How can the world tackle the climate crisis and achieve a sustainable recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in order to protect and promote public health? This autumn Durham University is leading a range of events exploring this issue.

Experts in the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology within the Department of Physics have developed a new model for simulating epidemics – and it’s already being used to inform the UK’s response to COVID-19.

Durham is a hub for research excellence and our academics prove that year in and year out through their ground-breaking research. We are delighted that two of our academics, Dr Clare Mahon and Dr Sownak Bose, have been awarded Future Leaders Fellowships for their projects.

Representatives from Durham University will be attending COP26 following confirmation that we have been granted provisional observer status for this year’s event.

Since 2017 our Department of Archaeology has been part of a cutting-edge research partnership with the world-renowned Palace Museum in China.

COP26 is less than 100 days away and as part of this year’s conference world leaders, advisers and experts will be finalising rules under the Paris Agreement and the Paris Agreement Rulebook to enhance ambitions to tackle climate change. But, what is the Paris Agreement and why is international law crucial to making it work? Dr Petra Minnerop, from our Law School, is here to explain.

Professor Deirdre McCann co-organises global labour conference with the UN International Labour Organisation

Our Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global) Professor Claire O’Malley discusses our new membership of RENKEI and talks about the collaboration opportunities with Japan it offers.

It is with great sadness that the College heard of the death of Revd Dr Joel Edwards. Joel was a Visiting Fellow of the College and had completed his DThM recently as a part-time student. He was one of the most significant Christian leaders of his generation not only as General Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance but as a behind the scenes mentor and advisor to leaders across the broad spectrum of the church.

Professor Thom Brooks has been invited to become an elected member of the Academia Europaea (Academy of Europe), a pan-European Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Letters founded in 1988.

A team led by Prof. Frank Krauss and including Prof. Richard Bower and 8 of our Ph.D. students from the Centre for Doctoral Training in Data-Intensive Science (CDT) have created a simulation in the form of an agent-based model, which describes the spread of an epidemic such as COVID-19 through a virtual population.

Welcome to the first in our monthly ‘Countdown to COP’ series, where we will be exploring climate change research, events and expertise across our University ahead of the next COP climate change summit in November.