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  • Department of CS newsletter

    Published: Wednesday, 07 April 2021

    Weekly newsletter for the Department of CS

    [ top ]News and announcements

    Alan Turing £50 note

    Several outlets, including the BBC, report that in June, Alan Turing will become the new face of the £50 note, first announced in 2019. To mark this, GCHQ have released 12 puzzles to celebrate the life of the codebreaker, who also led a team at the University to create Britain’s first programmable computer.

    NOTE added on 2021-04-12: It has been noted that the previous paragraph contains an error. While Alan Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer science, he did not lead the team at the University that created the first stored-program computer. Tom Kilburn and Freddie Williams were the leaders of that team. This error has been raised with the University Media Team and the national news media that originally made the error.

    gravatar Sarah Chatwin

    Summer Graduation Ceremonies

    Ceremonies scheduled for this July will not take place in person. Please see this Staffnet article for further information.

     

    gravatar Karon Mee

    [ top ]Wellbeing

    Wellbeing Wiki

    Highlight of the Week

    Do you enjoy singing? Who cares whether you 'can sing'? It just lifts our mood. https://www.thesofasingers.com/

    Wellbeing Wiki site: Wellbeing - School of CS Staff Wiki (manchester.ac.uk)

    gravatar Karon Mee

    [ top ]PGR News

    Sci-Hub

    There is increasing concern about the use of Sci-Hub by PGRs as a way of accessing scientific literature. The university is worried about cybersecurity issues associated with Sci-Hub and will be acting to block the site via its network.

    If they have problems accessing literature through more official routes you should inform your supervisors immediately who will be very happy to help and provide resources as necessary.

    gravatar Simon Harper

    Laptops for PGRs

    The special process using an online survey we have been operating since last September’s cohort to request laptops for new PGR students is now CLOSED.  We had originally intended to run the scheme up to Christmas, but as it was so successful it was extended for the January cohort, including those who have arrived late.

    This coincides with the launch by IT Services within the past few weeks of a revised process for supplying laptops to both staff and PGR students.  For PGRs, the new process is described here,

    The second point above is a new development for IT Services; previously, whether a new PGR required a standard specification laptop (14” or 13” Windows 10 Laptop on the form) or a more powerful advanced spec (14” Professional Ultrabook) the cost was fully met by IT.  Now IT will fund only the cost of the standard spec, and the additional cost of an advanced model (at present £85) needs to be funded locally. This will now come from the Department and the Supervisor will contact the Head of the Department to arrange this extra.

    We are currently awaiting instructions related to desktop machines.

    gravatar Simon Harper

    Discord Server for PGRs and Staff

    The department has an unofficial Discord server run by PhDs and postdocs, and open to all staff. For those who don't know, Discord is an instant messaging and voice/video chat service with a focus on creating and developing communities.
     
    So far, the department Discord has been a great place for people to come together socially, play games and ask/answer work-related questions. It's a community that we're keen to keep growing and we are always welcoming to new people, so please consider joining. The invite link is:  https://discord.gg/ArVYxfWGpY
    gravatar Simon Harper

    [ top ]Research News

    Figshare - research data repository

    Overview:
    Figshare is for publishing data/supporting research files and work, usually following the completion of the project. This supports the concept of Open Data, but also has functionality to publish data with restricted access, so it can also act as storage for data following project completion.
    N.B. it is separate to DMPonline (the tool used for planning data management for research projects).

    More details:
    Figshare, chosen as The University of Manchester’s supported research data repository, offers private and collaborative storage and flexible publishing options for research data and resources at every stage of a project. It is an easy to use cloud-based platform, accessible using your University credentials to login.
    To get started, please click on this link and create your Figshare profile. For further information about how to use Figshare you can browse the site user guides or contact us for more information.
    Figshare can securely store and organise your research data and publish selected datasets that support your research, making these discoverable and citable. Figshare allows you to store your outputs in any file format, provides a citable DOI for public outputs and adheres to funder compliance (many funders mandate that projects they fund must publish supporting data). It can also help to make your data outputs Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) and reflects the University’s support of Open Research.

    Linked to your researcher profile
    Functionality is being developed this year so that datasets made public by University of Manchester researchers in Figshare will automatically have a record created in Pure. This will be added to researchers’ profiles to enhance data discoverability. Datasets will then be displayed alongside other outputs in Research Explorer. Figshare integration will also include external platforms such as GitHub and ORCID. This forms part of the University’s commitment to improving integration of research tools, and making them easier to use.

    Demonstrate the impact of your open research with Figshare
    Figshare is a good option for researchers without an external or disciplinary data repository of choice as it is fully supported by The University of Manchester and training and advice on use will be available. It helps researchers to generate research impact with rich visual showcases of their data. Built in reporting tools make it easy to track citation, reuse of and engagement with datasets for researchers, including Altmetrics.

    Invitation to researchers
    The Library RDM team would like to involve researchers from across the University with the implementation of Figshare and to help us develop this powerful new platform to ensure your needs are reflected.
    If you would like to be involved, or if you just want to know more about Figshare, please contact the Library RDM team at researchdata@manchester.ac.uk.
    You can also find out more about sharing your research data via www.manchester.ac.uk/researchdata and the latest newsletter is here: The April RLP newsletter 

    gravatar Sarah Chatwin

    EPSRC award

    Congratulations to Christoforos Moutafis (PI), Tom Thomson and Vasilis Pavlidis for their recently awarded EPSRC 3-year grant 'Skyrmionics for Neuromorphic Technologies' (£704k).

    This project seeks to build next-generation artificial synapses. In particular, we will explore the potential of non-volatile artificial synapses, based on nanoscale magnets, for energy-efficient brain-inspired operations (neuromorphic computing). There is a recognised need for ultra-low power and always-on sensory data processing and neuromorphic hardware is one of the most promising routes for AI applications. We propose to demonstrate that nanoscale skyrmionics synapses (that use nanoscale whirling vortex-like magnetic states called skyrmions as information carriers) are ideal for energy-efficient smart edge-computing devices.

    gravatar Sarah Chatwin

    Market Monitor

    In a collaboration with d-wise (Life Science Solutions & Technology Consulting) Uli Sattler and Colin Puleston are building MarketMonitor, an internal software solution - Market Monitor - to break down knowledge silos. Colin is seconded to d-wise as part of an EPSRC IAA award.

    See the blog: 
    https://www.d-wise.com/blog/market-monitor-a-graph-database-solution-for-a-comprehensive-view-of-the-sce-landscape

    gravatar Sarah Chatwin

    [ top ]BAME News

    Interfaith Panel discussion

    The event will take place online Thursday 8th April at 6pm, and the registration link is https://isoc.link/interfaith

    gravatar Karon Mee

    [ top ]Research Funding Opportunities

    The UoM Christabel Pankhurst Institute Newsletter

    The Christabel Pankhurst Institute Newsletter has lots of good opportunities for those interested in Health Technology Research and Innovation, including:

    • UKRI-BBSRC virtual community building meeting for AI in the biosciences: 19-May-2021. Registration required.
    • Wellcome: Innovator Awards including 'devices' and 'digital technologies': Deadline 24-May-21
    • The Digital Health Software team weekly reading and research group
    • Advances in Data Science Seminars
    • The Deep Dementia Phenotyping (DEMON) Network for those interested in data science, AI and/or dementia
    gravatar Sarah Chatwin

    gravatar Karon Mee
Generated: Friday, 29 March 2024 09:11:27
Last change: Wednesday, 07 April 2021 11:02:13