Research at Sussex: a history of innovation
Sussex will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding during the academic year 2011-12. Research has always been the backbone of the University; here Tony Moore, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (2000-2006) and Professor of Biochemistry, looks back over a proud history of research spanning the last 50 years.
The success of Sussex
The founding scholars of the University of Sussex wanted to ‘redraw the map of learning’ and in order to do this they broke the mould of discipline-based departments, organising instead on the basis of ‘Schools of Study’ that encouraged an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to both research and teaching.
Sussex quickly developed a reputation for academic innovation, and today the University enjoys a worldwide reputation for excellence that owes much to its founding traditions.
Founding scholars
Central to the early success of Sussex was the appointment of high-calibre founding scholars by the first Vice Chancellor, Lord Fulton (pictured).
In 1961 Asa Briggs was appointed as Pro-Vice- Chancellor with particular responsibility for academic affairs; historian and international relations scholar Martin Wight was appointed from LSE as Dean of the School of European Studies; David Daiches was appointed as Dean of the School of English and American Studies; and theoretical physicist Roger Blin-Stoyle was recruited from Oxford to lead the development of science, becoming the first Dean of the School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences.
In 1965 the theoretical evolutionary biologist and geneticist John Maynard Smith was recruited to become the founding Dean of the School of Biological Sciences, and Colin Eaborn established the School of Chemistry and Molecular Science.
These founding scholars were central in developing a long-term vision for Sussex and in attracting some of the leading lights in their respective fields.
Among many others, these included Professor of American Studies Marcus Cunliffe; novelist, critic, playwright and literary theorist Gabriel Josipovici; art historian and author Quentin Bell; political scientist Dame Helen Wallace, who became the Director of the Sussex European Institute; and Marie Jahoda, who was recruited in 1965 and became a Professor of Social Psychology and later a Visiting Professor at SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research.
Renowned staff
The growing reputation of the University attracted eminent researchers, grants and awards.
The School of Chemistry and Molecular Science included seven Fellows of the Royal Society by the mid-1970s, a number that increased within the University to 19 by the 1990s, and currently stands at 15.
Among these were two Nobel Laureates: Sir John Cornforth AC CBE FRS who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions; and Sir Harry Kroto FRS, one of three recipients to share the 1996 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Sussex academics have also been awarded the Crafoord Prize (John Maynard Smith); the Royal Society Literature Prize (Norman and Jeanne MacKenzie for their work on the Fabians); the Bancroft Prize (Christopher Thorne, the first non-American to receive it); and six British Academy Fellowships.
Research institutes
A major influence on research innovation at Sussex has been the ability of the University to attract significant stand-alone research institutes.
Exceptional examples include SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research, established by the world-renowned economist Chris Freeman and now the largest institution for science, technology and innovation studies in the world; the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), founded by Dudley Seers in the 1960s and now a world leader for research on international development policy and practice; the Astronomy Centre, founded in 1965 as a formal collaboration with the Royal Greenwich Observatory by Astronomer Royal, Sir Richard Woolley, and Roger Blin-Stoyle; and the Cell Mutation Unit led by Bryn Bridges.
Recent years have seen the long-term fulfilment of many of the University’s early research endeavours: the Sussex Centre for Medical Research, founded in the early 1960s, held out the prospect of a medical school that was realised with the opening of the Brighton and Sussex Medical School in 2002; and in 1970, anthropologist Tom Harrison gave over his Mass Observation archive to the care of Sussex.
Under the direction of art historian David Alan Mellor, this has become an invaluable public resource for historical research on everyday British life.
Funding for research
Since even before the University’s founding, Sussex research has been supported by philanthropy.
As early as 1956, donations were made to a fund to create a new university in Sussex, including a bequest from Mrs Helena Normanton QC, the first woman to practise at the English Bar, made ‘in gratitude for all that Brighton did to educate me’.
Through the decades, there have been many individual gifts and endowments made to support the world-leading work at Sussex, and some donations, including that from the Reginald Moses Phillips Charitable Foundation in 1962, continue to fund projects to this day and beyond.
Making the future
The University has recently launched its first philanthropic campaign to build on this history and ensure that Sussex retains its margin of excellence in both research and teaching.
The ‘Making the Future’ fundraising campaign will seeks to raise funds for a number of exciting and innovative research projects: the Sussex Centre for the Study of Corruption will lead the way in understanding all forms of corruption and their consequences; a Chair in Neuronal Dysfunction will spearhead our efforts to discover the underlying mechanisms of ageand disease-related neuronal malfunction; and the African Climate Change Initiative will lead research that develops our understanding of the causes and effects of climate change, and the devastating effects it has on some of the world’s poorest people.
As we move into the next 50 years, the University of Sussex will continue to build on its strong tradition of promoting world-leading interdisciplinary research.
Our six research themes span the interests of our 12 schools and will combine with the best people, programmes and places supported by the ‘Making the Future’ campaign to ensure that Sussex continues to help shape the future of research and education, and to contribute to the world in which we all live.