University Updates
14 May 2010
Research
Every picture tells a story…of research at Bath!
Images of Research is a photographic exhibition which gives researchers the chance to highlight their work in images. It has opened today (Friday) and is running until Saturday 15 May at The Octagon, Milsom Place, Bath. Why not consider popping in if you are in the city over the weekend?
Is breakfast the most important meal of the day for you?
James Betts and Dylan Thompson (School for Health) are looking for volunteers to take part in a project designed to explore how important breakfast is to our health. The team has been awarded £481,000 for the three-year investigation into whether regularly skipping breakfast can lead to weight gain and associated negative health consequences.
World governments fail to deliver on 2010 biodiversity target
World leaders have failed to deliver commitments made in 2002 to reduce the global rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, says a study co-authored by Simon Stuart, a Visiting Professor of the Biodiversity Lab (Biology & Biochemistry). The study, published recently in the journal Science, reports that there has been an alarming decline in the number of species on the planet.
Your feelings about online advertising
As part of a research project, Mina Vasalou (School of Management) is looking for volunteers to take a five-minute survey to share your thoughts and feelings about online advertising. She'd be very grateful if you could find the time to complete the online survey.
News
New film showcases student centre
The new £5.5 million student centre is under construction. But what lies behind the building boards and what will be unveiled in September in time for the new academic year? This short film by Alison Jones (Corporate Communications) and Sacha Goodwin (Audio-Visual Unit) gives you a chance to find out.
School pupils become forensic science sleuths
Almost 150 pupils from schools in the South West will be tasked with fixing Dr Who’s Tardis at the Salters’ Festivals of Chemistry to be held on campus on Tuesday 18 May and Thursday 20 May. Each of the 36 schools will be represented by a team of four 11-13 year olds. The festivals at Bath are two of a series of 51 festivals which are taking place at universities throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland between March and June 2010 with the aim of promoting the appreciation of chemistry and related sciences among the young.
Bath graduate donates new Asia/Pacific Scholarship
Alumnus Stuart Appleton (BSc Social Sciences 1976) has made a generous gift to establish a scholarship, open to students from 32 countries within the Asia/Pacific region, to study for a taught postgraduate degree within the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences at the University.
Latest news from School of Management
The School of Management e-newsletter brings you the latest news about staff, students and alumni.
Memorial stone to mark lives lost or injured on local roads
Staff and students have given generously (including the Students' Union RAG Committee and the staff trade union UNISON) towards a memorial stone to recognise and remember ‘lives lost and broken on south west roads’. The stone will be unveiled in a garden off Lower Borough Walls in Bath on Saturday 22 May, at 11am and all are invited to attend, whether or not they have been directly affected, and are welcome to bring photographs and a single stem flower to place on the memorial during the ceremony. The project has been led by Barbara Davies, the widow of the former Dean of Science at the University, the late Professor Dai Davies.
Awards & accolades
Ede & Ravenscroft Prize judging - showcasing the very best of our postgrad researchers
The Ede & Ravenscroft Prize Committee has now shortlisted five research students after an unusually high number of outstanding applications. Staff & students are invited to a public event at 5.30pm on Monday 24 May when the five finalists will each give a short presentation on their research. This is a great opportunity not only to hear about some of the cutting-edge research carried out by our research students but also to visit the new Graduate Centre in 4 West so do please come along.
High Impact Badges of Honour for two Bath entrepreneur initiatives
Two entrepreneurial schemes run by the University have been singled out for praise by the organisers of Global Entrepreneurship Week, which took place in November 2009:
- School of Management’s Bath Entrepreneur in Residence (BEiR) scheme
- Banter’s Apprentice-style shop.
Two Bath students win Student Employee of the Year at regional level
James Huelin (MSc Management), who works as a supervisor in SU Bars, has won the Student Employee of the Year Leadership Award having been nominated by his manager, Adrian Boreham. Nik Kamal (MEng Mechanical Engineering), who works for Earth’s Wisdom in Bath, has won the International Student Employee of the Year. Local pub The Pulteney Arms was selected as the regional winner in the employer category. All three will now go forward for national judging, where they will face competition from winners from six other regions.
SORTED training & academic representative award ceremony
Awards were given to student trainers as well as academic reps for their efforts throughout the year. In addition, two staff awards were presented:
- Teressa Mitchard (School of Management) - Departmental Administrator for the Year.
- Katherine Harbord (European Studies & Modern Languages) - Personal Tutor of the Year
TeamBath Racing gains support from Santander
Students from Mechanical Engineering have secured financial support from Santander to help fund their development of the Formula Student car. Santander has an underlying commitment to providing support in education and their keen interest in supporting technical fields and the ties with Formula 1 meant it was identified as an ideal matching.
Staff notices
Staff & postgraduate music lessons in the summer?
ICIA is seeking indications of interest from postgraduate students and University staff for taking music lessons on campus in the summer. If lessons were to take place, the fee would be £30 per hour and would take place on campus. Please send indications of interest to ICIAinfo@bath.ac.uk
Staff reps wanted for University Court
The Statutes of the University provide for three members of staff who are not academic staff to serve on the Court of the University (i.e. one member of staff from each of the following job families: (i) management, specialist and administration (ii) technical and experimental (iii) operational and facilities support). Members of academic staff are separately represented on Court. Nominations are invited for each of the three job families.
Discounts: A language passport for your holiday abroad!
Learn a foreign language and take advantage of the reduced rates for staff. The Foreign Languages Centre is enrolling for its summer term programme but be quick, lessons started this last week.
Information
On-campus food delivery service Food Direct launches new menu
Hospitality's food tasting session in February provided plenty of positive feedback and just the right steer on what people on campus really want. The new on-campus food delivery service offers improved choice of food, more sustainable delivery options and a new hot line mobile number for customers to help with the delivery of food. The menu offers a wider selection of sandwiches, rolls, wraps, finger food and soup. You can build your own menu from the selection of portion sized platters offering both sweet and savoury food.
Proof of Concept for Commercialisation Funding: call for bids
Announced at the Bath Ventures Technology Commercialisation Campaign launch event, a call for funding proposals under the current commercialisation campaign is now open.
Please keep records of television & radio recordings in May
During May staff members who record television and radio programmes for teaching purposes (whether on or off campus) are requested to keep records of any recordings they make, and send the details to the Audio Visual Unit as part of an annual survey conducted by the Educational Recording Agency (ERA). Thank you for your co-operation.
Library summer loans policy is changing
Seven-day loan books issued from the last week of Semester 2 will be loaned out for the entire vacation and be due back in the first week of Semester 1. The normal loan period for 28-day loan books will not change during the vacation period. This policy will make it more likely that 28-day loan items, usually required by staff and researchers, will remain on campus during the Summer vacation period.
BaleHaus@Bath acoustic test
An acoustic test will be undertaken on the BaleHaus@Bath tonight (Friday 14 May) at 6pm to assess its acoustic performance. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Swap Shop wiki
Does your department need to get rid of something that might be useful to another department? Why not use Purchasing’s Swap Shop wiki to swap it?
Jobs
Vacant posts: http://www.bath.ac.uk/jobs/
Training & development
- Presenting numerical data - 19 May
- Spring Funder Event: Funding opportunities & improving chances of success - 20 May
- Using feedback to enhance student learning - 27 May
- Performance management: Part 2: Skills & techniques - 9 Jun
- Retirement - Planning for the future - 15 Jun
- Introduction to project management (Manchester) - 17 June
- Staff: Improve your IT skills
- e-Learning staff development programme
In the media
Newspapers & online:
- Richard Whitman chairs debate on UK foreign policy after Election BBC Parliament Channel
- Ian Walker says endorsement by respected companies may overcome doubts about electric cars Reuters UK
- Peter Eley quoted in article about giving feedback to interviewees Recruiter
- Watch Mech Eng graduate talk about inventing off-road wheelchair BBC
- Hammerhead shark research by Jonathan Cox highlighted THE
- Richard Whitman talks about minority led governments Voice of America
- Bath graduate advises stroking lettuces to make them tastier Express
- Research by Rhodri Armour cited Discovery News
- School for Health lecturers take part in live webchat: 'What can I do with a degree in sports science?' Guardian
- Team Bath netballers seeking historic fourth title win BBC
- Home-grown Olympians are guests of honour at the Catholic Chaplaincy summer reception Bath Chronicle
Radio:
- Richard Whitman (European Studies & Modern Languages) appeared on BBC Radio Bristol discussing Gordon Brown's resignation and how the British political system compares to that in Europe.
- James Betts (School for Health) talked about a new study to find out if breakfast is the most important meal of the day Heart FM.
Lectures, seminars & podcasts
i-med: Serious apps for mobile healthcare Wednesday 19 May
The aim of the i-med workshop is to unite industry and healthcare sectors in discussion of healthcare apps for smartphones. The event, in the Innovations Centre, will provide delegates with cross-sector networking opportunities and the potential for collaboration to exploit this promising technology.
An illustrated guide to Armageddon-Britain’s Cold War
The future of the South West’s redundant nuclear structures from the Cold War will be up for discussion at a free public lecture on campus on Wednesday 19 May at 5:15pm (8 West 3.22)
Seminar on the Internationalisation of Higher Education
All are welcome to a free seminar on the Internationalisation of Higher Education on Thursday 10 June. The day starts at 10am with coffee and finishes at 4pm.
The Art of Craigie Aitchison Tuesday 15 June
John McEwen, art critic and author, will give a public lecture entitled The Art of Craigie Aitchison in the University Hall on Tuesday 15 June from 5-6pm. Mr McEwen was art columnist for The Spectator and The Sunday Telegraph. He has written extensively on Craigie Aitchison, whom he met in the 1960s. He conducted the last interview with Aitchison, in Country Life, December 2009.
Public lectures
The programme of free lectures open for staff, students and the general public.
Podcasts
Catch up on public lectures you may have missed.
- New this week!
Smoking still kills: what next for tobacco control?
Professor Linda Bauld, Head of the Department of Social & Policy Sciences and member of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, outlines the extent of the tobacco epidemic and what can be done to reduce smoking rates further. Download MP3 [22MB]
Exhibitions
Every picture tells a story…of research at Bath!
Images of Research is a photographic exhibition which gives researchers the chance to highlight their work in images. It has opened today and is running until Saturday 15 May at The Octagon, Milsom Place, Bath. Try and find time to pop in if you are in the city over the weekend.
Craigie Aitchison: A Retrospective | 16, Lansdown Crescent, Bath | Friday 18, Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 June,12-4pm
Bathonians are being invited to a rare viewing of some of the most exclusive works of the late artist and Bath honorary graduate Craigie Aitchison. The exhibition will be held at the Vice-Chancellor's residence in Lansdown Crescent and gathers together paintings held within private collections to celebrate the achievements of Craigie Aitchison RA, widely recognised as one of Britain’s finest and most respected figurative artists. This is the first retrospective of his work since his death in December 2009.
Margareta Kern Guest | ICIA Art Space 1 | Until Friday 18 June
Artist Margareta Kern took up her artist residency in the Department of Social & Policy Sciences from 4 March. The residency is organised by ICIA and is presented as part of its 2010 programme of events that explore ‘the place of work’. Whilst in residence, Kern uses Art Space 1 as a site of production for her new installation Guest, which will develop and change over the course of the exhibition. Kern will engage staff and students of the University community to explore, compare and contrast her own artistic methods of enquiry with those used in the sociology of work.
Deborah Robinson - Fish-Eye-I | ICIA Art Space 2 | Until Friday 11 June
Artist-in-residence Deborah Robinson enters the hidden world of the aquatic lab in the Department of Biology & Biochemistry. Catching glimpses of researchers going about their daily work, Robinson captures the strange poetic beauty of this see-through world – from fish, water and tank, to the lens of the camera itself.
What's on
| Monday 17 | 13:15 PM Complexity seminar 19:30 PM The future of GM crops |
| Tuesday 18 | 12:15 PM Mid week Eucharist/H C Service 13:15 PM CNM seminar 19:00 PM Human trafficking in Europe and Asia 19:30 PM E.M.Forster & 'Howard's End' |
| Wednesday 19 | 17:15 PM An illustrated guide to Armageddon: Britain’s Cold War |
| Thursday 20 | 14:30 PM Researching “social problems” from the perspectives of children and young people 16:15 PM Council 18:30 PM Arcadian rivals in Somerset |
Sport
Swimmer Kate Grey is Sports Personality of the Year
Swimmer Kate Grey was named winner of the University of Bath Sports Personality of the Year award at Wednesday's annual Blues Awards ceremony. Kate, a Coach Education & Sports Development student, beat off a strong challenge from judo player Tom Reed (Business Administration) and netballer Amanda Trounce (Pharmacy) in a poll of members of the student Sports Association to win the award.
Another epic battle expected as TeamBath face Mavericks in netball Superleague final
TeamBath must overcome Hertfordshire Mavericks in Saturday’s (15 May) Co-operative Superleague grand final to secure a historic fourth Superleague crown.
The match is being televised live on Sky Sports
4 and features the only two teams to have won the Superleague, with TeamBath collecting the titles in 2006, 2007 and 2009, and Mavericks winning in 2008.
Bath athletics silver at Outdoor Championships
Battling bad weather and tough competition at the British Universities & Colleges Outdoor Athletics Championships, the University of Bath came second overall in the men’s competition and fifth in the women’s.