Reading between the lines Alumni in the media - Aston University

4 Reading between the linesHow much do we give away in our handwriting? It’s a serious question for those engaged in the scienceof graphoanalysis. Handwriting may not simply be a way of communicating ideas, but a representation ofsomething deeper – our individual personality traits. Owen Williams (1966 BSc Industrial Administration)invited Apex to discover more about what he feels is often a neglected science.Reading betweenthelinesThe history of handwriting analysis canbe traced back to at least the fifteenthcentury when the Roman Catholic Churchwas searching for a way to measure anindividual’s ethics and moral code. Peoplecould say what they thought you wanted tohear, references and personal judgementscould be too subjective and potentiallyunreliable. What was needed wassomething that was unique to an individual– handwriting seemed to offer apossible solution.It was left to the French to establish theart of graphology and to the Germans todevelop and add to the evolving theorysurrounding it. Probably the most notabledevelopment was when handwriting ceasedto be thought of as simply handwriting.Supporters began to suggest that if thehand is moved by impulses from the brainand the brain is obviously unique to eachindividual, the assumption can be madethat there must be some unique traitassociated with the brain’s output; in thiscase the impulses that cause the hand tomove in a certain way to produce script.This development in thinking ledWillhelm Prayer to coin the term‘brain writing’.Last century a similar idea began to evolvein the States from work associated withteaching shorthand. Although there areagreed symbols for shorthand script, eachindividual develops his or her own styleto the extent that it can be difficult, if notimpossible, to read another’s shorthandscript. Research was undertaken andtheories established and accepted. The artof graphoanalysis gained in credibility,a body of theory began to be establishedand a professional institution grew up.The International Graphoanalysis Society(IGAS) which teaches, assesses and accreditspractitioners of handwriting analysis.“My work is all about personalityassessment,” explained Owen who goes togreat lengths to insist that in the UK thewhole discussion of handwriting analysishas been sensationalised into something itisn’t. “Here we have psychometric testingto help recruitment, why not employgraphoanalysis with the aim of identifyinga person’s strengths and aptitudes?”Reading more than between the lines,rather deep into the way each letter isformed on the page, Owen can identifytraits which signal the ability to workin a team, aspects of temperament,reliability and commitment to thetask in hand – all laudable indicatorsof career success or compatibility witha work or social environment.When analysing a sample of handwritingOwen looks for around two hundreddifferent traits – thin or thick lines,large or small curves, open or closedloops, even the amount of spacebetween words can tell a story.“My work is allabout personalityassessment”Owen has been practising his science forover fifty years and has taught nearly 200people. In 2004 the IGAS acknowledgedOwen’s contribution to his field of study byawarding him International Graphoanalystof the Year. An Honorary Member of IGAS,President of the British IGAS Chapterin 1993, a Fellow of both the CharteredInstitute of Management and the Instituteof Management Services and a longserving member of the AGA Committee,Owen continues to promote this disciplinewidely to help raise its profile in theUK and increase general acceptanceof the methodology and practice.

University news 5Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor Graham Hooley, shares Aston’s good news with alumni at a timewhen applications across the HE sector as a whole are showing relatively slow growth.Applicationsto Astonon the increaseBack in January, the Department of Schools and Colleges Liaison undertook some quantitative analysis to compare the level ofapplications to Aston with applications across the HE sector as a whole. On 5 January it was reported that Home/EU applications were32% up on the same time in 2004 and that international applications were up a huge 44%. These figures were particularly exciting forAston at a time when applications across the HE sector as a whole were only marginally up by 9% (with some evidence of a last minuterush to beat the introduction of variable fees). Our showing at over 21% above the national average is excellent news, and is down to anumber of factors:• All Schools ofStudy across theUniversity hada very successfulprogramme ofinnovation. Newprogrammesin areas suchas Biosciences,MultimediaTechnology,Politics, Spanish, International Businessand Management, Economics andManagement, Audiology and our newmajor/minor combinations throughCombined Honours are all drawing stronginterest from prospective students.• Enhanced and positive marketingcampaigns have also helped raise ourprofile. These have included renewed directmailing, a successful pre-application openday in September (a record 3,000 attendees)and good relationship marketing. Over200 teachers and careers advisers attendedthe 10th Annual Admissions Conferencehosted at Aston early in the year andsignificant work has been going on withstudent ambassadors and colleges locallyand nationally.• There has been a greatly enhancedinternational student recruitment driveboth through the International Office andwithin Schools. This has been coupled withthe creation of the Aston Graduate Schoolunder the direction of Dr Mark Oakleythat now co-ordinates the applications forpostgraduate taught programmes acrossthe University. Many of our postgraduateapplications are also from internationalstudents and Mark and his team work veryclosely with the International Office toattract applicants to Aston.• Our improved positions in the Universityand subject specific league tables, inparticular our jump to 22 in The Times GoodUniversity Guide 2005 and 13th overall inThe Guardian 2004 table, have had a majorimpact on our reputation and standingamong prospective students and those thatinfluence them.Through innovation in programmes,enhanced reputation showing throughparticularly in the league tables, andimproved marketing effort, it is clearthat across the University demand for ourprogrammes is more buoyant than it hasever been.

6 University newsProfile on…David UptonDavid studied asandwich course atAston in MechanicalEngineering inthe late 1960s andobtained his degreein 1970. He then tookDavid Uptona 12 year sabbaticalworking for TubeInvestments in manufacturing research priorto returning to Aston in 1982 to undertakea research programme into new designs ofcutting tools. He completed his PhD in 1987 andhas been at Aston ever since, continuing withadditional research, particularly in materialsand machinability of car components for FordMotor Company. His work in this area wasrecently rewarded when Aston’s contributionwas recognised on the launch of the new V6Lion Diesel Engine.A Lecturer in Engineering programmes, heis very interested in failure analysis, havingundertaken investigations which have formedthe basis for some of the lectures and casestudies sometimes on everyday objects likea broomstick!David is also the Industrial Placement Tutorfor Engineering Systems and Management.Aston has always been keen to promote thebenefits of a year in industry to its students,and David helps engineering students to obtaina placement of up to 12 months. One perk ofthe job, he says, is that he gets the opportunityto undertake some really interesting industrialvisits to companies like BMW, Toyota,Rolls-Royce, Bentley Airbus, BAE, Jaguarand Vauxhall, where some of the studentsare based.So, David seems to keep busy at work, butwhat are his interests outside of Aston? Heinforms me that he is keen on cycling andcanals, which he combines by cycling to workalong the canal towpath. He describes this asan excellent way to keep fit, providing you don’tfall off, fall into the water, or get attacked byCanadian Geese!A recent new role is apprentice Mace Bearerat Aston’s Degree Congregations, a job whichProfessor Penny has held for a number ofyears, but is reluctantly giving up in thenear future.Profile on... will be a regular column in Apex.Let us know if there’s a member of staff you’d liketo read about from your days at Aston.Careers services forAston graduatesHow much time and effort did you put into getting that first job?And how much more will it take to make the next step? Aston alumnican still use the careers service for up to three years after graduation.Maureen Tibby, Head of the Careers Service, answers some ofyour FAQs.Q: Do you provide information via a website?www.careers.aston.ac.uk gives details ofservices and facilities, provides advice andoffers links to useful career-related sitesand employers.Q: What other facilities do you provide?You are welcome to use many of the(free) reference resources in the CareersInformation Room. Computer facilitiesinclude Prospects Planner (a computerisedguidance programme) and access tothe Internet (for careers-relatedinformation only).Q: Can I arrange to see a careers adviser?You can book an initial 15-minuteappointment on the Aston Careers Servicewebsite, by telephone or by calling in.Longer appointments would normallybe arranged following the initialconsultation. However, if you are travellinga long way phone in advance and ask tobook a 45-minute interview. Waiting timeswill vary according to the time of year.Q: Do you provide vacancy information?You can register with our Vacancies Onlineservice www.careers.aston.ac.uk/vacanciesWe will email you directly with vacancieswhich match your requirements. You canalso register with TargetedGRAD. This is aweb-based graduate recruitment service runby a group of top university careers services,including Aston. Registration is free atwww.targetedGRAD.com and employerswill email you with opportunities relevantto your degree and interests.Q: Can I telephone or email theCareers Service?We are happy to respond to telephonecalls or emails but cannot send out largequantities of information to you or givecareers advice via email. If you want tospeak to a careers adviser we can arrange forsomeone to call you. We can be contacted on0121 204 4757 or careers@aston.ac.ukQ: Can I use other university careers services?If you no longer live in the West Midlandsyou may be able to use the facilities of otheruniversity careers services although this isnot guaranteed. Priority will be given totheir existing students, particularly duringterm time. Further details can be found atwww.prospects.ac.ukQ: Any other sources of help youwould recommend?Graduate Advantage(www.graduateadvantage.co.uk) is aregional scheme supporting graduateswishing to work in the West Midlands.Registration allows you to search forvacancies or submit your details to potentialemployers. The Graduate PlacementProgramme provides project-basedemployment in smaller companies for sixto nine months. Training and support isavailable to participants.Prospects Web Site (www.prospects.ac.uk)has comprehensive information and advicefor graduates, including contact detailsfor all university careers services, graduatecareers advice, CV checking service, detailsof careers fairs across the UK, occupationalinformation and graduate labour marketinformation and a business knowledge bank.Provision of training schemes forunemployed graduates varies by regionand you will need to check in your area fordetails. Details may be found by contactingyour local university careers service orjob centre.Local Connexions Services (www.connexions.gov.uk) offer a range ofsupport services to young people. Manyprovide or have links with services foradults and some of these may be free ofcharge if you are unemployed. Some alsooffer paid-for services ranging from CVproduction to individual guidance andpsychometric testing. Check with yournearest Connexions Service or Job Centre tosee what is available.

M for Safety 7With an impressive portfolio of customers and an outstanding track record of successful projectsincluding work on the Olympic Village in Athens in 2004, Management Force is a leading company in thesafety management services sector. Based in Greece, MD Georgios Panopoulos (2004 PhD Health andsafety) opened up the doors of his specialised client-centred consultancy.M for SafetyManagement Force is a leading companyin safety management services and has asignificant presence in the oil and gas industry,construction and the service industry in boththe public and private sectors. Althoughthe company is based in Greece, it has aremarkable international presence in the UK,North Africa and Cyprus.“Our mission statement isto provide quality servicesworking together withour clients for the benefitof our clients, provingany investment theymake in safety, healthand the environment tobe a good investment inboth non-economic andeconomic terms,” explainedGeorgios who specialisesin management systems,specifically costs and safety. “Our solutionsensure the safety of a project over its lifecyclethrough design, construction, start-up,operation, maintenance and disposal.”Management Force’s major clients are large,Greek construction companies, but it alsoworks with businesses in other sectors suchas retail, services, utilities, food industry,petrochemicals and the steel industry.“We were very much involved with the Olympicprojects for the Athens 2004 Olympics,”continued Georgios. “For example, the OlympicStadium roof and the Stadium landscape whichwas designed by the famous Spanisharchitect Calatrava.”Management Force is not lacking in topaccreditation either. Georgios was proud toannounce that recently,among other developmentsand success, ManagementForce was accredited by theBritish Standards Instituteas an associate consultantto OHSAS 18001 BSI SafetyManagement System forcentral and southern Europeand ISO 14001 EnvironmentManagement System. Thecompany also employsexperienced full-timeprofessionals and associate expert consultantswho have a broad range of scientific,engineering and management skills.“My greatest challenge in my professionallife,” mused Georgios, “was the Natural GasProject in Greece where I worked as SafetyManager, Sub-Project Deputy Project Managerand Project Co-ordinator before setting upManagement Force. It was during that time Icame across modern management techniquesin construction.”A different challenge must surely have beenhis PhD research. “My thesis was entitledThe economic aspects of safety in theconstruction industry in Greece and wascompleted alongside the many commitments Ihad in my company and also in my life outsidework – I am married and have two children.People at Aston were very encouraging andhelpful,” remembers Georgios. “Everyone inthe Health and Safety Unit were very good andhelpful to me. Above all, my internal supervisor,Professor Richard Booth, has significantlysupported me in my work.”What does the future hold for this successfulAston graduate? “I would like to be moreinvolved with top management and decisionmakers in safety matters and safety policy inbig brands and the public sector. I also believethat my PhD will give me more opportunity inan academic field and allow me to combinemy extensive practical experience and myacademic abilities.”

8 Alumni in the mediaSusannah Streeter (1995 BSc French and Society and Government) andMichael McNamee (1992 BSc French) both work in the media,Susannah as a reporter and presenter for BBC THREE’s 7 o’clock newsand 60 Seconds, and Michael as a presenter on BBC Radio Ulster,based in Belfast. We interviewed them to find out a little more abouttheir careers.Alumni in the mediaHow did you end up in your job?Susannah: “I had always been interested inthe media and during my first year at AstonI started writing for the Birmingham Sun. Isoon decided I would like to be a journalist,so spent my student loans on gettingwork experience during the holidays. Atgraduation I was the only one of my friendswho didn’t have a job, but I soon startedfreelancing as a local radio journalist, thenwent into regional TV and two years agojoined BBC THREE.”Michael: “A media training course in 1993run by a group called CSV (CommunityService Volunteers) set me on my way.This was a nine-month course based atthe BBC in Belfast, which offers youngpeople training in radio, TV and printmedia. As part of that, I did a month’swork experience in the Sports Departmentin BBC Northern Ireland and that led tome doing a few football match reports onRadio Ulster and the odd shift compilingand broadcasting radio sports news desks.To cut a long story short, many early startsand late finishes brought me my first shorttermcontract and today I’m still a freelanceworking on an annual contract. Along withsports commentaries and reports, I presenta live non-sports magazine show Your Placeand Mine on BBC Radio Ulster on Saturdaymornings. I’ve been doing that show forfour years.”Describe a typical daySusannah: “A typical day starts around8am when I monitor radio and TVnews output at home. I arrive at work at11.30am by which time the news editor hasalready decided the story I will be doing,but I can often pitch an idea I think weshould be covering. I report on nationaland international news and can be sentanywhere in the country or abroad ifnecessary, but usually I am based in London.I go out and film between 11.30am toaround 4.00pm, then I head back to theoffice to edit from between 5.00pm and7.00pm, when our programme starts. IfI report live, I usually send back voicetrack and rushes from a satellite truck andthen stay at the scene to report into theprogramme at 7.00pm. If I am presentingthe programme, I start at 4.00pm. Iresearch the stories we are covering,including the backgrounds of guests I maybe interviewing. After the thirty minuteprogramme I go on to present 60 Secondsupdates every hour until midnight.”Michael: “There is no such thing as atypical day. The great days will see me outin the fresh air interviewing someone forYour Place and Mine. The items are mainlyrural-based so recently I was in CountyArmagh reporting on Northern Ireland’sbig ploughing match. We talk to anybodyand everybody on the show. I’ve spoken toundertakers, goalkeepers and people whocollect pottery pigs! I have learnt so muchabout Northern Ireland and met so manydelightful people since starting onthe programme.”What are the most rewarding and challengingparts of the job?Susannah: “The most rewarding part ofthe job is meeting so many different andinteresting people every day. The mostchallenging is getting people to talk oncamera when they don’t want to!”Michael: “The most rewarding aspectof my job is getting feedback fromlisteners who’ve heard something thatthey’ve enjoyed. The most challengingis attempting to come up with a goodinterview or item on the ‘slow’ days ortrying to invigorate a sports commentaryat a dull match when you’re frozen solid orsoaked through.”Are there any news items/topics that you havecovered that have particularly interested you?Susannah: “One of my most interestingjobs was reporting from Pristina airport inKosovo during the summer of 1999. It wasquite a tense time as both the Russians andNATO soldiers were trying to control theairport. I was working for Southamptonbased Meridian TV at the time and I wasreporting on the role of troops from theSouth of England. We flew back with anaero medical evacuation team who weretaking a little boy with leukaemia foremergency treatment in the UK.”Michael: “Sadly my favourite memoryis a sports one, the Ulster rugby teamwinning the European Cup in 1999. Thebest moment was not the final in Dublinbut the semi-final at Ravenhill in Belfast.Stade Français were Ulster’s opponents andthey were undone by the sheer passion ofthe 15,000 home fans. The atmosphere atthe game was incredible. The success ofthe team briefly brought a magic to bothcommunities in Northern Ireland, not justrugby fans, and it was just a wonderfulbright spot amidst the general gloom.”Have you ever experienced any embarrassingmoments on air?Susannah: “When I was working atMeridian TV, the gallery cut back to meearly while I was reading the news and Iwas rubbing my nose quite vigorously. I justhad to stop and read on.”Michael: “Broadcasting live inevitablyleads to the odd slip – some you don’t evenrealise you’ve done. I was doing a piece onthe Mummers of County Fermanagh, whogo around people’s houses performing atraditional folk play. Unfortunately at onestage live on air I substituted a B insteadof an M at the start of Mummers. You justhave to laugh and move on.”What are your future career plans?Susannah: “I really like working on the7 o’clock news, but I would like to take theopportunity to work elsewhere in BBCnews such as on BBC One’s Breakfast orNews 24. I’ve worked in radio and printbefore but at the moment I am reallyenjoying television.”Michael: “I have never had any plansor great schemes. The business is tooprecarious for that. I’ve been lucky so farwith the things I’ve been offered. At heartI’m a radio fan as I have a face for it. It’smore personal and fun and the people whowork in radio tend to be nice. If I wasn’tdoing this job I have absolutely no ideawhere I would be.”

The Net works 9The Net worksWe are responding to requests for more networking opportunities bycreating virtual groups online so you can meet with fellow Astonauts,friends, colleagues and peers for social or professional reasons fromthe comfort of your own home. Here we focus on two new onlinegroups, but don’t forget the already established internationalE-networks at www.aston.ac.uk/alumni/emailgroups/index.jspMBA Online CommunityA new strategy for Aston’s MBA alumniprogramme is emerging. In summer2004 MBA alumni all over the worldtook part in email discussions and focusgroups to explore how networkingmight be facilitated. The most importantconsideration was the vehicle throughwhich we channelled the alumniprogramme and almost without exceptionan electronic communication systemseemed to be most desirable. So the MBAOnline Community has been launched atwww.aston.ac.uk/alumni/mbawww.aston.ac.uk/alumni/mba is open toall MBA alumni of Aston University andwe have already had a successful start tothe programme. Here’s a taster of whatmembers have enjoyed since January.Does corporate governance really matter?The answer to this question washotly debated when Sir AdrianCadbury led the first of our MBAalumni networking evenings.An audience with Sir Digby Jones, DirectorGeneral of the CBISir Digby held a capacity audiencespellbound for nearly two hours andresponded to questions on the currentpension crisis, difficulties faced by blackand minority ethnic businesses and theUK economy (in conjunction with theChartered Management Institute).Networking with fellow MBA alumnithrough three online forums: The IdeasForum where you can post questions ordiscussion topics relating to issues in thebusiness world today or ask MBA peersfor their views; Career Managementand Vacancies dedicated to careers andvacancies for MBA alumni; The MBALounge is a virtual Base Room whereyou can relax and chat with fellow MBAalumni – find out what really happened tothem all and where they are now.Being part of the online MBA alumnicommunity means web links to newslettersand your Business School, the latestresearch from Aston’s top academics,seminars and look-up directories.Upcoming events include:Myths and Realities, Ministers and CivilServants – a story of everyday life in theWestminster Village, Professor Rod Rhodesfrom the Australian National Universitywill be presenting a public lecture onthe work of Government ministers andsenior civil servants, arguing that thepolitical elite in the UK use story-tellingrooted in the beliefs and practices of theWestminster model to manage everydaylife and domestic crises.MBA refresher courses. Professionaldevelopment opportunities to ensureyour skills and knowledge remain atthe cutting edge.The MBA Online Community is onlyin its infancy, it will grow and developaround you and your requirements as youtake advantage of what the communityoffers you and participate in this excitingnew development. To register: visit www.aston.ac.uk/alumni/mba and ‘Register’.We will then activate your request andyour online community is only a mouseclick away.NetworkDid you know that you can now attendalumni events designed exclusively forprofessional networking and career skillsdevelopment? Over the last few monthsAston alumni have been doing just that, asthe new Network for Aston alumni takesoff. Network, the new membership servicefor professional alumni, is currently beingpiloted with graduates of Aston BusinessSchool, but non-ABS graduates are morethan welcome to join!A few weeks ago about 20 alumni cameback to campus to spend a Saturdaylearning ‘The Art and Science of EffectiveNetworking’. The course combinedseminar style learning with role playingin pairs and groups to help members honetheir relationship-building skills andgather useful techniques. Laura Stansbie,Network Administrator, organised theevent. She said: “I came back to workon Monday morning to an email froma Network member who had attendedthe event. It began: ‘Can I firstly thankyou for putting on a truly outstandingevent. Rarely is a course so enjoyable andbeneficial at the same time.’ This reallymade my day! This and the other feedbackI have had from members so far shows thatour alumni are really finding this newservice useful!”Last December, more alumni gatheredin London for ‘Taking Charge of YourCareer’. David Willcock, executive coach,gestalt psychological consultant and Astonalumnus, led the workshop. The eventprovided a comprehensive strategy fortaking stock of your career and decidingwhat to do next. It seemed to hit the spot– some members have since commentedthat they consider their direction in lifelike never before!In May, Network is running ‘EffectiveNegotiation Skills for Work, Rest andPlay’. If you fancy improving yourbusiness skills, or networking withother alumni, find out how Networkmembership can benefit you at www.aston.ac.uk/alumni/network or by emailingalumninetwork@aston.ac.ukWe look forward to hearing from you!

10 Report on the AGM of ConvocationThis year’s AGM was held on Saturday 19 March and was attended byover 130 alumni representing graduation years from the 1940s to theearly 2000s. For those of you unable to attend, here’s a fuller report ofthe day’s activities.The day began with morningcoffee – a chance to meet upwith friends and colleagues.The Officers of the University and theChairman of the Standing Committeeof the Convocation prepare for theAGM. Vice-Chancellor, Professor MikeWright, presented his annual report anda detailed account of the future plans ofthe University. Treasurer, Dr John Parnaby,presented a report on the publishedaccounts and explained the financialclimate of the Higher Education sector inwhich Aston functions.Chancellor, Sir Michael Bett, presentedSimon Lemin and Peter Johnson with theAGA prize for their excellent contributionto the social life of the University.Many of our alumni take the opportunityto bring their families with them. Thereis always an alternative session organisedfor anyone who does not attend the AGM.Whilst this event is intended for thefamilies of our alumni, we also notice afew of our graduates who join in, obviouslypreferring this event to the AGM. But that’sthe idea of the programme – choose to gowherever you please! This year we invitedGraham Stubbs (2001 BSc EnvironmentalScience and Product Design and a currentpostgraduate student at Aston) to exhibithis photography of Birmingham and totalk about his art and what motivates himto take stunning views of the City fromoriginal angles.A buffet lunch was the ideal time to catchup with lost friends, take in the morning’sactivities and prepare for a tour of theAcademy of Life Sciences in the afternoon.2006Next year the University will be celebrating40 years since its charter was granted in1966. What better reason to make an effortto come back to campus? The AGM willbe a key event of the celebrations and willbe held on Saturday 11 March. Put the datein your diary now! Don’t forget, you canbring your family with you as well. We willbe publishing the full programme in earlyJanuary next year so make sure we haveyour up-to-date contact details.If you would like to be more involvedin the life of the University, why notconsider your nomination for the StandingCommittee or Council? All Astongraduates are members of the Convocationwhich also includes representativesfrom industry and commerce, localgovernment and professional bodies. TheStanding Committee of Convocation isyour opportunity to be involved in Aston’sfuture and is also the recognised route foralumni to raise any issues they have aboutthe University’s operations. The Committeemeets six times a year in the evenings.If you would like to discuss this further,contact Sarah Pymm in the AlumniRelations Office.Secretary-Registrar David Packhamannounced the results of the elections toCouncil and the Standing Committee ofConvocation. We are pleased to welcomeMr David Harrison to Council andDr Seewoosunkur Gopaul, Mrs SuzanneKirby and Mr Roger Malcolm Sheppard tothe Standing Committee of Convocation.

University news 11Long Service AwardsAston held a quarter of a century celebrationrecently when the 2005 Long Service Awardstook place on 25 January. The ceremony wasattended by Aston staff that have served 25 yearsor more at the University. An introductory speechfrom Professor Nigel Reeves reminded staff thathad started in 1978 and 1979 of the Universityas it was then and how, through hard work anddedication, it has grown into the establishmentthat it is now. Dr Ed Doolan presented prizeswith the Vice-Chancellor and afterwards, stafftook the opportunity to catch up with old friends.Can you see anyone you recognise?Topping-off CeremonyOn 6 December, Lady Susan Cadbury conducted the official Topping-off Ceremony at Aston BusinessSchool’s advancing extension which celebrated the building reaching its full height and marks thebeginning of a new era for the ambitious School.A topping-off ceremony is one of theconstruction industry’s oldest customs, andis thought to date back into the mists ofScandinavian mythology. Traditionally,a branch or a small tree is hauled to thetop of the roof frame for good luck. Theancients believed our souls returned tothe trees after death, thus giving eachtree a spirit of its own. When a house wascompleted, the top-most branch of the treewas set atop the roof, thus providing thetree spirit with a home.The ceremony took place on the rooftop ofthe £22m extension and was beamed downvia satellite to an audience watching on abig screen in the Business School’s lounge.“This building marks the success of ourstrategy in recent years. We have grown150 percent over the last six years and thenew building will allow us to acceleratethat pace,” said Professor John Saunders,Head of Aston Business School.Brian Cheshire, Managing Director,Laing O’Rourke Midlands added:“We are delighted to be working withAston University again having beeninvolved in the construction of theLakeside student residences and are pleasedto have reached this significant phase ofthis project. This has largely been achievedthrough a positive teamwork approach andwe look forward to achieving completionof another successful project forthe University.”

12 International newsFrom Aberdeen to Zimbabwe, Aston alumni are literally all over the world. We understand it’s difficult tomake the journey back to campus to attend some of the events which take place at the University so,whenever Aston staff are travelling overseas, we try to take every opportunity to meet up with as many ofyou as we can. Here are a few of the recent alumni dinners across the globe.International NewsNew York, USANew York hosted an MBA recruitmentfair in February of this year and MBACourse Director, Gareth Griffiths, went torepresent Aston. After a busy but successfulfair, Sunday brunch with Aston graduateswas all too appealing.Gareth Griffiths with Elisa Harca,Simeone Daeschner and Paul Smedley whonow live in New YorkColombo, Sri LankaSimon Hall of the International Office isa frequent visitor to Colombo on behalfof the University. When he was there inOctober last year he was warmly welcomedby our alumni who are currently residingin Sri Lanka. “Everyone was extremelyenthusiastic about Aston and shared manyfond memories,” said Simon. One of thehighlights of the evening must have beenthe Aston Quiz – alumni pitted theirwits to see how much they rememberedabout their alma mater. Simon will bein Colombo again in June and ProfessorSaunders of Aston Business School will bevisiting in the summer at which time wehope to arrange another meeting.Chiang Mai, ThailandLast year, Chiang Mai University celebratedits 40th Anniversary, a highlight of whichwas the official opening by HRH PrincessSirindthorn of the Faculty of Science’snew Science Complex Building. Designedto encourage integrated research as well asprovide much needed extra laboratory space,the impressive new building will supportnot only the Faculty’s future expansion butalso its growing reputation as a regionalresearch centre. Its close links with Aston’sSchool of Engineering & Applied Sciencecontinue, mainly in the field of biomaterials.Dr Prasak Thavornyutikarn (front, 3rd fromleft) at his official retirementIn October last year, Aston alumni at Chiang Mai University hosted a reunion party tocelebrate the official retirement of Associate Professor Dr Prasak Thavornyutikarn afterover 30 years of service to Chiang Mai’s Chemistry Department. Dr Prasak obtained hisPhD from Aston in 1972 in the field of Inorganic Chemistry, having worked under thesupervision of the late Professor Bill McWhinnie in the former Chemistry Department(now a part of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry). Despite having reached his60th birthday, Dr Prasak still remains very active and is continuing to work part-time inChiang Mai’s Environmental Science Program.Paris, FranceCaroline Silva Ariza, Marketing Support Co-ordinator in Aston BusinessSchool, went to Paris in March. With stunning views across the City, thePanoramic Bar of the Hotel Concorde LaFayette welcomed Aston alumni.E-networksWhen you can’t get back to campus but wouldlike to be in touch with other Aston graduates,why not join one of the E-networks set upthrough the web site at www.aston.ac.uk/alumni/emailgroups/index.jsp?Just because you are a distance away doesn’tmean that you should be feeling at a distance!Join an e-group and post a message to seewho else is around. The e-networks work like asimple email message. When you post one emailto a country, everyone who is a member in thatcountry receives a copy of your email. You canarrange socials, ask your peers for their opinionon current affairs generally or related to specificissues and be the first to hear when Aston staffare travelling in your region and wanting tomeet you. Just to keep you informed, we sendout a regular newsletter with all the latest newsfrom Aston. A simple way of bridging the milesbetween campus and where you are. Join now!Australia, Canada, China, Cyprus, France,Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Japan,Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore,Spain, Turkey, USA.

Aston University graduation ring 13

14 LA storyLA storyIt’s not often we hear about our alumni living and working inHollywood, so imagine our excitement when we found thatPeter Byrne (1983 BSc Business and German) was over thereworking as Executive Vice-President, Licensing and Merchandisingat 20th Century Fox – producer of The Simpsons, Star Wars andRobots, to name a few. We caught up with him to find out what hisjob involves and how he is finding life amongst the stars.“We sold 5,000,000 Simpsons Hitand Run video games last year – youcan’t plan for that – and that’s in abusiness where a million units putsyou in the ‘Top 20’.On making contact with Peter, I aminformed that he will get back to me just assoon as he has returned from a trade showin Las Vegas and a toy fair in New York– a job made in heaven, some might think.It didn’t take me long to inquire just howPeter had ended up working in Hollywood.“I always had a real passion for film andmusic, but it was really a chance phonecall from a head-hunter that brought meto 20th Century Fox. At the time, I wasworking for Sara Lee Personal Products,running five companies in NorthernEurope, working with brands such asHanes, Champion and Polo Ralph Lauren.I wasn’t looking for a new challenge.The job with Fox was basically a start upfor their consumer products business inEurope as Managing Director, Licensingand Merchandising, much smaller thanwhat I’d been used to doing. But it was thechallenge of building something and thebuzz of the industry that attracted me – itdoesn’t get faster than in entertainment.Plus, my background before that was withmajor corporations in the toys and apparelsectors – which are two of the biggest”revenue earners in licensing – so it was anatural fit for me.” That was eight yearsago, and after two years of setting upEurope, Peter was given the internationalbusiness to look after. Then, four yearsago, he was relocated to Los Angeles torestructure the company and head up thebusiness worldwide.As Executive Vice-President, Licensingand Merchandising for 20th Century Fox,Peter oversees all the worldwide consumerproducts business both for film and TVproperties. He works with about 800manufacturers (licensees) worldwide, whoproduce anything and everything from toysand video games to household goods andsoft furnishings. He has also recently setup a division to license properties for thethemed entertainment business, includingsuch things as theme park rides, locationbasedentertainment and museum tours. Infact, he recently opened their first venturein Germany in March this year – an Ice Agedark ride – which is a preamble to theIce Age 2 movie, due to launch worldwidein spring 2006. On top of this, he alsooversees all third party promotions such asBurger King/Pepsi tie-ins on all of theirTV brands.I ask Peter if there’s such a thing as a‘typical day’, to which he says: “I wouldn’tknow where to start,” and instead emailsme a very long list of projects that he isworking on. These include finalisingnegotiations on the next generation ofSimpsons video games; starting the creativedevelopment/brand look of Ice Age 2 sothat licensees can start creating products;developing a merchandise strategy forthe DVD launch of Robots; and workingon James Cameron’s next major movieBattle Angel, based on a series of Japanesemanga novels set in the 26th Century. Petercertainly seems to have his hands full.The Simpsons

LA story 15The only thing typical in his day is gettingup at 6.00am to take the dog out (or viceversa), and spending his evenings catchingup on TV shows and watching pilots forpotential future licensing opportunities.Talking of licensing opportunities,I wondered how Peter and his teamwent about deciding on whom to givea licence to. He explains: “We usuallyselect licensees based on a number of keycriteria – strength of retail distribution,marketing, product quality, marketposition and creative vision. We’ve hadsome funny suggestions in the past,especially from people wanting to producea Simpsons ‘Duff’ beer, but it’s a no go areawith the creators. Most of the talent wedeal with have certain categories excludedin their studio deals and we respect that.”Incidentally, The Simpsons, Peter informsme, is the biggest brand they manageand shows no signs of slowing down. Thebiggest single product sale they have hadwas the book Titanic – The Movie, andfilm-wise their biggest franchise is Robots,something they are just starting out with.Technology is also opening new avenues interms of merchandising, mobile phones/wireless content being a big area for Fox,though Peter explains that video games arethe greatest in terms of revenue, especiallywith the new generation of consoles suchas Playstation 3 and Xbox 2. “We sold5,000,000 Simpsons Hit and Run videogames last year – you can’t plan for that– and that’s in a business where a millionunits puts you in the ‘Top 20’.”I ask Peter if he is a collector of hisown merchandise and if so, what hisRobotsfavourites are: “Yes, I do collect bits ofour merchandise, but it does get ratheroverwhelming. I have to keep clearing outmy office periodically, but fortunately Ihave two very grateful boys at home! Myfavourites are the Alien plush face-hugger,Simpsons petcare products, a Canadian icecream brand we launched with Breyers(Unilever) called ‘Cookie Doh – tastesfantastic!’, and the Robots Playstation 2game. We are also soon to be creating arange of Pinot Noir wines to accompanythe film Sideways, so I am very muchlooking forward to sampling those!”And finally, any plans to move back to theUK? “Nope! I’ve recently found a pub withdraft Boddingtons – it’s not a great pubbut at least I’m making progress. I alwaysknew I’d end up in the States one day. Lifein LA has a lot to offer – very much anoutdoor way of life, which I love. In fact, ifI wasn’t doing this job I would happily bespending my time skiing or snowboardingin Mammoth, California every day. Theonly thing I miss is a good pub and acurry, but that’s not enough to attract meback just yet!”

16 School of Engineering & Applied SciencePhillip Scott and Paul Joels, part of the Aston FormulaStudent Team, update readers on their success at the8th Formula Student Competition in July of last summer.Aston Formula Student TeamCar 46, the latest car designed and builtespecially for the competition, enjoyed highplacing in many of the events and finishedin an overall position of 35th out of 54 carsfrom all over the world.The team’s second car, car 246, was adevelopment of an older car and hadeven more success. With an entire year ofdevelopment of the Constantly VariableTransmission (CVT), chassis set-up andweight saving methods, the car was ableto set the fastest acceleration time of all ofthe cars in its class – 0 to 60 mph in threeseconds, an outstanding feat consideringthat it was by no means the lightest car inthe field.The CVT used on car 246 was a groundbreakingdevelopment for this competitionand was the first entry to use this type ofgearbox. The CVT is an automatic gearboxthat works by having no ‘gear change’. Thismeans that in other automatic gearboxesthere is a noticeable change of gear in thesystem and a drop-off in performance. Byusing a belt drive between two expandingcones the power is delivered at a constantengine rev speed and the gear change is asmooth progression with no loss in poweror time.For this year’s competition a new car iscurrently being designed and manufacturedusing an F1-style carbon fibre monocoquechassis to replace the steel space framechassis design that was used in previouscompetitions. This will give a much lighterand stronger car, resulting in a greater allround performance. This team is beingheaded by a postgraduate student,Edward Goodman, who recently graduatedfrom Mechanical Engineering atAston University.The Aston team was sponsored by TheRoyal Navy, Metabo, Red Line Synthetic Oil,Nitrotech and Ole Buhl.More information on this project,sponsorship or CVT is available fromPaul Joels on joelspde@aston.ac.uk.Aston taps into France TelecomMembers of Aston’s photonics research group (PRG) were delighted with the recent news that theircollaboration with France Telecom was extended by a further two years in a deal worth £75,000.The news consolidates Aston’s PRG as oneof the leaders in its field. The group has awell-established track record of importantbreakthroughs, having in the past achievedworld distance records in optical fibretransmission experiments and carrying outmany first demonstrations of novel devices andtheoretical principles for high-speed optical fibrecommunication. The popular telecom magazine,Fibre Systems/Lightwave Europe, has recentlydistinguished results obtained within theframework of this collaboration as an importantdirection of research that takes into accountcommercial aspects of fibre technologies.The current state of the optical communicationsindustry, still recovering from an economiccrisis, has led operators to look for new ways ofoptimising their existing networks, maximisingthe optical signal-to-noise ratio while minimisingother impairments.Such a goal is achievable by using methodssuch as a proper management of fibredispersion and non-linearity, which consists ofcombining optical fibres with different propertiesin an optimal order along the transmission link.With this in mind the Aston PRG-France Telecomteam examined theoretically and experimentallythe impact of optical fibre type and non-linearity/dispersion management on the performance ofhigh-speed (640 Gbit/s) transmission systemsover a distance of 300km.Research leader of this project, Aston’sDr Sergei Turitsyn, was keen to point out thatworking with such a major player brings greatopportunities beyond the financial benefits:“I would like to note that in the area of opticalfibre transmission we are the only UK universitysupported directly by the French telecom giant,”he said. “I believe this is some indication of thehigh level of our research in the field.”

Aston Business School 17Another first for Aston Business School. In February ABS wasofficially installed as the first UK chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma.In our regular news from the Schools section, Apex brings youup to date with the latest successes and highlights ofAston Business School.Beta Gamma SigmaBeta Gamma Sigma is the honour society forstudents of business schools accredited by TheAssociation to Advance Collegiate Schools ofBusiness (AACSB) International and is the highestrecognition a business student, faculty member orprofessional anywhere in the world can receive.Many people misunderstand the importance ofhonour societies because of their Greek names.Honour societies are not social clubs or politicalorganisations, they are groups of people withsimilar interests that have been honoured for highacademic achievement.Aston Business School gained its AACSBaccreditation in 2003 and is one of only a handfulof UK schools to win this international recognition.It is also the first UK institution to be alliedwith Beta Gamma Sigma. AACSB Internationalassures quality and promotes excellence andcontinuous improvement in undergraduate andgraduate education in business administrationand accounting. Beta Gamma Sigma encouragesand honours academic achievement in the studyof business and fosters personal and professionalexcellence amongst its members. Membership ofBeta Gamma Sigma sets our students apart from thecrowd. Corporate recruiters actively seek individualswho have accepted membership of Beta GammaSigma and membership itself conveys academicexcellence and a commitment to high principles andsuperior achievement in professional life.‘Sketch and Search’a potential money saving find“A simple sketch will make endless savings formanufacturing companies wasting time and moneyon redesigning new components,” says its creatorDr Doug Love of Aston Business School.He is the inventor of CADFind, a unique software package that allows engineers tosketch and search for existing parts. “There is no need for people to retrain,” saidDr Love, “this package utilises their existing skill to draw the part they need. If the part isalready available then CADFind will locate it.”Claims for CADFind’s potential are based oncalculations made by the US Departmentof Defense’s costings for redesigning newparts: $20,000 (£11,173) for avoiding a newdesign and $33,000 (£18,436) where newmanufacturing tooling is needed. One academicstudy found that 20% of existing parts couldbe re-used and another 18% could be usedwith some modification. Using the 20% figureas an example, a company that creates 5,000new parts a year is creating 1,000 of themunnecessarily. Multiplying 1,000 parts by theUS Defense Department’s lower costing forcreating them ($20K or £11.173k) means thecompany can make a saving of £11.173m ayear. It does not take a genius to work out thatpotential savings relative to the output of anycompany are huge.Recycling existing designs for parts also avoidsthe incidental costs involved in introducingnew ones, including data management, testing,release management, production engineering,supplier selection and purchasing, toolingand planning, inventory and warehousing andafter-sales support. What originally appears tobe a small decision to design a new part haspotentially massive cost implications forthe business. More information atwww.sketchandsearch.com

18 School of Life & Health SciencesTo show that science can be fun and accessible, Thinktank,Birmingham’s science museum at Millennium Point, has invited someof the brightest young scientists from the region’s universities to givedemonstrations and perform experiments for visiting school partiesand the general public.Come and meetAston’s scientists!One of the first academics to take part wasDr Yvonne Perrie from Aston’s Pharmacy School,which is based within the School of Life &Health Sciences. Yvonne is one of a growingnumber of scientists from Aston who arerecognising the importance of communicatingthe fun and wonder of science to the public inan exciting and accessible way.From 13 January visitors have been able to‘Meet the Scientist’ on one of the ten exhibitiongalleries. Activities organised by Yvonne and herteam of Aston academics included blowing giantbubbles – an activity that proved particularlypopular with the visiting school children!Dr Kenny Webster, Thinktank’s resident scientistexplains: “Science does have an image problemand there’s no doubt it is losing out to allegedlymore ‘sexy’ subjects at school and in the media.We’re seeing fewer young people studying thetraditional science disciplines and that’s havinga knock-on effect on further education.“Our job at Thinktank is to show that scienceand technology affect all our lives – past,present and future. Being a scientist can be oneof the most fulfilling careers imaginable, whilewhat scientists do can make a huge differenceto the way we live and the world at large. Withmore and more technologies, such as GM foodsand stem cells, involving ethical issues, we asconsumers and citizens need to know at least abit about the moral, economic and environmentalchallenges involved.”Kenny has brought together lecturers,researchers and postgraduate studentsfrom Aston, Birmingham, UCE and Warwickuniversities. Over the coming weeks they willbe covering a wide range of topics includingmedicine, pharmacy, genetics, chemistry,computer science, space scienceand immunology.For further information visit www.thinktank.ac“Our job at Thinktankis to show that scienceand technology affect allour lives - past, presentand future.”Life Sciences Laser InstituteThe Life Sciences Laser Institute at the Aston Academy of Life Sciences provides refractive and ophthalmic eyesurgery procedures to private patients.The Institute houses four different refractivelaser operating systems each with itsown Wavefront aberrometry system. Thisallows treatments to be carefully tailored toindividual patient needs. Other state-of-theartophthalmic imaging devices support thecomprehensive assessment of ocular health.Surgery is only carried out by consultant andspecialist ophthalmologists supported byhighly experienced optometrists, orthoptistsand ophthalmic nurses. All procedures areundertaken in one of two large full-gradeoperating theatres. With this combination ofoutstanding facilities and clinicians, the Instituteoffers a premium refractive eye surgery service.Aston Academy of Life Sciences, a part of AstonUniversity, is the brand new medical researchfacility that houses the Life Sciences LaserInstitute. The centre was completed in thesummer of 2004 at an overall cost exceeding£10m and offers unparalleled clinical ophthalmicresearch facilities. Other areas of the Academyinclude MRI scanning, a medical retinadiagnostic and treatment facility and part ofBirmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Trust.These are complemented by excellence inclinical research from academic staff inthe University.If you are an optometry graduate and would liketo attend one of our optometrists open evenings,please contact us for details of our next event.Similarly, if you are interested in surgery foryourself or a relative, contact us for details ofour patient open evenings.

School of Languages & Social Sciences 19A new campaign to promote language learning in the West Midlands waslaunched at Aston recently. Operated by the Regional Language Networkand supported by DfES, Languages Work aims to raise awareness of thetrue value of languages in the workplace and beyond, to encourage morestudents to opt for languages – whether at GCSE, A level, degree, or outsideformal education.Languages really do workSpeakers from the worlds of education,international trade and commerce andgovernment emphasised the relevanceof language learning and the need forlanguage skills in all aspects of modernlife, illustrating the three key messagesof the Languages Work campaign – thatEnglish is not enough, a little languagecan make a lot of difference and thatlanguages improve the quality of your life.Alan Feely, manager of the RegionalLanguage Network in the West Midlands,is passionate about the importance oflanguages in business at all levels. He said:“In today’s global economy it simply is notenough to speak only English and expectour businesses to compete effectively on aworld stage. Even basic foreign languageskills can mean the difference betweenwinning and losing that new contractabroad. You don’t have to be bilingual,but the ability to converse at some level inyour host’s own language speaks volumesfor your commitment to the businessrelationship. For individuals aspiringto a career in international business, aknowledge of French or German, forexample will put them on an equal footingin the jobs market with their Europeancontemporaries. Failure to offer languageskills will often limit their options inclimbing the management ladder.”On a personal level, it seems languages arefor winners in every way. Recent surveysclaim that employers in all sorts of sectorsvalue the communication and analyticalskills that languages graduates display andare more willing to hire them and paythem more for their ability.The audience at the Aston event includeda wide representation of professionalsactively involved in careers and languageguidance in the region’s schools, collegesand universities, Education BusinessPartnerships, Connexions advisors andhead teachers from secondary schoolsacross the West Midlands.Annie Bannerman, who is based in theSchool of Languages & Social Sciences atAston said: “Although languages are notcurrently part of the core curriculum inBritish schools, the government’s NationalLanguage Strategy will see childrenaged eight to 14 learning languages inschool again from 2010. The regionallaunch of Languages Work providedplenty of opportunity to find out abouthow to encourage and inform students’decisions to learn languages until then,with information on the extensive rangeof materials developed to help promotelanguage learning among students ofall ages.”Languages Work is operated by CILT,the National Centre for Languages andsupported by DfES under the NationalLanguage Strategy. CILT manages majornational and regional initiatives insupport of languages, including RegionalLanguage Networks throughout the UK.For further information visit www.cilt.org.uk/careers or www.languageswork.org.uk

20 Combined HonoursOngoing developments in Combined Honours abound with the overallaim of ensuring that we are able to respond to our students and offerthe curriculum through the most appropriate medium of teachingand learning.New horizonsThe addition of further Combined Honourssubjects in English Language, Spanish andInternational Relations from 2005 will offer newstudents an enriched opportunity to combinelanguage-based studies with business, scienceand engineering subjects. Feedback fromour recent Open Days indicates that newapplicants are regarding these developmentsas very positive steps in broadening theCombined Honours portfolio.The development of a Minor in Law as part ofthe Major/Minor Honours portfolio was a majorsuccess in the 2004 recruitment operation.Although students are not able to claim anyexemptions having studied the course, this hasnot been a deterrent and recruitment has beenvery buoyant with some excellent studentsstudying the course. A new Minor in Economicswill be added to the portfolio for recruitmentin 2005 and recruitment interest in that too hasbeen active.Another course hot off the press for 2005will be the new integrated degree course inSociety and Government. Linking the popularareas of Public Policy, Sociology and Politics,this course aims to provide Combined Honoursstudents with the opportunity to study threesubjects at each of the three levels of study.In returning the Combined Honours curriculumto this broader form of offering, Dr Roy Smith,Director of Combined Honours said: “This is areally exciting development for us. Researchhas demonstrated that students often wish tokeep their studies as broad as possible anddelay making any significant choices as lateas possible. This course provides an excellentopportunity for us to offer students a wideranging course covering three areas ofthe curriculum.”The development of a part-time provision inCombined Honours is an area that Dr Smithand the Assistant Director, Dr Jo Smedley,are both keen to establish. In today’s workingenvironment, it is important that educationalinstitutions can be responsive to customers,whether old or new. Part-time study is a firstattempt to respond to this. To date, a smallnumber of Combined Honours students havetaken up the opportunity to study on a parttimebasis, often combining their studieswith employment or other responsibilities.Along with this, the Foundation Degree inCombined Business Applications continues inits development, providing an academic linkfor Combined Honours with local employers.The development of a more flexible curriculumand improved accessibility through innovativestyles of teaching and learning, promisesmuch for Combined Honours.Placements are now becoming more importantthan ever in a world which demands applicationand experience as well as simply a degree. Theseattributes are becoming integral to our studentsgaining a well paid job after they graduate.In Combined Honours, students face twodecisions: whether to take the optionalplacement and in which of their subjects. Theplacement is then arranged through the Schooldelivering that curriculum subject. To encouragestudents to take up this opportunity, we areusing creative and innovative ways to promoteA place for earning and learningplacements through lunchtime briefing sessions,a placement website and more sources ofinformation to raise awareness of its value.During 2004/5, Combined Honours has practisedwhat it preaches, employing three placementstudents from other areas of Aston, addingto their overall learning experience andemployability for the future.Shakil Imam, a Marketing student from AstonBusiness School, is the Marketing Assistantin Combined Honours, actively promotingplacements to Combined Honours students aswell as a multitude of other marketing relatedtasks to continue to raise the internal andexternal profile of Combined Honours. ZaidHameed, a Computer Science student, is theComputer Systems Developer teaming up withBruno Rebelo from Aston Business School’sBusiness Computing and IT degree who is thee-Marketing Assistant. Together they havebeen working on two funded WP and TQEFprojects “e-ntering Combined Honours “and“e-xperiencing Combined Honours”. “e-nteringCombined Honours” is a new online learningdevelopment focussing on study skills forstudents’ post-acceptance but pre-entry toprepare them for their first year at University.“e-xperiencing Combined Honours” is a blendedlearning course which continues this study skillsapproach for on-course students. As part of theirplacements, all three will have the opportunityto attend conferences in the UK to report ontheir work, giving them invaluable experienceof networking in a national environment anddeveloping their public presentation skills.Together, they have formed a successful teamin assisting the staff of Combined Honoursto promote and develop the interdisciplinaryoperation at Aston.

News from the Advancement Office 21Aston University has set up an Office of Advancement with the aim of helping the University diversify itsincome sources. Brian Porter, Aston’s first Director of Advancement, introduces Apex readers to two newinitiatives – a tele-fundraising campaign in conjunction with the Students’ Guild and a planned legacy giftprogramme, both of which will make it possible for alumni to support the work of Aston University farinto the future.Guild helps students in new waysAston Students’ Guild exists to enhance thestudent experience at Aston University byidentifying, anticipating and satisfying theneeds of its membership through studentdemocracy, representation and involvement.The student support services are in partfinanced by a generous University grant andalso by a range of commercial activities.However, changes in student demographicshave forced the Guild to redefine its targetmarkets. Today’s student requires newproducts and new services. If these are notmade available at the University, with theamount of aggressive competition on ourdoorstep, students may go elsewhere.With this in mind, Vice-PresidentNick Barnes explains: “The Guild has beenworking on a number of initiatives, but oneof the most exciting is that of Annual Givingthrough a telephone fundraising campaignwhich asks our alumni to support animportant need of the Guild. When you thinkback to your time at University, the Guildplayed a vital role in helping you meet newpeople, offering confidential advice,providing sports facilities and ways for youto learn skills to improve your CV; the Guildinvolves students and helps integrate theminto University life. Annual Giving will offeralumni, parents and staff the opportunity tohelp future students by giving back somethingfrom which they themselves benefited.”A key area of need for students istransportation. The Guild currently ownsthree 17-seater minibuses which werebought second-hand after reaching around150,000 miles. These ageing buses cannotcope with the high usage from sports clubsand societies so students have to take taxis,hire buses or use private transport to getaround. Annual giving of a small donation willhelp finance a newer minibus – one that hasdisabled access – and it will free up moneycurrently spent on transportation for use inother important areas. As a loyal supporterof this initiative, Nick leaves this request withall alumni who value the work of the Guild:“Please help this urgent need of the Guild!”Planned legacy giving programmeEach of us is presented with manyopportunities in life. The choices you makehave a profound impact for yourself andfor those around you. The work you do,the friendships you form, the causes andinstitutions to which you are committed. Allof these are part of your identity and yourlegacy for the future. Many people havefound that the achievements of a lifetime cangain added purpose and recognition througha contribution towards the future of otherhuman beings, especially to those younger thanyou and in higher education. This is the wayyou can give back – one way of recognizinghow others helped you along the pathway oflife. It’s also a way you can ensure a betterfuture for all of us by investing in our youngpeople and in excellence at Aston University.The additional financial benefits associatedwith many types of planned ‘legacy gifts’, asencouraged by the UK Government, make itpossible for you to support the work of AstonUniversity and its students and staff to agreater extent than you thought possible. Aplanned legacy gift is one which helps you to:• ensure that your personal and financialobjectives are met;• realise tax benefits in your current financialplanning and/or lower taxes for your estate;• achieve your philanthropic goal of ensuringexcellence at Aston University and for itsstudents and staff.Your commitment to the future of AstonUniversity, its students and staff may come indifferent forms of planned legacy gifts, all ofwhich may have significant financial benefitsto you. For example, a charitable donation leftto Aston University in your will is completelyfree of inheritance tax and may well saveyou significant future inheritance taxes. Youmay want to consider other types of legacygifts such as land, valued possessions or lifeinsurance. We welcome the opportunity towork with you, and your financial advisorsto determine which planned legacy optionwould be most appropriate for you.If you are interested in discussing thisfurther, please contact Brian Porter 0121 2043026 or e-mail: b.w.porter@aston.ac.uk

22 SocietiesAston RAG is an organisation of students who giveup their spare time to put on a series of eventsthroughout the academic year, all to raise moneyfor charity.Give and let giveLast year the Aston RAG committee raised animpressive £30,000 for their designated causes, butthis year’s team has already surpassed this amountand look well on their way to exceeding their targetfor the year of £50,000.The RAG committee and Professor John Saunders surround the car,which forms the top prize of the Birmingham Children’s Hospital raffle.“If we are recognisedas being a society that hasfun, people will be keener toget involved and the moneywill soon roll in, as we haveshown this year.”“We’ve had some really successful eventsso far this year,” commented RAG OfficerEd Barrow. “Among other things, we havefasted, done a fire-walk and organised two1000-people pub crawls down Broad Streetand around the Arcadian. We’ve also beencollecting in many UK cities includingBristol, Manchester and Edinburgh. I thinkone of the reasons that Aston RAG does sowell is that it has a reputation across thecountry as being the RAG Society that hasthe most fun – we are not obsessed simplywith the amount of money we raise forcharity. If we are recognised as being asociety that has fun, people will be keenerto get involved and the money will soonroll in, as we have shown this year.”Currently, RAG is arranging its annualcharity hitchhike to Dublin and is sellingraffle tickets in conjunction with theBirmingham Children’s Hospital inwhich the top prize is a car. They have alsomanaged to enlist the support of two of theUniversity’s most recognised figures – Headof Aston Business School, Professor JohnSaunders, and Sir Adrian Cadbury, whorecently retired as Chancellor.“This year has been fantastic in terms of thelinks we have formed and maintained, bothhere at Aston and outside the UniversityCommunity”, explains Ed. “Our committeeshirts are now proudly co-sponsored byAston Business School and Cadbury’s. Wehave also had considerable success in termsof our business partners including Nutsmagazine and DCN promotions. Part ofthe success of this year’s committee is downto the hard work of our kind benefactors.Cadbury’s have even donated 7kg of DairyMilk for one of our upcoming collections!”Among the charities that this year’s RAGcommittee is donating to are Barnardos,Meningitis Research Foundation,Birmingham Children’s Hospital, CancerResearch, Christies Cancer Care and theAnthony Nolan Leukaemia Trust.Current trends show that the amount ofmoney that Aston RAG is raising is on theincrease. In fact if RAG reaches its £50,000total it will be approximately 35% up fromthe amount raised last year. The committeehopes to see this increase replicated infuture years so that, hopefully, they canbe one of the highest raising universityRAG societies in the UK, despite Aston’scomparatively small size.

Students’ Guild 23The University saw in The Chinese Year of the Rooster in style with aseries of special events on Wednesday 16 February, kickingoff with a traditional lion dance across campus.Aston sees in theChinese New YearThe event was conjointly organised bythe Aston Chinese Student Society, theAston Singaporean Society and AstonStudents’ Guild to give the opportunityto all Aston students and staff, regardlessof their cultural heritage, to celebrate andexperience the profoundness of Chineseculture during this symbolic occasion.Chinese and Singaporean students fromBirmingham and Warwick universitieshad also been invited.The celebrations began with firecrackersand the decorative lion dance outside theAston Students’ Guild. The lion, with itspainted tail and dotted eyes, is used as asign of good luck for the following year,while drums and firecrackers are used todrive away bad luck. Special guest, AstonUniversity Pro-Vice Chancellor andInternational Consultant to the LondonChamber of Commerce and IndustryExamination Board, Professor NigelReeves, accompanied the dance and thengave a short speech to open the event.Other activities that took place throughoutthe afternoon included Kung Fudemonstrations, bamboo dancing, Chinesehoroscope reading, translation of Englishnames and Chinese calligraphy. Stallswere set up by locally invited companiesproviding samples of freshly preparedChinese food, traditional games anddecorations and an information desk toanswer any questions on Chinese NewYear traditions.Wendy Yip, Head of the InternationalOffice at the University, said:“We are pleased that the Students’ Guild,along with the Chinese Society andthe Singaporean Society, has chosen tocelebrate the Year of the Rooster with sucha diverse range of events. Aston Universityis a truly international institution withstudents from over 70 countries and theseevents both highlight and celebrate thediversity of our campus culture.”Over the years, Aston has seen manysocieties come and go. Whilst it wouldtake too much time to list all of them, hereare some of the more recent departures…Lost SocsExtreme IroningLast year there was quite a buzzsurrounding the Extreme Ironing Society,described by those involved as ‘an outdooractivity that combines the danger andexcitement of an ‘extreme sport’ withthe satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt.’In its first year, it got over 100 people tosign up, with promises of excitementand adventure from the use of householdappliances. Sadly, the momentum wasnot to last and though the first term wentwell, by the start of the second term thingshad started to drop off as the Society’spopularity began to wane. When askedabout the demise of the Extreme IroningSociety, its President, Nick Barnes said:“We just ran out of steam.”Irish SocietyThe 1998 guide to Aston referred to theIrish Society as ‘Leprechauns, Shamrocksand Guinness – whether you are Irishor not, the Irish Society enables youto appreciate all that is good about theEmerald Isle.’ Whilst not a typical culturalsociety in the same way as the ChineseSociety, it still managed to enjoy somesuccess in attracting members based on itsmore ‘social’ roles. Sadly, as past membersbegan to leave, no-one took up the reins,leading to a case of ‘Eire’ today,gone tomorrow!Football Supporters’ AssociationIf you couldn’t be bothered to join theStags or Sharks, then this was the societyfor you – enjoying all the excitement offootball without burning any calories.The Society seems to be making a bitof a comeback in the guise of the VillaSupporters’ Society, which is rumoured tobe on the verge of being formed.

24 Where are they now?Itching to find out what your friends from Aston are up to? Looking to see who’sup to what and with whom? Well look no further because ‘Where are they now?’ isthe place to find out the latest news from Aston’s thriving alumni network. You neverknow, you might just spot someone you want to get in touch with. If you want yourface noticed in November’s edition, contact us at the usual address with your news– and, go on, send a photograph!Where are they now?1960sJim Perkins(1962 BSc Physics)“A holiday job in 1961 led to my joining theRover Company, Solihull, in 1965 as a Noiseand Vibration Research Engineer. In 1961 I hadworked on prototype number 9 of what becamethe Rover 2000. By the time I returned in 1965the Rover 2000 was a huge success. After 12months as an Industrial Researcher I becamethe Electronics Research Group Leader – a job Iheld until 1967 when I left the company. The nextstage of my career took me briefly into teachingand Coventry Technical College was lookingfor someone to teach instrumentation. Aftertwo terms and a long holiday though I realisedit wasn’t for me and I moved into the trainingprofession. My first job in the training professionwas as an Operator Training Officer back atRover, Solihull, where I worked for ten years.Further positions were held with an Americanmultinational computer manufacturer as wellas with the Engineering Industry Training Boardwhere I was to secure the necessary numbersand standards of skilled manpower for the futureneeds of the industry. I was made redundantfrom there in 1990. Having spent eight yearstracing my own ancestry, I ended up teachingthe subject for a while at various centres acrossBirmingham and Solihull. I also spent some timeteaching basic electronics to unemployed menat Solihull College, before setting up in businesson my own prior to retiring. I have a keeninterest in travelling and because of my interestin photography I only like to visit places that arephotogenic! So far my travels have taken me toAmsterdam, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Canadaand Uganda, to name a few. I am also keenon music, my favourites being Mozart, countrymusic and the works of Gilbert and Sullivan.To find out more about me, visithttp://www.btinternet.com/~jimperkins.”Jim PerkinsSPOTLIGHT ON…James Keith Robson(1966 BSc Biological Sciences)“When I started at Aston in 1963 it was theCollege of Advanced Technology, but by thetime I graduated it had become a University.During 1965 to 1966 I was President of theStudents’ Guild, a role which left me withan ambition other than going back intoAgricultural Research, which is what I hadbeen doing for two years before joining theCollege. I found a position as a MarketingAnalyst with the Export Sales Departmentat British Motor Holdings, Longbridge. Istayed there a year before joining Rootes/Chrysler in Dunstable as a Product Plannerin the Commercial Vehicle Division. In 1972I joined Perkins Engines in Peterborough ina more senior position and after six yearsand promotion to Director of MarketingPlanning I was given the opportunity tomove to the Massey Ferguson Head Officein Toronto, Canada. During this time I hadincreasing responsibilities as the companywent through a major restructuring andin 1990 I started my own business as aturnaround consultant. One of my projectswas to help revive a failing Institute ofCorporate Directors, which I did, and in 2003the Institute completed the introduction ofa Directors’ Education Programme, whichhas been highly successful. By this timeI had moved on and am now Presidentand CEO of the Hamilton Port Authority, atthe west end of Lake Ontario, the largestCanadian port in the Great Lakes. This is anexciting time to be in the marine industry,as global trade has expanded so fast androads and rail have become so congested.”

Where are they now? 25Christine AllsoppChristine Allsopp(née Goddard, 1968 BSc Chemistry)replaced the Venerable Michael Chapmanin January 2005 as the new Archdeacon ofNorthampton. An Archdeacon is one of thesenior clergy in a Church of England Diocese,assisting the Bishop in the pastoral care ofclergy and assisting parishes with the legaland practical matters they face. ArchdeaconAllsopp is a former research chemist and atechnical editor who was ordained deacon inthe Church of England in 1989. One of the firstwomen in the country to be ordained priestin 1994, she was Team Vicar in Bracknell,Berkshire, before moving in 1998 to be TeamRector of the Bourne Valley and Rural Dean ofAlderbury, near Salisbury, Wiltshire. She wasmade a Canon and Prebendary of SalisburyCathedral in 2002. Christine is married to fellowAston graduate, Dennis Allsopp (1968 BScBiological Sciences and 1973 PhD Biology)who works as a Consultant Chartered Biologist.They have three grown-up children.Brian Malcom Ross(1968 BSc Electrical Engineering)has now retired from the European Commissionwhere most recently he worked on twoEuropean Directives (European Legislation) fornoise reduction. Previously he had worked onIT within NATO in Holland and with Marconi ondefence systems in Surrey, Munich and Kent.He is still at home on the continent with the bitsof language he has acquired in more than25 years abroad.1970sSimon Clarke(1979 BSc Metals and Materials Technology)“After leaving Aston I continued working forWellworthy in their Metallurgical Researchand Development Laboratory at Lymington,Hampshire. In 1986 I gave up working to travelfor two years by push-bike. This journeytook me across Europe, Asia, Australia, NewZealand and South America, where I was bittenby a dog and had to come back to the UK forrabies treatment (just in case!). Once back inthe UK I joined Sandberg where I took overthe running of the Metallurgy Department.Here I got involved in a number of very variedmaterials investigations, including somenotable historic structures such as Eros andthe Forth Rail Bridge, as well as some moremodern structures such as Sizewell NuclearPower Station. As a result of these detailedinvestigations I have since developed my skillsas an Expert Witness and get involved in bothcivil and criminal litigations. These range fromfailures of major structures, such as cranes orbridges, through to fatal accidents involvinghigh tech equipment such as racing cars andaeroplanes, as well as criminal investigationsinvolving counterfeit coins and knives frommurder investigations. In my spare time I enjoytravelling and catching up on visiting the placesI missed due to the dog bite!”Tony Goodhead(1979 BSc Civil Engineering)“After graduating I joined Sir Robert McAlpine& Sons to work in their design departmentleading multidisciplinary teams on majorindustrial projects, culminating with theNissan Car Plant in Sunderland. In 1988 I joineda Japanese contractor in London where Iworked until April 2004 when they withdrew toSimon Clarkethe Far East and China markets. Having verysadly lost my wife to cancer in 2001, I decidedto make a lifestyle change. I am now the ownerof Heritage Boat Charters Ltd. which has animmaculately restored 1929 classic woodenmotor cruiser that operates on the RiverThames between central London and Oxford.She can comfortably accommodate 12 guestsfor buffet style breakfast, lunch or supper orluxuriously seat eight guests for fine dining inthe spacious saloon. Wired for IT presentationsvia a 19” TV/monitor, she is also ideal for boardmeetings or brain-storming away from theoffice without interruptions. During the wintermonths and part-time during the summer, I alsocarry out Quality Assurance Auditing work.Please visit www.heritageboatcharters.comfor more information, or contact the AlumniRelations Office for my details.”Tony (looking out of the wheelhouse) on his cruiser, St Joan.

26 Where are they now?1980sRobert Goode(1980 BSc Physics)“I had a fantastictime in the late 1970sreading Physics.After graduationthe lure of teachingproved irresistibleand I spent thenext 24 years in avariety of schools inRobert Goode the West Midlandspassing on mypassion for thesubject. I still teach but I have the added bonusof teaching would be teachers the craft of theclassroom. I married Anne in 1981 having sharedour undergraduate years together. We havetwo children, David (18) and Miriam (12). I enjoyphotography but my great passion has alwaysbeen sailing and I spend far too much timearound boats or on the water.”Michael Ferguson(1982 Electrical and Electronic Engineering)continued working for Philips in Cambridge until1987, initially as a Test Equipment Designer andsubsequently as their Production Manager.Finding the management of people increasinglyrewarding, Mike left Philips to take a Masters inManagement Psychology, thereafter setting uphis own consultancy whilst also maintaining asenior academic post at Ashcroft InternationalBusiness School. He currently leads a busytraining and development partnership,specialising in corporate client-based projects todeliver heightened leadership and managementperformance around the world. “I guess Iam best described as ‘an engineer-turnedpsychologist’– and there aren’t many of usabout!” He is married with two children andcurrently self-building a large house near hisoffice base in Essex.Richard Wood(1987 BSc Applied and Human Biology)“My first job was at North Manchester GeneralHospital as a Medical Laboratory ScientificOfficer. In what has turned out to be a variedcareer, I then trained at Keele University toteach science at secondary school level, beforeteaching for a short period in a secondaryschool in Huddersfield. I also tried my hand asan Assistant Marketing Manager for a companythat services petrol stations. I eventually foundmy niche in the academic world of EnglishLiterature, gaining a first class degree inEnglish Studies at Sheffield Hallam Universityand embarking on a postgraduate career inRenaissance Literature. My most recent projectis an edited edition of a little known Carolineplay: http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/cs/teaching/lh/renplays.htm I live in my home town ofBarnsley where I enjoy playing cricket, watchingfootball, cycling, walking and enjoying thevibrant art, theatre and music scenes ofSouth Yorkshire.”1990sBaby Kai with Vanessa and JamesJames Robertson(1991 BSc Transport Management)became a proud father on 8 September lastyear when his wife, Vanessa, gave birth totheir first baby boy called Kai. On top of all ofthe excitement surrounding Kai’s arrival, theirmarketing consultancy, Arkwright Consulting,continues to go from strength to strength andJames recently made it through to the finals ofthe Annual Business Link Awards in the categoryof Outstanding Marketer of the Year.Vassoulla Vassou (right) withCaroline Cleland, ICEFloe Chairperson,and Colin Clinton (1980 BSc CivilEngineering) ICE President.SPOTLIGHT ON…Vassoulla Vassou(2003 PhD Civil Engineering)“I am currently working as a Senior Engineerwithin the Highways Asset ManagementGroup of the Transport Solutions Divisionof Atkins Consultants Ltd., Birmingham.Responsibilities include the development ofasset management technology for highwaystructures and identification of rehabilitationoptions and maintenance strategies fordeteriorating concrete structures. Otherduties include preparing decision-makingmodels for junction improvement schemes;designing web-based engineering tools andproviding technical input on the whole-lifecosting for highway structures. In 2000, theInstitute of Civil Engineers (ICE) establishedthe ICEfloe Committee (‘floe’ standing forfair, level, open, equal). In January 2004 Ibecame an active member of the Committeeand my special areas of interest are femaleengineers’ issues and how engineering isperceived in schools. I contribute to theAtkins Schools Liaison Initiative which entailsthe initiation and development of links withsecondary schools aiming to raise the profileof civil engineering to younger generationsthough a variety of events. During the freetime that I do get I enjoy sports – especiallyswimming and football – and I like spendingtime with my extended family who visit mefrom Cyprus twice a year.”Michael Ferguson

Where are they now? 27Colin Barker(1992 BSc Transport Management)moved to Auckland, New Zealand in 1994,after taking a year out to travel. Five years agoColin relocated across the Tasman with hiscurrent employer, CSR (a building materialsmanufacturer and sugar company) and isbased in Sydney, Australia where he works asSystems Analyst.Peter RichardsonPeter Richardson(1994 MBA)“Since completing my MBA at Aston, which Ifinished whilst working for Colgate-Palmolive,I have spent the last eight years working forDyson Ltd, famous for their vacuum cleaners‘that don’t lose suction’. The MBA helpedme to better understand and participate ingeneral management issues whether they becommercially biased, or more operational innature. This has helped me progress throughmy business career to my current role ofChief Operating Officer. Although completingthe MBA programme was hard work (I willalways remember the six days a week, 6.00amstart study discipline I had to get used to,as I was a distant learning student). It’s anexperience that helps you to understand whatmakes business work. As in most things though,common sense and a sense of perspective isthe best qualification you can use.”Kerrie Gutteridge(née Bassil, 1999 BSc Psychology andManagement)“I married Andrew Gutteridge on 5 June2004 in Studham. We met back in 1996 whenwe were both Aston Aunties. Andrew wasstudying Chemical Engineering but he left inthe second year having decided ChemicalEngineering wasn’t for him. Our ushers werePaul Bradshaw (1999 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies) Justin Mayhew (1999BEng Civil Engineering) and Nick Drew (1999BEng Mechanical Engineering). Other Astonfriends who attended were Siobhan Wylie(1999 BSc European Studies and French) andAnna Burder (1999 International Business andFrench). The day was wonderful and Nick, whoused to play in the Max Rebo band at Aston,ensured the partying carried on late into thenight by providing the evening entertainmentwith his band, The Collective. We now live inWalton-on-Thames and I work as a UKMarketing Officer for Kingston University andAndy is Senior Broadcast Engineer at theExpress Shopping Channel.”From left to right: Justin, Nick, Anna, Andrew, Kerrie, Siobhan, Hermione (Nick’s girlfriend) andPaul BradshawSPOTLIGHT ON…Gary Wood(2000 PhD Psychology)“Amongst my news I am currentlyappearing as a Psychologist/Life Coach onthe new series of Trisha on Channel 5 aspart of her ‘Campaign for Change’ team . Iwas in the very first episode which aired onthe 24 January 2005, and two more since.I’ve been booked for future episodes as aregular contributor. I’m also a regular onRichard Bacon’s Late Show on Radio FiveLive and on BBC Radio WM’s The LateShow with Tony Wadsworth and JulieMayer – they have dubbed me their ‘tamedpsychologist’ apparently due to my downto-earth,no-nonsense approach. I’ve alsoappeared on Big Brother’s Little Brotherand Money Spinners, and Woman’s Houron Radio Four. I’m a regular on an advicepanel feature for Eve magazine and am alsoon the advisory panel for Anne Diamond’sadvice column in the Daily Mail. I routinelyoffer psychological insight and expertanalysis for television, radio and pressnews stories and features. My book, Sex,Lies and Stereotypes: Challenging Viewsof Women, Men and Relationships waspublished on 1 March. The book has beenfeatured on the Trisha Goddard’s Showwebsite as a competition. The significanceof Sex, Lies & Stereotypes as far as Astonis concerned is that a large portion of thematerial is from my PhD. I am currentlyProgramme Co-ordinator for PsychologicalStudies at The Centre for Lifelong Learningat the University of Birmingham. I’ve been indemand recently both publicising my bookand talking about the film, Kinsey, which isabout the life and work of sex researcher,Alfred Kinsey.”

28 Where are they now?Stella and Albert on their wedding day2000sStella Mui(2000 BSc Applied Chemistry)“I met Albert Tsang (2000 BEng ChemicalEngineering) during my time at Aston and on28 February we were married in Birmingham.The wedding was a lovely day and we onlyinvited close family and friends so that everyonefelt welcome and had a superb time. We arestill living and working in Birmingham. Albertis working as a Process Engineer for PrecisionMicro and I am now working for HSBC BankPLC. We are looking forward to starting afamily soon.”Amy Clubbe(2000 BSc International Business and French)“I’ve recently returned to the UK after 2 yearsworking as an English instructor out in Japan.I’m still really close to my Aston friends and afew even came out to Tokyo where I introducedthem to karaoke Japanese style! The wholeexperience was amazing and to top it off, Itravelled home by Trans Siberian Express acrossChina, Siberia, Russia and Scandinavia. I amnow living with my boyfriend of five years who Imet at Aston!”Maxine Davies(2001 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies)“After graduating I spent seven months inAustralia. On returning to the UK I decided tostudy law, passing my Graduate Diploma in Lawand the LPC. I am now working as a Paralegalfor fbc Solicitors in Wolverhampton and will bestarting my Training Contract in September 2005to qualify as a solicitor in two years time.”SPOTLIGHT ON…Thomas Robert Hasson(2004 BSc Accounting for Management)“I now work at Wesleyan Assurance,Birmingham, as a Trainee ManagementAccountant. I did my placement year herein 2003 and am currently taking furtherprofessional accountancy qualifications.I’m a season ticket holder at Aston Villa formy sins and my main ambition this year is tohave more time to play golf.”Want to bein Apex?If you would like to be featured in‘Where are they now?’ in the Novemberedition of Apex, please send someinformation about yourself either by email toc.l.hidson@aston.ac.uk or by letteraddressed to: Caroline Hidson, AlumniRelations Office, Aston University, AstonTriangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET. Should youwish to send a photo to accompany yourprofile, please either post an original,which we will return, or email one at highresolution (250-300 dpi). We are waiting tohear from you – don’t be afraid! (Deadlinefor receipt of information August 2005.)

Reunions 29Forthcoming Reunions2 July 2005: Class of 1995 and 2000 reunionIf you graduated in 1995 or 2000 then return to Aston to celebrate your 10 and 5 year anniversaries!Enjoy a delicious three-course meal in the Lakeside Conference Centre before moving on to theStudents’ Guild where you can dance the night away or chat to old friends. Tickets are priced at £30per person for the dinner; £34 per person for the dinner and entrance to the Guild; and £7 per personfor entry only to the Guild. Limited accommodation is also available on campus priced at £30 perperson. Visit www.aston.ac.uk/alumni/reunions/index.jsp for more information or call Caroline on0121 204 4543.9 July 2005: Fondue Memories ReunionCalling all 2001-2004 graduates! Return to Aston for the Fondue Memories Reunion at the Guild. Ticketsare priced at £5.00 per person. Limited accommodation is available on campus priced at £30.00 perperson. Visit www.aston.ac.uk/alumni/reunions/index.jsp for more information or call Caroline on0121 204 4543.15/16 July 2005: Energy Technology Reunion1980 Energy Technology graduates are organising a 25th anniversary reunion in Birmingham on the15/16 July. The event will consist of a tour around the campus on the Friday; an opportunity to visit oldhaunts around the city and Handsworth Wood; a chance for a bit of sightseeing and shopping; and acelebratory meal at the Copthorne Hotel on Saturday evening. If you are interested in attending thisevent or would like more information, please contact Ben Ford at ben@ford76.freeserve.co.uk28 August 2005: BiologicalSciences ReunionJayne McBride (née Clissold, 1978 BScBiological Sciences) is organising a reunion on28 August this year for all 1978 BiologicalSciences graduates. Jayne has made contactwith most of the people from her course, butdo you know the whereabouts of Lynn Smith orStephen James? If you do, please email Jayneat jayne.mcbride@btinternet.com Jayne is alsohappy to be contacted at this email address ifyou would like further information aboutthe event.Neville Leath(1980 BSc Building Economics andMeasurement) is looking to arrange a25 year anniversary reunion for all 1980sBuilding and Building Economics andMeasurement graduates. He has alreadyheard from a number of people, but if youare interested in the reunion please contactNeville at nev@dwrconstruction.co.ukReunion ResearchIn October last year, the Alumni RelationsOffice undertook some market researchinto reunions to find out a little bit moreabout what you might (and might not)like from your reunion programme. Over6,000 of you were emailed a link to anonline questionnaire, to which we had 687responses – thank you to all those who tookpart. Questions ranged from simply askingif alumni would be interested in returningto Aston for a reunion, to more complexmultiple choice questions where alumniwere asked to rate a variety of events interms of how appealing they were.The results have since been analysed andare far too numerous to list here, but hereare just a few of them to look at:• 67% of you are keen to return to Astonfor a reunion.• The most popular ‘type’ of event wasan informal gathering, taking 30% ofthe vote. Only 7% of you would like toreturn to a themed dinner and dance• 53% of you want to return for a reunionwith your School/Department, withonly 14% of you wanting to return to areunion with friends from sports clubsor societies.• 67% of you want your reunion to be backon campus.• 69% of you want a reunion to be held ona Saturday.• 70% of you would like to leave itbetween 1-10 years before returningfor a reunion, as opposed to 5% of youwanting to return 15-20 yearsafter graduation.• The most likely thing to put you offattending a reunion is because ‘youdon’t have a strong connection to yourclassmates’ – 40% of people chose this asthe reason they wouldn’t want to attenda reunion.The results from the research will proveinvaluable in helping us to plan futureevents. Please don’t forget that we arealso here to help if you are interestedin organising an event outside of ourpublicised programme. Please contactCaroline at c.l.hidson@aston.ac.uk forfurther information or help.Call for email addresses!One of the most interesting responses tocome back from the reunion researchwas that 84% of you would prefer tobe contacted by email with details of areunion. If you want to make sure that youare notified by email about events in thefuture, please send us your email addressto: alumniinfo@aston.ac.uk

30 News from AGANews from AGAFrom Jenny MartinFencingAGA members have enjoyed another fulland varied programme of social eventsduring the last six months. However, Ihave to admit, not all AGA meetings go asplanned. When AGA member John Huttonagreed to give a talk about the history anddevelopment of fencing from an ancient artto a modern sport I doubt he realised thatthe gremlins were preparing to strike.Innocently, the talk was scheduled tobe given in the Woodcock Street SportsCentre to enable members to revisit thislisted building. On the Friday evening inOctober, having overcome gridlock on thelocal roads and motorway closures, Johnarrived to give his presentation. The Astonstudents, in the adjacent room exercisedenthusiastically to music, but Johnpersevered and gave a most interesting talk.We were shown a wide range of fencingequipment to illustrate changes in the sportover time and young fencers were on handto demonstrate its use. Unfortunately, as wewere to be shown modern developments inelectronic scoring, the power supply to theSports Hall failed. Not one to give in easily,John and the demonstrators continuedwith the fencers shouting when they werestruck, in order to record their score. Coffeeand biscuits also had to be abandoned dueto the loss of the electrics.Festive visitAston Hall proved to be a magical venue when members visited in December. The Hall waslit for Christmas by hundreds of candles giving visitors a feel for how life must have beenin about 1630 when the Hall was built.While waiting for the tour of the Hall to begin we were entertained by music of the period,jugglers, sword fighting displays and enactments from the English Civil War Society. Muchrestoration work has been carried out at the Hall recently. Displays relating to James WattJunior, the damage done during the civil war and the first glimpse of the Long Gallery litby candles provided highlights. After the tour we enjoyed a pig roast, doughnuts and a visitto the craft fair. A most enjoyable festive visit.It was at this meeting that we made adonation to Brian Porter towards thestudent hardship fund. Nothing ever seemsto go right when you have visitors does it?Our heartfelt thanks go to John Huttonand his team for their valiant efforts toovercome the gremlins and make ourevening such an enjoyable one.Gourmet dinnerAGA members and friends retuned to theCollege of Food in February for a gourmetdinner, served by the students. This isalways a popular event and provided apleasant evening to dispel the winter blues.Down memory laneThe publicity department at Aston havemade strenuous efforts to collect a widerange of archival material over the lastfew years to help preserve and record thechanges and developments on site. Muchof this is in the form of unidentifiedphotographs, many showing celebrations,building projects and visits by importantpersonages from the Suffolk StreetTechnical College days to the present time.In November, AGA members and friendswere invited to put names to faces andplaces at our Nostalgia Evening and wherepossible to record their thoughts associatedwith the photos. The University kindlyprovided a buffet supper to encourage us toreminisce. It was a most enjoyable eveningand hopefully a profitable one.Dates for your diaryMay: Visit to a sheep farm at Burcot run byMrs Emberton, a member of AGA, to see herflock of Jacobs Sheep and hear about theJacobs Sheep Society.June 17: Joint meeting with Birmingham Guild ofGraduates in the Warwick Room, 6th floor MainBuilding. Sally Hoban from the Public RelationsDepartment at Aston will talk about Antiques atAston. Buffet Supper will follow.October: Visit to the Pen Museum in theJewellery Quarter.See www.astongraduates.com for forthcomingevents as they are confirmed.If you have suggestions for talks or visits thatyou think AGA members would enjoy pleasecontact Jenny Martin, 40 St Annes Grove,Knowle, B93 9JB. Membership of AGA costs £5per year and many events are free or subsidised.

In-touch 31In-Touch – We’d like to findThe Alumni Relations Office has lost touch with the following graduates.Do you know any of them? We need your help to track them down…Temilade Abimbola(2003 PhD Management)Elizabeth Allen(1981 BSc Environmental Health)Mark Ashley(1994 Teaching English for aSpecific Purpose)Janet Atkinson(1989 BSc Ophthalmic Optics)Kate Beddard(2004 BSc Psychology andBusiness Administration)Robin Bevan(1979 BSc Building)Jonathan Biggs(2003 PhD Pharmacy)Andrew Birks(1989 BEng Electrical andElectronic Engineering)Subhadra Bose(1984 MBA)Ben Bowley(2001 BSc Computer Science)Michael Braniff(1973 BSc Chemical Engineering)Andrew Burke(2001 BSc Marketing)Andrew Charlwood(2001 BSc Public Policy andBusiness Administration)Brian Coates(1979 BSc Business and ComputerScience)Janet Cooper(1980 BSc Business Administrationand German)Mark Darton(2000 MBA)Sanjay Devjani(2003 BSc Optometry)Michael Diss(1981 BSc Mathematics)Clive Dyche(1974 BSc Mechanical Engineering)Peter Elliston(2001 BSc Marketing)Scott Fitzgibbon(2003 BSc Marketing)Sarah Fletcher(née Hall, 1974 BSc Physicsand Chemistry)Alistair Gardiner(1976 BSc Ophthalmic Optics)Alison Gillatt(1985 BSc Mathematics)David Harrison(1994 BSc Business and Ergonomics)Paul Haslewood(1995 BEng ElectromechanicalEngineering)Deborah Hawkes(1994 BSc Human Psychology)Elizabeth Holloman(1994 BSc Applied and Human Biology)Rosemary Hotten(née Harper, 1979 BSc Biology of Man andHis Environment)Peter Hussey(1982 BSc Production Technology andManagement)Fatima Jamal(1982 BSc PharmacySarah Johnson(1999 BSc Social Studies and Business)Beryl Jones(1982 MSc Public Sector Management)Mark Jones(2001 BSc Human Psychology)Lesley Kelly(1980 BSc Chemistry and Physics)Philippa Knight(1982 BSc Business and German)Robert Knox(1992 MSc Teaching English forSpecific Purposes)Jernail Singh Lakha(1981 BSc Metallurgy)Martin Lawrence(1995 BEng Chemical Engineering)Francis Lennon(1984 BSc Business and Ergonomics)Christopher Livesey(1982 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies)Melissa Logan(1998 BSc International Businessand French)Qiao Lu(2004 BSc International Businessand Economics)Anas Mahdi(2004 BSc Computer Science andBusiness Administration)Laurence Maisonneuve(1992 MSc TelecommunicationsTechnology)Adele Mallinson(1980 BSc French and Russian)Keith Marnoch(2001 BSc German)Richard May(1977 BSc Biological Sciences)Alan McDonald(1980 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies)Vivien Meadows(1991 MSc Public Sector Management)Robert Merrett(1984 MSc Occupational Healthand Safety)Federico Milani(2000 PhD Computer Science)Samina Mirza(1996 BSc Computer Science)David Moore(1976 PhD Chemical Engineering)Richard Newman(1991 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies)Bobbie-Anne Obrey(2002 BSc Accounting for Management)Ian Parker(1981 BSc Geological Sciences)Allan Partington(1981 MSc Construction Managementand Economics)Mahendra Patel(1978 BEng Electrical andElectronic Engineering)David Porter(1976 BSc Electrical Engineering)Mark Pursglove(2001 BSc Applied and Human Biology)Rita Raichoora(1978 BSc Ophthalmic Optics)Eileen Robinson(1977 BSc Biological Sciences)Charnjeet Saini(2002 MPharm Pharmacy)Katherine Sains(1995 BSc Pharmacy)Harpreet Sanghera(1999 PhD Electrical andElectronic Engineering)Maria Sanjaume(1997 MSc Teaching English)Anna Sefton Turner(1977 BSc French and German)David Shaw(1982 BSc EnvironmentalPlanning and Design)David Singleton(1977 MBA)Christopher Smith(1987 PhD Production Engineering)Anthony Stock(1976 MSc Process Analysisand Development)Makinder Suri(1981 Pharmacy)Barbara Szpytma(1990 BSc International Business andFrench)Sally Taboubi(2000 MSc Teaching English)Tristan Tapper(2000 PhD Chemistry)Andrew Taylor(1998 BEng Electrical andElectronic Engineering)Diane Telford(1999 MBA)Andrew Thewles(1977 BSc Biological Sciences)Kirsty Thomas(1990 BSc Business Administrationand French)Sian Trotman(2001 BSc Accounting for Management)Andrew Truscott(1987 BSc Maths and Computer Science)Nikolaos Tsavdaroglou(2003 MSc Marketing Management)Maurice Valarino(1983 MSc Occupational Healthand Safety)Geeta Varma(1997 BSc Optometry)Vasos Vasiliou(1983 MSc Production Technologyand Management)Sally Venner(1999 BSc French)Brent Walker(2001 MBA)Andrew Walsh(1999 PhD Pharmacy)Nicholas Watkins(1995 MSc TelecommunicationsTechnology)Paul Way(1983 BSc Geological Sciences)Adam Weafer(2002 BSc Psychology and BusinessAdministration)Anna Werrin(1983 BSc Politics and Sociology)Louise Wiggin(1993 BSc Pharmacy)Mark Wiggins(1988 BSc Computer Science)Ann Williams(1983 BSc Behavioural Science)Don Williams(2004 BSc Optometry)Isabel Williams(1985 BSc Pharmacy)Karen Willis(1998 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies)Vincent Wilson(1983 PhD Pharmacy)Sophie Wilson(1997 BSc Social Studies and Business)Anna Wiseman(1992 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies)Tak Wong(1983 PhD Production Engineering)Anthony Woodhouse(1983 MSc Electrical andElectronic Engineering)David Yates(1999 PhD Biological Sciences)Graham Young(1983 BSc Civil Engineering)Bo Zhang(2004 MPhil Pharmacy)In-Touch – You’d like to findA number of you take advantage of our In-Touch Service to track downlong lost friends. Whilst many are happily reunited, others remain far moredifficult to locate. Do you know any of the following? If so, let us know!Gabrielle Clark (1995 BSc French and Psychology)Malcolm Forbes (1967 BSc Production Engineering)Ali Golshan-Tafti (1978 BSc Production Engineering)Steve Moss (1974 BSc Electrical Engineering)Vivienne Muller (1985 BSc French and German)John Parkin (1990 MBA)Are you looking for somebody from Aston? If they aren’t listed on oure-mail directory on the website www.aston.ac.uk/alumni/directory thencontact the Alumni Relations Office and we will see if we are in touch withthem. If we have a current address you will be invited to write a letter orleave your contact details. We will pass these on to the address we hold.As we rely on alumni telling us when they move on, we cannot guaranteethe person you are looking for will still be at that address. We would liketo hope, however, that you all keep in touch with us and let us know ofany changes to your address. The In-Touch Service does not give outindividual names and addresses to inquirers and all mail is treated in thestrictest of confidence.

32 Aston University Gifts1 2 3 45 6 7 89 10 11 12To order your Aston University gifts, please complete the order form and return it to:Alumni Relations Office, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK. All prices include postage and packaging.✁Item Description Price Size/Colour Quantity Total1 Cufflinks £15.002 Tie £12.003 Scarf £17.004 Mug £3.005 Parker rollerball £3.506 Triangle torch keyring £6.007 Lapel badge £1.008 Triangle clock £15.009 (3) Aston branded Titleist PTS Solo golf balls £3.00(6) Aston branded Titleist PTS Solo golf balls £6.00(9) Aston branded Titleist PTS Solo golf balls £9.00(12) Aston branded Titleist PTS Solo golf balls £12.0010 Shot glass engraved with University crest £3.5011 Pyramid paperweight £15.0012 Crest keyring £2.00TotalPayment can be made by credit card or cheque made payable to Aston University, in sterling and drawn on a bank in the UK.All orders must be accompanied by full payment. Refunds will only be given if the goods are faulty. Please allow 28 days from receipt of order.Mr Mrs Miss Ms Name:Address:Postcode:Tel:Email:Country:Would you like to see anynew additions to this giftrange? If so, write yoursuggestions here:Tick as appropriate: I enclose a cheque in pounds sterling drawn on a bank in the UK for £I wish to pay by MasterCard Visa Switch/Maestro Access Delta SoloPlease charge to my account:Card numberName on cardCardholder’s signatureExpiry dateIssue number