University Updates
3 October 2008
Due to staff holidays, there will be no University Update next week; the next edition will be circulated on 17 October 2008.
Research news
Awards totaling £1m for cutting-edge energy and environmental research
Three research projects - to increase fuel efficiency in cars, to use straw bales as a low carbon building material, and to investigate the reliability of satellite navigation systems - have jointly been awarded more than £1 million funding by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB).
Department of Computer Science receives two awards from HP
Guy McCusker and John Collomosse (Computer Science) have been granted HP Innovation Awards this year, after a highly competitive selection process reviewing more than 450 applications from 200 universities in 28 countries.
University researchers are first to use the newest experimental station at the UK's synchrotron
Scientists led by Paul Raithby (Chemistry) are the first group of researchers to use Diamond Light Source's new Small Molecule Single Crystal Diffraction beamline. The team used the latest beamline to study the structures of metal organic frameworks.
BA Festival of Science 2009 - call for proposals
Do you want to communicate your research to the public? The BA Festival of Science is the UK's leading science communication event, attracting over 300 of the best national and international talent from all branches of science, engineering and technology to debate and present their research.
Deadline for proposals to take part in the 2009 festival at Guildford: 16 October.
Teaching & learning news
Funding available: Do you (or could you) offer CPD programmes to external employers?
The University has established a new Continuing Professional Development Fund worth £30k each year to encourage improvements in the way we meet the training and development needs of employers regionally and nationally.
Dual accreditation for new engineering degree programme
The Integrated Mechanical Electrical Engineering (IMEE) degree programme, run jointly between the Departments of Mechanical and Electronic & Electrical Engineering, has been awarded accreditation status from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the UK's qualifying body for chartered and incorporated mechanical engineers.
Student and alumni news
Award confirms Bath Students’ Union as one of the best in the UK
Members of BUSU have been invited to the Houses of Parliament on 3 October to receive an award which recognises the high standard of service they deliver to students.
Outstanding students receive Alumni Fund Scholarships
Twenty outstanding undergraduate students have been selected from 300 applications to receive £1,000 for each year of their course to help fund their studies here at the University. An additional 13 students have been selected to receive one-year Discretionary Scholarships of £1,000 each.
Two Bath graduates win SET Student of the Year Awards
Two students from the University of Bath have beaten competition from universities across the UK to come first in their field, at the Science, Engineering & Technology (SET) Student of the Year Awards 2008.
Bath graduate creates website to help students find jobs
A student from the University of Bath has set up The GradRoom, a website that uses a Facebook application to allow graduates looking for employment to showcase their skills to top recruiters in the UK.
Information
Bus services affected by evening closures of Argyle StFrom Monday 6 October for an anticipated period of five days Argyle Street will be closed to all traffic each evening from 7pm onwards due to resurfacing works. For the duration of these road works, various bus services will be affected.
Private flu vaccinations available to staff
The University Medical Centre is able to offer private flu vaccinations to University staff who do not automatically qualify for a free vaccination from their registered GP. A flu jab costs £15 and flu clinics are being run over the next few weeks on various dates.
Have your say about First buses
A new forum for students has been set up on the Students' Union website for comments or complaints about the bus services to and from the University. Staff should continue to email Annalisa Duff in the Estates department with any comments or complaints about bus services.
Hospitality October newsletter
This month's 'healthy recipe' is for French bean and prawn noodles
Staff performance
New procedures have been introduced to deal with cases of sickness, or where performance falls below expected levels or there is misconduct:
- Sickness Absence Policy
- Poor performance resulting from a lack of skills, abilities or knowledge - Capability Procedure
- Behaviour breaching the rules of conduct expected by the University - Disciplinary Procedure
Jobs
Vacant posts: www.bath.ac.uk/jobs
Deaths
Obituary of Dr Myo Aung
It is with great regret that the University announces the death of Dr Myo Aung, lecturer in the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering.
Contributor to Sport & Exercise Medicine course dies
Edward Grayson, an eminent barrister who contributed to the development of the School for Health’s postgraduate programme in Sport & Exercise Medicine, has died.
Training opportunities
- Free IT training courses for staff
- Mediation training - Info session 15 October
- Presentation skills - 24 October
Lectures
CEO of Abbey to speak about managing a large organisation in challenging financial times
Staff, students and the general public are invited to attend a free lecture on campus by António Horta-Osório, Chief Executive of Abbey Bank, on Wednesday 8 October at 6pm. Free tickets from Keren Wynn ext 3984.
Storyteller to explain how books open doors and add colour to life
Local people are invited to a talk exploring the importance of the written word at a free public lecture at the University of Bath on Wednesday 8 October 2008 at 5.15pm.
BIME's 40th anniversary lecture to explore age-related quality of life
Local people are invited to a free public lecture exploring the challenges facing medical engineering in the quest to extend life expectancy, at the University of Bath on Friday 10 October 2008 at 7pm. Free tickets from Stephanie Marshall ext 3659.
Full programme of University Public Lectures
The programme for 2008/9 is now online. Members of the general public, staff and students are all very welcome to attend. More lectures will be added as details become available.
What's on next week
Tuesday 7
12:15 PM Eucharist
12:15 PM Oxfam Lunch
Wednesday 8
13:15 PM Understanding protein kinase C: genetic and pharmacological approaches
17:15 PM Reading for Life
18:00 PM CEO of Abbey talks about managing a large organisation in challenging times
Thursday 9
17:15 PM Dead dogs in cyberspace: time, emotion and the memorialising of domestic pets
19:30 PM New light on Stonehenge: The work of the Riverside Project
Friday 10
19:00 PM Engineering a better quality of older life
19:30 PM Hunting Higgs Bosons - In the Large Hadron Collider at CERN
Arts
Workshops and Classes
- Ceramics Taster Sessions Studio 2, ICIA Arts Complex | Saturday 4 October, 11am-1pm or 1.30pm-3.30pm
Learn some basic techniques, such as hand building and how to throw clay on the wheel to make pots. - Classes and workshops in music, dance and visual arts for all levels, start week of 6 October:
Music: DJ Skills, Bath University Big Band, Pop Choir
Dance: Contemporary, Street Dance, Jazz Dance, Ballet, Flamenco, Tap
Visual Arts: Ceramics, Drawing, Painting, Life Drawing, Stained Glass, Creative Sculpture, Botanical Illustration, Creative Digital Art, Photography, Portrait Studies, Pastel, Watercolour, Gouache & Oils.
Concerts and Performances
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Bath University Student Musicals Society See What I Wanna See ICIA Arts Theatre | Friday 10 – Sunday 12 October, 7.30pm
See What I Wanna See shows that all is not what it seems when it comes to love, sex, religion and murder…This sexy saga with its punchy lyrics features a diverse range of fantastic music from cool jazz to groovy pop. - Balanescu Quartet
Maria T University Hall | Saturday 11 October, 7.30pm
Alexander Balanescu’s personal homage to the legendary, glamorous Romanian diva, Maria Tanase. Live recordings and film footage are artfully interwoven with striking images from Romania’s past. The live quartet seamlessly blends into the visual experience, their exquisite strings seeming at times to join the ghost-like presence of Maria Tanase’s own band.
Exhibitions
- Anne Tallentire Dimora ICIA Art Space 2 | Thursday 9 October-Friday 12 December
Dimora meaning dwelling or residence looks at how objects in this space are carefully arranged to create a functioning social arena, workspace or decoy.
Preview - Thursday 9 October, 6.30pm-8.30pm, and free Artist Talk 7pm-8pm, ICIA Art Space 2
To mark the opening of her exhibition, Dimora, artist Anne Tallentire talks to cultural Geographer, Dr Mike Crang (University of Durham). Concerned with the politics of location, Tallentire addresses the shifting geographies, demographics and working life of displaced persons, refugees and migrants. - Alison Marchant Charged Atmospheres | ICIA Art Space 1 | Till Friday 31 October
Alison Marchant’s fading photographs of once grand interiors, now abandoned and decaying, emphasise the passing of time.
Sport
Team Bath hosts TV and sports stars
Team Bath played host today to sports and TV stars Gabby and Kenny Logan as part of a partnership with an innovative, national web-based company that is being launched in Bath today.
Five World Cup medals for Team Bath Judo
Team Bath Judo players were among the medals in the latest round of the World Cup Series. The competitions were held in Birmingham and Oslo and were organised by the European Judo Union.
Team Bath ran out as 1-0 winners away to a battling Chalfont St. Peter side last Saturday in the FA Cup.