Dr Frances Ryan, who graduated with her PhD last summer, and Leo Appleton, who will cross the stage to pick up his doctoral degree certificate on 1st July 2020 (coronavirus permitting), have recently been successful in applications for new jobs. Congratulations to them both!

Frances started her new role this week. She has been appointed on a two-year contract as a post-doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Computing Science at the University of Aberdeen. There she is working on the Realising Accountable Intelligent Systems project. This work follows on from the two short-term post-doctoral fellowships that Frances has completed since she graduated in 2019: (1) the Carnegie-funded Social media by proxy project at Edinburgh Napier University and (2) the EPSRC-funded Tapestry project at the University of Dundee. For further details of Frances’ new job, please see ‘A new job: Research Fellow in User-Centred Innovation for Accountable AI‘ on Frances’ personal web site.

Leo has recently accepted a teaching post within the Information School at the University of Sheffield. He will be moving there in July from Goldsmiths, University of London, where he is currently Director of Library Services. In his new role, Leo will draw on over 20 years as a practising academic librarian in the teaching of modules on the management of academic libraries, and the delivery of information services. With his doctoral research covering the epistemic, community and political roles of twenty-first century public libraries in England and Scotland, Leo is also well placed to develop module content on the contribution of public libraries to society.

Both Frances and Leo joined us in the Centre for Social Informatics in 2013. We will miss them after seven years of working with us, but wish them both the best in the next steps of their respective careers.

Frances Ryan and Leo Appleton