Three LSE academics elected as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences

Three LSE academics have become Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Professor Olivier Accominotti, Professor Leigh Gardner and Professor Eric Schneider are among 63 Fellows who have been elected to the Academy this autumn.

The Academy of Social Sciences is the UK’s national body for academics, practitioners and learned societies in the social sciences. It recognises Fellows for excellence and significant contributions to advancing social science for public benefit. Election is through independent peer review, evaluating both the quality and societal impact of their work.

Olivier Accominotti, Professor of Economic History was elected to the Academy for his work on the history of money and finance.

Commenting on his nomination, Professor Accominotti said: "It is a great honour to be elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. My research examines the long-run evolution of the global financial system. I explore the networks of banks, firms, investors, and institutions that shape the world economy. I study how these networks have transformed international finance over the centuries and what this reveals about the workings of financial markets and power relationships in the global economy.

"Grounded in historical research, my work draws on insights from multiple social sciences to make sense of economic and financial phenomena. This approach aligns with the Academy’s mission to promote the social sciences, and I believe this interdisciplinary perspective is essential for understanding the economic and policy challenges of our time."

Leigh Gardner, Professor in Economic History was elected to the Academy for her work on African development during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Commenting on her nomination, Professor Gardner said: "I am honoured to have been elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences after being nominated by the Economic History Society. It was not so long ago that African economic history was considered a fringe field, so it is deeply gratifying to see work in this area recognised as a core part of the social sciences.

"My research combines social science methods with archival research to investigate patters of African development during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Public engagement and service to the discipline have also been important parts of my career and I look forward to making further contributions to both as a fellow of the AcSS."

Eric Schneider, Professor of Economic History was elected to the Academy for his work on historical changes in child health.

Commenting on his nomination, Professor Schneider said: "It means a lot to be elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. I am a strong believer in interdisciplinary research. My own research has been inspired by historians’ careful understanding of context and sources, economists’ rigorous approach to cause and effect, demographers’ precision of measurement and descriptive detail, and human biologists’ insights into evolutionary and biological processes. It is exciting to join a body that promotes interdisciplinary engagement.

"Together, these perspectives have shaped my research agenda to understand historical changes in child health. Over the past 15 years, I have worked with more than forty collaborators to understand how child health has changed over time, including a global project that tracked child growth in 122 countries back over a century. There are striking patterns: British children in 1900 were similarly stunted as Indian children today. This research helps inform today’s fight against child malnutrition."

Read the press release here.