Issue 153, 25 May 2005 (in pdf) - Imperial College London

1
Issue 153
25 May 2005
Robo doc does the rounds
David Graeme-Baker
IMPERIAL and St Mary’s NHS Trust are
piloting a scheme where medical robots will
cover ward rounds.
Remote presence (RP6) robots allow a
medical expert to visually examine and
communicate with a patient from anywhere
in the world via the machine using wireless
technology. The robots, which staff have
nicknamed Sister Mary and Dr Robbie, can
also be used for surgical teaching and even
videoconferencing.
The robots are controlled with a joystick
from the remote site. The doctor ‘driving’ the
robot can view the patient, ask questions, read
patient records, and look at X-rays and test
Imperial reflects
on diversity
THIS week sees Imperial’s first annual diversity
lecture, Fear and Loathing in the Mirror:
does British society invent the ‘black’ man?
Reporter’s Alex Platt went to meet writer,
researcher and diversity consultant, Dr Ossie
Stuart, who will be giving the lecture.
Issues surrounding disability and race are
on the agenda for the lecture as Dr Stuart is
keen to point out that these are one and the
same experience. He explained: “Several
social stereotypes of black men exist, for example,
sportsman, pop star and criminal. As a
black man with a disability, I don’t fit into any
of these and this makes me invisible. I will
discuss in the lecture whether a black man out
of his social stereotype can actually exist.”
Christine Yates, the College’s own equality
and diversity consultant added: “When
doing training or lectures we often separate
out the issues, concentrating on just race or
age or sexuality. This doesn’t account for us
all being a combination of diverse categories.
Linking two or more issues encourages the
audience to consider the broader issues.”
As a full-time diversity consultant, Dr
Stuart is no stranger to the College, having
provided both disability and equality training
for staff over the past two years. He has also
worked with the health and safety team to
establish how well Imperial’s estate measures
up for disabled people.
results from the console. The patient sees the
doctor’s image on the robot’s screen or ‘face’.
Although the robot does not physically
examine the patient, it allows face-to-face
contact between the doctor and patient, providing
immediate access to specialists.
Parv Sains, project leader, surgical specialist
registrar and research fellow, said benefits
include allowing patients direct access
to experts worldwide and to the doctor who
performed their surgery, even if they cannot
be physically at the patient’s bedside.
“If a specialist is at a conference in
California but their medical opinion is needed
for a St Mary’s patient, or to deliver a lecture
Dr Ossie Stuart
Robo doc busy on the ward
He said of his continued involvement with
the College: “This organisation, like most,
has a way to go to becoming fully inclusive,
but I’ve always been very impressed by the
positive attitude and keenness to learn shown
by Imperial employees. I’ve had the pleasure
of meeting many enthusiastic and positive
people here, which is the first step to being
able to make lasting change.”
So what inspires an inspirational man like
Dr Stuart? “I’m inspired by change and those
involved in making it take place. Disability
to junior doctors, the RP6 robot provides an
instant and global link at any time of the day
or night.
“Our robots certainly would never replace
all doctors on ward rounds, but they are a
communication tool which allows a doctor to
have direct contact with their patient if they
are unable to get to them.
“If we look at a lot of the current strains
on the NHS, many senior doctors with skills
and knowledge are required to be in several
places at once. The robot is a solution in
potentially providing their expertise from a
remote location and may be a significant step
for patient care.”
The robots are being trialled in a general
surgery ward and the A&E department at St
Mary’s hospital, with training at Imperial’s
academic and clinical skills unit. This is the
only UK location and one of just a handful of
sites in the world: there is one other in Europe
and three in the USA.
The RP6 robots are the latest strand in
the pioneering integration of robots into
healthcare by Professor Sir Ara Darzi, head
of Imperial’s division of surgery, anaesthetics
and intensive care and a practising surgeon at
St Mary’s.
Professor Sir Ara Darzi said: “This is
a revolutionary concept which opens new
avenues for telemedicine research and integrates
technology with healthcare at a grass
roots level, increasing the interface between
patients, clinicians and teaching staff.”
As part of the pilot, a study is evaluating
how patients respond to the robots, the
specific communications skills required for
remote presence teleconsultation, and potential
applications of the technology in clinical
healthcare delivery and training.
awareness is no longer at the bottom of the
list and I enjoy, and am proud, of having been
part of this change. I get great pleasure from
talking to real people about real issues, I
would actually describe this as my forte!”
Reporter looks forward to seeing him in
action…
The lecture takes place on Wednesday 25
May at 17.00 in Lecture Theatre G16, Sir Alexander
Fleming Building, South Kensington
campus. Email c.yates@imperial.ac.uk
to attend.
IN BRIEF
Imperial professor receives
honorary degree
Professor Dame Julia Polak has been
granted the honorary degree of doctor of
science by the University of Sheffield. The
ceremony will take place at the end of July.
Medal for College professor
Professor Nick Ambraseys, senior
research investigator in the department of
civil and environmental engineering, has
been awarded the prestigious Medal of the
Seismological Society of America for his
achievements and contribution to seismology,
earthquake engineering and society.
Professor Ambraseys is the second UK
recipient of this distinction, the first being
Sir Harold Jeffreys.
New Tanaka appointments
The Tanaka business school has made three
major new appointments to its world class
finance group to lead the new MSc course
in Risk Management. Professors Karim
Abadir, financial econometrics, Nizar Touzi,
mathematical finance, and Andrea Buraschi,
finance, will take up their posts in September.
Key inflammation mechanism found
A team of researchers from Imperial, the
Royal Brompton hospital and the University
of British Columbia, Canada, have
identified a mechanism that increases lung
inflammation, making chronic obstructive
pulmonary disorder (COPD) more severe,
and potentially points towards new treatments.
They found a correlation between the
increase in inflammation in the lungs and a
loss of activity in an enzyme responsible for
switching off inflammatory genes and cells,
called histone deacetylase (HDAC). COPD
is the only common cause of death in the
western world that is increasing, affecting
almost a million patients in the UK and four
million in the USA.
Imperial awards honorary degrees to
business and public health figures
The achievements of two of the world’s
leading business and academic leaders were
recognised by Imperial at the College’s
recent postgraduate awards ceremony. Businessman
and philanthropist Hans Rausing
and leading epidemiology and public health
expert Haile Debas received honorary
science doctorates.
New Chinese appointments for
Professor Rees
Professor Lovat Rees, emeritus professor
of chemistry and honorary fellow of the
University of Edinburgh, has been appointed
as a specially engaged professor for life
at Liaoning University of Petroleum and
Chemical Technology, Fushun, China. He
has also been appointed to chair and organise
the R.M. Barrer Memorial Symposium
at the next International Zeolite Meeting in
Beijing in 2007. R.M Barrer was head of
chemistry at Imperial, 1954–1976.
Lifetime contribution recognised
Emeritus Professor Felix Weinberg, FRS,
senior research fellow in the department of
chemical engineering and chemical
technology, was presented with an Institute
of Physics award in recognition of his lifetime
contribution to combustion physics at
the recent international Fuels for the Future
meeting held in his honour at Cardiff
University in April.

2
Bright future for
Tanaka
DAVID Begg, principal of Imperial’s
Tanaka business school, has just celebrated
two years in post. Alex Platt went to meet
him to discuss his vision for the future and
what he has achieved so far.
What brought you to Imperial?
Being principal of Tanaka business school,
while Richard Sykes is rector, was the chance
of a lifetime. Imperial is a worldwide brand.
Once I knew Richard aimed to create the
business school that Imperial ought to have,
I wanted the job.
What did you see as your biggest challenge
when you started here?
Strategically, Imperial needs a business
school that will add to the value of the Imperial
brand worldwide. For this, we had to
match the Imperial standard, focus on Imperial
strengths, be embraced by the rest of the
College, and become an asset in forging Imperial’s
external relationships. When I arrived,
the business school was over the road, and
viewed by Imperial with some scepticism.
And if Imperial was lukewarm, the outside
world could scarcely be expected to enthuse.
David Begg
During the last two years, we have taken
steps to meet all of these goals. Not only is
Tanaka now physically the portal to Imperial,
we are collaborating more and more with the
other faculties, both in research and teaching.
Externally, major companies take us seriously
and we have leapt up the world rankings for
business schools.
So, what was the hardest part about
making this come about?
We repositioned Tanaka, focusing much more
tightly on Imperial strengths, integrating
science and business. For example, all of our
MBA students carry out a technology venture
project, a feasibility study on a piece of Imperial
intellectual property—an idea trying to
become a spin out company. This leverages
Imperial to maximum effect. We also restructured
the business school faculty. We created
opportunities to bring in top academics and
build up areas where we intend to be strong
by releasing posts that fitted the Imperial
brand less well. Ultimately, we’ve changed
what we do, and how we deliver it.
Where do we go next?
One exciting thing at the moment is our new
MSc Management course, proving hugely
popular with over 500 applicants since January,
allowing undergraduates with a technical
background to go straight into management
education before seeking a job. Top employers
think this is a powerful combination.
We also want to offer lifelong learning to
all Imperial students, for whom graduation
should not be the end but merely the beginning
of the next phase. Imperial alumni need
to belong to a high quality network, and regularly
receive valuable updates in the fast moving
knowledge economy. Electronic delivery
will be part of how we service alumni all over
the world and ensure they retain a competitive
edge for the rest of their lives.
In research, we are building global
excellence in the areas of finance, risk
management, healthcare management, innovation
and entrepreneurship. We are also aiming
to start a centre for intellectual property
that will conduct research on how to create,
defend and exploit business opportunities.
So what does Imperial need to do to
remain in this strong position?
Globally, we are competing with universities
with billions of dollars of endowment. We
can’t take it for granted that British students
will go to British universities. American universities
are opening programmes in London.
We must keep improving academically, and
to finance this we must use all our resources
wisely and productively. Tanaka business
school needs to be an asset to Imperial as it
strives to meet that challenge.
When you’re not working, how do
you relax?
I enjoy music and sport, gardening and cooking.
We also have a house on a Greek island,
which I no longer get to visit often enough,
but during August I find the tensions of the
year evaporating in the sun, and the waistline
inches put on in the service of Imperial
gradually worked off again by swimming
across the bay…
Surf not up for
Palaeozoic creatures
The time has come
AFTER 15 years at Imperial I will be leaving
at the beginning of June. I have had the privilege
of meeting some inspiring and fascinating
people, and seen some of the amazing
work that goes on here. Most of all, I have
worked with the best colleagues anyone could
wish for, and made friendships right across
the College.
I remember clearly the day in May 1990
when I walked into the Sherfield Building and
the old press office. Knee deep in newsprint,
scissors and glue sticks, everything was done
by hand in those days. And I would have been
a millionaire if I’d had a pound for everyone
who came past the door saying: “great job
that—reading papers all day”. We developed
our service as Imperial grew, and I’m proud
that our work has been nationally and internationally
recognised as being of the highest
quality with a number of awards.
I have had the opportunity to meet alumni
in many parts of the world, and participated
in some key events in recent Imperial history.
I’ve carted a 25kg Imperial flag to France for
a student sailing regatta and watched student
climbers practising on the trees in Hyde
Park before they went on an expedition to a
previously uncharted area of the Himalayas.
I’ve made an alarm call to rowers sleeping
it off after a very late night who were due to
play a friendly cricket match against alumni,
and have indulged in a spot of Greek dancing
with a former rector and pro rector.
Thank you for all of this, and for the
chance to work with some of the most
talented scientists, engineers and medics
in the world. It’s always been stimulating,
never boring.
Liz Carr
Managing editor—Reporter
THE ancient sea was more like a giant salty
lake than a rolling ocean, reports
Laura Gallagher.
Scientists from Imperial have developed a
new computer model that simulates how tides
in north west Europe would have behaved
300 million years ago, and shows a sea with
so little movement that it was unlike any on
Earth today.
Using information on the ancient land
masses and the tidal pull of the Moon, the
new computer modelling system reveals a
picture of a Palaeozoic ocean in which even
basic lifeforms would have struggled to survive.
Without tides, shallow coastal water is
not mixed up, preventing life-saving oxygen
from being circulated.
This shortage of oxygen causes lifeforms
such as plankton to die and the decay of these
life forms uses up further oxygen, contributing
to the creation of an environment unable
to support life. The Palaeozoic period lasted
from 570 to 245 million years ago.
Dr Peter Allison, from the department of
earth sciences and engineering and one of the
authors of the study, said: “It is very difficult
Ancient sea more like a giant salty lake
to understand how these huge ancient seas behaved,
since we have no examples of this sort
of water body on Earth today.
“We have used a new computer model
to deduce the tidal range in ancient seas and
show that they were almost tideless. Understanding
the behaviour of these vast shallow
expanses is critical to our knowledge of the
ancient climate and environments, and to
understand how early marine life evolved and
diversified,” says Dr Allison.
According to the researchers’ estimates,
the new computer programme can model
the behaviour of the sea many times faster
than existing modelling systems. The model,
developed by Dr Chris Pain, Dr Matthew
Piggott and PhD student Martin Wells, has
great potential for examining other patterns
of ocean behaviour.
Martin Wells adds: “The modelling technology
developed here at Imperial is a novel
and fascinating means of investigating the
ancient Earth. Although this is ‘blue-skies’ research
now, we are validating an exciting new
modelling technology which will ultimately
help us to predict climate change.”
Take the fitness
challenge at
Hammersmith
THE new Impetus Gym, at the Hammersmith
campus, was officially opened this month by
campus dean, Professor Gavin Screaton, and
Tim Arnold, head of business services.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was followed
by a friendly fitness challenge between
Hammersmith campus staff and sport and
leisure staff, which involved one member of
each team going head to head on the treadmill,
cross trainer, bike and rowing machine
to complete the 1km target in the fastest possible
time. The challenge provided all guests
with a lighthearted demonstration of the
brand new state-of-the-art gym equipment.
The gym, in the basement of the Commonwealth
Building, has been an eagerly
anticipated development and the reaction
from the staff and students there has been extremely
positive since it first opened its doors
in late February this year.
William Mortimer, campus administrator
at Hammersmith, said: “We are delighted to
see the opening of the Impetus Gym. We have
Leena Bharadia
The fi tness challenge: Nick Gore (sports development
offi cer, sport and leisure) competing on
the treadmill against William Mortimer (campus
administrator, Hammersmith campus)
excellent staff and it is very important that we
provide good social facilities for them.”
The College has further demonstrated
its support of the ‘healthy campus’ mindset
through its investment in the new sports centre
at the South Kensington campus, which is
currently under construction.

3
New donation brings
personalised
healthcare a step
closer
By Abigail Smith
Neville Miles
Space: not the final frontier for
Imperial students
By Laura Gallagher
IN three years’ time, Imperial students will
be sending a little piece of themselves into
space. Seventeen students from different departments
are helping to create the European
Student Earth Orbiter (ESEO) satellite, which
will be put into orbit in 2008.
The students are part of the Student
Space Exploration and Technology Initiative
(SSETI), which aims to give students handson
experience of space technology by involving
them in real space projects. Imperial is
the only UK university involved in the project
run by the European Space Agency. Students
from all over Europe have been working on
the satellite since 2000.
Cristina Rodriguez Trobajo, a second
year aeronautics student and coordinator of
the team, said: “Everyone takes part because
they like space and want to see their work ‘up
there’. I dream of being an astronaut but if
that doesn’t happen, I want to be an engineer
working on space projects. Working on
SSETI is the best preparation I could get. It is
almost like a dream becoming true.”
Each university is responsible for a different
aspect of the satellite’s construction and
design. Parts for the satellite are being built
by 23 teams, and it is the job of the Imperial
students to put together all the different parts
and supervise the testing.
Representatives from each team get
together at a workshop twice a year to pool
ideas and talk about how their work will fit
together. The most recent workshop in Holland
in March was a chance for the Imperial
students to share their enthusiasm and to talk
to fellow SSETI colleagues, some of whom
they have only met previously via email and
online meetings.
Oliver Finn, deputy coordinator and
Cristina’s course-mate, adds: “It was great to
get together at the workshop with all the other
teams because everyone is so enthusiastic
about the project. SSETI is a lot of work and
we’ve probably devoted as much time to it as
to our coursework, but we think it’s worth it.
It’s fantastic knowing that one day our satellite
will be up there in space.”
The micro-satellite will be about the size
of an oven and will weigh less than 120 kilos.
Once it is orbiting the Earth, it will be taking
pictures, carrying out radiation experiments
in the Van Allen belts, testing the propulsion
system and communicating back to Earth at
a frequency that can be picked up on amateur
radios. The students are also investigating
other questions such as whether ordinary offthe-shelf
components such as flash memory
cards will work in space, rather than expensive
custom designed parts.
Members of Imperial’s SSETI team (pictured)
are: Henry Chan, Jameer Emamally,
Oliver Finn, Carlos García de la Fuente,
Nicola Hopkins and Cristina Rodriguez
Trobajo (aeronautics); Adrián Fernández
Castellanos (bioengineering); Eduardo
Aguilar Peláez and Kevin Bez (electrical and
electronic engineering); Felicia Chang (materials);
Christian Synetos, João Serra, Hal
Watts and Weylin Tang (mechanical engineering);
Alexander Yates, Nicolas Cripps, Robert
Yates and William Stevenson (physics).
From left to right, Gillian Bergson (co-author),
Daniel Sokol, Ashley McKimm (editor), Bar
Hewlett (director of sponsors, LighterLife) and
Carol Cooper (judge, The Lancet).
IMPERIAL alumnus Dr Winston Wong,
founder of Taiwanese electronics group Grace
SemiConductor Manufacturing Corporation,
has boosted research fusing technology and
medicine to improve human health with a
donation of £300,000 to Imperial’s institute of
biomedical engineering (IBE).
The donation will be used to support the
institute’s strategy of integrating existing and
next-generation technology to push forward
medical diagnosis and treatment.
In particular the funding will be focused
on the development of biomedical circuits,
a new field which uses microelectronics and
nanotechnology to create healthcare devices
specifically designed for individual patients.
Professor Chris Toumazou, executive director
of the IBE, said: “The human body will
become the next key application area of technology.
There is an urgent need for real-time
data acquisition, processing and communication
to healthcare personnel for healthcare
to be taken out of the hospital and into the
home. For this to be achieved, it is extremely
important that experts in different fields are
enabled to work together in an integrated way,
which is why a dedicated research institute
has been created at Imperial.
“As an engineer, Winston Wong
recognises the huge potential of what we are
doing at the institute. It is the support of leaders
of industry such as him that will ensure
Dr Winston Wong
this vital research makes it out of the lab and
into people’s lives.”
Dr Wong added: “As someone who has a
background in electronics, I’ve been very
interested in the institute’s work applying core
engineering research to medicine. We all hope
to continue our independence for as long as
possible, and creating better mechanisms for
monitoring and personalising healthcare is a
major part of this.”
In recognition of the donation, Professor
Toumazou’s chair will be renamed the
Winston Wong chair in biomedical circuits.
Dr Wong holds degrees awarded by Imperial
which include a BSc in physics, an MSc in
applied optics and a physics PhD.
The sky’s the limit for air transport
workshop
IMPROVING safety in air transport is high
on the agenda this week as the centre for
transport studies, department of civil and
environmental engineering, hosts a
workshop on aviation accident/incident
precursor analysis.
Imperial has started to compile an archive
of reports of incidents that have occurred in
at least eight civil aviation authorities from
around the world. The workshop will encourage
experts in the field to gather and define
categories for accident and incidents in air
transport and to consider reporting schemes
and suitable analysis and data collection
methods to learn from these events.
Dr Washington Ochieng, from the centre
explained: “The main aim of the workshop
is to contribute to the improvement of safety
in air transport. By bringing together safety
experts from a number of key countries we
will be able to not only exchange information
and knowledge, but begin to understand what
makes best practice.”
The outcome of the event is expected
eventually to be a research plan to improve
aviation safety. This is a huge step forward
as until now civil aviation authorities have
often been unwilling to make sensitive data
freely available. Dr Ochieng added: “This is a
unique opportunity to make a real difference.
It’s been a real challenge getting all these
people in the same place at the same time. We
have representatives coming from New
Zealand, the USA, Australia, India, South
Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom and EURO-
CONTROL [the European Organisation for
the Safety of Air Navigation]. Professor Andrew
Evans, Dr Arnab Majumdar and myself
have spent a long time organising this, so are
excited that it’s finally underway.”
Imperial student
highly commended
at book awards
IMPERIAL PhD student Daniel Sokol
has scooped a highly commended prize
at the Medical Journalists Association
annual book awards, for his co-authored
book Medical Ethics and Law: Surviving
on the Wards and Passing Exams. Daniel
is currently completing a PhD on Truthtelling
and the Doctor-Patient Relationship
with supervisors Professor Raanan
Gillon and Dr Tim Rhodes, based at the
Charing Cross campus.
MEDIA MENTIONS
with Abigail Smith
Scientists say film is a load of bleeping
rubbish
The marriage of quantum physics and new
age spirituality in the film What The Bleep
Do We Know?! has failed to impress staff and
students at Imperial. Following a screening
at the College cinema, a dubious Tim Evans
tells The Times (17.05.05): “This film is dangerous
because it exploits people’s genuine
desire to understand the big questions, then
gives the answers the veneer of science.”
Describing the film as “horrendously tedious”,
João Magueijo adds in The Guardian
(16.05.05): “If you manage to stay awake,
you’ll be exposed to such ludicrous extrapolations
from microphysics that you may emerge
expecting electrons to have vaginas.”
Imperial promotes entrepreneurial loving
Entrepreneurs keen to strike out on their own
should seriously consider taking an MBA to
hone their skills, according to The Independent’s
MBA Guide (12.05.05) which singles
out Imperial’s Tanaka business school as a
leader of knowledge transfer. Describing
Imperial’s tactic as providing a “dating
agency for students and technologies”, the
head of the entrepreneurship centre, Simon
Barnes, comments: “A big part of being an
entrepreneur is raising capital and I cannot
think of another way of teaching that than
through these business plan competitions.”
Back to the drawing board for NASA
NASA’s postponement of the Discovery
orbiter comes as no surprise to space mission
expert Andre Balogh, physics. Blast off has
been delayed from May to July at the earliest,
reports The Times (30.04.05), due to fears that
ice falling from the fuel tank could trigger an
accident similar to that of Columbia, which
broke up in 2003 killing all seven astronauts.
“This schedule was not realistic even before
Columbia,” comments Professor Balogh. “It
is always a matter of judgement about what
level of risk NASA is willing to accept. The
debate about that is quite a lively one.”
Put a PhD in your shopping basket
A campaign by Aberdeen University to
recruit PhD students with offers of £15,000 a
year is welcomed by Imperial’s pro rector for
postgraduate affairs, Mary Ritter. Rebutting
comparisons with the US system, in which
less prestigious institutions use similar tactics
to compete with the likes of Harvard, she tells
The Independent (12.05.05): “I think there is
already a market in PhDs in the UK but it is
driven from the top, not like the market in the
US. Top institutions here all want the best.
We are trying to do this not from weakness
but strength.”

4
A day
in the life
In this new series Reporter aims to shed a
bit of light on how others in the College
spend their days…If you have any suggestions
of people you’d like to see featured,
drop us a line at reporter@imperial.ac.uk.
CATHERINE Oriel is PA to the head of the
department of chemistry, Professor Richard
Templer. After starting as a temp in 1998,
Catherine was offered a full-time job within
two months and has held her current position
for the last two years. Having previously
worked in advertising and public relations,
her role at Imperial is different but one she
really enjoys.
Reporter’s Alex Platt went to meet
Catherine to ask her about a typical day in her
working life.
8.15
Catherine usually gets in early. She said: ”I
really value the first 45 minutes of my day. It
gives me a chance to get prepared for the day
without the phone ringing or people knocking
at the door. It’s sometimes the only time that
Richard and I get the chance to talk without
being interrupted!” Richard’s diary management
can be complex and requires Catherine’s
special attention..
9.00
Catherine’s morning is spent in a variety
of ways. She explained: “ I can be doing
Catherine Oriel
David Graeme-Baker
anything from preparing papers or briefing
notes for meetings, acting as a first point of
call for a whole range of internal and external
queries or taking minutes from one of the
several policy groups I’m involved with. I
don’t really have a set time for anything, it’s
impossible, as you never know what’s coming
next. It’s a question of prioritisation”. She operates
a strictly open door policy “I feel that
I have a service role within the department.
I like being accessible and it’s important too.
Colleagues know they can come and see me
anytime and they will have my full attention.
And the same is true for colleagues in other
departments or faculties; they are busy people
and their time is valuable.
12.30
Catherine generally grabs a sandwich and
heads back to her desk.
13.00
Catherine was responsible for the launch of
the department web pages last year. Part of
her role now is to maintain these and ensure
they remain up to date and interesting. Catherine’s
next big project, with a colleague, is
to populate the personal web pages for the 48
academic staff in her department. Catherine
said: “I love having a project. I have a huge
sense of satisfaction when I have the finished
article in front of me.”
14.00
Richard Templer is away from the office the
day Reporter visits, so Catherine is busier
than ever with the phone calls and emails
flooding in. She said: ”When Richard is away,
he needs more than someone to just hold
the fort, I need to deal with a whole range
of things that may arise. The head of department’s
office is often the destination for complex
problems; it can take hours sometimes to
unravel them, see what the real issues are and
to supply Richard with enough information
for him to make a decision.”
15.00
Catherine spends time during the week
keeping the plasma screen in the chemistry
building entrance up to date. The board is essential
for anyone looking for the latest news
or information about the department.
16.00
If there’s nothing else going on, Catherine
heads home on the tube. Now the summer
finally seems to be arriving, she spends time
in her garden, although admits to checking
her work emails at home from time to time.
She said: “I am really happy in my job. I am
fortunate enough to have really good and
strong relationships both with Richard and
others in my department. I gain a great deal
of job satisfaction and wouldn’t change it for
the world.”
Andrew Watts
Wye are the
champions
WYE Ladies have played their way to victory
to become the new University of London
rugby champions. The Wye team scored a decisive
17-0 victory against the London School
of Economics (LSE) at Imperial’s Harlington
ground at the beginning of the month.
Readership
survey prize
draw results
AS promised in edition 151 of Reporter, the
winner of our readership survey prize draw
has been chosen. Sarah Shemilt from finance
and a friend will enjoy a complimentary meal
for two at Hugo’s restaurant. Sarah’s name
was pulled out of the hat from one of the
many entrants to the draw. Many thanks to all
those that took the time to share their views.
EDITOR.
The cup final match marked the end of
the Wye rugby season and was the last game
for many of the older players. This win was
the perfect finale and left the team on an eight
match winning streak
Team members: Suzie Bettles, Jess Bird,
Michelle Brittle, Lynette Filby, Gemma Foster,
Lou Furnival, Mary Grimbly, Emily Hatton,
Suzanne Horn (Captain), Annie Latham,
Lucy Le Cocq, Kate Olley, Cat Pittam, Hetty
Stearn, Andrea Smith, Liz Webb.
Retirement
Wye Ladies on the ball
RAY Gingell, electrical and electronic
engineering’s stores and machine workshop
supervisor retired last month after exactly
48 years of service.
Ray joined the Department in 1957 as a
mechanical engineering apprentice and over
the years helped train many others in his role
as a member of the technicians’ training
committee, on which he served for 15 years.
Ray has also been a chairman of the
EEED social committee and organised
many events.
What’s on… What’s on… What’s on…
Wednesday 1 June
Celebrate sport with London 2012
Imperial is supporting the London
bid with a number of free activities
for students, staff and the general
public at South Kensington and
St Mary’s campuses.
South Kensington campus
Free circuit/boxercise class
outside the Faculty Building from
12.30 to 13.30. Book to avoid
disappointment by emailing
k.broster@imperial.ac.uk.
Free use of the Southside Gym
from 12.00–14.00.
St Mary’s campus
Free swimming from 07.00–09.00
and 12.00–14.00.
Free use of squash courts from
09.00–12.00. To book call 020
7594 3665 or email cosmo.
murphy@imperial.ac.uk
Wednesday 8 June
12.30
3rd floor, Reynolds Building,
Charing Cross Campus.
Professor Anne Mills,
London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine.
The economic impact of
infectious disease and the
Copenhagen Consensus.
Email m.dingli-parsons@imperial.
ac.uk to attend.
Thursday 9 June
17.00
Sir Alexander Fleming Building,
South Kensington campus
Professor Martin Bland, York
University.
The Horizon homeopathy
experiment.
Email r.kells@imperial.ac.uk
to attend.
Wednesday 15 June
19.00
The Royal Institution.
Question Time-style event with
a twist. A panel of scientists,
journalists and politicians including
Robin McKie, science editor of The
Observer, and Robert Key MP, join
award-winning broadcast journalist
Sheena McDonald to debate the latest
headline-hitting science stories.
Call 020 7409 2992 or email www.
rigb.org for tickets, priced £8
(£5 concs).
Noticeboard
Why not visit techforum, the new
online technical discussion forum
recently been set up for students
and staff of the College? The aim
of techforum is to help promote
interdisciplinary communication and
awareness of complementary areas of
research within the College. It also
aims to provide an informal means of
networking with key personnel across
departments, encouraging collaborative
research and innovation. There
are currently 265 registered users
from all campuses and a variety
of departments.
Visit http://techforum.ee.ic.ac.uk/
forum. Email techforum@imperial.
ac.uk for more information.
Reporter is published every
three weeks during term
time. The copy deadline for
issue 154 is Friday 3 June.
Publication date is 15 June.
Contributions are welcome
(no more than 300 words).
Please note the editor
reserves the right to cut
or amend the articles as
necessary. Information correct
at time of going to press.
Reporter,
Alexandra Platt, Editor,
Imperial College London,
South Kensington campus,
London SW7 2AZ.
Tel +44 (0)20 7594 6698
Fax +44 (0)20 7594 6700
Email reporter@imperial.ac.uk
www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter