James Samuel

Student, University of Oxford

I am an incoming MPhil candidate in Medieval History at the University of Oxford. Alongside my research specialism of late medieval religious and social history, other interests of mine include social and labour history in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the history of medieval devotional objects, and nineteenth-century art. My research project was supervised by Drs Amy Blakeway and Jacqueline Rose. Titled 'History, religion and community in North East Fife', my project investigated the history of the village of Kingsbarns using archival material and interviews. My essay was a social history of the area, with a section on historical methodology. This was later supplemented with an oral account of the church in its current form by one of its contemporary administrators. In my second summer, I created and hosted a local history workshop in collaboration with the Boomerang Community Centre in Stobswell, Dundee. This combined archival research with an empowering leadership project, which encouraged participants to continue to investigate historical topics they are passionate about. The workshop was greatly successful, and feedback from the participants was wholly positive.
Alice Martin

Student, University of St Andrews

I am a first year chemistry PhD student at the University of St Andrews, interested in many fields of chemistry, but particularly areas within inorganic and physical chemistry. My research project is supervised by Dr. Petr Kilian focusing on the synthesis and characterisation of peri-substituted aromatic systems. These previously un characterised compounds have many applications within green chemistry, particularly within catalysis.
Matthew Fackrell

Laidlaw Undergraduate Research Scholar, Durham University

Anthropology and Sociology Undergraduate; from Bristol, UK. I am completing a research project on narrative transmission and reproduction, looking at how oral accounts of geological events are passed down accurately over generations. By understanding how narratives are constructed I am keen to explore interdisciplinary approaches, particularly between Anthropology, Linguistics, Computer-Human Interaction, and Cognition. Other interests include literature, art and photography, architecture, astronomy, and outdoor pursuits.
Paul Hanna

Multimedia Artist and Creative, YouTube

I'm a graduate of Columbia University ('23!), where I studied Film. I used to work at Google as a growth strategist, and at YouTube as a content strategist. My current work centers on multimedia and multidisciplinary art, blending media experiments, writing, and ongoing film projects. During the Laidlaw Fellowship, I examined Napoleon's influence on the political attitudes present in Le rouge et le noir by Stendhal and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. The following year, I worked in business development for Tortoise Media, a news publication based out of London. Feel free to reach out and connect!
Jillian Ducker

Student , University of St. Andrews

I am a current undergraduate student at St. Andrews University and am part of the 2020/2021 Laidlaw cohort. I am a history and international relations joint honours student at the university. I am extremely passionate about historical research, especially early modern gender studies and intellectual history. My interest in international relations lies in decolonial studies and activism, as well as the burgeoning field of feminist research. My research project for the summer of 2020 is a study of the representation of the wives of Henry VIII in popular media. I hope to explicate both the modern influence in these representations, as well as tracing the historical mythos surrounding these women by examining similarities to much older popular media about these Queens.