It’s celebration time!This July thousands of our students invited their families and friends to join them at Durham’s World Heritage Site to celebrate a memorable summer congregation.

/ Page 04

Inaugural Lecture SeriesDiscover this year’s exciting lectures from the Inaugural Lecture Series (ILS) programme.

/ Page 09

Connecting with our alumniFind out how the Alumni Relations team have been reinvigorating the volunteering programme for alumni events.

/ Page 11

| JULY / AUGUST 2014 | ISSUE 36

TO THE CLASS OF 2014congratulations Also in this issue:

14

DESIGN: wearewarm.com

PRINT: statex.co.uk

FRONT COVER: Durham students celebrate summer congregation.

06

Dialogue 36 | July / August 2014

Dear Colleagues,

At the end of another remarkably successful year for the University, some of the many ‘end of academic year’ celebratory events and successes are highlighted in this issue of Dialogue.

Congregation celebrates our students’ academic successes, and the Students’ Union Annual Awards and events such as the Palatinate awards and Student Community Action’s oSCArs celebrate the remarkable achievements of our students and staff in sport, volunteering, music and other activities. And, of course the excellence and commitment of all staff in research and education are recognised externally by Durham University being the only University in the UK with every department ranked in the top 10 in the Complete University Guide 2015, with more number 1 ranked Departments than all but one other University.

I want to end this academic year by thanking every member of the University community, whether staff or student, and whether based in a Department, College or Professional Support Service Department, for all they have done to advance this University and its national and international reputation.

With all best wishes,

Chris Higgins, Vice-Chancellor and Warden

EDITOR:

Zoë Thomas,

Marketing Projects Co-ordinator.

CONTRIBUTIONS: Sharon Battersby, CIS; Tara Duncan, Greenspace; Louise Elliott, Event Durham; Media Relations Team, Communications Office; Andy Cattermole, Experience Durham; Rachel Smith, Library; Angela Healer, Procurement; Karen Barrie, HR; Charlotte Kerr, DARO; Simon Hackett, SASS; Adam Moss, DUCK; David Held, Global Policy Institute; Shelly McCormack, Durham Students’ Union; Sarah Winship, HR; Rachel Eastwood, SCA; Jane Macnaughton, Centre for Medical Humanities; Andy Monkman, Department of Physics; Jessica Lawrence, Durham University Music Society.

03 Complete University Guide

Get Social

04 Congregation

06 Research Insights

08 Spotlight on... The Global Policy Institute

09 Inaugural Lecture Series: A year in review

10 This year with DUCK

11 Connecting with our Alumni

12 DSU Awards

13 Last Night of the Proms

14 News In Brief

16 Library News

Public Energy Debate

17 Experience Durham

18 Museums and Attractions

19 Event Durham, Retail & Catering

20 HR News

21 CIS News

22 Procurement

23 Greenspace

24 Under Investigation

What’s On

ISSUE 36

Lets celebrate!Find out what Durham University has to celebrate in this months issue of Dialogue.

04

17

11

10

Do you follow us on our social media channels? We have compiled a list of our favourite posts, tweets and videos over the past two months to show you what has been happening around the University!

/durhamuniversity

@D

urham_U

niD

urhamU

niversity

TOP FIVE TWEETS • Research by Durham Uni finds #fracking increases water

#radioactivity but would not pose threat to #publichealth http://bit.ly/1qGA1wg

• Durham’s researchers say restricting competitors could help threatened animal #species cope with #climatechange http://bit.ly/TrLIsA

• Early reading progress in English primary schools surpasses international counterparts @CEMatDurham http://bit.ly/Ufl72X

• Risk of stranger danger to people with Williams Syndrome highlighted http://bit.ly/SMU5i4 @Newcastle_WS

• Universe evolution recreated in the lab - pioneering Durham University #cosmology research referenced by @BBCPallab http://bbc.in/1jjfWIE

VIDEO OF THE MONTH On 22 May Professor Noam Chomsky delivered a lecture entitled ‘Surviving the 21st Century’ as part of The Castle Lecture Series. If you missed out on tickets you can watch it here http://youtu.be/wJtfWZGxnGI

ww

w.thedurham

diary.wordpress.com

In addition, the University was second only to Cambridge in the total number of courses it offers which are ranked the leading course in the subject in the UK. All but three of Durham’s 22 ranked departments/schools offer courses ranked in the top five in the UK.

The Complete University Guide, which ranks 123 British universities named Durham University as the country’s fifth best overall for the fourth year running.

Professor Chris Higgins, Vice-Chancellor and Warden of Durham University, said: “This is excellent news for the University, we are enormously proud to have every single course we offer at Durham ranked within the top ten in the UK, with the vast majority in the top five. Our performance in the Complete University Guide confirms that Durham is amongst the top broad-subject universities in the country, and indeed the world.”

The result secured Durham’s position as one of the finest all-round universities in the country, delivering excellence in education and research across all of its disciplines.

The Complete University Guide 2015 placed Durham University as the leading University in the UK in terms of proportion of its courses (100%) ranked in the top ten in the country.

Share your story...If you have anything interesting coming up such as an event, lecture, news article, radio/TV appearance, etc. get in touch with zoe.thomas@durham.ac.ukCOMPLETE

UNIVERSITY GUIDE

Congregation is the highlight of the University calendar, recognising the hard work of our students as they graduate in the stunning setting of Durham Cathedral and Palace Green.

This July thousands of our students graduated in subjects across the sciences, social sciences and arts and humanities. Graduates invited their families and friends to join them at Durham’s World Heritage Site to celebrate this memorable occasion.

The sun was shining for the majority of the week with the rain holding off until the very last ceremony on the Friday. The Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor shook the hands of 3,555 students and received a few hugs, one high five and, possibly for the first time, some fist bumps! The great weather and the smooth running of the ceremonies, made possible by the many staff who volunteered their time to work as marshals, helped to create a positive and celebratory atmosphere which staff, students and their guests clearly enjoyed.

TO THE CLASS OFcongratulations

Honorary Graduates As part of the celebrations, the University honoured several national and international figures in geology, music, archaeology, business and the wine industry, who are either Durham University alumni or have strong links with the University. This year we awarded six honorary degrees:

JAMES LANCELOT – HONORARY DOCTOR OF MUSIC

James Lancelot is one of Britain’s most distinguished organists. Since 1985, he has been Master of the Choristers and Organist at Durham Cathedral with responsibility for the Cathedral’s ministry through music.

BOB YOUNG – HONORARY MASTER OF ARTS

Bob Young is a successful entrepreneur and North East businessman who has made major contributions to the regional and national economy. He has established a scholarship programme which supports local students who are unable to secure funding for their university education.

TONY AND BARBARA LAITHWAITE – HONORARY DOCTOR OF CIVIL LAW

Founders and owners of the world’s foremost home delivery wine company, Laithwaite’s Wine. The couple met whilst they were both students at Durham in the 1960s and are major benefactors to Durham University’s Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience.

PROFESSOR JANE BUIKSTRA – HONORARY DOCTOR OF SCIENCE

Professor Buikstra is a renowned anthropologist and bio-archaeologist. She is the Director of the Centre for Bioarchaeological Research at Arizona State University and President of the Center for American Archaeology.

PROFESSOR MOSOBALAJE OYAWOYE – HONORARY DOCTOR OF SCIENCE

Professor Oyawoye studied for his PhD at Durham University, and was the first African Professor of Geology and is known as ‘The Father of Geology’ in his home country of Nigeria. IMAGE Above: Tony and Barbara Laithwaite.

0505

Professor Chris Higgins, Vice-Chancellor and Warden of Durham University, said: “All of our honorary degree recipients have made outstanding contributions in their chosen fields. They all have strong links to Durham and some are alumni of the University.

They are role models for our students in terms of what can be achieved with drive, determination and skill.

Durham’s graduates are among the most sought-after in the world. When our students embark on their own professional journeys I am sure they will draw inspiration from the success of our honorary graduates in making a real difference in whatever field they choose.”

First cohort of supported progression students graduated

This year’s congregation also saw our first cohort of Supported Progression students graduating, most of whom were awarded a First or a 2:1 degree. These students took part in a scheme specifically for talented students studying in the North East and Cumbria who have the potential to study at a university like Durham.

The Supported Progression scheme offers talented sixth form school pupils a two-year programme of events and guidance, including opportunities to take part in residential events and experiencing life as a Durham University student. Those who successfully complete the assessed summer school project at the end of Year 12 are recognised as having achieved a qualification that can contribute towards meeting the entry requirements for a programme of study at Durham University, along with a guaranteed offer.

Find out more...watch our Summer Congregation films here... http://youtu.be/mUQ5d HNDTrg?list=PL1zMD_kTXdjxVALH nEgJWbtN5NolSZmbt

05

TO THE CLASS OFcongratulations

IMAGE Left and above: Graduates enjoy the occasion.IMAGE Above: Tony and Barbara Laithwaite.

Congratulations to our graduates, we wish you all the best for the future! We hope you stay in touch with us through Dunelm, our Durham University Alumni Community www.dunelm.org.uk

Thank you to all our staff and students who helped to make Congregation such a success, particularly the Ceremonies Unit, Estates and Buildings and Event Durham.

Staff can submit suggestions for future honorary degree candidates at: www.durham.ac.uk/ceremonies/honorary

Joe Elliott, Professor of Education and Principal of Collingwood College, talks about his rollercoaster media journey following publication of his controversial book on dyslexia.

“The recent publication of my book, The Dyslexia Debate, has attracted much public attention. Following great work by the University’s Media Relations Team, I was interviewed on various national and international TV and radio stations, in the national and international press and the research was featured on popular websites such as Mumsnet and The Daily Beast.

None of this was of any great interest to Collingwood students, although my subsequent appearance on Loose Women seemed to impress them greatly. Several approached me afterwards and exclaimed “Legend!”, a greeting which I took to represent some form of approbation.

I must confess that I knew little about this programme, but dark warnings that the Loose Women were fierce, and inclined to engage in acts of merciless intimidation, were not realised.

Several of those who saw the programme commented that everyone in the studio audience seemed to be agreeing with my position. Little did they realise that, during the adverts, I had briefed everyone around me to nod vigorously whenever I was making anything that seemed like a key point.

A tricky element of dealing with the media is that it can be very difficult to keep control over the story, especially when it involves an area which is as emotive and complex as dyslexia.

Whilst the majority of the coverage was very well informed and represented the complexities of our research and its conclusions, some newspaper headlines misrepresented the book’s contents, such as “Dyslexia is a meaningless label used by middle-class parents who fear their children are being branded stupid, professor claims”.

The fact that we had categorically stated in the book and the press release that reading disability is a very real phenomenon with a biological basis and that this had nothing to do with intelligence, seemed not to have been picked up in these cases. However, we had anticipated this with our planning for the story,

and with coverage that went beyond media stories, it meant that, on the whole, we were able to convey our core messages.

Essentially, our argument is that dyslexia is a term that is understood in so many different ways that it has very little clinical or educational value. We show how advances in genetics, neuroscience, psychology and education do not support the widespread belief that those with dyslexia represent a meaningful subgroup of poor readers. For this reason, we call for a discontinuation of the use of this label, and instead want to see intervention with all children who struggle to read from an early age.

However, it is not merely a case of misleading headlines, as outraged responses from the public to more reliable reports of my work in this area are commonplace. Clearly, there are powerful psychological forces at work. I believe this comes with the territory of doing this type of research.

Over the years, I have received messages from irate parents accusing me of claiming their child is not dyslexic but stupid. Yet I have always been at pains to state that intelligence

FROM RADIO 4 TO LOOSE WOMEN

Dialogue 36 | July / August 2014

and decoding ability have nothing to do with each other so why this misinterpretation of the message?

In my opinion, this phenomenon reflects a form of projection whereby past humiliations caused by the insensitive comments and behaviour of others are reignited and grafted onto the current debate. In essence, the angry parent is fighting all those who threaten their cherished belief that the label will sustain the wellbeing of their child. The perceived opposition, i.e. someone like me who is questioning the label, is seen to share common perspectives, all of which are insensitive to the needs of those who suffer from dyslexia.

Although the reality is very different, it is easier to discount scientific research findings such as those reported in the book when these are blended with other less tenable assertions.

Despite some of the inaccurate headlines, emotive responses and ad hominem criticism (including my very own Twitter troll for a while), crucially, the rollercoaster media journey has certainly given me the opportunity to enter a debate with a wide range of people from many countries including academics, special needs teachers, educational psychologists, parents of children with learning difficulties, university disability staff, and Government policymakers.”

FROM RADIO 4 TO LOOSE WOMEN

0707

RESEARCH LEADS TO SUCCESSFUL YEAR FOR PHYSICSResearch in Physics has seen the department’s academics win a number of accolades and awards in 2014.

Professor Carlos Frenk, Ogden Professor of Fundamental Physics and Director of the Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC), received the Royal Astronomical Society Gold Medal for Astronomy, previously awarded to famous scientists such as Babbage, Einstein and Hubble.

Professor Shaun Cole, Deputy Director of the ICC, was also a joint recipient of the prestigious Shaw Prize in Astronomy.

Professors Frenk and Cole were two of four physics’ researchers who were highlighted in the Thomson-Reuters list of the ‘World’s most influential scientific minds 2014’, together with Professors Dave Alexander and Ian Smail of the Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics.

The Thomson-Reuters rankings saw Durham ranked as Europe’s leading university, and sixth in the world, for highly-cited researchers in astronomy and cosmology.

Meanwhile leading scientific society the Institute of Physics

awarded two of its main prizes to Durham physicists.

Professor Brian Tanner, Dean for University Enterprise, received the 2014 Gabor Medal and Prize for distinguished work in the application of physics in an industrial, commercial or business context.

And Professor Charles Adams, a member of the Joint Quantum Centre, received the Thomson Medal and Prize for distinguished research in atomic (including quantum optics) or molecular physics.

To cap these magnificent achievements, planning permission has also been granted for the new Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics to be built next to the existing Physics building on Lower Mountjoy.

Designed by renowned architectural practice Studio Daniel Libeskind, the £10m development is being made possible by generous donations of £1.5m from the Wolfson Foundation and £3.35m from The Ogden Trust, whose chairman is Durham alumnus Sir Peter Ogden.

Spotlight on...

Established in January 2014, the Global Policy Institute (GPI) at Durham University seeks to develop and enhance research on some of today’s most pressing global challenges, such as financial market instability, pandemics and epidemics, new patterns of conflict, and climate change.

WHAT WE DO

GPI provides the framework for collaboration across disciplines on questions of global policy. This collaboration takes many forms, ranging from academic research, conferences, postgraduate seminars, to cooperation with leading global governance bodies. Last month we hosted a conference entitled ‘Justice in a Global Age’ with speakers coming from across the UK and US, and on 13th October our Annual Lecture will take place with Pascal Lamy, the former Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The research agenda for the Global Policy Institute is driven by the Institute Directors and Deputy Directors in collaboration with various partners both within Durham University as well as externally. Currently, there are four core research themes being investigated by the GPI team:

• Global Restructuring

• Alternative Frameworks for Governance

• Ideational Multipolarity

• Neo-Federalism.

WHO WE ARE

GPI is co-directed by Professors David Held and Robert Schuetze. David Held is Professor of Political Science and International Relations in the School of Government and International Affairs and is Master of University College. Robert Schuetze is Professor of European in the Law School. Additionally, the Institute’s

research and projects are led by our team of Deputy Directors and Fellows.

INVOLVEMENT

The Institute is currently seeking to expand its interdisciplinary collaboration through GPI Fellowships, which are available to both early career researchers as well as senior academics. If you would like to find out more email: Nikita.Fellows@durham.ac.uk

Spotlight on...

TH E G LOBAL P OLICY I N STITUTE

Find out more...about our research themes visit www.durham.ac.uk/gpi/research

Find out more...visit www.durham.ac.uk/gpi/people

Find out more...visit www.durham.ac.uk/gpi

By bringing together academics in diverse disciplines as well as practitioners in various sectors of global governance GPI aims to produce collaborative research which has direct policy impact. In essence, GPI works to bridge the divide between academia and practitioners working in relevant fields. Through a broad network of academics and practitioners, policy solutions to the world’s most pressing issues can be conceived and implemented.

GPI forms the most recent aspect of Durham University’s growing expertise in the field of Global Policy. We benefit from close collaboration with the Global Policy Journal which moved to Durham in 2013, which is seen as one of the most important international hubs for scholarship and engagement on issues concerning global governance. For more information on the journal visit www.globalpolicyjournal.com. In addition, the Institute builds on the teaching of global policy in the MSc in Global Politics in the School of Government and International Affairs.

The lectures this year have varied in content, with speakers from a range of disciplines across the University, showcasing the world-leading research taking place here in Durham. The series has provided a great opportunity for the Chairs to not only introduce themselves, but also to extend the reach of their research into the wider community with lectures open to staff, students and members of the public. All the lectures have been hosted by the University’s colleges with each talk being followed by an informal drinks reception.

From ‘Gas, Oil and CO2: Is Cinderella

Shale Now Belle of the Ball’, to ‘Global

Development Goals beyond 2015’

and ‘Gifts of Love, Gifts of Life’, the

lectures have been thought provoking

and challenged current ways of thinking.

This year’s lecture series began with

Professor Steven Lindsay from the School

of Biological and Biomedical Sciences

discussing the global problem of malaria,

particularly the tools being developed for

vector control and the possibilities for the

future, and ended with Professor Paula

Hyde, of Durham University Business

School and the Wolfson Research

Institute for Health & Wellbeing, arguing

that institutional arrangements for the

provision of care generate and perpetuate

abusive practices.

Each of the lectures in this year’s series were filmed and are available to watch at www.durham.ac.uk/research/ils/videos1314

Plans for the next Inaugural Lecture Series to run in the forthcoming academic year 2014/15, are now well underway. Speakers already confirmed for Michaelmas Term include Professor Jim McElwaine of Earth Sciences and Professor Shaun Gregory from the School of Government and International Affairs.

All inaugural lectures are free and open to everyone. For further information on the 2014/15 Inaugural Lecture Series or to book to attend a lecture visit the ILS webpages www.durham.ac.uk/research/ils

IMAGES Left: ‘Baths of Bliss in the Middle Ages: Fact and Fiction’. Professor Elizabeth Archibald delivers her inaugural lecture in Durham University’s

Inaugural Lecture Series at St Cuthbert’s Society. Right: ‘The Problem with Care: Organised Abuse and Hidden Philanthropies’. A lecture given by

Professor Paula Hyde, was filmed at St John’s College, Durham University, as part of the University’s Inaugural Lecture Series 2013/14.

This year’s Inaugural Lecture Series (ILS) programme has seen 10 exciting lectures given by recently appointed or promoted Chairs, nominated by their faculty.

09

WORLD-LEADING RESEARCH: The Inaugural Lecture Series, a year in review...

Durham University Charities Kommittee (DUCK) have had an amazing year, raising over £200,000 for charity. Here, Adam Moss, DUCK Communications and Publicity Officer takes the opportunity to reflect on DUCK’s achievements during 2013/14.

This has been an absolutely phenomenal year for DUCK. Our events have witnessed three bus-loads of students conquer the highest peaks in Britain, pitched 85 students against the gruelling Tough Guy Challenge, enabled hundreds to ragraid across the UK and encouraged the local community to sponsor one of 13,000 rubber ducks floated down the River Wear! Indeed, the unique experiences we offer, allow students to create memories that will stay with them long after they leave our beautiful university, whilst leaving a lasting legacy for the charities they support.

DUCK has three key areas of focus; fundraising, personal development and charity engagement which we have developed this year.

In terms of fundraising, we have created two new events; the Santa Fun Run and Destination Amsterdam and have looked at all our events including DUCK Week to make them more sustainable and enjoyable for everyone involved.

Whether students are organising an event, managing publicity or selecting the charities we support, the scope for personal development at DUCK is huge. This year, we have worked hard to develop and train the teams who make our events possible. In particular, the new Leadership Development Programme for our Expedition Leaders has been a huge success and we are about to wave off over 100 students around the world to volunteer for a range of amazing causes in extraordinary places. We also trained the fundraising arm of the University of Derby Students’ Union, who has since doubled their fundraising total for this year.

Finally this year, DUCK has developed ‘The Giving Strategy’ based on the evaluation, impact and transparency of the charities we engage with.

When taking part in events we have allowed students to nominate a charity of their choice which their fundraising total will go to. This has led to a significant increase in individual totals for some events as people fundraise for the causes they are most passionate about. So far DUCK has donated approximately £25,000 to local charities through this year’s Allocations Process, and we will donate further £47,000 through the Historic Funds Distribution Panel.

Through engaging thousands of students, DUCK will donate hundreds of thousands of pounds to charity by the end of 2013/14. Not only have we organised the annual landmark events which light up the Durham calendar but we have innovated and refined our practices, leaving behind a stronger student organisation for the future.

Thank you to the wonderful charities we support, our invaluable teams who organise our events and finally everyone who has taken part!

THIS YEAR WITH DUCK

Find out more...visit www.durhamduck.org.uk

11

The Alumni Relations team have been trialling something new this spring to connect with our alumni and reinvigorate the volunteering programme for alumni events.

Dunelm Days officially began on Saturday 31 May, the anniversary of the formation of the first Durham alumni group, Durham University Society in 1866. Dunelm Days is a world-wide celebration of what it means to be a graduate of Durham University, the importance of University connections and maintaining them, whilst inviting alumni to re-connect with the University.

We asked all of our event volunteers, wherever they were in the world, to hold an informal alumni event for fellow alumni local to them, and tried to keep the various events within the same week.

With the help of the International Office the first event took place in Mexico City, two week’s early to coincide with Professor Dave Petley’s trip to South America. A number of our other volunteers are holding events

outside of the suggested time frame too – stretching the celebrations to over a month!

Over 20 events have taken place, spread across 17 countries, with over 300 attendees in total. From a family day out in Holland Park to a Chinese Dim Sum Lunch at the prestigious Aberdeen Marina Club in Hong Kong; from a river cruise on the Norfolk Broads to a gathering at a traditional Viennese Summer Ball. With a number of informal gatherings for drinks in local bars, pubs and restaurants, Dunelm Days has seen a huge variety of activities.

Not only has the celebration helped us to strengthen the name of our alumni community (Dunelm) in time for the launch of our new visual identity and alumni website, but it has enabled us to promote volunteering opportunities and encourage our alumni to update their details.

What started out as an experimental celebration is likely to become an annual event, growing in strength each year, ready for 2016 and the 150 year anniversary of the first ever Durham alumni group!

IMAGES: Bottom left - Durham Alumni, Right top-bottom - Hong Kong Alumni, Atlanta Alumni, Norfolk Alumni, Cambridge Alumni.

CONNECTING WITH OUR ALUMNI

This year we received almost 500 recommendations from students across the various categories. Once the entries were in, a judging panel, including a student, student officer and student trustee went through the entries to pick those which stood out as making a significant impact.

The shortlist of nominees was released in May with the winning students and staff members being kept a secret until the evening of the event, which took place on 25th June, in the stunning setting of Palace Green.

The evening, led by the five elected Union Officers, was a great opportunity to celebrate the efforts of staff and students from across the University. The Officers presented each award and proudly shared the reasons as to why each winner was selected.

The event showcased an array of student talent, with students’ union groups providing entertainment, including performances from The African Singing

and Drumming Society, Acappella Choir,

Improvised Comedy, Light Opera and

Instep. The event also marked the premier

of the DUCK (Durham University Charities

Kommittee) video, create by DUCK

participants, showcasing their fundraising

activities from the academic year.

A huge thank you to everyone who

made this year’s awards a success and

congratulations to all our staff and

students who were nominated, shortlisted

and won awards.

IMAGES: Left to right - Improvised Comedy Society, staff and students at the awards, Anthony Paton with David Morris Academic Affairs Officer at Durham Students’ Union.

AT ANNUAL AWARDS EVENING

Durham Students’ Union organise an awards evening at the end of each year, to celebrate the year gone by and to recognise and celebrate students and staff who have made a significant contribution to the student experience at Durham University.

1713

Last Night of the Proms, brought together student music ensembles, Big Band, Chamber Choir, Opera Ensemble, Brass Band, Symphony Orchestra and the full DUMS Chorus, involving over 200 talented musical students.

This was the very first time all the ensembles performed together, creating an exciting atmosphere and sense of unity between all performers. Everyone involved had been working towards the concert throughout a packed term of revision and exams. Everything really came together during the concert with a programme of stirring performances to create a truly memorable occasion.

Instead of the usual sombre black, all of the performers wore either floor length colourful dresses or palatinate purple silk pocket squares, the purple lighting in the Cathedral was based on the University colours, and brought an extra sense of festivity to the event.

The Cathedral was packed, with audience members towards the back able to watch the concert on specially installed TV screens. The performance itself was fantastic, with all the singers and musicians feeling part of something much grander than just another student concert – this was one of the largest events they would perform throughout their time at Durham University and so the atmosphere was incredible. It was a great event and with so many students performing together at the same time, with such a variety of music and so much support from the University and the general public it really was a grand crescendo to conclude a musical year!

Last Night Of The Proms

Durham University Music Society (DUMS) rounded off a busy year of performances with a huge event in Durham Cathedral.

List of winnersSTUDENT AWARDS:

• Academic Rep of the Year (sponsored by Grant Thornton Recruitment UK) - Stuart Flegg

• Best Student Led Trip or Event - the Swing Society for their ‘weekend away’

• Greatest Contribution to Charity - Adam Moss and Ella Playfair from DUCK

• Top Charitable Fundraising Group - the DUCK Challenges team

• Campaign of the Year - People & Planet Society for their ‘Get Durham University to affiliate to the Worker Rights Consortium’ campaign

• Involvement in the Community - Pro Bono’s Cameron Stocks

• Greatest Contribution to Student Media - Purple Radio’s Isabella Allen

• Journalist of the Year (sponsored by The Times and Sunday Times) - Rohan Banerjee

• Best New Society - Stop the Trafficking Of People society

• Most Improved Society - the Student Film society

• Society of the Year (sponsored by Endsleigh) - ProBono society

• Commitment to Students Award - Sally Ingram from the Counselling Service

• Honorary Life Memberships - Naomi (Naz) Atkinson, Chair of DUCK.

STAFF AWARD WINNERS:

• Lecturer of the Year Award (Arts and Humanities) - Ben Dodds

• Lecturer of the Year Award (Science) - Neil Goulty

• Lecturer of the Year Award (Social Science and Health) - Thom Brooks

• Super Supervisor Award - Joanna Setchell

• Guiding Hand Award - Steve Kirk

• Outside the Box Award - Anthony Parton

• Closing the Loop Award - Viktoria Ivleva

• Extra Mile Award - Margaret Masson.

News In Brief

The awards took place at St Aidan’s College with Professor Patrick Hussey, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Science, opening the award ceremony which saw representatives from institutions and departments across the HE sector receive awards.

Durham University’s School of Medicine Pharmacy and Health, whose Athena SWAN bid was led by Professor Jane Macnaughton received a bronze award. Jane’s team included deputies Ann Armstrong and Pam White, focussed particularly on opening out promotion and progression procedures for staff in the School, and this work impacted significantly on wider University policies, especially with respect to Teaching Fellows. The School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Health team are enthusiastic about going for Silver next time.

IMAGE: Ann Armstrong. Pam White, Professor Dame Julia Higgins (Athena Swan Patron) and Professor Jane Macnaughton.

IMAGE: Mrs Sue Snowdon, Lord-Lieutenant and Mr Steve Jenkins, Senior Vice President, Ikon GeoPressure.

Former University spin-out company Ikon GeoPressure, has won the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2014, in recognition of its outstanding performance in growing international trade.

On 10 July, Durham University hosted the Athena Swan Awards for the first time. The Athena SWAN Awards recognise success in developing employment practices to further and support the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) departments in academia.

THE ATHENA SWAN AWARDS

QUEEN’S AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE for former University spin-out

GeoPressure Technology – later Ikon GeoPressure, formed in 1997 as a spin-out from industry consortium-based research originating in the Department of Earth Sciences.

Professor Richard Swarbrick, in Earth Sciences, founded GeoPressure Technology, which became part of Ikon Science in 2006 said: “The high quality research at Durham paved the way for Ikon GeoPressure’s innovative and rigorous methods for predicting subsurface pressures, which are now being globally accepted by industry.”

Stephen Jenkins, Senior Vice President at Ikon GeoPressure, said: “We are honoured to receive the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the highest accolade for business success.”

13

‘What if…?’, a science outreach project led by Dr Lorraine Coghill, and involving Durham University researchers from Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Psychology, has won a national award for its innovative engagement with young people.

The ‘What if…?’ project, a collaboration with pupils and staff from Greenfield Community College and Arts Centre in Newton Aycliffe, and theatre makers Unfolding Theatre, overcame impressive competition from over 230 entries to win the ‘Engaging Young People’ award at the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement’s (NCCPE) Engage competition.

The NCCPE launched Engage to recognise and celebrate effective public engagement programmes and projects ran by universities across the UK. The awards were judged by a panel of national public engagement experts who praised ‘What if…?’ for its approach, enabling young people to lead and their curiosity to drive the project, opening participants up to the world of research.

The project encouraged young people to explore their own questions, and challenged them to develop and direct an interactive performance piece aimed at engaging and inspiring their peers. A combination of arts and science techniques was used to stimulate thinking, integrating real research and novel experiences for researchers and young people alike. The unique performance piece, performed by professional actors, challenges audiences to explore their own curiosity, and investigates the research, personal journeys and daily experiences of the contributing researchers. So far, it has reached over 1,000 people in schools and community groups.

The event rewarded some of the University’s most selfless students; those who offer vast amounts of time, effort and energy to volunteering, whether benefiting dogs, horses or humans of varying ages and backgrounds. Exec Member, Rachel Eastwood reflects on the awards.

The celebrations began with a champagne reception in the Norman Gallery of Durham Castle, then everyone moved to the Great Hall for the presentation ceremony. Fran Maddison (SCA Director 2013/14) introduced the event, providing a background on the University’s largest student volunteering organisation. This was an opportunity to highlight the extent of SCAs work and over 40 student-led projects. Major successes of the year included the vast expansion of CATSS (Children Achieving Through Student Support): SCA’s largest project, which takes children referred by social workers on day trips and weeks away.

Awards in the form of personalised, commemorative glass frames were presented to each of the nine category winners. The awards were presented by members of the out-going, or in-coming executive committee and University staff including Emma Hall-Craggs (Head of Student Volunteering), also by notable external supporter, Phil Raine (University Police Liason Officer). Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Higgins presented the Golden Oldie award to Sarah Lasher, emphasising the importance the University places on the contribution of volunteers.

The evening was rounded off with a lively celidh, led by students from the University Folk Society.

Everyone was up bright and early the following morning as the yearly training residential for SCA’s incoming executive committee and project leaders began at 9am sharp – a testament to the dedication of our volunteers!

CELEBRATING STUDENT VOLUNTEERS AT THE oSCArs

Sunday 8th June saw Student Community Action (SCA)’s annual awards ceremony, the oSCArs take place at University College.

SCIENCE OUTREACH PROJECT WINS AWARD

15

Public Debate

BILL BRYSON LIBRARY REFURBISHMENTRefurbishment work at the Bill Bryson Library is continuing over summer 2014 to update the infrastructure and renovate older areas of the building.

Level 4 has been fully refurbished to create a bright and modern study environment. Heating, lighting and ventilation systems have been updated and the majority of desks now have access to power sockets so students can use their laptops in the library. Books with shelfmarks 001 to 339 have been moved back onto Level 4.

The focus has now moved to Level 3, where the refurbishment will repeat the work on Level 4. Items with shelfmarks 400 to 779 have been temporarily relocated from the central area on Level 3 into the Level 1 East Wing mobile shelving.

The refurbishment of Level 3 will be completed by October 2014, providing a light and comfortable place to study. The books currently located in the Level 1 East Wing will be moved back to this area.

ELECT YOUR ENERGY FUTURE!On 21st August students from Durham’s Multidisciplinary Centre for Doctoral Training in Energy (CDT) are hosting a public debate on the topic of energy.

During the debate MPs, MEPs and other local political figures including James Wharton (Conservative MP, Stockton South), Jonathan Arnott (UKIP MEP) and Jonathan Elmer (Green Party) will discuss their key energy policies in the run-up to the general elections in 2015 and provide the public an opportunity to ask any energy related questions.

The debate promises to be interesting with questions such as How are they proposing to keep the lights on into the future? How will they control rising energy prices? and How do they propose to integrate renewable technology into our conventional energy outlook?

The debate will take place on 21st August at 6.30-8.30pm in the Calman Learning Centre.

Come along to find out how the politics of energy will affect you!

Find out more... visit: www.durham.ac.uk/library/developments

Find out more... visit: www.durham.ac.uk/dei/cdt/events/ researchtraining/publicengagements

Library News

Book your free ticket at: www.eventbrite.com/e/elect-your-energy-future-tickets-12078700719

Experience Durham...

We’re pleased to say that it’s been another successful year for the SVO programme with the numbers of volunteers, and the enthusiasm they bring to the local community, continuing to grow. Most notably, the level of interest in Team Challenges is significant and we continue to work with more voluntary sector groups and University departments every year to meet their volunteering needs.

Departments such as Finance and Durham University Business School have established regular programmes, but it’s fair to say that we have had volunteers from

almost every department and we continue to seek to develop a comprehensive and diverse offer to all. With the support of our colleagues in Student Community Action (SCA) we’ve also been able to widen our volunteering offer to some postgraduate specific activities.

For the team here it’s also a period of review, reflection and continued improvement as we have now begun the process to seek reaccreditation of our Investing in Volunteers for Employers accreditation, originally achieved in 2012. Although a rigorous process, we hope to be renew this nationally

recognised quality standard from January 2015.

We are also about to embark on a consultation exercise with all University staff as we are keen to gauge how the volunteering programme is performing and to gain views as to how we can continue to improve our services. This process will begin soon and we hope to update staff shortly on how they can engage with the process via the VC’s Bulletin, Dialogue Signposts and our own Experience Durham Bulletin as well as direct contact with existing registered volunteers on our database.

With another academic year over and the students having left for their vacation, many staff will be preparing to take their own well-earned breaks over the summer. For Experience Durham’s Staff Volunteering and Outreach (SVO) team, the summer is one of our busiest times with staff perhaps having a little more time to consider activities such as volunteering. It’s also fair to say that the prospect of volunteering, especially in the outdoors, is a lot more attractive in July than in December!

IN OTHER NEWS...

Elsewhere with Experience Durham it’s been another superb year of sporting achievement with Team Durham securing second place in the overall BUCS table, second only to Loughborough (a specialist sport university), with Durham actually topping the table in team sports. Team Durham and SCA volunteering grew in stature and our music and theatre offering completed a superb year of activities for Experience Durham.

S T A F F V O L U N T E E R I N G

17

Approach Durham from the North and the imposing outline of Durham Castle is immediately apparent. Looming high above the Wear, its original defensive purpose is clear to all who gaze up at it. Today the Castle is home to the students and staff of University College but it also attracts over 20,000 visitors each year who are drawn to find out more about its fascinating history.

Access to the Castle for visitors is by guided tours which take place most days of the year and can be booked at Palace Green Library and the World Heritage Site Visitor Centre. Specially trained, the guides are mainly drawn from students who have some connection with the Castle and are so able to offer a unique insight into its history, a feature that is very popular with visitors. If you haven’t yet visited then why not book on a tour to learn more about this iconic Durham building?

To book a place on a tour call ext. 42932. Durham University campus card holders receive free admission.

Visitors of all ages love discovering the Botanic Garden and can find something new around each corner over the changing seasons.

The Botanic Garden features a woodland garden, alpine garden, bamboo grove and plant collections from around world. The fantastic glasshouses host tropical rain forest plants, not forgetting tropical bugs, stick insects, scorpions and tarantulas!

There’s a host of events taking place over the summer, highlights include the famous Teddy Bears’ Picnic (14 August), Marko’s Circus Workshop (7 August) and Jay’s Animal Encounters (21 August).

Durham University campus card holders receive free admission to the Garden.

Museums and Attractions

THE BOTANIC GARDEN

LIVING ON THE HILLS, 10,000 YEARS OF DURHAMIn July a new permanent exhibition will open in the Wolfson Gallery at Palace Green Library.

Living on the Hills celebrates the history of County Durham and the people that lived and travelled through Durham. Using objects not only from the Museum of Archaeology but also objects from collections across the University, from regional museums and from the archaeological community.

The gallery will also be the new display space for the Museum of Archaeology and will allow for more of the collection to displayed and more people to access the collection.

Durham Castle Tours

A big thank you to all who visited our shop in the marquee during summer Congregation, it was a huge success. We had a wonderful time meeting graduates and their guests as they celebrated their degree achievements. We especially enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere on Palace Green during a very busy week! As per previous years our graduation bears were extremely popular, as were our silk ties, cufflinks and mugs.

If you missed us at summer Congregation, please visit our website to check out our full range of official Durham University merchandise at www.durham.ac.uk/shop

During the summer months we are busy preparing for the new term, the re-opening of our convenience shops and our appearance at

Freshers’ Fairs in Durham City and Queen’s Campus.

In the meantime if you are after a retail-fix, why not take a look around our visitor attraction gift shops at the World Heritage Site Visitors Centre, Palace Green Library, the Oriental Museum and the Botanic Garden, all open throughout the Summer.

You can also visit our Twitter and Facebook pages to get exclusive news and offers.

Event Durham, Retail and Catering

Retail

19

Durham University Retail Office

@DurhamUniRetail

Event Durham is very pleased to announce that we received the Highly Commended Award for the ‘Employer on Campus’ Category at Durham University’s Student Employer of the Year Awards.

The nomination came from Ben March, who has worked on our Summer Study Programme for the past three years. Ben states ‘It was a great event and I’m glad that Event Durham has been awarded this recognition of their

status as a fantastic student employer’.

Judith Aird, Event Durham Deputy Manger attended the Awards event which was held at the College of St Hild and St Bede. Judith said “It is a great honour to be recognised for our encouragement and support as an employer to Durham University students. Ben was a real asset to the team and we wish him all the best for the future”.

The Courtyard Café located at the rear of Palace Green Library opened its doors on Thursday 15 May.

The café features inside and outside seating, with heavy oak furniture, and stone floors sympathetic to the building’s ancient heritage. You can also view the main tower of Durham

Cathedral through the glass ceiling.

The menu includes a range of sandwiches, quiches, soup, cakes and freshly baked scones as well as a variety of hot and cold drinks.

Opening hours are 9.30am - 4.30pm, seven days a week including bank holidays.

Catering

Event Durham

personal details. Once we have confirmed details of the roll out plan we will be in touch with Heads of Colleges, Academic and Support Departments who will then disseminate this information to you.

Phase 2 of the project, which takes us into 2015, will see the delivery of a number of integrated online services, including online expense claims and a training and development portal, allowing

you to book onto training courses, view your training record, view ASRs and manage objectives online.

HR news...

Find out more...visit www.durham.ac.uk/hr/peopleplus or contact the project team via peopleplus.project@durham.ac.uk or ext. 46526.

PEOPLE+The People+ Project is reaching an exciting period as final testing is now taking place for phase one. The project aims to transform and modernise the University’s HR and Payroll processes and procedures; supported by the introduction of new software. If testing is successful we are aiming to implement phase one of the new system from September.

As a result, although content will be similar, payslips will have a different look and feel from September. As soon as we have a draft payslip available we will send examples to Heads of Departments and departmental People+ champions. An example of the payslip will also be available on our web pages www.durham.ac.uk/hr/peopleplus

Once the new system is working effectively the Implementation Team, (pictured), will move on to the next stage of the project’s delivery, which will have more of an impact on you.

Towards the end of 2014 we intend to roll out online access allowing you to view your payslip, and access and update your

FUTURE LEADERS’ PROGRAMMEIn June, participants from this year’s Future Leaders’ Programme gave four excellent presentations to an invited audience of managers and leaders including the Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and the Chief Operating Officer.

The programme, aimed towards potential and future leaders from across the university, focusses on the tools, techniques and theories of leadership and helps participant develop a personal insight into their own style.

Presentations on strategic projects form part of the training programme. This year the projects were:

Developing a People Strategy - focusing on the approach and structure a People Strategy should take and the cultural areas and key themes it needs to address.

Realising Your Potential Approach - exploring how applicable the RYPA approach is to our academic community.

Social Media - focusing on how we may integrate social media into our recruitment strategy.

Research Profile Group - benchmarking international research profile raising and how work taking place at a senior level can be supported across the university.

Successful participants on this year’s Future Leaders’ Programme were: Mike Bath, Ricky Cohen, Helen Fawcett, Lyndsay Keane, Claire Whitelaw, Adam Grant, Hannah Francis, Anthony Bash, Claudia Merli, James Bisset, Frances Paylor, Rachel Clark, Matt Deakin, Sam Hillyard, Nicholas Hughes, Sophie Philipson, Susanne Bradley, George Martin, Louise McLaren, Philip Nathan, Fiona O’Carroll and Geoff Whiteley.

Find out more... www.durham.ac.uk/hr/training/leadershipprogs/futureleaders

UNCONSCIOUS BIAS – Book a workshop place

You can now book a place on our Unconscious Bias Workshops which started earlier this month. The workshops explore the ways we subconsciously process information and how our subconscious processes can result in faulty and sometimes biased decisions. During the workshop we consider how this affects our work in departments and across the University, and review techniques to help reduce the impact of bias. To book a place, go to www.durham.ac.uk/training.course/diversity

IMAGE People+ Implementation Team L-R: Janet Robertson, Carolyn Cook and Louise Anderson, First Row: Kevin Ferguson, Emily Edwards, Craig Pearson and Julie McIntyre, Second Row L-R: Les Sherlock Hewkin, Clare Butcher, Adrian Betchette, Caroline Hall and Allan Morris.

CIS news...

IT Security…in the news and on our minds!

Find out more...visit www.durham.ac.uk/cis

21

The first half of the year has seen IT security repeatedly in the headlines worldwide. The ‘Heartbleed’ bug attracted the most media attention and this was quickly followed by ‘GO Zeus/GameOver Zeus’ (a virus) and ‘Cryptolocker’ (ransom ware).

The Heartbleed bug wreaked havoc on a global scale with victims including Facebook, Google and Dropbox. Fortunately, thanks to constant monitoring and updates to the University’s IT security, CIS were in a good position to respond promptly and minimise any potential risks. We’d like to thank all of you who acted quickly to change their passwords following our requests.

The activity surrounding ‘GOZeus’ and ‘Cryptolocker’ confirms that cybercrime is big business, and like any profit driven company, their focus is on the best return on investment; ransom ware is unfortunately a growth area. It accesses your device, PC or laptop and then locks it using industry standard encryption. The criminals demand payment to provide the access ‘key’ (typically £200-£300). There’s no guarantee that the ‘key’ will work or that your information won’t have been accessed and tampered with.

IT security has to be a combination of prevention and defence. Any protection provided by CIS must be supported by good practice on the part of each and every one of us. Despite the frequency of stories in the press featuring losses, scams and scares, people are still leaving themselves vulnerable by not taking the following basic steps.

PASSWORDS

Your password is like the key to your house and no amount of security software can help if it gets into the hands of someone else. Passwords should be:

• Safe: known only to you

• Strong: current best practice suggests that a long string of random, unrelated words is easy to remember yet hard to crack! e.g. ‘SpoonLegHappyWigwam’

• Single use only: so if it’s hacked, your loss is limited to one account

• Changed regularly: to reduce loss should it be compromised.

BACK-UPS

Back-ups are copies of files that allow you to recover files in the event of data loss or compromise. To limit any potential losses, back-up files regularly:

• At work: use your J: drive (personal) or S: drive (shared/departmental) if you have one. Don’t save work related items on your local drives (e.g. your C: drive or your desktop): you will lose these if your equipment is lost or damaged and don’t save backups to unsecured devices like a USB stick

• At home: regularly back-up your digital valuables (e.g. photos, videos, music, contacts) so that if your personal device (PC/laptop/tablet/mobile) is damaged or ‘held for ransom’ you have a recent copy of your valuable items.

ATTACHMENTS AND LINKS

Attachments and links can be a source of malicious software (malware):

• Don’t open email attachments from people you don’t know

• Don’t open email attachments that seem out of context

• Rather than clicking on adverts on web-pages, search for the web address using a reputable search engine.

LOOKING FOR MORE SECURITY INFORMATION?

• CIS ‘good practice’ advice on IT security: search for ‘IT security’ in the Durham University website

• The Government website getsafeonline.org has ‘good practice’ advice and links to help if your details are compromised.

WORKER RIGHTS CONSORTIUM

The University has recently affiliated with the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC). The WRC is an independent, non-political labour rights monitoring organisation, which makes efforts to collaborate with workers, non-governmental organisations, and other universities and colleges, to improve the conditions of workers producing university clothing.

For further information, please visit www.durham.ac.uk/procurement/local/sustainability/wrc

ACQUIRE UPDATE

Ralph Ord joined the Procurement Service in June as a Project Manager. His role will be to assist in the implementation of acquire in to remaining departments.

The next phase is likely to include the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences and The Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM).

Refresher training can now be requested by clicking on the University training website https://apps.dur.ac.uk/tcbs and selecting ‘Procurement’.

For more information contact ralph.ord@durham.ac.uk on ext. 44555.

INSURANCE – USE OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVS) OR OTHER AERIAL DEVICES

Most Public Liability covers exclude liability arising from the ownership, possession and use of aerial devices.

If you are aware of any use of UAVs or other aerial devices in connection with research or other University activity, please forward the details to claire.robinson@durham.ac.uk so that this can be discussed with the University’s cover providers with a view to obtaining cover. From 1 August 2014 there will be a certain amount of cover for the use of UAVs as these are becoming a feature in the academic world, but the details should still be forwarded to Claire to ensure that the proposed use of the UAV falls within the cover available.

PROCUREMENT SERVICE AWAY DAY

The Procurement Service away day took place on 30 April, with the theme of communications and stakeholder engagement. Using Belbin team profiles to determine the best use of resources in teams, team building exercises were undertaken. The day culminated with all staff looking at ways the service could be improved and a number of team objectives being set. If you would like to discuss any of the work we have done on communications and stakeholder engagement, please contact laura.watson@durham.ac.uk.

NEW CONTRACT

There is now a new contract in place for Archive Storage. Details of this contract and others can be found on the procurement website Buyers Guide at: www.durham.ac.uk/procurement/local/buyers_guide

Procurement

The roll out of acquire, the eProcurement system took place in the following departments during June and July:

• University Retail

• Event Durham

• Queen’s Campus

• Durham Law School

• Anthropology

• School of Government & International Affairs

• School of Applied Social Sciences

• Archaeology

• Archaeological Services

• School of Education

• Faculty of Social Sciences and Health.

Greenspace...

Our Catering department, led by Shona Millar, has shown true dedication to reducing its environmental impact. Projects include the colour coding of kitchen appliances and the implementation of the rationalisation of student menus, reducing the carbon output from the food cooked as well as the processes used to cook it.

23

One project, suggested by Nicola Gittins, Food and Beverage Services Manager from Grey College, was to implement a ‘Green Watch’ system where there is a dedicated member of catering staff every shift to ensure all environmental checks are carried out. This system was so successful it has been rolled out to all of our catered colleges and cafés.

Behavioural change projects, such as these could not have yielded success without the dedication of all members of the catering team across our colleges and cafés.

The Catering department have also worked with our local producers to set up a local delivery hub allowing local suppliers to supply the University with dairy items and vegetables – a suggestion by John Turner, Community Executive Chef. The ‘hub’ approach enables the Catering department to support local producers at an affordable price without further impacting the environment through increased deliveries.

In recognition of the effort and enthusiasm that the Catering department has shown in reducing their environmental footprint they have been recognised at several award ceremonies, the most recent being the award for Sustainability in Education at the Footprint Awards. The judges commented that this was “a great example of taking the simple things and making them really work whilst identifying the challenges and not being afraid to tackle them.”

In order to fully understand if a behavioural change campaign/initiative is working, we need to be able to see the impact of our actions in a timely manner. To enable this we have a new energy management system called SystemsLink. This provides day +1 electricity, gas and water data for selected sites. Environment Champions have access to the system and can select data relevant to their building – the data can even be drilled down to 30 minute slots. Ask your Environment Champion about the data for your building.

CATERING REDUCE THEIR FOOTPRINT

SYSTEMSLINK

IMAGE Top: University Catering with the award for sustainability in education at the Footprint Awards. Bottom Right: Nicola Gittins, Food and Beverage Service Manager with Karen Blundell, Bursar at Grey College. Bottom Left: Phil Atkinson, Senior Community Services Manager with John Turner.

@Durham_Uni

Professor Andy MonkmanProfessor of Physics

Have you got any pets?

Arti, a manic 16 month old Golden Retriever, and Sweetie the Cat, a rather refined killer of mice, rabbits and dogs if he’s not careful.

What are you reading at the moment?

The Naked God, last in the Night’s Dawn Trilogy by Peter Hamilton.

What would you like you epitaph to be?

He got the job done.

Which historical figure would you most like to be?

The scientist of the future who discovers faster than light travel.

What was the first record you bought?

Permanent Waves by Rush.

What achievement are you most proud of?

Apart from my two kids, all of the great PhD students and post docs I’ve helped to train over the years.

What was your best subject?

Taking things to bits to see how they worked.

When was the last time you laughed and why?

I laugh all the time.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

Honestly, a Physicist.

Where will you be going for your next holiday?

Chicago.

What talent would you most like to acquire?

Gaining a pilots licence.

Give me a picture of your ideal day:

Lazy breakfast with good coffee, take Arti for a walk, doing something with Max my son, classical concert then a late night dinner.

On a scale of 1-10, how much do you care what other people think of you?

It all depends on who it is.

What’s your greatest vice?

Petrol i.e. fast cars.

What’s your favourite film?

Vanishing Point.

Any nicknames?

All far too rude.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever done?

Picking potatoes in the summer holidays as an undergraduate, but it paid well!

Tell me a secret:

I do pilates every week.

What’s your favourite place in the world?

No real favourite, I just like visiting new places.

What luxury item would you take to a desert island?

A radio.

What’s your greatest indulgence?

Good food.

Pass the buck: Finally, who would you like to see in the hot-seat?

Wendy Harle, Director of the Research Office.

For more information on University events go to www.durham.ac.uk/whatson

JulyLiving on the Hills Exhibition Opens Saturday 26 July Palace Green Library, Durham

The Wolfson Gallery reopens as the new face of the Durham University’s Museum of Archaeology with his exhibition. Unearth the stories of how people have lived and worked in Durham for over 10,000 years and find out how Durham grew to be the city it is today.

Team Durham Kids Summer Sports Camps Weekly from 21 July – 29 August Graham Sports Centre, Maiden Castle, Durham

Team Durham are running a range of daily and weekly sports camps for children throughout the summer holidays. Courses include Bounce & Shout, Multi-games, Tennis and Rugby for Primary school ages and Tennis, Rugby, Hockey and Learn2Row for ages 11+. Contact Team Durham for full details www.teamdurham.com

Teddy Bears Picnics Thursday 14 August, 10am – 4pm Botanic Garden, Hollingside Lane, Durham

Bring your Teddy Bear and a picnic to join these popular children’s event with special activities.

AugustMarco’s Circus Workshop Thursday 7 August, 10am – 4pm Botanic Garden, Hollingside Lane, Durham

Learn circus tricks, including how to juggle and spin plates at this fun workshop.

Jays Animal Encounters Thursday 21 August, 10am – 4pm Location?

The zoo comes to the Botanic Garden for the day. From cute and cuddly to smooth and scaly, come along to meet the incredible range of animals visiting for the day.

www.thedurhamdiary.wordpress.com

WARM/07/14/183