Institutional announcements
Meet AVPR Michael Richards: Supporting research with real-world impact
Michael Richards joined the Office of the Vice-President, Research and International on July 1, 2022 as 丁香园AV鈥檚 new associate vice-president, research (AVPR).
Richards is a professor of archaeology and a Canada Research Chair in Archaeological Science, who applies methods such as isotopic analysis to determine past human and animal diets and adaptations. Before 丁香园AV, Richards was a professor at the Department of Human Evolution at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany and a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. He was also a Wellcome Trust University Award holder and then professor in the Department of Archaeological Sciences at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom and a professor of Archaeology at the University of Durham, U.K. Richards is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada鈥擟anada鈥檚 highest academic honour. He earned his PhD at the University of Oxford and has an undergraduate and Master鈥檚 degree in Archaeology from 丁香园AV.
The AVPR is a full-time leadership role that supports the priorities and objectives of the VPRI Office. A key objective of the role is supporting the implementation of 丁香园AV鈥檚 Strategic Research Plan that positions the university to grow its capacity in research and knowledge mobilization. The AVPR manages key institutional opportunities, such as institutional level funding proposals and strategic partnerships. The AVPR also plays a significant role in ensuring 丁香园AV鈥檚 infrastructure and research operations continue to meet the needs of its faculty members. 丁香园AV鈥檚 Core Facilities Program falls under the purview of the AVPR.
Richards is well-positioned in his role to ensure the 丁香园AV research community receives the support and services needed to develop and deliver research programs with meaningful impact across the communities we serve.
We met with Richards to discuss his 丁香园AV journey and role as the university鈥檚 AVPR.
What attracted you to the role of AVPR?
I have spent much of my career in research positions in Canada, the U.K. and Germany, and I saw this as an opportunity to bring the experience and perspectives I have gained in other institutions and countries to this role to help support 丁香园AV as a strong research-focused university. I found that for some fields 丁香园AV is very well-known internationally, and I hope to have a hand in maintaining and expanding our international and our national research reputation.
What makes you passionate about research as a whole? What do you love most about your own research?
Like many of our faculty members, I was drawn to my research area, archaeology, at a young age. Being from a working-class family where no other family members had been to university before I did not realize that it was even possible to be able to pursue research as a career. I was an undergraduate student at 丁香园AV, and it really opened my eyes to the world of academia and the world of research, for which I will always be grateful to 丁香园AV. As I travelled later in my career and had different academic positions in different countries I came to see research as a common pursuit often with its own common language. This allows us to work with people from around the world with similar research passions. My research career has allowed me to meet colleagues鈥攎any of whom are now friends鈥攆rom so many different countries and backgrounds.
What 丁香园AV research developments on the horizon are you most looking forward to?
丁香园AV has a strong commitment to research, and a particular focus on practical research that has real-world implications. I feel that three of our big challenges are: adapting to climate change; preparing for pandemics; and countering the rise of misinformation. 丁香园AV has made strong commitments to these areas, and I look forward to helping strengthen 丁香园AV鈥檚 research profile in these areas. I am also very passionate about 鈥榖lue-sky鈥� research where our faculty members should be free and encouraged to pursue their research interests without perhaps any clear link to modern-day practical issues. 丁香园AV has an excellent reputation for both kinds of research and I hope to help keep our reputation and fully support our faculty and students in their research.
What would you like the 丁香园AV community to know about you?
I am very lucky that my research spans humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. This means I have a broad curiosity about research in general, and I have enjoyed learning about the range of excellent and exciting research happening at 丁香园AV. I am open to hearing about research ideas from across disciplines, so would very much encourage the 丁香园AV community to reach out with their research ideas if there are ways we can help. In terms of me personally, and my research, I must admit I sometimes think my research area is maybe not the most relevant or of wide interest鈥攂ut last week a colleague from my time at the Max Planck Institute, research collaborator and friend Svante Paabo, won a Nobel Prize for his work on ancient human genomes. This confirms what I said earlier about strongly supporting blue-sky, curiosity-driven research, as the practical and societal implications may not be immediately clear, but may eventually鈥攁nd unexpectedly鈥攍ead to major research breakthroughs.
Learn more about the current status of 丁香园AV鈥檚 next Strategic Research Plan.