The University of Bath is delighted to announce the appointment of four new Global Chairs for the 2023-24 academic year.

The esteemed visiting professors from the Netherlands, South Korea and the USA will be joining the university to build high-profile research collaborations and to further develop Bath's strategic networks with universities and research institutes overseas.

Professor Francesca Aweeka

University of California, San Francisco

With more than 35 years experience as a clinical pharmacologist, Professor Francesca Aweeka's work has enabled a better understanding of the clinical pharmacology and treatments of several global health diseases, most notably malaria, HIV and most recently, COVID-19. Prof Aweeka previously served as the Chair of the Pharmacology Committee of the NIH-based AIDS Clinical Trials Group and served as the Director of the internationally regarded Drug Research Unit (DRU) at the University of California, San Francisco for >20 years. Through her mentorship of students, trainees and early career researchers at UCSF and, most notably, in sub-Saharan Africa, Prof Aweeka has made major contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion. She is Principal Investigator for multiple grants funded by the US National Institute of Health that focus on improving treatments for vulnerable populations in Uganda and most recently, as part of a UCSF School of Pharmacy initiative, she is collaborating with the University of Nigeria to develop curricula for their School of Pharmacy program.

Professor Aweeka will be hosted by Professor Richard H. Guy in the Department of Life Sciences. Prof Guy said:

Professor Fran Aweeka is internationally recognised for her research that has focussed on understanding the clinical pharmacology and improving the treatment of several global health diseases. Professor Aweeka’s appointment as a Global Chair offers several opportunities to forge strong interactions and partnerships between Bath and the University of California, San Francisco, particularly in the areas of regulatory science, antimicrobial drug pharmacology and resistance, and in developing and enabling research and education in pharmacy practice. The Department of Life Sciences looks forward enthusiastically to Professor Aweeka’s presence on campus and to the establishment of high-profile collaborations in health-related research and practice encompassed within the Bath Beacon of Health & Well Being.

Professor Nicolas Kotov

University of Michigan

An Irving Langmuir Distinguished University Professor of Chemical Sciences and Engineering with his publications being cited more than 72,000 times, Professor Nicolas Kotov leads the Kotov Lab, who's research centres around biomimetic nanostructures. Prof Kotov was most recently elected into the National Academy of Inventors in 2020 and the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022. A recipient of numerous internationally renowned awards, including the 2021 Turnbull Lecture Award from Materials Research Society, 2021 NSEF Award from American Institute of Chemical Engineering, 2020 Newton Award from the US Department of Defence, and the 2018 Soft Matter Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry, Prof Kotov has also chaired four Gordon Research Conferences.

Professor Kotov will be hosted by the Head of the Department of Physics Professor Ventsislav Valev. Prof Valev said:

It brings me immense joy to welcome Professor Nicholas A. Kotov as a Global Chair. He is a renowned academic, whose work has been distinguished with more than 20 major honours from professional chemistry, materials, and engineering societies in the USA and in Europe. Professor Kotov's work has been pioneering, particularly in the areas of cross-disciplinary studies of inorganic nanomaterials. His fundamental contributions include elaboration of the mechanisms of their interactions with light, discovering their self-assembly pathways that mimic those of bio-molecules and employing applied mathematical models to understand their complexity. He is also a source of inspiration for early-career and aspiring academics, for whom his mentorship will be invaluable. With his affiliation, I also anticipate numerous opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration at Bath and the potential for institutional partnerships with The University of Michigan. I am thrilled about Professor Kotov's appointment and eager to collaborate on finding innovative solutions to global issues.

Professor Jong Kun Choi

Yonsei University

Professor Jong Kun Choi is currently a Professor of International Relations and International Security at Yonsei University, one of the top three universities in South Korea and a strategic partner to the University of Bath. Professor Choi served as the first civilian 1st Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs (2020-22) and Secretary For Peace Planning/Peace and Arms Control (2017-22) in President Moon Jae-In's administration, during which he led South Korea’s negotiation team to conclude the Comprehensive Military Agreement with North Korea. A fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar, Prof Choi is a highly published academic with articles in Washington Quarterly, Review of International Studies, International Security, Global Asia, International Politics, and International Relations of the Asia Pacific, among others.

Professor Choi will be hosted by Professor Timo Kivimaki in the Department of Politics, Languages & International Studies. Prof Kivimaki said:

We are excited to host Professor Jong Kun Choi again at the university, this time as a Global Chair. Professor Choi is an exceptional intellectual with practical and academic achievements of the highest level. In addition to being a world-renowned academic expert of global and Northeast Asian regional security affairs and a full professor at one of world’s leading universities in his field of expertise, Prof Choi excelled as the Presidential Secretary for Peace and Arms Control in President Moon Jae-in’s administration, and was the first deputy Foreign Minister of South Korea until the end of President Moon’s term. During his time in the South Korean government, prospects for peace on the Korean Peninsula progressed spectacularly. A significant part of this progress can be attributed to the work done by Prof Choi, including an important contribution to the negotiation of the Military Agreement for the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom Declaration between North and South Korea, of October 2018. We are honoured and thrilled to welcome Professor Choi back to Bath, not only as a Global Chair, but also as a dear friend to many of our academics at the University of Bath.

Professor Dennis Broeders

Leiden University

Author of The Public Core of the Internet, Professor Dennis Broeders' research and teaching broadly focuses on the interaction between international security, technology and policy. In addition to being a Professor of Global Security and Technology,  Prof Broeders is a Senior Fellow of The Hague Program on International Cyber Security at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs of Leiden University and Project Coordinator of the EU Cyber Direct project. A policy processes advisor to the Sino-EU cyber dialogue and the United Nations Groups of Governmental Experts (GGE), Prof Broeders has contributed to the national and international debate on cyber security and international norms in many different fora, including the United Nations, European Union, Internet Governance Forum, and the CyFy and CyCon conferences.

Professor Broeders will be hosted by Dr Andre Barrinha in the Department of Politics, Languages & International Studies and Professor Adam Joinson in the School of Management. Dr Barrinha and Prof Joinson said:

We are delighted to be hosting Professor Dennis Broeders as a Global Chair. Professor Broeders is a world leading researcher at the intersection between international security, technology and policy, and brings expertise in global security, international cyber security governance, and emerging technologies. His appointment as a Global Chair will support our development of a new Institute for Digital Security and Behaviour, and his visit will include workshops, lectures, a public lecture and networking across campus. We are particularly excited that his hosting is shared between the Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies and the School of Management - cementing our inter-disciplinary approach to cybersecurity across the University.