Name: Elina
Home country: United States
Institution: Bangor University
Programme: PhD
Scholarship: 125th Anniversary Research Scholarship
Originally from Portland, Oregon, USA, where she gained a BM in piano performance at Portland State University, PhD student Elina says:
‘I had such a good experience at Bangor as a Masters student when I came to research early forms of music notation. Bangor was one of the few institutions in Britain where I could conduct this research and it has proven to be the most ideal place for my work. I chose to continue my research here as there were few other places which provided the specialist supervision I needed to successfully complete my PhD.’
Elina’s PhD research looks at music and education in 14th-Century Britain, especially in Oxford University and various cathedral schools. Her research will examine the major shifts and transitions in music theory at a time of major societal, religious and economic change in a century that experienced the Black Death and the 100 Years’ War.
Elina hopes to use a new method of studying music by also examining the significant amount of text that was produced to instruct musicians on the principles of music. This will ultimately help to further advance modern understanding of how music was perceived and composed at the time.
Name: Michael
Home country: UK
Institution: Bangor University
Programme: PhD
Scholarship: KESS Scholarship
Michael, who is 25 and comes from St Helens, Merseyside, UK, gained a BSc in Zoology and an MSc in Ecology from Bangor University before being accepted on a KESS Scholarship funded PhD.
He is currently working with the National Trust on an exciting project to restore peat uplands in a particular corner of rural Wales. The Trust hope that restoring the peat uplands will assist National Trust to become carbon neutral – and also ensure that the peat holds on to carbon dioxide trapped in its damp interior. This co2 can be released as the peat dries out. Filling in old drainage ditches should restore the peatlands.
The research is measuring impacts of different methods of filling on carbon cycling and generating more data and understanding of the movement of carbon between the soil and the atmosphere.
Michael was attracted to Bangor’s School of Biological Sciences to conduct the research as it has an excellent reputation for peatland biogeochemistry as well as numerous suitable field sites within a short drive.
‘It also hosts a diverse array of people working in fields directly related to my research,’ Michael adds.
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