News from Head of
School
Promotion Successes
We received news at the end of last week that the
University Promotions Committee has approved all the cases we submitted
from the School. Congratulations to Uli Sattler (Reader), Rizos
Sakellariou (SL), Robert Stevens (SL), and Ning Zhang (SL) for this
well-deserved recognition of their achievements and contributions to the
School and University. Details below.
BCS/IEE Accreditation Visit
A reminder that the accreditation visit is on
Thursday. I’ll report back on how the day goes and the feedback we
receive next week but, given all the hard work that has gone into
preparing our (massive) submission, I’m sure it will be a success.
Schools Liaison and Headstart
Event
As you know, schools liaison is one of the
priorities we have identified with a view to improving our UG recruitment
in the long-term. The External Affairs team is currently planning a
programme of events to start in September, and will be visiting schools
over the next two months to discuss how we can tailor our offerings to
their needs. The aim is, as far as possible, to organise workshops,
master classes, visits etc to take place in the University, contributing
to the A-level curriculum in Maths and Computing. Any input
gratefully received. In the meantime would anyone be interested in
getting involved in the Headstart Scheme (http://www.hdstart.org.uk/), a
residential summer school run in collaboration with the Royal Academy of
Engineering and the Dragonfly event. The Headstart scheme will involve
around 40 Year 12 students and will take place from 10th –
13th July. The one day Dragonfly event will involve 40-50
Year 10 girls and will take place on July 14th.
Although the joint event lasts several days, there is no need for a
huge commitment from the School – some interesting talks or a 3 hour
practical/project session would be great. In the past activities
have focussed on traditional engineering subjects (electrical and civil
seem to feature highly), but the scope of the event covers the whole of
science engineering and technology. These pupils will be both bright
and enthusiastic and we really should get involved. If anyone
is interested please let Bernard know as
soon as possible. He would be happy to coordinate the activities of
a group of interested individuals to devise something that is fun and
engaging, and can become an annual event.
UG Guest Lectures
At the recent School Industrial Advisory Board, a
number of our industrial partners expressed an interest in providing guest
lectures as part of our UG programme. With CS1072 being discontinued next
year, and only being partly replaced by the first year project, now is a
good time to try to determine how we can make best use of these people.
Bernard is therefore looking to set up two lists: those who already use
industrial guest lecturers (and who they are); those interested in using a
guest lecturer as part of a UG module, should an appropriate one be
available. Please email Bernard if you
fall into either of these categories. Hopefully this is one way of
motivating our current students; also the fact that we can point to these
relationships in our promotional material will help to make School more
attractive to prospective students. We are already investigating an
interesting proposal for Electronic Arts to assist with teaching graphics
and we’d love to see this extended to other modules.
Events this
Week
top
HL7 Clinical Genomics Family History
Specification
15 May 06
Dr Amnon Shabo (Shvo), IBM Research, Haifa
Amnon is Co-Chair of the HL7 SIG and Co-Editor of
the Clinical Document Architecture developed by the Structured Documents
Technical Committee. HL7 is the computer coding system used to
exchange information between medical software systems - it is the coding
that has been chosen for messaging in the NHS Connecting for Health
systems. The SIG is tackling one of the main concerns of genetics
health care professionals looking at clinical coding systems – their
inability to represent both genetic data about people, and family data
such as the patient's pedigree (family tree) and family history of
disease.
1100, NoWGEN
building, Grafton Street, Manchester, M13
9WU
Email Andrew Devereau for more
information.
E-learning for the Physical
Sciences
16 May 06
Guest speakers from the Universities of Hull,
Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester
Organised by TSU and the HEA Physical Sciences
subject centre.
On line-testing; use WebCT or build your own
system; principles of e-learning design; teaching students on work
placement.
1200 – 1400, 7.27 & 7.28, Chemistry
Building, Brunswick St
(lunch from 11.45)
Email Sue King to reserve a
place
School
Board
17 May 06
The main item of business for the School Board
will be the External Affairs Report. If the action short of a strike
has not been lifted by then, this may be a good opportunity to discuss how
the School will deal with the situation.
Agenda
Systems Biology Open Meeting
New
17 May 06
Douglas
Kell (Chemistry), Steve
Oliver (FLS) and Hans Westerhoff (SCEAS).
An inaugural open meeting of the Manchester Centre
for Itegrative Systems Biology (MCISB), which is based in the Manchester
Interdisciplinary Biocentre (MIB). The meeting will cover scientific
strategy, infrastructure, data model, organisation, aims and plans for
outreach and dissemination.
1300 – 1500, Lower Mezzanine Lecture Theatre, MIB
(16 on Campus
Map)
No need to register. Email Dieter
Weichart for more information
BCS/IEE Accreditation
Visit
17-18 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. PLEASE NOTE there was a misunderstanding
over dates and this was originally advertised as taking place on the 18 –
19 May.
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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Requirements
and Technologies for
Provenance
23 May 06
ENSW technical meeting. Volunteers required
to give 10-15 min presentations.
1400 – 1700, Atlas 1
Email Dean Kuo or visit wiki
Research
Retreat
29-30 Jun 06
Palace Hotel, Buxton
Programme under
development, input welcomed (email
Ursula)
School UG Graduation
Party
5 Jul 06
We will (hopefully) be
celebrating the graduation of our UG students
1430 – 1530, prize-giving
1445, graduation ceremony 1645.
School BBQ New
14 Jul 06
Details to follow
Future External
Events
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TRDN Annual
Symposium
23 May 06
Manchester: a learning
community?
Alison Johns, Head of Leadership, Governance and
Management, HEFCE
In addition to the keynote address, there will be
sessions dealing with the University as a community, and with its
relationships with the wider community both locally and
nationally/internationally. Posters are invited on the theme of
'community' or on wider educational issues.
1000 – 1500, Hulme Hall
Email Veronique Rizzuto to
book or offer a poster
Mesoscience/Nanotechnology Seminar
New
23 May 06
Organised by the UoM Mesoscience/Nanotechnolgy
Forum, the object of the seminar is to inform staff and students of
current Mesoscience/Nanotechnology activities in the
University.
1200 – 1630, H11 Renold Building
Email Louise
Rogers by Tuesday 16 May to
register.
National Learning at Work Day – Fun for All!
New
25 May 06
The Staff Training & Development Unit,
Manchester
Museum and Whitworth
Art
Gallery are working together to bring you an
exciting programme of events, ranging from action packed CIRCUS SKILLS to
relaxing YOGA. NATIONAL LEARNING AT WORK DAY is a rare opportunity to take
a break from routine and try something you've never done before. Come
along and experience some of the more creative ways to learn at
work.
1100 & 1300, various venues.
Email for full programme or ring 275 2525. Booking first come,
first served.
Assessment by Computer (ABC) Software
Demonstration New 26 May
06
The ABC team invites you to a demonstration of
their assessment
software.
1300 – 1400, 2.15 Kilburn
Email EPS-TSU by 24 May to book.
EPSRC Regional Academic
Seminars
26 May & 14 June 06
Presentation by Professor John O'Reilly, Chief
Executive of EPSRC, Question and Answer session, session on Peer Review
and the grant application process. At the Manchester event,
there will also be a session on opportunities for interaction between
industry, academia and other organisations.
26 May 2006 London: The Royal Society (register by
18th May)
14 June 2006 Manchester: Manchester Conference Centre
(register by 2nd June)
More
Information
Microsoft Invites you on a Deep Dive!
New
27 – 29 June 06
The UK Academia Team is partnering with DevelopMentor, to host an intense,
hands-on technical event for academics in June 2006. The Academic Insight
Event will offer UK academics the chance to get
up to speed with the principles and practice of the .NET framework, CLR
and Visual Studio, as well as hands-on experience of developing
applications for the web, Pocket PCs and Smartphones. The aim of the event
is to help those in higher education who teach computer science to
introduce and apply Microsoft technologies into their courses and provide
them with the skills their students need for entering the software
industry.
More
Information & Registration
Lunchtime Yoga Classes – Karon
Mee
Every Tues
1200 – 1300 Tuesdays, Staff
House
UMSA members £1.50; non-UMSA £2.00 per
class
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
Wellcome Trust Equipment Grants
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
European Science Foundation EUROCORES
Scheme
1 Jun 06
The aim of the ESF European Collaborative Research
(EUROCORES) Scheme is to enable researchers in different European
countries to develop collaboration and scientific synergy in areas where
European scale and scope are required for leading-edge science in a global
context and in this way create the critical mass necessary for scientific
excellence. The scheme provides a flexible framework which allows national
basic research funding organisations to join forces to support top class
European research in and across all scientific areas. More
Information
BBSRC Research Equipment Initiative (REI) 2006
New
28 June 06
BBSRC’s Research Equipment Initiative provides
support (£50K - £250K) for the purchase of mid-range multi-user,
multi-project equipment, including its installation and initial set-up.
The scheme aims to contribute to the physical research infrastructure to
enable high-quality research within the BBSRC remit, and promote
partnership and sharing of equipment.
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.
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
honour 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
Microsoft European Science Award
31 May 06
This prestigious new award, sponsored by Microsoft
Research, is designed to recognise and reward scientists working in
Europe who have made a major contribution
to the advancement of science through the use of computational
methods. The 2006 award is open to any research scientist who has
made a significant contribution at the intersection of the biological
sciences and computing. (In 2007, the award will focus on computing and
the physical sciences.) The award will comprise a trophy and a
monetary amount of 250,000 EUR, of which 7,500 EUR will constitute prize
money with the rest earmarked for further research. The award will be
presented at a ceremony in October/November 2006
More
Information
Research
Awards
top
None this week
Staff
News
top
Awards and Promotions
Rizos
Sakellariou: promoted to Senior
Lecturer from 1 Aug 2006
Robert
Stevens: promoted to Senior Lecturer
from 1 Aug 2006
Ning
Zhang: promoted to Senior Lecturer from
1 Aug 2006
Uli
Sattler: promoted to Reader from 1
Aug 2006
Academic Arrivals
Bijan Parsia – Temporary Lecturer,
IMG
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
None
Research Staff
Research Associate in Automated Reasoning and Web
Ontologies
More
Information
Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow,
ISBE
More
Information
Academic-Related Staff
Software Engineer (Psygrid) ISBE
More
Information
Administrative Staff
None
|