2012 Issue 14 Safeguarding food security from space p10 Modern Olympics invent a glorious past p8 Sharing climate science in Africa p12 Celebrating research at Reading new challenges – our new Centre Contents for Literacy and Multilingualism has 2 Research at Reading wide-ranging research from many departments across the University but FACULTY NEWS all with the focus of improving how we speak, how we learn and even our health. 3 Science In this Olympic year, the eyes of the world 4 Life Sciences have been on London. The bywords of 5 Business this highlight in the sporting calendar are respect, peace and international relations 6 Arts, Humanities but our feature on the ancient Greek and Social Science Games suggests these were unfamiliar FEATURES concepts to our athletic forebears, and much of our Olympic tradition is 8 Games without frontiers Welcome to this issue of Research romanticised. We also focus on the work of the University of Reading and the 10 The view from space Review. This is a very exciting time for the University as we invest £50 million international community to reduce the 12 From textbook to reality: in new academic posts. Excellence with impacts of climate change and ensure sharing science in Africa impact is an embedded part of the ethos food security through our new Africa Climate Exchange programme and the PICTURE STORY at Reading and our investment project will have global reach through research research of our earth observation experts. 14 White wonder and teaching. On a personal note, I am delighted to say that I have recently been appointed for a IN FOCUS Some of the areas featured in this issue are central to our international research second term as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for 15 One world, many voices reputation – in climate change, food Research and Innovation. Our work at security, healthy ageing, neuroscience Reading is hugely relevant to society and MEET THE RESEARCH TEAM and sustainable buildings and people’s quality of life and prosperity and I am looking forward to this exciting 16 Human Environments environments. We introduce the first chapter in the University’s research agenda. Research Group (HERG) holder of our Grantham Chair in Climate Science, Professor Ted Shepherd, and I hope you enjoy reading about our IN CONVERSATION meet a research team making a difference research in this Review. As always, it to communities around the world. can only feature a small selection of 18 Welcome to Ted Shepherd In today’s global society, multilingualism our work, and much more information FunDING news is becoming the norm and brings with it can be found on our website. 19 New research grants and contracts Professor Christine Williams Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) www.reading.ac.uk/research 2 Research Review NEWS Science news Research in the Faculty of Science at Reading covers a broad range of subject areas and includes innovative, cross-disciplinary collaboration. Our four Schools span the human and environmental sciences (archaeology, geography, soil science and meteorology), as well as the physical sciences and technology (construction management, mathematics, computer science, cybernetics and electronic engineering). 1cm Student’s idea gives graphic details to the Glastonbury excavations reveal Saxon glass industry visually impaired Research by Professor Roberta Gilchrist, A final-year student in the School of movement and touch, so users can feel from the Department of Archaeology, Systems Engineering has developed the shape of data presented graphically. has revealed that finds at Glastonbury Abbey provide the earliest archaeological technology that allows visually impaired ‘People in science and engineering subjects evidence of glass-making in Britain. or blind people to perceive a graph often need to visualise large amounts through the senses of touch and sound. of data, but for those who are visually Professor Gilchrist has re-examined the Ruth White has designed a low-cost impaired it would be meaningless to records of excavations that took place haptics system, a computer-controlled hear a screen reader read out an almost at Glastonbury in the 1950s and 1960s. robot-like device which responds to endless list of numbers,’ she said. Glass furnaces recorded in 1955–7 were previously thought to date from before the Norman Conquest; however New approach to risk radiocarbon dating has now revealed they date approximately from the 680s. Research from the School of Construction One of the paper’s authors, Dr Samuel Management and Engineering has Laryea, has won the Research Endowment highlighted the need for contractors Trust Fund Best Research Output Prize 2012 New evidence solves mystery to incorporate risk when determining for the Faculty of Science. Other faculty of the ‘eclipse wind’ a bidding price. winners can be seen in the news section Researchers in Meteorology have The researchers adopted a rigorous at www.reading.ac.uk/research found new evidence that the last practice-based approach to the problem Reference: Laryea, S. and Hughes, W. (2011). Risk and full solar eclipse across the UK that showed significant differences between price in the bidding process of contractors. Journal caused changes to the wind speed what occurs in practice and the theory of Construction and Engineering Management, 137 and direction, giving credence to (4). pp. 248–258. ISSN 0733–9364 doi: 10.1061/(ASCE) behind contingency allocation. The findings the mysterious ‘eclipse wind’ CO.1943–7862.0000293 have significant practical implications for reported by some eclipse watchers. the construction industry. Thousands of people flocked to Devon and Cornwall for the eclipse on 11 August 1999, and while the view How maths predicts human behaviour in the South West was obscured by Mathematicians are helping to develop ways of managing the existing power cloud cover, some onlookers reported a ‘smart’ power distribution system to grid, in a future where electric cars an eerie change of wind direction. prepare the street-level electricity grid and micro-generators become more Dr Suzanne Gray, Senior Lecturer for a low-carbon future. Experts at the common, and a greater fraction of total in Weather Systems, and Professor University’s Centre for Mathematics energy consumption shifts towards Giles Harrison, Professor of of Human Behaviour are providing electricity. Researchers will develop Atmospheric Physics, analysed the analytics and modelling expertise data analysis and modelling techniques data from 121 sites across the UK. behind a new £30m pilot project, to understand and predict how people This added new information to an funded by energy regulator Ofgem. actually use electricity at a street-by- earlier analysis published by Professor The project, led by Professor Pete street level. Harrison in 2002. The extra data Grindrod, is designed to find new have given a much clearer regional picture of how the eclipse affected the weather on the day. Reference: Gray, S.L. and Harrison, R.G. (2012). Diagnosing eclipse-induced wind changes. Proceedings of the Royal Society A, ISSN 1364–5021 doi: 10–1098/rspa. 2012.007 Issue 14 | 2012 3 NEWS Life Sciences news Life Sciences at Reading cover the breadth of the biological-chemical sciences and their application to the real world: from embryology and child development, through human behaviour (economics and psychology), to ageing. Human well-being is supported directly by agriculture, horticulture, food and nutrition together with biomedicine and pharmacy. Blood cell breakthrough Kinky DNA National recognition Our picture, below, shows how adding for innovative research the metal Ruthenium (in purple) to a could help treat Two scientists at the University of molecule has enabled Dr Christine Cardin Reading have been recognised for heart disease and her colleagues in the Department of their ground-breaking research. Researchers at the University’s Institute Chemistry to see easily for the first time for Cardiovascular and Metabolic how they interact with our DNA. The Dr Vitaliy Khutoryanskiy, from Reading Research (ICMR) have uncovered, for results could help develop more effective School of Pharmacy, has won the 2012 the first time, the mechanism by which treatments for cancer patients. McBain Medal, a joint award from the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society platelets, the blood cells that cause Many genes are switched on and off of Chemical Industry. Dr Khutoryanskiy’s clots, ‘communicate’ with each other when the right protein creates a kink research is focused on the development of and the inner walls of blood vessels in the DNA double helix, and a drug new materials to help in the administration when clotting. which could do this selectively could of drugs, the treatment of wounds, and Professor Jon Gibbins, ICMR Director, be used to further medical research. innovative treatments which help in the said: ‘This appears to be a very Ruthenium emits a visible light under fight against disease. important communication mechanism the microscope and clearly shows how for blood clotting and thrombosis. molecules bind to DNA and, in this case, Ian Hamley, Professor of Physical Since we have found that molecules link two DNA helices. Chemistry, has been awarded a prestigious that block these channels reduce Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Reference: Hall, J.P., O’Sullivan, K., Naseer, A., Award for his research into Alzheimer’s thrombosis, this may pave the way Smith, J.A., Kelly, J.M., and Cardin, C.J. Structure for potential new avenues for the determination of an intercalating ruthenium disease and new ways of treating wounds. development of more effective anti- complex which kinks DNA by semiintercalation thrombotic therapies to prevent heart of a tetraazaphenanthrene ligand. attacks and strokes.’ Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 108, 17610–17614 (2011) Reading leads on food The research was funded by the British security consortium Heart Foundation. The University of Reading is leading Reference: Sakthivel Vaiyapuri, Chris I. Jones, a consortium of the universities of Parvathy Sasikumar, Leonardo A.