10 January 2012
Dundee launches Stephen Fry award in honour of former Rector
(Please note that unfortunately Stephen Fry is unable to attend and is not available for any further press comment)
The inaugural Stephen Fry Award for Excellence in Public Engagement with Research will be made later this week as part of the University of Dundee’s Discovery Days.
Stephen Fry was Rector of the University from 1992 to 1998 and retains links with the University.
The award celebrates the sharing of the world-class research carried out at Dundee with the wider public. It will be made to the researchers (or team) who have made the greatest contribution to public engagement in the past year, and will be awarded on an annual basis.
Stephen Fry said, 'This is an extraordinary honour. I am simply delighted to have such an encouraging and useful award in my name. I hold my time as Rector at Dundee very fondly and am extremely happy to maintain my links to the University in this way.'
The award will be made at the end of the University’s Discovery Days sessions on Friday January 13th.
'Public engagement with our research is a key element of what we do as a University and I am delighted that Stephen Fry has agreed to put his name to this award,' said Professor Pete Downes, Principal of the University of Dundee.'
Discovery Days 2012 is a showcase of research and ideas from the University of Dundee's newest Professors and award-winning teaching staff, all delivered in 15-minute bursts.
Each of the 17 new Professors appointed to the University in the past year is invited to deliver a 15-minute talk giving insight into their particular area of expertise.
Among the 'bite-sized' presentations being given this year are:
- Rod Jones - Personal Chair of Civil Engineering
Concrete and the 'Jamie Oliver Effect'
- Caroline Wilkinson - Personal Chair in Craniofacial Identification
Faces of the Dead
- Fabio Sani - Personal Chair in Social Psychology
Health in Groups: How Group Life may Enhance Your Mental and Physical Well-being
- Terry Dawson - Chair of Global Environmental Change
Global Challenges for the 21st Century: Climate Change and Food Security
- Martyn Jones - Personal Chair of Healthcare Research
Looking After Our Nurses
'Discovery Days is a fantastic way to kick off the New Year and is one of the most interesting events in our academic calendar,' said Professor Downes.
'This is a great way for anyone to get an insight into the vast breadth of research and academic activity taking place at the University. The variety of the presentations is astonishing, they are delivered in a format that makes the event accessible for all, and most importantly they are extremely interesting.'
Discovery Days 2012 takes place on Thursday January 12th (1.30pm to 4.45pm) and Friday January 13th (9.30am to 4.45pm) at the Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee.
All sessions are free and open to the public. Each session lasts from an hour to 90 minutes.
The full programme is :
Thursday 12 January 2012
Session 1 2.00-3.30pm
Jean Ker - Chair of Medical Education
To Simulate Or Not to Simulate, Is That the question?
To err is human so high risk organisations such as the aviation and nuclear power industries have successfully reduced errors and improved the reliability of their performance through the use of simulation.
In Dundee we have developed an innovative ward simulation exercise that will be used to demonstrate the benefits of simulation-based education in healthcare practice.
Divya Jindal-Snape - Personal Chair of Education, Inclusion and Life Transitions
Lost- and Found- in Transition
Throughout our lives we all experience many changes. Examples include starting school, university or a new job, or even moving country. Why is it that some find these transitions exciting and fulfilling, but others problematic and stressful? I will discuss my research, especially from a psychological and educational perspective, and the creative approaches that can be used to help make the school transition process as smooth as possible.
Robin Roslender - Chair in Accounting and Finance
The Very Idea of Accounting for People
Accounting and people are not terms that usually sit easily with each other. Yet there is a long history of attempts to 'take people into account(s)'. Recent developments hint that through accounting for people it may prove possible to improve the lives of many employees, and to the benefit of the broader society.
Steve Parkes - Chair of Spacecraft Electronic Systems
Beyond the Earth: Spacecraft Technology from Dundee
This talk will range from the design of spacecraft nervous systems, to research on guidance systems used to land robotic spacecraft on the surface of other planets, to the monitoring of the Earth's environment. It will introduce research helping to protect our planet and to explore beyond it.
Session 2 3.45-4.45pm
Design Studies Team - Highly Commended - Honorary Graduates' Award for Innovative Teaching - Presented by Dr. Jonathan Baldwin.
Telling Students to Get Lost: The Need for Irrelevance in Higher Education
If Columbus had followed a map, he'd never have got further than Africa. If Fleming had focused on cleaning up after himself he'd never have discovered penicillin.
For the last few years university lecturers have been told that their courses should be "more relevant". But what do we mean by "relevant"? Relevant to whom? This talk will challenge the idea that students are best served by only being taught things that are "relevant".
John Rouse - Personal Chair in Chromosome Biology
Tools that Cells Use for Repairing Damaged DNA
DNA damage occurs frequently and if it is not fixed quickly then the cell's instructions can become permanently changed. This can cause cells to become abnormal and lead to diseases such as cancer. I will talk about "molecular knives" that help repair damaged DNA.
Fabio Sani - Personal Chair in Social Psychology
Health in Groups: How Group Life may Enhance Your Mental and Physical Well-being
We all belong to social groups (e.g., family, work group, sport team). Recent research, including that conducted by our research group, has revealed that group participation can exert very positive effects on health. This talk will discuss some empirical studies that shed light on the psychological processes underlying these effects.
Friday 13 January
Session 3 10.00-11.30am
Terry Dawson - Chair of Global Environmental Change
Global Challenges for the 21st Century: Climate Change and Food Security
Government chief scientist Sir John Beddington's 'Perfect Storm' scenario predicts a world food crisis by the mid-21st Century as a result of a rapidly growing global population, coupled with climate change. Professor Dawson's research examines some of the main drivers affecting the ability of international efforts to address these issues.
Martyn Jones - Personal Chair of Healthcare Research
Looking After Our Nurses
Understanding the effects of work on the well-being of nurses and on the quality of care in our doctor's surgeries and hospitals has never been more important. My research uses advances in technology to understand the real-time causes of nurse well-being and performance in rapidly changing care settings. Ultimately, this research aims to make healthcare a safer place for both patients and staff.
Caroline Wilkinson - Personal Chair in Craniofacial Identification
Faces of the Dead
What are the challenges associated with identification of the dead using facial appearance? How can we predict the living facial appearance from partially decomposed soft tissues and/or skeletal material? Discover the research behind virtual 3D computerised craniofacial reconstruction systems and its application in forensic human identification.
Session 4 12.00-1.00pm
Mark Hector - Chair of Oral Health of Children
Saliva Matters - Spit and Polish
Tooth enamel is a very hard, highly mineralised, acid soluble biological tissue. Some proteins in saliva manage calcium, protecting and sustaining enamel whilst preventing unwanted mineralisation. We will explore some of the evidence behind these statements and discuss how this might be used for the benefit of vulnerable patients.
TQ(FE) team - Winner of the Honorary Graduates' Award for Innovative Teaching - Presented br Dr. Aileen McGuigan
TQFE-Tutor: An Innovative Approach to Online Distance Tutoring
This presentation from teamleader Dr. Aileen McGuigan shows how the Teaching Qualification (Further Education) tutor team work innovatively 'as one' with all our students and stakeholders. Instead of personal tutors, the new TQFE-Tutor system, staffed on a rota basis, ensures timely response to, and support of all, through email, blog and microblog.
Rod Jones - Personal Chair of Civil Engineering
Concrete and the "Jamie Oliver Effect"
Attitudes to concrete are like those of school dinners - ubiquitous and necessary but unloved and unsatisfactory! That was before the "Jamie Oliver effect". So following the example of the erstwhile Essex chef, Rod Jones aims to transform your view of concrete, revealing its aesthetic and technical beauty and will show how research at Dundee is transforming the material for the 21st century demands of a low carbon and sustainable economy.
Session 5 1.45-2.45pm
Pieter Bekker - Chair in International Law
What is International Law?
Our interconnected world requires an expansion of the legal horizon beyond classical public international law and State-centered law-making. The Transnational Law approach advances our understanding of how laws are being transplanted and adopted from one legal system to another, thereby clarifying the content of inherently vague rules of international law.
Timothy Newman - Personal Chair of Biophysics
Throwing Mud at the Wall of Cancer
Progress in the war against cancer has been slow over the past forty years. I will discuss my role in a new wave of attack utilising physical science ideas and techniques. In particular, I will describe how the statistics of rare events provides surprising insights into how cancer spreads in the body.
Blair Smith - Chair of Population Science
Chronic Pain: Who Gets it, Why and So What?
Chronic pain won't go away. More than 1 in 5 of us is experiencing long-term pain, with a serious impact on health and life, caused by complex medical, social and psychological factors. I will continue to examine these and their underlying biological and genetic mechanisms, aiming to identify effective treatments and prevention.
Session 6 3.15- 4.45pm
Mark Whitehorn - Chair of Analytics
Errr, what Exactly is (or should that be 'are') Analytics?
We have become very good at collecting data electronically (think about your medical records, your loyalty card, etc.). New technologies (sensors, digital CCTV) are simply going to increase this data deluge. The trick is not collecting data; the trick is turning data into useful information - hence the interest in analytics.
David Miller - Personal Chair of Primary Education
Self-esteem in Schools: Changing Perspectives
For several decades there has been a debate about the role of self-esteem in education. While some claim that self-esteem should be at the core of education, others criticise what they see as questionable practice in classrooms. This presentation will consider an alternative perspective on self-esteem that steers teachers towards a set of classroom techniques which maximise potential for individuals and society.
Presentation of the Stephen Fry Award for Excellence in Public Engagement with Research.
For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07800 581902 |
