Lorna M. Hughes


Lorna M. Hughes is a digital humanities professor and academic researcher at the University of Glasgow, where she has worked since 2015. Her research focuses on digital cultural heritage and the use of digital collections in academic and public contexts. She has also studied digital methods in the humanities and their intersections with scientific disciplines.

Career

Hughes has contributed to the development of digital archives and hybrid digital collections in memory institutions in the United Kingdom and United States.
She was previously Chair in Digital Humanities at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in 2015. From 2011 to 2015, she held the University of Wales Chair in Digital Collections, based at the National Library of Wales. She has also held positions at New York University, University of Oxford, King's College London, and Arizona State University.
Hughes has also made media appearances, including BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, where she discussed the sustainability of digital cultural heritage.
In 2020, Hughes was elected to the Academia Europaea.

Research and publications

Hughes has authored and edited several books and articles on digital humanities, including:Digitizing Collections: Strategic Issues for the Information Manager Digital Collections: Use, Value and Impact The Virtual Representation of the Past Cultural Heritage Infrastructures in Digital Humanities
Hughes' digital projects include Rhyfel Byd 1914-1918 a'r profiad Cymreig / Welsh Experience of the First World War 1914-1918.

Collaborative research

Hughes' research is interdisciplinary and collaborative. She has participated in over twenty funded research projects, including:The Snows of Yesteryear: Narrating Extreme WeatherThe Welsh Experience of the First World WarThe EPSRC-AHRC Scottish National Heritage PartnershipLiving Legacies 1914-18 Engagement CentreListening and British Cultures: Listeners' Responses to Music in Britain, c. 1700-2018DESIR
She co-founded Europeana Research with Alistair Dunning and Agiatis Benardou and has chaired the Europeana Research Advisory Board since 2015.
Hughes is also a member of the Governing Board of EuroScience and became its vice-president in 2018.

National Library of Wales

From 2011 to 2015, Hughes was Chair in Digital Collections at the University of Wales, a position based at the National Library of Wales. Her work focused on documentary heritage and material culture in Welsh collections.
One of her major projects was Rhyfel Byd 1914-1918 a'r profiad Cymreig / Welsh Experience of the First World War 1914-1918, an integrated collection of digitized materials about the war’s impact on Wales. The project was funded by the Jisc e-content program and launched by the Welsh Government’s Minister of Culture in 2013.