Congratulations to our academic staff who have been named in this year’s New Year’s Honours.
Professor Rachel Griffith became a Dame of the British Empire for services to Economic Policy and Education. She is Professor of Economics at the University as well as Research Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). She is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, the British Academy and the Academy of Social Sciences and Honorary Foreign Member of the American Economic Association. She won the Birgit Grodal award in 2014 and was awarded a CBE in 2015 for services to economic policy and was also the first female President of the European Economic Association (2013-2015), the Royal Economics Society’s first female President (2018-2021) in over 35 years and only the second woman to hold the post in its 129-year history.
She said: “I'm honoured to receive this award. It is a great recognition of the many ways that economics is changing - for the better. I have had the privilege to be able to work with economists from a wide range of institutions and backgrounds to mobilise research to address the many challenges society is currently facing. I am very optimistic about the positive role that sound and robust economic analysis can play in helping the country to recover."
Dr Heather Williams is a Principal Medical Physicist for Nuclear Medicine at The Christie NHS Trust and honorary Lecturer in the Centre for Imaging Sciences at Manchester University. The ScienceGrrl Director received an MBE for services to diversity and inclusion in science. She has long been engaged in encouraging would-be scientists, particularly the drive to improve the representation of women in all scientific fields.
She said “I’m delighted to have been nominated for this honour and am very pleased that diversity and inclusion in science has been recognised as a worthwhile goal, which has yet to be achieved, and still requires attention and effort. I am not alone in this endeavour and would like to thank all those who are working to ensure science really is for everyone.”
Professor Michael Wood, Historian and Broadcaster, has been awarded an OBE For services to Public History and to Broadcasting. Professor Wood was appointed Professor of Public History at The University of Manchester in 2013 and has been involved with a dioverse range of work from exploring the work of Marx and Engels with undergraduates, to being a patron on the Manchester Histories Festival and inspiring the next generation of students through school visits.
Originally from Manchester, he is one of the country's best loved historians, presenting history documentaries on everything from China to Shakespeare over the last few decades. He is also the author of numerous books about history.
