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University of Reading Alumni Magazine UNIVERSITY From Plough to Plate Special International Issue OF READING 04. Sowing the seeds of change 06. Showcase – Polly Vacher MAGAZINE 10. Food for thought… For Alumni and Friends 1926– years80 2006 University of Reading Autumn/Winter 2006 | Issue 03 Features 04 ‘From Plough…’ International and rural development at Reading 06 06 Showcase – ‘Wings around the world’ 08 Researching for a brighter future: Scholarship student 08 Sakthi Vaiyapuri 10 ‘To Plate…’ The impact of food research at Reading 12 Q&A – The Fight against Breast 20 CONTENTS Cancer – Dhami Pugazhendhi 20 A day in the life of… Mark Anderson: advancing heritage …editoriaL research and community development in Africa REGULARS 01 University News 13 Alumni News It is an exciting time here at the University of Reading. We are seeing a changing landscape internationally, with students coming 15 Where are you now? & Benefits to Reading from more countries than ever before and more staff members travelling overseas, both for academic work and to meet 18 Events Round-up potential students. We continue to recognise the importance of our international students; they bring a diversity of culture, faith 19 Events Diary and experience to the campus and it is this mixture of outlooks, ideas and knowledge that makes Reading such an exciting place in which to study, and to work. This special international issue of the magazine shows both the global impact the University of Reading The ‘University of Reading Magazine’ is University of Reading Magazine makes in its activity and that of its international alumni – we hope published by the Development and External Autumn/Winter 2006, Issue 3 you enjoy reading about their achievements. Affairs Office of The University of Reading. Editor For further information concerning any of Trish O’Neill The International and Study Abroad Office and the Develop- the articles in this issue, please contact: Editorial Board ment and External Affairs Office are continuing to develop our The Editor, University of Reading Magazine, Marion Armson presence overseas – we are expanding our international activities Development & External Affairs Office, James Barr to recruit more international students, but at the same time we Blandford Lodge, Whiteknights, Ian Burn Reading RG6 6AH Matt Carey are putting in place a much firmer plan to communicate more Tel: 0118 378 8006 Fax: 0118 378 6587 Carol Derham effectively with our overseas Alumni. You have invested in Read- email: [email protected] Brenda Morris web: www.reading.ac.uk/alumni ing and you have all brought something individual to the campus Contributors No part of this magazine may be reproduced and have made a unique contribution to what makes Reading the Professor Niranjan, Food Biosciences University that it is today – it is time that we show our apprecia- without the prior permission of the Professor Chris Garforth publisher. Whilst every care has been taken Polly Vacher tion of our Alumni by investing in how we communicate with to ensure the accuracy of editorial content, Mark Anderson you. We look forward to seeing more of you at our increasing no responsibility can be taken for any errors and / or omissions. The views expressed in With thanks to Lucy Ferguson, Press Office, numbers of international alumni receptions overseas (see pages this magazine are not necessarily those The University of Reading 18 &19 for the most recent reception reports), and we are keen to of the University of Reading, the Editorial Design by Lift Creative Communication hear from more of you as you keep us informed about what you Board or the Friends of the University. All Design, www.studiolift.com rights reserved. Telephone: +44 (0)118 958 9209 are doing now, and what your time at Reading has meant to you. Special thanks go to our designers at Lift Finally we would like to send our very best wishes to Marion (Matt Carey, BA Typography, 1997 and Armson of the Alumni Relations team – who many of you will have Stephanie Lee, BA Typography, 2005) had contact with and who is leaving us at the end of the year. We and to Ian Burn, University Library. wish Marion every success for the future and on behalf of all of you, Printers: Warners Midlands Plc. thank her for all that she has achieved for alumni at the University. Printed on 75% recycled silk Photo credits: Alison Fabian for ‘Researching Trish O’Neill for a brighter future’; Austin Brown, John Editor / Alumni Relations Manager Dunlop and Polly Vacher for ‘Wings around © The University of Reading 2006 the world’ and A. Malan and S. Court for ‘A Caroline Nunnerley Cover Image: Rice farming the padi fields Day in the Life of Mark Anderson’. Director, International & Study Abroad Office Health check on Earth Bee diversity Andrena hattorfiana on field scabious. Copyright: Gérard Minet. The diversity of bees and of the flowers 01| they pollinate, has declined significantly UN in Britain and the Netherlands over the I last 25 years according to research by an V international team of researchers from E three UK universities (Leeds, Reading R and York) and from the Netherlands and ist Germany. Biodiversity records for 100s of Y sites found that bee diversity fell in almost news 80% of them. Dr Stuart Roberts, (Agricul- The UK’s first national centre for Earth The Earthcare satellite will scan the Earth’s ture), said: ‘In Britain, pollinator species observation (NCEO) is to be co-ordinated at atmosphere from space that were relatively rare in the past have the University of Reading. tended to become rarer still, while the The new centre, proposed and funded O’Neill, currently Director of the Data commoner species have become even more by the Natural Environment Research Assimilation Research Centre at the Uni- plentiful.’ Council (NERC), will have overall responsi- versity. Professor O’Neill said: ‘Accurately bility for NERC’s suite of Earth observation predicting what’s going to happen to the centres of excellence. These centres use environment on Earth this century is the data from Earth observation satellites to big scientific challenge. It isn’t enough to monitor both global and regional changes look at, say, the atmosphere on its own to in the environment, and to develop a find out how the environment is going Strategic detailed understanding of these changes to change. What we need is a comprehen- so that future environmental conditions sive picture of all the interactive elements. partnership can be predicted. The centres have already We want to give planet Earth a real health ANGLE plc, the venture management and highlighted significant environmental check, to diagnose its state of health and consulting company specialising in the changes – for instance ozone depletion, at- give a prognosis for the future. Earth commercialisation of technology, has mospheric pollution, and melting sea ice. observation satellites can be likened to signed a 20 year strategic partnership with The NCEO will be led by a newly ap- body scanners in this respect.’ the University of Reading. pointed Science Director, Professor Alan Under the terms of the agreement, AN- GLE has the exclusive right of first refusal to invest in all University intellectual property (IP) that is commercialised. AN- GLE will invest in each spin-out company Fastest physical processes known for up to £0.5 million. In return for a 15% The University has developed a laser labo- share in all commercial returns ANGLE ratory that is capable of showing some of will provide consultancy support to the the fastest physical processes known. The University on IP commercialisation. Ultrafast Laser Laboratory (ULL) can gener- In total, ANGLE expects to invest at least ate high energy laser light pulses with du- £3 million over the first five years of the rations less than one* tenth of a millionth agreement. ANGLE’s Director of New Ven- of a millionth of a second long. tures, Stephen Bence, said: ‘The University This state of the art facility took nearly of Reading is a top rated research Univer- two years to design and build and now sity with strength and depth through its contains an impressive suite of recently technology base. We are delighted to have developed instruments. the opportunity to work with the Uni- The laser pulses created in the ULL have versity to commercialise its intellectual a wide range of functions and will be used property over an extended period of time to investigate theories in fundamental and look forward to some early successes.’ physics as well as practical applications in PhD student Justin Steele-Davies with the new medical science, DNA sequencing and even Ultrafast laser capable of showing some of the to discover more about the composition of fastest physical processes known archaeological finds. Infant research In brief »We were Borissed! Boris Johnson MP Boris Johnson, Conservative MP for Henley, visited the University of Read- ing in October. The outspoken shadow 02| education secretary met with the UN Vice-Chancellor Gordon Marshall and professors for a tour of the University, I V before speaking to students and taking E questions during a meeting with the R Research undertaken by the School of University of Reading and Dr Janice Brown Politics Society. ist Psychology and Clinical Language Studies at London South Bank University investi- Mr Johnson – a vigorous supporter of has revealed that children understand gating attention in infancy has revealed higher education, currently pushing Y word use and can process visual informa- that, at just four months old, babies are for more use of academic scholarships news tion earlier and more efficiently than was able to organise visual information in at – gave a talk on the importance of previously recognised. least three different ways, according to politics for the young.
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