Campus News
Royal Society honour for Martyn
June 2nd, 2011
An academic at The University of Nottingham has received one of the science world’s highest honours.
Professor Martyn Poliakoff CBE has been nominated as the new Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science.
Prof Poliakoff will represent the British scientific community abroad and will be responsible for overseeing the Society’s international business. The post of Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society dates back to 1723 – predating the post of Foreign Secretary in the UK government by 60 years.
The Royal Society, founded in 1660, is a fellowship of the world’s most eminent scientists. Fellows are elected for life on the basis of scientific excellence, and have included Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. Prof Poliakoff was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2002.
He said: “I am honoured and delighted by my nomination. I feel that the post will be a wonderful opportunity to promote UK science overseas and to catalyse UK collaboration with leading scientists across the world.”
As well as being a Research Professor in Chemistry, Martyn has been active on the international stage for many years. He is an Honorary Professor at Moscow State University and Honorary Member of the Chemical Society of Ethiopia – following his work to develop links between the University and universities in Ethiopia. His current research interests involve chemical applications of supercritical fluids, with particular emphasis on ‘green’ chemistry, which focuses on more sustainable ways of creating chemicals.
Prof Poliakoff also works with film-maker Brady Haran as one of the presenters of the YouTube channel, The Periodic Table of Videos (www.periodicvideos.com).
The Periodic Table of Videos – which began as a series of short films about every chemical element – has gone on to reach a huge audience on YouTube, with more than 16 million views and a string of awards for innovative science communication.
A short film about Professor Poliakoff’s nomination to the post of Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoCjuKKzeog or at: www.periodicvideos.com/videos/feature_foreign_secretary.htm
Fellows of the Royal Society will be asked to indicate their support for the Council’s nominated candidate on the ballot paper for the annual election of Council members. The result of the ballot will be confirmed at the Council meeting on 7 July 2011. Prof Poliakoff is nominated to succeed the current incumbent, Prof Lorna Casselton.
Tags: Professor Martyn Poliakoff, Royal Society
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Wheee!
June 2nd, 2011
Wheee! – the International Children’s Theatre and Dance Festival, is at Lakeside Arts Centre from 30 May to 8 June, with the family weekend over 4 and 5 June.
This 7th Wheee! festival sees Dave Fearless, sweeping in to challenge your expectations of a modern super-hero. Maison Foo bring the seaside to Highfields Park. And walking talking chairs will be telling tall tales as they wander around. There are shows, activities and workshops to enjoy. And not least, Wheee! sees the return of Architects of Air and their Luminarium, Levity III, to Highfields. Since 1992, Architects of Air’s Luminaria have enchanted more than 2m visitors in 37 countries. The Luminarium will be open from 11am to 5.30pm. For more details and times, please visit:
www.lakesidearts.org.uk.
Fine Art degree show
June 2nd, 2011
Saturday 4 June to Sunday 12 June, Djanogly Art Gallery, Lakeside Arts Centre. The gallery is open from 11am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday, and noon to 4pm on Sundays and bank holidays.
The University’s School of Education is proud to present the 2011 BA (Hons) Fine Art Degree show. Over the six years of this dedicated part-time degree programme, students develop their own art practice through a contemporary response to a wide variety of fine art media from video and installation to print media and photography. The image on the left – 50 Things My Son No Longer Needs Me For – is by Tracey Kershaw. Tracey says: “While strongly connected to a particular time (this image) speaks of the inevitable, more fundamental changes in our relationship as he grows up.”
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Making the switch…
June 2nd, 2011
A new power management service designed to cut the financial and environmental cost of wasted energy has saved around 50 tonnes of CO² a month since it was introduced in March.
PowerMAN, which ‘hibernates’ inactive PCs at 10pm each day, was activated across all staff PCs after a trial with Information Services and student PCs. It was introduced alongside WakeMyPC, which allows people to switch on their PCs remotely. This means staff no longer have to leave their computer on out-of-hours to be able to work remotely.
Only four per cent of PCs have been opted out of the service (including essential and experimental equipment), which demonstrates widespread support for the University’s commitment to reducing the amount of energy we use.
PowerMAN is expected to deliver savings of around 600 tonnes of CO² in a year – roughly the same amount it would cost you to run 140 medium-sized family cars for the same time period.
PowerMAN has been introduced as part of the University’s response to the Higher Education Funding Council for England carbon reduction strategy introduced in January 2010. The strategy aims
to improve carbon management and reduce direct emissions by 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050 against a 1990 baseline. Universities also have to set their own targets and develop carbon-management plans to measure performance, which will be considered when HEFCE allocates future capital funding.
“The introduction of PowerMAN (and the complementary WakeMyPC) system has immediately delivered cost and carbon savings, said Professor Alan Dodson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Information Services, Infrastructure and Environment and Professor of Geodesy, Faculty of Engineering.
“The estimated 600 tonnes/yr of CO² reduction provides a useful contribution of over four per cent of the University’s targeted annual saving for 2015. The financial saving is also significant.”
Prof Dodson added: “We will continue to pursue further savings through improvements to PowerMAN, other Green IT projects as well as wider infrastructure initiatives.”
Find out more at: www.nottingham.ac.uk/is/computer/wakemypc.aspx
Tags: carbon reduction, Faculty of Engineering, HEFCE, PowerMAN, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, rofessor Alan Dodson, WakeMyPC
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Three countries, one University
June 2nd, 2011
The University of Nottingham Ningbo, China, comes under the sporting spotlight this month, with the third Tri-Campus Games (TCG).
“This unique opportunity allows students to explore an inspiring country and culture, build life-long contacts from across the globe and play sport at an elite level. But it is also a fantastic opportunity to raise our profile, build links with other universities and attract new students.”
Assistant Director of Sport and TCG organiser Nigel Maygothling is passionate about for the Games. And it’s easy to see why – 180 Nottingham athletes studying in three countries will compete in 14 events covering eight sports over a week. It’s the only international intra mural university games in the world.
And for the first time this year, Games organisers aim to select All-Star Teams, made up from athletes studying in England, Malaysia and China, to compete against local universities.
“This whole concept started as an almost throw-away comment in a meeting about globalisation and integration, but sport can open doors and I see the Games as a vehicle for true internationalisation,” says Nigel.
“Ningbo will give us the opportunity to enhance the student experience, to get more people interested and involved in sport and, through the TCGs, create an international network of past and present students….
it showcases what Nottingham is capable of.”
Anna Mawston, a Biosciences student and the UK’s Assistant Team Manager, says taking part in last year’s Games – in Malaysia – is one of the greatest experiences she’s had at the University.
She said: “They really do give students a once-in-a lifetime chance to visit countries that they may never get the chance to visit again, experience life as a Ningbo student and explore a new culture and cuisine.
“I am interested to see what the Ningbo Campus is like compared to the UK and Malaysia. I expect the standard to have improved from last year and the matches to continue to become more competitive, there should be a lot of Chinese home supporters this year, which will also add to the atmosphere.”
The third Tri-Campus Games kick off on Sunday 5 June and run throughout the week.
Tags: China, Nigel Maygothling, The University of Nottingham Ningbo, Tri-Campus Games (TCG)
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May Fest 2011!
June 2nd, 2011
Thousands of people flocked to the University for May Fest 2011. Here are just a taste of the photographs taken on the day.
Tags: community open day, May Fest 2011
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Student-led theatre steals the show
June 2nd, 2011
The University’s New Theatre has won critical acclaim after dominating proceedings at the National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) 2011 in Scarborough.
Around 40 members of the Students’ Union society put on four of the 13 productions to feature: Orphans, This Wide Night, After the End and Bluebird.
And they returned with a clutch of awards. Gus Miller and Phil Geller (After the End) won Outstanding Production Design, while Douggie McMeekin (Orphans), Megan Salter and Lucy Bromilow (both This Wide Night) picked up three of the four prizes in the Judges’ Awards for Acting category.
Nottingham alumna Elizabeth Bourne, who is now studying at the University of Edinburgh, picked up the Spotlight Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in Amadeus.
New Theatre president Becky Catlin said: “To have even one show selected out of the 13 chosen nationwide is an outstanding achievement and an accolade to the exceptional work currently being carried out at the New Theatre.
“Everyone who gets involved does so out of a real passion for theatre. I am delighted that the National Student Drama Festival gives them such a wonderful opportunity to meet industry professionals and be acknowledged for the wonderful work that they put on.”
The New Theatre was given a £4,000 grant from The University of Nottingham’s Annual Fund to enable them to attend the festival. The fund, which uses donations received principally from alumni, supports projects that directly enhance the student experience, or which add to the University’s student outreach or community activities.
The society will be staging a further three productions before the end of term before taking two shows to the Edinburgh Fringe. To find out more visit www.newtheatre.org.uk/, or see show previews in the Backstage video series at www.youtube.com/nottmuniversity#p/
Tags: Annual Fund, National Student Drama Festival, Students’ Union, The New Theatre
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Taking a test drive…
June 2nd, 2011
Three drivers, in three separate environments, can be linked into the exact same driving experience in a state-of-the-art integrated facility which has been opened at the University.
The Nottingham Integrated Transport and Environmental Simulation facility (NITES) provides the most comprehensive testing environment for behavioural transport research in the UK. It will challenge international research centres for pre-eminence in the field and open the door to a wealth of new research into co-operative driving, driving interaction and police pursuit driving.
The £1.3m facility, funded by the University through the HEFCE Capital Infrastructure Fund, will be used by experts in the School of Psychology. By monitoring drivers’ vehicle control in real and simulated environments, their eye movements, skin conductance, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing, researchers will gain an unparalleled understanding of drivers’ attention and emotions. They will be able to assess how drivers deal with hazards, attitudes to risk-taking, decision-making abilities and stress levels.
The research into road safety and systems design will help policy-makers and leading driving organisations in reducing the number of road accidents.
NITES has three separate, different driving environments, each with eye-tracking and behaviour measures: a full-sized BMW Mini on a platform-motion base: a static curved five-metre screen with interchangeable interface: and a fully instrumented on-the-road Ford Focus.
Dr David Crundall, NITES Director, said: “This will be the first research simulator able to integrate drives on real roads with two linked or independent simulations of the same virtual space. By simulating dangerous driving conditions we can assess our visual awareness, decision making and how our body reacts in certain driving situations. We can also study the effects of distractions.
“With 60km of virtual driving at our finger-tips and a specially designed 12-mile loop of Nottingham, coupled with the ability to link all three driving experiences together and interchange cars for bicycles and, in the future, other vehicle types, this new facility opens up an immense array of research questions that we can start to answer.”
NITES 1 is a full-size 6° of freedom driving simulator with a full-size BMW Mini mounted inside a projection dome on top of a 2.5-tonne Stewart Platform motion base. NITES 2 is a static simulation facility with 180° of visual field projected onto a curved five-metre screen. NITES 1 and NITES 2 can be used together so two people can drive in the same simulated world, allowing a range of previously unimaginable research possibilities. NITES 3 is an instrumented Ford Focus for on-road data collection. The car has a collision detection and lane deviation monitor, and can output all data.
The facility was opened by Professor David Greenaway, Vice Chancellor, in front of guests from the Department of Transport, the Highways Agency, VOSA, Institute of Advanced Motorists and the Health and Safety Executive.
Tags: Dr David Crundall, HEFCE, Nottingham Integrated Transport and Environmental Simulation facility (NITES), School of Psychology
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Touching hearts, minds
June 2nd, 2011
Giving something back makes an impact. You may not know it but financial gifts from alumni and staff run like threads through the rich tapestry of University life enhancing experiences for all those who are touched by the Annual Fund.
If you’ve donated to our University’s Annual Fund then there are many people who would like to thank you in person for your help in transforming their lives; like the disadvantaged children of Jourberton in South Africa who happily now learn and play in a new nursery designed and built by our School of Architecture students; or the award-winning financial credit scheme helping Ghanaian farmers work their way out of poverty; or the Any-Body Month University initiative in Nottingham, which raised awareness of barriers faced by those with a disability – a scheme now recognised with the Olympic and Paralympic Inspire 2012 mark.
And on the facing page there are more examples, such as the five student midwives who put their theory to the test when they visited Tanzania as part of their nursing elective, thanks to a grant of £7,500 from the University of Nottingham’s Annual Fund. The two-week visit, organised through the Work-the-World organisation, was spent working for one week in a hospital in the city of Mwanza, Lake Victoria and for a second week staying in a tribal village. You can see footage of the trip at: http://bit.ly/iN4Yrz.
And, thanks to £11,380 from the Annual Fund, 27 students from the University, together with 37 other prospective MA and PhD research students, joined the Dobri Dyal archaeologicl dig in Bulgaria. The dig was part of the Transition from Antiquity programme, one of Europe’s largest projects of its kind.
Each of these life-changing and transformative projects and many more like them have at least in part benefited from Annual Fund money – donations from alumni, staff, students and friends of the University ensuring that the Annual Fund makes an impact on someone every day in some part of the world.
The Fund is administered by the University’s Regular Giving Team at King’s Meadow Campus. Already, in this financial year alone they have raised £165,000 from more than 1,900 alumni, staff, students and friends. Some feel able to give one-off gifts of thousands of pounds, others are happier giving a monthly sum of say £5. But what they all have in common is that they all play a vital part in transforming the lives and experiences of our students, staff and communities all over the globe.
During term time, a dedicated team of student callers take up nightly residence in the Trent Building to talk to thousands of alumni and staff members. But in the last calling session,
even before they picked up a phone, the students donated the first hour of their wages to the Annual Fund.
In the latest round of applications, £164,926 was awarded to 16 student-led projects and in the coming months we will report more on how these new projects are making a difference. Annual Fund monies are available to staff and students across the University and you can find out more about how to apply for a grant at: www.nottingham.ac.uk/supportus/guidetogiving/informationforuniversitystaff.aspx#TheAnnualFundGrantsPanel
Alternatively, if you would like to support the Annual Fund and the projects it supports through a donation then please visit: www.nottingham.ac.uk/supportus/makingadifference.aspx.
Tags: alumni, Annual Fund, Any-Body Month, Regular Giving Team, School of Architecture, Transition from Antiquity, Work-the-World
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Spotlight
June 2nd, 2011
Prince Andrew visits the University
His Royal Highness, The Duke of York, has visited the University in his capacity as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. The Prince was welcomed by Professor Hai-Sui Yu, Dean of Engineering and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Elect, and Chris Thompson, Chief Financial Officer, before having lunch with senior local business figures. Professor Yu updated the Prince on the University’s overseas initiatives, including the continued growth and development of its campuses in Asia. Prince Andrew also met a group of international students in the Trent Building. In his role as Special Representative for international trade and investment, the Duke of York works with the UK government, and with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) to promote the UK as an attractive destination for foreign investors and to help UK companies export their products to emerging and established markets.
Read more at: http://tiny.cc/UoNRoyal
Life Cycle hits £50,000 mark
During May’s Dying Matters Awareness Week, academics and staff from the University revealed they have raised more than £50,000 for palliative care research ahead of their gruelling 1,000-mile charity bike ride. This puts them well on their way to their £150,000 target. The eleven cyclists have stepped up their training in preparation for August’s Life Cycle, a 13-day John O’Groats to Land’s End ride. The event is in aid of the University’s Sue Ryder Care Centre for the Study of Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care. VC Professor David Greenaway, who will lead the team, said: “The role the Sue Ryder Care Centre plays in research on end-of-life care is fundamentally important, and gives us a clear focus for what we want to achieve through our Life Cycle challenge.”
Read more at: http://tiny.cc/UoNCycle
Queen’s Award
Molecular Profiles, one of the University’s spinout companies, has won the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the UK’s highest accolade for business success. The award, the second for innovation, has been made in recognition of the company’s cutting-edge pharmaceutical development services that improve and speed-up the introduction of new drugs.
Read more at: http://tiny.cc/UoNMolecular
NHS ‘role model’
The NHS in England may be in turmoil, but a major new study claims its Scottish equivalent should serve as a role model for the public sector. According to the findings of a two-year report by academics from the University’s Business School, post-devolution healthcare in Scotland represents a “groundbreaking” approach to the art of industrial relations.
Read more at: http://tiny.cc/UoNNHS
New chair in Jewish Studies
A new chair at the University will make it one of the UK’s leading centres for the study of Judaism — thanks to the generosity of donors. The Chair in Jewish Studies will play a key role in building on the University’s outstanding reputation in theology and religious studies. Nottingham alumnus and award-winning journalist Jeff Randall has spearheaded fundraising efforts for the chair, and as a result the University is well on the way to a target of £1.5m in philanthropic donations to underpin the endowment. Mr Randall’s work is also helping to fund a postgraduate scholarship and other research posts. Professor Agata Bielik-Robson, who has an international reputation in the field, has been appointed to the new post in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. Also joining the department is Dr Holger Zellentin.
Read more at: http://tiny.cc/UoNchair
Tags: Business School, Chief Financial Officer, Chris Thompson, Dean of Engineering and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Elect, Dying Matters Awareness Week, Jeff Randall, Jewish Studies, John O’Groats to Land’s End, Life Cycle, Molecular Profiles, NHS, Palliative and End of Life Care, Professor Agata Bielik-Robson, Professor Hai-Sui Yu, Queen’s Award for Enterprise, Sue Ryder Care Centre for the Study of Supportive, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI)
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