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Strong Welsh presence on REF29 panels

8 September, 2025
An over-the-shoulder view of a women in a brown jacket reading a brochure which has a series of purple icons on a white page.

Twenty-six Learned Society of Wales Fellows are among the forty-six academics from Wales named as members of the Research Excellence Framework 2029 panels and sub-panels, which are the expert review bodies that assess the quality of research from UK universities.

The REF is collectively managed by Medr in Wales, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Department for the Economy (Northern Ireland) and Research England. The REF panels evaluate the research from the UK’s universities and the impact it has, as well as those institutions’ research environment. They reach their judgements by assessing research against a set of subject-based measures, or units of assessment. 

These evaluations then inform decisions about how the £2bn annual public funding for research is allocated. 

The presence of voices from Wales ensures that the Welsh context, perspectives and priorities inform the decisions made by the panels.

The LSW Fellows who will sit on the panels are:

Main Panel B: Physical Sciences, Engineering and Mathematics

  • Professor James Scourse FLSW FGS
  • Professor Qiang Shen FLSW FREng FBCS

Main Panel C: Social Sciences

  • Professor Rick Delbridge FLSW FAcSS FBAM

Main Panel D: Arts and Humanities

  • Professor Ann Heilmann FLSW FEA (People, Culture & Environment Expert)


Sub-panel 3: Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

  • Professor Delyth James FLSW
  • Professor Helen Griffiths FLSW FRSB

Sub-panel 5: Biological Sciences

  • Professor Venkateswarlu Kanamarlapudi FLSW DSc FRSB FRSC FABAP FAPAS

Sub-panel 6: Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science

  • Professor Rattan Yadav FLSW

Sub-panel 7: Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

  • Professor James Scourse FLSW FGS (Chair)
  • Professor Caroline Lear FLSW
  • Professor Philip Donoghue FLSW FRS

Sub-panel 8: Chemistry

  • Professor Neil Champness FLSW FRSC
  • Professor Rebecca Melen FLSW FHEA MRSC

Sub-panel 11: Computer Science and Informatics

  • Professor Qiang Shen FLSW FREng FBCS (Chair)

Sub-panel 12: Engineering

  • Professor Aimee Morgans FREng FLSW
  • Professor Reyer Zwiggelaar FLSW
  • Professor Rossitza Setchi FLSW FIET FIMechE FBCS SMIEEE

Sub-panel 13: Architecture, Built Environment and Planning

  • Professor Chenfeng Li FLSW

Sub-panel 14: Geography and Environmental Studies

  • Professor Siwan Davies FLSW
  • Professor Paul Milbourne FLSW FAcSS FRGS

Sub-panel 17: Business and Management Studies

  • Professor Rick Delbridge FLSW FAcSS FBAM (Chair)
  • Professor Robert Morgan FLSW

Sub-panel 20: Social Work and Social Policy

  • Professor Sin Yi Cheung FLSW

Sub-panel 21: Sociology

  • Professor William Housley FLSW DSc.Econ FAcSS

Sub-panel 23: Education

  • Professor Chris Taylor FLSW (Deputy Chair)

Sub-panel 25: Area Studies

  • Professor Ambreena Manji FLSW

Sub-panel 27: English Language and Literature

  • Professor Claire Connolly FLSW MRIA FRSE
  • Professor Zoe Skoulding FLSW

Sub-panel 28: History

  • Professor Phillipp Schofield FLSW FRHistS FASSc

Sub-panel 34: Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management

  • Professor Karin Wahl-Jorgensen FLSW

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