Photo/media opportunities: Wednesday 7 November Psychology Research
Wing,Scrymgeour Building, Park Place, University of Dundee
10.30am for a preview opportunity in the eye tracking psychology lab
(Meet at entrance to new research wing) where a researcher with a subject
will demonstrate work on tracking eye movements as a means to understanding
how the brain processes language; followed by demonstration in audio lab
4pm Room 2A01 for the formal opening with Principal Sir Alan Langlands,
head of department Professor Philip Seymour and dyslexia expert
Professor Margaret Snowling.
Psychologists at the University of Dundee will showcase a range of their
diverse research projects from infant studies and learning to read, to
the effects of head injuries and ageing, when they formally celebrate the
opening of the department's new £1 million research wing on Wednesday 7
November.
Key members of the department, which was rated "excellent" in the most recent teaching assessment exercise, will be demonstrating to guests current projects from each of the four key areas on which its reputation has been built - language and literacy acquisition, social and cognitive development, perception and action and cognitive neuroscience and biopsychology.
The new facilities include:
Teaching laboratory - a networked lab with 35 workstations focused round
a central teaching hub
And specialised research laboratories including:
Infant studies laboratory focused on nutrition and its relationship with
cognitive development
Two laboratories devoted to the study of eye movement for example during reading and language processing
EEG laboratory for imaging brain activity to examine for example the effects of damage to the brain following accidents
Eating disorders laboratory - examining for example the genetic aspects of obesity in children, its psychological and physiological components
Neuropsychology laboratory - examining the effects of ageing, Alzheimers and Parkinson's disease on language use
Language processing lab - examining reading acquisition and dyslexia in different European languages
The opening will also be marked by the Drever Prize Lecture highlighting the latest developments in the understanding of dyslexia, delivered by one of the foremost authorities in the field, Professor Margaret Snowling from the University of York. Professor Snowling will tell the audience of public, staff and students that the signs and symptoms of dyslexia are different in children learning different languages. She says: "Dyslexia is a genetically determined disorder, the symptoms of which are already noticeable in the pre-school years. However, this does not mean that dyslexia necessarily causes educational underachievment. Dyslexic children benefit from early intervention programmes that help them to crack the alphabetic code linking letters to sounds. Many then go on to fulfil their academic potential."
The new five storey glass fronted wing extends the Scrymgeour Building on Park Place towards Dundee Rep and incorporates external landscaping with a small piazza, stairway and vennel extending the links between the campus and the city's cultural quarter. The new suites of research laboratories, office and teaching accommodation are already in use by psychology staff and students.
Head of Dundee's department of psychology, Professor Philip Seymour welcomed the opening of the new wing: "This new custom built wing including six new laboratories, a language processing lab and a teaching laboratory allows the department to expand the scope not just of its research activity but also of its teaching. With its 30 plus networked computer stations built around a central teaching fulcrum, the new teaching laboratory is a particularly exciting development, allowing students to carry out statistical work and project analysis as part of a working class."
University Principal Sir Alan Langlands will perform the official opening ceremony./ends