News
Contents
Jet engine exhibit lands in ManchesterSingapore looks to Manchester for Optometry
New Darwin specimen discovered at the Museum
University Challenge
Top scientist visits
UK's first virtual awards ceremony
General Assembly
Legacy Scheme
Medals of Honour
Sir David Attenborough celebrates Darwin with Nowgen
Jet engine exhibit lands in Manchester
Manchester - the cradle of the first British jet engine - is set to become a national centre for hands-on education about jet engines. A new permanent interactive exhibition, led by The University of Manchester, which opened recently at MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) in Manchester allows school children and other visitors to see inside a state-of-the-art jet engine and design their own engine.
'So you think You Can Design a Jet Engine' sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), is the first display in a British museum which demonstrates how a jet engine works. It showcases the virtual 3D Rolls-Royce Trent 900 jet engine on the Airbus A380, and aims to inspire young people about engineering.
The exhibition, aimed at engaging and enthusing young people about the materials used inside jet engines. It is just one facet of a large public engagement programme headed up by Professor Phil Withers, Director of the University's Aerospace Research Institute, that was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering/Nexus Solutions Education Innovation Award in 2007.
Professor Withers said: "Our state-of-the-art 3D journey through a Jet Engine allows young people to see how the engine works and to design a jet engine of their own to see if it can fly. We have found it to be a great way to showcase novel research going on within universities, and hopefully inspire engineers of the future!"
Stephen Mycock, a teacher at Stretford Grammar School who visited the exhibition with pupils said: "The 'How to design a jet engine' display fits very well into the new science GCSE as it shows how scientists use the properties of materials for real life uses, which is a very important part of the syllabus. It is a fun and interactive simulation and it is harder than it first seems to make the plane fly! The display also helps pupils to realise that there are many different jobs for scientists after university as well as the traditional career routes of doctors and dentists."
Singapore looks to Manchester for Optometry
The University of Manchester has signed an agreement with Singapore Polytechnic and NHG Eye Institute@TTSH (Tan Tock Seng Hospital) to run the country's first degree course in Optometry.
With four out of five male teenagers in Singapore suffering short-sightedness (myopia), the country is desperate for fully-trained optometrists.
The Bachelor of Science (with Honours) in Optometry, which includes a placement at the hospital, boasts $2 million of new equipment and facilities.
The University's Vice-President for Teaching and Learning Professor Colin Stirling, the Faculty of Life Sciences Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning Professor Richard Reece, Programme Director Phil Morgan and Head of Administration Rachel Brealey attended the signing along with their Singaporean colleagues and Singapore's Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Rear Admiral Lui Tuck Yew.
Rear Admiral Lui Tuck Yew said: "A high quality and well-directed education is a necessary and long-term investment to produce a quality workforce. We must anticipate and design suitable programmes to meet Singapore's future needs. Singapore Polytechnic's collaboration with The University of Manchester is an example of such a programme with the needs of our population in mind."
Professor Stirling said: "The University of Manchester has long been an important centre for Optometry, and the British Optical Association was founded at the University in 1964. Manchester also has a long history of working in Singapore and we have been welcoming Singaporean students to our city for many years.
"This new validated degree programme with Singapore Polytechnic is the latest development in this tradition of co-operation and collaboration."
New Darwin specimen discovered at the Museum
The Manchester Museum recently discovered a specimen of sea stock collected by Charles Darwin in its collection which specimen had been hidden away in the Museum's collection for around 100 years.
Previously overlooked, as there was no direct reference to Darwin on its label, the sea stock's genuine identity was pieced together from known facts, including the name of Darwin's tutor - Professor John Stevens Henslow - at the University of Cambridge, and Darwin's location in Barmouth, Wales in August 1831, found on the specimen label.
With a corresponding specimen in their own collection, colleagues at the University of Cambridge confirmed that it was a genuine Darwin specimen.
Curator of Botany at The Manchester Museum, Leander Wolstenholme commented, "We are delighted to find this specimen in the collection. To have any Darwin specimen in the collection is very special. We are very lucky in the Museum, as we already have thirteen specimens collected by Darwin during his voyage of the Beagle."
"This particular specimen relates to Darwins earlier life and was collected during his vacation just after he finished university. He would have collected the specimen about two months before he set sail on the Beagle. At the time of its picking, Darwin had no inkling that he was about to set forth on one of the most legendary scientific journeys of all time."
The sea stock specimen came to the Museum through a Victorian network of specimen exchanges or swapping societies which were very popular in the 19th Century.
This specimen and others collected by Darwin, was put on public display at the Museum's Big Darwin Birthday Bash on Saturday 14 February held to mark Darwin's 200th birthday.
University Challenge
Manchester has narrowly failed to achieve a second series victory in four years in the long-running television quiz University Challenge.
Following series victory in 2005/06 and the runner-up's spot in 2006/07 for Manchester, the 2008/09 team made it three finals in four years by beating Lincoln College, Oxford, in the semi-final by a convincing margin of 345-30.
They then took an early lead in the final against Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and held it until Corpus Christi overtook them in the last five minutes and went on to win 275-190.
The team comprised Matthew Yeo (captain) (PhD in the History of the Book), Simon Baker (Politics and Modern History), Henry Pertinez (PhD in Pharmacokinetics) and Reuben Roy (Medicine).
The University of Manchester nevertheless has a record in the competition which is second-to-none, having reached at least the semi-finals every year for the last five years. Team organiser Stephen Pearson of the John Rylands University Library will be selecting the team for the 2009/2010 series later this month.
Top scientist visits
Professor John Beddington, Government Chief Scientific Adviser toured the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, during a day-long visit to the University.
During the visit Professor Beddington visited Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre (MIB) and the Joule Centre for Energy Research in the North West.
He witnessed a demonstration of the wave tank in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and
Civil Engineering.
Also he heard about research in the Sygenta Sensors University Innovation Centre (UIC) that could reduce the amount of food that is wasted in transit across the globe.
Commenting on the visit, Professor John Perkins, Vice-President and Dean for the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, said: "We were delighted to welcome John Beddington to the University and to show him some of the University's ground-breaking research on issues of global importance."
UK's first virtual awards ceremony
Senior BP executives from around the globe gathered in Manchester Business School's Second Life to take part in the UK's first virtual awards ceremony last month.
On 17 February, the first cohort to complete BP's project management course at Manchester Business School were awarded their certificates in the virtual world of Second Life, complete with specially designed graduation gowns, lifelike avatars of dignitaries, an academic procession (pictured above) and speeches.
The virtual awards ceremony is the culmination of the year-long programme which enables BP executives from the UK, USA, Canada, Angola, Indonesia, Alaska and Russia to apply the latest business thinking to practical challenges they are facing in their business life.
The ceremony took place in the Whitworth Room of Manchester Business School's Second Life Island. Created by Corporation Pop, the Whitworth Room forms part of the School's space-age tower structure in the virtual world and takes inspiration (in name only) from Whitworth Hall where the University holds its real-life graduation ceremonies.
Dom Raban, managing director of Corporation Pop who managed the event said: "It would be almost impossible for 18 of BP's senior executives, who are spread across the globe, to take part in a traditional awards ceremony. By holding it virtually, we have made it possible for them to be rewarded for their achievements with minimal disruption, saving time and money as well as reducing environmental impact."
Professor Michael Luger, Director and Dean of Manchester Business School said: "MBS' innovative approach to e-learning is driving our presence in Second Life - adding value to the real time experience of our students. The award ceremony for BP executives is the first of its kind in the UK and we're delighted that we can bring the cohort together to celebrate their achievements in this way."
During the ceremony the student-controlled avatars climbed the stage to receive their certificates and scripted handshakes enabled them to be congratulated by the Dean, as in real-life. They were given a hyperlink to a website where certificates could be downloaded and following the event received a machinima (filmmaking in a virtual space) souvenir film of the ceremony.
General Assembly
The University is seeking applications from people outside the University who would like to draw on their experience and expertise in order to make an important contribution to the broader governance framework at The University of Manchester.
The General Assembly is a body of more than 200 members largely made up of lay members. These are drawn from a wide range of local, regional and national interests and, in particular, provide links with industry, commerce and the public services.
The Assembly is the forum where legitimate interests in the affairs of the University can be heard and provides an interface between the University and its stakeholders.
Applications are welcome from individuals with a record of achievement within or outside their careers which can be applied in a variety of ways to benefit the University. Applicants should be in sympathy with the values of higher education and with the aims and objectives of a university that is pursuing an ambitious agenda for the future. The appointments are unpaid and are not open to anyone holding any paid positions within the University.
The closing date for applications is 3 April 2009.
For further information and an application form, please visit:
Legacy Scheme
Alumni, staff, former staff, friends and partners have been among those who have already remembered the University in their wills.
Since the merger of the two universities in 2004, The University of Manchester has received more than £4 million from supporters as part of the Legacy Programme.
A Legacy is a gift left in a will. By making such a gift to the University, it can have a real and enduring effect by speeding up vital research; strengthening an academic discipline; helping to attract the best undergraduate and postgraduate students, irrespective of their personal circumstances; and helping to recruit the best teachers and researchers.
Among those who have made donations are Miss Margaret Blount, who received a BA (Hons) History in 1951 and an MA in History in 1974, whose gift provided for the John Rylands University Library's book fund; Emeritus Professor William Brice, who was a long-serving professor in the Department of Geography, whose gift supports vacation study for undergraduates; and Miss Betty Kemp, who received a BA (Hons) History in 1940 and who lectured for a time at the University, whose gift has supported the Department of History.
Further information about the University's Legacy Brochure can be found at:
Contact:
- Louise Hancock, Division of Development and Alumni Relations, 0161 275 7230
Medals of Honour
The University awarded Medals of Honour to two distinguished individuals last month. The Medal of Honour is the highest non-degree award bestowed by the University and is given to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the work of the University, city or region.
Bill Williams, renowned for his work on oral history and his studies of the history of Jews in Manchester and Jane Davies, Chief Executive of Manchester Science Park Limited (msp) were the recipients.
Mr Williams, who is based at the University's Centre for Jewish studies, has a distinguished career spanning more than 40 years.
He helped to establish Manchester Jewish Museum in 1984 and became its first chairman of trustees and has produced a series of landmark studies in local history. Between 1988 and 1991, he co-ordinated interviews with Holocaust survivors for the National Sound Archive. And in 1993, he became a lecturer and research supervisor in Religions and Theology at The University of Manchester, retiring from that role in 2006.
Since 2002 he has managed a research project funded by the Association of Jewish Refugees.
Co-director of the Centre for Jewish Studies, Professor Philip Alexander, was one of the scholars who nominated him for the award. He said: "Bill has shown incredible dedication to the city of Manchester and its Jewish community. His pioneering methods of research, such as the use of oral testimony, serve as a blueprint to historians worldwide.
"We are immensely grateful for his long and distinguished service to the Centre for Jewish Studies, where he is held in high esteem by students and colleagues alike."
Jane Davies was appointed Chief Executive of msp in October 2000. Acknowledged as one of the UK's most successful science parks, msp, was established in 1984 adjacent to the academic campus.
A partnership between the city of Manchester, the universities and commercial investors, the Science Park is now home to more than 100 high tech organisations creating more than 1000 jobs in key regeneration areas such as Hulme and East Manchester.
Jane's previous roles include PVC plant chemist, international oil trader in New York, opera festival director, FCO planner and regional manager of BP's international aviation business.
Jane's influence and profile has been recognised by her election as current Chair of the UK Science Park Association. In June 2006 she was elected Chairman of the European Division of the International Association of Science Parks - a two-year appointment. She is also a Director of Manchester Enterprises, the economic development agency for Greater Manchester and of the Oxford Road Corridor Investment Partnership.
Professor Rod Coombs, Vice-President (Innovation And Economic Development), who presented Jane at the award ceremony, said "Jane Davies has led msp superbly, with the result that it is now seen as one of the most successful science parks in the country. This is a tremendous asset to the city and to The University of Manchester. We all owe her a lot."
Sir David Attenborough celebrates Darwin with Nowgen
Staff from Nowgen recently demonstrated their latest practical work to Sir David Attenborough. The renowned natural scientist visited the Wellcome Collection to launch a set of Darwin 200 initiatives, funded by The Wellcome Trust.
The Survival Rivals project, which celebrates Darwin's 200th birthday, will provide every secondary school student in the UK with the chance to take part in Darwin-inspired experiments. Nowgen has been commissioned by the Wellcome Trust to develop practical workshops for A-level students, which will be delivered from the Nowgen laboratory, along with two other national science centres.
Leah Holmes of Nowgen said, "It was so exciting even to be in the same room as Sir David; his energy and enthusiasm for inspiring young people truly shone through. With this practical we have really pushed the boundaries of A-level practical work, bringing it up-to-date with current research."
Professor Terry Brown and Dr Matthew Cobb from the Faculty of Life Sciences have also contributed to the project, providing background information on human evolution and our sense of taste.
Nowgen, a Centre for Genetics in Healthcare, is part of the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences. Its education programme aims to engage with young people about genetics and associated issues. Nowgen will be delivering 75 laboratory-based workshops exploring human evolution for post-16 students from September 2009 onwards. Enthusiastic postgraduate students will be recruited to help deliver this programme.
For more information, please contact:
For further information about the Wellcome Trust's Darwin initiatives, visit: