News from Head of
School
Turing Lecture
Grady Booch will be in the School today for an
interesting programme of events, including an informal round-table
discussion at lunchtime on 'Hot topics in software architecture', and
the Turing lecture, which
will be held in Roscoe lecture theatre A (registration from 1730).
This will be followed by dinner in the evening with a number of
distinguished guests from the BCS, IET, IBM and the
University.
Dean’s Visit
The Dean, two of his Associate Deans and the Head
of Faculty Administration visited the School on Friday. The visitors had
an opportunity to meet with the SLT and with some of the staff who joined the
School from Informatics last October. They also visited the External
Affairs and Research Offices, and particularly enjoyed a poster session
displaying some of our research strengths. The Dean commented in the
wrap up session how very impressed he was by what he saw and that he would
have liked to have had more time for every session. I am sure it is a good
thing to leave the audience wanting more! Many thanks for the hard
work of all those who contributed to making the visit such a success,
particularly to Lynn and the staff in ACSO for the superb
organisation. Events like this do much to enhance the reputation of
the School within the University, an important factor in gaining
institutional support when we need it.
RAE – Open Staff Meeting
As many of you will know, the University is
beginning to make serious preparations for RAE 2008, the latest UK
Research Assessment Exercise. Final submissions are due late in the
year, but drafts are currently being put together for internal scrutiny
and, under the terms of a code of conduct, initial decisions on
inclusion/non-inclusion in the return are to be made and communicated to
individual members of staff by the end of the month. Those of you who are,
or may be, eligible will have received information about the process –
including the code of conduct – before Christmas. You may also have
received an email last week, requesting modifications/corrections to the
information you have provided for the School RAE database, if issues were
discovered during our internal assessment of individual
returns.
The School needs to share its RAE data
and initial decisions with the University Research Committee by the end of
this week, so it is important that you make any changes to your data which
we have requested, today. Those of you who are
eligible will receive a letter next week, indicating the initial decision
on your inclusion/non-inclusion. We have briefed research group
leaders, who will be able to answer questions in the first place (we will
clarify this for ex Informatics staff), and have also arranged an open meeting for 5 February at which John Gurd and I
will explain the selection rationale and criteria, discuss the likely
quality profile for our submission, and answer questions.
It is important to stress the provisional nature of the decisions
that will be made at this stage – they could change in either
direction. There is still plenty of time for individuals to improve
their return, and there may be factors of which we are currently unaware.
Above all, our assessment of quality is relatively superficial at
this stage, and may change in the light of more careful scrutiny of the
papers themselves, together with updated 100 word commentaries (we will
issue further guidance on these in due course). It is also important
to note that we have not included any RAs in our provisional return, since
we are still seeking clarification of eligibility, but we hope to do so at
a later stage.
Informal Academic Lunches
Earlier in the year I arranged a series of
informal lunches with non-professorial members of the academic staff and,
later, for staff joining CS from the School of Informatics. I personally
found these events extremely useful as a way of keeping in touch with the
academic 'grass-roots' of the School, and the feedback I received was very
positive. Given that this seems to have been a useful exercise, I am
arranging a similar series of events which for 25 Jan, 8 Mar, 5 Apr, 10
May, 31 May, 14 Jun and 12 Jul. Ruth
Maddocks has emailed those concerned – please
respond to her. I believe places will be allocated on a
first-come-first-served basis, so book early to avoid disappointment!
Semester 2 PGT Exam Papers & Coursework -
Reminder
The final deadline for Semester 2 examination
papers for CS course units is fast approaching. Copies of all
assessments, together with marking schemes and names of moderator(s)
should be handed in to Jennie Ball-Foster in room 2.12 by Monday 29 Jan.
Please also check the exam rubric. The exam period will be 12-16 Mar
2007. Please inform Jennie or John
Sargeant if the examination for your course unit is to be
on-line.
Events this
Week
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Turing
Lecture
22 Jan 07
The Promise, the Limits, and
the Beauty of Software.
For the third year running, the annual Turing
Lecture will be presented in Manchester as
well as London. The eminent speaker is Grady Booch, who
has an international reputation for his work on software architecture,
software engineering, and modelling.
1730 Registration/reception, 1800 lecture.
More Information &
Registration
Venue: Roscoe Lecture Theatre
Round-Table Discussion
with Grady
Booch
22 Jan 07
Hot Topics in Software
Architecture
Places for this are now closed, but for those who
signed up, here are the details.
Chair: Professor Norman
Paton, School of Computer
Science
1200-1400 (lunch provided),
Atlas Rooms 1&2, Kilburn Building
Showcasing EPS Learning & Teaching
Innovation
23 Jan 07
Over the past couple of years the EPS Teaching
Support Development Unit has awarded project funding for innovation. This
event will showcase three of these projects, all of which exploit the
functionality of WebCT, the University's Virtual Learning Environment
(VLE). You will hear the results of evaluations on the impact of utilising
the VLE to enhance learning and teaching and you will have the opportunity
to consider and discuss how the these projects might inspire you to
consider new ideas in your own teaching. One of the featured projects
is An integrated WebCT environment for
PGT programmes, Alex Walker, CS. Please email EPS-TSU to reserve a place at
this event.
1200-1330 (Lunch provided), George Begg
C4
Induction to Grid Computing and the North West
Grid
25 & 26 Jan 07
A NW-GRID and NeSC collaborative training event
that helps to gain better understanding of the concepts of Grid Computing
and e-Research. Participants will be demonstrated on how to access to the
NGS and NW-GRID resources, as well as some hands on experience on using
the NW-GRID services in the future. All interested users are welcome to
attend this event.
Daresbury Laboratory, Daresbury, Warrington WA4
4AD
More
Information and Registration
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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Bayesian Ranking New
31 Jan 07
Dr Thore Graepel. Microsoft research in Cambridge
1415, Lecture Theatre 1.5,
Kilburn
More
Information
X-Evolution: New
1 Feb 07
A System for XML Schema
Evolution and Document Adaptation
Dr Marco Mesiti, Universita' di Milano, Italy
14:00,
Atlas 1, Kilburn
RAE – Open
Staff Meeting New
5 Feb 07
Open meeting to discuss the School’s draft RAE
submission
1300-1430, Atlas Rooms
President’s
Visit
28 Feb 07
The President and Vice-Chancellor will be visiting
the School. Please make a diary note – more details nearer the
time.
1400-1600
Future
External
Events
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e-Chemistry and
citations
26 Jan 07
Dr
Simone Teufel, University of
Cambridge
1300, MIB building, LG0.10
More
Information
National Science
Week
12-16 Mar 07
The 12 - 16 March 2007 is National Science week.
Activities for 13-16 years olds will be taking place in Schools across the
Faculty. The External Affairs office will be coordinating Computer Science
activities and is currently looking for suggestions for
interactive/hands-on sessions that we can run in the School. If you have
any suggestions, or feel you could help in any way, then please contact
Bernard.
You are all aware that we need to give a very high priority to student
awareness and recruitment activities. I would encourage everyone to work
on generating ideas to “sell” Computer Science to potential future
students.
Mathematical and Statistical Aspects of Molecular
Biology 29-30 Mar
07
With participants from mathematics, statistics,
computer science, bioinformatics, biology and related fields, the MASAMB
meetings provide an intimate setting for exchange of ideas in
methodological and applied research. Research students and scientists
newly entering the field of genomic research are particularly welcome. To
be considered for a talk or poster, authors should submit a one page
abstract describing their research. This abstract will be used to select
presentations and should provide an overview of the research objectives,
methods and results.
More
Information
IAS'07
29-31 Aug 07
Information assurance and security has become an
important research issue in networked and distributed information sharing
environments. Finding effective ways to protect information systems,
networks and sensitive data within the critical information infrastructure
is challenging even with the most advanced technology and trained
professionals. The International Symposium on Information Assurance and
Security aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, developers,
and policy makers involved in multiple disciplines of information security
and assurance to exchange ideas and to learn the latest development in
this important field. Organised by Dr Ning Zhang,
IMG.
Funding
Opportunities
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Royal Commission of 1851 Industrial
Fellowships
2007
25 Jan 07
The Commission now sees its Industrial Fellowships
as catalysts in the encouragement of innovation and creativity in British
industry. Although the Fellowships are awarded to individuals, their
parent Companies and associated Universities derive equal advantage from
the scheme. About eight Industrial Fellowships are offered each year
for selected graduates, working in British Industry, who have a good first
degree in engineering, science or medicine.
More
Information
Ministry of Defence Competition of Ideas
New
31 Jan 07
'Competition of Ideas' (COI) is part of the
implementation of the Defence Technology Strategy. With an initial budget
of £10M COI aims to inspire the best innovators from across Britain to bid for a contract
to develop their ideas further to help meet key defence challenges.
Interested UK suppliers, industrial or
academic, regardless of size, background or previous experience of defence
related activity, or lack of it, can all apply.
More Information
National Teaching
Fellowships
31 Jan 07
Fifty National Teaching fellowships will be
awarded in 2007, each worth £10,000. HEIs are invited to nominate up to
three candidates each. The scheme is open to all staff who teach or
support students' learning, so technical and teaching support staff will
be considered as well academic colleagues. Nominations by 31 Jan
07.
More
Information
Funding for EBL
Projects
31 Jan 07
The Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based
learning (CEEBL) has recently announced a further opportunity to bid for
funding of up to £3,000 to support EBL projects. Applications are
encouraged from individuals or small teams (2-5 people) and project
outcomes are expected to be achieved within the academic year
2007/8. Successful applicants will be informed by the end of
February 2007 in order to give adequate time for project set-up. If
anybody has plans to incorporate Enquiry-Based Learning into their course
units for the next academic year, and would like to complete an
application, please contact Adrian
Albin-Clark to discuss this further. The
deadline for submission is 31 January 2007.
More
Information
New Brunel Fellowship for Engineers
New
22 Feb 07
Part of the 1851 Royal Commission
Fellowships. The core programme of the Commission's awards comprises
Research
Fellowships, Industrial
Fellowships and Industrial Design
Studentships. The Commission also offers a Research Fellowship for
the Built Environment and a Research Fellowship in
Design as well as occasional Special
Awards.
More
Information
EPSRC Challenging Engineering Call for
Proposals
1 Mar 07
Challenging Engineering is a high priority for the
EPSRC Engineering Programme, as it is specifically focused on providing
funding and developmental support for engineering researchers at an early
stage of their careers. Due to the strict eligibility of this call
you must contact the CS Research
Office if you are planning to submit an application so that we can
liaise with the central Research Office. Schools are asked to submit no
more than 2 outline proposals. These should be sent to Helen Gleeson
by Friday 2 February
2007 to allow sufficient time for the prospective applicants to
make an excellent application.
More
Information
European Research Council New
25 Apr 07
The European Research Council is a new
initiative. There are opportunities for early career scientists, the
Starting Independent Research Grant (ERC StG). The budget for this
call is significant (around 300M Euros) and it is expected that this will
work out to be around 200 grants at a value of around 1.5M Euros per year
for the next 5 years. Scientists with LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO 8 years since
the Doctorate + 3 years of 'service' are eligible and they should be newly
established, or with the offer of a position. Excellence of person
and proposal are the sole selection criteria.
More Information
UoM Simon Industrial and Professional
Fellowship
1 Jul 07
The regulations and faculty financial allocations
for the Simon Industrial and Professional Fellowship appointments during
the 2006/07 academic session are available here.
Any applications should be sent to Helen
Gleeson initially (not the Dean as stated).
Nominations must be received no later than 1 July 2007.
EPSRC ICT Platform
Grants
Open
EPSRC invites outline proposals for its
information and communication technology platform grants. Platform grants
aim to provide world-leading UK groups with continuity of
funding for strategic development, longer-term research and international
networking.
More
Information
Royal Academy of
Engineering Research
Chairs
Open
The Royal Academy of Engineering invites
applications for its research chairs.
Research Chairs are
full-time professorial appointments, in any engineering-related subject.
The academy particularly welcomes proposals of a multidisciplinary nature.
Funding is provided for 5 years.
More
Information
RAEng Industrial Secondment
Scheme
Open
An opportunity for university lecturers in
engineering to gain state-of-the-art industrial
experience.
More
Information
BBSRC International Scientific Interchange Scheme
(ISIS)
Open
To help scientists make and establish new contacts
with their international counterparts.
More
Information
RAEng Global Research
Awards
Open
Projects in centres of excellence overseas
focussing on stimulating wealth creation and improvements in the quality
of life.
More
Information
EPSRC Engineering
Visits
Open
Support for salary costs and travel subsistence
for scientists and engineers of acknowledged standing, either from within
the UK or abroad, to visit the
investigator's organisation.
More
Information
Prize and
Award
Opportunities
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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.
EPSRC Computer Science Writing Competition
2006/07
31 Jan 07
We want unpublished articles of up to 750 words
about research that’s part of any EPSRC-funded computer science
project. For this competition, computer science means the study of
methods for acquiring, storing, processing, communicating and reasoning
about information, and the role of interactivity in natural and artificial
systems through the implementation, organisation and use of computer
hardware, software and other resources.
More
Information
Royal Academy of
Engineering MacRobert
Award
31 Jan 07
The UK's premier award for
innovation in engineering. The Award, first presented in 1969, honours the
winning company with a gold medal and the team members with a prize of
£50,000. The presentation of the Award recognises the successful
development of innovative ideas in engineering. It seeks to demonstrate
the importance of engineering and the role of engineers and scientists in
contributing to national prosperity and international
prestige.
More
Information
European Science
Awards
21 Feb 07
These prestigious awards, bestowed by the Royal
Society and Académie des Sciences, and 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 2007 award is open to any research
scientist who has made a significant contribution at the intersection of
computing and the physical sciences, including mathematics and
engineering.
More
Information
Presentations at the House of Commons
New
23 Feb 07
Applications are invited from early-stage and
early career researchers in science, engineering, technology and medicine
who are interested in presenting a poster at one of the below receptions,
and in competing for the prizes for the best posters:
-Lunchtime Reception 19 Mar 2007: The
GlaxoSmithKline Awards: the 2007 Westminster Medal and £1,000 Prize;
Runner-Up Prizes
-Evening Reception 19 Mar 2007: The 2007 De Montfort
Medal and £1,000 Prize, Runner-Up Prizes
More Information
The Royal Academy of Engineering- Education
Innovation PrizeNew 1 Mar 07
The Royal Academy of Engineering is running a
scheme aimed at UK University Engineering Departments. Its Education
Innovation Prize of £10,000 rewards innovation in the approach taken to
the teaching of engineering at any level. If you are interested in
applying please contact Gill
Lester in the first instance.
More
Information
ERCIM Cor Baayen
Award
15 April 07
The Cor Baayen Award is awarded each year to a
most promising young researcher in computer science and applied
mathematics. The award was created in 1995 to honour the first ERCIM
President. Nominations should be made by a staff member of the
university or research institute where the nominee is undertaking
research. Self nominations are not accepted.
More
Information
IEEE Medal of Honour – Nominations
New
1 Jul 07
The IEEE Medal of Honor is the Institute's highest
award. It is given for an exceptional contribution or an
extraordinary career in the IEEE fields of interest.
It is
presented only when a candidate is identified as having made a particular
contribution which forms a clearly exceptional addition to the science and
technology of concern to the Institute. Recipient selection is
administered through the IEEE Medals Council of the IEEE Awards
Board.
More
Information
Research
Awards
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None this
week
Staff
News
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Awards and Promotions
None this week
Academic Arrivals
None this week
Technical Arrivals
None this week
Academic Retirements
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
Alasdair
Rawsthorne: 80% secondment to
Transitive Technologies
Oct 06 – Sep 07.
Vacancies
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Academic Staff
None
Research & Technical Staff
None
Management & Professional Staff
None
Administrative Staff
None
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