News from Head of
School
Visit of Prof Bernhard
Palsson
Professor Bernhard Palsson, who is an extremely
high-profile potential candidate for the EPSRC-funded chair in
Computational Systems Biology, will be visiting the School on Monday
20th and Tuesday 21st March. He will
present a seminar at 1000 on Tuesday (see details below), which I
encourage as many of you as possible to attend. We have arranged for
Professor Palsson to meet the President, the VP for Research and the Deans
of EPS, FLS and MHS. There is also a programme of meetings with interested
staff in Computer Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering &
Analytical Science, and Life Sciences.
Distinguished
Lecture
A reminder about the Irving Wladawsky-Berger
lecture on Tuesday. Irving is IBM Vice President, Technical
Strategy and Innovation, and should provide some interesting insights into
the thinking of one of largest IT companies in the world. The School
has taken a leading role in organising the event, and we are aiming for a
packed lecture theatre. Over 200 participants are registered so far
but there are places left, so please sign up and help to make the event a
success. Details
& Registration
Research Retreat
A follow up to the announcement of the dates for
the research retreat (29-30 June). Capacity at the hotel is limited,
so we need to start planning who will attend. We hope that all
Professors, Readers, Senior Lecturers, Lecturers and Career Development
Fellows will be able to attend and help to make the event a success
please email anna.smethurst@cs.manchester.ac.uk
with your availability by Friday
24th March. Unfortunately space restrictions
mean that we will probably not be able to accommodate all research staff
and students who would like to attend. To help manage this situation, we
are asking group leaders to discuss with their groups which individuals
they think would contribute and/or benefit most from participating.
If you are a Senior Research Fellow, Research Fellow, Research Associate
or Research Student, and would like to participate, please talk to your
research group leader.
The programme for the event has yet to be
finalised, but is unlikely to be the same as last time. One
possibility being discussed is to arrange for each group to meet with each
other (like speed-dating, but without the dating
or the speed), with a
view to exchanging ideas and stimulating new inter-group activity.
Whatever the format, there will certainly be time for informal
interaction, including dinner on the first night. If you have any
innovative (or boring but good) ideas for how we might organise the event,
please let Ursula know.
Events this
Week
top
New 'Dimensions' in Genome Annotation
New
21 Mar 06
Professor Bernhard Palsson, Department of
Bioengineering, UCSD
Traditional Genome annotation involves the
enumeration of open reading frames and their functional assignment.
Currently, there are on-going efforts to identify all the interactions
between these components. The resulting map of interactions
effectively represents a two-dimensional annotation. It takes the
form of a stoichiometric matrix, if the interactions are described with
chemical equations. The formulation and properties of this matrix
are detailed and how it can be used as the basis for computing allowable
phenotypic functions. The issues associated with the packing of the
bacterial genome and the function of the interaction map in
three-dimensions will also be discussed. Finally, we will go over the
issue of genomes changing in space and time through adaptive evolution and
describe the full re-sequencing of bacterial genomes to map all genetic
changes that occur during adaptation.
1000 1100, MG.001 Lecture Theatre,
MIB
Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre is marked
as number 16 on the campus map at http://www.manchester.ac.uk/visitors/travel/
A
Practical Component Modelling Example New
22 Mar 06
Dr Trevor Hopkins. IBM UK
1415 1515, Lecture Theatre 1.5, Kilburn Building
More
Information
A Sports
Betting Platform New
22 Mar 06
Alex Vakaloudis, Laverock von Schoultz
-http://www.lvs.co.uk/
1200 1300, F10a, Maths & Social
Science Building
Olfoto: Designing a Smell-Based Interaction
New
23 Mar 06
Prof. Stephen Brewster, Computing Science,
University
of Glasgow
1200 1300, F10 Maths & Social
Science Building
Regular Seminar Series
See links in contents
bar for information on seminar series organised by the School of
CS, E-Science North
West and National Centre for Text Mining.
Future School
Events
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Enabling a Business Process
Revolution
21 Mar 06
Irving Wladawsky-Berger, IBM Vice President,
Technical Strategy and Innovation.
Distinguished lecture hosted by CS, MBS &
Informatics. Details &
Registration
Presidents
Visit
27 Mar 06
An opportunity for the President to meet
informally with a cross-section of staff in their natural
habitat.
BCS/IEE Accreditation
Visit
18-19 May 06
Those who will definitely need to be involved
should already know and have these dates in their diaries, but could all
staff involved in teaching please note the dates and try to ensure they
will be available if required.
Research
Retreat
29-30 Jun 06
Programme under
development, input welcomed (email Ursula)
Palace
Hotel, Buxton
Future External
Events
top
North
West Grid
Workshop Bioinformatics and the Grid
20 Mar 06
E-Science North West (ESNW) & NW Institute for
Bio-Health Informatics (NIBHI)
0930-1615, Atlas 1&2.
Registration: email name and organisation to castreos@manchester.ac.uk
More
Information
e-Infrastructure Enabling the Research of the
Future
20-21 Mar 06
Organised by the National e-Science Centre, MIMAS,
MC, ESNW, and NCeSS.
The event will explore the emerging opportunities,
with the aim of informing decision makers, researchers and system
managers, and building communities of e-infrastructure users. Participants
can choose to attend both days, or just one though those intending to
attend day 2 only should have some existing familiarity with
e-infrastructure.
0900 1630 (both days), Manchester Computing,
Kilburn Building
Free, but registration essential More Information
& Registration
Genomes to Systems
Conference
22-24 Mar 06
An important conference concerning the latest
concepts and breakthroughs in genomics and systems
biology.
More Information
Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based
Learning
5 Apr 06
An update on CEEBL activities
including:
·
results and
plans of selected CEEBL funded projects;
·
Faculty
initiatives from CEEBL Academic co-ordinators;
·
opportunity
to talk to the CEEBL student interns;
·
EBL networks
and events a National and International perspective;
·
looking
forward to 2006-07.
1300 1430, C24 Sackville
Street Building (Lunch
provided)
Limited to a maximum of 50 participants. More Information &
Registration
Grantsmanship Training
Sessions
6 & 7 Apr 06
Grantsmanship courses are organised by Faculty,
but run by EPSRC. The last set of these were attended by some of our staff
who found them very useful - especially the mock panel sessions. The
courses are also very popular, so if you would like to attend we suggest
you put your name forward asap to avoid disappointment. The courses
are aimed at new staff (young as well as recent appointments who are new
to the UK) and established members of
staff who have not had any recent interaction with the EPSRC, either as
applicants, grant holders or referees/panel-members. Email louise.rogers@manchester.ac.uk
eProtein Scientific Meeting and
Workshop
24-26 Apr 06
The EMBL-EBI, together with Imperial College
London (IC) and University
College London (UCL), are delighted to
invite you to attend a one-day scientific meeting on Protein and Genome
Annotations on 24th April. The meeting will be held on the Wellcome
Trust Genome Campus at Hinxton and is funded by the UK Department of Trade
and Industry, BBSRC and the BioSapiens EU Project. The aim of the meeting
is to describe the current approaches, both technical and scientific,
which will allow contributions and access to annotations from many
different laboratories, based on GRID DAS technologies. The meeting
will be followed by a two-day practical workshop addressing the use and
implementation of the systems designed by the eProtein partners. All
of the systems and results of the project are freely available for the
academic community to access and use, or implement within your own
lab.
More Information
and Registration
Funding
Opportunities
top
BBSRC International Scientific Interchange Scheme
(ISIS)
Open
BBSRC's International Scientific Interchange
Scheme (ISIS) provides support to help scientists make and establish new
contacts with their international counterparts. Funding is available to
BBSRC grantholders, and researchers working on BBSRC-supported projects at
BBSRC-sponsored Institutes for travel and subsistence for three main types
of visit. The scheme is open to bids at any time (at least 6 weeks before
travel) with payments being made in advance of any visits. Please note
BBSRC-supported students are not eligible to travel under ISIS support.
More
Information
Royal Society Research
Grants
4 Apr 06
The Research grants scheme
provides seed-corn funding for new projects of timeliness and promise
initiated by research scientists at an early stage of their career or by
established scientists wishing to change the direction of their
research. The objectives of the scheme are to increase the
availability of equipment and consumables for high quality
research.
More
Information
JISC ITT: Information Governance
Gateway
New
6 April 06
The JISC invites tenders to design, implement,
host and maintain an online gateway containing resources of relevance to
both the public and practitioners regarding the HE sectors compliance
with information governance legislation.
Initial funding of up to
£50,000 is available for stage 1 of the project for the detailed scoping
and pilot development of the JISC Information Governance Gateway,
inclusive of VAT, if applicable, and all travel and other expenses. The
successful bidder will be expected to commence work on the research and
design of the Gateway by no later than May 2006, to be completed no later
than by the end of September 2006.
More
Information
Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit
Awards
27 Apr 06
Jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation and the
Office of Science and Technology, this scheme aims to give universities
additional support to attract key researchers, with great potential or
outstanding achievement, to this country or to retain those who might seek
to gain higher salaries elsewhere. The focus of the award is salary
enhancement. Research expenses are also considered for research costs not
suitable for Research Councils research grants applications and for
overseas applicants to support integration into theUK research and funding
environment.
More
Information
Wellcome Trust Equipment Grants
New
Apr/May 06
The Wellcome Trust consider applications for
multi-user items of equipment, including equipment required to create a
central resource for a number of disparate scientific programmes.
The maximum amount awarded is £1 million. It is expected that applications
will include a contribution from the university, or other source,
proportional to the total request. Applications for less than £10
000 will not normally be considered under this scheme. Small,
project-dedicated items of equipment can, however, form part of a project,
programme or fellowship application.
More
Information
RAEng Industrial Secondment
Scheme
Open
The Industrial Secondment Scheme provides an
invaluable opportunity for university lecturers in engineering to gain
state-of-the-art industrial experience.
Applicable to engineers of all
disciplines, the Scheme's objective is to enable the secondees to impart
the fruits of this experience to their students through teaching, through
case studies using up-to-date material and, in the longer term, through
course design. The benefits also accrue to the host organisation which
gains a temporary but highly qualified member of staff, and to the
university which has the opportunity of strengthening its links with
industry. The Scheme provides funding for the university to employ a
temporary replacement for the secondee. In this way it minimises the
effects on the normal flow of teaching, and makes it easier for
universities to release members of staff for secondment. The Scheme has
also been well received by industry, and many organisations have indicated
a willingness to offer places to engineering academics: where possible The
Royal Academy of Engineering helps in the 'matchmaking
process'.
More
Information
RAEng Global Research
Awards
Open
Global Research Awards provide an opportunity for
engineers currently engaged in research and development to undertake
projects in centres of excellence overseas. Projects should focus on
activities which could help stimulate wealth creation and improvements in
the quality of life, supporting the international development of research
networks and encouraging the uptake of globally competitive technology in
the UK.
More
Information
Prize and Award
Opportunities
top
We have acknowledged the need to raise the profile
of the School both nationally and internationally. Nominating
individuals for awards, and working actively with others to ensure that
deserving individuals are nominated is one way of doing
that.
BCS Distinguished
Dissertations
10 Apr 06
The Conference of Professors and Heads of
Computing (CPHC), in conjunction with the British Computer Society (BCS),
annually selects for publication the best British PhD/DPhil dissertations
in computer science. The scheme aims to make more visible the
significant contribution made by Britain - in particular by
post-graduate students - to computer science.
More
Information
Teaching Excellence
Awards
18 Apr 06
The University has recently instituted "Teaching
Excellence Awards", which focus on achievement in teaching (including
learning support) and involve a grant of £5,000 to recipients for the
further development of their teaching or their career. If you
believe you have a case to be considered for an award, please submit a
statement of not more than five sides of A4 detailing your eligibility
against the published
criteria. Each Head of School has been asked to put forward one
nomination only, so I will consult with the Heads of UG, PG and the
Teaching Assessment Panel to select the strongest case. Nominations need
to be with the Faculty by 28th April, so please get your
case to Lynn by 18th
April.
Renι Descartes
Prizes
4 May 06
The European Commission is inviting proposals
under its framework 6 science and society programme for Rene Descartes
prizes. These are to recognise excellence in research and science
communication. Prizes for research will be at least 200000 euros each, and
projects must include legal entities from 2 different member or associated
states, and include at least one member state or associated candidate
country.
More
Information
The IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal
1 Jul 06
The IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal was established
by the Board of Directors in 1986 'for exceptional contributions to
information sciences, systems and technology.' The award is named in honor
of Dr. Richard W. Hamming, who has had a central role in the development
of computer and computing science, and whose many significant
contributions in the area of information science include his
error-correcting codes. Recipient selection is administered by the
IEEE Medals Council through the IEEE Awards Board. It may be
presented to an individual or group, up to three in number. The
award consists of a gold medal, bronze replica, certificate, and
honorarium.
More
Information
The IEEE John von Neumann
Medal
1 Jul 06
The IEEE John von Neumann Medal was established by
the Board of Directors in 1990 and may be presented annually 'for
outstanding achievements in computer-related science and technology.' The
achievements may be theoretical, technological, or entrepreneurial, and
need not have been made immediately prior to the date of the award.
Recipient selection is administered through the IEEE Medals Council of the
IEEE Awards Board. It may be presented to an individual or group, up
to two in number. The award consists of a gold medal, bronze
replica, certificate and honorarium.
More
Information
Research
Awards
top
Title: SEALIFE
Funding Body: EC
PI: Robert Stevens
Title: EPSRC Centres Call
Funding Body: EPSRC
PI: Carole Goble
Award Amount:
£232149
Title: From Individual to
Collective Behaviour in Large-Scale, Complex Systems
Funding Body:
EPSRC
PI: Jon Shapiro
Award Amount: £71686
Staff
News
top
Awards and Promotions
None this week
Academic Arrivals
None this week
Academic Departures
None this week
Research Arrivals
None this week
Research Departures
None this week
Administrative Arrivals
None this week
Administrative Departures
None this week
Sabbatical Leave
Andrei
Voronkov: Microsoft Research, Redmond USA
Aug 05 Aug
06.
Ian
Horrocks: University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bell Labs, and Stanford University
Feb 06 Sep
06.
Peter
Aczel: Nijmegen University, and Maths Institute at the
University
of Munich
Jan 06
Sep 06.
Alasdair
Rawsthorne: 80% secondment to
Transitive Technologies
Oct 05 Sep 06.
Alvaro
Fernandes: IBM Almaden Research Centre
US
Jul Dec 06.
Vacancies
top
Academic Staff
Chair in Computer Engineering
http://www.man.ac.uk/news/vacancies/academic.html#eps075
Research Staff
None
Administrative Staff
None
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