Announcements

Professor Myra McClure, Professor of Retrovirology in the Department of Medicine, has been elected to succeed Professor Nigel Gooderham as the non-clinical Dean for the Faculty of Medicine from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2015.

Professor Richard Jardine, Professor of Geomechanics in the Department of Civil Engineering, has been elected to succeed Professor Richard Vinter as one of the Deans for the Faculty of Engineering and the Business School from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2015.

Professor Nigel Gooderham, Professor of Molecular Toxicology in the Department of Surgery and Cancer and formerly non-clinical Dean in the Faculty of Medicine, has been elected to succeed Professor Jeff Kramer as Senior Dean, serving in this position from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2013.

The full list of Faculty Deans for 2012-2013 is below:

Read Election of Deans in full

Professor Tom Welton, Professor of Sustainable Chemistry, has accepted appointment as Head of the Department of Chemistry for a second term with effect from 1 August 2012.

Professor Welton joined the College in 1993 as Lloyds of London Tercentenary Fellow following appointments at the University of Exeter and the University of Sussex.  At Imperial, following a series of promotions, he became Professor in Sustainable Chemistry in 2004. He held the position of Director of Undergraduate Studies within the Department of Chemistry from 2002 to 2007 and commenced his first term as Head of Department on 1 August 2007. His research focuses on making chemicals and related industries environmentally and economically sustainable.

Professor Welton is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and was Ingold Lecturer of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2007. He received the 2011 Paul Walden Award from the German Science Foundation, the DFG, for fundamental ionic liquid research and in 2012 he received a Rector’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Read Head of the Department of Chemistry in full

The Design Briefing Advisory Board, established to work on the next stage of design work for Level 0 of the Sherfield Building, and including representatives from the Imperial College Union, the Holland Club, Commercial Services and the Senior Dean, has now completed its work with the architects.

A design brief for the space has been prepared, incorporating input from the Board and previous committees which have discussed the facility. The brief will be used by designers as the basis for developing the concept design for the facility.

The design brief stipulates that:

• The space should be fully redesigned to maximise its potential and ensure the best possible service to customers.
• The primary purpose of the new facility is to provide dedicated bar, catering and social spaces for postgraduate students and members of staff.
• Some of the catering facility will be used to provide evening meals to undergraduate students, to the extent possible without compromising the facility’s primary purpose.
• The look and feel of the space should be of a contemporary pub, with a warm and homely feeling that creates an environment for relaxation and conversation.

During the next stage of work designers will work with a College Project Board, which will consider all existing feedback and consult more widely where appropriate.

The tendering process, inviting bids from within the College to run the catering and bar services, will conclude in August. The College will award the tender to the provider or providers which most clearly meet the relevant criteria. They will be required to:

• Provide a quality service to meet the high expectations of staff and postgraduate students.
• Provide a modern catering service that reflects value for money for the College population.
• Operate a pub service that will offer a high quality service.
• Within the constraints of the agreed service and budget, provide good quality cuisine and service, a high standard of presentation and good variety utilising quality ingredients.
• Provide customer service that is caring, responsive and as personal in nature as circumstances permit.
• Provide an imaginative, innovative and highly professional approach to the services specified.
• Both the catering and pub services will need to cover all costs including labour, cost of sales, utilities, cleaning costs and replacement of light equipment. Should a small surplus be made, this shall be retained by the service provider.

Read Update on redevelopment of space on Level 0 of Sherfield Building in full

The Council has established an Appointing Committee to undertake the task of identifying individuals to lead the College under the new arrangements announced in April 2012.

The Committee will identify an individual to succeed Sir Keith O’Nions as President & Rector in January 2014 and an individual to serve Imperial in the new position of Provost.

The membership of the Committee is:

Chair: Baroness Manningham-Buller, Chair of the Court and Council
Members: Sir Keith O’Nions, President & Rector (for the Provost appointment)
Professor Stephen Richardson, Deputy Rector
Professor Maggie Dallman, Principal of the Faculty of Natural Sciences
Mr Iain Conn, Council member
Mr Jeremy Newsum, Council member
Dr Jean-Lou Chameau, President of Caltech
Sir John Parker, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Dr Charles Vest, President of the National Academy of Engineering, US, and President Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sir David Wallace, Master Churchill College Cambridge
Secretary: Mr John Neilson, College Secretary and Clerk to the Court and Council

Further details of the new leadership model for the College are available here.

Read Appointing Committee – President & Rector and Provost in full

Professor Dermot Kelleher FMedSci, who will be appointed Principal of the Faculty of Medicine on 1 October, has accepted the concurrent appointment as Dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore with effect from 1 August 2012. As Dean Professor Kelleher will lead the next phase of the development of the School, a partnership between Imperial and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), which was established in 2010 to train more doctors to meet Singapore’s future healthcare demands.

Professor Kelleher will succeed Professor Stephen Smith FMedSci, the Founding Dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, who remains NTU’s Vice President of Research.

Read Dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in full

For the latest news on the Crick Institute, of which Imperial is a Founder Member, read the fourth issue of the regular briefing for staff here: http://ecrick.crick.ac.uk/Issue-04

This issue includes:

• News of how visitors on their way to the Olympic Park will be entertained and educated about the new Institute by the Crick’s science buskers
• A link to a new video which has been created about the design of the labs in the Crick
• Updates on how scientists from the Crick partners have been invited to join a high-throughput experimental technique interest group at the National Institute for Medical Research.
• An interview with Amanda Towse, the new HR Director at the Crick

Further details of the Francis Crick Institute are available at: http://www.crick.ac.uk/

Read Latest Crick newsletter in full

The College invites applications for positions to complete the Wardening Team for 2012-13. Wardens and Assistant Wardens are responsible for the smooth running of the College’s Halls of Residence and will receive rent-free accommodation in the Hall in return for pastoral and administrative duties.

The Warden has overall responsibility for the smooth running of the hall and manages inhouse staff, while Assistant Wardens are responsible for administrative tasks. Both positions require excellent organisation skills and a strong interest in helping students to develop their social life and have a balanced approach to their studies.

The locations of the vacant positions have not yet been finalised due to movements among existing Wardens and Assistant Wardens – the start dates and the duration of the positions vary with the location. The vacancies are open to all staff at the College, and the closing date for applications is Sunday 22 July.

For a copy of the roles and responsibilities and an application form, please e-mail Mrs Mickie Turner-Goble

Read Warden and Assistant Warden vacancies in full

Due to the expected impact on College activities of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the following changes to services will be in place over the coming months.

• Post

Royal Mail will be collecting mail two hours earlier than normal. In order to meet these pickup times the Post Room will collect mail at the following times from 23 July to 7 September:

• St Mary’s and Royal Brompton: 13.00
• Hammersmith and Charing Cross: 15.00
• South Kensington: 09.30 – 11.00, 13.00 – 13.45, 15.00 – 16.00 (the latter collection will be picked up by the Royal Mail the following day)
• Silwood Park and Northwick Park will not be affected

Any questions should be directed to Hussein Abdi by email.

• Catering bookings

The Events team are implementing a 72 hour notice period for all catering bookings, amendments and cancellations between 25 July and 7 September 2012 in order to ensure customers receive a consistently high level of service. Questions regarding any catering booking throughout this time should be directed to the Events team by email, or on 020 7594 9220.

• Deliveries

The Purchasing Department is advising that freight deliveries will take longer than usual, and have set up a webpage with advice for staff, including:

• Guidance on how to minimise the impact of the Games when ordering
• Links to statements from the College’s main suppliers and couriers on their plans to fulfil deliveries during the Games
• A timeline of the events affecting College sites

Questions can be directed to the PO helpdesk either by email, or on 020 7594 8593.

• Revised SCR opening times

The Japanese Olympic Team will be using the catering facilities in the Senior Common Room while staying on the South Kensington Campus during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Consequently from 23 July to 14 August, the Senior Common Room Cafe will open to staff and students at 11.00. The Junior Common Room Cafe will be open from 08.00 to 11.00, and will serve a selection of barista coffees and pastries.

More information on the College’s response to the Olympics can be found here.

More information on changes to roads and public transport is available on the Get Ahead of the Games website

Read Olympic preparations in full

Professor Debra Humphris, currently the Pro Vice Chancellor (Education & Student Experience) and Professor of Health Care Development at the University of Southampton, has accepted appointment as Pro Rector (Education), with effect from 15 October 2012. She will succeed Professor Julia Buckingham, who has been Pro Rector (Education and Academic Affairs) since 2007.

Appointed Pro Vice Chancellor (Education and Student Experience) in 2008, Professor Humphris was responsible for the creation, leadership and delivery of the University’s education strategic plan, which emphasised enhancing the student experience and the importance of graduate employability.

In 2003 she was appointed Director, Health Care Innovation Unit at the University of Southampton, which focused on education innovation in health and social care. She first joined the university in 2000 as Director of the New Generation Project, which explored inter-professional education in health care programmes.

Originally qualifying as a Registered Nurse, she later held positions as Senior Research Fellow at the South Thames Regional Health Authority, and at St George’s Hospital Medical School. Professor Humphris achieved her PhD in 1999, which considered the implementation of policy into clinical practice.

Among her many external roles, Professor Humphris is a member of the Executive Committee, National HE STEM Programme, and Chair of the Employment & Skills Board, Solent Local Enterprise Partnership.

Read Pro Rector (Education) in full

Professor Anthony Bull, Professor of Musculoskeletal Mechanics, has accepted appointment as Head of the Department of Bioengineering with effect from 1 August 2012. He will succeed Professor Ross Ethier who has been appointed to a Chair in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech Institute of Technology, USA.

Professor Bull joined the College as an undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering in 1989 and was appointed Lecturer in the Department of Biological and Medical Systems in 2000.  He became Professor of Musculoskeletal Mechanics in 2009 and has additionally held the positions of Director of Courses and Deputy Head of Department within the Department of Bioengineering. His research focuses on the area of the mechanics of muscles, bones and joints and he leads the Royal British Legion Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial.

Anthony represents his discipline externally as Chair of the Engineering in Medicine and Health Division Board of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and is a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering Biomedical Engineering Panel and the Bioengineering Society Main Committee.

Read Head of the Department of Bioengineering in full