PROMOTIONS TO READERSHIPS

The Professorial and Readerships Promotions Committee has agreed the following promotions to Readership level which are, as always, subject to the formal ratification of Senate and Council. 

Dr Peter Adey was appointed to a Lectureship in Cultural Geography in the School of Physical and Geographical Sciences in September 2006, having previously been an ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Geography at the University of Aberystwyth, where he also undertook his PhD. Peter has rapidly developed a leading international reputation for his research advancing the study of mobilities and securities in geography and across the social sciences. He has been involved in a number of major research projects on UK resilience supported by externally funded grants from the ESRC, AHRC, EPSRC and the Leverhulme Trust. Since his appointment to a lectureship, Peter has disseminated his research prolifically in high impact journals and at international conferences, and he has also already authored two highly acclaimed monographs, 'Mobilities' and 'Aerial Life'.
    
Dr Martin Frisher joined the Department of Medicines Management (now the School of Pharmacy) in 1997, initially to adapt his work on drug misuse to the pharmacoepidemiology of medicines using the General Practice Research Database (GPRD).  Martin's background is in psychology and epidemiology.  His current research interests include both patient consultation data using GPRD and drug abuse and dependence. He has published widely in both of these areas, as well as applying his psychology and research skills in teaching communication and research methodology on the UG Pharm course.

FUNDING FOR PLANETS SEARCH

Professor Coel Hellier, of the Astrophysics Group, has won a Science and Technology Facilities Council research grant for £34,265. This provides additional funding for the WASP project, which searches for planets transiting stars nearby in our galaxy and will help towards the running costs of the Keele-operated WASP-South camera array.
 
The WASP project continues to be the world's most successful search for transiting exoplanets and recently found its 50th planet, WASP-50b.

BUILDING A SMARTER HEALTH AND WELLNESS FUTURE

Professor Michael Rigby, Emeritus Professor of Health Information Strategy, has contributed to a global invitational event in Washington DC,  run jointly by OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and the US National Science Foundation, on Building a Smarter Health and Wellness Future.
 
With a backdrop of the analysis of increases in the proportion of elderly in all OECD countries, the meeting sought to explore how information systems and IT could in future assist in improving health and wellness in the population.  Professor Rigby, who was the only European academic invited, reported on the ESF workshop on integrating heath and social care informatics that he ran at Keele last year.  He was also asked to lead the final plenary round table, summing up the key issues of the joint workshop, and has been asked by OECD to assist in the preparation of the final publication, as well as lead editing a special issue of the International Journal of Medical Informatics.

PROBLEMATISING DANGER

The fourth and final event of the ESRC Seminar Series on Contemporary Biopolitical Security was organised by Dr Luis Lobo-Guerrero (SPIRE) at King's College London this week. The workshop was the result of a collaboration between the Emerging Securities Research Unit at Keele and the Centre for International Relations, Department of War Studies, King's College London.

The event, 'Problematising Danger', explored the study of contemporary security away from traditional threat-based and risk-based approaches to the topic. Attended by fifty delegates, including participants from the EU and the US, it included papers on areas ranging from terrorism and national risk registers to synthetic biology and biosecurity. The keynote address was delivered by Professor Marieke de Goede, University of Amsterdam, under the title 'Networked Danger and Speculative Security'. The event was recorded in full and will be broadcast through the Emerging Securities Unit website.
 
The seminar series, convened by Dr Lobo-Guerrero, was launched at Keele in 2008.

KEELE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2011 – THE FINAL WEEK

Events over the last four weeks have been a great success and organisers hope to provide a greater and even more exciting festival next year. Thanks to all staff and students who have been involved.

In the final week, there is an opportunity for staff to find out about Staff ERASMUS exchanges on Monday and Thursday lunchtimes, Walter Moberly Foyer, from 1:00pm – 2:00pm. Also, the final week of the International Food Festival in Comus features Staffordshire lobby, fajitas, curries and Chinese sweet and sour. Further details can be found at the Comus restaurant.

More details about the festival and how to be involved can be found at www.keele.ac.uk/internationalfestival/

NURSING AND MIDWIFERY INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS DAY

A range of speakers presented their international experiences at an International Awareness Day at the School of Nursing and Midwifery. The nursing, midwifery and medical students, who were welcomed by the Head of School, Pauline Walsh, reflected on their recent experiences in Australia, Dubai, India, Malawi and Turkey. Visiting Canadian nursing students Catherine Valle and Natasha Dias, from York University, Toronto, gave an introduction to nursing and health care in Canada. Dr Emee Vida Estacio gave an insight into research projects on Internationalisation and Migrant Nurses, whilst Dr Annette Kratz, CIED, presented an overview of Keele international developments. Amy Sefton, Project Manager for Work the World, presented the exciting opportunities available for health care students and inspired students planning their future travels. Wynne Thomas, School International Champion, gave an overview of the international links and thanked the speakers and attendees.

INTERNATIONAL ENTERPRISE DAY

Staffordshire Languages Group organised an International Enterprise Day in the Ball Room at Keele Hall last week. The event for Year 9 and 10 pupils, from seven Stoke and Staffordshire schools, was part of the HEFCE funded Routes into Languages programme to enthuse young people about language learning. Five local employers worked with small groups to produce a short advertisement for their products or services in French, German or Spanish. The results were imaginative and captivating, acted out with a good degree of enthusiasm to the whole group and a panel of judges. The prize was presented by Martina Wallner, Head of LLU, to seven boys and girls from Clayton Hall Business and Language College, who had produced an advertisement for Keele Conferences and Events.

A FIRE THAT BURNS WITHIN

Professor Gordon Ferns, Medicine, this week gave the sixth lecture in the University's programme of Inaugural Lectures for 2010/11. The title of the lecture was "A fire that burns within: the impact of free radicals in health and disease".

Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that are produced during normal metabolism. The harmful effects of these molecules are prevented by the neutralising effects of antioxidants such as vitamin E and C. Proteins damaged by free radicals may be restored to their normal configuration by molecules that are called heat shock proteins. However, these latter molecules may also be altered during this process and this may lead to an activation of the immune system. This may then itself be linked to the development of chronic disease, such as coronary heart disease.
 
The other lectures in the series are: Tuesday, 15 March 2011, Professor Clare Holdsworth, Social Geography, "'A degree isn't enough anymore': Student experiences and orientation to HE"; Tuesday, 10 May 2011 Professor Krysia Dziedzic, Primary Care Health Sciences, "Best evidence for best therapies in osteoarthritis".

KEELE STUDENTS CELEBRATE NATIONAL STUDENT VOLUNTEERING WEEK

Student volunteers from Keele celebrated National Student Volunteering Week's 10th anniversary this week. Working together with local residents, Keele's volunteering project VE @ Keele organised a series of events and activities.

These included a local history presentation in Silverdale and students helped with the Shifting Landscapes Programme, an opportunity for members of the local international community to discover new subjects, skills and people at Keele.
 
Working with Keele Environmental Group and Newcastle's Streetscene team, VE @ Keele organised a litter pick in Silverdale and students were also involved in volunteering activities at Fordhall Farm, B'Arts and the DATfest weekend in Stoke, while members of Keele READ International planned fundraising activities throughout the week.

BOARD APPOINTMENT

Dr Maria Heckl, School of Computing and Mathematics, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV).

Her four-year term of office begins in July at this year's Board of Directors meeting in Rio de Janeiro.

The primary objective of the IIAV is to advance the interdisciplinary areas of study within acoustics and the mechanics of solids and fluids. It has nearly 700 members from 55 countries.

The Institute  organises the annual International Congress on Sound and Vibration and publishes the quarterly International Journal of Acoustics and Vibration.

NERC URGENCY GRANT

Dr Ralf Gertisser, Research Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics, with Dr Jenni Barclay and Dr Richard Herd, at the University of East Anglia, has received a NERC Urgency Grant totalling £64,675 (fEC) for a project titled "Understanding the driving forces behind recent changes in the eruptive behaviour of Merapi volcano, Java, Indonesia".

The project investigates the catastrophic 2010 eruption of Indonesia's most active and dangerous volcano that made headlines worldwide in October and November last year.

NEXT WEEK - THE HISTORIAN AS MP

Tristram Hunt, MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, pictured below, will be speaking at Keele on Friday 4 March, at 1.00 pm, in CBA 0.060.

The title of his talk will be 'The Historian as MP'. He will be drawing on his recent transition from academic at London University (and frequent contributor to newspapers and television) to serving as one of our local MPs, since last year's election.

Tristram is willing to answer questions on a variety of topics after his talk.

POSTGRADUATE WINS PRIZE FOR POETRY

Keele student Liz Lefroy, currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing, has won the first Roy Fisher Prize for Poetry.

The competition is endowed by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, pictured below, and will be awarded annually during the 10 years of her Laureateship. The winning poet's work will be published as a pamphlet.

Liz's poetry was described by the judges as possessing "great consistency of quality across the poems, as well as a breadth and depth of subject, handled with a fully-formed poetic skill."

There was a Special Commendation for postgraduate, Alex Frisby, and a Commendation for undergraduate, Gwen Smith.

There will be a prize-giving event at Keele on Monday 28 March, including readings by the three successful poets.

Liz Lefroy's pamphlet will be available for purchase on the night.

CASH TONIC FOR KEELE STUDENTS

Students Tahir Ali Shabir and Ian Osborne have each been awarded £500 a year to help with their four-year pharmacy degrees by Teva UK Limited, one of the UK's biggest pharmaceutical companies.

The cash forms part of Teva UK Limited's Student Bursary Scheme, which is designed to help the pharmacists of tomorrow.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Eight years ago -
 
Scientists from all over the globe assembled in Stoke-on-Trent for the fifth Keele Meeting on Aluminium - the only international scientific meeting dedicated to discussing aluminium.

They discussed the myriad of ways that aluminium impacts upon life on earth, from "acid rain to Alzheimer's Disease".

The J.D. Birchall Memorial Lecture was given by Dr J.P. Day, University of Manchester, on the subject of 'Aluminium - The New Toxic Element'. 28 February 2003.