Contacts

See below for team member contact details or you can mail us at:
The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK.

Project Team

Keith Matthews is a geographer (MA, Aberdeen) with post-grad qualifications in GIS (MSc Edinburgh) and computing science (PhD, RGU). He has worked at Macaulay since 1991. Initially he worked on regional climate change impact analysis and subsequently on decision support (LADSS) and multi-objective land use planning (PhD). Recent decision support work has focused on climate change and land use) and reflecting on lessons from previous DSS work. The main focus of research since 2001 has been on characterising and analysing the sustainability of rural socio-ecological systems. Within RERAD Programme 3 this has been on Farming Systems in Work Package 3.1 but in EU FP7 SMILE the sustainability analysis is cross-sectoral and multi-scale (Cairngorms National Park). Keith is also increasingly involved in supporting policy development e.g. assessing options for reform of CAP, GHG emissions from land use and land use change and integrated land and water management (Aquarius). Staff Profile | Email

Kevin Buchan is a software engineer who joined the LADSS team in May 1999. He is a graduate in Computer Science from The Robert Gordon University and a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist who has a background in software development, database systems and computer architecture. His studies originally focussed on C/C++ within a Unix environment but his interest is now in the development of Windows software using C# and the .NET Framework. Kevin develops database and software systems that help deliver research for a range of customers (e.g. European Commission, Scottish Government, Local Authorities and land management stakeholders). Staff Profile | Email

Mike Rivington is a graduate in Ecological Science with a Masters Degree in Resource Management, both from Edinburgh University. Joining the team in 1999, his role has involved the parameterisation and validation of CropSyst for use within LADSS. Mikes work has also focused on climate change and the investigation of alternative climate data sources. He is undertaking a PhD "Impacts of Climate Change on Farm Scale Dynamics" at Edinburgh University. Staff Profile | Email

Dave Miller joined the LADSS team in 2004. He is a graduate in Environmental Geoscience from St Andrews University and also holds an MSc in Geographical Information Management from Cranfield University. With his background in spatial data analysis, Dave supports a wide variety of research objectives of the LADSS team from primary spatial data collection (through DGPS survey) to interfacing GIS with large Oracle databases (latterly focussing on the Scottish Government Integrated Administration and Control System - IACS). He also participates in the training of undergraduate students in the use of GIS. Staff Profile | Email

Sharon Flanigan joined the LADSS team in 2010 and is a social scientist. She is a graduate in Tourism (Dundee), has a Masters Degree in Sustainable Rural Development (Aberdeen), and has recently completed her PhD ‘Developing and applying a framework for agritourism’ (Aberdeen). Her previous work includes investigation of policy and economic aspects of deer management as part of the RELU Collaborative Deer Management Project based at the Macaulay Institute. Currently, she is conducting an investigation to explore the role of social capital in relation to adaptive capacity in rural individuals and businesses, which contributes towards the Scottish Government theme of work on Economic Adaptation. Also, she is working on EU FP7 project ‘FarmPath’, which explore how flexible combinations of farming models can facilitate transition towards sustainable agriculture at the regional level. Staff Profile | Email