The Macaulay Institute, formally the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and sometimes referred to simply as The Macaulay, is a research institute based at

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, which is now part of the

James Hutton Institute The James Hutton Institute is an interdisciplinary scientific research institute in Scotland established in 2011, through the merger of Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) and the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute. The institute, named aft ...

. Its work covers aspects such as landscape,

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

and

water conservation Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human demand (thus avoiding water scarcity). Popula ...

and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

History

The Macaulay Institute for Soil Research was founded in 1930. A benefaction of £10,000 from one of Canada's Scottish sons, Thomas Bassett Macaulay, of the Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada was used to purchase 50 acres and buildings at Craigiebuckler in Aberdeen. Macaulay's aim was to improve the productivity of Scottish agriculture. Thomas Bassett Macaulay was a descendant of

Macaulay family of Lewis The Macaulay family of Uig in Lewis, known in Scottish Gaelic as ''Clann mhic Amhlaigh'', were a small family located around Uig on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. There is no connection between the Macaulays of Lewis and C ...

, who were centred on the

Hebridean The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebri ...

Isle of Lewis. He was true to his Hebridean roots throughout his life, often giving large donations to Lewis, which funded various projects including a new library and a new wing at Lewis hospital. The new Macaulay Institute opened on a site near Bucksburn in April 1987. It was formed by the merger of the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research and the Hill Farm Research Organisation. The proposed merger was announced in December 1985 with the government anticipating that it would result in cost savings. It was established to carry out research in support of the agricultural industry, taking account of the interaction between the industry and other land users, and set in the context of the environmental objectives of the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. In April 2011, the Macaulay Institute merged with SCRI (Scottish Crop Research Institute) in Dundee to form the

. The

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the new institute is Professor Iain Gordon.

Research

Climate Change experiment at Culardoch - geograph

It is an international centre for research and consultancy on the environmental and social consequences of rural land uses. Interdisciplinary research across the environmental and social sciences aims to support the protection of natural resources, the creation of integrated

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long ...

systems, and the development of sustainable rural communities. With an annual income from research and consultancy of over £11million, the Macaulay Institute is the largest interdisciplinary research organisation of its kind in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. It is one of the main research providers to the Scottish Government and currently about 75% of the Macaulay's income is related to commissioned research programmes, principally on "Land Use and Rural Stewardship". The 300 staff and postgraduate students are drawn from over 25 countries, and conduct research in Scotland, across Europe and internationally, with a wide range of partner organisations. Their goal is that the research they undertake provides evidence that will help shape future environmental and rural-development policy both in Scotland and internationally. The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute was a registered charity since 1931. Commercial services are delivered through Macaulay Scientific Consulting Ltd, its subsidiary consultancy company.Macaulay Scientific Consulting Ltd
/ref> The mineral Macaulayite is named after the institute.

Notable Directors

* William Ogg Gammie FRSE LLB (1930 to 1943) * Donald McArthur FRSE (1948 to 1958) * Robert Lyell Mitchell FRSE (1968 to 1975) *

Thomas Summers West Thomas Summers West (18 November 1927 – 9 January 2010) was a British chemist. Life Early years He was born in 1927 in Peterhead, Scotland and educated at Old Tarbat Public School in Portmahomack and then Tain Royal Academy. He then studied ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, FRS, FRSE (1975 to 1987)

Head of Microbiology

Donald Webley Dr Donald Martin Webley FRSE FIB (1916–1990) was a 20th-century British microbiologist. In authorship he is usually known as D. M. Webley. Life He was born in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales on 24 January 1916, the son of Ernest Stanley Webley an ...

FRSE (1945 to 1975)

Affiliations

The Macaulay Institute is a member of the Aberdeen Research Consortium which also includes: *

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

* FRS Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen *

Rowett Research Institute The Rowett Institute is a research centre for studies into food and nutrition, located in Aberdeen, Scotland. History The institute was founded in 1913 when the University of Aberdeen and the North of Scotland College of Agriculture agreed ...

* Robert Gordon University *

Scottish Agricultural College Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) is a public land based research institution focused on agriculture and life sciences. Its history stretches back to 1899 with the establishment of the West of Scotland Agricultural College and its current organis ...

Current work

LADSS and AGRIGRID are examples of projects that are being undertaken at the institute.

References

External links

Macaulay Institute Official Site

Macaulay Scientific Consulting Ltd

James Hutton Institute
{{authority control Agriculture in Scotland Environment of Scotland Research institutes in Scotland Economy Directorates Public bodies of the Scottish Government Environmental research institutes Charities based in Aberdeen Agricultural research institutes in the United Kingdom Government research