BAFTA
Digests
Two Duncan of Jordanstone students have been nominated for BAFTA new talents awards. MSc student Gili Dolev is up for an Outstanding Craft Award for "Meine Heimatstadt" while Eve Blackwood is in the Best New Media category for her short film, "Without You". American
The diversity within America and America's changing role in world events were the main themes of a conference entitled "The American Century" held at the University last month. Hosted by the School of American Studies, the keynote speaker was Professor Peter Parish who was head of the department of history at the University of Dundee from 1976 until 1983. Professor Parish, who is now based at the University of Cambridge, discussed "Abraham Lincoln through British Eyes 1860-2000". This was the second annual conference of the Scottish Association for the Study of America. Holyrood
MSPs at the Scottish Parliament were invited to congratulate the University of Dundee last month for its work on nuclear test veterans led by Sue Rabbit Roff. The motion put before them by Angus MP and MSP Andrew Welsh read: "That the Parliament recognises the possible correlation between participation in the UK's Nuclear Test Programme in the 1950s and the development of subsequent illnesses; congratulates Dundee University on its progress toward the development of a new diagnostic procedure and management clinic for individuals exposed to injurious amounts of ionising radiation, and supports the University's attempts to develop a centre of excellence to deal with the health hazards of long term and accidental radiation exposure." Westminster
The University's record for enterprise was highlighted at the House of Lords recently when, during a debate on science and innovation, Lord Sainsbury noted: "There is a new spirit of enterprise taking hold in our universities across the country from Southampton to Warwick, from Leeds to Dundee." He talked of the "sea change" which universities have undergone on the creation of wealth. "A survey for the Office of Science and Technology identified 223 businesses spun out from and wholly or partially owned by UK higher education institutions in 1997-98." Dental
Dr John Drummond, a senior lecturer in the dental school, has been appointed to the transcultural working party of the British Dental Association. The remit of the six-person group is to develop strategies to encourage those from ethnic minorities to think of dentistry as a career. The group will also address the issue of the under-representation in dentistry of those from less privileged backgrounds. Dr Drummond is also the representative of UK dental schools on the education committee of the association, which is charged with developing all BDA policy in this area. Audiovisuals
The Tower Extension Lecture Theatre now has a new AV installation which includes a purpose built lectern to house computer and video equipment, and new sound reinforcement. Extensive redecoration work has been carried out in some of the Tower's ground floor rooms including the fitting of new projection screens. The Fulton F20 lecture theatre now has networked computing and projection facilities and the Carnelley Small lecture theatre has had improvements made to its AV equipment. Telephones have been installed in those theatres which have computer equipment so that any user problems can be reported and hopefully resolved quickly. Abuse
Three staff presented papers on child protection at the 13th International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect held in Durban, South Africa recently. Professor Norma Baldwin and Dr Andrew Kendrick from the department of social work and Julie Taylor from the School of Nursing and Midwifery were among 2,000 delegates representing 63 different countries who attended the conference organised by the International Society for the Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN). The IPSCAN conference, which takes place every two years, is a major event for all those involved in child protection research and practice. The opening address was given by Grace Machel, Nelson Mandela's wife, who urged unity from professionals and nations to address the scourge of child abuse. Dog collar
University financial manager Gordon Campbell whose path in training as an auxiliary minister of the Church of Scotland was featured on television last year reached a crucial stage in the process in November when he was "licensed" by the Presbytery of Dundee. He notes: "This means I become 'Rev' and can wear a dog collar! But I cannot baptise or celebrate communion until I have completed probation and been ordained in autumn 2001." Auxiliary ministers are unpaid - and bring a different perspective to a ministry team because they have a "day job". Gordon is currently working at Balgay Parish Church. Languages
Higher Education languages lecturers who trained at the University over the past four years can now add another feather to their cap. The Institute for Learning and Teaching (ILT) has recognised completion of the course as membership entry qualification. The Centre for Applied Language Studies offers the only postgraduate certificate course in teaching modern languages to adults in Scotland and the north east of England. From October 2001 onwards the course will be on offer via distance learning to satisfy demand for a course of this nature in such far flung regions as China and Ayrshire! Students will be able to study to diploma and masters level in teaching modern languages via a WebCT based course, thus placing Dundee firmly on the map of multilingual Scotland. Contact Marion Spöring, CALS, ext 4894 or m.sporing @dundee.ac.uk Ogden
Final year dental students contributed to oral cancer awareness week recently by running an information stall as part of a programme of events including lectures by Professor Graham Ogden of the oral surgery and medicine unit. Professor Ogden recently collaborated with final year medical student Lachlan Carter to identify oral examination habits, advice on oral cancer risks, clinicians' knowledge of the disease and preferred points of referral for patients at risk. Carter was awarded a student bursary by British Association of Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons and both men were delighted with the response to their findings. Some 90% of dentists and 70% of doctors in Tayside returned their questionnaires, providing a wealth of information. Findings will be presented to sugeons' meetings in the UK and the International Association for dental research in Japan. Cancer
Dr Kathryn Ball of the surgery and molecular oncology department and Dr David Brighty of the biomedical research centre have been awarded a share of £3 million from the Association for International Cancer research which will fund their work for the next three years. Dr Ball's £110,477 grant will allow her to investigate the complex internal control mechanisms of cells while Dr Brighty's £58,265 award will fund his study into the role of the protein Tax in leukaemia. Engineering
The "School of Engineering and Applied Sciences" has been renamed the "School of Engineering". Head of the school is Professor Michael Davies. All correspondence should incorporate the correct title of the school and should be directed to the office in the Fulton Building. Smart
The School of Town and Regional Planning continued its research series on recently, hosting a seminar with Dr Keith Debbage of the University of North Carolina entitled "Smart Growth - innovative planning or media hype?" Smart Growth rationalises urban growth by making the most of existing infrastructure, developed and underdeveloped land. It includes brownfield redevelopment, infill housing investments and new business growth. Welfare
The geography departments of Dundee and St Andrews have come together to present a seminar on the concept of welfare and the "imaginaries" surrounding it. Professor Susan Smith of Edinburgh University will give the seminar "The problem with welfare" at St Andrews University on 7 December at 5pm. The session will not only interest geographers, but those in the fields of public and social policies and labour markets. Asthma
The Asthma and Allergy Research Group has been awarded joint first place in the National Asthma Campaign's Henry Blair Prize 2000 for its local initiative to target asthma care. Dundee University's group impressed the judges with the "Asthma Campaign for Tayside", organising events and stalls throughout Dundee to coincide with World Asthma Day in May. Glenn Metcalfe and Gavin Scott, members of the Scottish rugby squad, joined local footballers, Wave 102 and BBC Talk Radio to raise the profile of asthma and its effective care. History
One post graduate is so impressed by the new MPhil in Scottish History that he is commuting from Surrey to Dundee! Ron Crawley is one of nine students studying the "City as Laboratory" which teaches the skills of historical interpretation using the development of urban form and culture as resources. The city of Dundee is used as the ideal model for this exploration because of its rich resources, but the basic principles are then applied comparatively to cities all over the world. CVCP
A new name and image is about to be launched for the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals on 1 December. No details have been released but colleagues should be aware that stationery, publications and the website will all be using the new visual identity. CVCP will use the launch to release its corporate plan for the next three years. To find out CVCP's new name check DENIS, the University's press office website at http:dundee.ac.uk/pressoffice/ Web boost
Professor Angus Lamond's webpages http://lamond.bioch.dundee.ac.uk/ were selected recently as "featured lab" by BioMedNet's biology webzine, HMS Beagle http://news.bmn.com/hmsbeagle. The lab is posted on the title page of HMS Beagle with a direct link. Beagle claims over 150,000 hits a week.
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