Sir James will perform the official opening ceremony for the new multi-million pound 4 West building this Friday, 2 July.

4 West opened in April and has provided much needed additional research and teaching space on the University campus, as well as being home to a new Post Graduate Centre.

It replaced the original building which was constructed as part of the Claverton Down campus development in 1967/8. For many years the building provided a home for research and teaching activities in the areas of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Physics, but by 2003 it had reached the end of its useful life and a decision was taken to demolish it and build a new one.

The design of the new 4 West has achieved the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Award Scheme) excellent rating – the top environmental accolade in the building trade.

Amongst its innovative features is a concrete cool system which uses the concrete floors and substantial walls of the structure as a heat sink – like a storage heater.

This means that during the summer the building is purged overnight with cool night-time air to cool the building down, and during the winter the large thermal mass of the building keeps the occupants in a warm, comfortable and stable environment.

Designed by German company Kiefer, 4 West is one of the first buildings in the UK to use such a system.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Glynis Breakwell said: “We are delighted that Sir James Dyson is able to join us to perform the official opening ceremony.

“He is one of the world’s leading design engineers and entrepreneurs who has his roots very firmly in this region.

“I know he passionately believes in what universities can offer to young people and our society – both in terms of teaching and in research.

“His recent report ‘Ingenious Britain’ calls for more emphasis on science, design and technology in our schools and universities, and these are all key strengths of Bath.

“This new building demonstrates our ongoing commitment to improving facilities and resources for our students and staff here at Bath – a commitment that continues despite the current recession and cuts to HE budgets.”

Sir James Dyson said: “The 4 West building is an impressive space with a forward thinking design. It will be an asset to Bath, and a testament to the achievements of this University – particularly in engineering and maths.”

Sir James and the Vice-Chancellor will be joined at the opening ceremony by the University’s Chancellor Lord Tugendhat, Bath MP Don Foster, members of the University Council, members of Bath & North East Somerset Council, representatives from the main contractor Cowlin and other University colleagues.

Before the actual ceremony there will be a chance for guests to look around the building and to meet some of the University’s early stage researchers who will be showcasing their work.

In a review of research, Elisabeth Barratt Hacking and William Scott from the University’s Department of Education found evidence that young people care about the environment and engage with ways to protect it when given the opportunity by schools.

The researchers presented their findings in the report, Evidence of Impact of Sustainable Schools, which they prepared on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools & Families (DCSF).

The aim of the report is to set out the educational and social benefits to young people and the community of learning in a sustainable school, and is written with leadership teams in schools and other educational settings across England in mind.

It suggests activities such as monitoring and reducing electricity and water usage; auditing and planning sustainable transport to and from school; making improvements to the school’s gardens and habitats and growing food for the school kitchen all help to embed the culture of sustainability within schools and help young people’s learning.

Elisabeth Barratt Hacking said: “There is evidence that young people care about the quality of their local communities and environment and want to have a voice and contribute to local improvements yet they perceive few opportunities to do so.

“Participating in constructive, meaningful activities helps young people see the point of getting involved, aids their understanding of what they can do themselves and when collaborative social action is needed.

“If you provide opportunities for young people to discuss and respond to significant issues that are important to them, this will help the acquisition of confidence and skills to support active citizenship.”

Previous studies have shown that sustainability captured the interest of young people because they could see its relevance to their own lives and futures. There was evidence of an increase in knowledge and understanding of the importance of leading more sustainable lives, and there are examples of more positive attitudes and improved standards and achievement.

This in turn results in positive benefits for young people’s learning and well-being and also for the staff and wider community.

The reports suggest the following examples of how schools can help students to get involved in sustainability:

•       Create a timetable to look at sustainability in cross-subject ways, integrating these with extra curricular and out-of-classroom and community activities, and how the school is managed.
•       Involve young people in monitoring and improving the school and community’s use of energy and resources.
•       Give young people active experience of the wider world, integrating this into school based learning.

The ten ceremonies will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday (6, 7 & 8 July), and honorary graduates include Paralympian Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, Bath entrepreneur Andrew Brownsword and the University’s former Pro-Vice-Chancellor Ian Jamieson OBE.

The ceremonies, presided over by its Chancellor, Lord Tugendhat, will all be preceded by a public procession of  the University’s senior officers and academics.

The processions will begin at the Guildhall, go into the High Street, right into Cheap Street, left down Farrs Passage into the Abbey Churchyard. They will return after the ceremonies past Rebecca’s Fountain and into the High Street.

These roads will be closed to traffic for about six minutes during the processions, which will occur at approximately 9.55am, 11.15am (return), 12.25pm, 1.45pm (return), 2.55pm and 4.15pm (return) on all three days, and on Wednesday an extra ceremony will have processions at 5.25pm and 6.45pm (return).

Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, who receives her Doctor of Laws on Thursday (10am), is one of Britain’s greatest ever paralympic athletes. She holds 11 gold medals, three silver and one bronze won over 16 years and five Paralympic Games. She has been elected to the Laureus World Sports Academy whose aim is to tackle social issues through sport. Since her retirement in 2007 she has developed an equally successful career in sports administration, TV presenting and motivational speaking. 

Mr Brownsword, who receives his honorary Doctor of Arts degree on Wednesday (3pm), is one of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs. He has built several highly influential manufacturing and retail empires and has a portfolio of hotels and restaurants. He is known for his extensive support of the local community.

Professor Jamieson, who receives his Doctor of Laws on Tuesday (10am), has made an outstanding contribution to education nationally throughout his academic career. He pioneered research into the relationship between education and work, and at Bath he dramatically improved the infrastructure for research, teaching and learning.

Other honorary graduates include:

• Sir Fazle Hasan Abed KCMG is the founder and chairman of BRAC (formerly, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), the largest development Non-Governmental Organisation in the world. For his outstanding contributions to social improvement, he will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on Tuesday (12.30pm)
• Antony Beevor FRSL is an historian and author. He has published several novels, but is best known for his works of military history focusing on key points in the Second World War that have brought him great critical acclaim and popular success. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Letters degree on Tuesday (3pm) 
• Toby Churchill was a student at Bath in 1965, as part of his degree he spent a two-month work placement in Paris and Clermond Ferrand in 1968.  During the visit he swam in a river and contracted viral encephalitis which resulted in him becoming paraplegic with a speech disability. He completed his degree from home and graduated in 1971. As communication aids at the time were few and far between Tony designed his own, the Lightwriters, a portable text-to-speech communication aid changing the lives of many people with speech loss. His inventions later earned him many awards.  He received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree on 22 June at a private ceremony which was filmed to be shown in the Abbey on Wednesday (12.30pm).
• Dr Simon Thurley is a leading architectural historian, a regular broadcaster on television and radio and the Chief Executive of English Heritage; the Government’s principal advisor on the historic environment in England. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on Thursday (12.30pm).
• Dr Jean Botti is the Chief Technical Officer of EADS (The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company)and is a member of the EADS Executive Committee. He recently led an Innovation Works project that engineered the world’s first pure biofuel flight. He has fostered strong links with the University throughout his career in the aerospace field. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree on Thursday (3pm).

It’s part of the Big Bang South West, the biggest display of school students’ science, technology, engineering and maths projects.

More than 350 children aged between 11 and 19 will be taking part in the event on Friday 9 July presenting more than 140 projects.

Pupils from nearby schools will also be coming along to see the projects in action.

Engineers and scientists from industry will judge the presentations, with students competing for trophies and prize money totalling £1,500.

The prize will be presented by representatives from Rolls-Royce, the major supporter of the event.

The competition is the South West regional final of the CREST Awards organised by the British Science Association, and the Young Engineers for Britain Competition organised by Young Engineers and the National Science & Engineering Competition. Winners will go forward to represent the South West at the National Big Bang to be held in London during National Science and Engineering week in March 2011.

Organiser John Trickett, of Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) education, part of the Division for Lifelong Learning, said: “It will be a fun day for all.

“Students can try their hand at raising water and testing the brain.
“There will be opportunities to program Lego robots, attempt to get around the world in 80 days, and build a racing car propelled at 30 metres per second!”

“One of the highlights will be the famous Dr Ken’s Science Circus Show which will be held in University Hall and will be exploring the science behind the thrills and spills of the circus and asking why do jugglers love gravity?”

More information about the event is available from John Trickett on 01225 386930 or by email.