Figures behind the Figures: Prof Paul Allain

Each term I feature a different Kent award winner in the Research Services newsletter, looking at their research and discussing their career path and funding track record. Earlier in the year I featured Prof John Batchelor. Dr This time the spotlight falls on Prof Paul Allain in the School of Arts.  

Few can say that they cut their research teeth by slipping under the Berlin Wall in the 1980s to join a Polish theatre group travelling to the provinces to perform. But Paul Allain, Professor of Theatre and Performance, did just that.

He had been a jobbing actor in London, but had signed up to do a PhD at Goldsmiths to explore the physical performance styles for which Polish theatre was known at the time. He subsequently worked as a movement director, using knowledge gained from his training with actors such as Jude Law and Simon Russell Beale.

'Nothing You Do Is Ultimately Wasted'

Each term I feature a different Kent award winner in the Research Services newsletter, looking at their research and discussing their career path and funding track record. In September I featured Dr Heather Ferguson. This time the spotlight falls on Prof John Batchelor in the School of Engineering and Digital Arts.

Prof John Batchelor

John Batchelor looked bashful when I pointed out that he had won more EPSRC grants - and received more EPSRC funding - than anyone else at the University. ‘I’ve just developed a thick skin,’ he joked. ‘Everyone gets knocked back. The trick is not to give up. But that’s easier said than done, especially when the rejections come all at once. That was the case for me in December. Christmas was quite dark last year.’

Figures behind the Figures: Dr Heather Ferguson

Each term I feature a different Kent award winner in the Research Services newsletter, looking at their research and discussing their career path and funding track record. I thought it would be worth adding these to the Blog. In April I featured Dr Natalia Sobrevilla Perea. This time the spotlight falls on Dr Heather Ferguson in the School of Psychology.

Dr Heather Ferguson

Figures behind the Figures: Dr Natalia Sobrevilla Perea

Each term I feature a different Kent award winner in the Research Services newsletter, looking at their research and discussing their career path and funding track record. I thought it would be worth adding these to the Blog. In February I featured Prof Adrian Podoleanu; today the spotlight falls on Dr Natalia Sobrevilla Perea, Reader in Hispanic Studies in the School of European Culture and Languages.

Dr Natalia Sobrevilla Perea

When I showed Dr Natalia Sobrevilla Perea a list of her applications and awards over the last seven years, she seemed genuinely shocked. ‘I’d forgotten about some of these,’ she said as she looked down the list, ‘but it does show that perseverance pays off.’

And how. Natalia, a Reader in Hispanic Studies, has put in 11 applications and got five awards, totalling almost £100,000. Her first two applications were unsuccessful, but she never gave up. ‘I had in mind a larger project, and submitted a series of applications to allow me to explore different facets of it.’

Her research, she laughingly admits, is focussed on an area ‘that nobody cares about’: nineteenth century Peru. The secret of her success has been her ability to ‘translate’ her interest to those outside the area, and demonstrate its relevance to wider history, policy, and culture. It’s a crucial skill for anyone putting together a funding application.

Figures behind the Figures: Prof Adrian Podoleanu

Each term I feature a different Kent award winner in the Research Services newsletter, looking at their research and discussing their career path and funding track record. I thought it would be worth adding these to the Blog. The first to feature is Prof Adrian Podoleanu, Professor of Biomedical Optics in the School of Physical Sciences.

Prof Adrian Podoleanu

When I met Adrian Podoleanu in the Gulbenkian he had just come from saying goodbye to a group from NKT, a Danish company that is one of the world’s leading producers of optical equipment. Together they had secured a European Industrial Doctorate (EID) from the EC, which funds five doctoral students.

As well as the studentships, there are fringe benefits from such collaboration: NKT are providing Adrian with two £50k lasers to use. But then Adrian has always seen the benefit of working with others, and collaboration is at the heart of his success in getting funding. ‘Unless you take your research out there, you die,’ he said. ‘I speak to people all the time.’