4.4 Emma and Lorna - listen now

Guests Emma Aviet and Lorna Dawson talk about the colour spectrum of soil, links between science and art and the Salem witch trials.

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Transcript

Transcript for 4.4 Emma and Lorna. 

About our guests

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Emma and Lorna
Emma and Lorna

Emma Aviet

Chosen object: photographs of her great grandfather

Recording location: Edinburgh

Emma is currently completing her PhD in English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. Originally from California, she moved to Edinburgh in 2018 to pursue her MSc in Literature and Society, after completing degrees in both English Literature and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.   

She is currently the host of Beyond the Books, a podcast from the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures that gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen. Alongside this, Emma also writes for The New Normal, the School’s weekly postgraduate newsletter.   

Much of Emma’s research concerns how religious and political identities influence literature in 19th-century Britain and America, as well as representations of Armenians in British literature.   

Beyond the Books, the podcast  

PhD study in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) 

Lorna Dawson

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Black and white photographs and Munsell colour book
Photographs of Emma's great grandfather and Lorna's Munsell colour book

Chosen object: Munsell colour book

Recording location: Aberdeen

Lorna is Head of the Soil Forensics Group at the James Hutton Institute, an interdisciplinary research institute based in Scotland which drives the sustainable use of land and natural resources.  

Since completing her BSc in Geography at the University, Lorna has over 30 years’ experience in managing and conducting research in soil and plant interaction, in particular its application in the criminal justice system.  

Lorna is also honorary professor in Forensic Science at Robert Gordon University, and is an advisor to the Scottish Government on food and agriculture research. She is affiliated to Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and also lectures at the universities of Aberdeen, Strathclyde and Edinburgh.  

An expert in her field, Lorna’s contributions to soil science have seen her awarded a Pride of Britain Special Recognition Award and made CBE in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours.  

Alumni news story – Solving crimes with soil 

SEFARI - Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes 

Lorna's staff profile on the James Hutton Institute wesbite

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Credits

Host: Kate Stewart

Theme music: Nathan Webb

Producer: Sonia Mullineux