Change of guard at SMMI
There has been a change in the Directorate of SMMI. Professor Douglas Macbeth, Professor Supply Chain Management, stepped down from his role as Deputy Director of SMMI at the end of 2015 and his role will be filled by Professor Mikis Tsimplis, Director of the Institute of Maritime Law.
Douglas Macbeth has been a pioneering influence in setting up of the erstwhile USRG Maritime Studies in 2009 which then successfully grew into SMMI in 2011. His ideas and thoughts helped shape the work of the USRG in connecting scholars from different disciplines within the University with one another to forge new research and education endeavours. Douglas extended this ground work in internal University forums to external audiences in the marine and maritime industries after the formation of the SMMI. He was instrumental in mapping the supply chain in for the UK marine industries federations, particularly on the engineering and manufacturing sectors. Many new research connections were made between University scholars and industrial entities as a result of Douglas’ efforts. We thank Douglas for his considerable help in the difficult early stages of SMMI.
Douglas’ place in the SMMI team will be taken up by Mikis who is a Professor of Oceanography and Maritime Law. Mikis’ research interests concern the marine environment and the way it is used. In addition to the general developments in commercial shipping law, admiralty and carriage of goods by sea, the challenges posed by new technologies and the way the policy and legal framework need to change in order to facilitate their environmentally safe usage dictate my research. In oceanography his research focuses on the forcing of sea level and wind wave changes at regional and local scales has been my main interest although he is also interested in changes in atmospheric forcing, oceanic circulation and currents.
Along with Professor Damon Teagle, the other Deputy Director of SMMI, I look forward to Mikis’ ideas and vision for SMMI for the important, next few years.
Ajit Shenoi, Director, SMMI