Roman coins and rubbish bins…
July 11, 2012
by Lisa Harris
What do roman coins and rubbish bins have to do with multi disciplinary research? Collaboration between scientists at the British Museum, the mu-Vis computed tomography centre and the Archaeological Computing Research Group at Southampton University has applied x-ray volume imaging techniques to produce 3D images of Roman coins BEFORE they are removed from the blocks of soil in which they were found.
The project is one of several collaborations between Southampton archaeologists and the mu-Vis computed tomography centreĀ to investigate a number of Roman coin hoards. The process means coins can be identified much more quickly and without risking damage to them, before the slow process of cleaning them takes place – or potentially instead of cleaning.
This Guardian article published on Monday contains an interesting video and explains the link with rubbish bins :-)
More information about the project can be found here
New Centre of Excellence for Research in Cyber Security
July 6, 2012
by Lisa Harris
Interested staff and students are invited to attend the launch of the GCHQ/EPSRC Academic Centre of Excellence for Research in Cyber Security on Wednesday 11 July in 32/3077 (seminar room).
The schedule is as follows:
12:30 Introduction
– V. Sassone
13:00 CyberSecurity through (secure and anti-tamper) hardware (nano) devices
– K. De Groot and W. Redman-White
13:15 Software-based CyberSecurity
– M. Butler and G. Parlato
13:30 CyberSecurity challenges for web and internet science
– L. Moreau, V. Sassone and N. Shadbolt
13:45 Mathematical approaches to CyberSecurity
– I. Leary and J. Brodzki
14:00 Human aspects of CyberSecurity
– S. Stevenage
14:15 Internet law and Cyber governance
– R. Moore, S Stalla-Bourdillon and S. Saxby
14:30 CyberSecurity and risk management
– J. Johnson, T. Ma and M.C. Sung
14:45 CyberSecurity aspects of complex and agents systems
– Seth Bullock and Nick Jennings and Alex Rogers
===================================
Building 85 / Observatory
15:00 Refreshments and Networking
15:45 Direction, Governance and Strategy for CyberSecurity Southampton
– V. Sassone
16:00 Debate on direction, governance and strategy for the Centre.
For more information, visit:
http://www.cybersecuritysoton.org or http://www.southampton.ac.uk/cybersecurity
Student Digital Champions Present to USRG Chairs’ Away Day
July 5, 2012
by Lisa Harris
At chilworth manor to present to @multisoton strategy meeting with @PanosAirmanGr& @Good_boy113 #digitalchamps #sotondiglit #sotonde
ā Lisa Harris (@lisaharris) July 5, 2012
@PanosAirmanGr and @Good_boy113 presenting to USRG Management meeting #digitalchamps #sotondiglit twitter.com/lisaharris/staā¦
— Lisa Harris (@lisaharris) July 5, 2012
Here is the link to their presentation, and my slides on Slideshare are below:
Digital Literacies at the Good Practice Event
by Graeme Earl
Each year Faculties recognise and highlight individual staff and teams who provide examples of good practice in education, which is aimed at providing an outstanding education and student experience.Ā Under the auspices of the University Programmes Committee, a University event takes place on Friday 13th July from 10.30am to 2.30pm to provide colleagues with the opportunity to share and promote their good practice.
Two DE USRG members Lisa Harris (Management) and Fiona Harvey (CITE) have been asked to present at this event. Ā They will be talking aboutĀ theĀ Digital Literacies Project and how they plan to extend the project to develop the ideas and concepts around Digital Literacies further.
University of Southampton Good Practice Event sfy.co/i0km #storify #sotonbest #sotontransition #sotondiglit #sotonde
— Lisa Harris (@lisaharris) July 13, 2012
If you would like to attend please register to reserve a place. Ā You can do thatĀ here.Ā If you have any special dietary requirements please contact Kerry Murphy onĀ K.L.Murphy@soton.ac.uk.
Praise from the World Bank for a pioneering environmental app developed in Southampton
by Sotonde
Great news from Washington DC for web science at the University of Southampton
A creative and interactive website www.globe-town.org which shows how society depend on countries around the world, developed by a Southampton PhD researcher has won third prize in the prestigious World Bank āApps for Climateā competition.
Jack Townsend is working on an interdisciplinary doctorate examining how the Web and open data can support sustainable development and help overcome the effects of climate change. His work is supervised by both Professor Gail Taylor from the Centre for Biological Sciences and Dr Jason Noble in Electronics and Computer Science (ECS).
āThe World Health Organisation has estimated that climate change is killing 150,000 people a year. In order to tackle this challenge, we all need to know how it affects us personally and what we can do about it,ā says Jack.
Globe-Town can be used to find out how our changing climate is already affecting countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. There are environmental, social and economic facts about each state, and details of how trade, migration and air travel connect countries together.
Jack and teammates Andrea Prieto, Richard Gomer, Huw Fryer, Dominic Hobson and Will Fyson have developed the website from theory he formulated in his research about how web technologies can help tackle climate change. āIām fascinated by the potential of web technologies and openness to tackle global challenges and advance sustainable development for all,ā Jack continues. āGlobe-Town is just one example of how they can contribute.ā
Jack is a member of Southamptonās Web Science Doctoral Training Centre which brings together students and academics from across the University to research the Web.
Jack tweets on @JackTownsend_ and can be contacted on j.townsend āatā soton.ac.uk
Link
#60at60 community day
by Graeme Earl
Yesterday was the 60@60 Community Open Day at Southampton. There were lots of projects with DE USRG connections on display and the University was full of visitors. By the time I arrived at the booking desk at 10:45am the tours of theĀ RJ Mitchell Wind Tunnel, theĀ Tony Davies High Voltage Laboratory, and theĀ Ā Soton Astrodome, the Universityās inflatable mobile planetarium, were all booked up until late in the afternoon. I didn’t have long so only got to see a small fraction of the exhibitions that took place all over the campus. A full list is hereĀ and we will be telling some more DE USRG 60@60 stories over the coming months.
The Portus Project had a display including a Ground Penetrating Radar processing demo and also the chance to excavate a replica of the Portus Head produced using a laser scanner by members of the Archaeological Computing Research Group and a 3D printer at the Winchester School of Art.
#60at60 @unisouthampton 3d print of laser scan of portusproject.org head #portusproject twitter.com/GraemeEarl/staā¦
ā Graeme Earl (@GraemeEarl) June 30, 2012
Compare to the original Portus Project head excavated in 2009. There was also a touch screen display showing examples of the data capture, processing and dissemination tools used on the Portus Project.
#60at60 @unisouthampton people looking at the portusproject.org touch screen @ open day. Loads of people here! twitter.com/GraemeEarl/staā¦ ā Graeme Earl (@GraemeEarl) June 30, 2012
Next door was the Soldier in Late Medieval England project which includes a range of ongoing digital humanities activities, and close collaboration with ECS. There was also a film playing describingĀ the worldās first human-powered flight. The HAWK project had a display showing a video based on the #PianaHAWK project and a demonstration of the motion capture system employed.
#60at60 #pianohawk @unisouthampton twitter.com/GraemeEarl/staā¦ ā Graeme Earl (@GraemeEarl) June 30, 2012
I also visited the Institute for Life Sciences. Firstly there was a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 racingĀ car parked outside with very informed researchers discussing the rolling road wind tunnel. Inside the IFLS there were lots of demonstrations including some relating to the nervous system, and lots of children and adults seeing bees, glowing worms and learning about hospital hygiene.
#60at60 @unisouthampton using fruit flies to understand Alzheimer’s disease at 60.southampton.ac.uk/open-day twitter.com/GraemeEarl/staā¦ ā Graeme Earl (@GraemeEarl) June 30, 2012
Drunk worms and lots of creepy crawlies at the @unisouthampton open day! #60at60 twitter.com/beckyattwood07ā¦
ā becky attwood (@beckyattwood07) June 30, 2012
@unisouthampton having an excellent time at the open day. Enjoyed the demo game on Orchid stand & nematodes in the life sciences #60at60
ā Jo Jennings (@jojenni) June 30, 2012
Then I went to the Institute for Sound and Vibration Research for a visit to the anechoic chamber and the reverberant chamber. Again really enthusiastic and informed staff talking about aircraft noise reduction.
#60at60 @unisouthampton in #isvr anechoic and reverberant chambers. High level volume children shouting in the latter! twitter.com/GraemeEarl/staā¦ ā Graeme Earl (@GraemeEarl) June 30, 2012
There were a few other tweets on the day including ones relating to optic fibres research:
Just find out about Optical fibres research @unisouthampton #60at60
ā Eleonora Gandolfi (@eleonorag1) June 30, 2012
And work at Winchester School of Art in Fashion:
Winchester School of Art are showcasing success no. 11: The cutting edge of fashion bit.ly/MBAKrx #60at60
ā Uni of Southampton (@unisouthampton) June 23, 2012
And our musical talents:
A Haydn quartet outside the cinema!What a great university I went to :) @unisouthampton #60at60 twitter.com/mwkdesigns/staā¦
ā Matthew Koch (@mwkdesigns) June 30, 2012
At Garden Court there were lots of displays including information about the Southampton Science ParkĀ and some touch screen displays and games relating to cleaning up space junk. Last visit of the day was to the Biometrics Tunnel for cool work identifying gait for identification. A really good day and a great way to show off #60at60 and the University as a whole.
It’s time for our final success, no. 60: Our people – who made all the other 59 happen bit.ly/LD0ge4 #60at60
ā Uni of Southampton (@unisouthampton) June 30, 2012
Digital Literacy Workshop
June 26, 2012
by Lisa Harris
4th July 2pm ā 4pm Digital Literacy Workshop: Social Media for Researchers, facilitated by Nicole Beale, in 32/3077. You can book tickets here
This workshop aims to provide an introduction to social media as an essential part of every researcherās toolkit.
With the increasing adoption of social media by university staff and students within an academic context, there is also an increasing need for advice on how to manage our online identities. If youāve been thinking about using social media as part of your research practice, or would like to use the web to participate in networks of researchers in your area of expertise, this is the workshop for you! This workshop is aimed at researchers who already use social media and would like to see how to join up all of those different platforms into one extended research profile.
There are many social tools and platforms for planning and sharing data, aimed at researchers and students. This workshop will talk about those different possibilities for using social media as a researcher. We will begin with an overview of the current situation in universities, then spend some time looking at different tools and platforms, discussing different combinations to adopt, and providing honest frank advice about the importance of informed management of our online selves. Participants in this workshop will also be contributing to a project to produce a mini-website which will provide advice for researchers within our university who are using social media as part of their practice.
Nicole Beale is a PhD candidate in the Web Science DTC. Her research focuses on changing professional practices in the cultural heritage sector. She is examining trends such as semantic web technologies, microblogging, cloud-computing, crowd-sourcing, augmented reality to create improved dialogues between users and their (and othersā) heritage.
Web Science Conference 2012 in Chicago #websci12
June 25, 2012
by Lisa Harris
Summary of discussions and links hot off the press from Chicago:
Summary of conversations and links from Web Science 2012 #websci12sfy.co/l0Br #websci12 #webscience #sotonde
— Lisa Harris (@lisaharris) June 25, 2012
Humbled, Troubled and Inspired in Rio
by Sotonde
By Professor Guy Poppy
Director of Multidisciplinary Research at the University of Southampton
Guy Poppy at Rio+20 Earth Summit 'Looking down on Rio De Janeiro - a city of contrasts in so many ways. I've been humbled, troubled and inspired in Rio'
I write this blog sitting in a hotel lobby in Copacabana as the staff prepare for the arrival of the worldās political leaders. Iāve already seen the retinue around the King of Sweden, the red carpet treatment at waiting and the bouquets of flowers which are ever present as those in a position to make historic decisions arrive in Rio. So why does this trouble me? The Rio+20 Earth Summit is about equality and justice for the poor as much as it is sustainable development and the environment. The move from poor and clean often rises through rich and dirty before it can become rich and clean. We realise that sustainable development means trying to climb this curve without going over the top ā somehow trying to tunnel through to the richer and cleaner society. Rio is a city full of contrasts ā the super rich live next to those in the favelas and the dangerous side of Rio involves both communities who often blame each other for the crime statistics. Returning to my hotel lobby, it is interesting to see the powerful people of the world arriving to make decisions which affect the poor of the world. Letās hope the huge transformation in the business world represented here in Rio sends a message that economic growth and prosperity can go hand-in-hand with sustainable development!
Being in Rio has been a humbling experience for me in many ways. I have met and listened to brilliant people who have really made a difference and the younger generation seems to be even more engaged in the debate and search for solutions. Mohan Munasinghe has been a monumental figure in sustainable development and coined the term sustainomics at Rio 92 and was also awarded the Nobel Prize with Al Gore for his role as Vice Chair of the IPPC AR4.Ā I was fortunate to share the stage with Mohan and felt humble in his presence. I spoke about Global Food Security and introduced our new Assets project which will try to deliver food, nutritional and ecological security to over 2 million people in Colombia and Malawi. I am so energised to really make this project deliver world-leading science which makes a real difference to people across the world.
The session was held in the opulent botanical gardens and included the CEO of Vale and the Brazilian Minister of Science and the Minister of the Environment, both of whom gave excellent and passionate speeches. The sessions also included many people from the green cross, the global reporting initiative and other bodies/fora in any list of influential bodies concerning global environmental issues. These inspirational people are showing leadership and are generating the solutions the world needs. Yet, they are going home now as the political leaders and their retinues arrive. The sign of good leadership is to do right things and to offer solutions and not just mention the challenges. Ā Letās hope the people called leaders show leadership in the same sense as those now leaving Rio prior to the summit itself.
I return to Southampton and the UK inspired to generate solutions. In the words of Professor Munasinghe āWe cannot solve the problems of the 21st Century using the tools of the 20th centuryā. Ā During the reception, Mohan and I shared our experiences of undertaking multidisciplinary research and he has agreed to visit me in Southampton – I will ask him to give one of our multidisciplinary research seminars we are launching in the autumn 2012. Science has much to offer, especially multidisciplinary approaches. Ā My new role as Director of Multidisciplinary Research at Southampton has made me proud that our university has shown leadership in promoting multidisciplinary research and the creation of the University Strategic Research Groups has already generated solutions, impact at many levels and a community embracing the worldās grand challenges.Ā A University like ours is best placed to undertake research and education which will generate the solutions and personnel able to make a difference. Our political masters are looking to us as much as we are looking to them to make the right decisions. Letās hope there will be no need for a Rio+40.
Follow me on twitter @GuyPoppy1
Related research projects- ESPA Assetsproject āAttaining Sustainable Services from Ecosystems.
@GuyPoppy1 tweets from Rio+20
by Sotonde
Blog posts from Guy Poppy at Rio+20 are available here.
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