Becky Alexis-Martin is a Lecturer in Peace Studies. Contact me at: [email protected]

We live in a nuclear age, and it has arguably never been more important to explore the human aspects of ionising radiation. Nuclear geography is my chosen field, as it offers a uniquely spatiotemporal and human perspective upon some of the critical issues of our time, including defence, energy production, emergency, security, home, family and activism.

She is the Principal Investigator of Nuclear Families, a large-scale, multidisciplinary social sciences project which explores the lives of the British Nuclear test veterans and their families. She is also the Principal Investigator of Atomic Atolls, a study that explores the colonial necropolitics of the South Pacific.

Her doctoral research examined differentials in radiation exposure to different demographics during hypothetical nuclear accident scenarios. This work included a combination of statistical and computational modelling approaches, and resulted in the development of a new modelling framework called RADPOP, which improves upon current understanding of how the location of populations in space and time may affect their exposure outcomes. Her other academic work has explored the psychosocial impacts of radiation emergencies upon female survivors, the perceptions of risk associated with ionising radiation exposure, and benefits of digital communities for radiation emergency survivor support.
​
Prior to joining academia, Becky worked in emergency planning, where she gained practical experience of radiation emergency preparedness. In addition to her academic work, Becky is an enthusiastic science communicator and has previously spoken at the Royal Geographical Society, International Geosciences Union, University of Leeds, PHE, GISRUK, Popfest and Bestival. She has also produced high-quality international science journalism for publishers including The Guardian, The Independent, The Conversation, UCAS, Resilience Magazine, Guru Magazine and the BNTVA.

Recent projects and initiatives in which has taken a key role include:

• Head of Research: Centre de Recherche et d’Information pour le Désarmement et la Sécurité (CRIDS) (work spans Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte D’Ivoire, Togo, France, Belgium and the UK).
• Alexis-Martin, B. 2022. (Speaker) “Effectiveness of promoting gender equality in the field of disarmament to achieve SDGs in Africa”. United Nations High Level Political Forum.
• Author of Disarming Doomsday: the Human Impact of Nuclear Weapons since Hiroshima. Winner of the L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First Book Prize 2020. Shortlisted for the Bread and Roses Award 2020.
• Nominated for Positive Role Model for Disability Award, the National Diversity Awards.
• One of the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 2022. This award is given to the UK's 100 most influential disabled people, in recognition of outstanding achievements in their field.