Elected for their substantial contributions to social science, this spring’s cohort of Fellows includes Professor Nicholas Phelps, Chair of Urban Planning and Associate Dean (International) at the Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne, and longstanding member of the Regional Studies Association. He is also Visiting Professor at the School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, China.
His research and teaching interests cover the planning and politics of suburbanization, the economics of urban agglomeration, international planning, entrepreneurship, informality and economic development, and the economic geography of multinational enterprises and foreign direct investment, with research funded by the British Academy, the UK Economic and Social Research Council, National Geographic, The Leverhulme Trust, the Royal Town Planning Institute and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors among others.
The Academy’s Fellowship comprises over 1,500 leading social scientists from academia, the public, private and third sectors. All Academy Fellows are selected through an independent peer review which recognises their excellence and impact, including their wider contributions to social sciences for public benefit.
Nicholas said,
“As a new Fellow, I’m delighted to be number among others representing the cause of the interdisciplinary field of regional studies in the social sciences and the work of the Regional Studies Association in particular.”