Directors appointed for inter-disciplinary research institutes

Tuesday, 05 July 2016

As part of the University’s commitment to inter-disciplinarity, two new Directors of Reading’s four Institutes for Inter-disciplinary Research (IDRIs) have been appointed:

• Dr Rhi Smith becomes the first director of the new Heritage and Creativity Institute
• Professor Theo Marinis is the new director of the Centre for Linguistics and Multilingualism (CeLM)

They join Professor Ros Cornforth, director of the Walker Institute and Professor Doug Saddy, director of Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics (CINN). Dr Smith and Professor Marinis will take up their posts from 1 August. 

Rhi Smith’s appointment is a key development in the creation of the new Heritage and Creativity Institute, a brand new initiative which will build distinctiveness and enhance the public profile of Reading’s research across the arts and humanities. 

Dr Smith said: “I am extremely honoured to be given this responsibility and look forward to working with colleagues from across the University. 

“In the first instance we'll be gearing up for our Being Human Festival (17-25 November) and exploring new opportunities presented by the Global Challenges Research Fund.”

Theo Marinis is proud to be part of a dynamic centre that will specialise in analysing the profound effects of language on the human brain.  

“I am very much looking forward to lead this unique multi-disciplinary centre that is pushing the boundaries of how knowledge of more than one language and more than one writing system affects our brain, cognition, emotions, educational achievement and how we see the world.”

“At a time when issues of language and multilingualism are the focus of social, political, and educational attention, our projects in the UK, India, and Malaysia address societal challenges that cannot be addressed within a single discipline and could have implications for everyone, from newborn babies to the very old.”

Inter-disciplinarity is recognised as essential to addressing key global challenges, securing funding, achieving research impact and maintaining a level of original, blue skies, curiosity-driven research within the University.

Professor Steve Mithen, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, said: “IDRIs are a key part of the 2020 Research Plan. While contributing to Reading’s distinctive research identity, they enable us to grow our research, reputation and impact to a scale that cannot be achieved by a single discipline.