Felix Driver

Felix Driver is a Professor of Human Geography at the Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London. He specializes in collections-based research and public engagement in the arts and humanities, with a focus on environmental humanities, museum studies, and imperial history. He leads major projects such as the AHRC-funded Plant Humanities initiative and the Mobile Museum research project in collaboration with Kew Gardens. A Fellow of the British Academy, he is also an Honorary Research Associate at Kew Gardens.

His research interests include historical geography, cultural geography, and the intersections between botany, museums, and heritage. He has pioneered studies on the mobility of biocultural collections, the visual culture of exploration, and imperial cities. Driver has co-supervised numerous PhD studentships with institutions like the Royal Geographical Society and the British Library, emphasizing collaborative research.

Driver has received prestigious awards such as the Times Higher Supervisor of the Year 2024 and the Royal Geographical Society’s Patron’s Medal. His work bridges academic and public spheres through exhibitions, oral history projects, and partnerships with cultural institutions.

His teaching includes courses on historical geography, Victorian Studies, and museum collections, as well as leadership roles in the MA in Cultural Geography and MSc in Global Futures programs. Key collaborations include the Oral History of the Environmental Movement UK project with the British Library and the Wildlife Trusts.

Labs/Teams: Royal Holloway Centre for the GeoHumanities, Plant Humanities project (Kew Gardens collaboration), and the Mobile Museum research collective.