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I am a qualitative social scientist in the Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Group, joining in 2018. I have a background in human geography, and enjoy research in rural areas working with different land users in the countryside. My current role explores rural migration across Scotland, digitalisation amongst small-scale farmers and crofting communities in Scotland, agricultural innovation, and the continued impacts of Covid-19 on rural and island communities in Scotland.
Ruth joined the Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Department as a social scientist in 2017. Her research focuses on rural and island communities and what helps them to thrive – socially, economically and culturally. Ruth currently works on projects that aim to support a green and resilient recovery process, including coordinating action research-based case studies in rural and island communities across Scotland.
Maddy is a soil microbial ecologist and biogeochemist in the Plant-Soil Interactions (PSI) research group within Ecological Sciences, James Hutton
I am an environmental economist with a background in ecology. I am interested in environmental conservation, and particularly how this integrates into multi-use landscapes, and how to include the needs of varied stakeholders. I use methods such as stated preference modeling and cost-effectiveness analysis to consider available options for land management, taking account of socio-economic as well as environmental needs.
Alice is a Senior Environmental Social Scientist in the Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Department. Alice’s research focuses broadly on
I am a Senior Researcher working in the application areas of :
Policy modelling (and the identification of unintended policy outcomes)
Habitat restoration – Carbon sequestration – Biodiversity offsetting
Natural capital accounting and investment vehicles,
Community-and ecosystem-based climate change adaptation, and
Food systems.
I do this work, at my desk and – most happily – in the field, by developing and applying novel techniques for:
Dr Andy Kindness is the leader of The James Hutton Institute's Environmental and Biochemical Sciences group.
Dr Kindness’ joined the Institute from Aberdeen University’s School of Natural and Computing Sciences, where he coordinated a postgraduate MSc in Oil & Gas Chemistry, was responsible for recruitment of students for this course and helped develop curricula, increased industry interaction, student numbers and student satisfaction.
