THE UNIVERSITY EDINBURGH bulletin · 2015-10-08 · The project, which comprises the Informatics Forum and the neighbouring Dugald Stewart Building, has re-housed staff and students

Freedom or folly?University academicsdiscuss a decade ofdevolution – page 12

Scroll ofhonourPictures of the University’sgraduations, past andpresent – page 16

Dedicated tothe coreProfessor Martin Siegert onAntarctica and climatechange – page 20

Competitionsand noticeboard Win Festival Fringe tickets inour competition or find a newflat or holiday let – page 22

SUMMER 2009

bulletinTHE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH STAFF MAGAZINE

Forgotten gemsUncovering the University’s secret treasures– page 6

68656 Bulletin:Bulletin 7/7/09 19:19 Page 1

THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH STAFF MAGAZINE SUMMER 20092.

welcome...

editorialDid you know that there are more than 200 buildings in the University

estate? Our buildings range from the very old to the state of the art, from

the functional to the grand. We have hospitals, flats, farmland and

theatres, as well as acres of teaching and learning space. In the summer edition

of bulletin, we highlight some overlooked places in the University’s estate. If you

have any additional suggestions, we’d love to hear about them.

On pages 10–11, we profile the EUSA teaching awards, a student-led initiative

that puts teaching excellence at Edinburgh under the spotlight. On page 15, tying

in with the Year of Darwin, artist Ilana Halperin talks about her geological lava

project for the Talbot Rice Gallery’s forthcoming An Entangled Bank exhibition. To

mark the 10th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament, University academics

Charlie Jeffery and Navraj Ghaleigh offer their own perspectives on its

achievements and disappointments in our Opinion section, pages 12–14.

We have also launched Staff Bulletin, an online news service for employees of the

University. It can be accessed at www.ed.ac.uk/news/staff-bulletin.

If you’d like to respond to our opinion pages or have any feedback about the

magazine, we’d love to hear from you. Send an email to [email protected].

bulletinPUBLICATION DETAILS

Published by: Communications andMarketing, the University of Edinburgh

CONTACT US

bulletinCommunications and Marketing The University of Edinburgh 48 Pleasance Edinburgh EH8 9TJ

E: [email protected]: +44 (0)131 651 4325

The University of Edinburgh is mindful ofthe environmental impact of producing thismagazine and seeks to minimise resourceswherever possible. This magazine hasbeen printed on Revive Uncoated stock,which contains 80 per cent post-consumerwaste and 20 per cent mill broke and hasbeen sourced from a mill that is certified tothe environmental management systemISO14001.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

If you would like to submit an idea for anarticle, or tell us about some news or anevent you wish to promote, please contactus at the editor’s email address above inadvance of the next deadline. The autumnedition of bulletin will be published inOctober, and the deadline for submissionsis 31 August.

To keep up to date with news online, visitour new Staff Bulletin service atwww.ed.ac.uk/news/staff-bullet in.

The Aberdeen Breviary, anancient prayer book fromthe University’s Collection.See our Showcasesegment on the backpage to find out more.

Front cover: Staircase carving, St Leonard’s Hall.Photography: Stewart Bremner.


SUMMER 2009 THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH STAFF MAGAZINE 3.

bulletinnews...

The University’s Potterrow developmenthas received a slew of awards since itopened for business last summer.

The development has been honoured for bothdesign and sustainability, picking up awardsfrom the Royal Institute of British Architects(RIBA), the Royal Institute of CharteredSurveyors (RICS) and the Carbon Trust,among others.

The project, which comprises the InformaticsForum and the neighbouring Dugald StewartBuilding, has re-housed staff and studentsfrom the Schools of Informatics andPhilosophy, Psychology and LanguageSciences, and created space for a newVisitor’s Centre.

The University’s Estates and BuildingsDirector, Angus Currie, said: “The growing listof design and other awards bestowed uponthe Potterrow development is independenttestimony to the success of the project fromwhich staff in the Schools of Informatics andPPLS are already reaping major benefits. Froma town planning perspective perspective, the

Multiple awards for campus masterpiece

AWARDS FOR POTTERROW

RIBA Award 2009

Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland(RIAS) Andy Doolan Prize 2008 for BestBuilding in Scotland

RICS Scotland Scottish Building Project of theYear

RICS Scotland Sustainability Award

British Council for Offices (BCO) Award forBest Corporate Office Building Scotland 2009

Scottish Design Awards, Sustainable Design2009

Scottish Design Awards, Chairman’s Award2009

Scottish Design Awards, Public Building 2009

Carbon Trust Sustainability Award 2009,Highly Commended

Edinburgh Architectural Association (EAA)Award for Building of the Year 2009,Commended

BREEAM Excellent rating

Study pods, a contemporary café and anartistic ode to its founder Clement Litillare among the many new features that

were unveiled at the opening of the MainLibrary’s new-look ground floor this month.

Director of Library Services, Sheila Cannell,said: “We look forward to welcoming staff andstudents to the newly developed ground floor.It is exciting to see this in place, after severalyears of planning and hard work, witharchitects, builders and our own staff.

“On this floor, we want to see vibrantinteraction among library users to complementthe quieter space already completed on thefifth and sixth floors. The ground floor preservesthe best of the original Basil Spence 1960sbuilding, while updating it for today’s users.”

The ground floor’s redesign is part of theongoing Main Library redevelopment projectthat will transform the Library into a modernstudy facility, better suited to meet the needs ofstudents and researchers in the 21st century.

On the new ground floor students can enjoygroup work in study pods that canaccommodate groups of up to seven studentsin a semi-private spaces that allow quietconversation.

Main Library launches new ground floor

Digital projection screens display images fromthe collections and words from cataloguesearches as they happen. The High-Use Book(HUB) collection is also located on the groundfloor.

The new café overlooks George Square andoffers a healthy range of affordable food anddrink in a modern and comfortable setting,with some fixed PCs available for access tointernet or email.

The outside podium area displays artwork byScottish artist Alec Finlay embedded into theconcrete slabs. It is a poetic representation ofthe original inscription on the books owned bythe Library’s founder, Clement Litill.

The new ground floor complements the workalready completed on the fifth and sixth floorwith the Centre for Research Collections andquiet study space. Work on the next phase ofthe redevelopment, the first floor, beginsshortly and will continue into early 2010.

21st-century study: new pods for group work

Potterrow development has been a successfulcontribution, bringing a coherence to theUniversity’s Central Area, linking Bristo Squareand George Square and providing a significantimprovement to the public realm.”



news...

The University’s central campus will onceagain play a large role in this year’sEdinburgh Festival Fringe.

The University, in conjunction with theConfucius Institute, will welcome the BejingFilm Academy to the McEwan Hall for itsadaptation of Shakespeare’s A MidsummerNight’s Dream. The production, created bysome of the team behind the Beijing Olympics’opening ceremony, will mix music, dance andmartial arts. The McEwan Hall will also hostSilent Disco.

Appleton Tower will, this year, provide a newhome for the Fringe Performers’ Centre,creating a space for participants to networkand meet throughout the event. George SquareGardens will host Hullaballoo, a wooden tentoffering a varied programme of events.

The University’s Festivals Office has also beenworking with theatre company Fuel, which willproduce a range of site-specific shows thatwill feature across the campus.

Concession rates for Festivals Office showsare available for University staff, by showing avalid staff card, subject to availability. Call theBox Office on 0131 651 1292.

Visit www.festivals.ed.ac.uk for more details.

University campus takes centre stage at Festival Fringe

ADDITIONAL CAMPUS VENUES

• C Venues at Adam House

• Pleasance Theatre at Potterrow and Pleasance Venues

• Gilded Balloon at Teviot Row

• Assembly Theatre at New College

• Underbelly at the Reid Hall and Bristo Square

University to reform Academic Governance

The University is to begin an overhaul ofacademic governance. Changes willinclude the replacement of existing

committees such as Academic Policy, SenatusUndergraduate, Postgraduate Studies and theSenatus Quality Assurance and Enhancementwith new, better targeted groups. These newcommittees will take over formal responsibilityfrom September 2009.

The committees will set advanced and plannedagendas better targeted to University, Collegeand School priorities. Committee convenorswill work together to identify the issues of mostimportance to staff and students, and actionon those issues will be carried out by taskgroups that will involve a wider range of staffand students at an earlier stage.

New members are needed for both thecommittees and the task groups. Somemembers will automatically be recruited tocertain committees due to their specific roles

The University has officially launchedits new internationalisation strategy,Edinburgh Global, at an event at

Pollock Halls.

Guests at the launch were welcomed bythe Principal and heard from guest speakersBBC World Affairs correspondent Alan Littleand Michael Russell MSP, Minister forCulture, External Affairs and the Constitution,who are both Edinburgh alumni.

Professor Stephen Hillier, Vice-Principal(International), presented the award ofInternational Student of the Year 2009 toLiapeng Matsau from South Africa.

More information about the strategy can befound in the International Office’s enclosedEdinburgh Global insert.

Internationalisationstrategy launches but convenors will also be able to co-opt

members. Individuals who have significantexperience in innovation in the relevant area,substantial interest in enhancing the studentexperience and competence (or a desire tobuild experience) in educational changemanagement, would be considered.

For the task groups, students who are alsointerested in getting involved with thedevelopment of the University would bewelcome.

Get involved

If you wish to take part in the committees ortask groups or have any comments aboutpossible priorities, please [email protected].

For more information about the newcommittees and task group activities, visitwww.academicaffairs.ed.ac.uk/acgovernance/index.htm.

Bristo Square



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The University has made a pioneeringmove to encourage pharmaceuticalcompanies to offer cheaper life-saving

medicine to Third World countries.

Following a staff and student campaign, led byProfessor David Webb of the School of ClinicalSciences and Community Health, theUniversity has agreed to change the terms ofresearch licensing agreements to includeconditions that their medicines should bemade as widely available as possible,particularly to poorer countries.

The campaign stems from an Americanstudent-led movement – Universities Allied forEssential Medicines (UAEM) – that is nowbuilding around the UK. Branches of thegroup have been established at a number ofUK universities, including Edinburgh, with theaim of widening access to all medicinesdeveloped through university research.

Professor Webb said: “The University has anexisting portfolio of world-class research intoneglected diseases, which represents one ofthe largest groups of researchers working onthese diseases in the UK, and possiblyEurope. We felt it was important to take a leadin ensuring that this publicly funded researchwas translated for the public good.”

It is hoped that other universities around theUK adopt similar policies to maximise thepublic benefit of their medical research.

New policy widens access tolife-saving medicines

An updated version of theUniversity’s Logo Guide is nowavailable.

The guide can be found at theCommunications and Marketing websiteat: www.cam.ed.ac.uk/guidelines.html.

Our logo represents the University bothinternally and externally. It is our key visualidentity. Usage of the logo must beconsistent, and the new guidelines offerinstruction on how it should be applied,including guidance about colours,typeface and positioning.

A hard copy of the guide can berequested from the University’s MarketingManager Deepthi de Silva-Williams. Youcan also request logos from Deepthi at:[email protected].

New Logo Guideavailable

He adds: “The policy demonstrates howseriously this University takes the issues ofpublic health. It also opens possibilities toform partnerships with other organisations likethe Gates Foundation and the ClintonHIV/AIDS Initiative, all of which are focused onfinding new ways to improve global health.”

Students granted more revision time

Senate has approved a revision of theacademic year, giving students aweek’s extra revision time.

The changes will come into effect at thebeginning of 2011/12.

Both EUSA and academic staff have beenkeen to see changes to the amount ofteaching and revision time currently availableto students, since the semester system wasfirst put in place.

Vice-Principal Simon van Heyningen, whochaired the review group, said: “We arepleased that Senate has given its support tothe proposal, which offers students a week’sextra revision time in semester one and aweek’s extra teaching in semester two.”

Between now and the 2011/12 academicyear, Colleges and support services willdevelop plans to support the change.

SEMESTER ONE

A revision week will be introduced at the endof the 11-week teaching block. Toaccommodate this the start date will alwaysfall two weeks after the last Monday in August,and the semester end will run closer toChristmas but never later than 21 December.

The revision week will be followed by a two-week examination block, and a three-weekChristmas holiday period, during which noteaching for undergraduate andpostgraduate taught students will take place.

SEMESTER TWO

Teaching will start around the beginning ofJanuary. There will be 12 weeks of teachingfollowed by a revision week. The examinationblock will be reduced from five weeks to four.

The new model means that the spring breakwill coincide with Easter two years out ofthree, which will assist staff and students withschool-age children.

Current public holiday arrangements shouldnot be affected, but HR is examining thetiming of the September public holiday.

If you have any questions, please contactyour line manager or local HR representative.

The policy demonstrateshow seriously thisUniversity takes theissues of public health.



feature...

Few institutions run an estate as diverse andvast as the University of Edinburgh. A third ofthe University’s buildings are listed and itscore academic space covers a massive600,000m4. Spread over five main sites andhousing more than 200 buildings, theUniversity’s property portfolio represents achronology of architectural trends. From StCecelia’s Hall, which dating back to the 1760sis the oldest property, to the award-winningPotterrow development, the University hasbeen responsible for many of the city’s iconicbuildings throughout the decades.

Edinburgh landmarks such as Old Collegeand the McEwan Hall are well recognisedemblems of the University, and the MainLibrary, designed by Basil Spence in the

1960s, has been an essential haunt forgenerations of students who have studiedamong its unique architectural features. Suchbuildings have come to represent universitylife, and have many stories to tell, but whatabout the less familiar places tucked awaywithin Edinburgh’s sprawling estate that offertheir own secrets and sanctuaries?

bulletin highlights a few of the University’soverlooked places that you may want to visitor revisit, or simply learn more about. We havemerely scratched the surface with ourselection, but if you have a favourite spot inthe University that has an interesting storyattached or is a special place to escape toduring a lunch break, send your suggestion into [email protected].

Did you know that apiece of Scottish historysits discreetly in a MorayHouse car park? Or thatSt Trinian’s was inspiredby a University building?bulletin uncovers somehidden highlights of theUniversity estate.

feature Forgotten Gems



bulletin

For students taking exams, Adam House canundoubtedly be a site of some anxiety.However further exploration of this listedbuilding reveals a range of interesting features,including a theatre deep in the basement, anda spectacular chandelier (opposite) thatmajestically crowns the whole space.

Designed by William Kininmonth (1904–88)and completed in 1954, Adam House was theUniversity’s first post-war building. It wasconstructed on the site of Adam Square, thechildhood home of Robert Adam, the architectwho designed neighbouring Old College. As

an ode to Adam, the design has a Neo-Classcal feel. The architecture, which blendedtraditional with the modern, was dismissed bymany in the profession at the time for being anill-conceived throwback, yet otherschampioned it as survival of an alternativeClassical tradition. A detailed look around thebuilding’s interior suggests that the latteropinion may have been the most insightful.

Adam House is mainly used for examinationsand exhibitions, but during the EdinburghFestival Fringe, the place morphs into apopular arts venue.

St Leonard’s Hall

Location: Pollock Halls

Lovers of Ronald Searle’s St Trinian’s storiesmay be intrigued to learn that the inspirationbehind the series is University building St Leonard’s Hall. Used mainly for conferencesand functions, the Gothic-looking, 19th-centuryhall was used as the St Trinnean’s girls’ schoolin 1925. Before housing the school, thebuilding also served as a Red Cross Hospitalduring World War One.

The house was designed in 1870 by architectJohn Lessels (1808–83) for the publisherThomas Nelson (1822–92) who owned theParkside Printing Works which lay on theopposite side of Holyrood Park Road. Thebuilding is dripping with period features andhas been restored to its former glory. Some ofits more intricate attributes include a woodenstaircase (above) carved with birds andbeasts, as well as stencilled ceiling panels(right) by artist Thomas Bonnar (1810–73).

Adam HouseLocation: Chambers Street

Wall decoration, Adam House’s theatre



feature...

Location: King’s Buildings

The first thing you may notice about theUniversity’s Natural History Collections is theextraordinary series of animal sculptures thatline the Ashworth Laboratories building, wherethe exhibits are housed. Phyllis Bone, the firstfemale Royal Scottish Academician, made thesculptures in the late 1920s when the newzoology department at King’s Buildings wasopened. The sculptures, illustratingbiogeographic zones of the world, including acrab, a lion and a chimp (left), are renderedwith great detail and acuity, and reflect thecommitment and intelligence behind the wholeCollections project.

Curated by Mark Blaxter and Graham Stone,the Natural History Collections is an officialmuseum and a branch of University Collections.Although most of the current exhibits are fromthe 1920s, the University has been amassing

Location: Paterson’s Land, Holyrood Road

A piece of Scottish history sits snugly onHolyrood Road. A small stone building tuckedaway in the car park on the east side of theMoray House School of Education’sPaterson’s Land has a less obvious presencethan the neighbouring Scottish Parliament buthad its own role to play in Scottish politics.Commonly called the Summer House, thebuilding has a link to the Act of Union in 1707.During that historic year, the Lord Chancellorof Scotland, the Earl of Seafield, had atenancy at Moray House, and together with theDuke of Queensbury, he led the faction for theUnion. There are historic references tomeetings about the Union in the ‘old stonesummer house’ and the ‘pavilion in thegardens belonging to the Earl of Murray’shotel in the Canongate’ and although it isunlikely that any official signing took place atthis site, key discussions that formed the basisof the articles comprising the Act of Unionwere probably held there.

There is no record of when the Summer Housewas built in the garden of Moray House butindirect evidence suggests that it was built inthe latter half of the 17th century. In 1793, thehouse and garden was leased by the Cowanfamily who commissioned a series of prints in1829 (above right), that suggest the smallbuilding was used as a hothouse for growingoranges and vines. Following that, theSummer House was largely abandoned until

the construction of Paterson’s Land, between1911–14, when the then partially buriedSummer House was renovated. Therenovation put in place the doors and shuttersthat can be seen today (right) and the ceilingwas plastered and decorated with motifscopied from the Balcony Room in Old MorayHouse.

A more detailed article about the SummerHouse’s connection with the 1707 Treaty ofthe Union can be found in the December 2007edition of the University of Edinburgh Journal.

The Moray House Summer House

Natural History Collections, Ashworth Laboratorieszoological specimens since 1692, when thefirst exhibits were displayed in Old College.The collections give students a real depth anddiversity of study, with exhibits ranging from abeautifully detailed giant model of a tick to anelephant skull – complete with semi-healedbullet wound – to a set of pickled siphunculids(marine worms).

The highlight of the collections is the AubreyManning Gallery, named in honour of theProfessor of Natural History from 1973á1997.Among the display cases sits a Tuatara lizard,sometimes described as a ‘living fossil’, and aduck-billed platypus, which is one of the firstexamples of a stuffed platypus in the UK.

The Natural History Collections is open tovisitors by arrangement with the curators. It willbe open to the public for Doors Open Day,Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September.

Paul

Dod

ds



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Location: Bristo Square

Celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, theReid Concert Hall and Museum is a majorasset to the University. The Museum, which isopen to visitors at set times, houses a broadcollection of around 1,000 instrumentsspanning four centuries, including a 16th-century trombone and a saxophone collectionfrom the instrument’s inventor Adolphe Sax.

It was General Reid who provided theinspiration and funding for a music departmentat the University of Edinburgh. In 1838 a Chairof Music was established, and in 1845 JohnDonaldson was appointed to the post. Usingmoney from General Reid’s fund, Donaldsoninstigated the construction of a purpose-builtclassroom for teaching music with a strongemphasis on acoustics and practicaldemonstrations, which is of course the concerthall we’re familiar with today. Music studentsare taught acoustics in the hall, honouringDonaldson’s original intentions.

Donaldson also extablished the adjoiningmuseum collection. It is believed to be theearliest surviving purpose-built musicalmuseum in the world. Donaldson’s intentionsfor assembling a collection were not just tokeep a historical record but to also use the

Location: The Mound

The twin towers of New College have anauthoritative presence, overlooking PrincesStreet on the Mound. Entering onto the quadit’s difficult not to feel humbled by its strikingarchitecture. But within and around itsimpressive exterior are many hidden placesthat offer quiet solace or historical interest.Tucked away underneath the library is a tinychapel, known as the Sanctuary (below). Thechapel is used for communion services and asa quiet place for students to read and reflect.It’s an atmospheric space, with stained glasswindows, and a sloping floor that betrays thebuilding’s steep location on the Mound. Anequally tranquil spot is the garden, located tothe back of New College’s main administrationoffices. The leafy garden has just beenrefurbished thanks to a legacy from Divinityalumnus Alan Robinson.

The Martin Hall is an impressive space thathas been recently restored to retain its originalcharms. The Hall was named after AlexanderMartin, Principal of the College and aninfluential figure in the Union of the UnitedFree Church with the Church of Scotland in1929. The signing of this union took place inthe hall. Today, with its stained glass window,stunning views of Edinburgh, and periodfeatures, it provides a special environment forreligious services.

With thanks to all the staff who helped create this feature including Arnold Myers, Mark Blaxter,Graham Stone, Ming Cao, Grant Buttars, Hugh Perfect and Chris Small.

instruments for study and teaching. Thecollection is still used for that purpose and isalso accessed by other universities andcolleges, music specialists, musicians,instrument makers and curious members ofthe general public.

You can visit the museum on Saturdaysbetween 10am–1pm or Wednesdays between3pm–5pm, with extra opening times during theFestival period.

Reid Concert Hall and Museum

New College hideaways



feature...

In a reversal of roles, students were giventhe opportunity to rate the University’sacademic teaching staff for the inaugural

EUSA Teaching Awards, set up by theStudents’ Association.

The initiative, run solely by EUSA, offers aplatform to honour the University’s topteaching staff by giving students theopportunity to nominate a lecturer or tutor who has enhanced their learning experience at Edinburgh.

Evan Beswick, EUSA’s Vice-President forAcademic Affairs, says: “There is someexcellent teaching going on at Edinburgh andthis deserves to be recognised. We are verypleased with the positive reaction that we havehad from the University and hope that this willfeed through into more formal recognition for

Ray of lightThe EUSA TeachingAwards were acelebration of teachingexcellence at theUniversity of Edinburghand an opportunity forteaching staff to see theirhard work rewarded. bulletin reports.

teaching quality in things like promotion ofacademic staff.”

The University is taking steps to build upon thepromotion opportunities and formalrecognition available for teaching staff. Italready offers Personal Chairs in StudentLearning to academics solely for their teachingachievements, and the Chancellor’s Award forTeaching has also been given since 2004.

Dai Hounsell, Vice-Principal for AcademicEnhancement, acknowledges that there aren’tenough opportunities to highlight formallysome of the excellent student-centred workthat takes place at the University. He says:“There are many examples of excellentteachers whose qualities have beenrecognised with a Senior Lectureship or aPersonal Chair, but it has probably been

feature



bulletin

EUSA TEACHING AWARD WINNERS

Best DepartmentWinner: ClassicsRunner Up: Chemistry

Best CourseWinner: Criminal Law (Ordinary)Runner Up: American History 2

Best Director of StudyWinner: Tony Gilbert, MathematicsRunner Up: Martin Reekie, Engineering

Teaching Employable SkillsWinner: Kenny Pryde, EducationRunner up: Michael Lurie, Classics

Innovative TeachingWinner: Richard Milne, Biological SciencesRunner up: Simon Bates, Physics andAstronomy

Best FeedbackWinner: John Simpson, Respiratory MedicineRunner up: John Kitchen, Music

Commitment to All-Round TeachingWinner: Tonks Fawcett, Nursing StudiesRunner up: Alastair Richmond, Philosophy

Outstanding CommunicatorWinner: Ian Campbell, English LiteratureRunner up: Gordon Findlater, Anatomy

Best Dissertation SupervisorWinner: Yew Ming Chia, AccountingRunner up: Lloyd Llewelyn Jones, Classics

Overall High PerformerWinner: Elizabeth Bomberg, Politics andInternational RelationsRunner up: Philip Wadler, Informatics

Other awardsThe Chancellor’s Award winners, includingthe recipient of the Teaching Award, will beannounced on 10 August.

Deadlines for nominations for thePrincipal’s Medal and the Tam Dalyell Prizeare both 4 September. Further details at:www.ed.ac.uk/news/all-news/awards-170309.

“The award is a wonderfullypositive and constructive way forstudents to acknowledge andreward the teaching they mostvalue here at Edinburgh.”

Elizabeth Bomberg, Politics and International RelationsWinner of Overall High Performer

“I put my life and soul into mylectures and it means the worldto me that the studentsappreciate them!”

Richard Milne, Biological Sciences

Winner of Innovative Teaching

“I have always valued my teachingvery highly in the hopes ofcontributing in some small way toproducing the very best in ournext generation graduates. It isgood to see teaching recognised.”

Tonks Fawcett, Nursing StudiesWinner of Commitment to

All-Round Teaching

“It’s important to see how well theUniversity is doing in terms ofsupporting our students in such avariety of ways, but formalrecognition is not as important asseeing the students develop intocapable professionals.”

Kenny Pryde, Education,Winner of Teaching

Employable Skills

harder to get promoted for good teaching thangood research. I do think, however, that thebalance will shift over the next few years, notjust within the University of Edinburgh but thehigher education sector as a whole.”

Tony Gilbert, who won the award for BestDirector of Studies, feels that the EUSA awardswere a long-needed opportunity to showcaseteaching. He says: “I feel a great sense ofgratitude to EUSA for instituting this awardscheme. It casts a small ray of light on agroup of people, who have elected to channeltheir energy and skills into student matters.Able teachers should surely be valued for theirskills at passing knowledge to succeedinggenerations.”

The response to the awards has been extremelypositive. A total of 2,704 nominations were

received for 621 staff, 191 courses and 60departments, demonstrating that qualityteaching is an issue that matters to the studentpopulation. Plans are already in place todevelop the awards scheme into an annualevent, and the University is also looking tocollaborate with EUSA on a conference thatwill showcase examples of excellent teachingaround the University.

Dai Hounsell comments: “The EUSA TeachingAwards are an absolutely marvellous initiative,and we should all raise a loud cheer. What isgreat about EUSA’s scheme is it demonstratesthat excellent teaching takes different forms,and focuses attention on a number ofindividuals who have been doing great workfor years that has largely gone unnoticed bycolleagues – unsung heroes if you like.”

A warm welcome: new Rector IainMacWhirter introduces the event

Under the spotlight: staff and studentscelebrate the awards



opinion...

Rarely can such highexpectations havebeen invested in a

political institution as theScottish Parliament. Thewords Winnie Ewing choseto open its inauguralsession on 12 May 1999were immensely significant:

“The Scottish Parliament, which adjourned on25 March 1707, is hereby re-convened.”

They were significant not just to those, likeEwing, who would prefer to see anindependent Scotland, but also to the widersection of Scottish opinion that wascomfortable with Scottish membership of theUK, but had become disillusioned with theway Scotland was governed within the UK.The experience of almost two decades of UKgovernment, led by a Conservative Party witha Westminster majority but able to win at bestless than one-third of the Westminster seats inScotland, had called the legitimacy of the UKsystem of government in question in Scotland.Devolution – the establishment of a ScottishParliament accountable to a Scottishelectorate – was the response. The Parliamentwas to democratise the government ofScotland, to make wide areas of decision-making much more directly accountable to thepeople who are affected by those decisions.

The expectations raised by the promise of

democratic accountability were only one partof the story. The other had to do with theimagery attached by devolution campaignersto the future Parliament as an institution. TheParliament was to be the arena of a ‘newpolitics’. This new politics was defined bothpositively and negatively. Negatively, it wasabout having a Parliament that was not likeWestminster. Westminster was too antiquatedin practice, too remote and too much markedby a stylised adversarial style of opposition forits own sake. The new Scottish Parliamentneeded an institutional design and a way ofworking that would stand far removed fromthis negative example.

Much effort was put in the first half of the 1990sin working out more positively how the futureScottish Parliament would deliver this newpolitics. Proportional representation was onepart of the mix that would challenge adversarypolitics with a new brand of consensus. A high-profile commitment to equality of opportunitywas another, reflecting the influence that theScottish Women’s Coordination Group builtup. There was also a commitment to see theParliament work openly with ‘civil society’ andto open up the new Scottish democracy toparticipation by individuals other than the‘usual suspects’ in powerful interest groups.

All this was to be hard-wired into the design ofthe Parliament. The Scottish Constitutional

Freedom or folly? A decade on...

The Scottish Parliament:a laboratory forconstitutional reform or an overly idealisticattempt at ‘new politics’?Charlie Jeffery (Co-Director of the Instituteof Governance) andNavraj Ghaleigh(Lecturer in Public Law)offer insights into thesuccesses and failures ofthe Parliament’s 10thanniversary.

Charlie Jeffery

Continued on column 1, page 14



bulletin

Aweek is a long timein politics, a decadeis a mere shutter-

snap for constitutionalaffairs. If ever true, thatview has little tractionwhen considering thetransformations wroughtby Scottish devolution.

Consider the foundational doctrine ofparliamentary sovereignty, that Westminstercan make or unmake any law. It is even lessplausible to imagine a future Westminsterlegislating to abolish the Scottish Parliament(which it is, in a thin sense, legally capable ofdoing) than it is legislating to withdraw fromthe EU (which it is, in a thin sense, legallycapable of doing).

This piece, however, does not focus on thisgrand issue but on smaller developmentsgenerated during the first 10 years ofdevolution. In observing Holyrood’s system ofexpenses and parliamentary standards andthe uses made of ICTs (information andcommunication technologies) we witnessfledgling institutions both progressing beyondtheir legal parent and failing to sustain theirmomentum.

The 10th birthday of the Scottish Parliamentarrives at the moment when the WestminsterParliament is suffering a range of legitimacychallenges unknown for generations, if ever.

The expenses debacle has given the Holyroodsystem and its incumbents the opportunity toadopt a position that might kindly be calledcontentment. The early years of Holyrood wereof course characterised by a series of home-grown challenges that crystallised around theconstruction of the building itself, as well as anallowances ‘scandal’ that resulted in theresignation of the second First Minister.

The legal regime governing the Scottishdimension of parliamentary affairs is, unlike thatof Westminster, firmly on a statutory footing.Whereas the Houses of Parliament have reliedon ‘customary privileges’ to regulate their affairs,the Scotland Act 1998 requires the ScottishParliament to legislate in this area, which wasfinally done by way of the Interests of Membersof the Scottish Parliament Act 2006, and alsoestablish its own Standing Orders and theStandards and Public Appointments Committee(as it has been known since 2005). Moresubstantively, receipts of expenses arepublished on Members’ parliamentary webpages timeously and crucially, MSPs are nolonger entitled to use allowances for thepurposes of paying mortgages for secondhomes, but must rent if necessary. Sucharrangements are rightly supported by anexpenses scheme but remove theappearance, if not the actuality, of electedmembers using public funds to speculate inthe property market for private gain.

Navraj Ghaleigh

Continued on column 2, page 14

This detailed regime has created a system thatis avowedly distinct from Westminster’s. Thesystem of complaints is well used and whilemore than three quarters are determined bythe independent Standards Commissioner tobe inadmissible, fewer than half a dozen perannum go to full investigation. Of those thatare investigated, none could be placed in thesame category as the notorious examplesfrom Westminster. The recent publication ofthe UK Parliamentary Standards Bill, whichclosely maps the Scottish scheme, may rightlybe seen as a sign of Holyrood’s success.

Holyrood has also been pioneering in its useof ICT to enable citizens to hold politicians toaccount. The Parliament has a website (whichactually existed prior to the institution) that offerstext and video content covering all aspects ofits process, committees and floor activities.Most notably, it has a much-praised (andcopied) system of online petitions which, unlikethe Downing Street version, gives dueconsideration to all petitions submitted by aPublic Petitions Committee. The Governance ofBritain White Paper of May 2008 suggests thatthis crucial institutional back-up should now bereplicated in Westminster. Praise indeed.

However, the petitions system, like the ScottishParliament’s website, is a creature of the early2000s. The latter has long appeared creaky,and populated by static information, centrally



opinion...

Convention’s final report in 1995 ‘expected’ that the Parliament would“provide, through its practices and procedures, a form of government inwhose accountability, accessibility, openness and responsiveness thepeople of Scotland will have confidence and pride.” Those procedureswere then worked out in detail by a Consultative Steering Group (CSG),which – according to its Chair, and the later Scottish First Minister HenryMcLeish – aimed to put in place “a new sort of democracy in Scotland”.

Charlie Jeffery – continued from page 12

controlled and is generally dated. The former, even at its highest, is nomore than a modest, if innovative, addition to a new institution. Theearly successes have not been built on.

An opportunity of reinvigoration arose with the Scottish Government’s‘National Conversation’, an online process to engage the Scottishpublic in a public debate about Scottish independence in the lead-up toa referendum in 2010. Launched in late 2007, the website has beennotable for its attempt to mix plain, informational features with interactiveones (video, forums, ministerial blogs and so on). The usage data ofthe site is not however so impressive, nor easy to obtain. As of May2009 the site had received 489,857 hits. The White Paper had beendownloaded 10,996 times and read 37,406 times, and 4,447 commentswere posted on the blog. By way of comparison the University’s LawSchool, which has a community of a mere 1,000 students and staffreceives more than one million visitors annually. Given a Scottishpopulation of five million and a large engaged diaspora, these aredisappointing figures in comparison, which led no doubt to the recentrelaunch of the Government’s site. However, it is not obvious that thenew site has fully embraced the opportunities offered by ‘Web 2.0’technologies (drawing on collective intelligence by allowing users tomanipulate and generate content, encouraging experimentation orenriching the user experience in other ways) and in the absence of sodoing, usage may continue to disappoint. Experiences in recent US andIranian elections point to the demand for popular online engagement inpolitics, but having scored major international successes very early on,Scottish e-democracy has gradually become rather complacent.

These were high ambitions. The report card after 10 years is mixed. Thefirst years of the Parliament were mired in controversy, in particular inrelation to the spiralling costs of the Parliament building, but also aboutMSP expenses and allowances (though the issues that came to lightthen were small scale compared to the current expenses crisis atWestminster, and produced at an early stage a more transparentsystem now widely seen as a model for Westminster).

One consequence of these early controversies was a sharp dip inpublic assessments of the impact of the Parliament, exacerbatedperhaps because the imagery of a new politics raised such a level ofexpectation that the performance of the Parliament in practice wasalways going to disappoint. Much of what Convention and the CSGexpected of the Parliament was overly idealistic. In particular itunderestimated the importance, and the logic, of party competition.Political parties are central to the operation of the Scottish Parliament.Though not as ‘whipped’ as at Westminster, they generally maintainhigh degrees of party discipline and, as at Westminster, oppose eachother often for its own sake.

The Convention and the CSG underestimated too how difficult it mightbe to embed a long-term commitment to equality of opportunity, inparticular within the Scottish parties. Initial commitments by the partiesto select more female candidates now seem to be given less priority; in other ways too the Parliament does not ‘look’ like the diverse societythat contemporary Scotland has become.

The founders of Scottish devolution also underestimated the capacity of the ‘usual suspects’, especially in the public sector and legalprofessions, seamlessly to establish insider status in the new Scottishdemocracy. While new voices have been heard – through a more opencommittee structure, including a very busy public petitions committee –the old voices still speak the loudest.

None of this is meant to suggest that the Parliament has somehowfailed in what it was intended to achieve, but rather that the benchmarkof a new politics was always a flawed one. But there is a differentbenchmark, as expressed by Winnie Ewing a decade ago. Thatbenchmark was about restoring legitimacy and accountability to thegovernment of Scotland. There is now a Scottish democratic process(however ‘new’ or ‘old’ its features might be), based on Scottishelections, and carried out through a Parliament able to give dueattention to, and assure the legitimacy of, legislation and governmentaction in Scotland. Scottish voters make increasingly sophisticatedjudgements about that government action, not least the new andsubstantial Scottish statute book that has built up since 1999. And it isnow beyond doubt that Scots firmly approve of having a Parliament.Indeed, if anything, they would like to see it do more. In this sense – therenewal of Scottish democracy – the high expectations invested in theParliament have certainly been met.

The Parliament does not ‘look’ likethe diverse society that contemporaryScotland has become

In 1932, Supreme Court Justice Louis D Brandeis coined the metaphorof sub-state units – the American states in his dictum – as “laboratoriesof democracy” in which novel experiments could be carried out withoutrisk to the wider nation, and to its benefit if successful. The basic ideahas informed thinking on devolved power ever since. And althoughScotland would rightly bristle at being termed a laboratory for socialexperimentation, the above suggests ways in which the idea may beuseful.

A persistent trope of devolution studies is that Westminster ‘ignores’Holyrood (to which might be added, everyone ‘ignores’ the WelshAssembly). The case study of Parliamentary Standards would seem tosupport this conclusion, with Westminster only turning its attentionnorthwards when the problem reached crisis point. With e-democracy,however, the ‘lab study’ was noted and acted upon to the extent that wenow see the UK Government drawing on and outstripping Scotland inits use of ICTs – the Cabinet Office’s Power of Information Reviewleading those efforts. After a decade of the new institutions ofdevolution, these snapshots should be seen as examples of dynamicconstitutional borrowings, which will become increasingly common.

Related linkswww.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/petitions/www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/a-national-conversation

Illustrations by Nicola O’Byrne. www.nickylikestodraw.blogspot.com

The expenses debacle has given theHolyrood system and its incumbentsthe opportunity to adopt a positionthat might kindly be calledcontentment.

Navraj Ghaleigh – continued from page 13



bulletinQ&A...

How did you get involved with the AnEntangled Bank exhibition?

Pat Fisher contacted me to discuss thepossibility of working together on a Darwin-related project for the Gallery. My workexplores how we relate to and make sense ofgeological phenomena, which seemed like anatural crossover in terms of exploringDarwinian themes.

Tell us a little bit about your project?

I had begun work on a project called PhysicalGeology, which looks at the notion of physicalgeological time – a sort of geological timediptych exploring fast-moving lava flowsversus slower geological processes, such ascave formation.

Talbot Rice commissioned me to explore the‘fast time’ part of the project, involving lavaflows.

The project has several stages; research,fabrication, observation and eventually lavaforging – the creation of a new series of lavamedallions (magma pressed between forgedsteel plates to form an imprint).

To understand the nature and character of lavaflows more clearly I undertook fieldwork inHawaii. My exhibition will include photographs,drawings, lava-stamping implements, video,sound and text, documenting my findings.

Hawaii sounds like an exciting destinationfor fieldwork. What did you learn there?

I went to Big Island, Hawaii, where thevolcanoes are some of the most active in theworld. They are Shield Volcanoes (largevolcanoes with shallow-sloping sides) withfairly ‘predictable’ behaviour, so they are idealfor learning about active lava flows from first-hand observation.

We joined Professor Ken Hon from theUniversity of Hawaii for an excursion out ontothe active lava flows. We were literally walkingon new ground – 12 months old, two weeksold, two days old. Incredible.

It sounds quite dangerous! What challengesdid you face in gathering your research?

Conditions were very changeable so flexibility

was a crucial part of the process. Roads tocertain parts of the volcano were closed dueto poor air quality, and the lava viewingplatform was off limits on a regular basis dueto wind direction. Often, heavy night swellsmade water too choppy to observe the lavafrom a boat. So, you had to be prepared tospring into action, full kit packed and ready togo as soon as conditions allowed, or toreschedule if any dangers were present.

And the high points?

Even 10 minutes in front of the lava at closerange was utterly remarkable, so it was worthgetting up at 4am on the off chance you couldmake the approach. Following up on leads asthey presented themselves also offered totallyunexpected opportunities. For example, wewere able to go caving into a pristine lavatube. Only 12 people are allowed in per week,to keep it intact.

The trip culminated in one particularlymagnificent experience. After hiking over pitch-black lava fields scattered with ‘Pele’s Hair’(Volcanic glass threads) and other extremelybeautiful phenomena, we sat on warm lavaflows to film and watch new land mass formingjust underneath us as the lava flowed into theocean. Enshrouded in plumes of smoke, thelava would reveal itself for moments. At pointsthe ground was so hot you had to get up andmove to a slightly cooler position.

Tell us about your collaboration with theUniversity of Edinburgh’s volcanologists?

Thor Thordarson (Reader in Volcanology,School of GeoSciences) was consultantvolcanologist on the project. He is an amazingman and had a great deal to say on both thetopic of lava forging and the nature of art andgeology. He also introduced me to ProfessorKen Hon from the University of Hawaii.

You can view Ilana’s work at An EntangledBank when the exhibition opens at the TalbotRice Gallery’s white gallery on 24 October. Theexhibition displays interpretations of Darwinianthemes by contemporary artists. The GeorgianGallery will showcase a selection of historicalobjects relating to Darwin in the actual areawhere he studied at the University. Theexhibition runs until 12 December.

Artist Ilana Halperin took dedication to her art to new levels when she got up closeand personal with active volcanoes in Hawaii. She recorded some amazingspectacles and her findings will be on display for the Talbot Rice Gallery’sforthcoming An Entangled Bank exhibition, part of the Year of Darwin celebration.

bulletin caught up with the artist to find out more.

Even 10 minutes infront of the lava atclose range wasutterly remarkable.

Fire in the belly



photo-story...

Graduation day is a momentousoccasion for every student. Donningacademic robes and receiving that all-

important parchment scroll in the historicMcEwan Hall marks the culmination of years ofhard work, and it is a day to celebrate withfriends and family.

Every year, the University confers about 5,000degrees and 250 diplomas and certificates.The ceremonies – held in summer and winter –follow time-honoured traditions, some of whichcan be traced back to the founding of theUniversity in 1583. From the carrying of theUniversity mace in the academic procession,to the use of the graduation ‘bonnet’, withwhich the Principal lightly doffs the heads ofstudents to confer their degrees, it is a solemnbut exciting occasion.

The conferment of honorary degrees ondistinguished public figures during theceremonies also makes graduation day all themore special for students, who receive theirdegrees in illustrious company.

Scroll of honour



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Opposite page, clockwise from top left: McEwanHall’s grand interior lends a sense of occasion; J M Barrie, Peter Pan author (right), on graduationday; a graduate savours the moment. This page,clockwise from top left: writer and broadcasterMichael Palin and Edinburgh International BookFestival Director Catherine Lockerbie celebratewith fellow honorary graduands; the choir sets themood; McEwan Hall’s doorway sculpture; theMost Reverend Archbishop Desmond Tutureceives his honorary degree; proud graduatesfrom the 1980s.

Did you know...?• The University mace was given to the University in 1789 after the

original one was said to be stolen by the ‘notorious’ Deacon Brodie,a businessman who maintained a secret life as a burglar.

• According to University legend, the graduation cap (the GenevaBonnet) was made using material from the breeches of John Knox.

• The sculpture over the door of McEwan Hall depicts a graduationceremony and the Latin inscription records the generosity ofbenefactor Sir William McEwan.

• Our first female graduates received their MA degrees in 1893.



people news...

Shelagh Green,Acting Director ofthe Careers Service,

has been appointed asDirector, in succession toLynda Ali. Shelagh takesup her appointmentimmediately.

Shelagh has worked within the University’sCareers Service since 1998, most recently asDeputy Director.

She says: “I'm very much looking forward totaking the Service forward. It is an excitingtime to take the reins; the economic climate is challenging for our students, graduates andthe employers we work with. However theappetite to ensure we offer an excellentstudent experience and support theemployability of our students is in evidence

New Director of Careers Service appointedwhen I meet colleagues across the institution.

“As a support service I believe it’s vital that weare providing the right support for our users –whether they be students, recent graduates,colleagues within the institution or employers.A key priority for me is to ensure, that my team and I form really effective relationshipsand work alongside our stakeholders toensure the University continues to have aCareers Service it can be rightly proud of.”

Bruce Nelson, Academic Registrar, adds: “I’m delighted that Shelagh has beenappointed as Director, and look forward tocontinuing to work with her in her new role, in the way that we've worked together whileshe has been Acting Director. I’m pleased that Shelagh's confirmation as Director willgive us the stability to develop the Service for the future”.

Copy Centres’ Supervisor Allan Whitewill retire from the University after 43years service on 31 July.

Allan started at the University on 22 August1966 as a junior assistant operating Roneostencil duplicators. He has witnessed manychanges and taken on many responsibilitiessince then, from working a Roneo VickersDuplicator in the early days to using highvolume digital copiers in the 21st century, aswell as managing the copy centres andbecoming expert with complexspreadsheets.

Print and Procurement Manager StuartMaclean says: “Allan’s keenness to get thejob done was never better illustrated thanwhen he used to go round the 300 or socopiers in the University to take meterreadings in the holidays. His first-classservice to Printing Services and hiscustomers over the years will forever beappreciated. He will be missed by all hiscolleagues and customers.”

Allan White retires after 43 years

Three students from the University ofEdinburgh have been named asRegional Winners (Scotland and

Northern Ireland) of the Student Employee ofthe Year Awards.

The awards recognise and promote theoutstanding contributions and achievements ofstudents who effectively combine part-timework with their study commitments.

Geoff Thubron (fourth-year Computer Science)and Michal Bartosik (fourth-year ArtificialIntelligence) were nominated by Chris McPheeof Crocodile Clips, an Edinburgh educationalsoftware development company.

Catherine Stevens (third-year PhD EnglishLiterature) was nominated by the University’sCareers Service where she works for theSAGE team – the same team that helpedMcPhee recruit Geoff and Michal.

For more information about how you can useSAGE to recruit students, contact the SAGEteam at [email protected].

Students win Employeeof the Year awards

people news

Allan plans to spend his retirement relaxingand visiting all the castles, museums andstately homes he’s wanted to see, but neverpreviously had the time for. He also hopes totake time out in the West Highland area, buthe will miss his University colleagues, whileenjoying his new leisure time.

He says: “I will miss the day-to-day contactwith people within and outside the University,solving all their little problems to keep thewheels of education turning.”



bulletin

What is your role at the University?

I advise the Principal and the centralmanagement team of strategic direction inthe areas of postgraduate students,widening participation, recruitment at alllevels of study, scholarships and bursaries,sustainability and community relations.

What have you and your team achieved?

We are increasing our number of researchstudents along with the quality of theirexperience. I have been working tonegotiate joint international PhDs which willattract the best of research students tostudy between two top research teams intwo countries.

In terms of widening participation andadmissions, our aim is to get the beststudents with the best potential to succeedat Edinburgh. To inspire young people whomight not normally think about going touniversity we have quite a number ofoutreach programmes, such as Pathwaysto the Professions.

We have recently published a communitystrategy – undertaking the review of whatwe do showed just how much our staff andstudents do in the wider community. Weare also looking to develop a Sustainabilityand Social Responsibility (SSR) strategy.

What are the best elements of your job?

The huge diversity of the areas I cover andhearing about the work of the peopleacross all disciplines in the University. I likeit when I see real change and improvementas a result of my work.

And the worst…?

People who are reluctant to look at newways of doing things and don’t like to crossimaginary boundaries.

RoleplayName: Mary Bownes

Role: Vice-Principal, Research Training & Community Relations and Professor ofDevelopmental Biology

Department: School of Biology

If you would like to nominate yourself or a colleague for this slot, please email [email protected].

Architecture project scores at Chelsea Flower Show

Architecture staff and students have wona Chelsea Flower Show award for theircontribution to a garden created in

collaboration with garden designer Paul Hensey.

Their submission to the Show, The FenchurchGarden (above), used concrete structures,which were made at the University ofEdinburgh applying techniques developed aspart of a live architecture project.

The innovative techniques create fabric-formedconcrete panels that have a flexible

framework, enabling more complex shapes tobe formed. The methods are also sustainableas less material is used than in theconventional manufacture of concrete.

The unusual submission to the Show won theMost Creative Award in the urban gardencategory.

For more information about the concretecasting techniques used by the architectureteam, visit the following website:www.fabricformedconcrete.ed.ac.uk.

Outgoing Sports Union President JoeGray is to cycle from London to Africaon a tandem bike to raise money for

the charity WaterAid.

Travelling through France, the Pyrenees, Spainand then Morocco, Joe and his cyclingpartner, fellow Edinburgh alumnus AndrewVoysey will tackle a demanding schedule of 80miles a day, six days a week to complete the2,000-mile journey within a target time of fourweeks.

Joe says: “Tandem to Africa is all aboutcombining my love for sport with the urgencyto help bring access to safe water andsanitation to communities living without it.WaterAid projects cost around £15 per head,so, with the help of our generous donors, Iknow that we will all be making a hugedifference to people’s lives.”

Joe and Andrew are looking to raise £10,000for WaterAid, which works to provide safewater and sanitation and hygiene education tothe world’s poorest people.

For more information about their trip and howyou can make a donation, visit their websiteat: www.webjam.com/tandem_to_africa.

Sports Union President rides tandem to Africa

In tandem: Joe Gray (left) and Andrew Voysey



people news...

PROFESSOR MARTIN SIEGERT: CV

1986–89: Studied Geological Geophysics,University of Reading

1990–93: Undertook a PhD at the Scott PolarResearch Institute, University of Cambridge

1994–1998: Lecturer at the Centre forGlaciology, University of Wales, Aberystwyh

1999–2006: Worked at the University ofBristol’s Glaciology Centre, first as lecturerthen as its Director and Professor of PhysicalGeography

2002: Awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize foroutstanding young scholars

2006: Appointed Head of the School ofGeoSciences at Edinburgh

2007: Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Societyof Edinburgh

Dedicated to the coreFrom making the front page of the Independent to inspiringfuture generations of scientists, Professor Martin Siegerthas made an impact at the University since his appointmentas Head of the School of GeoSciences in 2006.

We are setting ahistorical benchmarkwith what we’re doingand others will takenotice of it in thefuture.

the same people saying the same things asthey had at similar events two or three yearsearlier. At that point I suddenly realised thatsubglacial lake exploration isn’t going to happenby these people. Someone else will do it. That’swhy I wanted to put together a UK team.”

Fifteen years on, Siegert has transformed thatthought into a reality. His multidisciplinaryteam, which comprises 10 UK universities andthe British Antarctica Survey, will drill down3km of ice and deploy a robot to measure thewater and take samples for both climatechange records and indications of life.

Not only will the team’s findings potentiallyanswer crucial scientific questions, but it couldset a technological precedent that may beadapted by the space science community forfuture missions to Jupiter’s moon Europa.

“When we go into the lake it will be the firsttime anyone’s gone into this environment. Weare setting a historical benchmark with whatwe’re doing and others will take notice of it inthe future,” Siegert explains.

Being dedicated, methodical andconscientious are the personal qualitiesa leading international scientist most

needs, according to Professor Martin Siegert,Head of the School of GeoSciences. Siegert,who has made his mark on the world stagewith his pioneering subglacial lakeexplorations in Antarctica, clearly possessesthose attributes in abundance.

His ambitious Lake Ellsworth project, whichwas this year awarded significant NaturalEnvironment Research Council (NERC)funding, has been the culmination of 15 yearsof commitment, planning and hard work.

Subglacial lakes, which are large bodies ofwater found beneath the ice sheet, werediscovered 30 years ago. The lakes have thepotential to enhance knowledge aboutAntarctica, as well as offer clues to broaderenvironmental issues such as climate change.Scientists are also eager to explore what lifeforms exist in the lakes.

Siegert was inspired to start this project at aconference as a young academic: “I noticed



bulletin

obituary

Neil MacCormick was born inGlasgow on 27 May 1941 and diedin Edinburgh on 5 April 2009. He

studied at Glasgow University and thenBalliol College, Oxford. He taught at DundeeUniversity (then part of St AndrewsUniversity) and Balliol College before comingto Edinburgh where he was RegiusProfessor of Public Law and the Law ofNature and Nations from 1972 to 2007.

Neil was a prodigious figure both in the lifeof the University and the wider community. Atrue follower of the Scottish tradition of theDemocratic Intellect, he was pre-eminent inintellectual and public engagement in theacademy and beyond. He died before histime but he had already achieved what mostpeople would aspire to in two lifetimes.

In public life and service he was, on variousoccasions, a member of the BroadcastingCouncil for Scotland, the Economic andSocial Research Council, the ResearchCouncil of the European University Instituteand the European Science Foundation, aswell as various government departmentalcommittees inquiring into matters of publicconcern.

He served from 1999 to 2004 as Member ofthe European Parliament on behalf of theScottish National Party (of which party hehas been a Vice-President). Voted ScottishEuro MP of the Year for three consecutiveyears (at the Scottish Politician of the Yearawards), he was, until his passing, SpecialAdviser to the First Minister, Alex Salmond,on European and External Affairs.

He was twice Dean of the Faculty of Law. Hewas Provost of the Faculty Group of Law andSocial Science and had been a Vice-Principal for International Affairs. He hadbeen a Senate Assessor on the UniversityCourt, Convener of the University PressCommittee, and Chair of the StudentAccommodation Committee, the Staff ClubManagement Committee and UniversitySettlement.

Neil was a popular and effective lecturer tolarge classes, and a believer in the traditionof professorial engagement with first-yearstudents. He was also most successful as ateacher of smaller groups and an effective

supervisor of many postgraduates nowholding senior positions the world over.

He was Leverhulme Research Professorfrom 1997 to 1999 and from 2004 until hisretirement. He was a Fellow of the RoyalSociety of Edinburgh and the BritishAcademy, was an honorary Queen’s Counseland was knighted in 2001 in recognition ofservices to scholarship in law. In 2004 hewas a recipient of the Royal Society ofEdinburgh’s Royal Gold Medal forOutstanding Achievement.

On meeting Professor Sir Neil MacCormickmost people were struck, not by his statureas a great intellectual and public figure, butby the fact that he was a witty, charming,kind and helpful man. He wore his distinctionlightly and engaged with everyone on anequal footing; he had equal concern andrespect for everyone. He made those heengaged with think that they had somethingimportant to give, and he did this becausehe truly believed that they did, and wasconcerned to find it.

Neil was the most considerate and generousof men both in his public and private life. Hedied on Palm Sunday at home with his wifeFlora by his side. She and his family willmiss him terribly, as will we all.

At his memorial service, Anne Lorne Gilliessang Robert Burns’s great anthem “A Man’sa Man for a’ That”. It was a fitting andmoving tribute and brought tears to manyeyes.

Zenon BankowskiProfessor of Legal Theory

Centre for Law and Society

obituary...

The project has already hit the headlines,making the front page of the Independent, buthe values equally the impact his researchcould have on aspiring scientists. “One thingwe’re committed to doing is outreaching thisproject to schoolchildren to get them excitedin science and demonstrating that it’s not justabout lab work but about doing things that arenew, going to places that we haven’t beenbefore, and being inquisitive.”

Siegert, a previous recipient of the PhilipLeverhulme Prize for outstanding youngscholars, would be an apt role model for anypotential researcher. As the only member ofhis family to attend university, he says hiscommitted and focused work ethic stems fromhis family’s attitude that “you get what youearn”. He is uncomfortable using the wordambition, but possesses a quiet drive anddetermination to get things done with patienceand focus.

It’s such an attitude that will help him realisehis goals as Head of the School ofGeoSciences. His commitment to theSchool’s, and indeed the University’s role intackling climate change is evident, as is hispassion for the issue.

“Climate change is real. It’s not going away. Itis going to cause people to alter the way thatwe live and it will happen. Universities need torespond to this urgently,” he states.

“They need to make sure they’re in a positionto advise and support and provide the nextlevel of people in the workforce. That’s ourresponsibility. That’s what we’re set up to do.So that’s what we have to do.”

The scientist believes collaboration acrossmultiple academic disciplines is key, Heactively encourages work across Schools andColleges, including projects with academiccolleagues in engineering and business.

He explains: “Most Schools in the Universitywill have people who are interested in climatechange but there’s no way of gathering andlinking them and that’s what we’re trying to do,so that the University can take the maximumpotential out of its existing strengths onclimate change.”

The School has teamed up with Heriot-WattUniversity to launch the Climate Change Centre,which is perhaps the first step in Siegert’sbroader vision to see the city of Edinburghbecome a centre for carbon research.

He says: “It’s all about carbon and I want thecity of Edinburgh to be the centre of gravity forcarbon research and teaching for the UK.We’ve got many strengths at this Universityand I think we can do it.”

Professor Sir Neil MacCormick (1941–2009)

continued from page 20.



competitions...

Spot the differenceWould you like to win a

pair of tickets for theforthcoming Fringe

production of A MidsummerNight’s Dream at the McEwanHall? Just complete our spot thedifference puzzle. Compare thetwo pictures of the Visitor’sCentre. The image on the rightdiffers to the one on the left.You are looking for fivedifferences. Circle thedifferences and send in youranswer by 31 July. A prize drawwill take place on Wednesday 5August and the winner will benotified by email.

Send your answers and emailaddress to: Competitions,Bulletin, Communications &Marketing, 48 Pleasance,Edinburgh EH8 4TJ

1. Physician, physicist, chemist andmentor to James Watt

2. Geology, Geophysics andEnvironmental GeoSciences staffwork here

3. The scientist famous for his workon electromagnetism

4. This state-of-the-art buildingfeatures solar panels and asunlight-tracking device

5. 2009 marks 200 years since thisfamous scholar’s birth

6. This new Forum features on thecover of the 2007/2008 AnnualReview

7. Relax in the recently openedcoffee shop, on the ground floor

8. Art gallery in Old College

9. Buy your University merchandiseat this Potterrow Centre

10. Its imposing twin towers overlookPrinces Street

11. Play squash, go climbing or liftweights here (acronym)

12. Britain’s oldest student-run theatre

13. Architecture students learn here

14. Named after the author of ATreatise of Human Nature(acronym)

15. 11 Crichton Street, EH8 9LE

16. Halls of residence, built in 1869

17. Relax or reflect in this GeorgeSquare retreat

18. This Office assists students fromabroad

19. The world’s earliest survivingpurpose-built musical museum

20. Houses a six-lane teaching andresearch pool

21. Veterinary hospital at Easter Bush

22. See a Festival Fringe show here

23. Diseases research institute atLittle France (acronym)

24. Some of the Flodden Wallremains near these yards

25. Music students learn here

Word searchCLUES

Try our word search challenge and you could win another pair oftickets for a Fringe show on campus. Hidden in the grid are 25words or phrases (not including apostrophes) relating to

University buildings or places. See right for clues. Mark the words onthe grid and return it to us, including your email address, at theaddress above. A prize draw will be held on 5 August.

Previous winners: Nathalie Dupin, Institute for Astronomy, (Spot theDifference); Kerry-Ann Robertson, Estates & Buildings (Word Search).



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In every issue of bulletin we profile an item from the University Collection.

The Aberdeen Breviary

The Aberdeen Breviary is a 16th-century prayer book that, despite its name,was printed in Edinburgh and gifted to the University Library by graduates in1635. It is the finest surviving copy of the first major book printed in Scotland.For more information, visit www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resources/collections/specdivision/ch200803.shtml.

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THE UNIVERSITY EDINBURGH bulletin · 2015-10-08 · The project, which comprises the Informatics Forum and the neighbouring Dugald Stewart Building, has re-housed staff and students