Summer round-up

Conferences, research, awards and even skydives. A quick round up of the summer at the University...

Transatlantic studies take off in Dundee

The inaugural conference of the Transatlantic Studies Association, which was the launch platform for new Dundee led Journal of Transatlantic Studies, was opened in July by the Lord Provost of Dundee, Principal Sir Alan Langlands, and Lord Robertson, Secretary General of NATO with a video message. Approximately 150 delegates passed through during the course of the conference and well over a 100 academic papers were delivered. The conference was sponsored by NATO, the US Embassy, Angus and Dundee Tourist Board, Baylor University, Texas, and by the politics department and the faculty of arts and social sciences.

Leading researcher

Professor John Raven was awarded the Phycological Society of America's award of excellence. John was also recognised as a world leader in research this summer after making the top 1% of researchers in his field. The Institute for Scientific Information identified 108 researchers worldwide - 8 of whom are in the UK and are continually quoted by other scientists.

Skydive

Laura Armit, scientific officer from the Wellcome Trust Biocentre did a 10,000ft skydive and raised £855 for the Maggie centre in Kirkcaldy.

Fellowship

Professor David Lilley was presented with his fellowship of the Royal Society in London this summer.

Preparing to pass

The summer re-sit diet saw the launch of PREP - an intensive two week preparatory course for re-sit exams run by the learning enhancement unit. Students took part in a programme of exam skill sessions, structured time study, one to one discussions with tutors and a buddy system where they shared study problems with others taking the same exams. Caroline Hendry, a second year law student explained: "I've learned a lot from my 'study buddy'. There are parts of the course which I don't understand but when my study buddy explains it to me a pick it up more easily and I can explain concepts to her that I understand."

AMPK 2002

The latest moves forward on AMPK - a protein defined here at the University in the 1980s by Grahame Hardie and David Carling were discussed at an international conference in the West Park Centre. 160 medical scientists gathered to share the latest advances on potential new treatments for Type 2 diabetes and obesity that studies on the protein are leading to.

Agreement with Korea

An agreement to open up new areas of international scientific collaboration between the University and Korea University was signed by Professor Geoff Gadd, head of the division of environmental and applied biology and scientists from Seoul.

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