Chair: Revd Dr Maithrie White-Dundas
As an undergraduate pursuing a degree in English (Literature) in Sri Lanka, I learned how crucial it was to develop a Christian mind in my studies as well as the world around me. This vision was fired and nurtured by FOCUS (the IFES affiliated Fellowship of Christian University Students – Sri Lanka), and subsequently by the passion and commitment of its community of graduates. As a graduate in Sri Lanka, I was extensively involved with the ministry of FOCUS as an associate staff worker and speaker. It is the same passion and vision of FOCUS that fires the vision of the Postgrad conference, which was founded by a group of us – then students, academics and chaplains – in 2003, during my PhD at the University of Nottingham.
I like exploring off the beaten track, and my PhD in Cultural Studies and Critical Theory led me to Monty Python and Douglas Adams. After my PhD I returned to lecturing in Sri Lanka, where as Head of the Department of English, I discovered that the title also conferred a zombied existence of infinite babble and meetings. I love lecturing and managed to sneak J K Rowling and Terry Pratchett into my modules. I am fascinated by the beauty and mystery of the Universe, and intrigued with what makes our world go round. I enjoy dabbling with theology, theory, and the magic of words, and delight in mixing them all up one way or another. Oh, I am also a writer, and am in the process of editing my fiction for publication.
web: http://fire.notmyopinion.net/
email: chair@christianpostgrad.org.uk
Secretary: Dr Eline van Asperen
Eline is a postdoctoral researcher in palaeoecology, based at Newcastle and Durham Universities. She is interested in finding out how people, animals and plants interacted in the past, with the aim of contributing to modern-day conservation issues. Her research covers a wide range of environmental remains from the ice ages, including bones, pollen, phytoliths, and fungi that grow on animal dung!
Eline is originally from The Netherlands, where she studied Archaeological Sciences at Leiden University. The most exciting thing she ever dug up was a number of human graves dating from the Stone Age, one of which contained a man holding the prehistoric equivalent of a lighter under his nose! She moved to the UK in 2006 to pursue a PhD in York, followed by two postdocs at Liverpool John Moores University. Eline first came to TTM in 2007, where she met her (British) husband Anthony, and in 2016 they moved to Durham. As a flatlander by birth she is enjoying the hills!
Besides archaeology and palaeontology, her second love is philosophy, which unfortunately has to be confined to Sunday afternoon musings and reading big books on long train journeys. She is passionate about her faith and her academic calling and enjoys a good discussion about the relationship between the two.
Treasurer: Dr Mike Clifford
Mike Clifford is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham and a volunteer with Tearfund. His research interests are in appropriate and sustainable technologies (see Yak Video), particularly cookstove design for developing countries. In 2016 he was presented with a prestigious award by Universitas 21 for his long-term dedication to the furthering of international education, in particular in relation to his sustained impact and leadership in the development of the student learning experience as well as on communities throughout the developing world. Previously he was voted “engineering lecturer of the year” by the Higher Education Academy’s Engineering Subject Centre for his innovative teaching methods involving costume, drama, poetry and storytelling. He is a keen musician, performing with ceilidh band “Reel 2 Reel” and folk trio “Hyldas” and contributing cornet and low whistle to electronic dance act Radium88
Mike is a regular contributor to the American Scientific Affiliation’s God & Nature magazine and has written a useful guide “Being a Christian in Engineering” for Christians in Science.
Music links:
Hyldas: “as the rain hides the stars“
Reel 2 Reel: Ceilidh / barn dance band
Dr Helen Moore
Helen is an Senior Medical Writer at Meditech Media in London. Her PhD was in circadian rhythms (body clocks) at University College London. Her academic positions have also included a post doc at Queen Mary University London and a visiting researcher role at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Helen began coming to the Transforming the Mind Conference in 2009, and found it a great place to continue integrating her Christian faith with academic discipline and science. She regularly attends The Bear Church in Deptford, London, with her husband and daughter. In her (small amount of) spare time she can be found running, swimming, or playing board games with friends.
Dr David Parry
David Parry currently teaches English literature for various colleges of the University of Cambridge, where he pursued his undergraduate and graduate studies. He enjoyed a year’s interlude in Canada at the University of Toronto after his PhD, and appreciates the ongoing friendships forged there. He is on the national committee of the Christian Literary Studies Group and is an Associate Editor of the CLSG journal, The Glass. In Cambridge, he is a member of the Christian Graduate Society and helps to coordinate Christians in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHAS). David enjoys taking arty photos, writing poems and hanging out with international students. He is a lifelong compulsive reader.