KEELE RESEARCH LEADS TO GUIDELINES CHANGE BY MoD

Research by Keele's Applied and Environmental Geophysics Research Group (AEG) has led to the Ministry of Defence agreeing to relax the guidelines on small wind turbines in Southern Scotland, where they became inadvertently subject to the same constraints as the giant turbines and were restricted because of the vibration effects on the UK Test Ban Treaty Monitoring site at Eskdalemuir. This affected many farmers and domestic installations from Carlisle to Glasgow.

The MoD/DE, which funded previous large-scale studies together with GAIA, a small turbine manufacturer, provided some enabling research funding for Professor Peter Styles,  with  Rachel Westwood (NERC PhD student)  and Sam Toon, to extend the research, including monitoring of vibrations from small and micro wind turbines and possible future research by the AEG. The MoD has decided to extend the interim position on what can be considered a negligible contribution to the Eskdalemuir (EKA) seismometer array "noise budget", when considering consent to build and operate small turbines in the statutory consultation zone around EKA.

The intention of the extension to the current interim position is to allow effective exploitation of the research by the Keele group to allow assessment by the AEG and MoD experts on whether specific design-types of small turbine can be permitted in the consultation zone. Turbines will be validated by Keele and then agreed with the MoD and then will become permitted for installation. Other invalidated  turbines will remain subject to the previous limits.

Professor Styles, pictured above, said: "This is a very sensible approach to a problem which arose when microgeneration became inadvertently subject to the essential constraints which are placed on large turbines and enables deployment to take place without prejudicing the monitoring capabilities of the Eskdalemuir Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty station." 

WORLD FIRST FOR KEELE RESEARCHERS

Groundbreaking work by a team of scientists at Keele and Nottingham universities, together with doctors at University Hospital of North Staffordshire and Derby Children's Hospital, led by Professor William Farrell, Professor of Human Genomics, Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine (iSTM), which identified, for the first time, a link between changes in the DNA of newborn babies, folic acid supplementation during pregnancy and birth weight, was featured this week on BBC Midlands TV, local radio, in the press and was published in the scientific journal 'Epigenetics'.

This state-of-the-art 'epigenetic' study, funded by the World Cancer Research Fund, showed that the levels of a critical metabolite of folic acid, homocysteine, in the blood of newborn babies is linked to modifications of their DNA in key genes and that such modifications might be used to predict birth weight.

The Fetal Epigenomics Group comprising; Professor Anthony Fryer, Professor of Clinical Biochemistry, iSTM /University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS), Dr Richard Emes,  University of Nottingham; Dr Khaled Ismail, Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, iSTM/UHNS, Dr Kim Haworth, iSTM, Dr Charles Mein, Barts and London School of Medicine and Dentistry; Dr  William Carroll, Derbyshire Children's Hospital, and Professor Farrell, pictured, examined the relationship between folic acid supplementation and its metabolites on DNA methylation in human blood from the umbilical cord, using a state-of-the-art 'microarray' techniques, which simultaneously examines methylation at 27,578 sites in the DNA.

STARGAZING AT KEELE OBSERVATORY

Dozens of people visited the newly-refurbished Keele Earth and Space Observatory, in association with BBC Learning, for Stargazing LIVE events this week when total beginners, amateur astronomers and professional stargazers got the chance to explore the night sky.

The observatory was open on two evenings and BBC Midlands TV broadcast a report from Keele. More than 100 people visited the observatory on Wednesday night when visitors were split into groups to view the 12-inch telescope, the 24-inch dome and the 24-inch control room. Overall reaction was very positive. Jupiter was visible through thin cloud for much of the time and many people caught a glimpse of it through the 12-inch telescope.

DOUBLE HEA GRANT SUCCESS

Colleagues in the School of Physical and Geographical Sciences have been awarded two grants from the Higher Education Academy, Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences subject centre. Drs Deirdre McKay, Lisa Lau and Peter Knight, pictured, with Dr Emma Dawson, from the LDU, have been awarded £ 10,300 for a two year project, 'Reading the World: Innovative strategies for building textual skills in the undergraduate Geography curriculum'. The project, engaging both Human and Physical Geography, will identify and resolve problems of incorporating of literary techniques in Geography undergraduate training and provide a template for curriculum redesign. It builds on existing projects and broadens the range of introductory-level assessments to better prepare students for upper-year modules, and will provide key employability skills for graduates.

Dr Jamie Pringle has been awarded £ 4,250 for a project entitled, 'Developing a Geoscience e-trainer Open Educational Resource to provide a stimulating and effective learning environment'. This project will tap into current student interests in virtual gaming technologies to provide a complementary learning tool to more traditional course materials and learning styles. Developed with Luke Bracegirdle (Pharmacy) and Dr Stephen Bostock (LDU) overseeing student evaluation, users will work through geoscientific investigations of a forensic search for a clandestine burial of a murder victim that Jamie has recently worked on. The key learning outcomes include engagement with applied real-world investigative problems and solutions, and the project will provide many employability skills, including showcasing virtual placement experience for job interviews.

GREATEST ALBUM YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ...

The debut album by lecturer Joe Stretch's band Performance has been named number 2 in the NME's 100 Greatest Albums You've Never Heard.

Released in 2007, (We Are) Performance is described in the magazine by Hurts' Adam Anderson as "a brilliant album", which has "that inescapable feeling of youth, of unbounded excitement, of danger, and, of course, heartbreak".

Joe, who teaches song-writing at Keele, has recently released his second album with Performance, Red Brick Heart.

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

The following academic appointments commenced in post this week:

Keele Management School

Miss Laura Mitchell, Lecturer in Human Resource Management, who was previously a Passport Tutor at Lancaster University.
 
Dr Roman Raab, Lecturer in Economics, who was previously a Post Doctoral Researcher/ PT Lecturer at the University of Ireland, Galway.

School of Law

Mr Leon McRae, Lecturer in Law, who was previously a Doctoral Researcher in Law at Nottingham University.

Ms Fabienne Emmerich, Lecturer in Law, who was previously an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, Oxford.

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Ms Lynda Smithies, Lecturer in Mental Health, who was previously a Lecturer at the University of Manchester.

School of Physical and Geographical Sciences

Dr Alix Cage, Lecturer in Physical Geography, who was previously a Lecturer in Physical Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University.

SUCCESSFUL YEAR FOR SCIENCE TEACHER CPD AT KEELE

The Science Learning Centre welcomed teachers and support staff to Keele for 550 days of science continuing professional development during 2010, for a range of courses that included subject knowledge, practical skills and pedagogy. An additional 975 days of training were delivered at the Centre's network of satellite venues across the region.

The courses were well received, with 99% of those undergoing CPD rating the overall quality as good or excellent, and many teachers valuing the opportunity to undertake training out of their school and network with others.

Successful partnerships with Keele staff and scientists during the year included observatory visits, widening participation activities and academic input into physics and chemistry programmes for non-specialist teachers.

CHRISTMAS FUNDRAISER

The School of Computing and Mathematics held a Christmas Coffee afternoon last month to raise money for the local Douglas Macmillan Hospice.  Instead of sending traditional Christmas cards staff and postgrads made/bought cakes and contributed prizes to a raffle.

Many thanks go to Sue Broughton, Kerry Melvin and Lynne Meadows for their help in organising the event.  Thanks to the generosity of those that attended a total of £225 was raised.

This brings the total amount raised by the School for the hospice by such events to just over £1,300.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Fifteen years ago -

Professor Gilbert Kelling, Geoscience Research Co-ordinator in the Department of Earth Sciences, is to receive the OBE for services to environmental protection. January 1996.