The Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Staff Excellence 2025

The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Colleague of the Year recognises an individual member of staff who has markedly and consistently enhanced the working environment of other staff in the University, and exemplified our core values: Inclusion, Inspiration, Innovation and Integrity.  

This year’s nominees were: Obai Frempong, Deborah Nottridge and Dr James Wright. 

AND THE WINNER IS...

Deborah Nottridge, Head of Catering, Campus Services Catering 

Deborah consistently demonstrates an unwavering commitment to enhancing the student and staff experience. In her current role, she has transformed the catering provision across campus, ensuring excellence, innovation and genuine care for the University community.

Her positivity and ‘can-do’ attitude are infectious; she is renowned for always saying “yes,” finding solutions rather than problems, and approaching every challenge with optimism and professionalism. With over 30 years’ experience at the University, Deborah epitomises collegiality; staff love working with her because she makes collaboration easy and enjoyable.

What truly sets Deborah apart is her leadership style. She manages her team with dedication, empathy and a natural flair for bringing out the best in people. Whether mentoring a new colleague or guiding her team through busy summer conferences, Deborah leads with energy, encouragement, trust and respect. She has an instinctive management style that gets the best out of people.

The Vice-Chancellor's Award for Leadership recognises an individual member of staff who has exhibited strong and effective leadership (or potential) by undertaking activities either formally through their role or simply by taking responsibility when leadership was required to achieve a particular goal.  

This year's nominees were: Oliver Crenol, Becca Hill and Ed Paice.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Ed Paice, Head of End User Computing, IT Services

Ed exemplifies outstanding leadership through his calm, inclusive and forward-thinking approach - consistently making decisions with the wellbeing and development of his team in mind. His ability to remain composed under pressure fosters a stable and supportive environment, enabling the team to thrive even during challenging periods.

Ed’s ethos of empowerment and collaboration runs deep in the teams he leads. He facilitates success across multiple areas: Field Support’s upgrade of thousands of machines to Windows 11; Audio-Visual’s consistent delivery of high-impact project installations; and the End User Computing team’s continuous rollout of feature updates that enhance staff and student experiences. These achievements reflect his commitment to operational excellence.

Beyond technical leadership, Ed actively contributes to improving systems and processes, ensuring IT Services remain agile and responsive to the University’s evolving needs. His collaborative style encourages innovation and initiative, fostering a culture of openness and trust.

The Vice-Chancellor's Award for Public and Community Engagement recognises colleagues or teams who have excelled in public engagement activities over the past year, enhancing the University's impact and reputation. This includes involving the public in research, sharing its benefits with non-academic audiences, or contributing to societal improvements through stakeholder or policy engagement. This award is open to any member of staff whose efforts have been over and above their normal core duties, and for whom public engagement is not their main role.

This year’s nominees were: Dr Matteo Giusti, The Surrey Circular Economy Group and Dr Fernando Oneissi Martinez Estrada.

AND THE WINNER IS...

The Surrey Circular Economy Group

This interdisciplinary research group, which is currently part of a portfolio of projects worth £25 million, uses creativity, inclusivity and a strong commitment to two-way dialogue with society to demonstrate sustained excellence in public engagement.

A standout initiative is their Plastic Alchemy brand, most recently featured at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2025 - the UK’s most prestigious public engagement event - where thousands of people engaged with circular economy ideas through interactive demos, discussions and talks.

The Group maintains a broad portfolio of engagement activities; for example, Dr Lirong Liu serves as an energy expert and on-screen modeller for Energy Revolution, the on-going, major exhibition of sustainability at the Science Museum, which has welcomed over 700,00 visitors in its first year and has global reach through shared videos and animations.

The Group’s activities ensure their engagement resonates far beyond academia - influencing education, public understanding and global sustainability discourse.

Nominees: Prof Jin Xuan (Professor of Sustainable Processes, ADRI (FEPS)); Dr Hui Luo (Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow); Dr Iman Mohagheghian (Associate Professor in Mechanics of Materials); Dr Lirong Liu (Associate Professor in the Centre for Environment and Sustainability); Dr Lei Xing (Lecturer in Digital Chemical Engineering); Prof Jhuma Sadhukhan (Professor of Environmental, Energy and Chemical Engineering); Dr Lucy Elphick (Research Programme Manager)

The Vice-Chancellor's Award for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion recognises an individual member of staff who has substantially contributed to the development and/or celebration of our diverse and inclusive culture by, for example, acting as a positive role model who consistently champions equality, diversity and inclusion, or developing events and activities with demonstrated outcomes.  

This year’s nominees were: Olawale Arowolo, Dr Fabio Fasoli and Dr Lisa Morrison.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Dr Fabio Fasoli, Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology, School of Psychology

As well as being prolific in his academic capacity, Fabio excels in his role as the Chair of the staff LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Network, showing unwavering commitment to fostering belonging and understanding, particularly during moments of profound challenge.

Fabio is a steady, compassionate presence - guiding students and colleagues through complex and often painful conversations. His gentle leadership has created spaces for reflection, empathy and open dialogue, allowing individuals from all backgrounds to feel seen, heard and valued. He consistently shows up, advocates for underrepresented voices in decision-making processes, and helps to ensure that inclusive practices are embedded in our University’s daily operations.

In all he does, Fabio demonstrates that true leadership is not about recognition, but about service and integrity. His tireless dedication on behalf of the LGBTQIA+ communities has ensured that Surrey is a university of choice for many LGBTQIA+ students and staff.

The Vice-Chancellor's Award for Wellbeing, Health and Safety recognises colleagues who excel in fostering a safe, supportive environment and promoting a culture of care. It celebrates outstanding contributions to health, safety, and wellbeing, recognising exceptional efforts to enhance practices within departments. The award also highlights innovative approaches to improving physical and mental wellbeing and acknowledges leaders who champion mental health awareness and create open, supportive workplace environments.

This year’s nominees were: Holly Jones, International Mobility Team and Emily Pentland-Hill.

AND THE WINNER IS...

International Mobility Team, International Engagement Office, Global

The International Engagement Office Mobility Team consistently fosters a healthy, safe and supportive environment for students and colleagues. It has significantly strengthened Surrey’s duty of care through enhanced collaboration with Health & Safety and academic colleagues to improve risk assessment and learning agreement processes with partner institutions. These developments ensure consistent, transparent and student-centred safeguarding measures for those studying and working abroad.

The team developed comprehensive wellbeing resources on the Surrey Abroad platform to guide students on a range of topics and their pre-departure briefings provide practical and cultural preparation, fostering resilience, confidence, and peer support. For incoming exchange and study abroad students, the team provides pre-arrival guidance, delivers webinars and have strengthened support for those with additional needs through active referrals to wellbeing and disability services.

To promote belonging, the team introduced regional WhatsApp groups for students to connect, a Buddy Network and storytelling initiatives through blogs and social media to share authentic student experiences. 

Nominees: Alice Gidman (International Mobility Officer); Ben Rogers (International Mobility Coordinator); Emily Bushnell (International Mobility Coordinator); Jane Pango (International Mobility Coordinator); Louisa Leung (International Mobility Coordinator); Zoe Stevenson (International Mobility Coordinator).

The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Innovator of the Year is presented to an individual who has developed an outstanding innovative product, technology, process or service that clearly demonstrates an economic, social or environmental benefit to society.  

This year’s nominees were: Prof Rich Bowden, Dr Maria Kardakova and Dr Brigitte Stangl.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Prof Richard Bowden, Professor in Computer Vision and Machine Learning, Surrey Institute for People-Centred AI / Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing

Richard is transforming accessibility through pioneering, ethical AI for sign language translation. For over two decades, his research has advanced inclusive technology that works with Deaf stakeholders to improve communication and access worldwide. His University of Surrey spinout Signapse employs Deaf professionals and delivers real-time sign language translations for transport networks, cultural institutions and digital platforms across the UK and US. Bowden’s commitment to responsible innovation ensures that technology enhances, rather than replaces, human interpreters.

Recognised by government and industry, over just the last few years, his work has attracted over £8.45 million in UKRI funding and US $1.5 million from Google’s philanthropic arm for University research. A visionary researcher and ethical innovator, Professor Bowden’s achievements are driving profound social, cultural, and economic impact-empowering Deaf people and redefining how AI can make society more inclusive. 

The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Researcher of the Year recognises colleagues whose recent research has successfully challenged dogma, created a new field of research, elucidated a new paradigm, made a fundamental change in thinking, or had a significant impact on society.   

This year’s nominees were: Prof Enzo De Sena, Prof Jill Maben and Dr Ethan Taylor.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Dr Ethan Taylor, Research Fellow, School of Mathematics and Physics

Ethan is a rising young star in computational astrophysics. Despite being just one year out from his PhD, he has just published a lead-author Nature paper: “The emergence of globular clusters and globular-cluster-like dwarfs”; this solves a centuries-old problem -  how do globular star clusters form?

Using a suite of state-of-the-art computer simulations run on the National DiRAC supercomputer, Ethan showed how globular clusters naturally emerge in his simulations. At the same time, he predicted the existence of a new type of object - like a globular cluster but rich in mysterious, invisible, "dark matter". These new objects may have already been found in our cosmic backyard. If so, they hold new clues to the nature of dark matter and the physics of the very first stars that formed in the cosmos.

The Vice-Chancellor's Award for Research Supervisor of the Year recognises an individual or supervisory team who has/have created the most supportive, stimulating, and inspirational research environment for their postgraduate researchers during their time at the University. 

This year’s nominees were: Dr Andy Gilbert, Dr Simon Hadfield and Dr Haomiao Jin.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Dr Haomiao Jin, Lecturer, School of Health Sciences 

Haomiao’s calm, insightful and compassionate supervision fosters a supportive and intellectually stimulating research culture. Drawing on expertise in digital health, statistics and AI, and self-report data, he empowers each doctoral researcher to develop independence while providing meticulous methodological guidance. His students describe him as patient, encouraging and transformative - helping those with limited quantitative backgrounds gain confidence in advanced statistics and data science. 

Haomiao’s projects span AI for cognitive decline prediction, accessible digital surveys for visually impaired users and digital health interventions for chronic disease. Under his guidance, PGRs have produced high-quality publications and international presentations. As International PGR Tutor of the School, he also champions inclusion and wellbeing among the School’s diverse research student community. 

The Vice-Chancellor's Award for Postgraduate Researcher of the Year recognises exceptional postgraduate researchers based on the excellence and breadth of their cumulative research achievements and acknowledging those who are on a rising trajectory, actively contributing to their field and achieving meaningful impact through their work.

This year’s nominees were: Prince Okyere, Vera Spangler and Sophie Tudge.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Vera Spangler, Postgraduate Researcher, Department of Sociology

Vera is an international postgraduate researcher whose doctoral work investigates knowledge legitimacy and the role of international student mobility in the (re)production of global hierarchies. She has conducted ethnographic fieldwork across universities in the UK, Denmark and Germany, using participatory and creative methods to explore how knowledge is produced, valued and contested. She further extended her project through a three-month PhD placement in Chile. 

Since starting her PhD, Vera has submitted seven sole-authored articles (three published, one accepted, three under review), plus three collaborative articles under review. She has delivered eight conference presentations and engaged diverse audiences through workshops, blog posts and a one-month online Image-Maker residency showcasing visual material from her fieldwork.

Vera is highly active in the academic community, contributing through teaching, co-convening professional networks, organising events and serving on institutional committees. Through these activities, she seeks to foster welcoming and supportive spaces for postgraduate and early-career researchers. 

The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teacher of the Year recognises and rewards staff who have been teaching at the University of Surrey for three or more years and have made a significant contribution to enhancing students’ learning experience and the quality of their learning. 

This year's nominees were:  Dr Emily Finch, Dr Lisa Morrison and Dr Dynatra Subasinghe.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Dr Emily Finch, Associate Professor, Surrey Law School

Emily’s teaching is characterised by her commitment to students and her unwavering belief in their potential. She has a long-standing interest in the emotions attached to learning and works with students to create learning activities that build skills, confidence and a sense of ease with difficult material. She aims to ensure that each of her 400-plus students feels known and supported as an individual.

Her interactive classes connect students with the law as it operates in society and highlight the skills that lawyers need in practice. She seeks to inspire and surprise, fostering curiosity about the law that continues long after class has ended.

Outside the classroom, Emily uses the World Café method to explore the learning journey from the student perspective. This has led to a redesign of assessment support within her modules and the development of well-attended extracurricular skills sessions that help students feel more confident, capable and motivated in their studies.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Early-Career Teacher of the Year recognises and rewards staff who are within their first three years of teaching and have made a significant contribution to enhancing students’ learning experience, and quality of learning. 

This year's nominees were:  Dr Christina Ratcliffe, Dr Kai Yang and Dr Yuan Zou.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Dr Kai Yang, Lecturer in Energy Materials & Nanotechnology, Advanced Technology Institute, Computer Sciences and Electrical Engineering

Since joining Surrey in 2023, Kai has made a remarkable impact on teaching and student development. Through the Battery and Electrical Systems module, he has created a dynamic, research-informed learning experience that bridges electrochemical theory with real-world applications. His innovative approach integrating visual demonstrations, lab tours, interactive quizzes, and guest sessions with PhD researchers and industrial collaborators, achieved 100% student satisfaction in 2025. The module has also inspired many MSc students to pursue research projects within his group, leading to excellent outcomes and journal publications.

Kai actively connects students with the wider academic community through ATI and Surrey seminars and workshops, broadening their research and career perspectives. He offers personalised career guidance and continuously refines his teaching based on graduate feedback and evolving industry needs, strengthening the link between teaching and employability. He also promotes interdisciplinary learning through collaborative cross-school sustainability projects. Beyond the classroom, he leads inspiring sessions at Open and Offer Holder Days, demonstrating Surrey’s inclusive, research-led education.