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Research Impact
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Research to empower and inspire

We are a globally outstanding centre of teaching, learning and research excellence. We are a world top 100 university, with 10 of our subjects ranked in the world top 50 and 22 in the world top 100 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026. We conduct innovative and impactful research to transform lives and make a difference, globally and locally: research to empower and inspire.
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Explore our global research

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  • Research Impact at Durham

    Read about our Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 impact case studies.

    Aerial view of Durham

  • Global Culture

    Interested in how the cultural activities of Durham's staff and student bodies enrich life worldwide? Head to the Global Culture page to find out.

    Bollywood Dance group at the Oriental museum, Holi Festival, indian dance

Research Impact at Durham

Read about our Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 impact case studies.

Aerial view of Durham

Global Culture

Interested in how the cultural activities of Durham's staff and student bodies enrich life worldwide? Head to the Global Culture page to find out.

Bollywood Dance group at the Oriental museum, Holi Festival, indian dance

Latest news

Black holes may be the engines driving the universe’s dark energy

Researchers at Durham and collaborators in the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) mission have proposed a bold new theory that black holes could be converting matter into dark energy.
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument is mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory—a program of NSF NOIRLab—in Arizona

What does it really take to succeed in academic careers? Job ads reveal all

Durham’s School of Education has an established International Centre for the Comparative Study of Doctoral Education (ICCSDE), bringing together leading global researchers in the field of doctoral education.
Graduate wearing a cap and gown looking into a telescope

Durham professor contributes to UK Parliamentary intelligence report on Iran

Our renowned international relations expert, Professor Anoush Ehteshami, has played a key role in a high-profile Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) inquiry.
Professor Anoush Ehteshami is pictured against a plain background

Katalin Sulyok – Lead Author in Working Group 3 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Dr Katalin Sulyok has been selected as Lead Author in Working Group 3 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) during the IPCC's 7th Assessment Cycle running until 2029.
Group of windmills for electric power production in the green field of wheat

Understanding readers’ imaginations could enhance mental health therapies

A new tool to understand how people imagine differently when reading could have potential implications for the treatment of mental ill health.
Cards scattered on a table with the central card reading ReaderBank

A Bermuda stalagmite reveals how the Gulf Stream shifted – and what it might do as the climate changes further

An ancient Bermuda stalagmite has revealed more about past shifting of the Gulf Stream. Professor James Baldini, in our Department of Earth Sciences, and PhD candidate Edward Forman, Climate Tipping Points, University of Southampton, tell us more and what it could mean for a major system of ocean currents.
A cave with stalactites hanging from the ceiling being reflected in a pool of water beneath them.

Strengthening our research partnerships in Australia and New Zealand

During a recent visit, Professor Mike Bentley and Professor James Osborn met with Australian and New Zealand partners to develop research collaborations in Antarctic research and Space and Satellite applications.
A group of people standing on a balcony, facing the camera

UK Proteostasis Network receives BBSRC Network Grant

The UK’s proteostasis capability has been bolstered by the award of a BBSRC Network Grant. The grant will support the future development of the UK Proteostasis Network over the next three years.
A field of wheat against the backdrop of a blue sky

Melsonby Hoard saved for the nation

One of the UK’s largest and most important Iron Age finds – excavated by archaeologists at Durham University – has been saved for the nation.
Close up of on ornate iron age artefact being held in a person's hands.

Magnetic wave mapping breakthrough could speed up your phone

An international team of researchers including physicists here in Durham have made a breakthrough that could help make our phones and computers faster and more energy efficient.
Artistic impression of a magnon spin wave generated and detected by electron microscopy

R&D disclosures can predict future earnings - if investors focus on language, not just figures

Investors looking to predict future company performance should pay closer attention to the language used in R&D disclosures rather than just the financial figures.
Colleagues discussing marketing and financial reports

Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought

The Milky Way could have many more satellite galaxies than scientists have previously been able to predict or observe.
A simulation showing a bright white galaxy at the centre, surrounded by fainter galaxies, against a black backdrop.
Sample tubes being held by purple latex gloves over a light box

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