University Updates
17 April 2009
News
Hemp could be key to zero-carbon houses
Researchers from Architecture & Civil Engineering are investigating using hemp to build carbon-neutral homes. Using this renewable building material could help combat climate change and boost the rural economy.
IBM teams up with University
IBM has teamed up with the University throughout 2009, running a host of events on campus, from recruitment evenings to training sessions about to how to give presentations. IBM has also sponsored initiatives with the Sports Training Village, including sponsoring the new news ticker on the TeamBath website and hosting a Wimbledon event on campus.
Staff news
UBSA’s specialist tour of World War I Battlefields
Members and friends of the University of Bath Staff Association (UBSA) recently spent four days on an informative specialist tour of World War I Battlefields, led by Lt Col (Retd) Tim Courtenay, RM.
Death of Dr Klaus Kurtenbach
With deep regret the University announces the death of Dr Klaus Kurtenbach, Senior Lecturer in Biology & Biochemistry.
Student news
Student to run 350 miles in 16 days for cancer charity
Kaveh Fatemian, a final year undergraduate in Accounting & Finance, has embarked on a run from Paris to London in aid of Cancer Research UK.
Fashion show raises nearly £2,500 for cancer charity
Bath Rag have raised nearly £2,500 for charity Breast Cancer Campaign with their fourth annual fashion show held at the Assembly Rooms last month.
GASP choir win big at local music festival
GASP (Gospel Acapella Soul & Pop choir), part of the University’s student-run Choral & Orchestral Society Ch&OS, won the Gospel Choir Class at the Mid Somerset Music Festival in the Guildhall, Bath.
Student raises funds for Burmese refugees in Northern Thailand
Psychology student Steve Gomersall has recently undertaken several fundraising activities in support of the MOEI programme in northern Thailand and to raise awareness of the situation faced by child refugees. A sponsored head shave was followed by a sponsored 210-mile bike ride through the Brecon Beacons, Black Mountains and Snowdownia in Wales.
Information
University Pocket Diary 2009/10 - place your orders now
The University Pocket Diary for 2009/10 is now available to order from the Office of the University Secretary.
New starters - March 2009
The new starters update gives the name, job title and department of all new members of staff at the University who started in the previous month.
Jobs
Vacant posts: www.bath.ac.uk/job
Forthcoming lectures & conferences
Debate the future of road transport: question the experts - 30 April
Industry leaders and government experts will answer questions on the future of road transport in a free public debate at the University. The event on Thursday 30 April will give people a unique chance to find out how our road transport system is addressing green issues, what future technology will look like and how the industry is adapting to survive in a changed world.
Sustaining Future Ecosystem Services – From Understanding to Action - 26 June
This is the fifth and final conference in the series of interdisciplinary conferences organised by the Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment (I-SEE), held at the National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place, London. Speakers will review our understanding from the four seminars to date, and explore action in terms of policy and practical implications. The conference is being sponsored by a grant from ESRC/NERC and is free to all participants.
Awards, bids, nominations
2009 Staff Recognition Award
Do you know a member of support staff who
has shown initiative, innovation, creativity,
customer care skills (to either internal or external customers),
who has provided high quality services,
or who has worked beyond the call of duty to the benefit of the University? Please nominate them for a Recognition Award. Deadline for nominations - 30 April.
Bids invited to Teaching Development Fund
The Learning & Teaching Committee has agreed that no single theme be adopted for 2009/10. It is expected that project bids will include explicit consideration of inclusivity and diversity issues, but it is not intended that this is the main focus of individual proposals. Deadline for bids - 1 May.
Schinazi International Exchange Programme (SIEP) with Emory University
The Raymond F. Schinazi International Exchange Programme (SIEP), funded for five years, will begin in the 2009-10 academic year to support a faculty and postdoctoral exchange programme between Emory University and the University of Bath, to further research and education in key areas of scientific excellence. Applications by 19 June.
In the media
- Horst Feldmann spoke to the Financial Times about how countries with more flexible labour markets will recover more quickly from the recession.
- Ian Walker appeared on ITV West Country Tonight talking about cycle safety, following a police crackdown on cycling on pavements in Bath.
Training & development
- Standing up for science - media workshop for engineers, chemists & physicists 8 May
- Introduction to the media for plant scientists 11 May
- Voice projection & presentation skills workshop 22 April
- Enhancing learning using emotional intelligence workshop 28 April
- Intellectual property 23 April
- Step up to management - 3 part course - 28 April, 11 May, 28 May
- IT courses
- Content Management System (CMS) courses
What's on next week
More details about events below
Monday 20
13:15 PM BICS seminar
19:30 PM Hydrogen - Number one element - Number one fuel
Tuesday 21
16:30 PM Green electricity from run of river hydro in an historic setting
19:30 PM The Descent of Man - Darwin's shadow on the Victorian imagination
Wednesday 22
From 13.15 PM DEID Placement Conference 2009
13:15 PM Balancing the risks and rewards of medicine use
19:30 PM Bodysoc - Continuum: from sunrise to sunset
19:30 PM Pyramids built of fake stone?
Friday 24
19:30 PM The importance of genetics in the understanding of evolution
Arts
Concerts and Performances
- BODYSOC Continuum: From Sunrise to Sunset ICIA Arts Theatre | Wednesday 22 - Saturday 25 April, 7.30pm, Saturday matinee, 2.30pm
Produced by students from the University’s effervescent dance society, this original and energetic show interprets a period of 24 hours – from dawn till dusk. - Icebreaker Komedia, Bath | Thursday 30 April, 8pm
One of the UK’s finest new music ensembles, this virtuosic 14-piece group features a mix of panpipes, electric guitars, keyboards, accordion, electric strings and saxes. Icebreaker’s unique sound takes you from exhilarating frenzy to soaring sonorities. - Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company ICIA Arts Theatre | Saturday 9 May, 7.30pm
Highly respected for their imaginative and critically acclaimed work that gives cultural diversity a unique spin, award-winning choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh’s latest piece playfully explores cross-cultural eating.
Exhibitions
- Tea Brown Fields, Blue Skies ICIA Art Space 1 | Until Friday 12 June, 10am-5pm
Tea is a collaborative group of visual artists who search for the unfamiliar in familiar places. In this project they document their ‘occupation’ of a wasteland, Widnes Waterfront poised for regeneration. - Pam Skelton Dwelling in the Space of Conspiracy ICIA Art Space 2 | Wednesday 29 April - Friday 5 June, 10am-5pm
Using video, photography and mapping, Skelton plots out patterns of surveillance to retrace the stasi spy network in the last decade of the German Democratic Republic. She constructs an unsettling portrait of a city with 483 spy cells for monitoring citizens.
Talks
- Pam Skelton & Jessica Dubow in Conversation ICIA Art Space 2, 3WN 2.1 | Wednesday 29 April 7pm-8pm
To mark the opening of her exhibition, artist Pam Skelton talks to Cultural Geographer, Dr Jessica Dubow (University of Sheffield). Skelton’s exhibition retraces the stasi spy network in the last decade of the German Democratic Republic.
Staff music tuition
Are you a member of staff at the University of Bath? If so, would you be interested in having music lessons? We are thinking of offering some staff music tuition places to complement our existing student scheme. If you're interested, please send your name and contact details to ICIAinfo@bath.ac.uk stating your interest.
Sport
Pearce strikes series winner for England under-21s
Sports Performance student Harriet Pearce scored the goal that secured the England under-21 hockey team a series win over their Spanish counterparts at the weekend.
Pamela on shortlist for player of year award
TeamBath shooter and Business Administration graduate Pamela Cookey heads the list of nominees for the coveted Kukri player of the year award, after leading TeamBath to the 2009 netball Superleague crown.
TeamBath pair in GB European Championships team
Two TeamBath judo players have been selected to represent Great Britain at the European Championships, which take place in Georgia later this month. Andy Burns, who is studying Coach Education and Sports Development contests the under-90kg class at the championships, while Sian Wilson competes in the women’s under-78kg class.