Professors Matthew Williams and Marysia Zalewski have been elected to the Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences this spring.
Professor Matthew Williams, Professor of Criminology at the School of Social Sciences, and Professor Marysia Zalewski, Professor of International Relations at the School of Law and Politics were part of a cohort of 74 new Fellows who joined the Academy in Spring 2026.
Professor Williams is a world-leading expert in Criminology at the School of Social Sciences. He is the Director of Hate Lab and the Social Data Science Lab, as well as co-founder and Chief Scientist at Nisien.AI . His research focuses on hate crime, hate speech, extremism online, and cybercrime, utilising computational social science methodologies. His work has received extensive media coverage and has informed key governmental frameworks on hate crime. Additionally, he has contributed to major grants and research initiatives in cybercrime, collaborating across disciplines and securing over £14 million in research income. He serves on the editorial boards of several prominent journals and is an active member of the ESRC's Peer Review College. He is author of The Science of Hate, which was published in 2021.
Professor Williams said: "Fellowship feels like a responsibility to keep doing the hard work of translation between research, policy, and practice. I value the Academy's role as a voice for the social sciences and as a convenor across academia, learned societies, and practitioners."
"For me, it also validates a model of impact that includes commercialisation, in the sense of taking robust evidence and building it into tools and services that organisations can use responsibly. I see it as a platform to strengthen partnerships between researchers, government, and industry, while keeping public benefit at the centre of the work."
Professor Marysia Zalewski is a prominent academic in International Relations at the School of Law and Politics, specialising in global politics through critical feminist theories. Her research explores the intersections of critical international relations, feminist, queer, and political theory, focusing on topics like sexual violence against men and the future of gender in international politics. With eight internationally acclaimed books and over 50 peer-reviewed essays, her research has garnered support from several prestigious organisations, including the British Academy and The Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2013, she received the Eminent Scholarship from the International Studies Association, becoming the first British scholar to do so. Currently, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of the International Feminist Journal of Politics and co-series editor for the Creative Interventions in Global Politics book series.
"I'm delighted to be joining the Academy of Social Sciences. As an interdisciplinary field of study, the social sciences produce a wealth of impactful knowledge and I am glad to play a part in contributing to its further advancement."
The Academy's Fellowship comprises 1700 leading social scientists from academia, the public, private and third sectors. Our Fellows' expertise covers the breadth of the social sciences, and their practice and research helps to understand and address some of the major challenges facing communities, society, places and economies. All Academy Fellows are elected for their excellence in their fields and their substantial contributions to social science for public benefit. Selection is through an independent peer review which recognises their excellence and impact.
President of the Academy, Will Hutton FAcSS, said, "I'm delighted to welcome these leading social scientists to the Academy's Fellowship this spring. Their substantial contributions have furthered knowledge and our understanding in tackling a wide range of societal challenges. We look forward to working with them to further promote the important role the social sciences play in our daily lives."
The full list of this spring's Fellows can be found on the Academy of Social Science's website .
