Thursday 25 May 2017, 6.30pm

Speaker: Ruth Davis – E3G, Professor Mike Depledge CBE – University of Exeter and Professor Alistair Boxall – Environment Department

Research in Focus

This event will be followed by a free drinks reception, a photo exhibition and an interactive installation in the Hub’s 3Sixty space.

Speaker biographies:

Ruth Davis is a writer, campaigner, political analyst and conservationist with over twenty years’ experience in the environment sector.

Her areas of interest include the relationship between environmental politics, social justice and the wider politics of the common good; the importance of place and a love of nature in determining identity and fostering well-being; and how these forces interact with different models of economic development and democratic participation, to shape future land-use planning, housing and infrastructure choices.

She took her first degree in English at Oxford before studying at Kew Gardens and Reading University, where she obtained an MSc in Plant Sciences. Between 1997 and 2001 she managed an extensive programme of conservation projects for Plantlife – the Wild Plant Conservation Charity – before joining the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, where she lead the Society’s work on water and climate change. From 2009 to 2015 she was Political Director at Greenpeace UK, where she helped develop and implement campaigns on climate and energy, fair and sustainable fishing and the protection of the Arctic. Ruth writes extensively about the philosophy, politics and practice of environmentalism, and was awarded an MBE for services to the environment in 2014.

Mike Depledge has given hundreds of lectures at international conferences, workshops, universities and research institutes over the past 30 years, to a wide range of audiences. He has recently led establishment of the European Centre for Environment and Human Health on the University of Exeter Medical School campus in Truro.

Professor Depledge is interested in all aspects of biology, but especially the ways in which anthropogenic activities affect the environment and human health. The ecotoxicological research he conducted has focused on the effects of environmental pollutants on the physiology and behaviour of marine invertebrates and subsequent ecological and evolutionary consequences. He has a particular interest in biomarkers that allow changes in the health and physiological status of organisms to be monitored over time.

Alistair Boxall is Professor in Environmental Science.  Alistair’s research focuses on understanding emerging and future ecological and health risks posed by chemical contaminants in the natural environment. Alistair is a member of the Defra Advisory Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee and is Chair of the Pharmaceutical Advisory Group of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. He regularly advises national and international organisations on issues relating to chemical impacts on the environment and has published extensively on the topic of emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals, nanomaterials and veterinary medicines) in the environment. Alistair is co-ordinator of the 3.5 M Euro project ‘CAPACITIE’ which is exploring methods for monitoring pollution in cities.

Location: Ron Cooke Hub auditorium, Campus East

Admission: is by free ticket only. Please book below.