World-leading work on tsunami impact

Software has been developed to help protect vulnerable coastal communities from the impact of tsunamis. The mathematical model can predict the flow induced by the tsunami as it hits land. It can predict the run-up and flooding as the tsunami hits the coast and should inform the future design and location of buildings and structures in tsunami prone areas. Professor Nicholas Dodd, from the Coastal Dynamics and Engineering Group (CoDEG) in the Infrastructure and Geomatics Division of the Faculty of Engineering, said: “This software, and indeed the work we’ve been doing generally on swash type motions, is world leading. For the first time we have reasonable confidence that we can accurately predict the morphological impact of a tsunami from a given a sediment transport description, as well as the inundation.”

Smart approach to changing attitudes?

An academic at the University believes that providing information about saved carbon emissions through new ‘smart meters’ could be more effective in persuading consumers to changing their behaviour than by demonstrating savings on their bills alone. Dr Alexa Spence, an academic in the School of Psychology and a research fellow at the Horizon Digital Economy Research hub, is an expert in public perceptions of climate change and energy issues. She spoke at the two-day international conference Energy and People: Futures, Complexity and Challenges, jointly hosted by the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) and the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University last month. Smart meters can remotely communicate with energy companies to provide accurate meter readings without the need for someone to come and physically read the meter.

Nottingham School is best in the business

Nottingham University Business School remains the UK’s leading provider for MBAs which offer future business leaders a valuable insight into wider corporate social responsibility, according to a prestigious international survey.

It is the fourth time the school has retained the top national spot in the Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking, an independent biennial survey of the world’s Top 100 MBAs focused on social and environmental impact conducted by The Aspen Institute in the US.

In the 2011 survey, Nottingham also outstrips all other UK business schools — and comes in at 23 globally — in the research element of the ranking, which judges faculties on the quality of its research output incorporating social, ethical and environmental business issues.

Alumnus picks up prestigious award

A tech start-up founded by a Nottingham University Business School alumnus and entrepreneur has a bright future ahead, according to judges at a prestigious regional business awards.

Aware Monitoring, one of the UK’s fastest-growing website performance monitoring companies, picked up the Most Promising New Business accolade at the recent Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce Best Business Awards 2011.

The company, set up by Nottingham graduate Nick Barker and co-founder Simon Oxley, was recognised for its innovative service, providing businesses with real-time updates on the content load time, availability and optimisation of their website.

Reality check

Scientists and industrialists brought their latest ideas to the University for the Joint Virtual Reality Conference (JVRC) 2011.

The international conference, where industry meets science, featured live demonstrations in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and 3D user interfaces (3DUI).

It was hosted by the Human Factors Research Group (HFRG) and the Mixed Reality Lab, which includes internationally recognised groups such as the Virtual Reality Applications Research Team Institute for Occupational Ergonomics and the Centre for Rail Human Factors. Projects included using VR to help children with autism to collaborate with each other, designing technologies for the elderly and people with limited capabilities, and how VR/AR/MR can address the decline of manufacturing industries in Europe.