Staff and Senior Common Room Research Activities

Current research being undertaken by Van Mildert College staff and Senior Common Room members are featured below.

Mr. Eric Baumgartner

School of Applied Social Sciences

I gained my BA in Combined Social Sciences (Community and Youth Work, History and Sociology) from Durham University in 2007 and subsequently my MA in Social Research Methods in 2009. My MA research focused on young male offenders in a Secure Training Centre, their perceptions of masculinity/ masculinities and masculine behaviour, practitioners’ views on male offending and masculinity/ masculinities, and whether professional practice and policy in the Youth Justice System accommodate issues of masculinity/ masculinities in relation to offending.

Hence, my work mainly focuses on issues with the development and expression of gender identity, in particular masculinity, in relation to young people who have offended. Key issues here are the function of male role models in the development of young males’ masculinity/ masculinities, youth justice practitioners’ perception of and dealings with the expression of masculinity/ masculinities, and the accommodation of such issues in Youth Justice Policy. I am equally interested in normative white, working class masculinity/ masculinities and male offending behaviour.

More information and my publications can be found here.

Contact Mr. Eric Baumgartner

Dr. John Cotes

I have on going research into the contribution of breathing frequency to exercise ventilation in man in a range of circumstances. These have been printed in abstract form in a number of journals in human physiology and occupational medicine, but no article has yet been accepted for publication. My collaborators are Dr. Doug Wilson at Wolfson Institute, Stockton, Queen's Campus and Dr. Jim Reed formerly in Physiology Dept. at University of Newcastle upon Tyne. I formerly had appointments in both institutions. That in Newcastle (funded by MRC) has expired. I am not sure about the Durham one (which was/is honorary). Abstracts can be supplied on request.

Contact Dr. John Cotes

Victoria Brown

Dr Victoria Brown

I completed my Ph.D. in the Department of Geography, Durham University in 2012. My research, which is ongoing, looks at the retreat of the last ice sheet from the western Canadian Arctic between 21,000 and 7,000 years ago. Key drivers of ice sheet retreat were fast flowing corridors of ice within the ice sheet, termed ‘ice streams’. In contemporary ice sheets, such as Antarctica and Greenland, ice streams have the ability to drain the ice sheets rapidly, and are highly sensitive to changes in the earth’s climate system. Indeed, ice sheet response to climate change remains at the forefront of media attention, particularly in light of recently observed decadal climate warming. My research therefore uses techniques in satellite remote sensing to decipher the millennial-scale response of the last ice sheet in the western Arctic to climate warming. It is hoped that this will provide an analogue for future ice sheet change.

Further details can be found by clicking here.

Upon submission of my thesis, I moved to Van Mildert College as the College Development Officer. Through this post I worked closely with the College Trust and Alumni Association to promote academic excellence in Van Mildert and increase the profile of our alumni relations activties through the production of a range of publications and organisation of events. In March 2013 I moved across the road to Josephine Butler College to take up the role of Postgraduate and Scholarly Experience Officer. This role involves working closely with Postgraduate students while also looking after the academic events within the College with the aim of enhancing our scholarly community. While I work full-time at Josephine Butler College I have maintained close links with Van Mildert as the SCR President and a College Mentor.

Contact Victoria Brown

Dr. Harriet Rosenthal

Department of Psychology

My research interests lie within social psychology, where I specialise in examining stereotyping, prejudice, social identification, and adult attachment. My main area of research focuses on how being a member of a stereotyped group can impact on performance in the stereotyped domain, and how we can reduce these effects. Specifically, I examine the underlying causes and mechanisms of the negative effects of stereotype threat / choking under pressure and the positive effects of stereotype lift.

Contact Dr. Harriet Rosenthal

Prof. Sir Arnold Wolfendale

Professor Sir Arnold Wolfendale FRS, 14th Astronomer Royal

Department of Physics

I came to Durham in 1956 for 'two or 3 years'. Still here but re-founded Astronomy on the way. Personal Research: Cosmic Ray Astrophysics with special reference to the origin of these enigmatic particles and, for the past 5 years, some aspects of Climate Change. I collaborate with Professor Tolya Erlykin from Moscow, Professor Terry Sloan from Lancaster and Dr. Tadeusz Wibig from Lodz University, Poland.

Contact Professor Sir Arnold Wolfendale