Simon Popple is Senior Lecturer in Photography and Digital Culture in the School of Media and Communication at the University of Leeds. His research is focused on the role of the archive and the use of digital tools in storytelling and the voicing of community histories. He has published widely on archival, photographic and historical themes. The role of memory and visual memorialisation is central to his work, and he teaches photographic history and theory with a focus on the making of meaning through photographic practice.

Simon has worked with a range of community and arts organisations, charities and SEND education providers, national institutions including the BBC, BFI and the Science Museum Group and has led several AHRC funded projects in this area. He is currently a Co-I on the Congruence Engine project responsible for digital translation of archival resources for community partners