6 January 2011

Discover the worlds of research and teaching - Discovery Days 2011

***For attention of all news and features desks. All academics presenting at Discovery Days 2011 will be available for interview ahead of the event***

The University of Dundee will next week open its doors to showcase the exceptional research and teaching being taking place within the institution.

The 8th annual Discovery Days event takes place at the Dalhousie Building on Thursday 13th, and Friday 14th, January 2011.

Discovery Days 2011 will see 14 newly appointed professors from a wide variety of disciplines take part in the annual showcase of cutting edge research carried out at the University. This year, they will be joined by award-winning teaching staff, who will talk about the practices which make the greatest impact on student learning.

In total, 17 presentations, each lasting just 15 minutes, will be made from experts who will discuss subjects, including:

• How technology can be used to improve cancer care.
• Digital Diabetes.
• How science and nature are combining to restore an Antarctic paradise.
• The secret life of numbers.
• Why Doctor Who is a great teacher.

Professor Pete Downes, Principal of the University, will officially open this year's Discovery Days. He said he was delighted that the new professors and exceptional teachers would have such an excellent platform from which to highlight their work.

'Since their inception in 2004, Discovery Days have brought the work of 147 new professors at the University of Dundee to the attention of a wide non-specialist audience, including members of the public.'

'These presentations have given us the rare privilege of observing the process and the impact of discoveries across a breathtaking array of topics and issues. At Discovery Days 2011, we will be welcoming a further fourteen new professors, talking on subjects as rich and varied as conservation in the Antarctic, poetry in the 21st Century, food production, medical imaging, and the link between diabetes and obesity.

'Three of our leading learning and teaching practitioners will also give us an insight into new and innovative teaching methodologies and technology.'

The short Discovery Day lectures challenge each presenter to captivate, inform and entertain their audience in just 15 minutes. They have a reputation for providing an entertaining and accessible glimpse into a range of challenging, and often complex, subjects. Their format has become a model for the sector, imitated by a number of other universities in the UK.

The Discovery Days 2011 lectures take place at the Dalhousie Building’s Main Lecture Theatre from 2.30pm-4.30pm on Thursday, 13th January, and from 9.30am-4.45pm on Friday, 14th January. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend, and visitors can attend as many, or as few, lectures as they wish. Please note overflow theatres may be in use.

A full programme is available at the Discovery Days webpage.

Free tickets for this lecture are available from the University Online Store or by phone on 01382 385564.

For more information on the event, please contact Jon Urch by emailing RevealingResearch@dundee.ac.uk or calling 01382 386669.

Notes to editors:

The full programme for the University of Dundee’s Discovery Day 2010 is as follows:

Thursday 13 January 2011
2.30-3.00pm - Coffee

3.00-3.15pm - Welcome: The Principal

3.15-4.30pm - Session 1. Chaired by Professor Pete Downes, Principal and Vice Chancellor

• Nora Kearney (Chair of Nursing & Cancer Care) - Virtual Healthcare: Using Technology to Improve Cancer Care
• Tony Martin (Chair of Animal Conservation) - Of rats, ice and helicopters: Science and Nature combine to Restore an Antarctic Paradise
• Stephen Greene (Personal Chair of Child Health & Adolescent Health) - Digital Diabetes: Technology and Changing Diabetes in the Young
• Andy Flavell (Personal Chair of Plant Genomics) - Feeding the Planet with Wild Genes

Friday 14 January 2011
09.30-10.00am - Coffee

10.00-10.15am - Welcome: The Principal

10.15-11.15am - Session 2. Chaired by Professor Doreen Cantrell

• Charlotte Rees (Chair in Education Research) - The Invisible Patient
• Hari Hundal (Personal Chair of Molecular Physiology) - Chewin the Fat - It’s a Question of Saturation!
• Martin Fischer (Personal Chair in Psychology) - The Secret Life of Numbers

11.15-11.45am - Coffee

11.45-12.45pm - Session 3 - Chaired by Professor James Calderhead

• Graeme Houston (Chair in Clinical Imaging) - Looking at the Heart of the Problem
• Sharon Tonner (Honorary Graduates’ Award for Innovative Teaching winner) - Don’t Lecture Me: I’m a 21st Century Learner
• Sandy Cochran (Personal Chair of Biophysical Science & Engineering) - Ultrasound: Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

12.45-1.45pm - Lunch

1.45-3.00pm - Session 4. Chaired by Professor Chris Whatley

• Angela Gilbert (Senate Award for Excellence in Teaching) - Oh - By Gum!
• Edik Rafailov (Personal Chair of Photonics and Nanoscience) - Applications of New Generation of Lasers
• Luc Bidaut (Chair of Translational Imaging) - What is Advanced Biomedical Imaging and What is it For?
• Andrew Roberts (Personal Chair of Modern Literature) - Is Digital Poetry really Poetry?

3.00-3.30pm - Coffee

3.30-4.30pm - Session 5. Chaired by Professor Irene Leigh.

• Jonathan Baldwin (Senate Award for Excellence in Teaching) - Everything I Learned about Life, I Learned from Doctor Who
• Janet Clarkson (Personal Chair of Clinical Effectiveness) - How Often Should You Go to the Dentist?
• Simon Herrington (Chair of Cancer Pathology) - Shedding Light on Cancer

4.30-4:45pm - Closing Remarks: The Principal

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277