Winter 2011 - Heriot-Watt University

news
All change at
University Museum
News in brief
SeeByte wins
Heriot-Watt spin out company,
SeeByte won the Business Impact
Achieved Award at The Impact Awards
in Glasgow in June. The company
was also awarded the Marcus Kolb
Innovation Award by VideoRay at its
VIPS Conference in Key Largo, Florida
in October.
Heriot-Watt University Museum and Archive has reopened,
following refurbishment, with a new temporary display,
Trailblazers: Two Centuries of Innovation at Heriot-Watt.
This covers the University’s development from its origins in 1821 to its present worldwide
community of learning, from the engineering genius of James Nasmyth and James Watt and
our place in the struggle for women’s rights, to the development of the first optical computer
and the challenges of deep sea conservation.
In addition to this exhibition, other Heriot-Watt treasures are currently on loan to two of
Scotland’s national museums. Sir Francis Chantrey’s marble statue of James Watt, donated to
the University by St Paul’s Cathedral, takes pride of place in the Grand Hall of the New National
Museum of Scotland, just across the road from the University’s former home in Chambers Street.
One of the highlights of the University Art Collection, ‘Tulips and Indian Painting’, by Dame
Elizabeth Blackadder, is on loan to the National Galleries of Scotland for a major exhibition
to celebrate the 80th birthday of this world renowned artist, who is an honorary graduate
of Heriot-Watt University. The exhibition runs until 2 January 2012.
Meanwhile the University’s Archive, Records Management and Museum Service has changed
its name to Heritage and Information Governance, reflecting its responsibility for policy
and best practice on all aspects of information and records governance and heritage
management for the University, including information security, Data Protection
and Freedom of Information compliance.
Crucible recognised
Scottish Crucible, the award-winning
research development programme
for Scotland’s research leaders of the
future, was honoured by the City of
Glasgow in June with a special civic
reception at Glasgow City Chambers
attended by more than 100 guests
from academia, media, policy,
business and industry. In September,
Heriot-Watt Crucible was selected
as one of the three finalists for the
Leadership Foundation for Higher
Education’s ‘Good Practice Impact
Award 2011’.
Win for smart label
UWI Technology, a collaboration
between Pete Higgins and
Dr Will Shu, from Heriot-Watt,
won the Barclays 2011 ‘Take One
Small Step’ business competition.
Pete scooped £50,000 to support
the ongoing development and
expansion of the UWI Label which
shows when food is past its use
by date.
LASSIE is a Big Idea
Conservation of the James Watt statue
Photograph: Simon Hollington
'Tulips and Indian' painting
by Elizabeth Blackadder
LASSIE, the European wide
astro-chemistry consortium led by
Heriot-Watt, featured in the Big Ideas
for the Future document produced
by Research Councils UK. Projects
included in the document were
predicted to have ‘a profound
effect on our future.’
Photograph: Taylor Pearce
12 network magazine