Campus News
The Many Lives of DH Lawrence
June 28th, 2012
Memoir, Legacy and Biography Revealed
Friday 4 May until Sunday 16 September, Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts Centre, University Park. The gallery is open 11am-4pm, Monday to Saturday, and noon-4pm, Sundays and bank holidays. Admission is free.
DH Lawrence has proved an endlessly fascinating, and controversial, subject for memoirists, literary biographers and the public. Since his death in 1930, his legacy has been subject to continual re-evaluation in line with shifts in his literary reputation and changing perceptions of his impact on 20th-century culture. This exhibition traces the origins and development of the biographical preoccupation with Lawrence. The display draws on original manuscripts and correspondence, contemporary memoirs and other resources in the University of Nottingham’s nationally designated DH Lawrence Collections.
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MEMES, with Kashif Nadim Chaudry
June 28th, 2012
Wednesday 11 July to Monday 27 August at Djanogly Art Gallery, Lakeside Arts Centre, University Park. The gallery is open 11am-5pm, Monday to Saturday, and noon-4pm, Sundays and bank holidays. Admission is free.
Kashif Nadim Chaudry’s stunning and dramatic exhibition of new work has been produced during his residency at Lakeside Arts Centre during 2010 and 2011. It takes its title from the term coined by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene (1976), to describe ‘a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation’ —analogous to a gene — capable of spreading and perpetuating cultural ideas and values.
In a series of sculptural investigations extending throughout the three spaces of the Djanogly Art Gallery, the artist explores this notion of inherited value systems and of ‘traditional’ acts of ritual and ceremony from the perspective of his Pakistani and Muslim heritage, and more specifically from his marginalised identity as a British-born gay man.
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Moving to Moodle
June 28th, 2012
September 2012 will herald a new dawn in how lecturers, tutors and students at the University interact with one another online.
Moodle aims to facilitate teaching and enhance the student experience, providing an improved method for students to submit coursework, receive feedback and collaborate on group projects.
There will also be discussion forums, wikis and blogs, and, in the future, all students will be able to refer back to modules taken in previous years.
How successful the project is relies on schools, who will be responsible for populating the site with content.
Andy Beggan, Head of Learning Technology at the University, explained: “The way that academic staff set up their Moodle modules will directly influence students’ learning experience.
“The University can be very proud of the way that its staff embraced e-learning through WebCT, with 85% of taught-modules included online. We hope that the increased functionality available through Moodle will encourage all staff to embrace online learning.”
The pilot was a success and those who took part were keen to encourage colleagues to get on board. Staff and students found the online learning environment to be more user-friendly and familiar; Moodle is now used widely in schools, sixth-form colleges and universities across the UK.
The University has the highest number of undergraduate applications in the UK. However, it needs to continue to evolve to meet the growing expectations of future students, many of whom are used to being surrounded by the latest technology.
Andy Beggan continued: “The learning opportunities provided by modern virtual learning environments have increased dramatically in recent years and Moodle allows us to take advantage of these enhancements and move into the future with more students, doing more learning online.
“Over time WebCT began to look dated compared to newer technologies and the switch to Moodle enables the University to widen uptake and take advantage of the innovations and developments from a worldwide learning community.”
Viva Cuba! The shared passion behind unique archive
June 28th, 2012
In October 1962, US President John F Kennedy delivered an ultimatum to Moscow to remove Soviet-supplied nuclear warheads from the Caribbean island.
For 13 days, “the world held its breath” as the United States blockaded Cuba by land and sea, an act the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev denounced as “an act of aggression propelling humankind into the abyss of a world nuclear-missile war”. In return for JFK’s secret pledge not to invade Cuba and to remove America’s own inter-continental missiles from Italy and Turkey, Khrushchev backed down and removed the missiles from the island.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world has come to a nuclear conflict and remains one of the defining moments of the Cold War.
Aligned with the Soviet Union, and less than 100 miles off the Florida Keys of the United States, Cuba was on the frontline in the Cold War throughout the 1960s and beyond. The Cuban Revolution of 1959 had brought to power Fidel Castro, who was fervently opposed to “Yankee imperialism” and looked to Moscow as an economic and political ally.
Throughout the following decade, Castro’s government was to prove a continual source of resentment and suspicion to the US as Cuba sought to foment revolution in South America and central Africa. It was the Argentinian-born Che Guevara who was dispatched from Cuba to bring down capitalism in Latin America, Washington’s own back yard.
In 1967, the guerilla leader was captured and executed by government forces in Bolivia. By then he was known as simply Che, and became the pin-up boy of 60s and 70s radicals the world over. To Antoni Kapcia, such iconic figures and epoch-defining moments being played out in Cuba and Latin America must have seemed a world away from the dreary toil of an insurance office.
“It was 1967 and I was working in insurance and getting bored out of my mind and things were starting to heat up in Latin America,” he recalls.
He went on to do Modern Iberian and Latin American Regional Studies at UCL. What started as an interest has grown into a passion – a passion he has built his professional life around. Professor Antoni Kapcia has now been to Cuba more than 40 times and is Director of the Centre for Research on Cuba, whose conference in September 2012 will undoubtedly include some reconsideration of the Missile Crisis 50 years on.
The Centre brings together researchers working from the Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, institutions across Europe and the University of Havana. Its unique attraction is crammed into a tiny room housed in Florence Boot Hall: the Hennessy Collection.
Prof Kapcia said: “It’s a unique archive of Cuba and its history. It’s the biggest collection in the UK, the biggest in terms of the spread of materials. The British Library has a large collection but they don’t have the sheer spread that we have.”
The collection owes its roots to a friendship struck up by Prof Kapcia with a former colleague, Alistair Hennessy, when they were both working in Warwick University. When Hennessy retired in 1994, he bequeathed the collection to Prof Kapcia. When he came to Nottingham in 2003, the collection came with him.
The room in Florence Boot Hall has floor-to-ceiling shelves, with every bit of available space filled with newspapers, books, video tapes, magazines, posters, comics, journals and leaflets. It’s hard to imagine how much longer the collection can be housed there if it continues to grow.
“The growth of the collection has far exceeded our expectations, especially over the last eight years,” said Prof Kapcia. “We also have several things that are quite valuable, including 19th-century books.”
“There are some gaps, for example, in the early 90s, the economy [in Cuba] suffered when the Soviet Union collapsed. By that time, people from the Foreign Office were also no longer bringing stuff back to the UK, or having subscriptions to Cuban newspapers as a matter of course. It all got very chaotic. I doubt Cuba has some of the stuff that was printed then itself. There’s no collection that is more valuable than ours.
“The US has lots of Cuban specialists but they can’t visit the country as easily as we can; that gives us a huge advantage. What makes it unique is the combination of resources, the scale of the collection and the access we offer. People contact us fro Germany, France, Spain, as well as from across Britain. If you want to study Cuba at a postgraduate level, you need to tap into the Hennessy Collection.”
So, did the young restless Tony have the standard-issue poster of political icon Che Guevara on his bedroom wall? “Me? No! I had a poster of Jean Shrimpton!”
The Centre also organises the Cuba Research Forum annual conference. The Forum is an international discussion group which initiates collaboration, academic exchange and conferences on a regular basis. The annual conference, now in its 15th year, runs from Tuesday 11 to Thursday 13 September, hosted by the Centre for Research on Cuba.
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A shared legacy
June 28th, 2012
The Woodland Trust is helping millions of people to plant six million trees across the UK to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
This will include 60 Diamond Woods — new areas of native woodland for people to enjoy for generations to come.
Nottinghamshire is to be part of the legacy project after being granted Diamond Wood status for University land near Sutton Bonington Campus. Planting of up to 40,000 trees at the site is expected to take place between October 2012 and February 2013. The University hopes to involve the local community, schools, former students and other interested groups in the planting, development and enjoyment of the Diamond Wood.
The University hopes to incorporate footpaths, activities and open spaces at the 60-acre site.
Professor Karen Cox, the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Environment and Infrastructure, said: “We are delighted by the news that our submission has been accepted as one of the Diamond Wood locations. It will give us a tremendous opportunity for community engagement through the planting of the wood as well as on an ongoing basis as the woodland matures.
“Our aim is to design the woodland as an educational resource demonstrating biodiversity and sustainability in woodland practice which will provide education, enjoyment and interest to future generations.”
The Woodland Trust has worked with a range of landowners from across the UK to create the Diamond Woods, including universities, local authorities, public bodies including British Waterways and the Ministry of Defence, through to developers and private landowners.
The 60 woods have been committed to transforming the UK’s landscape and local environments as part of the Trust’s Jubilee Woods Project: The Queen herself is creating a Diamond Wood, at Balmoral.
The new native woodlands will provide a rich habitat for wildlife and living, breathing spaces for generations to come.
The Diamond Wood at Sutton Bonington is the only one in Nottinghamshire. It will be located on two sites near the River Soar, linked by a footpath.
Martin Suthers, Deputy Leader at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “Warm congratulations to The University of Nottingham for its successful bid to be able to plant one of 60 Diamond Woods.
“It is a wonderful opportunity for the county to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in a special and unique way and to lay down an environmental legacy for future generations to enjoy. The county council is excited about the prospect of getting actively involved in community engagement at a very local level with this project with the University, the Woodland Trust and other organisations and communities as part of the wider project team.”
Sustainability is a key strand of the University’s fundraising appeal, Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, which is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. The University is ideally positioned — scientifically, geographically and politically — to make a significant contribution to sustainability. More information about Impact is available at: http://tiny.cc/UoNImpact.
The UK is one of the least wooded countries in Europe, with just 13% cover compared to the European average of 44%.
Georgina McLeod, Woodland Trust’s head of Jubilee Woods, said: “We are absolutely delighted that The University of Nottingham has chosen to create a prestigious Diamond Wood. We very much hope that this inspires other landowners and communities to join us in paying a very special tribute to The Queen, while at the same time creating something living and lasting to hand on to future generations.
“Not only is this a chance to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee but it’s also a chance for people to improve their local environment and create somewhere for residents to enjoy and be part of. In just 10 years the trees will be taller than the average person and the woodland will be full of wildlife for many people to enjoy.”
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World leader to move into Innovation Park
June 28th, 2012
Romax Technology, a world-leading gearbox, bearing and driveline engineering companies, is to move into the University’s Innovation Park (UNIP).
Romax has rapidly expanded its simulation technology and drivetrain design business and has been growing at a rate of around 20% a year on average, creating jobs in the UK and overseas. The company hopes to create around 100 jobs in Nottingham and the UK over the next three to five years.
Romax, which has 105 staff in the UK, has outgrown its premises at Nottingham Science Park. The new, purpose-built, 3100m² premises at UNIP will incorporate offices, a training suite and laboratory space. It will bring all Romax’s UK staff under one roof and give it space to expand further.
The Romax building will mark the first bespoke commercial development at UNIP, costing £5.6m. The University will lease the premises to Romax for an initial period of 10 years.
Romax promotes green energy in the products and solutions it develops and the building will reflect this. Earlier this year, Romax announced an investment partnership with Moonray Investors (part of Fidelity International Limited), which will enable the company to accelerate the development of existing and new technologies in the wind power and transportation sectors and achieve their target growth rate of up to 40%.
Dr Peter Poon, Romax founder and CEO, said: “The University of Nottingham Innovation Park is a great location for Romax. Not only does it offer us a purpose-built facility with excellent campus services, it also maintains strong links with the University, which is important to us, as they share our ethos for innovation. This expansion enables us to continue to develop our simulation technology and drivetrain design business and, in addition, we will also be able to create high quality jobs for the local area. This will help us to accelerate the development of our exciting portfolio of new products and services, especially those focused on wind energy.”
The University has a long history with Romax. The company has undertaken a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University, as well as collaborating on major energy and aerospace research projects and providing placement and full-time employment opportunities for students. Romax and the University were also instrumental in helping to persuade Changan Automobile, the Chinese car manufacturer, to establish its European R&D centre in Nottingham.
Professor David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor, said: “To have Romax based at UNIP is an exciting prospect. Romax is a world-class business which will be undertaking cutting edge development work here and creating many jobs in the process. This commitment also further cements the exceptionally strong links that the University already has with Asia in general and China in particular. I am sure that both Romax and the University will benefit greatly from our continued close partnership.”
Visit: www.nottingham.ac.uk/servicesforbusiness.
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Tomato source
June 28th, 2012
A plant scientist from The University of Nottingham has played a key role in the sequencing of the tomato genome.
Professor Graham Seymour, from the School of Biosciences, is among a group of over 300 scientists from 14 countries that has sequenced the genomes of the domesticated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and its wild ancestor, Solanum pimpinellifolium.
This achievement, by The Tomato Genome Consortium (TGC), will help breeders to identify important genes allowing them to create new varieties quickly and efficiently. The genomes will help breeders to deliver tomatoes with beneficial traits like improved taste and higher concentrations of nutrients. Having the genome sequence could help develop tomatoes that are better equipped to combat the droughts and diseases that plague growers, helping ensure global food security.
The UK market for tomatoes is worth around £625m a year. The research could also benefit breeders of other crops in the Solanaceae family, such as potatoes, peppers and aubergines.
Prof Seymour, Professor of Biotechnology, and co-author and co-leader of the BBSRC-funded research team in the UK, said: “Tomatoes are one of the most important fruit crops in the world, both in terms of the volume that we eat and the vitamins, minerals and other phytochemicals that both fresh and processed tomato products provide to our diets. The tomato is also the model plant we use to investigate the process of fruit ripening, so understanding this genome will help us unravel the molecular circuits that make tomato and other fruits ripen and give them their health-promoting properties.”
The UK effort was led by researchers in Nottingham and Imperial College London in collaboration with leading scientists at The Genome Analysis Centre, the James Hutton Institute, the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Natural History Museum. The project was funded in the UK by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Defra and the Scottish Government and the sequencing was undertaken by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.
Dr Gerard Bishop, former Reader of Plant Biology at Imperial College London, who co-led the UK research with Prof Seymour, said: “The publication of the tomato genome sequence has been eagerly anticipated both by the international research community and by tomato growers and breeders worldwide. Coordinating the efforts of over 300 scientists across 14 countries has been a considerable achievement in which the UK has played an important role, and the outcomes of this effort are already having an impact on the global research effort to deliver better tomatoes.”
Prof Douglas Kell, BBSRC Chief Executive, said: “This is very exciting as it will allow us to equip breeders with the tools they need to deliver increased yields of better crops, and to do so sustainably.”
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Spotlight
June 28th, 2012
University team scoops prestigious awards
The University’s Communications and Marketing team has been named the best in UK higher education at the prestigious Heist Awards 2012. The judges remarked: “The scale of achievement in 18 months is astounding.”
As well as picking up the gold award for Team of the Year, the University won gold for Best Website; silver in two further categories – for both its Undergraduate and Postgraduate Prospectuses – and a bronze award for Best Use of Digital Marketing, for innovative work on the Advent Calendar 2011. The Life Cycle project was Highly Commended in the category of Best Alumni or Fundraising Campaign.
Emma Leech, Director of Communications and Marketing, said: “I’m delighted that these awards recognise the scope and depth of the Nottingham team and the very many skills that colleagues bring to the University. We’re really proud that we have such a great institution to showcase, and we look forward to continuing to support both the University and our city and region.”
Prestigious national fellowship
Dr Amanda Tatler, in the University’s School of Clinical Sciences, has been awarded the prestigious national fellowship, the David Sainsbury Fellowship from the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs).
Her work aims to develop our understanding of the biomechanisms leading to structural changes in the airways of patients with severe asthma. She will use novel methods that significantly reduce the numbers of animals, usually mice, traditionally used to study this disease.
First commercial space flight
A team of space flight veterans from the University have helped an American high school student launch his own experiment in space. It will be despatched on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, the world’s first commercial vehicle to visit the International Space Station (ISS).
Paul Warren approached Dr Nate Szewczyk and his team in the Derby-based School of Graduate Entry Medicine and Health because of their successful track record in carrying out experiments in space.
Paul’s experiment is one of 15 selected by the American Student Spaceflight Experiments Programme (SSEP) to fly on the first commercial spacecraft, SpaceX Dragon. Paul is trying to understand the effect of microgravity and radiation on a population of C. elegans. Freya Shephard, a research technician, said: “It’s incredibly exciting to be involved in one of the only science experiments going to the space station on the inaugural mission of the Dragon.”
£7m building opens at Jubilee Campus
A £7m building for the Institute of Mental Health has officially opened its doors.The building, on Jubilee Campus, has laboratories, training rooms, offices and meeting rooms and is built to ‘Excellent’ standard on the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) scale.
The Institute is a partnership between the University and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. It aims to help transform our understanding and treatment of mental illness through innovative research and pioneering educational activities.
Prof Nick Manning, IMH Director, said: “The Institute was only formed in 2006 and we can now be considered as the UK’s prime location for inter-disciplinary research in the mental health field. This move into purpose-built accommodation demonstrates the huge achievements we have made and these excellent new facilities should provide the springboard for greater success.”