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Fusion Fund – South African Paramedic Placement

I’m delighted to have received funding from the fusion fund (staff mobility and networking) to set up a placement opportunity for our paramedic students. Through links with a level 1 trauma centre and university in Cape Town I will use the funding to travel to Cape Town to meet with academics and hospital managers to finalise the details of this exciting placement. It is hoped that paramedic students will be able to undertake a 3-4 week placement in a mixture of clinical settings: ambulances, A and E, and community in order to widen their experience and gain a better understanding of international healthcare systems. In time, it is hoped that this will lead to international knowledge exchange and collaborative research. I look forward to updating on progress early next year.

Peter Phillips

Fusion Fund support for development of civically-engaged social sciences at BU

Fusion Investment Funds have been awarded under the Staff Mobility and Networking Strand to develop an interdisciplinary, cross-Faculty series of public/civic engagement ‘dialogues’ in the social sciences, drawing on national and international figures in the relevant fields. It will bring together leading academics and practitioners in a number of fields in the social sciences, building on areas already taught and researched at BU. It will be of contemporary relevance for the public and for students. Its contribution will be in the bringing together of non-academic experts, students, and members of the public, all in dialogue with academic experts.

The project team consists of a cross–Faculty team including Profs Ann Brooks (HSS) and Candida Yates (FMC), together with Professor Barry Richards (FMC). The team have already collaborated in bringing together a set of Research Degrees in the Social Sciences (MRes) and are committed to a broad based and civically engaged vision of social science at BU which gives prominence and visibility to student experience and public engagement. The title of the project is Distinguished Social Scientists Public Lecture Series – Dialogues in the Contemporary Social Sciences and builds on events held during Festival of Learning week at BU in July 2015, when two eminent UK social scientists shared their insights on how their research has contributed to an understanding of the social world.

The ‘Dialogues’ will cover the following areas:

  • Crime and Criminology – Representation and Reality
  • Education –Diversity and Opportunity
  • Evaluating Emotional Well-Being
  • Politics and the Media 

The project is about public/civic engagement and will have an immediate regional appeal in being the only high–profile series to be offered and well publicised in the region, one which combines experts from academia with senior figures from professional fields discussing issues of major public interest. The ‘dialogues’ will be filmed by BU students, and can have a national impact by being disseminated through both scholarly and professional websites, as well as attracting national media attention. The participation of internationally-known academics discussing issues which are debated across the world will give them some international reach and influence.

The series will involve students from HSS and FMC in the organisation, promotion and dissemination of the series and its ideas. The series will enable students to gain skills in event organisation, including liaising with speakers and delegates from different cultural groups. Alongside developing their social skills in that context, they will also contribute to the staging of the events as they happen and to the recording of the events through film and podcast. Students will also contribute to the actual content of the seminars as audience participants and hopefully in some cases be inspired to become researchers themselves.

The events will be organised in the period September 2015 to July 2016.

Posted by Profs Ann Brooks, Candida Yates and Barry Richards

An Early-Career Academic’s Experiences: How Grants Academy supported me to supervise an Undergraduate Research Assistant?

Awarded & submitted bids, Grants Academy

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to enrol on the Grants Academy, working to develop a draft proposal for what would be my first research study at BU. Having been taught the art of ‘craftsmanship’, ‘free writing’, and then developing the proposal(s) over time, allowed me to reflect upon and begin realising my research idea. This led to a cross-faculty research partnership and a Grants Academy Small Grant award, to fund a preliminary study to determine whether leg position influences the effects of an electrostimulation device used to prevent deep-vein thrombosis. The pilot study aimed to monitor leg muscle activity and balance ability in healthy, older adults, to provide a foundation for the future study focusing on post-operative, older adults. Not only did the Grants Academy develop my proposal writing skills and an understanding of research funding acquisition, but also supported me to establish my research profile at BU. Shortly after the internal-award, I applied for the Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) scheme, which would allow me to supervise a student for six weeks during the research study. The project was successful in supporting a URA, who sadly finished earlier this month.

Once a URA myself (albeit at Manchester Metropolitan University), I felt was it important to involve the assistant throughout the research process, including: protocol design, recruitment, laboratory testing, as well as data collection, archiving and early analysis. The URA proved to be mature, diligent and self-motivated, and also a great laboratory partner. After an induction week, she quickly familiarised herself with the lab equipment and was soon able to contribute to refining the study protocol. Partly due to her enthusiasm, partly due to Grants Academy funding, the URA worked hard: achieving NHS Good Clinical Practice training, co-presenting findings at Festival of Learning (Research Reflections event) and co-authoring the study protocol for Clinical Trial Register recognition. She also worked closely with academics from the Faculty of Management, and Faculty of Health and Social Care. Based on the URA’s performance and commitment, my co-investigator and I have invited her to continue working on the project to disseminate the study findings (with conference abstracts and two articles in preparation).

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Early data suggests healthy, older adults benefit more from electrostimulation with the leg bent (seated position), than having the leg straight (typical hospital-administered, lying position). These findings will provide the basis for the future study examining the impact of leg position in clinical patients recovering from surgery. So thanks to Grants Academy, BU and my URA, I’ve been able to establish a sustainable, cross-faculty research plan that will promote co-creation and co-production with students, end-users and research partners into the future. Regardless of where you are in your career, Grants Academy and the URA Scheme offer boundless opportunities for professional and personal development – much recommended!

 

Dr James Gavin

Lecturer (Exercise Physiology)

Department of Sport and Physical Activity

Faculty of Management

Beauty in the eye of the user?

Fusion Investment Fund

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If we are going around an art gallery we are often aware that we are evaluating the aesthetic appeal of the artworks.  What we may be less aware of is that when we are interacting with computers, websites, and applications on our mobile phones the aesthetic appeal of the interfaces we are using matters too.  Appeal can make interfaces easier to use and certainly makes our interactions more enjoyable.

Angela Gosling and Siné McDougall (Psychology, Faculty of Science) recently received Fusion Funding to support a collaborative network with colleagues in at Fribourg in Switzerland and Swansea University to find out more about the role of aesthetic evaluations in human-computer interaction.  We want to examine how we make decisions about the appeal and usability of an interface.  These ‘decisions’ start when we unconsciously respond to interface appeal within the first few milliseconds that we encounter an interface and continue through to habitual everyday use.  By investigating these processes we will develop a better understanding of how interface appeal influences user performance and lead to better interface optimisation.  Our Fusion Funding is going to support our collaboration while we prepare grant proposals to take this work forward.

EC Info Day – EU Brokerage Event on Key Enabling Strategies taking place on the 1st of Oct 2015

Info Days

EC Info days: relating to EU Brokerage Event on Key Enabling Strategies is being held on the:

1st of October 2015 in Strasbourg, France

Info days and brokerage events run by the EC are an opportunity to get an overview of work programmes covering the 2016 and 2017 calendar years, meet up and hear from others who are interested in the same programme and potentially form links and build consortia for future applications.

Please click on the link below to book or register your interest:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=events&eventcode=2DE41882-FADE-977A-8FDF508D5871C5AA

Please let Emily or myself know if you intend to go so we can co-ordinate if others also wish to attend.

Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Fellowship Scheme – Funding Opportunity !

Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

Royal academy of engineering logo

The Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Fellowship scheme supports outstanding entrepreneurial engineers, working at a UK university, to spin out a business by providing funding and an intensive, bespoke package of training and mentoring.

Prior experience of commercialisation activities is not essential, the desire and capability to succeed is more important and we will equip you with the necessary skills through a programme of training and mentoring.

The Fellowships provide £35,000 of salary support and £25,000 for the continued development of the innovation and associated spin-out company.

Applications close 7 September.

For more information on how to apply please visit www.raeng.org.uk/enterprisefellowships

Building Roman Britain

Awarded & submitted bids

Photo_Fabric 2The Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Sciences is about to start a new project that uses a non-destructive method to examine museum specimens in order to determine their possible source.

The project will examine the stone and ceramic (brick and tile) industries of Roman Britain using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) to help us identify where the quarries and tile kilns were located. This work forms the centrepiece of a knowledge exchange network with two leading museums in southern Britain (Roman Bath Museum and Fishbourne Palace Museum) who will use our results in innovative interpretations, including new displays and museum learning centres. This will ensure maximum added value to blue-sky research that will quickly feed back into public engagement with science and technology. It is funded by a recently awarded HEIF5+1 grant.

The research supports knowledge exchange activity with SMEs by building on links established by BU over many years with archaeological museums in southern Britain. Museums are a vital component of our local economy. For instance, Roman Bath Museum attracts over 1 million visitors per annum, making it one of the most popular museums outside London. Its importance not only to Bath but to the wider regional economy is well recognised. But museums must constantly renew themselves and offer an exciting educational package to visitors of all ages, hence the Museum Association has made collaborations between universities and museums one of its key priorities, and as such this project should be seen as a model of best practice.

While XRF has been used for some time in archaeology, the recent development of portable XRF has added a whole new dimension. We no longer have to bring samples to the lab, but the lab can come to the museum, examining stone and ceramic samples that are on display. The Dept of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Sciences is at the leading edge of this development and has already made a reputation using pXRF on archaeological soils, metals and for forensic analyses. However, work by science-based archaeology departments into Roman building material (i.e. limestones in this case) and ceramic building material has been limited. This is therefore an opportunity to work up a methodology and to apply it to the early Roman settlement of Britain. Questions about how and where production (both quarrying and kiln-works) was organised can be addressed once answers to questions about the location of these production centres have been examined. This has impact beyond Roman Bath and Roman Fishbourne, as it has implications for the concept of ‘Romanisation’ of Britannia in the early years of the Roman Conquest of Britain.

For further details, please contact Professor Mark Brisbane.

Matt Bentley’s Fusion Fund Research – South Africa Final Update

Fusion, student research

Daniel and Lee

The 2015 Fusion Fund research project has now come to an end. The last few months saw two BU students, Daniel Wirepa and Claudia O’Sullivan travel to Stellenbosch to undertake the research project examining the development of a novel slow-release technology for application in the treatment of pest infestations in the abalone aquaculture industry. Unfortunately, Claudia had to return to the UK in June for personal reasons but Daniel stayed working in Carol Simon’s labs alongside Lee, one of her research students.

 

Worm Culture Room

Daniel was working on the incorporation of a natural toxin, produced by microscopic algae, into a gel which acts to keep the toxin where it is required to act on the larvae of a shell-boring pest. The shell borer is a small marine worm that causes damage to the shells of cultured abalone (see previous blogs).

 

Bioassay

This pilot study will form the basis for a future research studentship which will link Bournemouth University, Stellenbosch University in South Africa and one of the world’s leading abalone farms in Hermanus, Abagold Pty, Ltd. The outputs of the research will be presented at next year’s International Polychaete Conference in Cardiff with Daniel as a co-author.

Introducing Rebecca Johnson: PQSW Research Assistant

staff profile pages

FullSizeRenderI have joined Bournemouth University as a Research Assistant for the National Centre of Post-Qualifying Social Work and Professional Practice. The Centre is very dynamic and has a wide range of interesting projects and professional development programmes to engage with. I am looking forward to becoming involved with research into financial scamming and mass marketing fraud.

I founded my research background with a Human and Physical Geography degree in which I was able to work with NASA’s Environment and Energy team on research into the economic and environmental impact of launching the space shuttle. I have previously worked in both the public and private sectors in public consultation and communication roles. Most recently I worked with Exeter International Airport as an Air Traffic Control Assistant, an intense role which has left me with a personal interest in aircraft; particularly those that are fast and red.

Outside of work I like to travel, principally North America, and keep active with running and dance. I have an interest in World War 2 history and take part in living history events in the UK and in France. After my second week I am enjoying life as a member of the University and am keen to embrace all that it offers.

EC Info Day – Health, Demographic Change and Well-being taking place on the 18th Sept 2015

Info Days

EC Info days: relating to Health, Demographic Change and Well-being are being held on the:

18th September 2015, Brussels, Belgiueuflag

Info days and brokerage events run by the EC are an opportunity to get an overview of work programmes covering the 2016 and 2017 calendar years, meet up and hear from others who are interested in the same programme and potentially form links and build consortia for future applications.

Please click on the link below now to book or register you interest – this will definitely be a popular event!

 http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=events&eventcode=7829B368-BCD2-7BA8-039C396F0C62FA5D

Fancy working on a project with the RNLI?

HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

 

RNLIlogo

Following recent  HEIF funding, this project aims to develop an alternative solution by simulating and visualising the lifeboat launching with unmanned vehicles in an immersive virtual environment. Working with staff members at the RNLI and located within The National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) at Bournemouth University this role will offer an exciting opportunity to join the NCCA’s research team and be involved in the design of the next generation lifeboat launching system in order to enhance safety and efficiency.

This vacancy is advertised on BU’s website with a closing date of 20 September 2015.

300K funding for upcoming SBRI competition – Digital Forensics

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

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Now open  – 24 August 2015 !

The Home Office has annnounced as  SBRI call on the subject of digital forensics and how it is used to support serious crime and counter terrorism investigations.

The aim of this funding call is to seek innovative proposals to enhance the capability of law enforcement to quickly recover and thoroughly investigate information stored on the seized digital devices of suspects under investigation.

More information on this funding opportunity.

Competition briefing event, 1​4th September, London

The event, which is free to attend, is an excellent opportunity for you to receive first hand information about the competition- application process, key dates etc. as well as meet and network with peers, potential partners, market leaders & innovators in the industry.

More information on the briefing event.

What does Safety, Reliability & Durability mean to you?

innovation, PG research, Publishing

You must have heard about the recent tragic accident at Alton Towers. Unfortunately it involved one of the most popular rides, the Smiler. Accidents are bound to happen due to various reasons e.g. human error or faults in mechanical, electrical, electronics or control systems/components. Some of the accidents are catastrophic and involves the loss of human lives that includes today’s (Saturday August 22, 2015) vintage plane crash at the air show at Shoreham.

Among several reasons, corrosion is one of the major phenomena which plays an important role in structural deterioration and compromising reliability and durability of components, systems within petrochemical & process industries, automotive, locomotive and aircrafts.

Special attention to corrosion in terms of design, detection and prediction of failures is needed especially where human lives are involved. Here are some of the images from major international and home theme parks where there are visible signs of structural deterioration. Although corrosion initiation, its propagation and affects on structural deterioration may not be physically and visually very prominent, it needs full attention to avoid accidents. IMG_4234 IMG_4235 IMG_4386 IMG_4387 IMG_4388

A significant portfolio of research & development in corrosion has been developed at BU, which responds to structural integrity issues. Earlier work [15-17] in corrosion fatigue has led to a successful research portfolio in corrosion at BU [1-17]. We have developed a meso-mechanics based approach incorporating fracture mechanics and electrochemical processes to predict corrosion through a novel holistic modelling tool.

A PhD degree research in sustainable methodology of conserving historic military vehicles subject to structural deterioration due to corrosion [13, 14] has been successfully completed. This research was conducted in collaboration with The Tank Museum at Bovington. Controlled environment within the newly designed VCC (Vehicles Conservation Centre) is informed by the outcomes of this research. In addition NASA [13] has also been collaborating in corrosion research at BU along with BAE Systems and Analatom Inc. Discussions with Analatom are currently in progress for further collaboration in corrosion sensors technology.

A second project in corrosion monitoring techniques in collaboration with Defence Science & Technology Laboratory Ministry of Defence, through a match funded PhD is currently in progress [1-5]. Recent publications [2-4] from this research have made to the Taylor & Francis top 20 most read articles list. This is an evidence of novel contributions to corrosion and corrosion modelling techniques.

A third project in collaboration with Defence Science & Technology Laboratory Ministry of Defence through BU match funded PhD programme has been awarded to look into wireless corrosion monitoring techniques.

In addition nano coatings (in collaboration with Schaeffler, a major industrial partner) have been developed at BU incorporating corrosion issues to solve current corrosion problems within industrial applications.

A collaborative research project with National University of Science & Technology & Future Energy Source Ltd (the overall portfolio includes 2 x fully funded PhDs, 2 x match funded PhDs and 1 x Post Doctoral Research Assistant, PDRA) is currently underway to investigate corrosion issues within thermal storage applied in renewable technologies.

We have state of the art corrosion bench testing (environmental simulation) and modelling tools. We have micro LPRs (Linear Polarisation Resistors) & MEMS (Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems) based live corrosion monitoring stations for large stationary and moving vehicles.

Please contact Zulfiqar Khan (Associate Professor) if you would like to know more about the research activities or have interests in corrosion related issues,

Publications in Corrosion

  1. Nazir, M. H., Khan, Z., & Stokes, K. (2015). A Holistic Mathematical Modelling and Simulation for Cathodic Delamination
Mechanism – A Novel and an Efficient Approach. Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology. doi:10.1080/01694243.2015.1071023
  2. Nazir, H., & Khan, Z. (2015). Maximising the interfacial toughness of thin coatings and substrate through optimisation of defined parapmeters. International Journal of Computational Methods & Experimental Measurements, 1-13. doi:10.2495/CMEM-V0-N0-1-13
  3. Nazir, M., Khan, Z., & Stokes, K. (2015). Optimisation of Interface Roughness and Coating Thickness to Maximise Coating-Substrate Adhesion – A Failure Prediction and Reliability Assessment Modelling. Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology, 29(14), 1415-1445. doi:10.1080/01694243.2015.1026870
  4. Nazir, H., Khan, Z., & Stokes, K. (2015). A Unified Mathematical Modelling and Simulation for Cathodic Blistering Mechanism
incorporating diffusion and fracture mechanics concepts. Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology, 29(12), 1200-1228. doi:10.1080/01694243.2015.1022496
  5. Nazir, H., Khan, Z., & Stokes, K. (2014). Modelling of Metal-Coating Delamination Incorporating Variable Environmental Parameters. Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology, 29(5), 392-423. doi:10.1080/01694243.2014.990200
  6. Nugent, M., & Khan, Z. (2014). The effects of corrosion rate and manufacturing in the prevention of stress corrosion cracking on structural members of steel bridges. The Journal of Corrosion Science and Engineering JCSE, 17(16). Retrieved from http://www.jcse.org/
  7. Wilton-Smith, K., Khan, Z., Saeed, A (2014). Accelerated Corrosion tests of Waste-gated Turbocharger’s Adjustable and Fixed End Links. In High Performance and Optimum Design of Structures and Materials Vol. 137 (pp. 501-508). Southampton: Wessex Institute of Technology, UK. doi:10.2495/HPSM140461
  8. Ramesh, C. S., Khan, S., Sridhar, K. S., & Khan, Z. (2014). Slurry erosive wear behavior of hot extruded Al6061-Si3N4 composite. Materials Science Forum, 773-774, 454-460. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.773-774.454
  9. Ramesh, C. S., Khan, S., Khan, Z., & Sridhar, K. S. (2013). Slurry Erosive Wear Behavior of Hot Extruded Al6061-Si3N4 Composite. Materials Science Forum, 773-774(2014), 462-468. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.773-774.462
  10. Chinnakurli, R., Adarsha, H., Pramod, S., & Khan, Z. (2013). Tribological Characteristics of Innovative Al6061-Carbon Fibre Rod Metal Matrix Composites. Materials and Design, Volume 50(September 2013), 597-605. doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2013.03.031
  11. Dobson, P., & Khan, Z. (2013). Design considerations for carbon steel pipes materials’ selection applied in fossil powered plants subjected to wet-steam flow accelerated- corrosion review paper. Journal of Corrosion Science and Engineering, 16, 1-13. Retrieved from http://www.scopus.com/source/sourceInfo.url?sourceId=12326&origin=recordpage
  12. Denham, L., & Khan, Z. (2013). The prevention of corrosion and corrosion
stress cracking on structural members of
fixed deep sea oil rigs. The Journal of Corrosion Science and Engineering, 16, 1-13. Retrieved from http://www.jcse.org/
  13. Saeed, A., Khan, Z., & Montgomery, E. L. (2013). Corrosion Damage Analysis and Material Characterization of Sherman and Centaur – The Historic Military Tanks. Materials Performance and Characterization, 2(1), 1-16. doi:10.1520/MPC20120016
  14. Saeed, A., Khan, Z. A., Nel, M., & Smith, R. (2011). Non destructive material characterisation and material loss evaluation in large historic military vehicles. Insight – Non-Destructive Testing and Condition Monitoring, 53, 382-386. doi:10.1784/insi.2011.53.7.382
  15. Khan, Z. A., & Zhen, P. J. (2001). Corrosion Fatigue & Remaining Life Assessment Techniques of 16MnR Pressure Vessel Steel (96-918-02-04). Shanghai: Ministry of Labour, Government of the Peoples’ Republic of China.
  16. Khan, Z. A., & Zhen, P. J. (2000). Corrosion fatigue of 16Mn pressure vessel steel in H2S environment. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Pressure Vessels and Piping Division (Publication) PVP, 413, 49-54.
  17. Zhen, P. J., & Khan, Z. A. (2000). Pressure Vessel Materials: Handbook (1 ed.). Beijing, PR China: Industrial Equipment and Information Engineering Centre.