Risk Management
Work on risk is associated largely with two members of the department's faculty – Prof Sue Cox (also dean of the school) and Dr Jerry Busby. Prof Cox’s main research interests are in safety culture, climate and leadership. Dr Busby’s research interests are in risk analysis. Our concerns are primarily with risks of catastrophic failure in hazardous operations, with the management of risk at societal levels, and with risk of project failure. Examples of recently completed studies include those on:
- Organizational learning and safety in nuclear power plants (funded by the EC).
- Organizational degradation in the nuclear power industry (funded by the NII).
- Risk leadership in the offshore oil and gas industry (funded by the HSE).
- Risk migration in brominated flame retardants (funded by the Leverhulme Trust).
- Risk amplification and zoonotic disease outbreaks (funded by EPSRC).
Our current lines of interest of include:
- Resilience and risk in future computer networks.
- Risk and the counterfeiting of safety critical commodities.
- How to analyse risk bearers’ complicity in risk.
PhD applicants
We welcome applications to undertake PhDs in any area of risk analysis and management. Generally our aim is to publish our work in the main risk journals or the journals of related fields, and to present at the main risk conferences. For recent publications see web pages for Dr Jerry Busby and Professor Sue Cox.
Potential PhD topic example: Counterfeiting-resilient supply chains.
If you have any queries you wish to discuss, please contact Jerry Busby via email: j.busby@lancaster.ac.uk or via phone on (01524) 594447.
If you would like to apply for a PhD, please see our PhD admissions page.
