University Updates
12 December 2008
Information
BUCS scheduled maintenance - this weekend
To enable engineering work to take place on our campus network we anticipate that there will be no university network services (including access to the website, email and Moodle) available during the weekend of 13-14 December. This is a planned and necessary interruption to enable vital and widespread upgrade work to be carried out.
Closure of North Services Road - next week
The northern service road will be closed for resurfacing next week (Monday 15-Friday 19 December). However, this may need to be extended into the weekend if the weather is particularly inclement. Access to the Nursery for drop off only will be permitted until 9.00am as far as Polden Court Car Park, using the Quarry Road end of the North Service Road. Unfortunately, this accessibility cannot be provided for picking up at the end of the day and carers are advised to park in the West Car Park.
Opening times during Christmas vacation
A list of opening times for services on campus and in Bath for those who are staying at the University over the vacation.
Send an e-Christmas card
The Web Team have created their usual facility enabling students and staff to send electronic Christmas cards.
Thank you very much to all who completed Agresso survey
The Agresso team are very grateful to all staff who responded to the recent user survey, particularly to those of you who added narrative comments about specific items; where possible the team will be responding to individuals and publishing some general responses in the Newsletter.
Coffee taster day & Hot drinks survey
Hospitality at Bath would like to thank everybody that attended its coffee taster day. The event was a big success, over 4,000 cups of coffee were tested and a lot of feedback was given. Over 550 responses were received in the Hot Drinks Survey. All the information gathered will help Hospitality to make future decisions based on customers’ preferences.
The full results will be published in January.
Recycle your waste
You can currently recycle carrier bags, used stamps and postcards (the stamps and postcards will be sorted and sold to raise funds for education and health projects in the Sudan) in the Students' Union shop and there are various places to recycle inkjet cartridges on campus.
Summary of Executive Committee
The summary notes of the Executive Committee held on 29 October 2008 are now available online.
National Teaching Fellowship Scheme
Staff are invited to put themselves or their colleagues forward for
nomination by the University for the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme.
Will you run for RICE? Bath half marathon places
Jobs
Vacant posts: www.bath.ac.uk/jobs
Research
Are you involved in research on cancer?
Academics and other independent researchers are invited to a meeting to discuss the inauguration of a University of Bath Cancer Forum. The meeting will take place in the Pavillion in the Department of Biology & Biochemistry (4S) on 6 January 2009 at 2.15pm.
Pioneering space station experiment keeps reactions in suspense
A revolutionary container-less chemical reactor that can produce new materials in zero-gravity, pioneered by the space research team at Guigné International Ltd (GIL) with scientists in the Department of Physics, has been installed on the International Space Station.
Take part in a research study on epilepsy
Researchers from the Department of Psychology invite staff and students with epilepsy to take part in an online survey that investigates how epilepsy affects the way people think before and during a seizure.
Paper voted 'best peer-reviewed paper' at conference
A paper entitled "Strategies for the Curation of CAD Engineering Models" co-authored by Lian Ding of the Bath Innovative Design & Manufacturing Research Centre (Mechanical Engineering) and Manjula Patel & Alexander Ball of UKOLN, has been voted the best peer-reviewed paper at the 4th International Digital Curation Conference.
Bank of England expert gives talk on monetary policy
Professor Andrew Sentance presented a lecture entitled "A bust without a boom? Issues in UK monetary policy" to economics staff and students on campus, drawing on his first-hand experience as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England responsible for setting UK interest rates.
Graduations
The winter award ceremonies took place at the Assembly Rooms this week. Thanks to all those involved in making them their usual success.
- Honorary graduates receive degrees at awards ceremonies
The University awarded four honorary degrees this week to Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State; musician Joanna MacGregor - Artistic Director of Bath International Music Festival; John Grimshaw - Special Advisor to Cycling England; and Nick Barton - Chief Executive of Action on Addiction. - Graduate proves age is no barrier to education
Graham Dennis from the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering graduated at the age of 73, gaining an MPhil (Master of Philosophy). - Student graduates after heart failure
Department of Mathematical Sciences student Philip Au graduated this week despite collapsing earlier in the year with a heart attack. - Vox pop
Some of the first students to graduate shared their thoughts.
Student news
PhD student co-authors text book with leading transport economist
Graham Mallard, who is doing his PhD in Economics at Bath, has recently published a text book on transport economics with Professor Stephen Glaister of Imperial College.
Student wins enterprise award
Alex Simpson (Architecture) has been awarded the runner-up prize for Best Student Business Plan at the 2008 Knowledge West Enterprise Awards. Alex received a prize of £2,500 for the development of StudentPranks.com, an online community which allows students to share their amusing video clips.
Travellingbug students invited to share expertise in South Africa
Students James Jardella and Ian Woolley have been asked to speak at an international business conference in South Africa. The MIT Global Startup Workshop have invited the pair to attend due to the success of their venture, Travellingbug, an enterprise that seeks to offer advice and help to volunteers for a fraction of the cost of most specialised volunteering companies.
Architecture student receives prestigious RIBA dissertation commendation
Ross Tredget has been awarded a Royal Institute of British Architects Dissertation Commendation for his dissertation entitled: Expressing the Transpersonal: The Work of Peter Zumthor. Ross was supervised by Martin Gledhill.
Alumni activity
Launch of India Chapter
The launch of the University of Bath India Alumni Chapter took place at the prestigious Imperial Hotel in Delhi on 22 November. The British Deputy High Commissioner and Minister, Creon Butler, attended as a guest of honour.
Alumnus hosts reception at Microsoft, London
Over 130 alumni gathered at Microsoft’s London headquarters in Westminster for a special Alumni Reception, hosted by Bath graduate Neil Holloway (BSc Mathematics 1982, Hon DSc 2008), who is Vice President of Business Strategy for Microsoft International.
Bath alumnus unlocks the secrets of management consulting
Students at the School of Management enjoyed an inside view of the world of management consultancy recently, when David Warren (BSc Engineering 1973) came to campus to give a fascinating insight into the industry, the major players, how the sector works – and, most importantly, how to get hired.
Pharmacy graduates gather for annual dinner
Alumni from the University of Bath met at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in London for a reunion dinner in mid-November.
Alumni tread the boards at the Theatre Royal
The Alumni Relations Office recently organised a special behind-the-scenes tour of the Theatre Royal in Bath, considered to be one of the most important surviving examples of Georgian Theatre.
In the media
- Rhodri Armour (Mechanical Engineering) was filmed for British Satellite News exhibiting his jumping, rolling robot.
- Laurie Peter (Chemistry) appeared on British Satellite News showing the use of photosynthetic dyes from raspberries to produce cheaper, more environmentally friendly solar cells.
- Ken Bray (School for Health) was interviewed on Radio Wiltshire about the psychology of football.
- James Davenport and graduate Philip Au (Maths) talked to BBC Radio Bristol about Philip's experience of having a heart attack whilst running the Bath Half Marathon but going on to complete his degree.
Training opportunities
- The art of proposal writing - 15 December
- Overcoming blocks to writing - 18 December
- Free IT training courses for staff
Conferences & workshops
Sixth European Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems
The workshop, which is being organised by Marina De Vos and Julian Padget (Computer Science), is taking place on campus on 18 and 19 December.
Annual UK Research Office visit
The University of Bath's annual UKRO event will be taking place on 22 January 2009. The day will be presented by Emma Carey, the new European Advisor for the UK Research Councils European Office.
New frontiers in cellular imaging
This BioImaging conference will take place on Friday 16 January 2009.
Fostering partnership between Royal United Hospital and University
The Technologies for Healthy Living & Wellbeing Interdisciplinary Research Cluster will host a networking event for clinicians and academics at the RUH on 12 January 2009.
Action research to promote the social stewardship of ecosystem services
The fourth in the series of interdisciplinary conferences ‘Sustaining Future Ecosystem Services – From Understanding to Action’ organised by the Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment (I-SEE) will take place on Thursday 19 February 2009, at the Hilton Bath City Hotel.
What's on next week
More details about events below
Monday 15
13:15 PM Social insects and other animals
Tuesday 16
12:30 PM UBSA Christmas Quiz
13:15 PM CNM seminar
19:30 PM What do we now know about the causes of evolution?
Wednesday 17
13:15 PM PARP inhibitors – the answer to everything!
Sport
Lights to go out for Tinsel Tennis BashTeamBath is hosting a festive bout of ‘night tennis’ at the University of Bath Sports Training Village on Thursday 18 December. Games will be played out in the dark, with the only light source coming from ultra-violet lighting. Balls and rackets will be sprayed with a ultra-violet reflecting paint and the court lines will be marked out with reflective tape. TeamBath tennis coaches and academy players will play out exhibition games – and you can also have a go.
Coaches wanted for kids' Tribe sports
Tribe is on the look-out for enthusiastic individuals, who have a passion for sport, and hold a minimum of 'Level 1' coaching qualifications, who can deliver sport to a wide age range of children.
Indoor hockey season gets underway
The indoor hockey season gets underway this weekend when TeamBath Buccaneers host the annual Sitec Indoor League in the Founders Hall at the University of Bath. Ladies are playing on Saturday and men on Sunday.
TeamBath’s netballers face their toughest challenge of the season to date when they travel to Loughborough Lightning for tomorrow’s (Saturday) Co-operative Superleague fixture.