Three WISERD professors are among the 66 new Fellows elected to the Learned Society of Wales, representing some of the most highly esteemed figures from across academic and civic life in Wales and beyond.
Professor Martina Feilzer FHEA FLSW is a WISERD co-director, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Business at Bangor University. Professor Feilzer has advanced the concept and measurement of public narratives on crime, linking research, policy and practice.
Professor Feilzer is a member of the ESRC-funded WISERD Civil Society Centre researching ‘Borders, boundary mechanisms and migration’. She is also a Co-Director of the Welsh Centre for Crime and Social Justice and is involved in developing research on the relationship between new technologies including facial recognition technology and policing practices as well as public attitudes towards these.
Professor Rhys Jones FLSW is Professor of Human Geography at Aberystwyth University. Professor Jones is an expert in geographies of the state, nationalism, minority languages and behavioural public policy.
Professor Jones is also a member of the ESRC-funded WISERD Civil Society Centre researching ‘Shifting forms of governance and the grassroots politics of separatism’.
Professor Steve Smith FLSW is Professor of Political Philosophy and Social Policy at the University of South Wales. Professor Smith is one of the UK’s pre-eminent philosophers, his work sitting at the intersection between theory, policy and practice in the areas of, for example, rights, inclusion, social justice, and well-being.
Professor Smith has also recently launched WISERD’s Well-being Network, which is aimed at engaging well-being researchers in cross-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research, and working with policymakers, practitioners, and service-users, based on co-productive principles, which systematically includes non-academic ‘voices’ in the research process.
Professor Hywel Thomas, President of the Learned Society of Wales, said:
“The expertise of our new Fellows is outstanding. The range of research shows that Wales is well-placed to meet the environmental, technological, social, cultural, political and health challenges we face.
“The Society’s ability to bring together this talent allows us to initiate and influence important debates about how Wales, the UK and the world can navigate the turbulent waters we are in today.
“I am most pleased that 50% of our new Fellows are women. This shows we are starting to meet our commitments on equality, diversity and inclusion. There is further to go, as we work to make the Society reflect Wales’ diversity, but this is an important step.”