Campus News

Soaring ambition for aerospace

November 2nd, 2014

Nottingham is cementing its reputation as an internationally recognised centre for aerospace research in what is said to be the best funding environment for the industry since the Concorde era.

The University’s Institute for Aerospace Technology (IAT) joined key players at the 2013 Paris Air Show, a showcase for the international aviation industry that drew 2,200 exhibitors from 44 countries and 200 official delegations.

Led by Professor Pat Wheeler, the IAT showcased its innovative approach to integrated, multi-disciplinary research and strong links to industrial partners.

The air show was also an opportunity for the IAT to forge ties with companies and funders as the sector vies for a share of UK and European aerospace funding worth billions of pounds.

Under the Aerospace Growth Partnership, the UK Government is offering £1bn in aerospace funding, which will be matched by industry, as part of a drive to answer the challenge of a projected doubling of global air traffic in the next 15 years.

This environmental impact of this growth in air traffic will be offset by further funding of €3.6bn under Clean Sky 2, a partnership between the European Union and industry aiming to develop technologies to reduce noise and carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft.

Speaking alongside the delegation from Nottingham and other members of the Midlands Aerospace Alliance in Paris, Michael Fallon, Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, announced a further £23m of Government funding for a National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP), which will assist small and medium-sized aerospace suppliers in addressing skills shortages and to improve research and development collaboration.

The IAT is well-placed to seize these funding opportunities. It has a £56m portfolio of more than 70 externally funded projects and is developing leading edge research in aero engines, aircraft systems, metal and composite materials and aerospace manufacturing to support its industry partners.

Its £5.1m Aerospace Technology Centre, which opened on The University of Nottingham Innovation Park in October 2012, enables the Institute to develop, integrate and demonstrate new technologies at a scale and complexity unrivalled by other research institutes in the UK.

In the year since the launch of the Centre, the Institute has signed collaboration agreements with 40 SMEs, underlining its commitment to Midlands businesses, which make up one the world’s major aerospace clusters. The UK boasts the world’s second largest aero industry, a quarter of which is based here in the Midlands.

IAT Director of Research Dr Hervé Morvan said another key success was securing €3.6m funding for Innovate, a Marie Curie Innovative Doctoral Programme (IDP). Innovate’s 13 research engineers, working with 14 industrial partners, will be schooled in the Institute’s integrated, holistic approach to answering the challenges facing the aerospace industry.

Innovate’s research engineers and the IAT are able to draw on the full range of research expertise across the University. IAT Project Manager Rachel Brereton c said:  “We have been identifying all the aerospace-related research across the University and where we can work in an integrated way. We are working with Chemistry, the Business School, Computer Science, Physics, Maths… it’s a truly multi-disciplinary, cross-faculty approach. We have spent a lot of time exploring how we can bring everybody together and engage them in strategic initiatives.”

Dr Morvan added: “We are responding to what industry would like to see. The Institute brings together all the University’s excellent research groups to take on the challenges that have been set by industry. We are able to offer solutions of sufficient scope to interest key players in the aerospace sector.”

Next month, the Institute for Aerospace Technology is holding its second showcase for aerospace technology and innovation. Attendees will hear about UK and EU funding opportunities, visit the Institute’s cutting-edge research facilities, and watch demonstrations of technology developed in collaborations with partners including Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Boeing and GE.

The IAT team also wants to raise awareness across the University that the Institute can offer researchers and academics from a range of disciplines the opportunity to work collaboratively to lift innovative ideas to the technology readiness level required by industry.

The IAT showcase for aerospace technology and innovation takes place at the Sir Colin Campbell Building, Jubilee Campus, on Friday 8 November.

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Faulty ‘switch’ linked to psychotic symptoms

November 2nd, 2014

Scientists have shown that psychotic symptoms experienced by people with schizophrenia could be caused by a faulty ‘switch’ within the brain.

In a study published in the journal Neuron, they have demonstrated that the severity of symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations is caused by a disconnection between two important regions in the brain — the insula and the lateral frontal cortex.

The breakthrough, say the academics, could form the basis for better, more targeted treatments for schizophrenia with fewer side effects.

The four-year study, led by Professor Peter Liddle and Dr Lena Palaniyappan in the University’s Division of Psychiatry and based in the Institute of Mental Health, centred on the insula region, a segregated ‘island’ buried deep within the brain, which is responsible for seamless switching between the inner and outer world.

Dr Palaniyappan, a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow, said: “In our daily life, we constantly switch between our inner, private world and the outer, objective world. This switching action is enabled by the connections between the insula and frontal cortex. This switch process appears to be disrupted in patients with schizophrenia. This could explain why internal thoughts sometime appear as external objective reality, experienced as voices or hallucinations.”

Several brain regions are engaged when we are lost in thought or, for example, remembering a past event. However, when interrupted by a loud noise or a person speaking we are able to switch to using our brain’s frontal cortex. With a disruption in the connections from the insula, such switching may not be possible.

The Nottingham scientists used functional MRI (fMRI) imaging to compare the brains of 35 healthy volunteers with those of 38 schizophrenic patients. The results showed that whereas the majority of healthy patients were able to make this switch between regions, the patients with schizophrenia were less likely to shift to using their frontal cortex.

The results suggest that detecting the lack of a positive influence from the insula to the frontal cortex using fMRI could help identify patients with schizophrenia.

Researchers in Nottingham are also looking at a technique called TMS – transcranial magnetic stimulation — which uses a powerful magnetic pulse to stimulate the brain regions that are malfunctioning.

Despite the fact that the insular region is buried so deeply within the brain that TMS would usually be ineffective, the results of the Nottingham study suggest that the loop between the insular and the frontal cortex could be exploited for TMS — if a pulse is delivered to the frontal lobe it could stimulate the insula and reset the ‘switch’.

Other future treatment options could include the use of a compassion-based meditation therapy called mindfulness, which may have the potential to ‘reset’ the switching function of the insula and can promote physical changes within the brain.

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At the root of food security

November 2nd, 2014

A bioscientist at the University’s Centre for Plant Integrative Biology (CPIB) has been recognised by the Royal Society with a prestigious Wolfson Research Merit Award.

The award will support Professor Malcolm Bennett’s research into the ‘hidden half’ of plants and help develop crops with improved root architecture to help meet the challenge of global food security.

The Wolfson awards help UK universities recruit and retain outstanding scientists. Professor Bennett, one of 25 new Wolfson Research Merit Award holders, said: “This award provides recognition for the ground-breaking work of our team to re-engineer root systems and create new, improved and more sustainable varieties of crops.”

Crop production has to double by 2050 to keep pace with global population growth. Climate change, water shortages and moves to environmentally sustainable agriculture all present challenges in achieving this target. Developing crops with the root architecture critical to improved water and nutrient uptake would provide a solution.

Over the last six years, experts from the Schools of Biosciences, Maths, Computer Science and Engineering have worked together at CPIB to build predictive models of the complex interactions that take place in the roots of plants from cell to the field.

The award recognises Professor Bennett’s expertise in root growth and development. Many of the genes and signals that regulate key root traits such as angle, depth and branching density have been identified using a model plant called Arabidopsis thaliana.

Professor Bennett, pictured, is part of a worldwide effort to develop new varieties of crops. He aims to translate his knowledge of key root genes to re-engineer important traits and optimise yields in crops relevant to Europe (wheat), Asia (rice) and Africa (pearl millet) with international collaborators. In the long term, combinations of root traits and novel genes are likely to be required to underpin food security.

The new award, by supporting study of root growth and development, will inform the design of new crops and may transform agriculture over the next 10 to 20 years.

Professor Bennett explained: “To better understand exactly which combination of root traits and genes determine water and nutrient use efficiency in crops, our team is building on recent major investment at Nottingham by the University, the Wolfson Foundation, UK and European research councils. This investment has enabled us to non-invasively visualise crop roots grown in soil employing an unique combination of robotics, X-ray imaging and computer vision software.”

CPIB is funded by the Systems Biology initiative by BBSRC and EPSRC. The centre is one of six across the country sharing funding of £80m.

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Students’ Union’s 100 years

November 2nd, 2014

The University of Nottingham Students’ Union celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

The start of the new academic year kicked off a series of special events and activities, including reunions and exhibitions celebrating a century of welfare, advocacy, campaigning, social events, sporting activities and an ever growing and rich mix of students’ societies.

For many undergraduates extra-curricular activities played a part in their lives which proved at least as important as their academic study. And at the heart of this was, and still is, the Students’ Union.

From its tireless fundraising and voluntary work to its role in providing advice, welfare and entertainment, campaigning and political protest, the Students’ Union has held firm on its determination to make students’ lives better.

Although there was a Student Association in existence at University College, Nottingham as early as 1878, organising talks, presentations and outings to local beauty spots, it was in 1913 that a Students’ Union was formed at Nottingham to replace the Representative Council. Its aims were to promote unity, intercourse and social responsibility and to provide “a proper channel of communication between the students in all matters affecting their interests”.

The subscription was 2s 6d per session which gave admission to athletics clubs and affiliated societies of which there were four in 1913: the literary and philosophical society, the folk dance society, the natural history society and the engineering society. Almost 300 people joined the union in the 1913-14 academic year and from this platform a number of clubs, especially sports, were established.

A lack of space and the paternalistic, tight control of authority seemed to be among the earliest concerns. Conversation in the common rooms was limited to specified times of the day, dancing  was permitted once during each session and refreshments could only be served at a student meeting at the discretion of the Principal.

The First World War years brought about a suspension of student activities but the Union did produce its own handbook in 1915 containing a variety of useful notes including some ‘hints’ for freshers, which included the following guidance:

  • If you feel you want a nursery or a bear garden go outside till it passes off
  • Don’t wear “Here-I-Come” apparel
  • Don’t do a day’s work on Monday and then spend the rest of the week admiring it
  • Endeavour to behave in the common rooms as you would in your home
  • If you have an hour or two to spare don’t go and spend it with a man who hasn’t

The University of Nottingham Students’ Union today is a student-led and independent charity representing 43,000 students in 150 countries across the University’s campuses. It supports more than 200 societies and 77 sports clubs, award-winning radio and TV station, theatre and magazine and Karnival, Europe’s largest student-run charity, which last year raised more than £1.6m for a variety of charities.

Look out for special events throughout the year and please do share your memories.

Calling all the heroes

Whether you graduated this year or more than half a century ago, we can all think of someone who helped make our Nottingham experience memorable. And Alumni Relations is looking for One Hundred Heroes.

As part of the SU centenary celebrations the Alumni team is launching an appeal to all current and former staff and students to tell about the people and the societies who touched their lives most during their time at University so that they might be recognised. It might be a fellow student, a tutor or lecturer, a sports coach or someone in the local community.

There are four categories:

  • Leaders and Champions
  • Unsung Heroes
  • Tutors and Lecturers
  • Clubs and Societies

Some of the best submissions will be showcased in One Hundred Heroes, an exhibition in the Portland Building on University Park in 2014, as well as featuring a selection in an online exhibition.

You can make as many or as few nominations as you wish. Your nomination could just be a few lines or a biography. There will be space to include far more nominations online. If you have photographs, posters, magazines or other memorabilia you can scan and send to Alumni Relations that would be wonderful, or you could lend  material which will be copied and returned to you.

A One Hundred Heroes committee of past and present students will study the submissions and decide what to include in the exhibitions. Closing date for submissions is Friday 20 December 2013.

e: alumni-enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk
t: +44 (0)115 823 2408

One Hundred Heroes
Alumni Relations
University of Nottingham
Portland Building
University Park Campus
Nottingham
NG7 2RD

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Healing power of art

November 2nd, 2014

The pioneering use of art from the early 1800s in helping to treat people with mental health problems is showcased at an exhibition at Lakeside Arts Centre.

Art in the Asylum: creativity and the evolution of psychiatry looks at how British psychiatric institutions used art as therapy.

It features the first exhibition outside Scotland of examples of the earliest use of art by Dr WAF Browne at the Crichton Royal Institution in Dumfries from the 1800s.

Other highlights will include work from the collection of the ‘grandfather of art therapy’, Edward Adamson, at the Netherne Hospital in Surrey from 1946, and the free expression of residents at Kingsley Hall in London, a therapeutic community established by Dr RD Laing in the 1960s. Work by Richard Dadd and Louis Wain represents some of the most well-known patient art associated with ‘Bedlam’ — Bethlem Royal Hospital.

Dr Victoria Tischler, Associate Professor in the Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology and Arts Co-Ordinator for the Institute of Mental Health, based at The University of Nottingham, is co-curator of the exhibition.

She said, “By highlighting the key institutions and influential figures in the history of British mental healthcare, the exhibition traces the historical shift from invasive treatments of mental disorders to a more humane regime in which creativity played a significant role.

“The exhibition also tells the story of the strong influence of continental psychiatry on British practice, and the wider recognition of patient artwork by leading modern artists. Uncovering fascinating stories, this historical overview provides insight into the diagnostic and therapeutic use of patient artwork, its influence on the development of humane psychiatric practice, and its wider recognition by artists associated with Surrealism, Art Brut and so-called Outsider Art.”

Running with Art in the Asylum is a new video installation by Canadian artist Althea Thauberger, featuring a performance of Peter Weiss’ 1963 play Marat/Sade at the Bohnice Psychiatric Hospital, Prague, in 2012.

Marat/Sade imagines the infamous Marquis de Sade as author and director of a play about the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat while the former was interned in the Charenton asylum in 1808. A time of great institutional reform, this period saw the beginnings of the reformation of the treatment of mental illness from punishment to therapy. In the 1963 play, the inmates of the asylum enact the drama, and are always partly themselves, as patients, and partly in historical character.

Thauberger’s filmed production, Marat Sade Bohnice, is performed to an audience of staff and patients in Bohnice, the largest psychiatric clinic in the Czech Republic.

The exhibition will be complemented by a series of free events being held at the Djanogly Art Gallery Lecture Theatre and at Nottingham Contemporary and Broadway Cinema.

Visit: www.lakesidearts.org.uk

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Historic ties to bonds of slavery

November 2nd, 2014

It may be over two hundred years since the abolition of the British slave trade but now untold stories about the trade’s links to stately homes in the East Midlands and Yorkshire have come to light thanks to University researchers and English Heritage.

The research by the School of Geography and Department of History was commissioned by English Heritage and appears in a new book by the organisation, Slavery and the British Country House edited by Madge Dresser and Andrew Hann.

Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire and Brodsworth Hall near Doncaster were studied by Dr Sheryllynne Haggerty from the Department of History and Dr Susanne Seymour from the School of Geography.

Bolsover Castle was owned by the Cavendish and Bentinck families, the dukes of Newcastle and Portland. The researchers focused on the attitudes towards the slave trade and slavery of the third duke of Portland, William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck. He was British Prime Minister twice, in 1783 and from 1807-09 as well as Home Secretary in charge of the British colonies. In contrast, the owner of the old Brodsworth Hall from 1790 was a
French-Swiss-born businessman and financier, Peter Thellusson.

The researchers’ sources included the University’s Portland Collection, which includes the Third Duke’s papers, in its Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections. Dr Haggerty said: “We selected the two properties to investigate different types of landowning interests, aristocratic in the case of Bolsover and mercantile in relation to Brodsworth, and varying types of connection with slavery.”

Dr Seymour added: “Associations of English estate owners with slavery were much more common and complex than has previously been thought. Supporters and abolitionists could even be found within the same family. Communicating these interconnections through exhibitions, displays at country houses and via electronic media promises to create a new openness and understanding of slavery and its various legacies.”

As Home Secretary in the 1790s, Portland supported  Britain’s slave-based Caribbean colonies. There is evidence of a Portland stake in slave-based production and although the third duke was not a Caribbean plantation owner or trader, new links were uncovered to Portland cousins who were slave-estate owners.

Peter Thellusson’s amassed a fortune through commerce with slave traders and owners and, when he died in 1797, he owned more than 4,000 acres of land in England. His descendants built new Brodsworth Hall, which is today maintained by English Heritage.

Portland died owing more than £500,000.

Both characters regarded enslaved Africans as a form of property. For Thellusson, they were a commodity to be traded and invested in as a means of accumulating wealth. For Portland, the slaves were a property right and a cornerstone of the British Empire, to be defended against the increasing social and political debates on abolition and ‘the rights of man’.

This new research will help English Heritage promote public understanding of the ways in which the fortunes of the landed elite and their country houses were intertwined with slavery and the slave trade.

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Record research fund

November 2nd, 2014

University academics secured a record £170m in new grants last year.

Funding during the last financial year represents a 25% increase on the previous year and is an endorsement of the University’s international reputation for research.

Engineering alone more than doubled the grants received, increasing by 118%. Medicine and Health Sciences brought in 38% more funding. Science (15%), Arts (9%) and Social Sciences (17%) also won significant increases.

Grants from Research Councils are up 87%; EU funding has gone up by 25%, Government by 112% and funding from industry by 21.1%.

Professor Saul Tendler, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, said: “These latest figures are excellent news and are a true reflection of the outstanding and world-changing research that is taking place at the University.”

Professor David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor, said: “The outcome represents a huge vote of confidence in our researchers on the part of the key funders of research. The new awards will support a range of exciting and potentially transformational projects.”

Significant individual grants gained this year by Nottingham researchers include:

Engineering: the new £18m EPSRC National Centre of Excellence for Power Electronics is coordinated at Nottingham. Led by Professor Mark Johnson, it involves universities of Manchester, Newcastle, Cambridge, Greenwich, Bristol, Sheffield, Strathclyde, Warwick and Imperial College London. The centre is working with industry to take innovation to the marketplace.

Medicine and Health Sciences: the new £3m MRC-Arthritis UK Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research is a partnership with the University of Birmingham. It is one of two new centres to be funded by the Medical Research Council and Arthritis Research UK.

Science: the new Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Food will be led by the School of Biosciences with £4.5m funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The centre will tackle the key 21st-century challenges of sustainable food production and novel medical devices to improve healthcare.

Social Sciences: the ESRC Network for Integrated Behavioural Science (NIBS) is a partnership between the Universities of Nottingham, Warwick and East Anglia. It will test cross-disciplinary models of human behaviour and behavioural change, and so inform public policy. The Network is funded with £4m until December 2016 by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Arts: success under the Cross-Council Connected Communities Programme has secured funding for collaborative research with community groups, museums, libraries and archives to explore the region’s heritage, such as trade on the River Trent and green spaces in Nottingham. These projects were included in a national showcase of Connected Communities projects run by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in March.

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Transforming campus landscape

November 2nd, 2014

The University’s next phase of its ambitious development programme will bring a further £50m worth of campus improvements.

The on-going transformation of the campus landscape will enhance the student learning experience by providing world-class facilities and setting new standards for teaching and learning in the 21st century.

A £260m investment has already been made into improving buildings and facilities in the last five years.

Professor David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor, said: “Part of our strategy as a university is to continuously look at ways of improving our students’ learning experience. To do this we feel it is vital to invest in the buildings and facilities where we teach in order to provide an exceptional learning environment. This latest programme is particularly important for our sustainability agenda, and the reduction of our environmental footprint has been a priority during planning.”

Construction has started on the four new building projects at University Park, Sutton Bonington, Jubilee Campus and Grove Farm playing fields, with completion expected by 2015.

A £19m replacement for the George Green Science and Engineering Library at University Park will double the size of the existing library, which will get a new facade and extension.

The new Engineering and Science Library will increase student study and computer spaces as well as providing a new catering outlet.

At Sutton Bonington, the £9m construction of a three-storey amenities building will include a 500-seat dining hall, student common rooms and staff lounge and will also house the Graduate Centre, Faith Room and Student Guild Service. The double-height dining hall will create an airy environment with plenty of natural light.

Both will achieve a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) ‘excellent’ rating for sustainable building design.

The latest landmark development on Jubilee Campus is the GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry.

The £20m carbon neutral building will set new standards for the development of laboratories. It will be built from natural materials and its energy needs will be met by renewable sources such as solar power and biofuel. Excess energy will provide enough carbon credits over 25 years to offset its construction and is being used to heat the nearby office development.

The lab’s researchers will focus being on sustainable chemistry delivering ‘less waste, and more product’, and train future PhD students to have a much greater appreciation of sustainability.

The University sports playing fields at Grove Farm by the River Trent will also benefit from a £5m investment in two new pavilions, providing replacement changing rooms.

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Art History student’s work with the greats

November 2nd, 2014

As an art history student Amy Concannon studied some of the most famous paintings in the world. Now the Nottingham graduate is putting her knowledge into practice — looking after a £23m masterpiece.

As an Assistant Curator at the Tate Britain, Amy was part of the historic bid to purchase Constable’s iconic painting, Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, for the nation. The painting was bought for £23.1m from the family of Lord Ashton of Hyde. It was made possible with grants of £15.8m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £1m from the Art Fund  and a substantial donation from The Manton Foundation and Tate Members.

Amy said: “This was the work that Constable saw as his best, the culmination of his career, and so its acquisition for the nation will give it a renewed focus.”

A chance to save such a pivotal piece by one of the most significant British landscape painters is rare. The painting, one of a monumental series of six-foot canvases, will be displayed in London and in museums in Wales, Scotland, Salisbury and Ipswich.

Amy said: “It is loaded with meaning, there’s a tension in the painting’s contrast between sunlight and showers, its portrayal of urban and rural, man and nature, alongside Constable’s concerns about the power struggles in religion and politics. Constable wanted his work to be seen by as many people as possible and I am sure he would be delighted that it will remain in Britain and on permanent public display.”

Nicholas Serota, Director of Tate Britain, said: “This is a painting of such supreme importance that had it not been possible for a gallery in this country to acquire it, there would undoubtedly have been institutions abroad that would have wanted to bring it into their collections.”

Looking back to her time at Nottingham, Amy credits the History and Art History Departments with being fantastically supportive in nurturing ideas about what she wanted to do as a career and the Careers Service with pressing home the importance of work experience. The specific modules she took also helped to develop her fascination with 18th and early 19th-century British art, which led to an internship with the Wordsworth Trust in Grasmere after she graduated.

Not only will the exhibition run throughout the country but each display will be unique to each venue, and will be complemented by an education programme which encourages audiences to learn more about this painting. The project will establish a national network for Constable Studies to promote, exchange and create opportunities for training and skills development.

Watch Amy share her passion: http://tiny.cc/UofNAmy

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From Stars Wars to Late Spring

November 2nd, 2014

Dr Gianluca Sergi, Associate Professor of Film Studies, and Director of the University’s Institute for Screen Industries Research, tells
Rob Ounsworth about his life and work.

Tell me a bit about yourself?

I was born in Milan, Italy, in 1964 but when I was about 7 my family moved back to the south, to Reggio di Calabria. A passion for all things movies started very early on.

At the time there weren’t any film degrees. I did economics and after the first year I completely lost interest. The English connection came about from a group of students from The University of Nottingham on an exchange. One asked if I had ever thought about studying in the UK. She said ‘I have uncle who teaches film’. That uncle, [Alan Lovell, who later co-authored two books with Dr Sergi] became one of my best friends. I came, studied, and got an interest in staying in academia.

Do you have a typical day?

It has changed a lot since I started this project [the Institute for Screen Industries Research]. The film and television industry is global: there is always somebody who is up, somewhere, emailing. It could be something to do with one of the industry partners, or something to do with one of the visits of the industry fellows.

What drew you to this area of research? 

I was lucky enough to be at an impressionable age when Dolby Stereo and movies like Star Wars that creatively used the technology came about. I went to see Star Wars with friends – everybody loved it. Afterwards, I simply said: “The film sound was fantastic”. They looked at me like I was from outer space! I didn’t know I would end up writing a PhD. I wrote to Ray Dolby saying I’m writing a PhD on sound and Dolby. Ray and Ioan Allen [a key figure at Dolby Laboratories and now an honorary graduate of the University] introduced me to the top professionals in their field.

What does it involve?

I was one of the few academics talking to film-makers about mutually beneficial research. The Institute establishes collaborations with studios, film-makers and film-making organisations; to do research together, create opportunities for research students. The Institute has interns in Hollywood. The film and television industry is global and this University has a presence in China, Malaysia and campuses here in Nottingham, so we are a possible research gateway to the world. Another area is new technologies and audiences’ response to it. Beyond that, I’ve researched models of development for studios. Academics get an overview. That creates opportunity for scholars and students, creates talent for industry and is beneficial for industry.

What do you like most/least about your work?

I don’t like it when I see cynicism. The good thing is to put it in reverse – colleagues, who had very little reason to believe in the project, have tried to make that leap of faith. And I’ve seen a very positive attitude from industry and film-makers. That is humbling but also very energising.

How does your work impact on the man/woman in the street?

Entertainment is a fundamental aspect of our life and experience. The film and television industry play a very important role within that. If my work helps this essential component of human life, I’m more than happy.

What are the highs/lows of your career so far?

 It’s difficult to get the balance right between work, life and family. Sure, going to Hollywood sounds glamorous  – and it can be – but it also takes me away from my children, Monica and Paolo. But I love working with students, their energy, enthusiasm, sense of fun. They’re inspiring.

What would you hope your research will achieve in your lifetime?

I would be very satisfied if we help better understanding of entertainment and the impact it has but also help the people who make the entertainment. If my work and the work of the Institute can help the UK film industry and television industry to grow that’s also a very good outcome.

What advice would you give to you your younger self? 

Don’t waste any time being cynical.

What living person do you most admire and why?

Being a father [to Monica and Paolo] is bloody difficult and I know I’ll never be as good a father as I want to be. When I see truly dedicated fathers I admire them because I know it’s a difficult, difficult job.

Who would you invited to your dream dinner party?

Civil Rights leaders of the 60s. If I were to pick one it would be Malcolm X because there’s a story that tells you what you can do once you decide to become a better human being.

If you weren’t doing this what else would you be doing?

As a child, I wanted to be an astronaut. I liked science but gave it up too early. Or I would work with very young children – I love their energy. I also admire architects – it’s work that brings in so many disciplines, a bit like film-making. But I can’t draw!

Where do you call home?

I have always had trouble with nationalities, national boundaries. Home is of course where my children and my wife are, but home is also where my family are down there in Reggio Calabria.

If you could go back in time where would you go and why?

The 60s: A moment of convergence and a fantastic opportunity and excitement. Space exploration was the most obvious manifestation of that aspiration: to go beyond your boundaries, your limits. Transcending your origins, that’s my guiding principle.

How do you relax?

I listen to music, jazz in particular. I like spending time with my family. I like going to the movies, still! I like all genres, all kinds, all types. I’m a big fan of Hollywood movies but if I was to choose one movie paradoxically it would be a very small movie called Late Spring, made by a Japanese director called Ozu. It’s a film that moves me every single time.

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