Changes and growth of the Hydro Nation International Centre and Scotland's Centre of Expertise for Waters

“We are grateful to Bob for his leadership, his hard work and the ideas he contributed to the success of the James Hutton Institute and wish him well in retirement. His legacy will be Hydro Nation International Centre and the portfolio of world leading water-related activities that sit within the Centre”

The James Hutton Institute has announced the retirement of Professor Bob Ferrier following 37 years of service. Professor Ferrier contributed widely across Institute activities as a respected member of the Executive team and Director of the Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW) based at the Hydro Nation International Centre. He held an Honorary Chair in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Dundee, Scotland, and is a member of the Scottish Science Advisory Council.

Professor Colin Campbell, Chief Executive of the James Hutton Institute, said: “We are grateful to Bob for his leadership, his hard work and the ideas he contributed to the success of the James Hutton Institute and wish him well in retirement. His legacy will be Hydro Nation International Centre and the portfolio of world-leading water-related activities that sit within the Centre.”

Dr Rachel Helliwell, who has managed the Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW) for the past 3 years, will take on the role of Director of the Hydro Nation International Centre and CREW. She has 27 years of research and management experience in integrated sustainable water research and during that time has enjoyed working at the science:policy interface.

Further changes to the HNIC/CREW teams include the appointment of Dr Nikki Dodd to Deputy CREW Manager and the recruitment of Rebekah Burman as a CREW Project Manager. Nikki brings significant experience to the role, having been a CREW Project Manager since 2016. Rebekah joins the team from NHS Orkney, where she managed a project to utilise blue and green spaces for health and wellbeing benefits.

Within the HNIC, Dr Maricela Blair, a former Hydro Nation Scholar, will join the team in September as a Hydro Nation Policy Officer drawing on her experiences from her PhD and working as an Analyst / Adviser for Science and Technology Institute in Honduras.

HNIC/CREW are expanding the team and currently advertising for a further CREW project Manager, Impact Officer and International Development Officer. Follow HNIC and CREW on Twitter to find out more about these positions: @HNICScotland and @CREW_waters.