The recent advice to staff to avoid installing or upgrading Trusteer Rapport software on College computers running Windows XP has been updated. The software is used by a number of high street banks for online banking, and is now deemed safe to use. If any issues are experienced, ICT advise running a fix, the instructions for which can be found here.
Professor Neil Alford and Professor Peter Cheung have been appointed Deputy Principals of the Faculty of Engineering, reporting to Professor Jeff Magee, Principal of the Faculty of Engineering.
Professor Neil Alford accepted appointment as Deputy Principal (Research) with effect from 1 April 2011 in succession to Professor Jeff Magee on his appointment as Principal. He continues as Head of the Department of Materials. Professor Alford joined the College in 2007 as Professor in Physical Electronics and Materials following roles at ICI and London South Bank University where he was Pro-Dean for research. He became Head of the Department of Materials in 2010. His research focuses on electronic materials including high Q microwave dielectrics and functional thin films. He is a fellow of the Institute of Physics, the Institute of Materials, Metals and Mining, the IET, the RSC and the American Ceramic Society. In 2008 he was awarded the Griffith Medal by IOM3 and was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the same year.
Professor Peter Cheung accepted appointment as Deputy Principal (Teaching) with effect from 1 September 2011 in succession to Professor David Nethercot on his retirement. He continues as Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Professor Cheung joined the College as an undergraduate student in 1970 in the Department of Electrical Engineering. After graduating in 1973, he spent three years working for Hewlett Packard in Scotland before returning to Imperial as a research student. He was appointed lecturer in 1980 and, following a series of promotions, became Professor in Digital Systems in 2002. His research focuses on reconfigurable systems and VLSI architectures. He was among the first group of staff to be recognised as Imperial College Teaching Fellows in 1994.
Professor Steven Rose, Head of Plasma Physics and Director of the Institute of Shock Physics, has accepted appointment as Deputy Principal of the Faculty of Natural Sciences with effect from 1 October 2011, succeeding Professor Donal Bradley on his appointment as Pro Rector (Research).
Professor Rose joined the College as the Head of Plasma Physics in December 2006. Prior to this he was at Oxford University as a William Penney Visiting Professor and Keeley Visiting Fellow of Wadham College. Professor Rose has worked in plasma physics for all of his career, with a particular emphasis on plasmas produced using high-power lasers. He has spent much of that time working at the two high-power laser facilities in the UK: the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory’s Central Laser Facility where he became the Associate Director for Physics and at AWE Aldermaston where he was the Head of Plasma Physics.
Confidential Care, the service offering advice and information to Imperial staff and members of their family, publishes monthly newsletters covering a range of topics.
View the latest issue for advice for managers on stress management (log in using the ID ‘Imperial’ and the password ‘College’).
The Learning and Development Centre have launched a new programme of development opportunities for 2011-12. Staff are encouraged to access information on the following webpages in particular:
Learning and Career Management, which encourages staff to consider the key skills and knowledge they need in their role.
Imperial Leadership and Management Development Programme, offering opportunities for any member of staff keen to develop leadership and management skills.
The Courses guide, which sets out the different categories of development programmes available through the Centre.
ICT are advising staff to avoid installing or upgrading Trusteer Rapport software on College computers running Windows XP following reports that it leads to technical problems. The software is recommended by a number of high street banks to provide secure access to online banking. The guidance from ICT may mean that staff should not use online banking from their College computer; staff should contact their bank for advice.
OPAL (Open Air Laboratories), a nationwide project led by Imperial, is through to the final of The National Lottery Awards 2011. The initiative encourages people from all backgrounds to get out and about to enjoy nature and generate valuable scientific data concerning the state of the environment. Since 2007 the project has received over £13 million of funding from the Big Lottery Fund; the National Lottery Awards are an annual search for the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded project.
Details of OPAL are available here
To cast your vote visit the National Lottery Awards voting site (no registration required) or call 0844 836 9694 before 26 September.
Research supervisors keen to develop collaborations in Asia are invited to encourage and support applications from prospective students for the joint PhD schemes that the College runs in conjunction with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Hong Kong University (HKU). The Joint PhDs enable students to carry out research at both the College and at the partner university, and offer opportunities to academic staff to establish links. Prospective students with their supervisor can apply for one of five scholarships, each worth £20,000 per year for the duration of the programme, covering tuition fees (home/EU fees only) as well providing a fixed stipend.
Proposals must be submitted to the International Office by email, by Friday 14 October.
More information about the Joint PhDs and associated funding can be found here
Welcome Week starts on Saturday 1 October when 2,700 freshers will begin arriving on campus ready for their first taste of university life. Help shape freshers’ first experiences of Imperial by joining the fleet of volunteers between 1-3 October who will be carrying suitcases to their rooms, offering directions and generally being friendly faces around campus ready to answer questions.
The Commercial Services team who are organising Welcome Weekend would very much appreciate your support, however much or little time you can give. A training session will be held on 30 September 11.00-12.00 for anyone who is able to help.
To volunteer, please contact Becky Manning by email.
Researchers in the Business School plan to analyse data about the activities of Imperial staff that involve engagement with industry. The goal of the project, funded by the EPSRC and the European Commission, is to explore the nature of the College’s engagement with industry and its commercial activities, in order to increase understanding of universities’ economic and social impact.
The Management Board and the Research Ethics Committee have given the research team approval to access College records on the patenting and licensing of inventions, creation of spin-off businesses, collaboration with industrial partners and consulting activities. The data will be compiled by the ICT Division. All records will be fully anonymised and no personal data, as defined in the Data Protection Act, will be made available for the research.
Staff who do not wish their data to be made available for this research project are able to opt out. To do so, and for further information about the project, visit the project’s website.