Degree Congregations July 2016 in the Whitworth Hall “Use Your Head, but Follow Your Heart.” Nancy Rothwell Congratulations from the President and Vice-Chancellor
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the University of Manchester Degree Congregations July 2016 in the Whitworth Hall “Use your head, but follow your heart.” Nancy Rothwell Congratulations from the President and Vice-Chancellor I welcome you all – graduands, family members and friends – to e University of Manchester for this degree congregation. is is a time of celebration and i hope you enjoy this special occasion. For those of you graduating today, this is also a These ceremonies mark not the end of your perfect time to reflect on your time here at relationship with the University but the start Manchester, to think about your successes, of a new chapter. You are now part of a world- achievements and the excitement of the next wide network and it is my hope that the links stage of your journey. As you are presented for between you and the University will grow conferment of your degree, the University stronger as you become an active member of shares with you a great sense of pride in the one of the largest global alumni communities. award you have worked so hard to attain. I wish you every success for the future and I encourage you to take charge of your future, hope that you have a truly memorable day. find your voice and form your own opinions. Have confidence in the knowledge and experience you have gained during your time here and, as you collect your degree, know you are ready to take on your next challenge and shape your own future. Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell DEGREE CONGREGATIONS JULY 2016 1 Our distinguished staff and alumni invest us with progressive principles and a desire Leading to improve people's lives through research and teaching. roughout our history the way Manchester has led the way and helped } shape the modern world through discovery, ideas and knowledge. 1893 1908 Samuel Alexander Ernest Rutherford Professor of Philosophy Chemist and pioneer of at The University of nuclear physics and the first Manchester 1893-1925 to split the atom 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1898 1948 Catherine Chisholm Alan Turing OBE FRS First female graduate of Developed the concept of the Medicine, a paediatrician and Turing machine. Still one of founder of the Duchess of the most widely examined York Hospital for Babies. theories of computation 1906 1979 Christabel Pankhurst Arthur Lewis Suffragette and a co-founder Economist, Nobel Prize of the Women's Social and winner and Britain's first black Political Union LLB 1906 professor 1979 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER 1991 2012 Dr Mark Kermode Jeanette Winterson OBE Film critic, broadcaster and author Professor of Creative Writing PhD English 1991 and author 1991 2006 Sophie Raworth Prof Danielle George Journalist and BBC Professor of Radio Frequency News presenter Engineering, PhD Electrical BA French and German 1991 Engineering and Electronics 2006 1998 1999 Prof Brian Cox OBE Benedict Cumberbatch CBE Physicist and science broadcaster Oscar-nominated actor, star PhD Physics 1998 of The Imitation Game and Sherlock BA Drama 1999 DEGREE CONGREGATIONS JULY 2016 3 Take Manchester with you 6 128,632 UK 1,252 Republic of Ireland 2,118 Canada 2,399 France 6,045 USA 1,685 Spain International alumni groups are a great way to keep in touch with 828 Mexico fellow Manchester graduates and friends in your country. It’s an opportunity to build 1,161 professional and social networks Italy as well as keeping in touch with The University of Manchester. 519 Here’s where you’ll find Brazil the largest communities of Manchester graduates 2,043 around the world. Nigeria If there is no active network in your country why not volunteer to start one? Email [email protected] to find out more information. 4 THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER 551 858 The Turkey Netherlands 1,065 Thailand 11,658 People’s 4,011 Repubic of 656 Greece China Norway 2,352 Cyprus 1,898 Germany 1,609 Japan 996 South Korea 2 1,447 Taiwan 3,749 Hong Kong 1,284 Pakistan 1,814 Australia 3,685 India 825 Saudi Arabia 5,395 Malaysia 880 1,055 Kenya United Arab 4,314 Emirates Singapore DEGREE CONGREGATIONS JULY 2016 5 Germ trap technology could protect us against the flu Highlights In March 2016 The University of Manchester and scientists 2015-16 was an eventful year for at biotech company Virustatic developed a fabric coating the University. Here are some of which isolates viruses the highlights that made news. responsible for seasonal and pandemic influenza. According to the team, the World’s first bionic ‘germ trap’ has a capture rate eye transplant for the virus - wh ich affects Manchester Professor Paulo millions of people across the Stanga conducted the world’s world, sometimes severely- of first bionic transplant in July greater than 99%. 2015. The four hour operation implanted a device to convert The germ trap - which can be video images from a miniature added to filters in masks or air camera installed in his glasses. filtration systems - is completely harmless and cheap to produce. Lemn Sissay becomes Chancellor in 2015 Writer and broadcaster Lemn Sissay MBE was elected as the next Chancellor of The University of Manchester. An award-winning poet, he’s also the author of articles, records, radio documentaries and public art. 6 THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER MBS becomes Alliance MBS; precinct bridge demolished in August The iconic precinct bridge was demolished in August 2015. The 46-year-old bridge was taken down as part of a project to make room for improved student and staff facilities, and to provide 40,500 sq ft of new retail and leisure facilities for the new Alliance MBS. Whitworth wins VisitEngland award The University of Manchester’s Whitworth won gold at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence in the large visitor attraction category in March 2016 The ‘gallery in the park’ – which reopened in March after a £15 million transformation– beat a range of renowned competitors such as Chester Zoo, SS Great Britain and Salisbury Cathedral. The largest renovation in its 125-year history, which doubled its former size, with a new glass wing overlooking Whitworth Park resulted in record-breaking visitor figures. Jodrell Bank part of BBC broadcast as Tim Peake becomes first Briton to walk in space A historic milestone in British space exploration was shared by experts and guests at The University of Manchester’s Jodrell Bank as part of a planned special BBC broadcast. Tim Peake carried out the first ever spacewalk by a British astronaut on Friday 16 January 2016 to venture outsi de the International Space Station to replace a failed voltage regulator. DEGREE CONGREGATIONS JULY 2016 7 Outstanding Alumni Awards The Outstanding Alumni Awards are presented to former students who have achieved particular distinction in their field, or who have demonstrated exemplary service to the University or wider community. Imran Hakim BSc (Hons) Optometry and Vision Sciences 1999 Imran Hakim is one of the North West’s leading entrepreneurs. He started in business aged just 15, thanks to a £2,000 loan from his father, and went on to become one of the biggest success stories from the BBC’s Dragon’s Den programme: in 2007 his award-winning iTeddy secured a worldwide distribution deal covering 45 diffe rent countries. Imran graduated from the University of Manchester in 1999 with a BSc (Hons) Optometry and Vision Sciences, but his years in higher education were not solely dedicated to study: he continued to juggle the demands of building his business empire while completing his degree. After graduating, his entrepreneurial spirit led him to open an opticians in Bolton, quickly followed by a locum recruitment company. Since then, he has built a portfolio of businesses, including a chain of optical retail practices, lens laboratory, spectacle frame distribution and interior optical shop-fitters. The Hakim Group is now the strongest independent optical group in the UK, and is the largest optical group outside of the industry’s ‘big four’. Imran now concentrates on expanding his business portfolio by investing in other companies, and uses mentoring and ambassadorial roles to encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs. His energy and dedication has seen him win numerous business awards, including a Mosaic Award for Science and Technology from HRH Prince of Wales. He has also been a Director of Entrepreneurship at The University of Manchester Intellectual Property (UMIP) division, helping to tur n world-leading research into world-leading companies, products and services. 8 THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Deborah Cohen MBE MSc Liberal Studies in Science 1979 As the BBC’s Radio Science Editor, Deborah Cohen, MBE is responsible for communicating science – in all its forms - to a wider audience and maintaining the organisation’s editorial standards in its science output. It is a role that undoubtedly shapes national discussions about science and its latest advances. Following her graduation from The University of Manchester in 1979 with an MSc in Liberal Studies in Science, Deborah joined the BBC as a researcher in the science department. She spent the next decade producing content for Radio 3 and Radio 4 that covered a range of subjects in science, technology and medicine. She became Science Editor for the BBC’s domestic radio output in 1990, and 10 years later took on editorial responsibility for the science unit of BBC World Service. During her professional life, Deborah has covered huge stories, including the appearance of AIDS and the development of drugs to keep the disease at bay, BSE, stem cell research, genetically modified crops, climate change, and cosmology. While she says that scientists have got better at communicating, she acknowledges that they still have to work hard to get across the ide as.