Christmas Conference 2011
Tuesday 20th December 2011, 0900-1730
Management School Building
All talks and speakers for 2011's Christmas Conference have now been confirmed, with two high-profile external speakers:
Professor David Southwood, former Director of Science and Robotic Exploration at the European Space Agency, will deliver a talk entitled 'What's the Use of Space Science?: Space Science in a Modern Society'.
Professor Mark E Smith, Lancaster University's incoming vice-chancellor, will talk about his work to date in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in his talk 'Multinuclear solid state NMR - an introduction to a versatile spectroscopic characterisation approach of atomic scale structure and dynamics of materials'.
The day will also included the Science and Technology Graduate School poster competition, with posters from across the faculty on display.
A full list of talks and Conference Programme are available on the Science and Technology website.
Graduate School Poster Competition
There is still time for research students to enter a poster for this year's conference. Students need to submit their title and abstract via the website by this Friday (18 November).
Science and Technology Graduate School PhD Scholarships
For 2012, there will be eight allocated PhD scholarships. Full-time PhD Scholarships will be funded over three and a half years and will include a research training support grant for the recipient. One scholarship will be pre-allocated to each of a maximum of four departments, allowing them to advertise the availability of a scholarship, attract applicants and convert an outstanding applicant early in the cycle. The deadline for applying for a pre-allocated studentship is Thursday 8 December 2011, and the details of what to include in your case are available from the Graduate School Administrator.
The remaining scholarships will be available to all departments in an open competition. Furthermore, it is proposed that the top candidate from all eight recipients may be awarded an enhanced stipend of £2K per year over the regular stipend level. Such a recipient will be termed holder of the Dean's Outstanding PhD Scholarship.
For details on eligibility and the application process and timescales, as well as to submit a case for an allocated or open scholarship please contact the Graduate School Administrator Ruth Allen.
FST's elected representative on Senate
Following a call for nominations earlier this term, FST's new representative on the Senate for the period 2011/12-2013/14 is Professor Barbara Maher from LEC. Full details of the responsibilities and powers of the Senate, as defined in the Statutes, is available for download from the university website.
European Research Council Synergy Grant 2012 Call
The European Research Council is calling for proposals (deadline 25 January 2012) on any research area provided there is synergy between at least two areas so that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. 2-4 PIs are required and these may be in the same institution. Funding is 150 Million Euro, limited to 15 million Euro per proposal and 6 years duration. Further information is available online.
The UK Research office is running an event in Manchester on Wednesday 14 December on the Synergy Call. More information is available via the UK Research Office website.
Reminder: Early Career Small Grant Scheme
The deadline for applications to the Lancaster University's Early Career Small Grant Scheme is this Friday (18 November) at 5pm. Awards of up to £7,000 are available to academic staff in the early stages of their research career in support of individual or collaborative research. More details are available from the Research Support Office web pages.
Networking event for Managers of Technical Staff in Universities in the NW England
University of Manchester, Wednesday 23 November
The NW technical managers forum is a free event that aims to give technical managers the chance to discuss the following themes:
- The Transition in Universities arising from the current changes in finance and governance in HE
- Making use of our collective professional experience via networking
- Establishing a strategic role for Technical Managers in shaping the future of technical services in universities
- Promoting a culture of inclusion of technical staff in the above processes
You can book online via the HEaTED website
Managing Personal Stress - half day training opportunity for staff
Following the Wellbeing at Work Survey, HR is offering a free Managing Personal Stress training course. The course covers the concept of "360° stress", and aims to help attendees understand the effects of stress and where it comes from, and have a range of tools for dealing with stress in their lives.
There are still places left on morning and afternoon sessions on Friday 18 November. To enroll, contact: oed@lancaster.ac.uk
News
Recent stories from Science and Technology:
Lancaster University Ornithologist Honoured
A Lancaster University scientist has been awarded one of the British Trust for Ornithology's top awards at the Mall Galleries, London.
LEC leads food security and sustainable water debate
The third in our series of 'N8 Debates' during 2011 "Food Security and Sustainable Water Supplies" focused on the national and international challenges associated with managing water resources in tandem with food and energy supplies.
Digital Humanities project awarded €1.5m grant
Lancaster University has been awarded a European Research Council Starting Grant of €1.5 million for a five-year project which will act as a flagship programme for Digital Humanities research.