KEELE ASTROPHYSICIST IN DISCOVERY OF RED GIANT AND TWO RED DWARFS

Keele astrophysicist, John Taylor, is a member of an international group of European, Australian and American researchers who have reported on the discovery of a unique system of stars in a paper published in the Science magazine.

The object, officially labelled HD 18106 but dubbed Trinity by the research team, is one of the brightest stars observed by the NASA Kepler planet-hunting space telescope. Whilst seemingly single, it is a complex triple system in which three stars reside in a very special geometry, showing mutual eclipses as each of the stars passes behind or in front of the others. The most luminous object is a giant star, around which a close pair of two red dwarfs orbit with a period of 45.5 days.

John, pictured, was responsible for analysis of the data from the Kepler satellite, which was difficult due to the huge differences between the three stars. Whilst the giant star is over three times the mass and twelve time the size of the Sun, the two red dwarfs are both smaller and cooler than our Sun and so are hard to detect.

"This is one of the most challenging objects which I have ever worked on," said John, "and if it were not for the Kepler satellite we would never even have found the two red dwarf stars in the first place."

SPIRE STUDENTS STUDY TOUR IN ISTANBUL

Nine students from the School of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy (SPIRE), accompanied by their lecturer, Naveed Sheikh, and a co-organiser, Taptuk Emre, have returned from a one-week intensive study tour in Istanbul.

The trip was hosted by Fatih University and the Dialogue Society, with part-funding from the Keele Key Fund. The programme included a range of lectures by leading Turkish academics, covering Turkish foreign policy, the constitutional and political system of Turkey, the evolution of political Islam in Turkey, multiculturalism in Britain and Turkey, a history of feminism in Turkey, and ethnic minorities in Turkey.

The group also held meetings with editors at the country's best-selling newspaper, an international humanitarian organisation, a leading high school, head-quarters of a religious organisation, and with leaders of the youth branch of the governing party (where the SPIRE lecturer gave the speakers a humorous grilling, which they later admitted they would never forget). The group was struck by the hospitality and generosity of all the organisations visited, often resulting in lavish meals and memorabilia. Finally, they visited key historical sites from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD FOR BARBARA

Barbara Introwicz, senior lecturer in the School of Health and Rehabilitation has been awarded a Distinguished Service Award of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Barbara's nomination for this prestigious national award was sponsored and supported by current and former academic and clinical colleagues from a range of professional backgrounds. Former students also contributed to the nomination process.
 
The citation from the Society recognised that Barbara had "worked tirelessly for the advancement of the profession over several decades, both as a clinician and educator. As a Senior Lecturer at the School of Health and Rehabilitation, Barbara has been the driving force behind the development of musculoskeletal provision for both undergraduate and postgraduate modules at Keele University. She was a key link tutor in the development of the part time BSc Osteopathy programme.

"Barbara has particular expertise in manual therapy and anatomy, has contributed to numerous texts and journals. In addition she has actively contributed to the development and administration of the Manipulation Association of Chartered Physiotherapists and has willingly organised events at international level."

BRITISH CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATION MEETING AT KEELE

The 2011 Meeting of the British Crystallographic Association was held at Keele this week. It is the primary UK forum for crystallographers from all disciplines, including Physical, Chemical, Industrial and Biological, to present their research work and the latest advances in techniques and instrumentation. Around 250 delegates from the UK,  the USA and Europe attended the meeting, which provided not only a varied scientific programme but also a social programme, including the main conference dinner in Keele Hall. 

The programme for the Biological Structures sessions was devised and organised by Dr Annette Shrive, pictured left, and Professor Trevor Greenhough (ISTM), including the Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, DBE, FRS, plenary lecture delivered by Professor John Helliwell, DSc (Manchester), on "The evolution of synchrotron radiation and the growth of its importance in crystallography".  John Helliwell, one of the world's leading experts in the applications of synchrotron radiation, was the first Protein Crystallographer at Keele, being appointed to a lectureship in the then Department of Physics in 1979.

Keele contributions to the scientific sessions included an invited talk by ISTM postgraduate student Matthew Mold, pictured right, on his work with Dr Shrive and Dr Chris Exley (EPSAM) in the area of complementary structural studies of serum amyloid P component, along with a series of posters from ISTM (Jenny Moran) and EPSAM, the latter highlighting the work of Professor Trevor Forsyth (Keele/ILL Grenoble) and Dr Susana Teixeira (Keele/ILL Grenoble), utilising both X-ray and Neutron sources. 

Jenny Moran is working with Dr Shrive and Professor Greenhough on an interdisciplinary investigation of the structure, nature and inflammatory roles of different physiological forms of human C-reactive protein.

WORLD AFFAIRS GROUP HONOURS OWEN

The 400 members of the Keele World Affairs adult education programme brought their 30th anniversary series to an end with a surprise presentation to veteran Chairman, 90-year-old Owen Powell, MBE, pictured. 

The longest serving member of the group, 96-year-old Jack Hood presented a reportage-style photo album with all the highlights of the 24-lecture series, together with a cheque for him to donate to his favourite charity.

World Affairs, which operates under the auspices of the School of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy, is now the largest Adult Education forum in Europe, with 430 members. The final lecture of this year's series, entitled "Redefining Politics", was given by Keele's Professor David Dunn.

EURO GEOSCIENCES UNION ASSEMBLY

Dr Stefan Krause, Research Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics, convened the session "Interactions between surface water, groundwater, and the hyporheic zone" at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna.

Together with a team of co-conveners, he has been invited to publish a series of selected papers on the conference session and a special issue of "Vadoze Zone Journal".

ECO URBAN WORKSHOP

Dr Stephen Quilley and Dr Philip Catney, from SPIRE, organised a workshop at Keele to explore strategies aimed at urban regeneration through ecological modernisation and re-localisation.

The event was attended by delegates from a number of UK universities and was opened by Professor David Shepherd, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Pro-Vice Chancellor.

The event was financially supported by the HEFCE Seachange programme, which aims to help universities develop their capacity for policy impact. A further event will be held in July, aimed at presenting proposals for eco-experimentation to policy-makers and the business sector.

MAKING LANGUAGES WORK

Under the auspices of the Language Learning Unit and the Staffordshire Languages Group, a residential event for 90 Year 8 pupils from 11 Staffordshire and Stoke schools took place at Keele last week. The event was part of a HEFCE-funded project, Routes into Languages, to reverse the national decline in the study of Modern Foreign Languages. After enjoying a German themed meal in Keele Hall, with parents and teachers, the pupils engaged in icebreaking activities, led by student mentors.

The pupils spent the night in student accommodation on campus, which gave them a valuable insight into life at a university. The children took part, in small groups, in a variety of German and Spanish classes. Sports in Germany and Spanish food were just two of the many topics.

After a buffet lunch, each pupil attended three taster sessions chosen from ten different foreign languages – Basque, Hungarian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Russian, Swahili and Wolof. Again, the emphasis was on the fun and interactive aspect of language learning through songs, games, dancing and lively presentations by enthusiastic native speakers.

The pupils acquired basic language skills and an idea of the culture of the different countries.

TWO HUNDERED ATTEND WP EVENTS ON CAMPUS

Two events, organised by the WP Events Team, saw more than 200 local young people visit the campus last week. Firstly, 160 learners attended a KS4 English day where they produced some riveting short stories with PhD students, Andy Stephan and Chris Prendergast, and were wowed by the poetry of Ian 'Boothen End Bard' Dyer.

The second event saw 50 attendees delve into contemporary issues of Human Rights, with charity Amnesty International; debate on the voting age with Professor Andy Dobson, and they were steered away from the Pathways to Crime, with reformed football hooligan, Ian Dyer.  Twenty event mentors supported the events, rounding off  both days with a campus tour.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Forty years ago –

Keele lecturer Mr F.R. Watson is to run a maths course in the United Arab Republic. He is among more than 150 lecturers and teachers, chosen on behalf of the Overseas Development Administration, who will spend part of the summer running intensive training courses for teachers in developing countries. 19 April 1971.