Queen’s Birthday Honours for NERC research community

Recipients within NERC’s community include:

Professor Sir Ian Boyd FRSE, who has received a knighthood for his services to science and economics on food and the environment.

Professor Sir Ian Boyd FRSE is Chief Scientific Adviser at Defra and a member of NERC Council. He is a marine and polar environmental scientist who has spent much of his research career studying ocean dynamics and the management of human impacts on the marine environment. In his role at Defra, Sir Ian regularly advises ministers and is responsible for the strategic leadership of science, evidence and analysis across the Defra group, including several major bodies like the Environment Agency and Natural England.

Further details about Professor Sir Ian Boyd - external link - can be found on GOV.UK.

Professor Tamara Galloway OBE, who has received an OBE for services to environmental science.

Professor Tamara Galloway OBE is professor of ecotoxicology at the University of Exeter. She was the overall winner in NERC’s Impact Awards in 2018, along with colleagues from the University of Exeter, Plymouth University and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Tamara and her team were the first researchers to predict that microplastics could be widespread in the marine food chain, and went on to provide evidence of the issue. Subsequent NERC-funded research by Tamara and her colleagues has gone on to directly influence policy in the UK and around the world, including the UK ban on microbeads in cosmetics.

Further details about Professor Galloway - external link - can be found on the University of Exeter website.

Professor Hannah Cloke OBE, who has received an OBE for services to flood forecasting and the development of hazard early warning systems.

Professor Hannah Cloke OBE is a professor of hydrology at the University of Reading. She is a hydrologist and physical geographer specialising in the theoretical and practical development of early warning systems for natural hazards, particularly for floods and droughts, and disaster risk management. In 2015, she was awarded the Early Career Impact Award at NERC’s Impact Awards. Hannah has a key role in advising the government on national and international flooding incidents, including the recent major flooding in East Africa.

Further details about Professor Cloke - external link - can be found on the University of Reading website.

Professor Melanie Leng MBE, who has received an MBE for services to environmental research.

Professor Melanie Leng MBE is Chief Scientist for Environmental Change at the British Geological Survey (BGS) and Director of the Centre of the Environmental Geochemistry at the University of Nottingham. Her research is focused on climate and environmental change and the use of deep drilling to research climate influences through geological time. She has received NERC funding for research spanning from climatic influences on human evolution to the functioning of the Earth system during the Jurassic period.

Further details about Professor Leng - external link - can be found on the BGS website.

Professor Corinne Le Queré FRS CBE, who has received a CBE for services to climate change science.

Professor Corinne Le Queré FRS CBE is professor of climate change science at the University of East Anglia and former Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. She is the Chair of France’s Climate Change Committee and a member of the UK Committee on Climate Change. She has received NERC funding for her work on global carbon cycles and their interactions with climate change, and has developed innovative methods of integrating carbon cycle models into carbon budgets.

Further details about Professor Le Queré - external link - can be found on the Tyndall Centre website.

Professor Paul Bates CBE, who has received a CBE for services to flood risk management.

Professor Paul Bates CBE is a professor of hydrology at the University of Bristol, specialising in the management of risk and resilience to global water issues. His work has improved the prediction of flood inundation and characterization of risk and uncertainty through the use of computer models integrating data from satellite, airborne and ground-based sensors. In 2015, his work received the runner-up prize in the Economic Impact category at NERC’s Impact Awards.

Further details about Professor Bates - external link - can be found on the University of Bristol website.

Professor Richard Betts MBE, who has received an MBE for services to understanding climate change.

Professor Richard Betts MBE is Head of Climate Impacts at the Met Office Hadley Centre. He specialises in large-scale modelling of interactions between ecosystems, hydrology and climate and their impacts across the UK, in particular the effects of land cover and land use change. He has pioneered several key developments in the integration of biological processes into climate models. Richard has played a lead authorship role in multiple Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), focusing on the impacts of climate change on fresh water and terrestrial ecosystems.

Further details about Professor Betts - external link - can be found on the Met Office website.

Professor Lynne Boddy OBE, who has received an OBE for services to mycology and public engagement in science.

Professor Lynne Boddy OBE is a fungal ecologist at Cardiff University focusing on the decomposition of wood. Her forty-year research career has led to greater understanding of the role of fungal community dynamics in wood decomposition, and major advances in the understanding of mycelial fungal ecology and its response to invertebrate grazing. She has done extensive work as a public ambassador for mycology, encouraging people to get to know fungi through appearances on TV, radio, and exhibitions at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, the National Botanic Garden of Wales, and the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Further details about Professor Boddy - external link - can be found on the Cardiff University website.