Issue 272 ▸ 15 may 2014 reporterSharing stories of Imperial’s community

Imperial 2.0 Rebooting the College’s web presence to reach a growing global audience of mobile users → centre pages

Festival for all Savvy science Safety sage Third Imperial Dr Ling Ge Ian Gillett, Festival proves on boosting Safety Director, huge hit with enterprise retires record numbers and public Page 10 Page 12 engagement Page 11 2 >> newsupdate www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272

Renewed drive for engineering through inspirational role models; and improve and increase Imperial’s recognition for equality in UK science promoting gender equality through Athena SWAN Charter awards. Imperial has joined a campaign led by the Chancellor Professor Debra Humphris, Vice Provost (Education) editor’s corner to boost participation in technology and engineering at Imperial, said: “We want to help shatter myths and careers among women. change perceptions about women in STEM. It’s fantastic to get the Chancellor’s backing for these goals. Digital The ‘Your Life’ initiative brings together government, business, professional bodies and leading educational wonder institutions who are all working to improve We want to help shatter myths opportunities for women in science, technology, and change perceptions.” Do you remember those engineering and maths (STEM). The scheme was tentative steps when launched by Chancellor George Osborne at the Science you first dipped your Museum on 7 May. “Meeting this challenge will not be easy. It will toes into the World Wide As part of the campaign Imperial has pledged to: require a concerted effort throughout the College. Web? For me it was extend its outreach work into primary schools throughout But it will be worth it. Creating an environment where finding literary criticism the country; include a greater element of creative design women enjoy greater opportunities in engineering on a novel I was reading in engineering courses starting in 2015; develop and and technology is good for all of us, as educators, at school and I guess promote the careers of women in technology and researchers or beneficiaries of this work.” for many others too it was learning something new. Of course, we’ve all now become blasé Toumazou named about doing everything from grocery shopping among Europe’s to sharing gossip online. But I can still – just about top inventors – recall that initial sense of wonder at the limitless Professor Christofer Toumazou (Electrical potential. The web and Electronic Engineering) is one of fifteen continues to evolve and pioneering inventors who have been named as that feeling of wonder was finalists in the European Inventor Award 2014. re-kindled recently when Boost for metamaterials research I started downloading The award, which attracted 300 entrants, is books, magazines and The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has Europe’s highest distinction for inventors across apps to the palm of invested £2.5 million to advance metamaterials development, the world, honouring those whose inventions my hand on a tablet. with a five-year project headed by Imperial. have made a major contribution towards social, As one of the foremost technological and economic progress. science institutions in Metamaterials are man-made materials that have unusual Professor Toumazou, the only UK finalist the world Imperial has properties not seen in nature, which could have a range of is distinguished for his work in developing a wealth of incredible real-world applications. Using metamaterials in optics has innovative silicon technology and integrated things to share – and already produced the possibility of an invisibility cloak and circuit design for electronic devices. He is credited partly for this reason, the concept could even be applied to seismic waves to cloak with developing a range of medical devices such the College’s website buildings from vibrations caused by earthquakes. as the digital plaster, which monitors patient is being re-designed to Imperial, the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John vital signs in the comfort of their home. better deliver information Moores University will work to take these ideas further and Professor Toumazou is nominated for an and services to a variety progress theory and application with other potentially award in the Research category – one of six of digital devices (centre transformative metamaterials. categories of award. There is also a Popular pages). This way we can Professor Richard Craster, project lead and Head of the Prize, which enables supporters and friends of reach a wider audience Department of Mathematics said: “This is an unusual and Professor Tomazou to take part in the online and better support current novel grant in metamaterials as it is centred on mathematical vote and help decide who will win in this category. and prospective students theory with considerable input from the Department of Physics, The prizes, regarded as Europe’s ‘Oscars’ for and staff. where metamaterials were originally developed. This will technology and innovation, will be presented andrew czyzewski, Editor provide unique insight and access to cutting edge ideas from by the European Patent Office (EPO) at a gala physics that mathematicians can turn into solid rigorous theory. ceremony in Berlin on 17 June. Reporter is published every Conversely theoretical advances from mathematics can be fed Members of royal houses, presidents, three weeks during term time in print and online. directly and swiftly back into experiments and design.” ministers and high-level representatives of the Universities and Science Minister David Willetts added: worlds of business, research and industry have Contact Andrew Czyzewski: “Advanced materials is one of the eight great technologies of the attended previous ceremonies, attesting to the [email protected] future with the potential to propel UK growth. This investment will prestige of the European Inventor Award, which help us to develop further applications for metamaterials and reap is in its ninth year. the benefits of advanced materials for the wider UK economy.” —Colin Smith, Communications and Public Affairs 3 www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272 >> newsupdate

Imperial partners with London Stock Exchange to offer enterprising education

Some of the UK’s most promising entrepreneurs will have access to an innovative new business education programme at Imperial.

The ELITE programme, a partnership between Imperial College Business School and the London Stock Exchange, provides support for high growth Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Award celebrates The building was the site of Skills and Enterprise Minister Matthew Mohammed Abdus Salam’s work Hancock launched the inaugural ELITE event and history of the on the unification of the weak and welcomed the first 20 ELITE company CEOs to Blackett Lab electromagnetic forces for which he the scheme. was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1979, He said: “Innovative, imaginative and inspiring The Blackett Laboratory, home of as well as Professor Tom Kibble’s small businesses are essential for the British the Department of Physics, was work which defined the mechanism economy and it is part of the government’s long designated an historic site by the by which gauge bosons acquire term economic plan to ensure that they have the European Physical Society (EPS) mass via the Higgs field. right environment to grow. Programmes such as last month. Professor John Dudley, President ELITE that offer access to high quality education, of the EPS, said: “The advances advice and support will help businesses scale up The prestigious recognition is bestowed made at the Blackett Laboratory in the right way.” by the EPS (a not-for-profit association have impacted on all fields of physics, The launch was hosted by Professor G. ‘Anand’ of physicists) upon sites in Europe and the laboratory continues today Anandalingam, Dean of Imperial College Business that hold national or international to produce results at the highest School and Xavier Rolet, CEO of the London significance to physics and its history level and to turn out exceptional Stock Exchange. and was commemorated with the young physicists.” Professor Anandalingam said: “This partnership unveiling of a plaque by Imperial The occasion was marked with with the LSE will enable us to share Imperial’s physicist Professor Tom Kibble. a lecture by Professor Antonino academic expertise with the founders and executives The Blackett Lab, which has Zichichi – President of the World on the frontline of business innovation. We look housed the Department of Physics Federation of Scientists and forward to helping equip the first ELITE company since its completion in 1961, joins former student of Professor CEOs with the tools they need to take their the National Physical Laboratory at Patrick Blackett – who spoke on businesses to the next level.” Bushy Park as one of only two such Blackett’s life and work, from The ELITE programme is a two year programme recognised sites in the UK so far. his contribution to the field of designed by Imperial College Business School, It was selected by the EPS for its role operational research during his which will provide company founders, CEOs and as the home of pioneering advances time as a naval officer to his vital executive teams with a tailored portfolio of business in the fields of theoretical and roles in the discovery of the support tools, education services and access to a experimental physics over the past subnuclear universe and in the select group of more than 50 business advisory and five decades including in particle promotion of scientific culture. investment partners. physics, quantum physics and —Jonathan Narcross, Communications and —Maxine Myers and Andrew Scheuber, Communications and ultrafast laser development. Public Affairs Public Affairs

Quartet of new Fellows Reader comment Top tweet Fellowship of the Royal Society Jenna Stevens-Smith has been granted to four @J_DoubleS scientists at Imperial this Ian Gillett is month. The researchers – Finally my chatting who work on HIV, solar cells, someone who realises to taxi drivers about in brief nuclear fusion and an enzyme people’s potential as #bioengineering has that “changed the planet” – paid off. My driver have been elected to join well as letting their natural from a few weeks ago the ranks of the UK’s most brought his daughter eminent scientists as part of abilities come forward. along to #impfest the 2014 election of 50 new It has been a pleasure fellows. Professors Amanda Fisher, Jenny Nelson, Steven working with him and he Cowley and Bill Rutherford will be sorely missed.” are recognised for their contributions to science and IAN SMITH, HEALTH & SAFETY TECHNICIAN, Clockwise from top left: Professors Amanda are now permitted to use the COMMENTS ONLINE (SEE PAGE 10) Fisher, Jenny Nelson, Steven Cowley and letters FRS after their name. Bill Rutherford 4 >> newsupdate www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272

Pushing boundaries at graduation 2014 Imperial students received their degrees in front of 6,000 friends, family and supporters, over three ceremonies in the Royal Albert Hall on 7 May.

The largest Postgraduate Awards Ceremonies in the College’s history Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine saw 2,700 new graduates join an established jointly with Imperial, international network of 170,000 and Professor Dudley Brian Spalding alumni. FRS, FRAE, retired Professor of Addressing graduands, President Heat Transfer, in recognition of his & Rector Sir Keith O’Nions said: “Each pioneering research into Computational of you has been at the frontier of your Fluid Dynamics. Imperial College subject. You have pushed, tested and Medals were presented to Dr Rodney Business School in many cases moved the boundaries Eastwood, former College Secretary, of knowledge and achieved a new level for his outstanding contributions to research ranks of understanding.” the life and work of the College, and Honorary doctorates were awarded alumnus Mr Rajive Kaul, Chairman global enterprise to alumnus Mr Koh Boon Hwee, who of Indian conglomerate the Nicco as Chairman of Singapore’s Nanyang group, for his work as President The UK has slipped from sixth to ninth place in Technical University has spearheaded of the Imperial College Alumni the 2014 Global Entrepreneurship and Development education developments including the Association of India. Index (GEDI), according to research from the Business School carried out in association with George Mason University, the London School of Economics and the University of Pécs.

The researchers suggest that entrepreneurial aspirations in the UK are holding back performance. In the study of the UK and 119 other countries across the world, the team analysed data from more than 3,000 highly skilled individuals with business ideas, alongside data describing how well each country supports entrepreneurial activity. They found that Britons were less likely to choose entrepreneurship as a career path because they had a wealth of employment options available to them. This made them reluctant to leave secure, well paid jobs for the uncertainty of starting up a business. Twitter shines light Dr Felix Greaves (School of Public This is in comparison to countries such as on NHS hospital care Health), lead author on the study, said: the US and Australia, ranked first and second, “Hospitals should be listening to what respectively in the list, where highly skilled Patient tweets to NHS hospitals patients say on Twitter. It provides a individuals with innovative ideas are more likely provide valuable insight into their new route for the NHS to understand to set up businesses despite the risks. experiences of care, according to what patients experience in hospital, Co-author Professor Erkko Autio (Business new research. and for hospitals to improve the care School) said: “Enterprising people who are highly they provide.” skilled should be encouraged to see setting up their The Imperial study, published in the “It is clear that some hospitals own business as an exciting alternative to full-time journal BMJ Quality and Safety, looked are engaging with their patients employment. However, our report shows that many at 200,000 tweets sent to NHS on Twitter, but others seem to be still crave the security of full-time employment. hospitals over one year. Around 11 per paying it little attention. Hospitals “Entrepreneurship creates social benefits that cent gave information about patients’ should be taking the conversations extend beyond the individual, such as job creation, experiences, of which more than 70 on Twitter seriously; the short increasing competition and enhanced economic per cent of the tweets were positive, human stories in each tweet can dynamism. Our report pinpoints areas that the with patients often describing how give hospitals different insights into government can focus on to help aspiring staff had treated them with care and their patients, compared with what entrepreneurs make the leap from the safety compassion. However, patients also we can learn through more of a well-paid job into what they may feel is used twitter to complain and report traditional ‘big data’ analysis.” riskier territory.” poor care and mistakes that had been —Francesca Davenport, Communications and Public Affairs —Maxine Myers, Communications and Public Affairs made by medical staff. 5 www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272 >> newsupdate

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Tsunami hit prehistoric Atlantis the rich could alter the appearance and ability of children by tinkering with their genes. “The BBC News ▸ 01.05.14 age of eugenics is one that we don’t think of as being important now,” he said, adding: A prehistoric ‘Atlantis’ in the North Sea off “In a world where there is conflict, where there the East coast of England may have been is shortage of resources, shortage of water, abandoned after being hit by a 5m tsunami shortage of food, climate change, there is 8,200 years ago, Imperial research shows. a real risk that we could see that kind of The wave was generated by a catastrophic attitude in our humanity occurring again.” subsea landslide off the coast of Norway. Analysis suggests the tsunami over-ran How the war was won Doggerland, a low-lying landmass that has since vanished beneath the waves. “It was at home The edible water bottle abandoned by Mesolithic tribes about Sunday Telegraph ▸ 04.05.14 The Independent ▸ 25.04.14 8,000 years ago, which is when the Storegga slide happened,” Dr Jon Hill (Earth Science and The First World War is often portrayed as men Imperial students have created an edible Engineering) told the BBC. “The impact would caught in the chaos of the trenches. Now, water bottle, with the potential to put an end have been massive – comparable to the ahead of the centenary of the war’s outbreak to the waste created by the billions of Japanese tsunami of 2011.” this summer, a new book Our Land at War, plastic containers thrown away each year, provides a comprehensive portrait of the The Independent reports. To make the bottle, domestic war effort. The author, Professor the students gave a frozen ball of water a Rich could pay to have Nick Bosanquet (Bioengineering) told the gelatinous layer by dipping it into a calcium brighter babies Sunday Telegraph: “We forget about the chloride solution. However, as the membrane Daily Mail ▸ 05.05.14 huge efforts made by those at home. is only as thick as a fruit skin it makes There is a stereotype of helpless victims transportation difficult. “This is a problem Breakthroughs in IVF could ‘threaten our driven to the slaughter but, on the wider we’re trying to address with a double container,” humanity’ by prompting parents to demand Western Front stretching back to the UK, said Rodrigo García González who created designer babies, Professor Lord Robert Winston a whole generation rose to the challenge. ‘Ooho’ with fellow students Pierre Paslier and (Medicine) has warned in the Daily Mail. The The sheer quality of the home front Guillaume Couch (all Mechanical Engineering). fertility pioneer said that he feared a time when machine was absolutely critical to victory.” awards and engineering and is given to those who have held public honours Computing students innovate to win office, contributed to national life or served the sovereign personally. Baroness Two PhD students from the Department of Manningham-Buller was director general Computing have been announced as winners of the Security Service, known as MI5, from of UK Qualcomm Innovation Fellowships. 2002 until her retirement in 2007. She became Patrick Snape from the Visual Information Imperial’s 11th Chair in 2011, leading the Processing Group and Hanme Kim from the College’s Council, its governing body. Business Robot Vision Group, won two of just three Economics gong for Gann fellowships in the annual competition natural sciences which attracts the most innovative PhD Young scientist on top Professor David Gann CBE, Imperial’s Vice students from across Europe. The winners President (Development and Innovation), each pocket £10,000 as well as the chance Dr Marina Kuimova (Chemistry) was been has won the 2014 Tjalling C Koopmans Asset to be mentored by researchers based awarded the International Union of Pure Award. Previous recipients include Nobel at Qualcomm Research’s Cambridge location. and Applied Physics (IUPAP) Young Scientist laureates Daniel Kahneman, Robert Merton Prize in recognition of her exceptional and Robert Engle. Presented at the Asset college achievement in the field of Biological International Conference at Tilburg University Eliza joins Order of the Garter Physics. The prize of €1000 and a medal in the Netherlands, the award acknowledges will be presented at the 8th IUPAP Professor Gann’s “significant contributions Imperial’s Chair, Baroness Eliza Manningham- International Conference of Biological to the field of economics and his Buller, has been appointed to the Order of the Physics in June in Beijing, China, where everlasting efforts to connect universities Garter by Her Majesty the Queen. The honour Dr Kuimova will give an invited lecture on with businesses.” can only be bestowed on 24 living ‘companions’ her research. 6 >> scienceroundup www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272

Malaria research targets mosquito sperm banks

Software successfully identified which of these ten patients developed adverse outcomes, outperforming radiology experts

Airport technology aids difficult decisions in stroke treatment A new computer program could help doctors predict which patients might suffer potentially fatal side-effects from a key stroke treatment.

The program, which assesses brain scans using pattern recognition software similar to that used in airport security and passport Malaria kills over 650,000 people every year control, has been developed by researchers at Imperial. The most effective treatment for stroke is intravenous thrombolysis which effectively thins the blood; however, it can Researchers have discovered a way of There is no single cause brain bleeding in about six per cent of patients, which often reducing the fertility of malaria-carrying magic bullet for tackling worsens the disability and can even be fatal. mosquitoes, potentially providing a Clinicians attempt to identify patients most at risk of bleeding new tactic to combat the disease. malaria, but making on the basis of several signs assessed from brain scans. However, mosquitoes less fertile these signs can often be very subtle and human judgements about Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes could provide us with their presence and severity tend to lack accuracy and reliability. are the main transmitters of malaria, In the new study, researchers trained a computer program to which affects around 200 million a valuable weapon recognise patterns in the brain scans that represent signs such as people every year. The females mate against the disease.” brain-thinning or diffuse small-vessel narrowing, in order to predict only once during their lives. They store the likelihood of bleeding. the sperm from this single mating Dr Robert Shawn (Life Sciences), one of They then pitted the automated pattern recognition software in an organ called the spermatheca, the lead authors of the research, said: against radiologists’ ratings of the scans. The computer program from which they repeatedly take “We need to find new ways of tackling predicted the occurrence of bleeding with 74 per cent accuracy sperm over the course of their lifetime malaria, partly because mosquitoes compared to 63 per cent for the standard prognostic approach. to fertilise the eggs that they lay. continue to evolve ways of resisting Lead author Dr Paul Bentley (Medicine) said: “For each patient Sperm have to stay healthy whilst our efforts. We are interested in cutting that doctors see, they have to weigh up whether the benefits of a they are in storage, so that they are the numbers of malarial mosquitoes treatment will outweigh the risks of side effects. Having the best viable each time the female uses them by impairing their ability to reproduce, possible information on which to base our decisions is vital. to reproduce. The new research reveals and our new study suggests a way Our new study is a pilot but it suggests that ultimately doctors that the sperm are partly protected by that we might be able to do this. might be able to use our pattern recognition software, alongside the actions of an enzyme called HPX15, There is no single magic bullet existing methods, in order to make more accurate assessments which seems to eradicate potentially for tackling malaria, but making about who is most at risk and treat them accordingly.” damaging molecules called free mosquitoes less fertile could provide The group is now planning to carry out a much larger study to radicals. When the researchers us with a valuable weapon against more fully assess the potential of the program. interfered with HPX15 in female the disease.” —Francesca Davenport, Communications and Public Affairs A. gambiae mosquitoes in the The researchers caution that laboratory, the females fertilised although they have managed to fewer eggs and therefore produced disable HPX15 in mosquitoes in the fewer offspring. lab, they don’t yet have a way of The researchers believe that replicating this in wild mosquitoes. their insight could ultimately lead The next step for this research is to Stroke Stroke affects over 15 million people each year worldwide. Ischemic strokes are to a new weapon in the fight against think about how to prevent activation the most common and these occur when small clots interrupt the blood supply malaria by reducing the number of HPX15, directly or indirectly. to the brain. The most effective treatment is called intravenous thrombolysis, of malaria-carrying mosquitoes —Laura Gallagher, Communications and which injects a chemical into the blood vessels to break up or ‘bust’ the clots, allowing blood to flow again. in circulation. Public Affairs 7 www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272 >> scienceroundup

Dietary fibre’s meals over vegetables, pulses and other sources of fibre. Unfortunately anti-appetite our digestive system has not yet evolved to deal with this modern properties diet and this mismatch contributes to the current obesity epidemic. unlocked Our research has shown that the release of acetate is central to New research has helped unpick a how fibre supresses our appetite long-standing mystery about how and this could help scientists to dietary fibre supresses appetite. tackle overeating.” Using positron emission An international team of researchers tomography (PET) scans, the led by Imperial identified an researchers tracked the acetate anti-appetite molecule called acetate through the body from the colon to that is naturally released when we the liver and the heart and showed digest fibre in the gut. Once released, that it eventually ended up in the the acetate is transported to the brain hypothalamus region of the brain, where it produces a signal to tell us which controls hunger. Acetate then to stop eating. accumulates in the hypothalamus, The research confirms the natural eventually triggering a series of We eat less than a quarter of the fibre we did in the stone age benefits of increasing the amount of chemical events leading to the fibre in our diets to control over-eating firing of special neurons known and could also help develop methods to supress appetite. to reduce appetite. The study found This is the first demonstration that acetate reduces appetite when that acetate released from dietary directly applied into the bloodstream, fibre can affect the appetite response Dietary fibre the colon or the brain. in the brain. The research also showed Dietary fibre is found in most plants and vegetables but tends to be at low “The average diet in Europe that when acetate was injected into levels in processed food. When fibre is digested by bacteria in our colon, it ferments and releases large amounts of acetate as a waste product. today contains about 15g of fibre per the bloodstream, the colon or the The current study analysed the effects of a form of dietary fibre called inulin day,” said lead author Professor Gary brain it reduced the amount of food which comes from chicory and sugar beets and is also added to cereal bars. Frost (Medicine). “In stone-age times eaten by mice. Using a mouse model, researchers demonstrated that mice fed on a high fat diet with added inulin ate less and gained less weight than mice fed we ate about 100g per day but now —Francesca Davenport, Communications and on a high fat diet with no inulin. we favour low-fibre ready-made Public Affairs

Go with the flow The small size of the droplets also improves the uniformity of the reaction, leading to a for advanced better quality product. One of the lead researchers materials Adrian Nightingale, then a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry, Imperial scientists have developed a new said: “When arteries become blocked the technique for carrying out multiple-step whole circulatory system can quickly fail, chemical reactions to improve production with fatal consequences. Similarly, when of high-quality, high-performance advanced the tubes we use in flow chemistry become materials for new plastic electronics such blocked, flow reactors fail and production as flexible computer screens and affordable stops. Droplet-based chemistry eradicates solar panels. this problem, but previously it could only be used for very simple, single-step The technique allows chemists to do reactions where all reagents were present Droplet chemistry allows for sophisticated, multi-step reactions multiple-step reactions inside tiny droplets in the droplets from the outset. Here we in a flowing stream – a process known as have developed a method for controllably droplet chemistry – and should make it injecting new reagents into the flowing We have developed a possible to carry out more sophisticated droplets, greatly expanding the palette method for controllably injecting chemical reactions than have previously of materials that can be produced.” been possible. In the new research, the scientists have new reagents into the flowing In droplet chemistry, the reaction solution introduced a third phase, a gas, alongside the droplets, greatly expanding the flows as discrete droplets inside a second two liquids to establish an even spacing between palette of materials that can be liquid that it cannot mix with. This prevents the droplets and so ensure that each one channel-fouling as the droplets are kept away receives the same dose of the added reagent. produced.” from the walls of the reactor by the other liquid. —Gail Wilson, Communications and Public Affairs 8 >> featurefocus www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272

Imperial College website timeline

Grand digital 1996

Lord Oxburgh is Rector of Imperial as the College’s first homepage goes live in 1996 designs with Mike Chamberlin from the Centre for Computing Rebooting the College’s web presence to reach a new Services and Glen Masters global audience of mobile-savvy-users from the Alumni Relations Office coding those first pages. However, the College’s web presence is fragmented across numerous Wednesday 12 March this year practical one, reflecting a shift in the servers, with different departments and academic way people use the internet. marked – perhaps rather arbitrarily – groups creating their own the 25th anniversary of the world wide The majority of visitors to Imperial’s sites independently. web. It was on this day in 1989 that website come from a desktop computer, Tim Berners Lee, a British computer but that is changing quickly. In 2013 scientist working at CERN in Geneva, there were 22.9 million desktop 2003 wrote an inauspicious memo to his visits, representing an 8% rise from boss titled: “Information Management: the previous year. By comparison A team of six College staff A Proposal.” there was an 85% rise in mobile and now work on developing tablet use with 2.8 million visits. the College’s websites led by Pro-Rector Professor Looking back it’s hard to believe “You don’t get to decide which device Igor Aleksander, an expert how far the web has come and in people use to access our website – in artificial intelligence. fact it’s hard to imagine modern life they do,” says Head of Digital and College web presence still without it. What is perhaps even more Creative Media, Pamela Agar fragmented, but early efforts made to centralise. The difficult to comprehend is that the web (Communications and Public Affairs). student prospectuses also is still in its infancy. It took only seven It’s clear that to reach the greatest now appear online. years from the first web pages in 1991 possible audience globally, Imperial’s for the web to be used by a quarter website must cater for users on a of the American population. That range of devices. That means having compares with 46 years for electricity, what is referred to as a ‘responsive 35 years for the phone and 26 years design’ – where the site adapts for television. to the viewing environment it finds Imperial’s own website has itself in. In practical terms that means 2007 become a critical part of the College’s fluid grids and flexible images whose infrastructure and mission – at least size is set in relative rather than By 2007 a team from ICT and as important as our physical buildings absolute dimensions. the Communications Division and space. It’s often the first point That will have a direct effect co-locate and work together to grow the College’s of contact for our future students on the hundreds of editors who add website, taking responsibility and an essential part of their studies and modify website content on a for the coding and content, once they arrive. For academic regular basis and who have already respectively. The website staff it’s a way of showing others been involved in initial testing. now has a common design, branding and navigation their research work and forging links “Right from the start of the project across the majority of pages with those in industry and academia we’ve carried out extensive user and sub sites. worldwide. testing, making sure that our designs As the web has evolved, though, so are intuitive and provide the right too has our own website and the panel experience for our audiences,” 2008 opposite shows just how far we’ve says Sean Conner (Engineering), come. But cyberspace never stands Faculty Web Officer. That has Under Rector Sir Richard still and preparations for the latest involved ‘click tests’ where Sykes, the College’s web College-wide re-design are now participants are asked to find a team commissions and works with a professional entering their final stages, with full certain piece of information in agency to design a new launch starting later in the year. prototype designs; one-on-one and modern website. By interviews; and focus groups. integrating with the Oracle “All our usability findings have Portal content management New digital threads system implemented in been used to update and revise 2003, there is less need for As the panel shows all too well, our templates. It’s a cyclical process specialist coding knowledge digital designs can start to look dated that we repeat over and over, to to update pages. very quickly; but the primary reason ensure any changes work as for refreshing is actually a much more intended,” Sean adds. 9 www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272 >> featurefocus

Flexible home

In our new website the College, Faculty and Departmental homepages will have more billboard space, which will be flexible in the type of content it is able to show – with distinct ‘modules’ for news, information, video and social media. This will enable the pages to be more reactive to current events and campaigns – for example in August and September the College homepage might prioritise information for new students, while in May it will promote the Imperial Festival and graduation ceremonies. The new home page will also be longer than the current design, acknowledging that mobile and tablet users are accustomed to vertically scrolling down for more content.

On the move Responsive design sounds Content inside the individual ‘modules’ is created just once simple, but it requires a different in simple forms, then the layout and styling is adjusted automatically for the particular device being used in a truly mentality and different way of responsive web environment. Editors must therefore focus on the quality of content and not rely too much on previewing thinking about the content you the final output in a desktop environment. Fortunately there put in and how you put it in.” are even more tools for our web editors to use features without intimate coding knowledge. –Pamela Agar, Head of Digital and Creative Media

More information about the project and details of the next forum for College web editors can be found on the Web Redesign pages: imperial.ac.uk/webredesign

10 >> featurefocus www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272

“It knocked me for six. I was really retirement. Once his wife, who is a GP, saddened by it because I almost saw joins him in a few years’ time they hope him as a father figure.” Ian’s time at to go travelling, living a month at a time Imperial goes back significantly further in the great cities of Europe, including though, starting as an undergraduate Rome, Venice and Paris. chemistry student in 1971. As President Still, Ian says he will almost of the Chemical Society, Ian sat on the certainly be returning to Imperial, Department Safety Committee, and hopefully helping with some of the then the College Safety Council. It was safety training that he helped to pioneer. during this time he developed the “It’s ingrained in me; I’m not going relationship-building skills that would to be able to walk away from health stand him in good stead for his later and safety.” career – first as a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector, then Assistant Director and Safety Director I started wearing at Imperial. bow-ties when I was 25, He sees his role as an enabler Ian Gillett retires, after 24 years rather than an enforcer – working with after reading that they as Safety Director academics to do new things, within were coming back in the scope and spirit of legislation. fashion and it took “We’re surrounded by people who are passionate about what they do and me 20 minutes to tie so therefore they care. That makes my my first one.” job easier. “All in all, it’s been tremendous working at Imperial. I’ve been involved with everything from a nuclear reactor centre (at Silwood) through to a farm (at Wye) as well as biological labs, high power lasers and earthquake tables. It’s just so varied.” Among Ian’s proudest memories are Take a becoming a Fellow of the Institute of Safety in Technology and Research and also helping to establish a new safety course and qualification – the National Examining Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH). Of course, Ian will be remembered bow not only for his work role, but his varied Ian Gillett retires, after 24 years as Safety Director and diverse interests in classical music, vintage cars and most of all There are but a few genuinely larger than life characters at photography. Imperial, who need little in the way of introduction. Although he has been taking Even if you’re new to the College and have never spoken to Ian, photographs since he was a boy, you will know him as the imposing figure, always decked out in a his hobby stepped up to another gear loud bow tie, often with a camera in hand. when London Fashion Week came to “I started wearing bow-ties when I was 25 and it took me 20 College in September 1997, hosted minutes to tie my first one,” he says. on the Queen’s Lawn. “Since then I’ve only worn a conventional tie once, when I was “Of course I had to come along and best man at my friend’s wedding. Although, after that, he was best say: ‘you can’t do this, you can’t do man at my own wedding, so of course I made him wear a bow tie.” that, it’s too noisy, etcetera.’ But I let it Among the favourites in his extensive collection is a specially go ahead on the condition I could take commissioned silk number, hand painted with safety signs. a few pictures!” Fashions aside, Ian says eccentricity and standing out is one In later years he went on to take important pillar of being safety director — that and having great official photographs for the production powers of persuasion backed up by an intimate and in-depth company that runs the event. He’s now knowledge of safety legislation. photographed all manner of events That was just one of the lessons Ian says he learned from his including Henley Regatta, Varsity predecessor and mentor Gordon Hargreaves, Imperial’s first ever basketball and motorsports. Safety Director. Gordon died suddenly in 1989 whilst out walking Ian’s passion for photography and Ian’s photographs from an Imperial fashion in the Lake District, leaving Ian, who was Assistant Director at the art is something he’s now hoping to show (top) and Varsity rugby (bottom) time, to take up the mantle. develop further as he heads into

11 www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272 insidestory inside story

mini profile Ling Ge

Dr Ling Ge (Chemistry) is manager of the Imperial-hosted EPSRC UK National Service for Computational Chemistry Software.S he is also actively involved in public engagement, science writing and promoting entrepreneurship through Through the activities such as the recent Virgin Media Business keyhole ‘Three New Things’ challenge, which she helped to judge. Undoubtedly one of the most important advances in clinical surgery Tell us about the challenge? bursting with great ideas, over the past few decades has been The aim is basically to unearth we can’t always translate the development of minimally game-changing digital them into profitable business invasive – or ‘keyhole’ – surgery. innovations that could ventures. Challenges like this By avoiding the need for large entry transform the way we live and can help bridge the gap. incisions in patients’ bodies it work. I was asked to help judge reduces the risk of complications submissions from start-up Any other exciting events and improves recovery and scarring. The second demonstration companies. recently? showcased Natural Orifice Transluminal I took part in the Public At an event at the Royal Institution Endoscopic Simulator (NOTES), And the winners? Attitudes to Science Study last month, members of the public a method pioneered at Imperial and Well, it was all about space, 2014, sponsored by the had the chance to learn more about currently being evaluated by surgeons. sun and shoes! The overall Department for Business how surgeons operate using keyhole This allows “scarless” abdominal winner was a new company Innovation and Skills. surgery, with live simulations and operations, for example with an called Three Over Seven that For a day I was acting as the demonstrations from Professor Roger endoscope used to retrieve a has developed software to face of science in Trafalgar Kneebone and Dr Fernando Bello gallbladder through the mouth. scan your feet in 3D using a Square talking to people from (both Surgery and Cancer). The surgeon can introduce instruments smartphone in order to deliver all walks of life about topics In the first demo, the team such as grasper, clipper or scissors bespoke, 3D-printed shoes such as nanotechnology and simulated a coronary angioplasty – by feeding them through the to your door within 24 hours. quantum computing. Their a procedure routinely performed to endoscope tubing. One of the runners-up is giving passion and imagination went unblock the main artery serving the Following the lecture, the public out free solar packs in Africa far beyond anything I expected. heart through the insertion of a stent. had the chance to try their hand at then charging for use while the Also, as a recipient of a ‘Women Roger explained that the surgeon uses state-of-the-art surgical simulators other is aiming to drive down of the future’ award I was X-ray imaging to navigate the catheter designed to help train new generations the cost and weight of micro invited by the Speaker of the holding the stent threading it through of specialists. There were seven satellites (‘cubesats’). House of Commons, John from a small cut in the leg or arm. interactive stations, staffed by Bercow, to a reception at the He emphasised how it relies on engineers who have developed Why are challenges like State Rooms and Speaker’s good hand-eye coordination and new technologies such as this important? House, which was an knowledge of the human anatomy, ultrasound-guided needle punctures, As researchers at universities eye-opening look at parliament essentially knowing the route to get augmented reality and even a virtual it’s partly our job to come up and the political process. there – akin to travelling from West- reality surgical environment that uses with innovative technology; —aliyah kovner for communications minster to St Paul’s on the London the Oculus Rift hardware platform. and Public affairs but although we may be underground, using a tube map. —Sam Hiew, Medicine 12 insidestory www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272

From left to right: the Research Zone; pupils from the schools event; and a group tour of the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery

Imperial Festival delivers science-themed fun on record scale With sporadic bouts of lashing rain was put together to give students a stalls, ensuring no one left hungry. and gleaming sunshine, the weather taste of the Festival before it opened to Visitors shared their Festival It was was almost as diverse as the exciting the general public and to give them an experiences by posting tweets, amazing array of talks, performances and insight into the research that goes on which were displayed live on large activities on show at the Imperial at the College. screens around campus with the to witness Festival 2014 on Friday 9 May and The Festival also expanded into #impfest hashtag being used nearly the College Saturday 10 May. several new locations, including the 900 times. transformed, hugely popular Robot Zone in the Festival Director Natasha Over 12,000 visitors descended on Sir Alexander Fleming Building; Martineau (Communications and and very the South Kensington Campus for the Workshop Tent offering hands-on Public Affairs) paid tribute to the encouraging what was the third and largest activities such uncovering the secrets efforts of all staff and students to see so Imperial Festival – all made possible of the materials all around us; and the who got involved: “It was amazing by the efforts of over 400 volunteer Light Zone which featured research to witness the College transformed, many people researchers, support staff and students. from Imperial’s physicists, including and very encouraging to see so many enjoying it.” New for 2014 was the first ever an invisibility cloak, thermal camera people enjoying themselves. I am dedicated schools event, which and optical illusions. very grateful for the seemingly saw 100 students from primary and As well as satisfying visitors’ unlimited support that everyone secondary schools local to Imperial appetite for science, music and dance, gave us.” book places to take part in a series there was an expanded food offering If you came to the Festival it would be great to of workshops and interactive displays as Imperial’s catering team were joined hear your thoughts on it, please visit: linked to curriculum topics. The event for the first time by farmers’ market imperial.ac.uk/festival/feedback 13 www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272 insidestory

inventor’s corner Student blogger Emma Uncovering a Icy neutrinos Recently I have been reading about a cool (quite literally) stealthy killer science lab called ‘IceCube.’ It’s a 1km3 neutrino detector deep underground in the Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson and South Pole. Down there Dr Nimzing Ladep (both Medicine) are the ice is clear and part of a small team developing a new bubble-free due device to detect liver cancer. to incredibly high pressure, and also What do you consider to be the pitch-black so that biggest challenge with liver cancer? Liver cancer is a major problem in parts of the Cherenkov STR: In parts of the developing world, the developing world radiation signature liver cancer, linked to Hepatitis B given off by the infection, kills nearly four times as Individually, they wouldn’t work, but decay products many people as HIV/AIDS. This is together they perform much better than of the neutrinos can mostly because the cancer is hard current tests! be detected. Thousands to detect. When it is detected, it is of individual detectors already advanced and therefore How would your dipstick method were pushed into the ice usually untreatable. compare with existing approaches? using a hot water drill. NL: The technology required to How are you tackling these issues? detect liver cancer, namely ultrasound To pass the time at the South STR: We set off to develop a urinary and blood analysis, is not practical Pole the scientists have a dipstick capable of not only identifying, or possible in most rural African gym and run out from a sauna but also tracking liver disease and settings. Even if they were affordable, into the snow (with or without cancer progression. After our initial they are not very reliable in clothes) to ‘join the three studies in Nigeria and Egypt where we inexperienced hands. We want hundred club’ and experience identified some promising biomarkers to create something cheaper, better, over 300 degrees Fahrenheit for the disease, we secured a substantial and easier to use. What is truly of temperature variation. EU fund to test, track, and in some versatile about our project is our Who says scientists don’t cases, treat 13,000 people across approach: instead of just diseased know how to have a Gambia, Senegal, and Nigeria. and healthy groups, we focused on good time? the high risk and diseased populations. NL: With the larger study we wanted This way, we were able to detect to expand on the original approach and patterns within liver cancer and refine the choice of biomarkers carried identify a core set of molecules that forward. Not only were there more truly represent its biochemistry. data, but we applied a new analysis —David Barreto Ian, Imperial Innovations method, to verify and study the For help in finding a commercial application molecules in greater detail. We now for your research visit: bit.ly/YQZ1Vi have a panel of three biomarkers.

Marking Mental Health, the diverse range of events health problems, particularly anxiety Health Awareness includes drop-in meditation sessions, disorders, are extremely common, This week wellbeing workshops, and a cake many of us struggle to talk about it. is about raising week decorating competition based on This week is about raising awareness the ‘Depressed Cake Shop’ concept – of mental health issues and helping awareness of A series of events and workshops colourful cakes decorated in grey to reduce the stigma. We want to mental health highlighting wellbeing and mental icing to represent depression and encourage the College community to issues.” health issues at Imperial marked other mental illnesses. think about small changes they can Mental Health Awareness Week, The week also saw Imperial make make to improve their own mental which ran from 12–15 May. a public commitment to ending the wellbeing and ways that they can stigma around mental health, with the contribute to cultivating a supportive Organised jointly by the Equality and signing of the Time to Change Pledge. working environment for colleagues.” Diversity Unit, the Learning and Leyla Okhai, Equality and Diversity —Deborah Evanson, Communications and Development Centre and Occupational Manager, said: “Even though mental Public Affairs 14 insidestory www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272

Imperial Olympian bows out on scientific and sporting high

It’s safe to say Adam Scholefield is Adam played water polo professionally not your average postdoc scientist. for six years, culminating in his tenure Although the Olympic water polo as vice-captain for the GB men’s player says he officially retired from water-polo team at the London 2012 the sport after London 2012, he still Olympic Games. Oh, and he also cuts an imposing figure, especially found time to get a MEng and a PhD in with his new Olympic rings tattoo Electrical and Electronic Engineering, etched into his substantial upper arm. handing his thesis in last year. Adam is now fully focused on his As it happens, Adam was persuaded research on image processing and to make a return to the pool recently credits supervisor Dr Pier Luigi Dragotti for the Commonwealth Water Polo for keeping him on track over the years. Championships in Glasgow in April, “He went out of his way to helping England to their first ever construct a PhD project and working gold in the event. arrangements that allowed me to do “I really didn’t think I would be able both my studies and sport. He trusted to fit the training in with my research me enough to take that gamble!” work, but in the end it came together One avenue that has proven and it was a great result,” he says, particularly fruitful for Adam is adding that having the Ethos pool the technique of super resolution. and gym so close by helped him to In smartphones the quality of the get match fit. captured image is limited by the compact dimensions – but by taking multiple images and combining them using clever post-processing you can achieve a better image. Adam is set to leave Imperial in June to take up a postdoctoral position with EPFL in Switzerland in conjunction Although a tilt at the Rio Games in with start-up company Vidinoti, 2016 is unlikely, he’s not ruling out a I really investigating ways to use light field return to the Olympic arena someday didn’t think cameras to enhance augmented – perhaps in a voluntary or coaching reality technology. position. I would be It marks the end of an era in London “Watching the Winter Olympics in able to fit the that holds many great memories of Sochi earlier this year kind of brought training in with studying and sports – with two it all back how amazing it was; in some unforgettable weeks of ‘craziness’ as ways you don’t appreciate it fully at the my research Adam with his research colleagues he puts it, in the Summer of 2012. time when it’s happening.” work.”

Staff listed below celebrate 20 years 30 years anniversaries during the period • Neil McLennan, Identity and Access • Jim Culverhouse, Technician, Department of 01 May – 31 May. The data is Management Analyst, ICT Life Sciences supplied by HR and is correct • Geraldine Coy, Deputy Head of Security, at the time of going to press. Security Services 40 years • David William Palmer, Security Officer, Security Services • Richard Chater, Senior Research Officer, • Jo Philpott, Accounts Payable Assistant, Department of Materials Finance Division • Brian Kelly, Assistant Building Manager, Estates Division

15 www.imperial.ac.uk/reporter | reporter | 15 May 2014 • issue 272 insidestory

Miss Jubeda Khatun, Ms Lan Wang, Aeronautics Mr Sam Morris, Welcome Chemical Engineering Dr Benjamin Williams, Communications and Public Affairs Dr Jane Khayesi, Business School Mechanical Engineering Dr Quang-De Nguyen, new starters Mr Andrew Kilpatrick, Finance Dr Rachel Wodarski, Surgery & Cancer Surgery & Cancer (8 years) Dr Kiyoung Kim, Computing Dr Di Wu, Computing Dr Tessa Ogden, Business School (6 years) Dr Paul-Michael Agapow, Public Health Mrs Beata Klejevskaja, Chemistry Miss Keren Yeboah, Medicine Mr Flannan O’Mahony, Chemistry Mrs Stella Ajoku, NHLI Miss Emiljana Krali, EEE Mr Vijaykumar Zala, Medicine Dr Alexander Papadopulos, Life Sciences Miss Funmi Ayoola, Business School Dr Kevin Leong, NHLI Dr Seth Zenz, Physics Ms Jennifer Parks, Dr Jayashree Bagchi Chakraborty, Dr Jongseok Lim, Physics Mr Teng Zhang, Mechanical Engineering Medicine Faculty of Medicine Centre Ms Yiyuan Liu, Medicine Ms Kuangyi Zhang, Dr Violeta Balinskaite, Public Health Mr Pavan Parthyhally Narasimhareddy, ICT Mr Daniel Mapp, Development Mechanical Engineering Dr Ioannis Bantounas, Materials Miss Clare Pearson, Public Health Ms Julie McQueen, Surgery & Cancer Dr Jonathan Ben-Artzi, Mathematics Dr Gowsihan Poologasundarampillai, Dr Miguel Migano Hipolito de Jesus Materials Miss Kate Bench, Education Office Oliveira, ICT Farewell Dr Amandine Prelat, ESE Dr Francois Blanquart, Public Health Mrs Michaela Miller, Medicine Miss Sophie Price, Materials Miss Lina Brazinskaite, EEE Ms Caroline Minor, ICT moving on Miss Emma Punch, NHLI Mr Daniel Brewer, Climate KIC Mr Khalid Mirza, EEE Dr Cristobal Aguilar Gallardo, Dr Andreas Broedel, Life Sciences Miss Valeria Pupella, Bioengineering Mr Miroslav Mladenov, Medicine Chemical Engineering on. in. moving moving Ms Vittoria Bussi, Mathematics Dr Anil Rao, Computing Ms Christina Morris, EEE Dr Eduardo Aguilar Pelaez, EEE Miss Hannah Butterfield, Mr Jack Reichhold, Student Union Ms Emma Morrison, Education Office Miss Tressa Amirthanayagam, Surgery & Cancer Mr Chris Roberts, ICT (16 years) Dr Bagus Muljadi, ESE Surgery & Cancer Mr Mate Car, Public Health Mr Brian Robertson, Miss Lenka Navratilova, NHLI Miss Sarah Atkinson, Business School Mrs Katherine Carpani, Education Office Health and Safety (18 years) Dr Laura Nolan, Life Sciences Dr Fouad Ballout, Physics Ms Heather Cartledge, Public Health Mrs Anu Sadasivan Pillai, NHLI Dr Edmund Noon, ESE Dr Ryan Bayliss, Materials Dr Subhojit Chakraborty, Bioengineering Miss Jonata Sakalauskaite, Mrs Emma Pallett, Dr Samuel Bayliss, EEE Catering Services Mr Dalton Coker, Surgery & Cancer Faculty of Natural Sciences Mr Samuel Bott, ICT (5 years) Mr Patrick Scarff, Registry Dr John Collins, Life Sciences Dr Antonio Pantaleo, Mr Jack Caswell, Life Sciences Dr Bob Schroeder, Chemistry Mr Jamie Condliffe, Centre for Environmental Policy Mr Stanford Chen, School of Professional Development Mrs Paula Smith, Business School Mr Stergios Papantonis, Physics Surgery & Cancer (5 years) Mr Christopher Cooling, Dr Shufang Song, Chemical Engineering Mr Rhys Parfitt, Physics Dr Wonjae Choi, Mechanical Engineering Mechanical Engineering Mr Anuj Tewari, ICT (6 years) Dr Imran Patel, Materials Dr Hassanul Choudhury, Life Sciences Dr Luca Cornetti, Life Sciences Miss Jag Thind, ICT (10 years) Dr Gabriel Piedrafita, Life Sciences Dr James Coakley, Materials Dr Emiliano Cortes, Physics Miss Emmanuelle Thinon, Chemistry Mr Daniel Plant, Mechanical Engineering Mr Andrew Codling, ICT (8 years) Mr Andrew Crook, Mr Jonathan Tinnacher, Outreach Dr Andreas Poulos, Chemical Engineering Faculty of Medicine Centre Miss Keshia Collins, EYEC (7 years) Dr Oleg Tolmachov, NHLI Mr Andrew Preater, Library Mr Christopher Davie, Physics Dr Sanjan Das, Life Sciences Dr Tina Toni, Life Sciences Mrs Hayley Protheroe, Medicine Miss Gemma Dawkins, Education Office Dr Kees de Hoogh, Ms Mihaela Tudor, Catering Services Dr Carmine Putignano, Public Health (14 years) Mr Fayaz Dudhiya, Medicine Mr Paul Urquhart, ICT (6 years) Mechanical Engineering Dr Julia Denes, Surgery & Cancer Dawn Duodu Mulenga, Miss Reva Vaze, Bioengineering Miss Kathryn Quigley, Medicine Dr Jennifer Dougan, Chemical Engineering Faculty of Medicine Centre Dr Jamie Vera Vera Rojas, Medicine Dr Phyllis Quinn, Surgery & Cancer Dr Antonio Fernandez-Dominguez, Ms Jacqueline Edge, Dr Ivo Vlaev, Surgery & Cancer (5 years) Faculty of Engineering Dr Steven Ridge, NHLI Physics Mr Duo Wang, Chemical Engineering Mrs Sarah Edwards, NHLI Dr Hannah Rigby, Dr Maximillian Habibi, NHLI Mr Mark Weber, Finance Ms Oleksandra Fedina, NHLI Civil and Environmental Engineering Dr Chris Haley, Development and Corporate Affairs (7 years) Mr Nathan Whittaker, Finance Ms Judy Fernandes, Public Health Dr Markus Ritzefeld, Chemistry Dr Paul Holloway, Medicine Mr Peter Wilcox, Estates Division Dr Tristan Fletcher, Medicine Mr Pawel Rycerz, Mechanical Engineering Professor Sir. Hoskins, Miss Hannah Wood, Physics Mrs Deborah Folkes, Ms Yuly Sandoval Mora, Accommodation The Grantham Institute (6 years) Faculty of Medicine Centre Mr Taofik Sangonuga, Student Union Miss Rachel Yan, NHLI Dr Neveen Hosny, Chemistry Mr Stephen Ford, Mr Ioan Sferlea, Ms Agnieszka Yongue, Surgery & Cancer Faculty of Medicine Centre Faculty of Medicine Centre Miss Farhana Hussain, NHLI Mrs Victoria Garland, Physics Mr Peter Shadbolt, Physics Mrs Maria Infante Ibanez, Student Union

Dr George Shirreff, Public Health Miss Riela Jones, Life Sciences retirements Dr Joshua Giles, Mechanical Engineering Mrs Laura Gnata, ESE Mr Arun Shivalingam, Chemistry Mr Rajnesh Kalia, ICT (13 years) Mrs Piera Brambilla, Physics (37 years) Mr James Goldsmith, Library Professor Martin Siegert, Dr Tahereh Kamalati-Buluwela, Mr Philip Cunnington, ICT (42 years) The Grantham Institute Faculty of Medicine Centre Mrs Antonia Goodyer, Mr Ian Gillett, Health and Safety (26 years) Mr Dilshan Silva, Computing Mr Philip Kent, Student Union College Headquarters Mr John Morland, ICT (28 years) Dr Vivianne Goosens, Medicine Dr Charanjit Singh, NHLI Dr Paul Kirk, Life Sciences Dr Goli Haidari, Medicine Dr Kristyna Sovova, Surgery & Cancer Ms Emilie Kottenmeier, Public Health This data is supplied by HR and covers Ms Julia Harte, Registry Miss Lauren Stephens, Medicine Mrs Olga Leonova, Medicine staff leaving the College during the period Dr Thomas Headen, Chemical Engineering Dr Naresh Susarla, Chemical Engineering Miss Ilona Lewicka, 8 April–31 May. This data was correct at Faculty of Natural Sciences the time of going to press. Mr Gareth Hedges, Business School Miss Franciska Szikszai, Accommodation Dr Dafydd Lloyd, Surgery & Cancer Ms Erika Helms, International Office Mr Clive Taylor, Computing Dr Thiago Lopes, Chemistry Dr Denis Horlait, Materials Ms Jacquie Ujetz, NHLI Mr Jose Lourenco, Public Health Please send your images and/or Dr Eleni Iacovidou, Mrs Palvi Varsani, comments about new starters, Dr Charlotte Manisty, NHLI Centre for Environmental Policy Faculty of Medicine Centre leavers and retirees to the Editor Miss Stacey Jennings, Public Health Mr Brian Vermeire, Aeronautics Miss Jessica Martin, Surgery & Cancer at [email protected] Ms Anna Jerve, Life Sciences Dr Spyridon Vernardis, Miss Melissa McLune-Boyland, EYEC (6 years) Miss Sophie Kathirgamanathan, Medicine Chemical Engineering The Editor reserves the right to edit Dr Charles Vriamont, Chemistry Dr Christopher Minas, Clinical Science or amend these as necessary. for complete details: events highlights www.imperial.ac.uk/events May 2014

15 May ▸ Public talk and fish. The challenge lies in portraying their take note interactions at all levels: from the microscopic Partial differential equations: scale, such as between individual molecules; A journey from micro to macro to large ‘macroscopic’ phenomena like the Don’t get patterns made by shoaling fish. Find out how tongue-tied For generations, scientists have been trying partial differential equations (PDEs) help to find a way to fully describe the collective solve such problems at the inaugural lecture on holiday! behaviour of free-moving objects as diverse of Professor José Antonio Carrillo de la Plata as gas molecules, charged particles, bacteria (Mathematics). Enrol for summer term evening language classes in the Centre for Co-Curricular Studies. Different abilities catered for in Arabic, 21 May ▸ Public talk matter and energy, well beyond what those Japanese, Russian, Mandarin telescopes can observe directly. In his Chinese as well as modern The random universe inaugural lecture, Professor Andrew Jaffe European languages and English (Physics) will discuss how observations from Scientists point telescopes at the sky and conversation for non-native the Planck Satellite have revealed that the record pictures of what they detect, then use speakers. There is also an arts Universe has been expanding for 14 billion such measurements to build and refine course in creative writing. cosmological models. Despite the seeming years and constitutes only a few per cent of randomness of the data, they have built up all the mass and energy in the Universe. For full details on how to enrol detailed theories, requiring exotic forms of visit: bit.ly/QAERvh

19 May ▸ Public talk 31 May ▸ External 11 June ▸ Public talk meet the Delivering an efficient Rationality and drugs The electron revolution reader electricity system Professor David Nutt in propulsion A debate about meeting the (Medicine) talks about Hear about the challenges of challenges of decarbonised evidence-based approaches combining gas turbine and electricity with Gareth to drug policy at the superconducting electrical Evans, Ofgem HowTheLightGetsIn Festival technologies for future 9–15 June ▸ External aircraft propulsion, with 2 June ▸ Public talk Universities Week Dr Colin Smith, Rolls Royce Big data: A revolution Help UK universities at the Gabor Lecture that will transform how celebrate their research at we live, work, and think this week of exhibits. Knit a 11 June ▸ Public talk Imperial College Business blood vessel and chat with Going brown or getting School and Data Science researchers from the NHLI at greener? David Larbie, Engineering Institute distinguished Imperial’s Blood Lines stand. Find out about the role of Technical Assistant, Estates 22 May ▸ Perspectives in guest lecture with Viktor #UniWeek #IdeasForLife the terrestrial biosphere in Education Mayer-Schönberger, climate change, and how What are you doing in the picture? Adding value University of Oxford 10 June ▸ Public talk vegetation and soil are I’m in the heating, power and data beyond credit distribution service underground tunnel Café scientifique expected to respond in the Dr Sue Rigby, Vice-Principal, network at the South Kensington Campus 03 June ▸ Public talk An opportunity for patients future. Inaugural lecture University of Edinburgh, conducting a tour for the alumni guests Energy Futures Lab and public to discuss chest of Professor Jon Lloyd discusses awards and at the Imperial Festival 2014. annual lecture 2014 pain with researchers from (Life Sciences) innovative learning Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director Imperial and Royal Brompton What would you do if you were Editor of Research and Technology & Harefield NHS Foundation, 12 June ▸ Public talk 23 May ▸ Open day of Reporter for the day? at Jaguar Land Rover, including Dr Ranil de Silva Passion, parasites and Heart and lung I would definitely introduce a ‘Then and discusses automotive (NHLI) people research open day Now’ section showing images of buildings product development Professor Deborah Smith Opportunity to find out around the campuses; how they are now 10 June ▸ Imperial OBE, Pro-Vice Chancellor for about research at the Royal Business Insights and how they were several decades ago. 5 June ▸ Public talk Research at the University of I like historical pictures and seeing how Brompton Campus and A railway fit for the future Nanochemistry York gives the annual Athena things have evolved (or stayed the same) take part in interactive Richard Parry-Jones, Legendary chemist Professor Lecture over time so this would be a good feature demonstrations Chairman, Network Rail, George Whitesides, Harvard for me. University, talks about shares his vision of railways 29 May ▸ Music that generate and spread his pioneering research, Who would be your cover star? Tamsin Waley-Cohen including biophysics, prosperity My cover star(s) would be the engineers Bach Sonata in A minor for micro- and nanotechnology, of the Estates Engineering Team based at solo violin and Bach’s Partita and science for developing the South Kensington Campus. They have in E major for solo violin economies at the Bagrit a wealth of knowledge and experience Lecture spanning across various disciplines within Building Services Engineering. As an aspiring engineer, having the chance to shadow and learn from them is proving to be an impeccable feature for my development.

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