Researcher on boat preparing hydrophone for acoustic surveys of marine mammals in the Antartic
Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute

Our people

Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute
Meet our academic experts and learn more about their research.

Browse the list of our academic members to learn more about our expertise at the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute (SMMI).

If you’re looking to work with someone with specific expertise and need help getting connected, get in touch with us at smmi@southampton.ac.uk.

Join the University of Southampton

The University of Southampton is building on our world-leading success by appointing new academics.

Ambitious researchers and academics are invited to join our university as we further strengthen our reputation for education, research excellence and enterprise. We aim to tackle complex societal and environmental challenges and build on the University’s existing strengths.

Find out more about why this is such an exciting time to join the University of Southampton.

Professor Sally Brailsford

Professor of Management Science

Research interests

  • Healthcare modelling
  • Hybrid simulation
  • Behavioural Operational Research
Connect with Sally

Email: S.C.Brailsford@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 7801289132

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Dr Sam Thompson

Associate Professor

Research interests

  • Chemical Biology
  • Organic Synthesis
  • Medicinal Chemistry

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Sam

Email: Sam.Thompson@southampton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 2187

ORCID

Dr Sandy Wright

Principal Research Fellow
Connect with Sandy

Email: A.M.Wright@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 4811

Dr Seyedvahid Vakili

Research Fellow

Research interests

  • Sustainable shipping;
  • Net zero emissions;
  • Alternative fuels for (maritime) net zero emissions;
Connect with Seyedvahid

Email: S.Vakili@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 6627

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Dr Sheida Afshan PhD, FICE, MIStructE, CEng, FHEA

Associate Professor

Research interests

  • High performance metallic materials and structures for applications in infrastructure and energy sectors
  • Experimental and numerical investigation of structural materials and components
  • Metallic materials for liquid hydrogen (LH2) fuel storage and transportation

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Sheida

Email: S.Afshan@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 3947

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ORCID
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Dr Sien Van Der Plank PhD

Senior Research Fellow

Research interests

  • Multi-scale analysis using mixed methods of coastal flood risk management across policy domains, organisational stakeholders and households.
  • Risk attitudes and behaviours to the natural environment in relation to perceived, expected and experienced social and physical changes.
  • Mixed methods analysis of the form and evolution of stakeholder perceptions toward mining, expected impacts of mining, and experiences of consultation process.

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Sien

Email: sien.vanderplank@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 0575

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ORCID
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Professor Simon Blainey PhD, FRGS, FHEA, MCIHT, CMILT

Professor of Sustainable Transport

Research interests

  • Rail demand and operations modelling
  • GIS and transport
  • Transport decision support systems

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Simon

Email: S.P.Blainey@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 2834

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Dr Simon Boxall

Principal Teaching Fellow
Connect with Simon

Email: simon.boxall@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 2744

Professor Simon Cox

Head of Department

Research interests

  • My research focusses on computational tools, technologies and platforms and how they enable interdisciplinary problems to be solved in engineering and science.His team in the Computational Engineering and Design Group is applying and developing high performance and cloud computing in a variety of collaborative interdisciplinary computational science and engineering projects. These include:
  • High Performance and novel Computing SystemsCloud Computing and commercial distributed computing - which led to a spin out companyApplied computational algorithms Computational electromagnetics– which led to the formation of a spin-off company.New algorithms such as meshless methods and fast solvers.Data Management Simon is also Director of the Microsoft Institute for High Performance computing where he demonstrates why, where and how current and future Microsoft tools and technologies can be exploited to enable engineering and scientific research to deliver faster, cheaper and better results.
Connect with Simon

Email: S.J.Cox@soton.ac.uk

Tel: +44 23 8059 3116

Professor Stephanie Jones

Professor of Literature and Law

Research interests

  • Literature and Law
  • Postcolonial and decolonial studies
  • Marine and maritime literatures
Connect with Stephanie

Email: S.J.Jones@soton.ac.uk