FROM FRUITFLIES TO VIOLENT REBELLION

Does an apple a day make our skin more 'attractive' to others?  Are case studies the fruit flies of a social scientist's world?  Why did so many young people join the Irish Revolution?  What can political unions in the past usefully tell us about modern politics?

Four major new research studies, co-ordinated by the British Academy and funded by the Wolfson Foundation, are to be unveiled today at a special event in London.  The British Academy Wolfson Professorships, each at the level of £150,000 over three years, recognise the most outstanding scholars in the UK, enabling them to concentrate on a specific research programme while freed from teaching and administrative commitments.

From a strong field of 176 applicants, just four awards were made to scholars from London, Aberdeen, Oxford and St Andrews.  At the special introductory event, recipients will talk about the research they will be undertaking for the first time:

Professor Roy Foster FBA, Carroll Professor of Irish History, University of Oxford
The Development of Radicalization Among Opinion-Formers and Revolutionaries in Ireland, c.1890-1920

Professor Robert Frost, Professor of Early Modern History, University of Aberdeen
The Polish-Lithuanian Union, 1386-1815

Professor Mary S Morgan FBA, Professor of History and Philosophy of Economics, London School of Economics
Re-thinking Case Studies Across the Social Sciences

 Professor David Perrett FBA, Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Psychology, St Andrews University
Perceptions of Health

Robin Jackson, Chief Executive, the British Academy said:

'These are major awards reflecting the very best research in the UK.  They encompass a wide range of intriguing topics.  We look forward to the outcomes of their work.'

Paul Ramsbottom, Executive Secretary, the Wolfson Foundation, said: 

'We are pleased to be associated with these four outstanding researchers who were chosen following an exceptionally competitive application process.'

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