Opportunity: The Shell and Institute of Physics Award for the Very Early Career Woman Physicist of the Year, cd 26 February 2010

From the Institute of Physics: Applications are now being accepted for the Very Early Career Award 2010, the closing date for applications is 26 February 2010. For more information about the 2010 award and how to apply please download the poster and application form.

The Women in Physics Group annually invite applications from women at the start of their careers in physics who have made a substantial contribution to the subject and may also have undertaken activities to support and encourage others in the field. The prize is awarded annually to a woman who is within three years of completing her undergraduate degree in physics and who is either working as a physicist or is engaged in postgraduate study.

The winner will receive £1,000 donated by Shell and an award certificate at a major Institute of Physics Women in Physics event. As well as providing recognition of the winner's work through the prize money, the award will also provide valuable networking opportunities. Applicants therefore must be working in the UK or Ireland.

The Very Early Career Woman Physicist of the Year Award seeks to recognise the work done by physicists who are embarking on a career in physics and to promote the career opportunities open to people with physics qualifications.

Opportunity: TSB announces £13m crop protection R&D competition, c/d 25 Feb 2010

The Technology Strategy Board has announced a new competition with £13m available for industry-led projects that will help growers respond to the challenge of increasing crop productivity whilst also reducing the environmental impact of crop production.

The competition opens on January 18th 2010 and aims to meet existing and new EU regulation on the approval and use of pesticides. This call is relevant to businesses and stakeholders across the agricultural supply chain, including those involved in the following sectors:

• arable crops including wheat, barley, oilseed rape, potatoes and pulse crops
• horticulture
• grasses and forage crops
• crops for biofuels, and other non-food uses
• in the field or protected cultivation

Further information is available at the Technology Strategy Board website.

The Biosciences KTN, which is free to join, can help assist by providing advice on project scope and fit to eligibility criteria; identification of potential collaborative partners; confidential review of draft proposals.

Opportunity: I'm a scientist, get me out of here, c/d 19 Feb 2010

Do you want to get into schools without having to leave the lab? Do you want to be sure there is a real educational benefit to what you are doing? Do you want to develop your communication skills, and possibly get awarded £500?

‘I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here!’ get teenagers talking to real scientists, online, and learning about real science. Students have fun, but also get beyond stereotypes, learn about how science relates to real life, develop their thinking and discussion skills and make connections with real scientists.

You’d be making a difference. And you’d be learning too. Teenagers ask all sorts of questions - from the cheeky to the thought-provoking. They fizz with energy and can be infectious company. The students chose which scientist gets a grant of £500 for public engagement. This means they engage at a much deeper level, because they have a say over something real.

This award-winning event is funded by the Wellcome Trust, to promote public engagement with science. Find out more, or register to take part at http://imascientist.org.uk/for-scientists/

Policy input: Parliament enquiry into future of Bioengineering in the UK, c/d 4 December 2009

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee is conducting an inquiry into Bioengineering and is seeking written evidence.

The Committee will be examining how the UK can maintain a globally competitive position in emerging and existing bioengineering research fields. The inquiry will focus on three areas: research, translation and regulation. The inquiry will take synthetic biology, stem cells and genetic modification (GM) as areas within which to explore the issues of research, translation and regulation.

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee is a Select Committee of Parliament, and scrutinises the work and policies relating to the Government Office for Science (GO-Science), and so the Committee can examine the activities of departments where they have implications for, or made use of, science, engineering, technology and research. Although its reports and recommendations are not binding, they must be responded to by the relevant government department, and are influentual.

For each inqury it undertakes, it gathers evidence (statements of fact and suggestions of recommendations), which it reviews. For each inqury it undertakes, it asks for written evidence (statements of fact and suggestions of recommendations), which it reviews.

Anyone may submit written evidence, which should be brief, written specially for the Committee, and should answer at least one of the following questions:

For the areas of synthetic biology, stem cells and GM:

• What is the UK's research capacity?
• How easy is it to translate and commercialise research?
• How do UK and international regulations affect research and translation?
• How can the UK maintain and grow its internationally competitive position?

Evidence for this enquiry should be submitted by noon on Friday 4 December 2009 in the format described on the Bioengineering inquiry webpage.

Opportunity: Research Council Board membership, c/d 13 November 2009

The Research Councils fund research, research facilities and postgraduate training, and are funded by Government. Four Research Councils are seeking suitably qualified academics and experienced individuals from the industrial/commercial sectors to fill a number of Board vacancies.

These are renumerated, part-time positions, which will influence the future strategy and direction of the Research Councils, including their knowledge transfer role.

There are currently vacancies for the Arts and Humanties Research Council (AHRC), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC). Details of the vacancies can be found on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills website. The closing date for all vacancies is 13 November 2009.

Opportunity: Queen's awards for Enterprise, Innovation, c/d 30 October 2009

Businesses can apply for The Queen's Awards for Enterprise in one or more of three categories - International Trade, Innovation and Sustainable Development. Individuals can be nominated for The Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion, which recognises people who have played an outstanding and significant role in promoting enterprise skills and attitudes in others in the UK. The closing date for applications, which can be made online, is 2pm on 30 October 2009.

Opportunity: Academic Enterprise Awards 2009, c/d 16 October 2009

The Academic Enterprise Awards 2009 are open for nominations, closing date 16 October 2009. There are three types of award: four awards for spin-outs (for spin-out companies based on ideas developed at universities and public research institutes in Europe); one for fast start early-stage entrepreneurship (for a promising but as-yet unproven spin-out based on ideas developed at universities and public research institutes in Europe); and the Bridge Award for promoting entrepreneurship (to an individual who has done the most to promote policies for entrepreneurship in university or public research institutions) . Nominations close 16 October 2009, multiple nominations are permitted.

Funding: Royal Society Industry Fellowship Scheme, c/d 14 Oct 2009

This scheme aims to enhance knowledge transfer in science and technology between those in industry and those in academia. It provides opportunities for an academic scientist to work on a collaborative project with industry, or someone employed in industry to work on a collaborative project with a university department or a not-for-profit research organisation. It is anticipated that fellows will establish personal and corporate links between the two sectors in the UK as a foundation for their long-term future development. These appointments are funded by the Royal Society, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Natural Environment Research Council, Rolls-Royce plc and Astra Zeneca.

The closing date for applications is 14 October 2009. See the Royal Society website for more details.

R&D Society PR: Universities need to change if they are to embrace the second phase of World Wide Web, issued 9 October 2009

Press release issued by the University of Southampton, Friday 9 October 2009

Universities need to change if they are to embrace the second phase of World Wide Web

The challenges which face the World Wide Web in its next phase and the need for academics to embrace its further development will be outlined by Professor Dame Wendy Hall next week.

Professor Hall, who is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) will receive the Duncan Davies medal and deliver the 2009 Duncan Davies lecture on the topic of Research 2.0: The Age of Networks at a Research & Development Society event at the Royal Society on Monday 12 October at 6.30pm.

The Duncan Davies Medal is awarded annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution toward making the UK the best-performing research and development environment in the world.

In her lecture Professor Hall will describe how since its inception the Web has changed the ways we communicate, collaborate, and educate and that it has now developed sufficiently to facilitate interdisciplinary research by international teams to tackle the major problems faced by the world today.

‘In a very short-space of time we have come to live in a web-dependent society within a web-dependent world,’ she will say. ‘There is a growing realization that a clear research agenda aimed at understanding the current, evolving, and potential Web is needed.’

She will go on to present the important of Web Science, which embraces the study of these phenomena and she will explore the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing need for interdisciplinary research undertaken by international teams and the role that universities, governments and learned societies can play to facilitate such exciting and necessary developments.

‘The role of government is crucial in setting policies to create an environment in which such research can flourish but in the age of networks, universities may also have to radically change in order to facilitate such exciting and necessary developments and better train people to meet the needs of businesses in the future,’ she will say.

The 2009 Duncan Davies lecture on the topic of Research 2.0: The Age of Networks will take place at the Royal Society on Monday 12 October at 6.30pm at 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG.

ENDS


Notes to Editors

1. Professor Dame Wendy Hall is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and was Head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) from 2002-2007. She was the founding Head of the Intelligence, Agents, Multimedia (IAM) Research Group in ECS.

She has published over 400 papers in areas such as hypermedia, multimedia, digital libraries, and Web technologies

In 2008 she was elected as President of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and is the first person from outside North America to hold this position.

She was Senior Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 2005-2008 and is a Past President of the British Computer Society (2003-2004). She is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, a member of the Executive Committee of UKCRC, and Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Diversity Committee. She is a founding member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council.

For further information about Professor Dame Wendy Hall, please visit: http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/wh/

2.For further information about the R&D Society Duncan Davies Medal, please visit: http://www.rdsoc.org/duncandavies.html

3.With around 500 researchers, and 900 undergraduate students, the School of Electronics and Computer Science at Southampton is one of the world's largest and most successful integrated research groupings, covering Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electronics, Electrical Engineering, and IT in Organisations. ECS has unrivalled depth and breadth of expertise in world-leading research, new developments and their applications.

4. The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health and humanities.

5. With over 22,000 students, around 5000 staff, and an annual turnover of more than £370 million, the University of Southampton is acknowledged as one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine. We combine academic excellence with an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to research, supporting a culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning.

The University is also home to a number of world-leading research centres, including the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Web Science Research Initiative, the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, the Mountbatten Centre for International Studies and the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute.

Opportunity: Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowships, c/d 6 Oct 2009

Each year the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust aims to award 100 Travelling Fellowships to British citizens. Each Fellow receives a grant to cover return and internal travel, daily living and travel insurance within the countries visited. Categories for application include Business & Finance and Science, Engineering & Enterprise. For further information and to apply, visit the Trust's website. Closing date 6 October 2009.

R&D Society news: David Fishlock, 1932 - 2009

The R&D Society was saddened to learn of the death on Friday 18 September 2009 of David Fishlock, a longstanding R&D Society member and former editor and valued contributor to the R&D Society newsletter. He was well regarded as a science and technology writer, with an influential career including being technology journalist for New Scientist, science correspondent for the Financial Times and founder of R&D Efficiency. Obituaries have been published in the Times and the Financial Times.

Members may wish to note that Scott Keir, the R&D Society administrator has details of David Fishlock's funeral and an address for flowers.

Policy Input: Royal Society policy study: The Fruits of Curiosity: science, innovation and future sources of wealth, c/d 11 Sep 2009

The Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, has opened a major policy study, The Fruits of Curiosity: science, innovation and future sources of wealth, that will review the landscape for UK science and innovation policy and explore its direction over the next 10-20 years. They are requesting views on some important questions, to ensure that their recommendations take account of the UK R&D community.

The study will measure the different forms of value created by science, engineering and medicine for the UK’s economy and society and will consider the role that science will play in equipping Britain to meet future economic, social and environmental challenges.

The Royal Society believes that it is timely to review these issues ahead of the forthcoming General Election and Spending Round, and to seek to influence debates about what lies beyond the current 10-Year Investment Framework for Science and Innovation.

The Royal Society believes that if the study is to realise its full potential, it is vital that they draw on insights, expertise and experience from a variety of settings, and have asked the R&D Society to encourage our members and contacts to submit their views.

The Society has listed a number of questions they would like answered in a Call for Evidence (PDF). In your submission, you may answer as many or as few of the questions listed in the call for evidence as you feel able to. Key questions of relevance to R&D Society members and contacts include:

• 1. What role should curiosity-driven research play in the UK science base in the next 15-25 years?
• 2. Which elements of policy for science and innovation over the past 10 years have been successful and should be maintained? Where is there room for improvement?
• 9. How can we make research careers – within academia or industry – a more attractive option for young people, both within the UK system and from abroad?
• 11. Does the standard career-track model need to be re-evaluated? Should we take more account of the movement of skilled individuals between academia, industry and business?
• 12. How can we strengthen science and innovation in all parts of the private sector in the UK, and further improve the exchange of knowledge and expertise between the public and private sectors?
• 13. How can we improve the scale and contribution of private sector R&D?
• 14. What initiatives (e.g. tax credits) have been successful or not with regards to supporting innovative businesses in the UK? How can the UK better support business?
• 17. What role should public sector R&D outside the ring-fenced science budget (e.g. departmental spending, government procurement and national laboratories) play in supporting the UK science base?

Submissions (ie, your answers to any of the above questions), can be made by email to: fruitsofcuriosity@royalsociety.org preferably by 11 September 2009. In your submission, you should state if you do not want your name or your submission to be made public, and give a contact name and telephone number.