Introducing the six new Fellows elected to the Learned Society of Wales in 2024 who work in economic and social sciences, education and law.
Professor William Housley FLSW
Chair in SociologyCardiff University
Professor William Housley is an internationally recognised expert in qualitative and social research methods, sociological theory, ethnomethodology, membership categorization analysis, social interaction and digital sociology. His contribution to Sociology was confirmed through the award of a DSc Econ. by Cardiff University in 2013 for his internationally recognized work in the field of interaction, communication and social organization. Professor Housley was a member of the Research Excellence Framework (UK) 2021 Sociology panel.
It is a real and heartfelt honour to be elected as a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. The work of the Learned Society of Wales is of great importance to both academic and public life during a time of significant and rapid social transformation. I am looking forward to supporting the excellent work of the Learned Society of Wales and promoting its diverse range of initiatives.
Professor Wendy Larner FLSW
President and Vice-Chancellor Cardiff University
Professor Wendy Larner is a human geographer who is internationally recognised for her research on globalisation, governance and gender. She has held academic positions in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and visiting fellowships in Canada, the United States and Germany. Amongst other awards, she has received the Royal Geographical Society’s Victoria Medal and Distinguished New Zealand Geographer Medal. She is a former President of Royal Society Te Apārangi and former Chair of Fulbright New Zealand.
Professor Yvonne McDermott Rees FLSW
Professor of LawSwansea University
Professor McDermott Rees is the author of Fairness in International Criminal Trials (OUP, 2016) and Proving International Crimes (OUP, 2024). She is Principal Investigator (since 2022) on TRUE, a large interdisciplinary project selected for funding by the European Research Council and funded by UKRI. It examines the impact of deepfakes on trust in user-generated evidence. From 2018-2021, she led OSR4Rights, a multidisciplinary ESRC-funded project, which examined the role of open source evidence in human rights accountability processes.
I am thrilled and honoured to be elected as a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. I look forward to using this opportunity to advance the Society’s important aims and to contribute to its work going forward.
Professor Roiyah Saltus FLSW
Professor of SociologyUniversity of South Wales
Professor Saltus is a social scientist and researcher-activist working in the field of place-based health inequities, social determinants of health and health care, and policy and service innovation. Over the last 20 years, she has positioned herself at the interface between public policy, health and social care practice and delivery, and civil society. The purpose is to arrive at solutions, practices and sensibilities that seek to improve the lives of people and communities, taking into account and valuing past ideas while developing innovative new knowledge pathways drawn from a range of stakeholder perspectives.
Professor Iram Siraj FLSW
Professor of Child Development and Education University of Oxford
Professor Siraj was schooled in Cardiff and has held positions at the Universities of Warwick, UCL and Oxford. He has received £25m in research grants and authored 300 publications, mostly books and refereed papers. The 17-year EPPSE study has influenced quality in curriculum design and pedagogy, and UK and international policy and research in pre-school education. He has advised several Welsh Ministers of Education and in 2015 was awarded an OBE for services to early education.
Professor Andrew Thomas FLSW
Professor and Head of Aberystwyth Business SchoolAberystwyth University
Andrew Thomas is Professor of Engineering Management and Head of Aberystwyth Business School. His research interests include forensic engineering, engineering management, manufacturing strategy and operations management. He has published over 220 research articles in these areas. He has been a Principal Investigator on a number of KTP, ERDF, EPSRC, EU FP7 & Horizon projects. He is currently Chair of the Consortium of Manufacturing and Engineering Heads UK (COMEH) and a member of the Engineering Professors Council (EPC UK).
