Professor John McNamara awarded Weldon Memorial Prize
John McNamara, Professor of Mathematics and Biology, has been awarded the 2014 Weldon Memorial Prize.
News in 2013
SPHERE health monitoring project launches
An innovative new health project which could help save lives by detecting and preventing medical conditions in the home was officially launched last week at the University of Bristol.
Science and engineering impact accelerates with six more EPSRC awards
The University’s EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) has made six new awards since October 2013, comprising two Knowledge Transfer Secondments, two Proof of Principle, one Proof of Concept and one Public Engagement award.
Bristol students spread Christmas cheer to local children
Festive celebrations burst into full swing on Saturday 14 December when over 65 local children attended an annual Christmas party organised by volunteers from the University of Bristol Students’ Union (UBU).
Accelerating world-class natural science research
Awards totalling £60,000 have been made in the Schools of Geographical and Earth Sciences to accelerate the impact of research. These grants were funded through the University’s NERC-funded Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).
Volcano and environment specialists beat hot competition as science meets the X Factor
University of Bristol PhD students James Hickey and Sarah Tesh have claimed victory in an X Factor style science competition.
Civil engineering students win Institution of Structural Engineers poster prize
Christopher Kennedy and Tom Webster in the Department of Civil Engineering are joint winners of the Institution of Structural Engineers Undergraduate Grant Scheme poster competition for 2012/13.
Professor Steeds receives Gjønnes Medal
Professor John Steeds in the School of Physics has been selected, together with Professor Michiyoshi Tanaka at Tohoku University in Japan, to receive the 2014 Gjønnes Medal.
The University of Bristol announces Professor Guy Orpen as Deputy Vice-Chancellor
The University of Bristol today announced that Professor Guy Orpen has been appointed to the role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University. Professor Orpen will take up the role following Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor David Clarke’s retirement at the end of July 2014.
Bristol shares in £10 million BBSRC funding for advanced scientific equipment
The University has won a £970,000 share of a £10 million grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) for advanced scientific research instruments designed to help keep the UK at the forefront of biological sciences research.
Bristol undergraduate among the UK’s 'best and brightest'
Joe Webber, an engineering design student in the Department of Engineering Mathematics, has won a special award at the TARGETjobs National Student Challenge for the UK’s best and brightest university students.
Common misconceptions by cat owners lead to high numbers of unwanted kittens
Overpopulation in cats is recognised to contribute to high numbers of cats entering rescue shelters each year. New research suggests that the high number of unwanted kittens may be due to common misconceptions held by cat owners.
Researcher named as a Business Leader of Tomorrow
Dr Orla Kelly, a Design Engineer at East Sussex-based company Photek, has won a prestigious award at this year's Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Awards for her work designing novel ion optics for velocity map imaging (VMI) spectrometers used in physical chemistry and laser physics experiments.
Brain Box Challenge helps over 1,000 primary pupils to get to grips with their brains
Over 1,000 Primary school children across the West Country now have their heads around brain science thanks to a novel outreach programme led by academics at the University of Bristol.
Beauty and the lab: scientists reveal the art of science
From a heart-shaped cell nucleus to a 3D molecular syringe, creative scientists at the University of Bristol have revealed the beauty found in complex and technical research.
Life-size model of the Bristol Dinosaur unveiled
A full-size replica of Bristol's very own dinosaur Thecodontosaurus was unveiled at the University of Bristol's Wills Memorial Building today [Friday 13 December] where it will go on permanent display to the public.
Great George tolls to celebrate life of Mandela
Great George, the University of Bristol’s famous bell, will ring out across the city this Sunday to mark the life and death of Nelson Mandela, the first black President of South Africa.
New supercomputer puts Bristol at the forefront of research
One of the fastest and most advanced supercomputing facilities in the UK, capable of over 200 trillion calculations per second, is helping to revolutionise research at the University of Bristol.
Lack of monitoring impairs bat conservation research
Millions of pounds are being spent to protect bats from disturbance by building development and renovations, however a lack of follow-up monitoring makes it difficult to tell whether conservation efforts are effective.
AHRC funds research into Thatcher’s pension reforms
The Arts and Humanities Research Council will fund a £700,000 project at the University of Bristol that will research a key moment in the historical development of Britain’s system of providing retirement income and in the development of its twenty-first century pensions crisis: the pension reforms pushed through by the Thatcher governments in the 1980s.
Prestigious prizes for Bristol civil engineers
Bristol Engineering graduate, Joe Smith, has been named New Civil Engineer Graduate of the Year 2013, and another Bristol engineer, Tom Bartley, is a runner-up.
Early-stage funding awarded in New Enterprise Competition 2014
Grants have been awarded to 13 new business ideas entered by students, staff and alumni at Bristol in Round One of the University’s 2014 New Enterprise Competition.
‘Invisible’ homeless women are not accessing the services they need
Homeless women are not accessing the support of social services that they need to progress due to a lack of service coordination and the complex needs of the service users, a recent project has found.
New swine influenza project to better understand virus transmission and develop new control strategies
The Pirbright Institute in Surrey has been awarded £4.4 million to work with researchers from the universities of Bristol, Cambridge and Oxford as well as the AHVLA (Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, TGAC (The Genome Analysis Centre) and Industry partners Merial, on a long-term study on the transmission of swine influenza.
No need to feel left out if there’s a robot about
Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) is joining other leading research institutions in a new project looking at how remotely operated robots could enable people to take part in public spaces – without actually being there.
Book highlights ‘severe injustice’ within UK’s education system
Britain’s education system is ‘doubly divided’ and needs to be addressed to give all young people the same opportunities, a new book published by a University of Bristol academic has found.
Researcher swaps books for bike to raise awareness of marine conservation
University of Bristol researcher Dr Elena Couce will cycle around one of the most diverse areas of our oceans on a 14 month mission to raise awareness of climate change and marine conservation.
Confidential Inquiry into premature deaths of people with learning disabilities: response to paper published in The Lancet
The Confidential Inquiry into premature deaths of people with learning disabilities, conducted by researchers at the University of Bristol’s Norah Fry Research Centre, highlighted the unacceptable situation in which up to a third of the deaths of people with learning disabilities were from causes of death amenable to good quality healthcare.
Engineering student wins Ian Marshall’s Award
Rainer Groh, a PhD student in the Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Composites for Innovation and Science (ACCIS CDT), has been awarded the Ian Marshall’s Award for Best Student Paper at the 17th International Conference on Composite Structures (ICCS17).
Blood pressure drug could double up as first treatment for common form of dementia
Alzheimer’s Society and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) have announced the beginning of a major new £2.25 million clinical trial to test whether a widely prescribed blood pressure drug could double up as a first treatment for a common form of dementia.
SETsquared Bristol wins industry award for Engine Shed
The University of Bristol’s business incubator has been awarded the Business Incubator Design award for the newly opened Engine Shed by industry body UK Business Incubation (UKBI).
Dr Matthew Avison looks at food adulteration in BBC Four’s Hidden Killers: The Victorian Home
The domestic horrors of home life in the 19th century are revealed in BBC Four’s new series Hidden Killers, which features a University of Bristol academic.
Hidden wildlife uncovered in the heart of Bristol
Ever considered bird watching in the centre of Bristol? Or wondered which animals make their home in the city? A final year University of Bristol student has created a short film which shows the types of wildlife that can be found in British cities.
Historic library undergoes £3.1 million revamp
A historic library at the heart of the University of Bristol has been brought into the 21st Century thanks to a £3.1 million refurbishment, which has been unveiled by the UK’s most senior female judge.
Scientists simulate the climate of Tolkien’s Middle Earth
Ever wondered what the weather and climate was like in Middle Earth, the land of hobbits, dwarves, elves and orcs, from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings? Climate scientists from the University of Bristol, UK have used a climate model, similar to those used in the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, to simulate and investigate the climate of Middle Earth.
New ‘peer review’ model would improve quality and veracity of scientific research
The effectiveness of ‘peer review’ — the system whereby scientists critique each other’s research to determine whether or not it should be published — is investigated in new findings published in Nature.
Professor Dave Cliff presents BBC Four programme about the world of logic
Professor Dave Cliff from the University’s Department of Computer Science will present a programme on BBC Four about the world of logic. The programme airs tonight, Tuesday 3 December on BBC Four at 9 pm.
Students design and race virtual land speed record cars
200 secondary school pupils found out last week [Wednesday 27 November] if their team had designed the fastest virtual land speed racer.
On track for growth and innovation: Brunel’s Engine Shed opens for business
Brunel’s original train station, once Bristol’s gateway to the world, has opened its doors once again – as the city’s new enterprise hub to drive inward investment, create jobs and encourage a new generation of high growth businesses. The Engine Shed, a Grade I listed building built by the famous engineer in 1841, has had a £1.7 million transformation thanks to a partnership between Bristol City Council, the University of Bristol and the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
Lecture of a lifetime
Chrissie Wellington, MBE, four-time Ironman triathlon World Champion and world record holder, spoke to a rapt audience in the Wills Memorial Building last week about her involvement in sport, her ‘life without limits’, and achieving things we never thought possible.