News in brief
17 September 2013
World renowned expert appointed Visiting Professor
World renowned planting designer Piet Oudolf has been appointed Visiting Professor of Planting Design at the Department of Landscape at the University of Sheffield. To celebrate the appointment, he is giving a rare public lecture for free.
Piet said: “I was very pleased to take up this appointment at what is undoubtedly the leading University Department in the world in Planting Design.”
Professor James Hitchmough from the University’s Department of Landscape said: “Piet Oudolf has transformed the profile and role of public planting design in urban landscapes over the past 20 years. He has shown that, when expertly designed and when the plant material is also expertly understood, it is possible to produce plantings that are robust, long lived, and manageable and which also have a dramatic, uplifting effect on urban people.”
The Piet Oudolf Public Lecture is on the evening of the Wednesday 23rd October 2013 at the University of Sheffield. The lecture is free but places are limited and must be booked here.
13 September 2013
Academic honoured for world-changing scientific research
An academic from the University of Sheffield has been honoured at the World Economic Forum for the impact of his research which translates plant science into practical, agricultural technologies.
Dr Duncan Cameron, from the University’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences was one of 40 scientists from across the world to be awarded the title of Young Scientist for his transformational role in integrating scientific knowledge and technological innovation to improve the state of the world.
Each year, the Forum selects up to 40 extraordinary researchers under the age of 40 to join its Young Scientists community and invites them to participate in the Annual Meeting of the New Champions. These Young Scientists engage with business and political leaders at the meeting to spur innovation and identify groundbreaking scientific solutions to current global challenges. They bring value to the meeting by contributing their scientific perspective and highlighting the latest trends in the fields of science and technology.
Professor Cameron’s research concerns the functional and physiological ecology of host-parasitic plant interactions.
For more information on Young Scientists, click here
11 September 2013
Sheffield top for politics and activities
The University of Sheffield has been ranked among the top UK universities in the latest survey from Which? Uni - UK Universities: the Best and Worst.
The University of Sheffield was listed in the 12 best political universities, measured on the range of different political groups and activities, such as meetings and demonstrations, and whether politics is a visible part of the university experience.
Sheffield Students’ Union was named in the top 14 students unions with varied activities, measured on things such as well-attended student nights, clubs and societies appealing to lots of different groups and an active student campaigning arm.
A student surveyed said: “The union offers unique, diverse and great nights out…support staff are always very helpful, there are excellent services available.” The news comes hot on the heels of Sheffield's high scores in the latest THE Student Experience Survey and the National Student Survey.
5 September 2013
Sheffield selected to take part in Booker Prize Foundation's Universities Initiative
This autumn, the University of Sheffield will take part in the Booker Prize Foundation’s Universities Initiative for the first time.
Sheffield is one of nine eight UK universities selected for this programme, based on the American ‘Freshman Reading Project’ model. All first-year students at Sheffield, regardless of their course of study, will receive free copies of Pigeon English, the Man Booker-shortlisted novel by Stephen Kelman.
Stephen Kelman will take part in a free public event in Sheffield – a reading, interview and Q&A session – on the evening of Monday 21st October. In addition, students will be invited to attend reading groups to discuss the book and the social issues it raises, and to take part in an essay contest.
The Booker Prize Foundation’s Universities Initiative was developed to introduce students to high-quality contemporary fiction, and to encourage debate and intellectual engagement among students across all disciplines.
Professor Sir Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, plans to distribute extra free copies of the novel among Sheffield schools. ‘I welcome this opportunity for a shared experience across the university and broader community,’ he says. ‘This initiative offers the chance for our students to challenge themselves intellectually and imaginatively, and for the whole city to take part in the discussion.’
Pigeon English, shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize, was inspired by the real-life stabbing of Damilola Taylor. The novel tells the story of 11-year-old Harrison Opoku, a recent immigrant from Ghana living on an inner-city estate. When a local boy is knifed to death and no witnesses come forward, Harrison begins his own murder investigation. The Daily Telegraph said Kelman’s novel had a ‘powerful story, a pacy plot and engaging characters. It paints a vivid portrait with honesty, sympathy and wit, of a much neglected milieu, and it addresses urgent social questions.’
27 August 2013
Students’ comedy wins national award
A comedy act made up of University of Sheffield students and graduates is celebrating after scooping a new national laughter award.
Staple/face beat off five other acts to be named the inaugural winners of the Gilded Balloon and Sketch Club's Best New Sketch Act award at the grand final held in Edinburgh on 20 August 2013, hosted by Channel 4 presenter Mark Dolan. Their prize is a three week run at next year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe performing at the Gilded Balloon, which has housed major names including Lee Mack, Peter Kay and Russell Brand.
The troupe’s writers and performers are Sam Nicoresti, 21, a history graduate; Tom Burgess, 22, an English graduate and Mike Bentley, 23, a history student. Sociology student Charlie Sanders, 22, is the producer.
The gong comes hot on the heels of Staple/face's first full-length run at this month’s Edinburgh Fringe, which has seen them perform daily.
They return to Sheffield to perform a homecoming show at the University Arms on October 8. Tickets will be announced throughStaple/face's Facebook page.
21 August 2013
Researchers seek to uncover barriers to Hep B Testing
The first ever UK study seeking to better understand why only a quarter of Chinese women and men affected by Hepatitis B are aware they suffer from the highly infectious but highly treatable virus is being launched by the University of Sheffield.
Researchers from the University's School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been awarded a £275,000 grant from the Department of Health's Policy and Research Programme to find out the specific barriers to testing in an affected community.
New findings revealed that 20 out of 229 Chinese men and women taking part in a pilot study undertaken in Sheffield were found to have the Hepatitis B virus, and out of these 20 only six knew they had the disease.
Hepatitis B is 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV, but over 90 per cent of healthy adults infected with the virus will make a full recovery within six months.
For further information about the disease and testing visit http://www.hitsheffield.org/
30 July 2013
Yorkshire Voices for Yorkshire Day
The University of Sheffield is celebrating Yorkshire dialect through an interactive exhibition at the University of Sheffield’s Western Bank Library.
The exhibition brings together materials from four Yorkshire writers, each with distinct dialect in their work – novelist Arthur Eaglestone, pitman and poet Tom Hague, singer and poet Cathy Lovett and novelist and playwright Barry Hines (author of A Kestrel for a Knave, later made into the film Kes).
Each writes about a different time and a different part of Yorkshire. They have different motivations for writing, but the exhibition demonstrates how each writer captures something about the people of Yorkshire and the way they speak.
Visitors can listen to dialect extracts using their smart phone or through portable audio players available in the exhibition space.
The exhibition runs until 17 August 2013. Opening times 9am-7pm Monday – Thursday, 10am-7pm Friday, 12noon – 6pm Saturday.