon 2020 project to establish smart districts across Europe, as well as the Manchester Urban Observatory, a £1 million EPSRC-funded initiative as part of the UKCRIC portfolio.

In his new role Professor Evans will further develop and oversee interdisciplinary initiatives that bridge the Faculties of Humanities, Science and Engineering, and Biology, Medicine and Health, working specifically with the Humanities Institutes and Platform leads. Professor Evans notes: “I am thrilled to be taking up this post and am looking forward to continuing to develop and embed a high quality and inclusive research culture throughout the Faculty, with particular emphasis on engaging researchers at all career stages in grant capture, open research frameworks, and open access opportunities.”

On behalf of the Faculty, we would also like to thank Professors Neil Humphrey (current Associate Dean for Research), Andy Miles, current School Research Director for the School of Social Sciences (SoSS), and Nikolay Mehandjiev, current School Research Director for Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS), for all their many contributions and hard work in their roles over the last three years.

We also warmly welcome Professors Alice Bloch and Heiner Evanschitsky as the new School Research Directors for SoSS and AMBS from August 1, 2024. We are looking forward very much to working with the new team.