Professor Martin Paul Eve awarded Medal of Honour in the Humanities and Social Sciences
The Medal of Honour is awarded to laureates of exceptional academic or social distinction, who make a unique contribution to the mutual relationship between faculties and universities.
Martin Paul Eve, Professor of Literature, Technology and Publishing at Birkbeck, has been awarded the Medal of Honour in the Humanities and Social Sciences by KU Leuven in Belgium. The Medal of Honour is awarded to laureates of exceptional academic or social distinction, who make a unique contribution to the mutual relationship between faculties and universities.
Professor Eve is known for his higher education policy work around open access (OA), in addition to his research interests in contemporary American fiction, histories and philosophies of technology, and technological mutations in scholarly publishing.
Professor Bart Raymaekers, a member of the Executive Committee of the Humanities and Social Group of KU Leuven said: “In granting this Medal of Honour, the Executive Committee wishes to recognise Martin’s commitment towards research integrity and his unique contribution to the field of OA.
“The biggest merit of his theoretical work is the fact that he - amidst many different, often sectarian, opinions – offers rational and factual arguments for a sustainable form of scholarly communication which serves, rather than profits from, research. The model he argues for not only benefits researchers but also the institutes and academic libraries at which they work. It could, therefore, prove to become a real game changer in scholarly communication.
“What is more, Martin practices what he preaches as one of the founding directors (together with Caroline Edwards) of the Open Library of Humanities (OLH) - a non-profit publisher devoted to OA run by academics. KU Leuven’s decision to become a member of the OLH proves our mutual concern.”
In addition to co-founding the OLH, Eve is currently leading a major project into the peer review process, analysing its role in the research cycle to develop better ways of using expert opinion to assess and improve published research. Generous financial support from friends of the College has played a key role in enabling Martin's work.
He said: "I am absolutely delighted to have been awarded this prestigious medal from KU Leuven University, among the oldest and most respected universities in Europe. I have spent many years working for the open availability of humanities research for the public good. To have been recognised for this work is thrilling."
Professor Matthew Innes, Vice Master at Birkbeck said: “Martin is an exceptional academic and one of the College’s youngest Professors. His consistently impactful research and his extensive achievements in open access publishing make him a deserving recipient of this prestigious award. Congratulations from all of us at Birkbeck.”
The Medal will be formally awarded at a ceremony in May 2018.