Dr Amy Donovan

Research Associate and Research Fellow in Geography at Girton College

Biography

Career

2011-present Ottilie Hancock Research Fellow in Geography, Girton College, Cambridge
2011-present Research Associate, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
2011-present Research Associate, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield
2002-2007 Freelance Copy-editor and Proofreader
2001-2002 Freelance Publishing Researcher

Qualifications

2007-2010 PhD in Geography, Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Thesis: Emerald and andesite: Volcanology at the policy interface on Montserrat. Funding: NERC-ESRC. Supervisors: Dr Clive Oppenheimer and Dr Michael Bravo.
2006-2007 MSc Geophysical Hazards, University College London. Thesis: Reconciling SO₂ flux and ground deformation data on Mount Etna.
2004-2006 Diploma in Geosciences, Open University
2005-2006 Mathematical Methods and Modelling, Open University
2002-2003 M.Phil Medieval Literature, Emmanuel College, Cambridge
1998-2001 B.A English (first class), Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Awards and scholarships

NERC-ESRC PhD Studentship, 2007-10
Philip Lake fund, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, 2009
William Vaughan Lewis, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, 2009
College prize, Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 2001
Bachelor Scholarship, Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 2001

Research

Amy's interests lie in the interface between the human and physical geographies of risk on volcanoes. She has applied both social and physical scientific methods to try to understand the complexities of societal interaction with science under uncertainty in this context. Current projects include a global survey of volcano observatories to elucidate scientists' perceptions of risk (working with Professor Dick Eiser at the University of Sheffield, and Professor Steve Sparks at the University of Bristol), and analysis of petrological and gas geochemical data from Iceland and Montserrat (with Dr Clive Oppenheimer and Dr Vitchko Tsanev at the University of Cambridge).

Amy's Ph.D. research concerned the nature and use of volcanological expertise in advising policy makers on active volcanoes. This involved analysis of scientific data and reports, interviews with stakeholders, scientists and policymakers, and participant-observation. Key issues are the balance between research and monitoring activities at observatories, the use and benefits of new technologies for monitoring purposes, recent developments in risk assessment and the translation of science into the policy arena. Amy focussed on persistently active volcanoes, where there is long-term pressure on scientists to assess and predict volcanic hazards, and her primary field site is Montserrat, West Indies.

The Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK) provides a powerful lens through which volcanology can be examined in relation to other disciplines and to the history of science. The placing of volcanology both geographically and historically, and the pressures of public safety and political expediency have created a discipline that unites aspects of geochemistry and geophysics in a unique social and scientific context, heavily influenced by wider disciplines such as risk analysis and hazard management. Montserrat is an ideal location for a transdisciplinary study of these relationships: the ongoing eruption has involved interaction between scientists and local authorities over 14 years, and has generated significant advancements both in academic science and in risk management.

The methods used for this project included 5 months of ethnographic study at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, interviews , document and questionnaire analysis, and scientific inference. Further fieldwork was carried out in Iceland and Italy. The project was funded by a NERC-ESRC studentship.

Publications

Publications and reports

Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., "Governing the lithosphere: Insights from Eyjafjallajokull", Journal of Geophysical Research (2012).
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Science at the policy interface: Volcano-monitoring technologies and volcanic hazard management" Bulletin of Volcanology (2012).
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., "The Aviation Sagas: Volcanic Risk Revisited" The Geographical Journal (2012).
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Rationalising a crisis through literature: Montserratian verse and the descriptive reconstruction of an island", Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 203(3-4):87-101 doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2011.03.010 (2011).
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Social Studies of Volcanology: Knowledge-generation and expert advice on active volcanoes", Bulletin of Volcanology DOI: 10.1007/s00445-011-0547-z (2011).
Donovan, A.R. "Earthquakes and volcanoes: Risks from geophysical hazards" in Roeser, S., Hillerbrand, R., Sandin, P., Peterson, M., eds, The Handbook of Risk Theory (Springer, 2011).
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., "The 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption and the reconstruction of Geography", The Geographical Journal 177(1):4-11 doi:10.1111/j.1475-4959.2010.00379.x (2011).
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Geographies of risk: Volcanological discourse on Montserrat and the blurring of subject and object" (in review, 2011).
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Reflexive volcanology: Fifteen years of communicating risk and uncertainty in scientific advice on Montserrat" (in review, 2011).
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Narratives of uncertainty: Expert elicitation and policy advice on Montserrat", (in review, 2012).
Donovan, A.R., "Report to the MVO on the status of the petrological database", January 2010.
Donovan, A.R., "Report to the MVO on the whole-rock geochemistry of the Soufriere Hills magma", December 2009.
Barclay, J., Herd, R.A., Edwards, B.R., Christopher, T., Kiddle, E.J., Plail, M., Donovan, A.R., "Caught in the act: Implications for the increasing abundance of mafic enclaves during the recent eruptive episodes of the Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat", Geophysical Research Letters, Vol 37, L00E09, 2010.
Donovan, A.R., Bravo, M., Oppenheimer, C., "Co-production of an institution: Montserrat Volcano Observatory and the social dependence on science", forthcoming (PhD-based)
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Modelling risk and risking models: Delineating the safe zone on Montserrat", forthcoming (PhD-based).
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "At the mercy of the mountain? The culture of volcanology" forthcoming (PhD-based).

Presentations

Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Science in the context of advice: Volcanic risk assessments on Montserrat", oral presentation, "Young Scientists" session, Integrated Research in Disaster Reduction International Conference, Beijing, November 2011.
Donovan, A.R., Barnie, T., Ilyinskaya, E., Tsanev, V., Oppenheimer, C., "Multidisciplinary remote sensing of the Fimmvorduhalsi fissure eruption, South Iceland, March-April 2010", oral presentation, William Smith Meeting of the Geological Society of London, October 2011.
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Reflexive volcanology: Montserrat's contribution to global volcanic risk management", oral presentation, Soufriere Hills Volcano: Fifteen years on, Montserrat, West Indies, April 2011.
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Literature and the public consciousness: Montserratian verse and the descriptive reconstruction of an island", oral presentation, Volcanoes, Landscapes and Cultures, Catania, November 2009. Presented in revised form at Cities on Volcanoes 6, Tenerife, May/June 2010.
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "What is Volcanology? Expertise and experience in risk assessment on active volcanoes", poster presentation, Cities on Volcanoes 6, Tenerife, May/June 2010.
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Uncertainty under the microscope: Deliberations, scientific advice and expert elicitation on Montserrat", oral presentation, Cities on Volcanoes 6, Tenerife, May/June 2010.
Donovan, A.R., "Expertise in crisis: The role of volcanologists in framing policy advice on Montserrat", oral presentation, European Association for the Study of Science and Technology, Trento, September 2010.
Donovan, A.R., "Narratives of uncertainty: Scientific advice and policy making on Montserrat", Graduate seminar series, Dept of Geography, University of Cambridge, 2009.
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "The culture of volcanology? Ethnographical reflections on monitoring and research", oral presentation, Volcanoes, Landscapes and Cultures, Catania, November 2009.
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Translating science: Risk, uncertainty and policy analysis", poster presentation, UCL conference: Disaster Risk Reduction - Putting research into practice, November 2009.
Donovan, A.R., Oppenheimer, C., Bravo, M., "Public engagement with developing science: New technologies and volcanic hazard management at persistently active volcanoes", poster presentation, IAVCEI General Assembly, Reykjavik, 2008.

Teaching

IA Environmental Processes (Volcanoes/tectonics) supervisor/lecturer, 2010-2011
IB Environmental Hazards: Volcanic hazards supervisor 2008-11
IB Environmental Hazards: Social aspects of risk supervisor 2009-11
IB Earth Observation: Remote sensing of volcanic plumes supervisor, 2008-9
IB Environmental Hazards: Lectures/supervisions on Earthquake Hazard, 2009-11
Part II Volcanology supervisor/lecturer, 2009-11

External activities

External activities and short courses

Cambridge Volcanology Group
Co-convenor of the Risk and Uncertainty Reading Group in the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities
Co-convenor of Departmental Graduate Seminar
Travelling Knowledges Reading Group (Dept of Geography)
Member of the International Association for Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI)
Member of 4S: Society for Social Studies of Science and of the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology.
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
Fellow of the Geological Society of London
Member of the American Geophysical Union
IAVCEI 2008 Workshop on field-based methodologies for quantifying eruptive activity
IAVCEI 2008 Workshop on developments in explosive volcanism
AIV 2008 Summer School of Volcanology: Stromboli
Melts, glasses, magmas - short course in Munich, 2009
PADI Divemaster
Literary interests: Amy is interested in the literature of natural disasters. This relates to a wider interest in the poetics and aesthetics of nature, especially in the Romantic period (which included several significant volcanic eruptions). A further interest is in the use of medieval romance as popular, vernacular religious discourse, a particular example being the character of Merlin in late fourteenth-century France and fifteenth-century England.