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1824 |
School
of Computer Science |
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Weekly
Newsletter |
29 September 2014 |
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Contents |
News
from Head of School
Macmillan Coffee
Morning Success On Friday 26 September we raised £185 for
the Macmillan Cancer Support charity during our big coffee morning. The raffle was a great success and marked
the third occasion of our trying to get rid of the notorious teddy bears
through charity events -we think we’ve finally seen the back of them now! Macmillan supports people with cancer and
their families by providing financial, medical and emotional support. http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Home.aspx PhD student
paper success! PhD student Kostas Sechidis collected the prize for Best Student Paper
at the European Conference on Machine Learning (ECML). The paper introduces statistical hypothesis
testing methodology for positive-unlabelled data. This is highly applicable big data
scenarios, where only a relatively small number of objects can be labelled. “Statistical
Hypothesis Testing in Positive Unlabeled Data” Konstantinos Sechidis, Borja Calvo and
Gavin Brown. European Conference on Machine Learning
(ECML). France, Sept 2014.
News and announcements
OneStart:
Start something now OneStart is a global initiative for
young entrepreneurs. They are open to anyone under 35 across all
fields of study to team up to launch and develop life science/health care
startups. The winners will receive £100k and free lab space, as well
as free legal and intellectual property advice. A dedicated OneStart launch
will be held at the University of Manchester on the 14th of
October. LMS Computer
Science day on Wednesday 29th October The annual LMS Computer Science day on Wednesday
29th October in De Morgan House, 57-58 Russell Square, London, WC1B 4HS. http://www.lms.ac.uk/events/computer-science-day The day is free for students and £5 for all
others, which is payable on the day. Limited funds are available to help with students’
travel costs. Further details are available from Duncan Turton at the Society
(computerscience@lms.ac.uk) The theme of this year's day is
"Computational and Mathematical Modelling for Improved Understanding of
Biological Systems" and we have some great speakers: Luca Cardelli (Microsoft Research &
University of Oxford), Netta Cohen (University of Leeds), Aldo Faisal
(Imperial College London), and Jane Hillston (University of Edinburgh).
Shutterstock/StudioSmart Events
Introduction: Professor John Goodacre 1 Oct 14 14:00, lecture theatre 1.4, Kilburn building Professor John Goodacre. Manchester APT Group. Director Technology and Systems, ARM Ltd. Having joined the Advanced Processor Technologies Group at Manchester part time recently, John will provide a personal introduction to his career, and both ongoing and future research interests. Through ARM, John has defined and led the introduction of various new processor technologies. As technical director of the currently running Euroserver project from the EU, he will also describe his vision for a new generation of computer systems and the prototype being developed in that project. Challenges
and Opportunities for Novel Maths in Cheminformatics 7
Oct 14 13-14:00, Alan Turing Building, Frank Adams Room 1 Professor Douglas Kell Reasoning about small molecules is at the core of drug discovery, and the ability to do this computationally underpins the whole field known as cheminformatics. It brings many interesting questions that cut across pure and applied maths, computer science, data analytics, multivariate statistics and machine learning. For half the seminar I will set out some of the problems (examples) that I believe contain the potential for novel mathematics and approaches. These will include: - What is best mathematical representation of a molecule? - Is graph theory the best way? Bitstrings and hash functions? - How do I assess molecular similarity, similarity coefficients and clustering? - How do I best navigate a database of 22 million molecules? - Are there numerical transformations that make reasoning about molecular structures much easier (in some sense)? - How do I best relate structures to activities? - What is the best way to analyze molecules in terms of their substructures (a known NP-hard problem)? The second half will allow for an open exchange of interesting directions we might pursue. REMINDER Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Manchester event 16 Oct 14 16 October 2014, Lecture Theatre
C14, Sackville Street Building An information and proposal
writing event organised by UK Research Office (UKRO) – the UK National
Contact Point for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions will be hosted by
UOM on 16-Oct-14. This
event will be helpful to anyone planning to participate in Marie Curie ITN
application (deadline 13 Jan14). The event will cover key issues
relating to planning, writing and submitting ITN proposals. If you would like to attend, please complete the online
registration
form. Draft
programme - Manchester (.pdf) Digital Economy YES 2014 Deadline: 23 October 2014 Event: 24-26 November 2014, Imperial War Museum in Manchester The rescheduled Digital Economy Young
Entrepreneurs Scheme (DE YES) is now open for entries either from individuals
or from teams of 4-5 people. A briefing session for participants will take
place on the 28th October in Nottingham. DE YES is designed to develop business awareness
and an understanding of entrepreneurship in UK postgraduate and
postdoctoral researchers. The three day event includes an expert speaker
programme and business mentoring opportunities, culminating in a competition
where teams of researchers work together to prepare a business plan which
will be pitched to a panel of judges. Funding
Opportunities
Research Support
Office Please contact us through researchsupportcsm@manchester.ac.uk. There is information about support for grant writing, submission and
successful examples at http://staffnet.cs.manchester.ac.uk/reso/
and through EPS. The EPS blog The Word contains features
News, Events and comment relevant to Postgraduate Researchers, Research Staff
and Supervisors or PIs. Important: Changes in EU Funding Opportunities More detailed information is available now
that for Horizon2020 has started (the successor of FP7 EU programme). EU
research funding is important for the School and it’s important to understand
what’s available http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/index.html EU funding-related documents are placed by
the University's EU team at: A great resource
recommended by the ICT National Contact Point is http://www.ictic.org/, which also provides handy overview
documents. H2020 and High Performance
Computing (HPC) Want to know
more about HPC opportunities in H2020? The
e-infrastructure special interest group of the Knowledge Transfer Network has
made some slides available. Some upcoming
calls include: ·
FET Proactive funding opportunities: Towards exascale
high-performance computing
deadline November 2014 REMINDER EPSRC
IAA 7th call 15 Oct 2014 Closing date: noon 15 October 2014 Royal Society Research Grants 15
Oct 2014 Closing date: 15 October 2014 This scheme is for UK early stage career researchers
(within the first 5 years of the start date of their first permanent or
limited-tenured academic position) and want to purchase specialised equipment
and consumables (up to £15k incl. VAT), or for academics to research the
history of science. University of Manchester Research Institute (UMRI) – Pump Priming
Programme 17
Oct 2014 Closing date: 17 October 2014 This
call for pump-priming proposals is to provide support for activities that
lead to an increase in successful interdisciplinary research. Preliminary
data work is not eligible. Funds of £10k -£50k for up to 6 months will
support and pump-prime new interdisciplinary research programmes which seek
to release synergies between existing clusters of excellence (see Manchester Strategic Vision 2020).
Applications at or near the maximum amount will only be funded exceptionally. This
call is open to all researchers who are eligible to apply for external
research grants. Funds should be expended by 31 July 2015. Applicants
are invited to submit a two page outline to James Evans consisting of:
Successful
applicants will be notified in November. Newton Advanced Fellowships 22
Oct 14 Closing date: 17:00 22 October 2014 The Newton Fund is
a new initiative that aims to develop the long-term sustainable growth and
welfare of partner countries through building research and innovation
capacity. Newton Advanced Fellowships provide established researchers with an
opportunity to develop the research strengths and capabilities of their
research group or network through training, collaboration and reciprocal
visits with a partner in the UK for up to 3 yrs. Applications are welcome
from the following countries: Brazil, China, Mexico, South Africa and
Turkey (opportunities vary – please check the scheme notes for each
discipline). Up to £37,000 is
available each year for: · A salary top up (maximum £5,000) for the group or
network leader from the partner country. · Research support (up to £15,000) to cover costs
for studentships, staff, consumables or equipment. · Travel and subsistence (up to £12,000) to cover
travel costs of the UK partner to the international partner and/or travel of
the international partner to the UK. · Training (up to £5,000) to support the career
development of the applicant and their research group or network. Applicants must be
no more than 15 years post PhD; hold a contract (permanent or fixed-term,
depending on partner country requirements) in an eligible university or
research institute outside the UK, which must span the duration of the
project. Newton Mobility Grants 22
Oct 14 Closing date: 17:00 22 October 2014 The Newton Fund is
a new initiative that aims to develop the long-term sustainable growth and
welfare of Partner Countries through building research and innovation
capacity by facilitating exchanges of researchers. The Newton Fund Partner
Countries are: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia,
Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey
and Vietnam. Awards cover costs
for travel, subsistence and research expenses and the grant must be based
around a joint research project. · The British Academy programme is known as Newton
Mobility Grants. Grants are
offered up to a maximum of £10k for a year. · The Royal Academy of Engineering programme is
known as the Newton Research Collaboration
Programme. Awards provide funding at a flat rate of
£2k per month of exchange visit (up to £24k for 12 months total exchange
visit/s). · The Royal Society programme is known as Newton International Exchanges. Awards last from between 3 months and 2 yrs; up
to £12k is available dependent upon the length of the visit. Please Note: not
all Partner Countries are participating in this call, please consult the
relevant website for further details. BBSRC Innovator of the Year 2015 27
Oct 2014 Closing date: 27
October 2014 BBSRC's Innovator of the Year
(2015) competition is now open for BBSRC-funded
researchers who have ‘stepped outside the lab to realise the potential of
their research’. This competition
recognises and
rewards individuals and small teams who have harnessed the potential of their
excellent research. Winners in each category will receive a £15,000 award,
with a further £15,000 for the overall winner. The
competition has three categories: ·
Commercial ·
Social ·
Most
promising Fullbright awards 2015/16 31
Oct 2014 Closing date: 17:00 31 October 2014 Fulbright
awards provide grants for research, teaching or a combination of the two at
any higher education institution in the US (for 3-12months and for $15k-
$120k). Awards
typically provide a contribution towards any institutional fees, travel
to/from the US, accommodation and general maintenance costs while in the USA.
There is substantial pre-departure support, including a Finalists’ Workshop
(March) and a 2-day Orientation Programme (July). Awards are available in the
following categories: · American Studies Early
Career Award · British Heart Foundation
Award · Elon University Scholar
Award · Fight for Sight Research
Award · Lloyd’s of London
Insurance Award · Northern Ireland Public
Sector Awards · Robertson Visiting
Professor in British History Award · Royal College of Surgeons
of England Award · University of South
Florida Postdoctoral Scholar Award Wolfson Research Merit Award 4
Nov 2014 Closing date: 4 November 2014 The Wolfson Research Merit Awards scheme provides universities with
additional funding (£10K-£30K p.a.) to attract to this country or,
retain here, scientists of outstanding achievement and potential. We would
particularly welcome applications from outstanding female researchers.
Award-holders must hold a permanent post at the university at the time of
starting the award and be wholly funded by the university. However, the post
does not need to have been confirmed at the time the nomination is
made. ·
Only researchers who are relocating to the UK are
eligible to apply for research expenses; and ·
The Vice Chancellor’s letter of support should
provide a reasoned case for the nomination (including details of the case for
retention or recruitment) and state why this nomination is a priority
issue. We still require the letter to indicate support for the
application and confirm that the university agrees to employ the applicant
after the end of the award, if successful. The statement should include the
organisation’s intention to continue remunerating the nominee with the same
salary enhancement as that awarded. Decisions will be made available in February 2015. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 12
Nov 2014 Closing date: 12 November 2014 The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is
now inviting applications to Grand Challenges
Explorations, which seeks
innovative global health and development solutions. Applicants can be at any
experience level; in any discipline. Two-page proposals are being accepted online on the following topics: ·
Surveillance
Tools, Diagnostics and an Artificial Diet to Support New Approaches to Vector
Control. ·
New Approaches for
Addressing Outdoor/Residual Malaria Transmission ·
New Ways to Reduce Pneumonia Fatalities through Timely,
Effective Treatment of Children ·
Enable Universal
Acceptance of Mobile Money Payments to Create an Economic Ecosystem that Will
Help Lift the Poorest Out of Poverty ·
Explore New Ways
to Measure Brain Development and Gestational Age ·
New Ways of Working
Together: Integrating Community-Based Interventions Initial grants will be US $100k each, and projects showing promise
will have the opportunity to receive additional funding of up to US $1
million. Featured
Research Outcomes
Did you know…papers featured in the newsletter also go on display in the
Kilburn Building (outside finance: 2.03)? Send your new publications to Robert
Stevens so that more
people get to know about your research. ·
Chengkun Wu, Jean-Marc Schwartz, Goran
Nenadic: "Molecular profiling of thyroid cancer subtypes using
large-scale text mining", Proc. of the 13th International Conference on
Bioinformatics (InCoB2014). This paper won a Best Paper
Award, and this is for the second consecutive year - the same authors
got the best paper award last year at the same conference! An extended
version of the paper will be published in the Systems Biology journal. ·
MLO PhD student Kostas Sechidis (supervised by Gavin
Brown) collected the prize for Best Student Paper
at the European Conference on Machine Learning. The paper introduces statistical hypothesis
testing methodology for positive-unlabelled data. This is highly applicable big data
scenarios, where only a relatively small number of objects can be labelled. Statistical Hypothesis
Testing in Positive Unlabeled Data. Konstantinos Sechidis, Borja Calvo and Gavin Brown. European
Conference on Machine Learning (ECML). France, Sept 2014. Have we missed something? If you have some award news that you would
like us to know about please contact Sarah Chatwin. |
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