Professor May Tan-Mullins

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Arts (Honours), National University of Singapore
• PhD, Geography, National University of Singapore

Biography

Professor May Tan-Mullins became Dean International, James Cook University on the 1 Sept 2021. She was the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning with the University of Nottingham Ningbo China and Director of multiple CEEC think tanks in China. She also worked in Durham University, UK and National University of Singapore. In addition, she is a recipient of the esteemed Camellia Friendship Award from the Ningbo government, China, in 2018 and Westlake Friendship Award from Zhejiang provincial government, China, in 2020.

May Tan-Mullins’s research interests are political ecology of rising China, environmental and energy justice, poverty alleviation and building resilience for the poorest and most vulnerable in the Tropics. Based on her expertise in various international development and human security issues, she was a consultant for the UNDP, National Bureau of Asian Research (US), Revenue Watch Institute (US) and the Chinese government. Professor May Tan-Mullins was also awarded the prestigious global Rockefeller Bellagio writing residency in Bellagio Centre, Lake Como in Italy. Some of her most current research projects is with the University of Nottingham UK and University of Philippines on ‘Poverty Alleviation in Post Typhoon Yolanda’ awarded by ESRC-DFID (2015-2018) and another project by the Research Council of Norway on the topic of ‘Roads to Power? The Political Effects of Infrastructure Projects in Asia (2021-2024).

Research Interests

• Political Ecology
• Comprehensive Sustainability of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
• Green BRI
• Building Comprehensive Resilience for Climate Change in the Tropics