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ISSUE NINE FEBRUARY 2015
IN THIS ISSUE
Dean of The Graduate
School appointed
Meet Professor Margaret Topping, the new Dean
of The Graduate School.
Full Story on page 06
03
07
12
REF 2014
Queen’s is now a UK top ten researchintensive university
NI SCIENCE FESTIVAL
The positive impact of our work celebrated at
inaugural Festival
ROYAL HONOURS FOR STAFF
Three members of staff named in New
Year Honours
02 – 15
WELCOME TO THE FEBRUARY
EDITION OF QUEEN’S NOW
This month’s edition takes a closer look at
the University’s REF results and features
some of our world-leading research
and the researchers behind it.
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – 15
Queen’s Now is a Queen’s University
publication, compiled and published
by the Communications and External
Affairs Office.
The Editor
Claire Patterson
Communications and
External Affairs Office,
Lanyon South,
Queen’s University,
Belfast, BT7 1NN
T: 028 9097 5355
E: [email protected]
02
Professor
Patrick Johnston
President and Vice-Chancellor
Welcome to the first edition of Queen’s
Now for 2015 and what a start to the
New Year it has been.
We have just announced our partnership
with Dubai Healthcare City to jointly develop
a new University of Medicine and Health
Sciences. It’s an exciting and important
project and one that will allow us to make
a major contribution in addressing the
healthcare needs of Dubai and the rest of the
Middle East.
If you have any comments you
would like to make about Queen’s
Now, please send them to
[email protected]
WELCOME
The announcement came just weeks after
we received our fantastic REF results which
placed us 8th in the UK for research intensity.
Our REF performance has underlined the
breadth and depth of the research taking
place at Queen’s and there are so many
world-leading examples from across the
University. One of our many success stories,
ECIT, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary,
marking a decade of research and innovation.
Among ECIT’s most outstanding researchers
is Professor Máire O’Neill, one of Europe’s
leading digital security experts. She’s
among five names nominated for the Semta
Engineering Hall of Fame which celebrates
the most inspiring and innovative British
engineers. The results will be announced at
the end of February and we wish Máire every
success.
The start of 2015 also brought the news
that additional funds have been made
available to the Department for Employment
and Learning. While it remains to be seen
what the final settlement will be for higher
education, our objective is to close the
significant funding gap between ourselves
and the rest of the UK universities.
We have also reached an exciting milestone
in the implementation of Vision 2020. In
this edition of Queen’s Now you’ll hear
from Professor Margaret Topping who has
been appointed as the new Dean of the
Graduate School. I would like to congratulate
Margaret on her appointment, which is
another step forward in the creation of an
inspiring and rewarding postgraduate and
postdoctoral culture across the University.
More appointments are set to follow with
the beginning of the recruitment process
for the three Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellors in
February.
So, it’s been a busy and exciting start to 2015
and there is more to come. Later this month,
Queen’s will be taking part in the inaugural
Northern Ireland Science Festival which runs
from 19 February until 1 March.
This is going to be a fantastic event, taking
place throughout Northern Ireland, and we’re
providing many of the highlights.
A festival like this opens doors, opens minds
and opens up opportunities. That’s what we
do here at Queen’s every day. I hope you
enjoy it.
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – I5
REF 2014
Queen’s is a UK top ten research-intensive university. Our position was confirmed with the
publication of the eagerly-awaited REF Results in December 2014. Here are our REF highlights:
03
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – 15
REF 2014
Making an impact
Our performance in REF 2014 has underlined the breadth and depth of research excellence at Queen’s.
Here are just three examples:
Things you
need to know
about REF
REF stands for ‘Research Excellence Framework’.
It is a peer review process that assesses the
quality and impact of UK higher education
institutions’ research.
Professor Keith Jeffery
Professor Carmel Hughes
Professor Roy Douglas
Keith was the historian chosen to
write the Official History of MI6.
From 2005 he was seconded to
the Cabinet Office and his book,
MI6: The History of the Secret
Intelligence Service, 1909–1949, has
been hailed as a triumph.
Carmel’s research has led to major
changes in how medicines are
prescribed in nursing homes in
Northern Ireland.
Roy’s expertise in engine research
and development has led to huge
success for the Ballymena company,
Wrightbus.
Carmel’s research focuses on the use
of medicines in older people, and
she has a particular interest in the
quality of care provided in nursing
and residential homes. One study,
known as the Fleetwood Project,
demonstrated how pharmacists,
working with general practitioners,
could improve the prescribing
of medicines for nursing home
residents. This has led to a new
service, based on the research,
being commissioned by the Health
and Social Care Board for all nursing
homes in Northern Ireland.
A collaboration between Roy and
Wrightbus drove the development
of the advanced eco-friendly hybrid
diesel-electric bus and won the
company the ‘New Bus For London’
contract worth £230m, replacing the
traditional Routemaster.
History and Anthropology
More recently Keith has returned
to work on the First World War
and has just delivered the text of
A Global History of 1916, which
explores the wider context of what
was in many ways the most crucial
year of the war. As well as pursuing
the academic study of the period,
Keith is speaking to local audiences,
helping community group projects,
consulting with museums and doing
media interviews.
Pharmacy
Mechanical and Aerospace
The “New Routemaster” bus
has brought global recognition
for innovation and enterprise to
Wrightbus and Queen’s, and is a
continuing boost to the Northern
Ireland economy.
Find out more about Keith, Carmel and Roy on the REF 2014 site:
http://www.qub.ac.uk/home/ResearchandEnterprise/OurResearch/REF2014/
The quality of research is graded on a 5-point
scale, ranging from work recognised as worldleading in terms of originality, significance and
rigour (4*) to that which falls below national
standards (unclassified).
REF outcomes can be assessed in a number of
ways:
• Grade Point Average (GPA)
• Research Power
• Research Intensity
REF 2014 was undertaken by the four UK higher
education funding bodies.
The results from REF are also used to allocate
approximately £2 billion in research funding
across the UK.
04
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – I5
NEWS
05
Redevelopment of
Computer Science
gets underway
CAPTION: Rebecca and Rebekah pictured with the young stars of the film, Riley
Hamilton and Aaron Lynch.
Queen’s celebrates
BAFTA success
Queen’s alumni and students
are celebrating after their latest
movie won a BAFTA.
The film – Boogaloo and Graham
– which is set in 1970s Belfast, won
the British Short Film category at the
British Academy Awards. Directed
by Michael Lennox, it is about two
young boys who discover the facts
of life with the help of their pet
chickens.
The film’s producer, Brian J Falconer,
screenwriter Ronan Blaney and
actors Martin McCann and Jonathan
Harden are all Queen’s alumni,
while two third-year film studies
undergraduates in the School of
Creative Arts – Rebecca Kelly and
Rebekah Davis – worked on the film
as assistant producer and runner
respectively.
The film has also been nominated in
the Short Film (Live Action) category
at this year’s Academy Awards
which will take place on Sunday 22
February 2015. Northern Ireland
has enjoyed success in this category
in recent years. Belfast man Terry
George won an Oscar for his short
film The Shore in 2012 and received
an Honorary Degree from Queen’s
the following year.
Work has started on the major
redevelopment and expansion of
the computer science teaching
facilities at the Bernard Crossland
Building.
It follows the announcement by the
Employment and Learning Minister,
Dr Stephen Farry, that £7.49m in
funding has been allocated for the
project. The project will cost £14.98m
to complete, with DEL and Queen’s
contributing 50 per cent each.
Minister Farry said: “With the
number of Computer Science
students attending Queen’s
having almost doubled in the
past two years to 1,350, this
major investment in infrastructure
and teaching represents a major
boost for our economy and higher
education sector.”
The expansion of Computer
Science is an institutional priority
for the University and is closely
aligned with the priorities set
out in the Northern Ireland
Programme for Government and
the Department for Employment
and Learning’s Higher Education
and Skills Strategies.
The new state-of-the-art facility,
which will be available to students
for the start of the 2016-17
academic year, will contribute to
the vision of the ICT Industry in
Northern Ireland to be a world
class centre of ICT excellence.
For a preview of how the new
building will look, visit
www.qub.ac.uk/investinginthefuture
CAPTION: Minister for Employment
and Learning Dr Stephen Farry and
Vice-Chancellor Professor Patrick
Johnston
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – 15
REALISING
THE VISION
SPOTLIGHT
Professor Margaret Topping has been appointed
Dean of The Graduate School – marking an exciting
milestone in the implementation of Vision 2020. She
took up her new post on 1 February.
06
COVER
STORY
We meet Professor Topping to find out more about
her new role.
What will your new role entail?
A key part of my role will be to
develop a vibrant, university-wide
postgraduate culture at Queen’s, a
culture built on a unified strategy,
ethos, and brand which articulates
what it means to be a Queen’s
postgraduate intellectually, socially and
ethically. My goal is that this should be
a culture which complements, but also
transcends, disciplinary affiliations.
I’ll also be driving strategies to diversify
provision, modes of delivery, and
sources of funding for postgraduate
study in order to enhance Queen’s
reputation as a distinctive,
internationally-recognised, premium
provider of postgraduate research and
education opportunities.
Why is the creation of The Graduate
School an important part of Vision
2020?
The Graduate School is such an
exciting part of Vision 2020. It’s key to
increasing significantly the proportion
of postgraduates we have in the
University, but I see it also as creating
the conditions in which we can nurture
Queen’s postgraduates to have the
edge in a globally competitive market.
The Graduate School will be an
environment in which postgraduates
discover the new possibilities of
transdisciplinary perspectives, in which
they are encouraged to reflect critically
on what the university sector is for,
and in which they are trained as future
leaders and innovators.
My ambition is that it will become an
inclusive space for accessing peer and
pastoral support, for developing local/
global connections, allowing ideas to
develop organically, thinking outside
the box, discovering new affinities,
even having the odd eureka moment.
What are your future plans for The
Graduate School?
My broad strategy is centred on:
making Queen’s the global choice for
postgraduate education and research
on global challenges; creating a
postgraduate community built on
excellence, intellectual challenge and
inclusiveness that will transform lives
and inspire futures; and developing the
Queen’s postgraduate to be a future
leader.
Above all, my goal is to make the
Graduate School into a dynamic
intellectual hub which creates a
community based on challenge
between disciplines and between the
HEI and non-HEI sectors.
What are you most looking forward
to about your new role?
What excites me most about the role
is the opportunity to work across, and
to facilitate working across, all of the
disciplinary fields represented in the
University. I genuinely believe that we
have more to learn from one another
than current structures allow, so the
Graduate School will create a forum in
which those unexpected conversations
can take place and new research
perspectives can emerge.
Can you tell us something about
yourself that people might not
know?
I have a (now not-so-secret) ambition
to sing in a choir, but that would
require an awful lot of singing lessons
from a very skilled teacher!
The Graduate School will open
in the refurbished Lynn Library
building in Spring 2015.
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – I5
NEWS
QUEEN’S
UNIVERSITY
AT THE
NI SCIENCE
FESTIVAL
Do you want to discover what
real DNA looks like, be part of a
laptop orchestra or experience
what it’s like to be inside a video
game? Well, you can later this
month thanks to the NI Science
Festival.
A special ‘Celebrating Science at
Queen’s’ event will take place as
part of the Festival at Riddel Hall,
giving the public a taste
of the world-leading research
taking place at Queen’s and
demonstrating its impact.
Queen’s is a partner in the Festival
which runs from 19 February – 1
March. The 11-day extravaganza
will focus on the wonders of
science, technology, engineering
and mathematics with over 100
entertaining and informative
events for all ages taking place at
various venues, including Queen’s.
Find out what’s on at the Festival at
http://www.nisciencefestival.com/
Over the 11 days, Queen’s staff
will be engaging with the public
at various events, highlighting the
positive impact of their work and
getting them involved in hands-on
experiments, activities and even a
bit of comedy.
07
Community impact made by
students celebrated at Queen’s
A postgraduate student who has
made a positive impact on the
local community has clinched the
top prize at the annual Science
Shop Awards.
Geoff Newall, a postgraduate
biology student, who worked with
the Belfast Hills Partnership to
identify the range of solitary bees in
the Belfast Hills, was runner-up.
Alison Toogood, who is studying
childhood adversity in the School
of Psychology, won the Queen’s
Science Shop Award for her project
with Newry and Mourne Young
Carers Group to help young people
caring for their family members feel
more in control of their situation.
The Science Shop, which is a joint
initiative between Queen’s and
Ulster University, gives students the
opportunity to use the knowledge
they have gained during their
degrees to carry out a research
project for a community group.
Over the past 26 years, the Science
Shop has delivered over 2,500
projects and worked with nearly 700
community groups including sports
clubs, youth groups and recycling
centres.
CAPTION: Students Alison Toogood
and Geoff Newall receiving their awards
from Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Tony
Gallagher
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – I5
NEWS
Queen’s in partnership to
develop new university in
Middle East
Queen’s has announced a
partnership with Dubai Healthcare
City to develop a new university
in the Middle East.
Queen’s will assist in the
development of the Mohammed
Bin Rashid University of Medicine
and Health Sciences (MBR-UMHS)
and its College of Medicine,
including curriculum development,
recruitment and selection of
staff, and student selection and
admissions.
Dubai Healthcare City will work
closely with Queen’s to devise and
implement a strategy that addresses
the healthcare education, training
ECIT celebrates
10th anniversary
The University’s Institute of
Electronics, Communications and
Information Technology (ECIT)
has reached a major milestone –
a decade of remarkable growth
and sustained innovation.
A £40m flagship development in
the Northern Ireland Science Park,
it was established to commercialise
world class research in the areas
of electronics, communications
and information technology.
Set up in 2004 under the
leadership of Professor John
McCanny, ECIT is one of the
most successful research
programmes ever in Queen’s.
Ten years on, it now has over 175
staff, has created ten spin-out
companies, supported 25 spin-in
companies, attracted £60m in
funding and made a huge
Professor Sakir Sezer
Professor William Scanlon
Professor Máire O’Neill
Improving our online data
security and helping to reduce
cyber attack threats
Pioneering wearable
communication
Created the high-speed security
chip now used in more than
100m TV set-top boxes
economic impact on Northern
Ireland. ECIT’s research has also
made a considerable impact on
society.
Here are just a few examples of
its research projects and the
people behind them:
and research needs of Dubai and
other regional communities.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor
Patrick Johnston, and the Registrar
and Project Lead, James O’Kane,
were in Dubai along with Arlene
Foster, Minister of Enterprise,
Trade and Investment, to make the
announcement.
The College of Medicine is
expected to open for applications in
Autumn 2015 with the first cohort of
medical students to be welcomed in
September 2016.
08
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – I5
RESEARCH
Queen’s leads
pioneering
research into
cyber security
Researchers from two centres
of excellence at Queen’s have
teamed up for a major new
initiative to explore the knockon effects of cyber security
on society – legal, ethical and
cultural.
The Leverhulme Interdisciplinary
Network on Cybersecurity and
Society (LINCS) will bring together
researchers from the Centre for
Secure Information Technologies
(CSIT) and the Institute for the
Study of Conflict Transformation
and Social Justice (ISCTSJ).
A grant of over £1 million from the
Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships
scheme, matched by funding
from Queen’s, will provide 30
doctoral students with three-year
scholarships for LINCS, over the
next eight years.
The first cohort of researchers will
look at ten different areas of study;
for example, how increasingly
stringent border controls and
information-sharing between
different jurisdictions may impact
on people’s mobility.
Other areas of focus will include
the use of surveillance such as
drones and how it affects an
individual’s right to privacy and the
trust and authentication threats
posed by the ‘internet of things’.
CSIT, which is housed within
ECIT, is the UK’s Innovation and
Knowledge Centre for secure
information technologies. The work
of CSIT and ISCTSJ is multi awardwinning and was instrumental in
Queen’s being placed in the top
ten in the UK for research intensity
in REF 2014.
The first cohort of LINCS
researchers will begin work in
September.
CAPTION: Director of ISCTSJ,
Professor Hastings Donnan FBA
09
Astrophysics hosts
international School
for research students
Graduate students from the UK,
Ireland, Mexico and Japan were at
Queen’s recently to attend a Winter
School hosted by the Astrophysics
Research Centre (ARC) in the
School of Mathematics and Physics.
The School was run by Professor Gary
Ferland, a world-leading authority on
astrophysical plasma modelling and
creator of the Cloudy code. Professor
Ferland is a faculty staff member
at the University of Kentucky, but is
working in ARC for a one-year period
funded by a prestigious Leverhulme
Trust Visiting Professorship.
The major purpose of the Fellowship
is to undertake a research project in
collaboration with Professor Francis
Keenan, a member of ARC and also
Head of the School of Mathematics
and Physics. The Fellowship also
provides the holder with the
opportunity to undertake some
research-led teaching. Professor
Ferland runs an annual Summer
School in Kentucky on the Cloudy
code, and used his presence at
Queen’s to run the School here in
Summer 2014 - the first time it had
been held outside the USA.
This was so successful it was decided
to run it again in January 2015.
RCH
RESEA
FACT
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Januar d 44
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’s rece
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8.2m.
over £
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – 15
STAFF WELLBEING
10
Staff Mediation Service
In this regular feature, we take
a look at some of the Staff
Wellbeing initiatives taking place
in the University. This month
the focus is the Staff Mediation
Service.
An Internal Staff Mediation Service
has been introduced within
Queen’s to provide an informal way
of quickly and effectively resolving
conflict within the workplace
and to further embed a positive
organisational culture.
What is mediation?
Mediation offers participants a
safe and confidential process
to communicate openly and to
explore issues and concerns. It
seeks to problem solve with the aim
of rebuilding damaged workplace
relationships.
It is a joint and collaborative
process where communication is
encouraged and the negativity
associated with the issue is directed
in a positive way to come up with a
solution and agreement that suits
both parties.
The mediators are there to facilitate
the process of engagement
between the two parties - they will
not provide the solution.
Who are the mediators?
The mediators are Queen’s
employees drawn from across
the University with representation
from the main staff categories.
The mediators have completed an
accredited training course which
has equipped them with mediation
skills and strategies they need
to successfully mediate in the
workplace.
How do I access the scheme?
To request mediation, email
[email protected] including
your name and contact details.
Is the process confidential?
Every individual involved will keep
information about the mediation
confidential and not disclose it to
any other party or third party, nor
use it for any other purpose other
than the mediation.
Full details on the service and how
to access it are available in the
Internal Staff Mediation Guidelines.
www.qub.ac.uk/wellbeing
Staff take on the
£ for lb challenge
106 members of staff are currently
taking part in the Business in the
Community £ for Ib 12 Week
Challenge.
Queen’s is one of 30 organisations
across Northern Ireland to sign up
to the Challenge which encourages
participants to lose between 12-24 lbs
in 12 weeks.
At the same time as losing weight,
staff are donating £1 for each lb lost
to the University’s chosen local charity,
Cancer Focus.
Queen’s staff are being supported
by six Staff Champions who have
volunteered to co-ordinate and
deliver the challenge.
We’ll keep you updated on their
progress over the coming weeks.
CAPTIONS: Some of the Staff Champions:
Barbara Lynagh (Education), Eoin Treanor
(Cancer Focus), Buffie Higgins (Purchasing),
Margaret Howell (Law), Clare Carson
(Personnel) and Joan Grieve (Research and
Enterprise)
If you have any ideas for new events
/ themes that you like included in
the Staff Wellbeing schedule, email
[email protected]
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – 15
Green at
Queen s
In this regular feature, find out about some of the environmental
activity taking place around the campus and meet some of the
people making it happen.
ENVIRONMENTAL
11
Pledge
for Nature
Dates for
your Diary
Queen’s is one of 11 organisations
to sign up to the RSPB Northern
Ireland’s Pledge for Nature
to protect and enhance urban
biodiversity. Over the coming
months, the University will work
with RSPB to implement naturefriendly measures across the
campus.
It’s going to be a busy couple of
months for environmental activity
across campus. Here are some dates
for your diary:
Staff have already shown their
support for the pledge. As part of
a RSPB workshop, organised by the
Estates Directorate, staff made bird
feeders and hedgehog homes for
their own gardens.
Queen’s is committed to enhancing
biodiversity and we were recently
named by BBC’s Discover Wildlife
Magazine as one of the seven great
places to see wildlife in Belfast.
Travel to Work survey:
16 – 27 February
Fair Trade Fortnight:
23 February – 8 March
Climate Week:
2 – 6 March
Green Impact Workbook Deadline:
10 March
Green Impact Audit: 23 March
Find out more on
www.qub.ac.uk/carbon
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – I5
Lo’ Lo’ Lo’
winners
announced
Congratulations to the
School of Law and the Human
Resources Directorate who
are the winners of the Lo’
Lo’ Lo’ Christmas Switch Off
campaign.
The campaign saw Schools
and Directorates compete
against each other to see who
could reduce their electricity
consumption the most on
Christmas Day. HR managed
to reduce theirs by 96 per cent
with the School of Law saving
59 per cent.
LO’
LO’
LO’
The overall reduction for the
University was 27 per cent. If
this was maintained throughout
the year, it would result in a cost
saving of around £174k and an
environmental saving of 770
tonnes.
The winning areas both received
£250 to be spent on a staff
event.
CAPTION: Margaret Howell (L) from
the School of Law and Deborah
Morgan (R) from Personnel with
Environmental Manager Sara Lynch
ENVIRONMENTAL
12
Meet...
Zoe Hunter
Zoe is the Administrative Manager
and Environmental Co-ordinator
for the Centre for Infection and
Immunity. The Centre, which
carries out translational research
in infectious and inflammatory
diseases, is the latest team to sign
up to the Green Impact Scheme.
Why did your Centre get involved in
the Green Impact scheme?
We wanted to try and do our bit to
help the University reach its green
targets. We know that our Centre is an
energy intensive operation, so even
if we can make a small difference to
people’s behaviour, it will help reduce
our impact on our environment.
We have a few strong supporters
in the Centre, including respiratory
consultants who see the impact of
environmental factors on our health
in their clinics every day and would
Who is on your Green
Impact Team?
I am joined by Adrien Kissenpfennig
(Academic & deputy director, keen
cyclist), Bettina Schock (Academic),
Mervyn McCaigue (Chief Technician)
and Dawn Wylie (PA to Director).
What changes have your team
already made?
We have put up switch off signage and
have started a monthly environmental
newsletter. We are also supporting
the Centre for Biomedical Sciences
Education in their unwanted food
drive and encourage staff and students
to use environmental sustainable
travel.
What is the top environmental issue
for your School and what are the
challenges in addressing it?
Energy use, and getting people to
switch things off when they are not
using them. Our labs work 24/7,
so it can be difficult to know when
everyone has gone home, and some
bits of kit take a long time to switch
on, so tend to be left on.
What things do you do on a daily
basis to reduce your own carbon
footprint?
I’ve been a long time holder of a rail
travel pass, courtesy of the Queen’s
Travel to Work Loan, and have recently
received a new bicycle through the
Cycle+ scheme. My daughter is a
Queen’s student (Midwifery) and she
also joins me on the train to work.
encourage us all to cycle and walk,
and use the car less.
CAPTION: Zoe Hunter and Paul Crowe, a
technician in the Centre who cycles to work
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – 15
PEOPLE
New Year Honours for staff
It was a good start to the year for three members of staff who were named in the New Year Honours list.
Nominations invited
for Pro-Chancellor
Staff are being invited to submit
nominations for the position of
Pro-Chancellor.
Professor Ken Seddon
QUILL, and Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering
Professor Ken Seddon has been
awarded an OBE for services to
chemistry. Ken is the UK’s top
green chemist and is ranked in
the world’s top 50. He is CoDirector of Queen’s University
Ionic Liquid Laboratories (QUILL).
The Centre’s research on ionic
liquids, named the ‘Most Important
British Innovation of the 21st
Century’, is helping industry to
reduce chemical wastage and
environmental pollution.
Ken said: “It was a complete, but
pleasant, shock to receive this
honour from the Queen, and I
regard it as recognition of, and
an award to, the entire QUILL
team (past and present) for their
remarkable work.”
Dr Mary Flynn
Len Totton
Dr Mary Flynn, who is Head of
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
and Business Networks, has been
awarded an MBE for her services
to Higher Education in Northern
Ireland. Queen’s is number 1 in
the UK for its participation in KTPs
which enhance the profitability
of businesses as well as creating
graduate jobs, and have a major
impact on the NI economy.
Porter Len Totton, who recently
retired after 40 years at the
University, has been awarded the
British Empire Medal (BEM) for
services to Higher Education in
Northern Ireland.
Research and Enterprise
Mary said: “I am absolutely
delighted to have been appointed
an MBE and see it as an
endorsement of the great work
the KTP & Business Networks
team I lead at Queen’s does in
facilitating the engagement of local
companies with our researchers.”
Estates Directorate
Reintroduced in 2012, the
BEM rewards a sustained, local
contribution or innovative, highimpact work of a relatively short
duration. Len, who spent most of
his working life in the Mail Room,
retired from the University at the
end of December.
13
The University currently has two
Pro-Chancellors – Rotha Johnston
and Stephen Prenter. Rotha is due
to stand down as Pro-Chancellor
and Chair of Senate on 31
December 2015 and steps have
been initiated to appoint a third
Pro-Chancellor, with effect from 1
May 2015.
Nominations will be particularly
welcome in respect of individuals
of significant standing within
the local community, who have
strong leadership qualities, a
sound understanding of corporate
governance and a successful track
record, at a senior level, in the
private/public/third sector. An
interest in/knowledge of Higher
Education, within a local, national
and international context, is also
desirable.
Nominations should be submitted
to the Registrar’s Office by 4.00pm
on Friday 27 February 2015, using
the approved pro forma. Further
information is available here.
For further details, please contact
Clare Jamison in the Registrar’s
Office on 028 9097 2505.
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – 15
PEOPLE
14
Meet...
Suzie Leech
Suzie Leech is a Laboratory
Technician in the School of
Medicine, Dentistry and
Biomedical Sciences. She is a
participant in Queen’s Inclusive
Employment Scheme – a unique
placement programme for
people with a disability which is
supported by the Department for
Employment and Learning.
What does your job entail?
As a Laboratory Technician, I help
with research and laboratory work
related to Multiple Sclerosis.
What attracted you to apply for
the placement at Queen’s?
The reputation of Queen’s as a
centre of research excellence and
the opportunity to work with a
research group within the University.
What do you enjoy most about
your placement?
I enjoy working and interacting
with colleagues and students of our
research group. The atmosphere is
energetic and friendly.
What do you hope to get out of
the placement?
The opportunity to contribute
to original research on Multiple
Sclerosis, which will be submitted
and published in peer reviewed
papers. The placement will provide
me with recent experience of
working in the research environment
which will help me to secure future
jobs at Queen’s or elsewhere.
The placement has given me the
confidence to apply for jobs in
science in the future and has given
me further experience with research
techniques.
Staff meet
Party Leader
Members of staff recently met
the leader of the Labour Party,
Ed Miliband MP, at an event
hosted by the Northern Ireland
Chamber of Commerce and
Cooperation Ireland.
Dolores Vischer from Research and
Enterprise and Denise Falls and
Anne Clydesdale from the William
J Clinton Leadership Institute
attended the event at which Mr
Miliband addressed local business
leaders on the support they could
expect from a Labour Government,
should they gain power in the
forthcoming 2015 general
elections.
CAPTION:
Dolores Vischer (R) and Denise Falls
pictured with Ed Miliband MP
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – 15
Join The
Conversation
Over 40 members of academic staff
have now had articles published in The
Conversation. Here are some of the recent
publications:
Black flags and balaclavas: how jihadists
dress for imaginary war
Michael Semple, Visiting Research
Professor, Institute for the Study of Conflict
Transformation and Social Justice
Ched Evans: the legality and ethics of hiring
a convicted rapist
Professor Jack Law, School of Law
This article was republished by BBC News
website and The Guardian Online
Test-driving the brain could reveal early
signs of Alzheimer’s
Dr Brian Murphy, School of Electronics,
Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science
Domestic violence is now out in the open
but the figures show just how endemic it is
Anne Lazenbatt, NSPCC Reader in
Childhood Studies, and John Devaney,
School of Sociology, Social Work and Social
Policy
Arts in Northern Ireland may not survive the
latest round of cuts by Dr Victoria Durrer,
School of Creative Arts.
If you are interested in writing for
The Conversation, please contact the
Communications Office on
[email protected]
PEOPLE
MAKING THE
HEADLINES
News that Queen’s has
partnered with Dubai
Healthcare City to develop
the Mohammed Bin Rashid
University of Medicine and
Health Sciences (MBRUMHS) and its College of
Medicine received widespread
international coverage
particularly in the Middle East,
including Gulf Today, Arabian
Business News, and the Dubai
Informer.
Research by Professor
Adrian Long in the School of
Planning, Architecture and
Civil Engineering, which has
resulted in the development
of the world’s longest ‘flat
pack’ arch bridge, received
considerable local, national
and international coverage.
Outlets included BBC News
Online, e! Science News and
The News Letter as well as in
industry publications.
News that researchers from
the Astrophysics Research
Centre are involved in a
European-wide project
searching for new planets
made the headlines locally
and nationally. The story was
carried by the Irish Times, Daily
Mirror and BBC Radio Ulster.
Dr Christopher Watson, said:
“This is a truly exciting time
and a major coup for Queen’s.
Next-Generation Transit Survey
will not only discover a whole
host of new planets, including
‘super-Earths’ a little larger
than our own planet, but
some of these will be amongst
the best planets with which
to perform more detailed
investigations.”
Dr Andriana Margariti from
the Centre for Experimental
Medicine made the headlines
this month for her research
which is aiding in the global
fight to prevent cardiovascular
disease, one of the biggest
causes of heart disease and
strokes worldwide. Dr Margariti
has established an innovative
method of generating stem
cells and using them to rebuild damaged blood vessels
in the human body that can
lead to strokes or heart attacks.
The story was featured in the
Daily Mirror, Irish Times and
various UK websites.
Expert comment from Dr Neil
Jarman from the Institute
for the Study of Conflict
Transformation and Social
Justice on forced labour
received coverage in media
across Ireland, including
The Irish Examiner, Belfast
Telegraph and Farming Life. Dr
Jarman said rogue employers
who operate modern forms
of slavery in Northern Ireland
to increase profits should be
tackled, stating that up to
150 people may be victims of
forced labour.
15
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – 15
PEOPLE
Obituary: Philip Clarke
16
Welcome to new staff
Over 50 new members of staff joined
Queen’s during January
Daniel Barrios-O’Neil
Biological Sciences
Luke Blades
Mechanical &
Manufacturing
Engineering
Dr Colm Burns
Management
Darryl Callaghan
Queen’s Sport
Philip Clarke was born in England
on 31 January 1961. He studied
Social Policy and Administration
at the University of Kent and then
a Diploma in Careers Guidance at
Bristol Polytechnic (now UWE).
Phil worked for 12 years as a Careers
Officer with VT Southern Careers
before joining Queen’s in January
1999 as a Careers Adviser. In October
2005 he was promoted to the role of
Senior Careers Adviser.
During his 16 years at Queen’s, Phil
worked with the full range of discipline
areas across a broad spectrum from
undergraduates and postgraduates
to contract researchers. He was a
member of the Irish Association of
Higher Education Careers Services
Executive Committee from 2010-2014.
In 2014, he became a member of
Queen’s Coaching group, delivering
a coaching service to members of
Queen’s staff.
Phil was a respected colleague, noted
for his calm, reflective and measured
approach to work. He was most
admired for his ability to be a good
listener, to reflect and to guide. This
was highly valued by his students and
Phil received many acknowledgements
for his professional approach and
quality guidance.
Phil enjoyed a broad range of interests
including painting, writing poetry,
music, literature and travel, and was
renowned for his passion for the
Beatles.
Phil died on 30 December 2014 and is
survived by his wife Noelle, his sisters,
and brother.
Dr Marco Carradore
Centre for Medical
Education
Dr Young Jin Chun
Wireless
Communication
Systems
Dr Sandra Collins
Modern Languages
Dr Kieran Connell
History
Lisa Copeland
Environmental
Planning
Dr Daniel Corbett
Pharmacy
Dr Aglaia De Angeli
History
Peter Deegan
Civil Engineering
Katy Doolan
Centre for Public
Health
Deborah Duffy
School Office (Elect,
Elect Eng & Comp Sci)
Patrick Elliott
Library Services and
Research Support
Jenny Evans
KTP and Business
Networks
Dr Viviana Fiorentino
Biological Sciences
Aine Gallagher
Management
Anne Grant
Nursing and Midwifery
Jim Harty
Library Services and
Research Support
Alan Hughes
Estates Development
Tom Hughes
Marketing,
Recruitment and
Admissions
Dr Aaron Hunter
Creative Arts
Kamil Kanas
Psychology
Dr Georgios
Karakonstantis
High Performance
& Distributed
Computing
Dr Neil Kennedy
Centre for Medical
Education
Raymond King
Centre for Cancer
Research and Cell
Biology
Dr Brendan
McLaughlin
Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering
Dr Diego Ramon
Rodriguez-Lojo
Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering
Dr Paul Mensink
Biological Sciences
Janet Scott
Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering
Umar Minhas
Wireless
Communication
Systems
Eileen Morgan
Centre for Public
Health
Dr Oliver Kinnane
Architecture
Professor M Therese
Murphy
Law
Mark Lunney
Students’ Union
Rory O’Neill
Financial Services
Dr Alison MacKenzie
Education General
Dr Sarah Osman
Centre for Cancer
Research and Cell
Biology
James McClelland
KTP and Business
Networks
Sharon McEvoy
Pharmacy
Fergus McGrath
The Leadership
Institute
Mathew McLaren
Mathematics and
Physics
Emma Louise Reel
Centre for Biomedical
Sciences Education
Professor Peter
Robertson
Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering
Andrea Smyth
Institute for Global
Food Security
Michael Stevenson
Financial Services
Dr Tristan Sturm
Geography
Dr Laura Taylor
Psychology
Heather Taylor
Marketing,
Recruitment and
Admissions
Chhaya Trehan
High Performance
& Distributed
Computing
Dr Ewa Wielogorska
Institute for Global
Food Security
Dr Xiaolei Zhang
Mechanical &
Manufacturing
Engineering
QUEEN’S NOW 02 – 15
SOCIAL
WIN
£25
For the chance to win a £25 Amazon voucher,
send us your answers to the following questions
For the chance to win a £25 Amazon
voucher this month, send us your
answers to the following questions.
The questions are all based on REF 2014
and the answers can be found in
Queen’s Now!
1 What position are we in the UK for
Research Intensity?
Thanks for sharing your tweets and
posts over the past month.
Everyone loves a good photograph and this one, taken
by Sharon Cuatriz and sent to us by Barra Best, was no
exception. The atmospheric pic of the Lanyon received over
4,770 likes on Facebook and 90 comments!
2 How many subjects do we have in the
UK Top 20?
3 What percentage of Queen’s research
activity was rated as internationally
excellent or world-leading?
Email your answers to:
[email protected] by Friday 27 February.
CONGRATULATIONS
The winner of last month’s competition
was Lynn Cairns from Pharmacy.
For all the news
about Queen's follow
@QueensUBelfast
For staff news follow
@BiteofQueens
17