ICS Welcomes Four New Researchers

ICS is delighted to announce the appointment of four new Institute-based members, who bring with them a wealth of knowledge and expertise.

Paul James joined ICS in mid-January as Professor of Globalisation and Cultural Diversity from RMIT University, where he was for many years Director of the highly successful Global Cities Institute.

Dr Denis Byrne also joined ICS in mid-January, in the role of Senior Research Fellow. Dr Byrne previously worked at the Office of Environment and Heritage NSW, where he was the manager of the cultural heritage program. Dr Byrne's current research focus is on the material record of Chinese migration and sojourning in Southeast Asia and Australia and its potential for articulating a heritage of transnational flows.

Also joining ICS in the capacity of Senior Research Fellow is Dr Jessica Weir, who joined ICS in late 2013. Dr Weir worked previously at the University of Canberra, where she was Senior Research Fellow in the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre. Dr Weir is a human geographer who has a long-held interest in the framing of ecological and social justice issues.

Dr Sarah Barns joined ICS as a Research Fellow in late 2013. Dr Barns is a recipient of an Urban Studies Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship for a project titled 'Platform Urbanism: The role of city labs, data infomediaries and open government experiments in urban governance'. Dr Barns chose UWS as host institution and Professor Donald McNeill as her project mentor and was selected for the Fellowship following an international call resulting in four projects being awarded globally. She has previously held senior roles with the ABC, Arup, UTS, the Creative Industries Innovation Centre, the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Australia Council for the Arts.