News from Head of
School
Sabbatical Leave
The Leave of Absence Committee met last week, and
was very disappointed by how few applications for sabbatical leave it
received. Perhaps the explanation is that everyone loves the School
so much that they cannot bear to leave, but it is important to the future
health and vitality of the School that we broaden our horizons and take
time out to learn new things. Sabbatical leave should not be thought
of as exceptional, but rather something that all academic staff will
undertake on a regular basis. Remember that sabbaticals allow you to
spend time in academia or industry. We encourage working abroad, so
as to improve the international profile of both the individual and the
School, but you can remain based in Manchester if that is appropriate for
either personal or academic reasons. All we ask is that you plan to
spend time in a new environment, which will be of long-term benefit to
your research. Please give urgent consideration to this – given the
low uptake, we are keeping the door open for further applications this
year. It would be sensible to think about this as part of your RAE
action plan.
IBM Lecture
Irving Wladawsky-Berger, IBM Vice President,
Technical Strategy and Innovation will be presenting a lecture at the
University
of Manchester on
21st March 2006, entitled “Enabling a Business Process
Revolution”. The School is taking a leading role in the organisation of
the event, in association with MBS and Informatics.
Once again this is a big deal for the
University, coming as it does hard on the heels of the IBM-UoM strategic
partnership agreement, and it is hoped the lecture will attract 300 to 400
people. It will be followed by a dinner and discussion, which will
be run on the lines of the BCS Thought Leadership Debates, and will
involve many of the University’s industrial partners.
New Computer Science CD-ROM
The External Affairs team has been working hard
over the past few months to produce a CD-ROM to promote the School,
particularly to prospective students. I and others who have seen the
final cut, have been extremely impressed with the end result.
The CD-ROM will be going into production
this week and will
be handed out to applicants at Visit Days. We will also send a copy to
students who have already visited, giving us the opportunity to contact
them again. For anyone in the School who is
interested, we will arrange for copies to be
available in the External Affairs office as soon as possible.
Congratulations to Bernard and all those involved in producing what
promises to be a very positive way of getting our message
across.
Annual Call for Equipment Requests
As usual at this time of year, we are inviting
requests for equipment to support teaching, research or
administration. Requests for teaching equipment should be forwarded
to the UG or PG Committee as appropriate, who will send prioritised
requests to Aidan Loyns. Other requests should be sent directly to
Aidan and all requests should reach him by 13th April.
The Computer Services Policy Committee will meet to determine which
requests can be satisfied.
Evolutionary Multiobjective Problem-Solving
New
Mon 6 Feb 06
Dr Joshua Knowles, School of Chemistry / MIB,
University
of Manchester.
In this talk, I will set out
the bases of multiobjective optimization and review how MOEAs work. Then,
using examples from my own research, I will indicate how and why multiple
objectives underlie many problems, and explain the benefits of leaving
these objectives as separate entities. Along the way, I will touch on some
of the challenges in MOEA theory and practice.
1600-1700, Atlas 1
Parallel Querying with Non-Dedicated Computers
New
Wed 8 Feb 06
Professor
Norman Paton, School of Computer Science, University of
Manchester
1415-1515, Lecture Theatre 1.5,
Kilburn
Building
More
Information
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.
Internal Meetings and
Events
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The Changing Face of the Campus: Open Meeting
New
8 Feb
2006
Whether you regarded the
18-storey Maths Tower as an iconic landmark or an eyesore, there
is no question that its demolition in 2005 to make way for the
state-of-the-art SCAN Building has altered the familiar
skyline of the University. At the next Open Meeting for staff on
Wednesday 8 February
2006, Diana Hampson, Director of Estates, will talk about the
major construction projects that the University is undertaking in order to
create a world-class environment for research and learning and how they
will impact on our physical surroundings and working lives. After
her presentation, Diana will answer questions from the audience about the
Estates Plan and related matters. All members of staff are
welcome.
1300, Kilburn
1.1
A
Workshop on Student Retention New
9 February 2006
How can we enhance our students' first-year
experience? – introducing the Student Retention Audit Tool. You are
invited to join Simon Steiner, Academic Advisor at the Engineering Subject
Centre, who is facilitating a workshop on student retention for the
Univerity’s engineering staff. The workshop will have been preceeded by a
presentation over an informal lunch, where you will have opportunity to
hear of the work of the Centre, and how it may support you in your
teaching and learning. The Workshop will focus on the subject of
student retention and the issues of how to enhance the students'
first-year experience. Those participating in the workshop will be
introduced to an audit tool that provides the opportunity to reflect,
through discussion groups, upon what happens now in a diverse selection of
aspects of the learning and teaching provision for first years. The
workshop will specifically focus on two issues - student attendance and
assessment. The full audit tool will be available for subsequent
use.
12.00-14.00 CEU Suite, 4th Floor, Simon
Building
Please email eps-tsu@manchester.ac.uk 2 days
in advance (to book free lunch).
More
information on events programme
Enabling a Business Process Revolution
New
21 Mar 06
Irving Wladawsky-Berger, IBM Vice President,
Technical Strategy and Innovation
Evening – time and venue to be
announced
BBSRC Open Meeting
2006
20 Feb 06
At BBSRC's second Open Meeting, facilitated by Nick
Ross, Julia Goodfellow will invite discussion on the
Council’s current and future scientific priorities, and views on how best
it can work with industry. Questions will also be welcomed on any aspect
of BBSRC’s policies, either raised on the day, or submitted in advance to
maggie.leggett@bbsrc.ac.uk.
Entrance free but tickets required.
1600-1830, Manchester
Town
Hall, tickets from
diane.sly@bbsrc.ac.uk.
More
Information
EPSRC Public Engagement
Workshops
8 Feb & 9 Mar 06
Introducing PE to ‘virgins’ and passing on best
practice. Space limited.
More information and
registration.
Genomes to Systems
Conference
22-24 Mar 06
An important conference concerning the
latest concepts and breakthroughs in genomics and systems biology.
Discounted registration before 31 Dec 05.
More
Information
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.
Funding
Opportunities
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Royal Society USA/Canada Research Fellowships
New
8 Feb 06
The Royal Society USA/Canada Research Fellowships
programme is designed to promote scientific collaboration between centres
of excellence in the UK
and North America. The aim is to
encourage outstanding North American postdoctoral scientists to undertake
high quality research in UK laboratories for a period of
one to three years.
More
Information
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 Commission Research
Fellowships
23 Feb 06
The scheme of 1851 Research Fellowships is
intended to give a few young scientists or engineers of exceptional
promise the opportunity for conducting research for a further period of
two years. Approximately six awards are made each year. Candidates in
science subjects must normally be in possession of a PhD degree, or in the
final stages of their PhD studies. The Fellowships are open to
candidates in any of the physical or biological sciences, in mathematics,
in applied science, or in any branch of engineering.
More
Information
Royal
Society Conference Grants New
01 Mar 06
The Conference grants scheme supports UK based scientists to either
present their own paper/poster or chair a session at an overseas
conference.
Subjects covered:Conferences related to all sciences, ie
the disciplines in which the Society will elect researchers to the
Fellowship of the Royal Society (for further details see the sectional
committee information on RS website).
More
Information
Fellowships at the Life Sciences/Physical Sciences
Interface New 3 Mar 06
In recognition of the importance of
cross-disciplinary approaches across the Life Sciences, our Faculty has
established 3 new (5 year) fellowships at the Life Sciences/Physical
Sciences Interface. We wish to appoint exceptional researchers with a
proven background in mathematics, computer science, chemistry, physics, or
engineering, who have successfully applied these skills to address a
biological problem. Each fellowship will cover the salary of the fellow
for 5 years, and will allow them to attract external funding during the
tenure of the fellowship to establish their independent
laboratory.
More
Information
Royal Society Research
Grants
4 April 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
Royal
Society Wolfson Research Merit Awards New
27 April 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
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
Royal Academy of Engineering Global
Research Awards
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.
UK National Science Week 2006 –
Nominations
17 Feb 06
Young researchers in science, engineering and
technology (SET) are invited to participate in the annual presentations in
the House of Commons that have been a feature of National Science Week
since 1999. Successful applicants present posters at Westminster on
"leading-edge" science, engineering, medicine and technology research, and
compete for prestigious national awards and prizes. This year’s
event is sponsored by Dr Brian Iddon MP. This is an opportunity to
strengthen your CV, whilst helping to communicate the importance and
excellence of UK SET to MPs and ministers. The event will take place
in the House of Commons on 13th March 2006 with separate lunchtime
and evening presentations.
More
Information
René
Descartes Prizes
2006
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
None this week
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.
Academic Staff
None
Research Staff
None
Administrative Staff
None |