RKT News February 2013 - University of Portsmouth

Upcoming events
Athena SWAN Conference
Wednesday 6 March 2.00pm – 5.00pm
Portland Building
The first University Athena SWAN conference will
look at past, present and future progress regarding
the Athena SWAN objectives, which are to promote
the advancement of women in science, technology,
engineering and maths (STEM). The conference will
put them into context for the University and provide
an opportunity for female academics in STEM
departments to share their career successes in
poster form.
The Chancellor, Sandi Toksvig, will open the
conference followed by a keynote speech from Dame
Jocelyn Bell Burnell DBE, FRS, FRAS, a British
astrophysicist, who as a postgraduate student
discovered the first radio pulsars with her thesis
supervisor Antony Hewish. Other speakers include Dr
Esther Sonnet, Head of School of Creative Arts, Film
and Media, who will be talking on the brains behind
the beauty of Hedy Lamarr, Professor Taraneh Dean
who will talk about the challenges she faced on her
road to a successful research career and Professor
Paul Hayes who will talk about how departments can
aspire to achieve the Athena SWAN Silver Award.
To book a place, visit
http://athenaswanconference.eventbrite.co.uk/.
Open Access
Thursday 7 March
On 7 March 2013 at 2.30pm, all academic staff are
invited to an Open Access awareness raising event.
This event will outline the Open Access agenda in
the UK, explain what this means for all researchers
and update you on the plan for addressing Open
Access at the University.
To register, please visit
http://openaccess.eventbrite.co.uk/.
Research Excellence Framework
(REF) update
July 2013
Where are we with the REF? How will it affect
funding for my research now and in the future? The
event aims to provide vital information and an
opportunity to ask questions regarding REF. It will
address what the REF means for you and what you
can do to prepare for the next REF. To book a place,
visit http://refupdate.eventbrite.co.uk/.
For further information or enquiries about
any of these events, please contact
Research and Knowledge Transfer Services
on ext 6191 or email rkts@port.ac.uk.
New Grants Officer
The University has appointed a new Grants Officer, Colin Waring, who will
support researchers in applying for research funding from an increasing range
of sources. Colin joined Research and Knowledge Transfer Services in
November 2012 and will work with individuals and research groups in all
faculties, and with our University Network facilitators Amy Drahota (UPAN), and
David Hutchinson (UPEN) (see page 13), to provide relevant and value-added
information on research funding opportunities and to support the submission
of timely and high-quality bids.
Colin initially graduated in zoology from the
University of Aberdeen, and then studied
for a PhD at Heriot-Watt University. He
previously worked as a Principal Lecturer in
the School of Biological Sciences here at
the University of Portsmouth. He wrote and
reviewed grant proposals, publications and
supervised 12 PhD and MPhil students,
and brings this breadth of experience to a
vital research support role at the University.
If you have some research ideas and want
help identifying potential funders then
please feel free to email colin.waring@port.ac.uk or call on ext 6195.
Professor Jim Smith’s inaugural
lecture a great success
Wednesday 6 February saw the inaugural lecture of Professor Jim Smith
from the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. In front of a packed
audience, Jim took the crowd on a guided tour of his life’s work.
Jim started life as an astrophysicist, but
his search for a PhD coincided with the
worse radioactive disaster in history -
Chernobyl. He explained how difficult it
was to use mathematics to understand
and predict change in the natural
environment. He used examples from his
own work modelling the movement of
radioactivity through lakes and their
associated ecosystems to expertly make
his point. Jim clearly demonstrated the
importance of scientific rigour, which in
turn ensures a sound evidence-base that
enables you to make predictions for policy
makers and practitioners.
Jim explained that very often scientists have their ‘arch-enemies’, with
arguments fought out through peer reviewed journals. In Jim’s case, his
arch-enemies were two scientists from France and USA. Jim explained
why he did not agree with their research findings and took us through the
evidence to solidify his argument. All this was taken in the light-hearted
way it was meant, and the assembled crowd clearly enjoyed his lecture.
Professor Paul Hayes, Dean of the Faculty of Science summed the
evening up, saying: ‘I am both pleased and proud to have Jim as a
member of our Faculty.’
The next inaugural lecture ‘Mapping the Universe’ will be delivered by Will
Percival, Professor of Cosmology at the Institute of Cosmology and
Gravitation on Thursday 21 March 2013.
Research and Knowledge Transfer newsletter • February 2013
10
www.port.ac.uk/research