Author: Andrew Merrington

This author has written 58 articles

International experts on Artificial Intelligence gather for launch of new University research centre

A new interdisciplinary research centre with a mission to investigate Artificial Intelligence has been launched by the University of Exeter. The Critical AI Centre (CrAIC) will explore the complex and evolving roles and risks associated with conceptions of artificial intelligence in society. Drawing on expertise from disciplines within the arts and humanities, social sciences, and computer science, CrAIC promises to take a collaborative approach to different ways we can study AI. It was formally launched by academics in…

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Essential reading: scholar and author’s book chosen among the best for children

A children’s book written by a renowned author at the University of Exeter has been named as one of the most ‘essential’ titles of the genre. Lubna and Pebble, by Professor Wendy O’Shea-Meddour, and illustrated by Daniel Egnéus, was chosen by The Atlantic as one of its 65 most essential children’s books. The 2019 story about a child refugee who finds comfort and friendship in a pebble was described by the magazine as “offering ‘a child’s view of…

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Climate science workshop brings together schoolchildren and world-leading researchers

Climate science workshop brings together schoolchildren and world-leading researchers

Pupils at an Exeter school have engaged with some of the world’s most renowned climate scientists at a special day-long workshop. Year six children from St Sidwell’s Church of England Primary and Nursery School were guests of the University of Exeter, where they quizzed environmental scientists about climate change. They also worked with international cardboard theatre company Hamishibi to create their own stories around the planet’s health before proudly presenting them to staff and classmates.The event was organised…

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University archaeologist awarded prestigious medal by the British Academy

University archaeologist awarded prestigious medal by the British Academy

A landscape archaeologist renowned for his expertise on Roman and medieval-era Britain has been presented with one of the British Academy’s highest honours. Professor Stephen Rippon has been awarded this year’s British Academy Medal for Landscape Archaeology in recognition of the longstanding contribution he has made to his field. Professor Rippon received his medal alongside eight other distinguished scholars at the Academy’s London headquarters on Thursday night (16th October). He is just the 11th recipient of the medal…

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University leads City of Exeter to golden success in the Bloom Awards

The University’s long-standing expertise in horticulture and environmental responsibility has been recognised with a double gold medal at this year’s South West Bloom Awards. As part of a coordinated effort by the City of Exeter, the University and its partners won gold in the South West Tourism Cup – one of several categories at the annual awards programme. The University’s Grounds Department was then further garlanded with a gold in the Business, Leisure and Tourism category at the…

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History scholars honoured and recognised by the Royal Historical Society

Four scholars at the University of Exeter, Cornwall, have been recognised by the Royal Historical Society (RHS) for their contributions to the fields of history and heritage. Professor Catriona Pennell, Professor of Modern History and Memory Studies, has been elected, as one of three new members from around the UK, to the RHS Council, where she will play an active role in national-level advocacy. Professor Bryony Onciul, Dr Jeremy DeWaal, and Professor Richard Noakes were all elected as…

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Satellite images reveal ancient hunting traps used by South American social groups 

Satellite images reveal ancient hunting traps used by South American social groups 

Satellite images have revealed an ancient system of elaborate, funnel-shaped mega traps likely built by hunters and pastoralists to catch prey in the high altitudes of northern Chile. New research on the Andean landscape and the people who lived there has identified 76 stone ‘chacus’, often stretching hundreds of metres in length, that would have been used to capture vicuña, a wild relative of the alpaca. Similar structures have been found in other arid regions of the world,…

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Exeter–Queensland partnership striving to improve the security of global communication

A new international research collaboration has been launched focusing on one of the biggest challenges in contemporary communications. Experts at the University of Exeter and the University of Queensland will work together on a breakthrough technology called Quantum Link Verification, which promises to improve security in an increasingly connected, data-driven world. Developed by Exeter’s Quantum Non-Equilibrium Group (QNEG) and Queensland’s Quantum Technology Laboratory (QTLab), QLV uses the rules of quantum physics to detect if anyone is trying to…

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A woman’s place was not in the home: New book challenges assumptions about women’s work in early modern history

A woman’s place was not in the home: New book challenges assumptions about women’s work in early modern history

New research has revealed that women played a fundamental role in the development of England’s national economy before 1700. Far from being the unpaid homemakers and housewives of traditional historical record, women contributed to all the most important areas of the economy, such as agriculture, commerce, and care. More than half of the work done by women in the period between the 16th and 18th centuries took place outside of the home, and around half of all housework…

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Research Quality powers Exeter rise in global league table

The quality of research conducted by the University of Exeter has helped to consolidate its position among the best in the world in the latest global league table. The University climbed two places in the 2026 THE World University Rankings to 170th out of almost 2,200 assessed internationally, inside the top eight per cent. Among the drivers for this improvement was in Research Quality, in which the University was ranked 52nd. It also scored highly for International Outlook…

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Acclaimed Ukrainian soldier poet invited to the UK for Being Human festival

A Ukrainian poet renowned for composing her verse on the frontline of her country’s defence against Russia’s illegal war is to visit Devon and London to share her experiences and perspectives. Yaryna Chornohuz has been helping to defend her country from Russian aggression since 2019. She is currently a drone operator and previously took part in fierce battles as a member of the 140th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the Ukrainian Marine Corps at the time of the full-scale…

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National project launched to rediscover Henry VIII’s long-forgotten ‘Tudor Domesday Book’

National project launched to rediscover Henry VIII’s long-forgotten ‘Tudor Domesday Book’

A nationwide survey commissioned by Henry VIII on the property and wealth of 16th century England and Wales is to be made publicly accessible for the first time. The survey, known as the Valor Ecclesiasticus, set out to discover the financial state of the Church of which the Tudor king had just made himself head in his Break with Rome. Valor Ecclesiasticus counted 8,000 parish churches, 650 monasteries, 22 cathedrals and numerous chapels, chantries, colleges, schools, hospitals and…

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