Your Manchester 2012

SophieRaworthe headline act

Archaeologists dig deep

Alan Turing master code breaker

Party pieces

manchesterThe Magazine for Alumni and Friends

June 2012

contents

University News 4

Continued success for graphene 8

Manchester wins University Challenge 10

Free legal advice 12

Meet Sophie Raworth 14

Graduation ceremonies – your memories 16

Manchester’s archaeological finds 20

The Northern Way –leading the nuclear renaissance 22

Rising tuition fees – softening the blow 24

The best student parties 26

New treatment for strokes 28

Alan Turing remembered 30

Student television 32

Alumni in the spotlight 36

An interview with Sir Terry Leahy 38

Outstanding Alumni Awards 40

Alumni news 42

Development news 46

Your Manchester extras 52

Your Manchester is published by theCommunications and Marketing Division inconjunction with the Division of Development andAlumni Relations, The University of Manchester.

For further information concerning any of thearticles in this issue please telephone +44 (0) 161 306 3066 or [email protected]

The articles printed here, to the best of ourknowledge, were correct at the time of going topress. We cannot guarantee that all articlessubmitted will be printed and we reserve the rightto edit material where necessary. Furthermore, theviews expressed in this magazine are notnecessarily those of The University of Manchester,The University of Manchester Alumni Association,or the Editor.

Front cover image courtesy of BBC©

More exciting breakthroughs

8

Meet Sophie RaworthFollow Sophie’s journey

Continued success for graphene 10

Manchester winsUniversity Challenge

30Alan Turing remembered

16Graduation ceremonies

14

Student televisionRead about The Magic Roundabout andother cult classics

Celebrating his birth centenary

32

Alumni from different generations sharememories of this once-in-a lifetime experience

The University has become the championfor the third time in seven years

2 youR mancheSteR magazine

youR mancheSteR magazine 3

elcome to the latest edition of YourManchester, which offers us anotheropportunity to share with you thelatest news about the University and

we hope prompt some happy memories of yourown time here in Manchester.

The University has had a very eventful year. Asmany of you will know, we won UniversityChallenge earlier this year – the 50th anniversaryyear of the programme. We also won the Queen’sAward for Enterprise for our achievement in morethan doubling annual overseas income over thelast six years and the Queen’s Anniversary Prize forour applied research and skills training for thenuclear industry.

These public accolades provide a good illustrationof the University’s growing reputation and globalsignificance. That point is emphasised by ourimproving performance in the “Academic Rankingof World Universities” carried out every year byShanghai Jiao Tong University, where we rose sixplaces to 38th position – a rise of some 40 placessince the merger in 2004.

A key component of the University’s success is thequality of education and wider experience that weoffer to all who study here. The results of theNational Student Survey (NSS) across the Universityare very variable, but we acknowledge that with anoverall satisfaction score of 79 per cent, there ismore that we need to do to improve ourperformance at an institutional level.

To this end, we have established a new Directorateof Student Experience to bring together all of theprofessional and support services for students, weare redesigning the way some courses are deliveredand we are appointing new staff to increase thenumbers available to teach on some courses. Weare also directing significant further investmentinto new lecture theatres, laboratories and studentstudy facilities.

In September, we will launch our UniversityCollege, which aims to improve the educationalexperience of our students by enabling them to

study a range of interesting courses from acrossthe University alongside their main degree subject.

Our new Manchester Doctoral College (MDC) aimsto optimise the research experience forpostgraduate research students and supports theUniversity’s research strategy by helping to developthe careers of excellent researchers.

As well as nurturing our own young talent, we arein the process of recruiting around 100 newlecturers and professors – and are attractinginterest from some of the brightest minds andmost distinguished scholars from across the world.

Over the past year, we have been busy identifyingour priorities for the next decade. These now formour Manchester 2020 strategic vision, which hasbeen enthusiastically endorsed by the Board ofGovernors. Our challenge now is to put in placethe operational plans to ensure that this visionbecomes a reality.

The fact that we have found time during a veryuncertain and fast-changing higher educationenvironment to recruit new staff and discuss and

determine our ambitions and future plans providesa very clear signal to the wider world that weintend to continue to be an ambitious universitythat will invest in its future success.

We want our 250,000 graduates around theglobe to play a key role in shaping and deliveringthat ambitious future success and this magazineand the associated websites provide manyexamples of how you can contribute to our workand get involved.

Thank you for your continuing support for the University.

Professor Dame Nancy RothwellPresident and Vice-Chancellor

Welcome to yourmanchesterW

It has been a winning year for the University.Manchester received the Queen’s Award forEnterprise in April 2011 and it was awardedthe Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Furtherand Higher Education for its work in thenuclear industry (carried out by the DaltonNuclear Institute) in November 2011.

The Queen’s Award for Enterprise is themost prestigious corporate award for Britishbusiness. This Award, in the InternationalTrade category, was secured for theUniversity’s outstanding achievement inmore than doubling annual overseas incomebetween 2004 and 2010 to £93 million.

The Queen’s Anniversary Prize recognisesand celebrates the outstanding work the UKhigher and further education sector doesand the impact it has on society. The DaltonNuclear Institute is made up of 100academic staff and more than 300 researchstaff and students. It provides world-leadingapplied research to support government,regulators and industry in the delivery ofsafe and secure nuclear energy, both in theUK and globally.

Queen rewardsManchester twice

University news

mysterious space underneathManchester’s Arndale shopping centrehas been identified as the initial stages ofa long forgotten underground railway

through the city centre.

According to Dr Martin Dodge, Senior Lecturer inHuman Geography at the University and RichardBrook from the Manchester School ofArchitecture, the ‘void’ was the beginnings of astation intended to be part of a 2.3 mile-longroute. The space – forgotten for decades andclosed off to the public but rediscovered by thetwo lecturers – is under Topshop about 30 feetbelow the surface and was built to link theArndale to the new station.

A new book containing architects’ drawings andpreviously unseen maps of the ‘Picc-Vic’ tunnelformed part of a recent special exhibition thatwas curated by the two academics in Manchester.The exhibition showed how Manchester was astone’s throw away from a brave new world ofhelipads, multiple urban motorways, tunnels andmoving pavements.

The proposals for Manchester’s tube railwayadvanced over 20 years and culminated in thereceipt of Parliamentary powers in 1972 andformal plans to commence construction works inSeptember 1973, with a target completion dateof 1978.

Three underground stations were planned: belowthe Central Library, Whitworth Street and a brandnew station under the junction of Market Streetand Cross Street to serve the Arndale Centre andthe surrounding commercial area. The mainlinetrain stations of Piccadilly and Victoria wouldhave been connected for the first time, whilstmoving walkways, also in subways, would havejoined Piccadilly Gardens, St Peter’s Square andOxford Road station.

Richard Brook said: “The infrastructure grantapplication was eventually turned down in August1973 by John Peyton, Minister for TransportIndustries,” who said, “there is no room for aproject as costly as Picc-Vic before 1975 at theearliest.”

As we know, the scheme was never completed.

Remains of Manchestertube system unearthedA



anchestergraduate MikeRock (LLB Law2010) has booked

his place at London 2012. Atthe Olympic swimming trialsin London, the British recordholder made it through in the100 metres in a time of52.02 seconds.

Mike was British Championfrom 2008-2011 in both the100m and 200m Butterfly. Inthe 2010 CommonwealthGames in Delhi, he won aBronze in the 200m Butterflyevent. He famously beatMichael Phelps at the ‘Dualin the Pool’ event inManchester in 2010.

First-year Speech andLanguage student, BlaireHannan, has beennominated as a Torch Bearerby Bristol City Council forachievements in competitivesailing after suffering from arare neurological andmuscular condition calledDystonia, which has left herwheelchair bound. It is alsoin recognition of her workwith Bristol Sailability, avoluntary organisation which

enables young disabledpeople to participate in thechallenging sport of sailing.

Blaire is set to be the lastperson to carry the OlympicFlame, for the one-milejourney from BenjaminPerry’s pontoon at Redcliffeto the Millennium Square in Bristol.

Meanwhile, the ManchesterAquatics Centre has beenchosen as the officialtraining camp for theAustralian OlympicSwimming team, in the runup to the London 2012Olympic Games. SwimmingAustralia, one of theworld's biggest and mosthigh profile swimmingteams, has signed a long-term deal with ManchesterCity Council, which will seethem train at theManchester AquaticsCentre, in preparation for atleast three majorcompetitions until 2014.

The Brazilian Paralympicsquad have confirmed thatthey will use the SugdenSports Centre as their pre-Olympic training camp. The

squad will use The Universityof Manchester sports facilityfor eleven days in August toprepare for the London 2012Paralympic Games. Thecentre will be used forwheelchair fencing, sittingvolleyball and boccia.

Other Olympic events acrossthe campus have includedSport and Culture United

which took place in March atthe Armitage Centre inFallowfield. Over 360 schoolchildren from 12 localschools took part and morethan 100 student volunteersdelivered the event. Theproject has been awardedthe Inspire Mark by theLondon 2012 Inspireprogramme which recognises

innovative and exceptionalprojects that are directlyinspired by the 2012 Olympicand Paralympic Games.

Also, Jodrell Bank took partin the London 2012 TorchRelay as a host location forpeople to welcome theOlympic flame.

MOlympic round-up

Mike Rock

Blaire Hannan

Image courtesy of Getty ©

he first Alan GilbertMemorial Scholar,Joseph Murenzi(pictured), has arrived

at Manchester for a mastersdegree in Engineering ProjectManagement.

The Alan Gilbert MemorialScholarship was established tohonour the memory of theUniversity’s former Presidentand Vice-Chancellor, ProfessorAlan Gilbert, who personallyled the development of theEquity and Merit Scholarshipprogramme. This programmeoffers talented students fromdeveloping countries thechance to study for life-changing Masters trainingprogrammes that are notavailable in their homenations. The Alan GilbertMemorial Scholarship isawarded to the mostoutstanding student fromAfrica in each academic year.

Prior to coming to Manchester,Joseph worked as a CivilEngineer in charge of PublicInvestment (infrastructure) in anew unit in the RwandanMinistry of Finance andEconomic Planning. Uponcompleting his studies andreturning to Rwanda, he willrejoin the team and will beworking on a substantialproject to build a newinternational airport.

On receiving the scholarshipJoseph commented; “Beingthe very first scholarshipholder is a great honour. AlanGilbert was a great man whobelieved in the important rolethat education can play intransforming lives. Thisscholarship will develop myskills significantly andhopefully thereby help to fulfillAlan’s dream.”

The University continues towelcome gifts large and smallfrom those who wish to markthe life and achievements ofAlan Gilbert towards the AlanGilbert Memorial Fund, apermanent endowmentwhich will see thecontinuation of an annualaward to at least one Africanstudent per year.

Body clocks may holdkey for treatment ofbipolar disorderManchester scientists have gained insight into whylithium salts are effective at treating bipolardisorder in what could lead to more targetedtherapies with fewer side-effects.

Bipolar disorder is characterised by alternatingstates of elevated mood, or mania, anddepression. It affects between 1 per cent and 3per cent of the general population.

These ‘mood swings’ have been stronglyassociated with disruptions in circadian rhythms –the 24-hourly rhythms controlled by our bodyclocks that govern our day and night activity.

For the last 60 years, lithium salt (lithium chloride)has been the mainstay treatment for bipolardisorder.

Lead researcher Dr Qing-Jun Meng, from theFaculty of Life Sciences, said: “Our study hasshown a new and potent effect of lithium inincreasing the amplitude, or strength, of the clockrhythms, revealing a novel link between the classicmood-stabiliser, bipolar disorder and body clocks.”

University climbs furtherin global rankingThe University has improved its world ranking in2011 by climbing to 38th place in a globallyrespected league table. Manchester is now rankedsixth in Europe, and fifth in the UK.

Since 2004, continued improvement in the ShanghaiJiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universitieshas been one of the University’s main benchmarksfor success, central to the pursuit of the Manchester2015 Agenda. The University has made steadyprogress in the rankings, from 78th in 2004 to thislatest high of 38th.

The President and Vice-Chancellor of The Universityof Manchester, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell,said: “Manchester is now tantalisingly close torealising the vision mapped out by my predecessor,Professor Alan Gilbert. Although we are alreadyplanning well beyond 2015, this is an importantmilestone in our continuing journey towardsbecoming one of the top 25 universities in theworld, and it is a tribute to the outstanding staffhere at Manchester.”

The University of Shanghai Jiao Tong compiles itsannual list by ranking the 500 leading universities inthe world, using criteria such as the number ofNobel Prize winners, the number of research paperspublished in leading journals and various otheracademic achievements relative to a university'ssize. Harvard University in the USA is at the top ofthe rankings.

In May last year, the University, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) andAstraZeneca announced the creation of the ManchesterCollaborative Centre for Inflammation Research (MCCIR), a uniquecollaboration to establish a world-leading translational centre forinflammatory diseases. The project starts out with an initialinvestment of £5 million from each partner over a three year period.

The collaboration of the University with two UK-based leadingpharmaceutical companies brings together scientists from both thepharmaceutical industry and academia to work together on

inflammation research and translational medicine. The ultimate goal of all three partners is thetranslation of research findings into new and improved treatments, which could potentiallybenefit the millions of people worldwide affected by diseases associated with chronicinflammation, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, rheumatoid arthritis andinflammatory bowel disease.

New centre for inflammation research

University news

First Alan GilbertMemorial Scholar arrives

“Being the very first scholarshipholder is a great honour. alan gilbertwas a great man who believed in theimportant role that education canplay in transforming lives.”

T


martphones could help save hundredsof thousands of lives in the aftermathof a disaster or humanitarian crisis.

Software developed by computer scientistscould help to quickly and accurately locatemissing people, rapidly identify thosesuffering from malnutrition and effectivelypoint people towards safe zones simply bychecking their phones.

It is hoped the smartphone technology, theREUNITE mobile and platform, developed byDr Gavin Brown and his team members PeterSutton and Lloyd Henning, from the Schoolof Computer Science, could not only savelives but could also ease the financial andemotional burden on aid organisations.

Dr Brown said: “Our results havedemonstrated that mobile intelligent systemscan be deployed in low-power, high-riskenvironments, to the benefit of all involved.

“We believe the refugee aid community willbe a strong beneficiary of such technologyover the next few years.”

University scientists have developed a biomaterial implant that couldfinally bring treatment, in the form of a jab, for chronic back pain.

Chronic lower back pain is a major problem for society – behind onlyheadaches as the most common neurological ailment. It is estimated thatback pain affects 80 per cent of people at some point in their lives.

A cross-faculty team working with microgel particles have developed afluid which can be injected into a damaged invertebral disc. The fluid isthen capable of transforming into a durable, elastic gel that should beable to restore the mechanical properties of the disc permanently. This is asignificant improvement on a previous version that did not have thenecessary long-term durability required for an implanted device.

Dr Brian Saunders, lead researcher, said: “Our team has made abreakthrough through innovative materials design that brings theprospect of an injectable gel for treating degeneration of theintervertebral disc a step closer.”

This work has been funded by the EPSRC and was recently awardedProof-of-Principle (PoP) funding by The University of ManchesterIntellectual Property Limited (UMIP).

Implant jab could solve back painResearchers are celebrating after securing £12.5 million of Governmentfunding for clinical research in the city.

Three leading hospital trusts, working closely with the University, havebeen awarded the money to carry out research into many of the majordiseases and illnesses that affect the population of Greater Manchesterand the wider North West.

Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts will use£5.5 million funding to support studies on arthritis, psoriasis, depression,addiction and diabetes. The Christie NHS Foundation Trust will use £4.5 million funding for early-stage trials of cancer treatments. AndUniversity Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust will use£2.5 million funding for early-stage trials of treatments for lung diseasessuch as asthma and also food allergies.

Professor Ian Jacobs, Dean and Vice-President of the University’s Faculty ofMedical and Human Sciences and Director of Manchester AcademicHealth Science Centre (MAHSC), believes the success of the bids reflectedthe scale of expertise in conducting clinical trials in Manchester’s NHSorganisations and the University at MAHSC.

Health boost for Manchester

Smart way ofsaving lives innatural disasters

Firefighters take part in the rescue work in landslide- hit Zhouqu County, China

S

Photo by: Keystone U

SA-ZU

MA / Rex Features ©



Graphene update

he pioneering pair were knighted in the2012 New Year Honours for services toscience – a reflection of their stature inthe scientific world. And they have been

very busy continuing to uncover new propertiesof graphene that could revolutionise thecomputer industry.

Ground-breaking research in the past years hasshown how graphene has taken the next step tobecoming a replacement for silicon, how it can be‘sandwiched’ together to make computer chipsand even how it can be used to distil vodka.

In October 2011, Chancellor of the ExchequerGeorge Osborne visited the University andannounced a £50 million investment for researchinto graphene. The announcement was part of a£200 million investment into UK science. Now, theUniversity has been invited to submit proposals for£38 million, which will form a large part of theworld-class National Graphene Institute.

The investment will help establish the UK as agraphene research and technology hub, fundedthrough the Engineering and Physical SciencesResearch Council (EPSRC) and the TechnologyStrategy Board (TSB), that will lead to the rapid

commercialisation of graphene technologies inthe UK.

The National Graphene Institute will offer accessto specialist facilities and equipment which willsimulate manufacturing processes.

Great progress is being made on unlockinggraphene’s secrets too. Researchers have nowfound that graphene is superpermeable withrespect to water and could even be used fordistilling alcohol.

Our scientists studied membranes from a chemicalderivative of graphene called graphene oxide.

Last year, yourmanchester proudlyreported the success ofour two physicists,Professor Andre Geimand Professor KonstantinNovoselov, who won theNobel Prize in Physics for theirpioneering work on graphene.There has been huge interestand excitement since then – sowhat exactly has happenedover the last year?

Tgraphene – the rapidly rising star

News

What is graphene?Graphene is a two-dimensional atomic crystal – think about it as chicken wire, just one atom thick.When you stack layers of it on top of each other millions of times it creates the three-dimensionalsubstance graphite, like you would find in pencil ‘leads’. The problem until now has been how toisolate single layers of graphene – many had believed that a substance as thin as that would betoo unstable to exist. Professors Geim and Novoselov solved the problem using regular adhesivetape. Graphene is the strongest known material (even stronger than diamond!) and has a range ofspecial properties. As a conductor of electricity it performs as well as copper, and as a conductorof heat it outperforms all other materials. It is almost completely transparent yet it is so dense thateven the smallest gas atom, helium, cannot pass through it. The researchers went even further byisolating monolayers of many other substances, thus introducing a conceptually new class ofmaterials: two-dimensional atomic crystals.

Graphene oxide is the same graphene sheet butit is randomly covered with other molecules suchas hydroxyl groups OH-. Graphene oxide sheetsstack on top of each other and form a laminate.

The researchers prepared such laminates thatwere hundreds times thinner than a human hair but remained strong, flexible and were easy to handle.

When a metal container was sealed with such afilm, even the most sensitive equipment wasunable to detect air or any other gas, includinghelium, leaking through.

It came as a complete surprise that, when theresearchers tried the same with ordinary water,they found that it evaporates despite thegraphene seal. Water molecules diffusedthrough the graphene-oxide membranes withsuch a great speed that the evaporation ratewas the same whether the container was sealedor completely open.

“Helium gas is hard to stop. It slowly leaks eventhrough a millimetre-thick window glass but ourultra-thin films completely block it. At the sametime, water evaporates through unimpeded.Materials cannot behave any stranger,” commentsProfessor Geim. “You cannot help wonderingwhat else graphene has in store for us.”

Dr Rahul Nair, who was leading the experimentalwork, added: “Just for a laugh, we sealed abottle of vodka with our membranes and foundthat the distilled solution became stronger andstronger with time. Neither of us drinks vodkabut it was great fun to do the experiment.”

Graphene’s bid to become a replacement forsilicon has also taken a huge step forward.Graphene was thought too conductive to beused with computer chips but using graphenevertically and combining it with other chemicalcompounds reduces its conductivity.

Graphene got the Royal seal of approval, too,when in February 2012 His Royal Highness TheDuke of York visited the University. PrinceAndrew was given a tour of the graphenelaboratories by Professor Andre Geim, and hadthe chance to make graphene himself under the microscope.

The graphene research community constantlyengages the public and alumni in the excitingworld of graphene research, through variousevents and activities. In May 2011, alumni hadthe chance to come and listen to Professor Geimspeaking at the Annual 2011 CockcroftRutherford lecture. There have been exhibitionsat the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibitionand at the Manchester Science Festival and the‘Graphene Roadshow’ titled, Graphene:Unexpected Science in a Pencil Line, is availableto be presented by our experts at sciencefestivals across the UK and overseas.

If you would like to find out more aboutGraphene research at Manchester, please sendan email to [email protected] orvisit www.graphene.manchester.ac.uk.

Professor Konstantin Novoselov Professor Andre Geim

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, pictured at the graphene lab


Photo by: Alex M

acnaughton / Rex Features ©


University challenge

Rising to the challenge

University Challenge winners; Paul Joyce, Luke Kelly, Michael McKenna and Tristan Burke, with Stephen Pearson from the Library


he University has won this year’sUniversity Challenge TV quiz, havingbeaten Pembroke College, Cambridgein a close-fought final.

The four-man Manchester team had previouslyseen off Worcester College, Oxford in the semifinal to set up the dramatic showdown.

More than 120 teams entered this year's televisedcontest, which is celebrating its 50th anniversaryin 2012.

The Manchester team is made up of Luke Kelly,studying History, Michael McKenna, second yearBiochemistry, Paul Joyce, doing a masters degreein Social Research Methods and Statistics, andtheir 22-year-old captain Tristan Burke, studyingEnglish Literature.

The team is coached every year by StephenPearson, a University librarian, who has enjoyedconsiderable success with University Challenge,having captained the team himself in 1996.

Manchester has dominated the competition inrecent years, under Stephen’s tutelage, lifting thetrophy in 2006 and 2009, and finishing runners-up in 2007.

Each year Stephen selects the best candidates toput together a new team. He said: “There isalways a lot of enthusiasm every year; we have atleast 50 people each year who compete to jointhe team.”

The team’s remarkable achievement wasrecognised with a celebration event at theUniversity on 23 April, hosted by the President andVice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell.

During the evening, they took on a team made upof current University representatives including theDeputy President and Deputy Vice-ChancellorProfessor Rod Coombs, UMSU General SecretaryLetty Newton, Registrar, Secretary and ChiefOperating Officer Will Spinks, and Janine Watson,Chair of the Alumni Association.

The four contestants were invited to a specialpresentation to receive the trophy from theDuchess of Cornwall at Clarence House, a specialevent to mark the contest’s 50th anniversary. Theteam enjoyed a private tour of the building, alongwith St James’s Palace and the Royal Chapel.

The University has actually had two teams in thecompetition recently after a team of fourManchester graduates took part in a specialChristmas edition of University Challenge onBBC2. Hosted by Jeremy Paxman, the usualteams of students were replaced by teams ofgraduates from some of the country’s top

universities. The University of Manchester teamwas made up of our Chancellor Tom Bloxham,TV presenter and poker player Liv Boeree, artcritic Waldemar Januszczak and writer andbroadcaster Steve Hewlett.

Despite winning its first round match against theUniversity of York, the intrepid team did notprogress any further in the competition, as itnotched up the lowest winning score.

T Manchester wins the

final of UniversityChallenge again!

University Challenge celebration event, 23 April 2012

University Challenge champions special with Manchester graduates

University Challenge winners, 2012


Social responsibility

he Legal Advice Centre (LAC) is a probono clinic run by the School of Lawoffering students a chance to givepeople free, reliable, confidentialadvice – supervised by experienced legal

practitioners. It is one of the University’s six socialresponsibility flagships which highlight thedifference staff and students are making in localcommunities.

The Centre was established in 2000 in theUniversity’s Shopping Precinct by the School’sDirector of Clinical Legal Education, Dinah Crystal.Having experienced many sobering cases as apractising solicitor, Dinah wanted to establish afree high street service which would help peoplewith problems while also providing in-the-field lawtraining for future lawyers. She worked with theCollege of Law and national pro bono charity LawWorks to get the Centre started.

Together with Deputy Director Neil Allen, Dinahattracted London lawyers Clifford Chance and(more recently) local firm, Hill Dickinson, assponsors, and around 40 volunteer supervisors

from law companies across the region. “It satisfieslawyers’ pro bono ethic, helps them get back tobasics and breeds a strong relationship with ourstudents,” she says. Now in its twelfth year theCentre is run by dedicated coordinator AnneGreenhough, and sees two to three clients everyweek day, referred by other law centres, CitizensAdvice Bureaux, community websites or theCentre’s promotional activities.

Dinah monitors all case requests and studentsreceive full training before being placed on a rotato see clients, alongside a supervising lawyer withprior notice of the case. Second-year, third-yearand postgraduate students interview each client inpairs and, following a de-brief with theirsupervisor, research the case using the Centre’sfacilities. Upon approval by Dinah, they thenadvise each client on their legal position, and thenext steps they might take.

The Legal Advice Centre engages with a diverserange of communities to provide reliable legaladvice and its reach is growing all the time. InOctober 2009 a second branch, with its own

dedicated administrator, opened in The SettlementCommunity Centre in East Manchester, aregeneration area where significant numbers ofresidents require affordable legal advice.

LAC students have established a law society to tryand reach other communities which are under-represented on their client list, such asManchester’s Afro-Caribbean groups, anddiscussions are underway for a satellite centre atthe city’s Wai Yin Chinese Women’s Society.Students from the Centre have pledged to provideone day each month at Manchester’s Civil JusticeCentre - one of the largest and busiest in thecountry - helping to deal with specific clientgroups and manning a drop-in centre, while first-years on the ‘Street Law’ programme regularly visitlocal schools, colleges and institutions to givepresentations on legal rights.

The Legal Advice Centre has even establishedinternational links, with 16 students now visitingthe Singapore Law Society each year to work in itspro bono departments. “This kind of work helpsdiverse communities and people enjoy doing it, it

e University’s LegalAdvice Centre supportspeople with problems whohave nowhere else to go

making a differenceT


e Legal Advice Centre is oneof the University’s six socialresponsibility flagships whichhighlight the difference staff andstudents are making in localcommunities. Here is an outlineof the other projects:

gives them the feeling they’re done somethingworthwhile,” says Dinah, who was awarded theOBE in 2008 for her drive to establish pro bonowork in the School of Law.

The Centre also has an important role helpingvulnerable clients with issues they might find hardto discuss, as they develop relationships of trustwith the advisors. In its first year, the Centre wasawarded the Quality Mark for General Help fromthe Legal Services Commission, and its work hasbeen endorsed by Baroness Scotland, Cherie Blair,Lord Goldsmith and Michael Mansfield, one of thecountry’s best known lawyers.

“The Centre helps our students put somethingback into the community and put the law intopractice, and it gives them new ways of looking atproblems which helps them academically,” Dinahsays. “Our drive to retain clients, build ourreputation and function financially builds theirsense of commercial awareness, and they learnteamwork and respect for clients and colleagues.And with many law firms now undertakingcompulsory pro bono work, the experience isinvaluable on their CVs.”

Professor Aneez Esmail, Associate Vice-Presidentfor Social Responsibility, Equality and Diversitycomments: “Social responsibility is a key goal forthe University, equal in emphasis to research andlearning. What we do through our socialresponsibility agenda makes a huge difference tothe lives of thousands of people.”

Students and staff from across the Universitycarry out a huge amount of volunteer work,ranging from the Sports Volunteer scheme,which works with communities to supportengagement with sporting activities, throughto acting as School Governors and raisingfunds for many charities.

Volunteering

The Manchester Museum and Whitworth ArtGallery run a programme called ‘Valuing OlderPeople’ which aims to encourage older peopleto take part in cultural and learning activities.A great example is the ‘ReminiscenceProgramme’ which takes Museum objects intoresidential homes, day units and communitycentres across the region.

Valuing older people

A wide range of activity takes place at JodrellBank to bring science to life for everyone fromour students to local schoolchildren. Examplesinclude the new Discovery Centre, regular‘Meeting the Scientists’ events and the JodrellBank Live music festivals.

Jodrell Bank outreach

These assist talented, but economicallydisadvantaged international students. Thescheme was launched in Uganda in 2007 andhas been extended to Rwanda andBangladesh. So far 311 students havebenefited from the scheme.

Equity and MeritScholarships

MAP targets local sixth formers from lessprivileged backgrounds and supports themto progress into higher education, whetherhere at Manchester or elsewhere within theUK. Since it began in 2005, 380 MAPstudents have been successful in gaining aplace at Manchester with others going touniversities including Cambridge, Imperialand UCL in London.

Manchester AccessProgramme (MAP)


Sophie Raworth

rowing up in and around London,Sophie said she decided to study inthe North of England to broaden herhorizons: “I wanted to experience adifferent part of the country and as

it turned out Manchester was a fantastic city tolive and be a student in. So much was goingon, it was fun, full of life and I really loved it,”she says. “And everything was so much moreaccessible than in London.“

Memories of peeling lino, dodgy gas fires anddamp mildew-ridden terraced housesnotwithstanding, Sophie has nothing but fondmemories of her time at the University and theMadchester scene of the late 1980s - she wasa regular at the Hacienda and at Rusholme’sfamous curry houses.

Beginning her student life living at WhitworthPark, she moved out and enjoyed living withfriends during her second year, particularlyreturning home after lectures to cosy upwatching Neighbours on TV with a packet ofHobnobs. She worked for the studentnewspaper and, in the holidays, topped up hergoing out funds by working as an office tempand in bars.

As part of her French and German courseSophie spent a year teaching English toteenagers in Toulouse: “I went to Toulouse inFrance and spent the year teaching English in asecondary school on the outskirts of the city. Iloved it. The job was hard work but it was thebest way to master the language. Then I spenta couple of months in Berlin trying to improvemy German. That was a lot harder.”

After graduating, Sophie joined the BBC’sregional training course before taking a job atGreater Manchester Radio. Shortly afterwardsshe moved to Brussels and used her languageskills to become Europe reporter for theregions, before returning to Leeds a year later

BBC news presenter Sophie Raworth(BA Hons French and German 1991)took time out – while in make upahead of the one o’clock news – toreminisce about her days as a languagestudent in the 1980s madchester era

The headline act

G

Photo courtesy of Sophie Raworth ©

to work on BBC Look North. It was here thatSophie first presented the news, as well ascontinuing to report and produce it. She was toprove immensely popular with the viewers.

Next was a job on BBC Breakfast news in 1997,co-presenting the show four days a week. Shealso anchored the programme from Los Angeleson Oscars night, from Israel, and fromWashington during President Clinton’simpeachment trial. Sophie also presented anumber of BBC specials, including playing a majorrole in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrationspresenting alongside David Dimbleby and gettinga makeover from Trinny and Susannah ahead of aBAFTA appearance.

Sophie presented Crimewatch Roadshow on BBC1on weekday mornings and in May 2009 shepresented The Trouble with Working Women withreporter and father-of-three Justin Rowlatt. Theseries must have been close to her heart as amother of three, daughters Ella Rose and GeorgiaGrace, and son Oliver.

Sophie married estate agent Richard Winter in2003 and has managed to balance her career withfamily life, which she intends to continue to do.But she also finds time to take on importantcharity work. She won much support forcompleting the 2011 London Marathon – despitecollapsing through dehydration two miles from thefinish. This year she ran the marathon on behalf ofSt John Ambulance, which she thankfully

completed without incident! She also took to thedance floor with dance partner Ian Waite andother BBC presenters for the special Children InNeed version of Strictly Come Dancing. So had shealways dreamed of a career in television?

“I never for a moment thought I would be onscreen,” she says modestly. “I was quite happyworking as a producer and by some fluke of beingin the right place at the right time I was asked totry out for the camera and ended up presentingLook North.”

So what next? “I’m just going to keep at itbecause I’m having such a lovely time,” she says.“I really wouldn’t change a thing.”

Running the marathon, 20 April 2012

With Dermot Murnaghan, 2002 Sophie’s graduation, July 1991

Pictured with Susannah Constantine (r) and Trinny Woodall (l), 13 April 2003


Photo by: Rex Features ©Photo courtesy of Sophie Raw

orth ©

Photo by: Julian Makey / Rex Features ©

Photo by: Jonathan Hordle / Rex Features ©

Graduation

Graduation, 1950s


Photo courtesy of MEN ©


t is the culmination of all those years spenttoiling in the library and sitting throughseminars and lectures. It is a grand and finalfarewell to education by many students... It is of course, the graduation ceremony.

And what an occasion it can be. The basic protocolof the ceremony has changed little over thedecades, although each is unique in its own way.

The procedure is as follows: a brief speech fromthe presiding officer, usually the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor or Dean, is followed by thepresentation of degree certificates that are given inalphabetical order in a cascading order of seniority,so PhD students graduate first, followed byMasters students and so on, and although no hatsare worn during the event they will be donnedduring the procession out of Whitworth Hall.

Last year, 8,300 students graduated during themammoth two week, four ceremonies a daybonanza in July with a further twenty ceremoniesat Christmas.

So what could possibly go wrong? Well thankfullyaccording to Mike Mercer who has been organisinggraduation since 1999, most run smoothly.

And he confirms that while the protocol for all isthe same, there are some ceremonies that turnout to be more memorable than others.

“A few years ago the then Home Secretary JackStraw’s daughter graduated and we had armedpolice everywhere because intelligence hadbeen received that there might be adisturbance,” he reveals.

“And there was a huge media presence for thegraduation of Sammy Gitau, an overseas studentwho had found a Manchester Universityprospectus in a litter bin and had vowed he wouldcome to study here. Then there was the lawstudent last year who had been in a car accidentand had been determined to come back in spiteof severe injuries and walk across the stage tocollect her degree. There was rapturous applausefor her as well.”

The prevailing view of the graduation ceremony isa stiff and formal affair but students such asNorman Thomas (BSc Mathematics 1950) recall amuch rowdier occasion.

“If someone had an unusual name for examplethe students in the gallery would shout out andstamp their feet on the wooden floors.

“I actually went to a graduation ceremony tosee a member of my family graduate evenbefore I attended Manchester. It was in 1947just after the war and there was so muchausterity that an event like a graduate ceremonywas quite something.”

James Haworth (LLB Hons Law 1949) recalls plentyof high jinx at his graduation, especially at theexpense of a fellow student Eric Todd.

“When his name was read out as ECE Todd thestudents on the balcony roared SWEENY Toddand accompanied it with festoons of toiletpaper,” he recollects.

Most graduations go like clockwork, but not all go quite to plan......

I

A degree of ceremonyGraduation, 2011


More fun with names was experienced by BrendaOwen (BSc Hons General Sciences 1946) whorecalls her brother’s graduation in 1943.

“My brother, Roger Everatt was graduating BScEngineering and the graduands were all seatedbut the rest of the Academic Procession wasrunning late and the students were gettingrestless,’ she remembers.

“Suddenly they burst into song; "Why are wewaiting, O why are we waiting etc." to the tuneof O come all ye faithful. This was quite amusingfor the rest of us and when they had finished,the rest of the ceremony went according toprotocol until the last of the graduands wascalled to the platform.

“This unfortunate man was named W K Waitingand before he got to his feet the graduates erupted

into a repeat performance of their song! It wassome time before the Dismissal could be called.”

For some like David Hogg (BSc Hons Engineering1952), the ceremony was really a bit of a bore.

“Actually, the graduation ceremony in 1952 was arather staid affair - in fact so staid I remembervery little,”he says.

“I suppose I got dressed up. My parents came, Iwas one of very few in the extended family whograduated, we went to lunch and that, really,was it.”

And for Michael Walters (BA Hons Modern Historywith Economics and Politics 1962) it was apotentially dangerous experience.

He takes up the story: “After three days workingfor a City insurance broker, the idea of going touniversity suddenly became a life-saver.

“A year later, going up to Manchester,undergraduates seemed rather silly people – but Icould play hockey three times a week (neverterribly well). Come graduation, the cap and gownceremony appeared daft, and I refused to have mypicture taken. A few months later, that seemeddesperately ungrateful to my parents, so I hired acap and gown and went to have my graduateportrait taken. Nicely posed, there was a greatsmell of burning – the gown was ablaze, sitting ona hot light bulb in the photographer's studio.”

For Adrian Williams (BA Hons Theology 1979, MAEconomics 1984), the graduation ceremony of1979 was a source of embarrassment thatresonates still today, as he turned up to collect hisdegree in cowboy boots (well it was the 70s).

“Come graduation day my mother and fatherarrived and took me to get robed (ermine, noless!),”he recalls.

Graduation

Graduation, 1950s

Extract from The Guardian, Saturday July 4 1931


“Trouble was, no-one had told me it was a formalaffair. Looking back, I can't believe how naive weall were, but I was wearing my usual casual cords,open necked collar-less shirt and cowboy boots.

“My parents had no experience of anything likethis, so although they were more formally dressed(as parents often were in those days) they didn'tquestion my choice of clothes. It was only when Igot into the robing room (and they, separately,sat in the hall) that I, and they, realised thateveryone else was wearing suits or, at least, smartjackets and ties.

“I suspect that most people in the hall thought Iwas carrying out some minor act of rebellion bybeing so obviously under-dressed. Truth was I wasincredibly embarrassed. My parents, too. Over 30years on, I still shudder.”

But as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, moststudents feel they should do their bit, even if likePeter Cooper (PhD Chemistry 1969) they had todo it on crutches.

“I completed my PhD in October 1969, submittedmy thesis on the required date and decided toplay a final soccer game for chemistry research inthe normal Wednesday afternoon facultyleague,” he says.

“Bad mistake, as I broke my leg quite badly andwas in Withington Hospital for two weeks andleft with a plate in my leg, in a full leg plasterand on crutches (the old wooden type) so Iattended the degree ceremony still in plaster andon crutches and might be able to claim that I amone of a select bunch of graduates who had thepleasure of the Vice-Chancellor coming down thestairs to me (from the stage to the floor) topresent the certificate.”

Ultimately though, the graduation ceremony formost students is a bittersweet occasion that theywill remember for the times they had and thefriends they made.

Recent graduate Umer I Butt (BSc ComputerEngineering 2006, MSc CommunicationsEngineering 2008) says: “I was going to leave allmy friends that day as I had to return back to myhome after completion of my studies. I washappy as well as sad.”

Thank you to all alumni who contributed tothis article. Those not published here can befound on Your Manchester Onlinewww.manchester.ac.uk/yourmanchester

Graduation, 2004

Sammy Gitau with Dr Pete Mann, 2007

Umer Butt with Vice-President and Dean, 2008

Graduation, 1991


rchaeology Teaching Fellow Dr HannahCobb has been taking students toArdnamurchan in the ScottishHighlands for six years. Though the siterevealed a rich treasure of artefacts

covering six thousand years of history, last yearHannah and her students found somethingincredible buried deep in the soil.

The Viking sword was exciting, but when abeautifully decorated hilt, a spear, shield boss andring pin were lifted, they started to suspect thatthis could be something special.

It was. Further finds confirmed this was the veryfirst, fully intact, Viking boat burial site to bediscovered on the British mainland. The fivemetre-long grave contained the thousand-year-oldremains of two hundred or so boat rivets; a highstatus Viking and his possessions which alsoincluded a knife, what could be the tip of abronze drinking horn, a whetstone from Norway,a ring pin from Ireland and Viking pottery.

When the news broke, Hannah and hercolleagues at Leicester University, CFAArchaeology Ltd and Archaeology Scotland foundthemselves the centre of the world’s press –conducting interviews with major broadcastersand newspapers all over the world.

Dr Cobb, a Co-Director of the project, said:“Though we have excavated many importantartefacts over the years, I think it’s fair to say thatthis year the archaeology has really exceeded ourexpectations.

“A Viking boat burial is in itself an incrediblediscovery, but the artefacts and preservation makethis one of the most important Norse graves everexcavated in Britain.”

The site has yielded other riches over the years,including an Iron Age fort from between 2500 to1500 years ago and a Neolithic chambered cairn.

Dr Cobb added: “Over the years, Ardnamurchanhas been an amazing opportunity for ourundergraduate students to learn about archaeologyat such an internationally important site. The Vikinggrave was just the icing on the cake.”

Another discovery by a team from the universitiesof Manchester and York, which sent shockwavesthrough the archaeology world, was recognisedby the Government in 2012.

On the advice of English Heritage, HeritageMinister John Penrose announced that the earlyMesolithic site of Star Carr, North Yorkshire, wasto be made a scheduled monument.

The team of Dr Chantal Conneller and Barry Taylorfrom The University of Manchester and Dr NickyMilner from the University of York had discoveredBritain's earliest surviving house. The 3.5 metrescircular structure, they found, dates to at least8,500 BC: so long ago that Britain was part ofcontinental Europe.

Dr Conneller said: “The welcome news that StarCarr is to be scheduled confirms its position asBritain's most important Mesolithic site and weare delighted that the finds from our excavationshave increased our understanding of such aniconic site.

“The discovery was so exciting as it changed ourunderstanding of the first settlers to move backinto Britain after the end of the last Ice Age.”

Professor Colin Richards is one of the fewarchaeologists to excavate in the remote PacificIsland of Rapa Nui. The territory, known in Englishas Easter Island, has been the subject of intensedebate by archaeologists ever since Westernerscame across the strange red hat statues – or Moai.

Professor Richards and his UCL colleague,Professor Sue Hamilton, have made huge stridesin our understanding of these fascinatingmonuments - though much more is still to be

learned. “Some things,” says Dr Richards, “maynever be known. A recent trip has disproved thefifty-year-old theory of Norwegian adventurerThor Heyerdahl underpinning our understandingof how the famous statues were moved aroundthe Island.”

Heyerdahl believed that statues he found lying on their backs and faces near the roads wereabandoned during transportation by the ancient Polynesians.

But the team’s discovery of stone platformsassociated with each fallen moai, using specialist‘geophysical survey’ equipment, confirmed a littleknown 1914 theory of British archaeologistKatherine Routledge that the routes wereprimarily ceremonial avenues. The statues, say the

It’s been a fantastic year for the University’sarchaeologists, who have made a series ofamazing finds at home and abroad

Archaeology

Buried deep in the soil...A


Manchester and UCL team merely toppled fromthe platforms with the passage of time.

In Syria, Dr Emma Loosley – an archaeologistbased in the School of Arts, Histories andCultures – helped solved the mystery of why oneof Islam’s earliest fortresses dropped out of thehistorical record around 1,100 years ago.

Dr Loosley was one of an international team ofexperts invited into the world-renowned KhanuqaGap by the Syrian Department of Antiquitiesbefore its secrets – and 11,000 years of humanhistory – are lost to a controversial dam project.

Dr Loosley, who has been unable to return to Syriabecause of the current conflict, found that 1,100years ago a fire raged through what was then

regarded as an impregnable fortress. Her work hasalso helped show that, contrary to popularunderstanding, the earliest Muslim expansionacross the Middle East was largely peaceful andtypified by coexistence with Christians.

Much closer to home, Professor Siân Jones, DrMelanie Giles and Dr Hannah Cobb, lead a yearlyexcavation shedding light on the rich Victorianand Edwardian heritage of the much lovedWhitworth Park.

Working closely with the Friends of WhitworthPark, Manchester Museum and other Universitypartners, the project brings together Universitystaff and students, local community volunteersand schoolchildren to investigate the old lake,pavilion and bandstand.

Professor Jones said: “Parks are an important partof the urban social environment informingpeople’s sense of identity, belonging and place.

“By investigating the history of Whitworth Park,we aim to increase everyone’s awareness of thevalue of these wonderful green spaces in theheart of the city, and encourage people tobecome more involved in their future.”

Dr Melanie Giles recently delivered a lecture toalumni talking about the Whitworth Park dig aspart of the Your Manchester Insights lectures, seepage 43.

Find out more about archaeology at theUniversity: www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/archaeology

Dr Hannah Cobb, co-director of theArdnamurchan Transitions Project,with a thousand-year-old Viking sword

he Dalton Nuclear Institute, which inNovember was awarded a Queen’sAnniversary Prize for Further and HigherEducation, acts as the crucial link between

business and education in the region.

One of its subsidiaries, the Centre of NuclearEnergy Technology (C-Net) exists to support thenuclear energy industry in up-skilling the existingworkforce, whilst ventures such as the DaltonCumbrian Facility provide a focus for world-leading applied research.

Through these organisations The University ofManchester is supporting growth and attractingbusiness to the North.

Yet in the middle of the last decade, no onewould have predicted the turn of fortunes thatthe industry has seen over the last six years.

The catalyst for change began with a Governmentenergy review in 2006 that highlighted the needto transform a sector dependant on ever-depleting, imported fossil fuels and anotherreview in 2008 which made a convincing case forincreased use of nuclear power.

Professor Tim Abram, Director of C-Net, said: “Thelatest economic survey that was done by the RoyalAcademy of Engineering had shown that far frombeing a very expensive way of generating energy,nuclear was now competitive and in fact a gooddeal cheaper than everything else available.

“It was far more reliable and more predictable inthe long term.” However it is manufacturing thathas been key to the industry’s success.

Professor Michael Burke, Director of NuclearManufacturing Technology Research Laboratory,

Ten years ago the British nuclearindustry was in a state ofseemingly terminal decline.Today, however, the North ofEngland is poised to lead a globalnuclear renaissance, which willsee thousands of highly skilledjobs created in the region withnew plants built in an industrialresurgence that could even helpre-balance the UK economy

Nuclear energy

T

The Northern Way – leading the nuclear renaissance



was lured away from his role at WestinghouseMaterials Centre for Excellence in the USA by thepotential in the North of England.

“A significant conglomeration of industries thatsupports nuclear are in the North,” he said. “Ifyou draw a map around the Peak District there isa big swathe of them and you can see wheremost of the industry is based.

“Following the recently-announced partnershipwith France, I think you’re going to see some bigcontracts being let. You’re going to see jobscoming out.”

Professor Abram is also enthusiastic aboutregional manufacturing, believing that it has thepotential to sell internationally.

“In China at the moment the reactor coolantpump casings for several units have on the sideof them ‘Made in Sheffield’,” he said. “They arebeing supplied by Sheffield forge masters. It’sdefinitely the case that UK industry can evensupply into China if the product is right and theprice is right.”

He also emphasises the ongoing productionpotential arising from new nuclear plants beingbuilt in the region.

“Providing the fuel for those units is not just aone-off endeavour,” he added. ”It will go on

throughout the sixty year lifetime of those plantsand all of that could be supplied from the UK.”

He is also confident that growth in nuclearenergy could play a crucial role in re-balancingthe economy.

Kevin Warren, Commercial Director of the DaltonCumbrian Facility, described how this growthtranslates into employment.

“The north-west of England is home to the UK'sfull nuclear fuel cycle and over half of the UK'snuclear workers,” he said.

“The largest site in the UK is Sellafield in WestCumbria –it’s the base for around 15,000 workers.

“Over the last ten years the outlook andopportunities for thousands of new highly-skilledjobs has improved dramatically.”

However, the nuclear renaissance has not all beenplain sailing. All three are in agreement that thedisaster in March 2011 at the Fukushima nuclearpower plant in Japan has slowed down progresswhile the industry reflects.

“We've been looking at the two designs proposedfor new build plants to see if there are anychanges we could make that would cause thoseplants to be substantially safer to any majorseismic or flood event,” says Professor Abram.

“There was a very natural and necessary delaywhile we took on board lessons from Fukushima.But, having done that, I think we are back wherewe need to be in order to build new plants.”

Looking to the future, the Government has listedeight sites which are suitable for plants to bebuilt by 2025.

By that point Mr Warren hopes to see moreinvestment in nuclear fission research.

He said: “Current investment stands at a smallfraction of the peak levels seen during the1970s and 1980s. In the next ten years I wouldalso like to see the first new nuclear powerstations on line supported by clear, wellimplemented policies.

“Overall my wish would be to see the UK re-establish its position as a major internationalsource of nuclear expertise and innovation, with avibrant and sustained industry which supportslong-term, well paid jobs.”

Professor Abram added: “We are really poised forgreat things in the UK nuclear sector.”

To find out more about the Dalton NuclearInstitute here at the University go to:www.dalton.manchester.ac.uk

Students undertaking nuclear research


ast year, the Government'scontroversial decision to raise the capon tuition fees three-fold to amaximum of £9,000 a year led tothousands of students taking to the

streets in protest.

Some student leaders, top academics andpoliticians opposed to the changes argued thatmany students would simply opt out of studyingbecause of rising fees.

From September 2012, the new structure will bein place and the prospect sounds daunting. Theaverage student debt on graduation is alreadyaround £23,000 and with fee loan repayments ontop the burden may worsen considerably.

The University of Manchester, however, is taking steps to soften the blow for those hardest hit by the changes.

One of its flagship initiatives, the Manchester AccessProgramme (MAP), already offers support totalented students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

It gives help to sixth formers meeting specificacademic and background criteria and allowsthem to demonstrate their potential throughworkshops, a three-day residential conference oncampus, online mentoring from currentundergraduates and application guidance fromuniversity staff.

All students who successfully complete the MAPprogramme benefit from individual supportthrough the UCAS application process, and aregiven an annual bursary and an additional £1,000scholarship per annum which is generouslysupported by our alumni community.

Laura Stafford is currently studying nursing: “Myscholarship meant I didn't have to take out a

loan and worry about being in debt at the end ofmy course. Also, having had no previousexperience of university I was talked through theapplication process.”

Another beneficiary is mathematics student LukeMonaghan: “The MAP scholarship has given meconfidence at university and saves me from goinginto an overdraft so there's a lot less stress.

“It helps me to make the most of being a universitystudent, to be confident with my studies andencourages me to push myself to do really well!”

The other good news is that Manchester is one ofthe highest-ranking universities for admittingstudents from the poorest backgrounds thanks tothe number of scholarships and bursaries on offer.

The current figures show that more than a third ofstudents now receive financial help of up to£3,000 per year and many will be offered evenmore generous support, depending on theirfinancial circumstances.

Of course, life has never been exactly easy forthose taking up a university place. Back in the1950s, Peter Smith (BA Hons Economics 1955) waseking out his modest grant with trips to the pawnbroker.

“I had a small grant each term from the KentEducation Committee. It never lasted. Invariably Ihad to rely on a prized possession, a magnificentZeiss Ikon camera which I had bought at a bargainprice during National Service in Singapore.Without fail, the camera went to the pawnbrokeraround the end of each term, to be retrieved atthe start of the next.”

These days, 75 per cent of students rely on part-time and temporary jobs to boost their income,with around a third working during term-time and

half during the holidays according to the NationalUnion of Students.

Past generations also took on vacation work tobridge the gap. In the early 1960s, RobinMarshall (BSc Hons Physics 1962, PhD 1965)stretched his maintenance grant of £260 a yearwith holiday jobs.

“It was the equivalent of around £4,800 today. Thatpaid for rent, books, food, and two pints of beer aweek. But it did not see me through vacations.

“I came from a very poor background and therewas absolutely no possibility that my widowedmother could contribute even a penny to myUniversity education. Even staying at home duringvacations was a strain on resources.

“I managed income during all three vacations byessentially pestering and being prepared to work inmuck. Over Christmas, I became a relief postie. Inthe longer vacations, I was a tallyman at the localwoollen mills, weighing yarn spun by the Italiangirls. They all looked like 19 year old Sophia Lorens

Times have always been hard for universitystudents. But the next generation ofundergraduates will make an even greaterfinancial investment than ever before

Student fees

L

Rising tuition fees –softening the blow


and an itinerant nun followed them everywhere. I never got to even speak to one of them!

“In other vacations, I worked in the villagetannery, pushing trollies of finest thin leather,bound for Milan fashion houses but still soakingin noxious fluids."

Carolyn Jones (BSc Hons Zoology 1970, MSc1971, PhD 1976) recalls her Spartan diet andfrugal lifestyle on a £360 a year grant.

“My parents used to send me the odd pound, andI had some savings from my six years working as alab technician. We wore duffle coats, jeans andscarves and I lived on sausage and beans and suchlike in the Refectory.

“My first flat cost £4.50 a week which wasconsidered dear, but sharing a house was cheaperand in my final year I lived in a shared attic flat inClyde Road, Didsbury, for £1.30 a week each!

“I bought a bed, chairs, table, chest of drawersand desk for £10 from Johnny Roadhouse. Text

books were picked up second hand and passedfrom one year to the next.

“I frequently walked in to the University – wetended to live a frugal life, which was part ofbeing a student.”

In fact, there have only been two decades in thehistory of UK higher education where going touniversity was free for most students – the early1960s to the early 1980s.

Before then, scholarships were means-tested andgrants often tiny by the standards of the day.Families who could chipped in to help.

Sybil Hodgson (BA Hons French Studies 1949)won a State Scholarship to study here in 1946.

“My elderly grandmother, who really only had hermeagre state pension to live on, used to send me10 old shillings (50 pence) every two weeks and anuncle sent me £2 a month. I was comfortably off bycomparison with many friends who were on localeducation grants. Our fees were paid but the grants

otherwise were pretty skimpy. Our lifestyles wereadjusted accordingly, with most students only goingout for a pint or two one evening a week andperhaps to a university dance on a Saturday. Wewere still suffering from wartime shortages, too,and it was quite difficult to get hold of cigarettesand even the books we needed for the course."

Most of today's students will have to rely on theirfamilies for support. Around 59 per cent get helpfrom their parents and 29 per cent say thatwithout it they would not be able to afford to goto university.

With the new fees in place, The University ofManchester is keen to get the message acrossthat there is still help out there for those whoneed it and is to invest another £16 million a yearto ensure talented students don't lose out.

Jayne Charnock (BSc Hons Anatomical Science2006, PhD Bio-Medicine 2010) received analumni-funded scholarship to study for her PhDresearch into stem cells placenta therapy to helpbabies born with growth restriction problems. Shenow works in the School of Bio-Medicine and alsosits on The University of Manchester AlumniAssociation Advisory Board

“I really could not have done the PhD without thescholarship. It put me in a position where I wasearning the equivalent of a wage which meant Icould continue the research and not worry aboutgetting into any more debt. As it was, I still hadan undergraduate loan to pay back of £12,000and I know that for today's students it is likely tobe a lot more.

“But there is money there and the Universitywants to give it to those who need it most. It's allabout asking for advice and getting the supportwhich is out there."

Julian Skyrme is Head of Undergraduate Recruitmentand Widening Participation, charged with keepingthe University accessible and affordable forundergraduate students.

He remains optimistic about the future for allstudents, whatever their background:

“Many people like me benefited from a system ofgrants and no tuition fee costs. Despite thechanges, the long term trends in applicationsshow more young people than ever are choosingto progress into university because they perceivethe benefits to outweigh any costs.

“They will certainly pay back more and be payingback for longer, but during their time here there isa lot of support from both the Government anduniversities themselves for students enteringhigher education from 2012. There are no upfrontcosts and graduates only repay once they earnmore than £21,000 per annum.”


Photo by: John Powell / Rex Features ©


y day, your time in Manchester willundoubtedly have centred aroundacademic endeavours. But when thesun goes down, university life is allabout the friends you meet… and the

parties where you meet them.

For the majority of students, university digs willform their first home after flying the family nest,and that can bring an incredible sense ofexcitement and freedom – no parents thumpingon the ceiling with a broom, no call for lights out.

John Moore (BSc Hons Chemistry 1942) recallsbeing “bombed whilst drinking in the StudentUnion” – an experience familiar to manycontemporary students, only these bombs werecourtesy of the Luftwaffe rather than WKD,sending John and his friends “dashing to air-raid shelters.”

Post-War, Patti Neale (BSc Hons General Science1949, TD Education 1950) mentions the foxtrotsand waltzes of the university’s single sex halls,dressed in borrowed furs and an evening dress worked from “an old yellow netbridesmaid's dress.”

The staging of Strictly Come Dancing against abackdrop of austerity may be more familiar tocurrent students and, of course, the overarchingsubplot to student parties has also remainedthroughout – in the platform they provide forfriendships and relationships to blossom.

Sheila Griffiths (BSc Hons History 1957, MA 1985)remembers the Guy Fawkes parties at AshburneHall, “waiting for the first signs of flaming torchesand songs, as Hulme and Dalton men came downthe drive” while Christine Kypriotis (BA Arts 1954)recalls a party in a parents’ home, where “theboys put on a silent mime show on the gardenlawn (no disturbing of neighbours), while the girlshung out of the bedroom window to watch.”

As the sixties swung into view, society’s cravatloosened a little. According to Hans Hefti (MScTextiles 1963) there were three standardquestions: “Where is the booze, where is thebathroom and where is the bedroom?” Theanswer may well be with Leonard A Ellis (BScHons Physics 1966, PhD 1970) who recollectslegendary parties in two adjacent houses onWilmslow Road. At one they provided “72 gallonsof beer,” which “lasted from Friday till Sunday”and perhaps, not surprisingly, resulted in some

Student parties

Work hard, play hardParties are what happenwhen some of the finestbrains in the land decide tohave a night off...

B

Young Ones-style antics: “The sight of the sofagoing through the front window of 571 WilmslowRoad is one I'll never forget.”

The psychedelia of the late 60s begat, perhaps,the apparent surrealism of 70s parties. HelenGeorge (BSc Hons Pharmacology 1976), sustainedon a telly diet of “Magic Roundabout, WackyRaces and Rhubarb and Custard,” still remembersa wake for a dearly departed goldfish: “The bowlbearers had the goldfish in its bowl, balanced ona wardrobe door. There was a slow processionacross to Ashburne Hall pond, where a selectionof readings was taken from someone'sengineering manual, before slithering the fish intoits final resting place.”

A party needs a theme and the student partystaple would seem to be fancy dress – eitherpyjamas, or the togas so beloved of the Americanfrat house. An alarming number of themes alsoseem to involve water fights or, more worryingly,makeshift explosives (Helen, again: “extremelygood silly fun… but probably rather dangerous”).

On matters aquatic, Stephen Brightman (BDSDentistry 1981) fondly remembers their house inMoss Side – “a typical shabby but functional

house, lovingly named Howard the House” –where one water fight transmogrified into “liquidArmageddon.” As the landlord was due to visit,the soaking carpet was hastily pulled up and leftto dry on the garden shed – the perfect plan –until they tried to fix it back down: “Something todo with physics or chemistry,” Stephen ponders,“but the carpet was significantly smaller than theroom. Either the room had expanded or thecarpet had shrunk.” Obviously Howard the Househadn’t been fitted with magical Inspiral Carpets.

As well as a theme, a party needs a soundtrack.Helen (who is starting to sound more fun by thesecond) recalls the nightly “corridor parties”fuelled on “cheap Château Dubious,” and herroommates at either end of the corridor withidentical Dansette record players: “Emerson Lakeand Palmer’s Tarkus was the most popular,” shesays. “They used to cue up the album, shout ‘one,two, three… Go’ and drop the needle on therecord at the same time. Et voilà… stereo!”

This story’s most recent alumnus - MatthewValentine (LLB Hons Law 2008) - demonstrates theelastic potential of the humble “house” party. Ithelps, of course, that Matthew’s was a nine-bedroomed pile in Moss Side, christened ParkfieldManor, which allowed for the formation of a pub-crawl entirely within the confines of the house.

“Each room had 30 minutes to provide drink andentertainment,” he details, with a beverage to beconsumed in each bedroom. “We played croquetin one room and hockey in another; we hadMastermind, and I did my own version of theWeakest Link. In a wig.”

From the weird to the wonderful, the sober to thesurreal, these fabulous eulogies to the studentparty illustrate how Manchester is not merelyhome to some of the finest brains in the land, butthe most spirited of hearts, and resilient of livers.

Through the unfolding generations we neverconceive our parents could have had as much funas us. We continue to be wrong. As Helen Georgeremarks, “my son is now 18, and I just hope hehas as much fun at uni as I did.”

Helen, he’ll have quite a job…

By Simon A Morrison(MA Novel Writing 1997)



Photo by: Image Source / Rex Features ©

troke is the third commonest cause ofdeath and the leading cause of adultdisability in the western world. In theUK, more than 100,000 people will havea stroke this year, and a third of themwill be under the age of 55, with 1,000

under the age of 30. The incidence is as bad, orworse, in the rest of the developed world.

Despite recent developments in stroke treatmentthat have greatly improved outcome, nearly a fifthof people still die within 30 days of diagnosis. Thecommonest cause of stroke is ischaemia (bloodclot causing damage). Fifteen per cent of strokesare due to primary haemorrhage (direct bleedinginto the brain), often due to raised blood pressure.Those who do survive a stroke are often seriouslydisabled and require long-term care.

University of Manchester alumnus DerekWhitehead (BSc Hons Electrical Engineering 1952,MSc Science 1954), whose wife Barbara sufferedher first stroke in 1999, has campaigned forimprovements in the way stroke is initially treated.

“Having lived in America in the 1980s, I hadheard about the use of rapid brain scans andthrombolysis as a treatment for stroke and startedcampaigning for its introduction in the UK in2003,” said Derek.

“For two years I was a voice in the wilderness,until I joined forces with the National AuditOffice, which was complaining about the amountof money being spent on stroke with nosignificant benefit.”

Derek, who was awarded the MBE in 2009 for hisefforts, says the National Audit Office’sintervention led to the Department of Healthestablishing a team, of which Derek was amember, to write a National Stroke Strategy.

Working with Dr Pippa Tyrrell, a stroke specialistand senior lecturer at the University, they workedout a plan for the management procedures forstroke treatment in conurbations – a plan whichhas now been introduced nationally and is knownas the ‘hub and spoke’ system.

Derek added: “From my personal point of view, Ihave tried to change the tragedy of Barbara’sillness into a triumph for the many and, to date,some 10,000 stroke patients in the UK havebenefited from the new treatment.”

Barbara’s story is one that is all too common butthere has been some progress in ourunderstanding of stroke and how damage to thebrain might be reduced, improving a patient’schances of recovery. Researchers at the University,led by Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell and DrTyrrell have found a potential treatment for braininjury after stroke.

Dr Tyrrell said: “We need to understand moreabout what happens in the brain after a stroke, aswell as in the blood vessels supplying the brain,and how these changes contribute to tissue injury.If we could limit the devastating changes thatresult from stroke, we would reduce damage,disability and death.

“Inflammation – a vital response of our body toinjury – may paradoxically worsen the response tostroke in the brain. Over the last decade, ourresearch has identified some of the key moleculesthat cause inflammation in the brains of strokepatients and we have begun testing newtreatments to block these molecules in patients.”

Within the injured brain, cells called microglia,along with white blood cells that enter the brainfrom the blood, are the initial conductors of theinflammatory response. Following injury, microglia

cells become activated and release a series ofmolecules called cytokines and other moleculesthat promote white cell recruitment. The cytokineinterleukin-1 (IL-1) seems to be a key player inbrain injury in response to a stroke orhaemorrhage. The effects of IL-1 can beprevented by a naturally occurring blocker, IL-1receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra). This blocker is usedclinically in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritisand is safe and available for use in clinical trials.

Despite recent developments in stroketreatment, nearly a fih of people still diewithin 30 days of diagnosis. But new researchhas uncovered a medical paradox which mayhold the key to better treatment and evenprevention of stroke in the future

Medical breakthrough

New treatments for

Sstroke


Dr Tyrrell continued: “We have shown in thelaboratory that the volume of damaged tissue isreduced when IL-1Ra is administered, either at thetime of the stroke or up to three hoursafterwards. This protection is present when thedrug is given directly into the cerebral ventricles,into the blood or into the tissue under the skin. Bycontrast, when IL-1 is administered directly in anexperimental model, or the body’s own IL-1 is

increased after infection, the size of the stroke isgreater and the outcome much worse.

“The effects of IL-1 are mainly due to white bloodcells migrating through the lining, or endothelium,of blood vessels in the brain. IL-1 drives migrationof a particularly harmful subset of white bloodcells into the brain and these migrated cells aretoxic to the brain’s nerve cells or neurons.”

The research team has been developing betterexperimental models of stroke that more closelymimic what happens in people. The scientistshave shown that there is more braininflammation and damage after stroke in patientswho are obese, have diabetes or a high fat diet.These inflammatory changes in the blood vesselsand in the brain are caused by IL-1 and preventedby IL-1 blockers.

The studies used advanced brain imaging scanscalled positron emission tomography (PET) toallow the team to examine animals and people atrisk of a stroke. Both showed the same changes ininflammation in the brain, suggesting thatreducing inflammation, especially the effects of IL-1, might prevent a stroke as well as reducing itsdamaging effects.

“Our parallel laboratory and clinical studies havealso shown that blocking IL-1 with IL-1Rareduces the levels of inflammation in the bloodand in the fluid bathing the brain,” said DrTyrrell. “Parallel clinical and experimental studiesare continuing in stroke, subarachnoidhaemorrhage and intracerebral haemorrhage,developing better preclinical models in which totest our hypotheses.

“We are about to start a MRC funded study of IL-1Ra in subarachnoid haemorrhage and hope toobtain funding for further definitive studies instroke. In Manchester we have a uniquecollaboration between biologists and doctors whichallows us to take findings from the lab in topatients. We have the opportunity to develop atreatment that would save lives and reduce disabilityin people with acute stroke and subarachnoidhaemorrhage as well as a better understanding ofwhat predisposes some people to stroke, with thepotential for preventative treatment.“

Derek’s storyDerek, who is featured in this article, first metBarbara at a dance in 1949. He was in hisfirst year at The University of Manchesterstudying Electrical Engineering. Barbara joinedDerek at the University the following year tostudy Physics and their relationshipdeveloped.

In 1952, during Barbara’s final year andDerek’s postgraduate studies, the couple gotengaged on the top floor of the University’sChristie building in what was the sciencereference library at the time.

The couple married in 1955 and during thecourse of a “wonderful marriage” had threechildren (all of whom became graduates).

In 1999, after a long flight at the end of around-the-world tour, Barbara had a strokethat led to her losing her memory. In theperiod to 2003, she had four more strokes,resulting in total paralysis and the completeloss of speech. Barbara passed away in 2008.


Image by: Zephyr/Science Photo Library ©

t Cambridge in 1937, the youngTuring made his name by introducingthe idea of a universal machinewhich could imitate all possiblecalculating devices, so defining

‘computability’. During the second world war, hewas recruited to Bletchley Park, joining theastonishing collection of people who cracked theGerman wartime codes. But what of Manchester,where Turing worked for more than five years?

His suicide properly attracts attention. Turing hadlived in rather isolated institutions wherehomosexual relationships were sheltered, thoughillegal. In Manchester, where the University waspart of the city, he found partners in town.When a friendship led to a burglary at hisWilmslow home, he told the police, and wascharged with gross indecency. To avoid

imprisonment, he undertook a year-longtreatment with female sex hormones. Anotheryear later, he was found dead, poisoned bycyanide, apparently taken on an apple.

The suicide tragedy should not overshadowTuring’s achievements in Manchester. Currenthistorical work at the University aims to recapturethe vigorous, multi-disciplinary intellectualenvironment in which Turing found himself. Someof the results will be on show during the summer;all will contribute to a long-term UniversityHeritage Programme now underway.

The post-war period in Manchester was an age ofshortages but also of hope. Many of the plans thathad sustained war-time morale were now beingrealised; the National Health Service is the best-remembered example, but higher education wasalso promoted. The University benefitted notably

from the skills, and sometimes the equipment,which staff brought from their war work.

Max Newman, the new Professor of PureMathematics, had taught Turing at Cambridgeand worked with him at Bletchley Park. PatrickBlackett, the head of Physics, had pioneeredmilitary ‘Operations Research’, the science ofdecision-making. Among the lecturers in physicswas Bernard Lovell, who had worked on thesecret radar project at Malvern; Lovell went on todevelop radio-astronomy at Jodrell Bank, usingwar-surplus radar equipment. Also back fromMalvern were the designers of the firstManchester computer: Frederic Williams, whoheaded the Department of Electrical Engineering,and his assistant Tom Kilburn, who directed theUniversity’s subsequent computer projects.

After Bletchley, Turing had been central to acomputer design project near London, but itstalled. By the time he arrived in Manchester, theworld’s first electronic stored-program computerwas already operating here, created by Williamsand Kilburn. Turing helped with programming,and from 1951 he worked in the annexe housinga new machine, developed with Ferranti, the local

Alan Turing

Cracking the codeAlan Turing, the brilliant computing theorist and code-breaker,worked at e University of Manchester from 1948 to his tragicdeath in 1954. e centenary of his birth on 23 June 1912 invites usto revisit his Manchester years

Alan Turing with two colleagues and the Ferranti Mark I computer in January 1951

A


engineering firm. But he was not much neededas a computer developer. Instead, he became aremarkable computer user, exploring a rangeof original problems, many of which he sharedwith Manchester colleagues.

Turing discussed growth and form with thebotanist Claude Wardlaw, a specialist in plantdevelopment, and he ran computer programsto show how regular biological structuresmight be produced in simple systems. Hetalked thermodynamics with the physicalchemists, who invited Ilya Prigogine, later aNobel laureate, to debate the emergence oforder in biological systems. When Turingclaimed that machines could think, his localopponents in a national debate included thefamous Manchester neurosurgeon, GeoffreyJefferson, and Michael Polanyi, the physicalchemist turned philosopher of science.

The tragedy of Turing’s death is underlined bythe originality of his contributions and thevitality of his context. Repressive attitudeswhich now seem so distant coincided withinsights of astonishing prescience andcontinuing relevance. The techniques anddebates of post-war Manchester helped shapeour world.

By Professor John Pickstone,Emeritus Professor, Advisor on UniversityHeritage

e University of Manchester Heritage ProgrammeThe University of Manchester Heritage Programme has been created to raise the profile of theUniversity’s remarkable histories and collections. It will help promote exhibitions and publications,lectures, guided walks and web resources. Follow its development on the University web site.

The Alan Turing Centenary Conference, 22-25 June 2012www.turing100.manchester.ac.uk

Alan Turing and Life’s Enigma, until 18 November at Manchester Museum.Combining Alan Turing’s notes with museum objects, this exhibition documents Turing’sinvestigation into how complex shapes and patterns arise in developing animals and plants.

Tel 0161 275 2634; www.manchester.ac.uk/museum

For all Turing events in Manchester see www.turingmanchester.com

Alan Turing


Radiolaria: single celled animals whose striking symmetries were predicted by Turing’s theory of morphogenesis

ow that 24 hour access to hundredsof satellite channels is taken forgranted, not to mention the internet,iPlayer and YouTube, it is almost

impossible to imagine university life without thedistraction of television.

Today’s generation of students has unlimitedopportunities to watch their favouriteprogrammes, but the early days of TV were verymuch the preserve of the privileged few.

Early BBC broadcasts of only four hours a daycame to a halt in 1939 with the advent of theSecond World War. When transmissions resumedin 1946, only 15,000 UK homes had a TV set.

But all that changed in 1953.

Suddenly, millions of people wanted to see theiryoung Queen crowned in what was to be thefirst-ever televised Coronation.

The excitement was no less at The University ofManchester where space was at a premiumaround the impromptu screens on campus.

Peter Barnes (BSc Hons Mathematics 1953) recalls:“Our graduation exams in 1953 overlapped withthe Queen's coronation and a large TV screen wasput up in the Union. It was a typical wetManchester day and we cycled in to watch beforereturning back to digs to revise for our next exam.”

The Coronation marked the real beginning ofBritain’s love affair with ‘the telly’ and by thetime commercial TV arrived in 1955 the nationwas hooked.


In the age before satellite anddigital television, when TVshows had wobbly sets andcult cartoons were classics inthe making, students jostledfor seats in the commonroom to watch favouritesincluding crossroads and e magic Roundabout

Student television

Students and television N

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However, small screen expectations of previousgenerations were rather lower than today’s.

In 1957, the new Students Union had its first TVroom installed. Bizarrely, it was cartooncharacters like Huckleberry Hound and otherHanna-Barbera creations who enthralled theundergraduates.

James Lethbridge (PhD 1962), Tutor in NeedhamHall from 1959 to 1962, recalls that the antics ofYogi Bear were a particular favourite.

“Students either rushed out from dinner in ordernot to miss an episode or hung back until the lastminute before going in. Maybe it was because hewas “smarter than the average bear!”

The rather brasher delights of ITV and itsAmerican-style quiz shows gave someundergraduates the chance to be TV stars.

Ergun Korkut (BSc Hons Textile Technology 1961,PhD 1964) hit the small screen in 1961 as acontestant in the immensely popular Double YourMoney, with the legendary presenter Hughie Green.

“I was living in digs with an elderly couple and wecould watch TV when they allowed us to jointhem in their sitting room.

“I was thrilled to be accepted as a competitor.

“You started with a pound and ‘doubled themoney’ after getting a question right. You couldwin up to £32 and go home or enter the Treasure

Trail to go up to £1,000. I won £64, doubled anddoubled again to £250.

“Sadly, when I could not answer four questions intwo minutes, I lost at the £500 stage. I gave theoriginal £32 pounds I had won to Rag Week”

Shows like Double Your Money were derided bysniffier critics who blamed ITV for lowering theintellectual tone of the nation.

Until 1964 there were only two channels, BBCand ITV, and however highbrow the programme,they were broadcast in black and white.

By 1967 the University’s first colour TV had beeninstalled in the Women’s Common Room. Cultfavourites included the Magic Roundabout,


Double your money with Hughie Green

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 2 June 1953

– a long lasting affairyogi Bear Show, 1960

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broadcast just before the BBC’s six o’clock news.Big occasions like the first moon landings and theEuropean Cup Final in 1968 – when ManchesterUnited beat Benfica – also brought in the crowds.

John Hopwood (BSc Chemical Engineering 1971)remembers “I got to the Union over an hourbefore kick-off and just about managed to findsomewhere on the floor to sit.”

In other respects, the viewing habits of 1960sstudents were a little more predictable.

David Fuller (BSc Hons Chemistry 1969) recalls“From 1966-69 I was in Needham Hall. Thehighlight of the week for this all-male residencewas the appearance of Pan’s People on Thursday'sTop of the Pops.

“Much sought after were the chairs immediatelyin front of the TV in the Junior Common Room.Needham operated two evening meal sittings, sopressure and/or bribery were regularly employedto ensure access to the best seats!”

By 1968, 15 million UK households had a TV. Butvery few undergraduates were able to afford oneand communal TV watching was a way of ekingout student grants.

Roger Knights (BSc Hons Metallurgy 1968, MSc1969, PhD 1972) recalls: “I remember that whenBBC2, and with it colour TV, started, the TV roomin the Union became very popular. This was alsothe case when I moved into Moberly Tower in mythird year.”

Soaps like Coronation Street and big-budgetserials attracted the crowds to University common rooms.

Karen Goodyear (BSc Hons Pharmacy 1978)remembers being particularly addicted to theAmerican series Rich Man Poor Man in the mid-1970s

“One of us would have to stake out the onlytelevision on Sunday evening and I seem toremember sitting through Songs of Praise to be sureto be first in there and secure the right channel.”

Other cult favourites in the 1970s and 1980sincluded Dr Who, Star Trek, Neighbours, TheYoung Ones, The Avengers, Hitchhikers Guide ToThe Galaxy and The Simpsons.

Student television

Dr Who – Tom Baker and Lalla Ward

e avengers – Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, 1960s

European Cup Final, 29 May 1968 Star trek

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And soaps could always be relied on to entertain.Allison Bucknell (BSc Hons Mathematics andManagement Sciences 1980) says: “In our day itwas Crossroads with its fragile scenery anddoddery actors and actresses, and of courseCoronation Street. We would all gather in the TellyRoom for the latest episode, and I am stillwatching it today.”

Not every student was a TV addict. Michael Taylor(BSc Hons Sociology 1988) “gave TV a completemiss” when in residence at Grosvenor House butall that changed when he moved into digs inUpper Brook Street.

“We’d all come back on a Friday night and watchthis absolutely fantastic chat show called The

Other Side Of Midnight presented by Tony Wilson.It was really anarchic and had people like KeithAllen and Oliver Reed going mental. Years later,when I got to know Tony, I was able to tell himhow much I had enjoyed it.”

With the advent of video players in the 1980s,then more sophisticated innovations like DVDsand Blu-Ray, the days of students crowdingaround a TV set were more or less consigned tohistory – though big-screen sport on satellite stillattracts the crowds.

Today’s generation may have far more TVtechnology at their disposal. But favouredprogrammes still evoke past preferences for a bitof escape from the rigours of academic life.

Current economics and finance student GiorgiaPorelli can’t afford her own TV so tunes in onher laptop.

“When I do watch a programme, it’s a prime timetelevision show, usually Desperate Housewives orTake Me Out. And recently I went to see thewonder that is The Jeremy Kyle Show at the ITVstudios in Manchester with a couple of friendswhich was very sad, but entertaining.’’


e Jeremy Kyle Show

Tony Wilson

Jimmy Saville

coronation Street

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eena Gade, who graduated fromManchester in AerospaceEngineering in 1998, has becomethe first female race engineer towin the world famous Le Mans

24-Hours, when Audi triumphed in theFrench endurance classic in June 2011.

Leena joined Audi's team in 2007, workingunder technical director Howden Haynesbefore being promoted to race engineer.

As number one race engineer shemasterminded the Audi R18 TDI's win,monitoring every aspect of the raceincluding car set up, tyre pressure, fuellevel, temperature, driver time in the carand the weather. She is also the maincontact to the driver.

Leena had wanted to be a motorsportengineer since she saw Formula One ontelevision aged 13. “I've always beeninterested in engineering. As a kid I wouldtake things apart and put them backtogether from a mechanical point of view.”

When she was 17 and trying to get workwith a Formula Three team, she was toldthat ‘mechanics 'isn't for girls' andpledged to prove them wrong. Sincethen, she tells us that working in a male-dominated world has not caused her anydifficulties and that she would nevertrade her job.

“It’s been 14 years since I graduated fromManchester but the basic engineeringskills I learned on the four year MEngcourse helped me every step of the waythrough my career from NVH at Jaguarand MIRA to Race Engineering with AudiSport. Engineering is an ever changingfield with new challenges every day and Ihad the opportunity at Manchester toexplore many different fields that havesince overlapped into my working life.Since leaving University, I have learnt somuch and had it not been for my choiceof degree, I don’t think I could haveachieved as much as this. There’s still a lotmore Le Mans races and WorldChampionships to win!”

Race Engineer Leena makes history

Alumnus Dr James Kirkland(MSc 1983) has co-led apromising study which mayhold the key to delaying theaging process. The findingswere recently published in themedical periodical, Nature.

The study, conducted at MayoClinic USA, has shown thateliminating cells thataccumulate with age (calledsenescent cells) could preventor delay the onset of age-

related disorders and disabilities.

Dr Kirkland and his team collaborated with Dr Jan vanDeursen and others to devise a way to kill all senescent cellsin genetically engineered mice. The animals would age farmore quickly than normal, and when they were given adrug, the senescent cells would die.

The researchers looked at three symptoms of old age: theformation of cataracts in the eye; the wasting away ofmuscle tissue; and the loss of fat deposits under the skin,which keep it smooth.

Researchers say the onset of these symptoms was“dramatically delayed” when the animals were treated withthe drug. And when it was given after the mice had agedsubstantially, there was an improvement in muscle function.

Dr Kirkland said: “By attacking these cells and what theyproduce, one day we may be able to break the link betweenaging mechanisms and predisposition to diseases like heartdisease, stroke, cancers and dementia… There is potentialfor a fundamental change in the way we provide treatmentfor chronic diseases in older people.”

Halting the ageing process

Jessica Knappett, (BA HonsEnglish and Drama 2007) hasrecently appeared as the leadrole of Lisa in the successfulcomedy ‘The InbetweenersMovie’, which was released inAugust 2011.

Jessica is a comedy writer andactress. As a writer, she iscurrently developing her firstsitcom pilot, DRIFTERS, withInbetweeners writers IainMorris and Damon Beesley atBwark Productions. She

recently filmed Channel 4's comedy showcase The FunctionRoom alongside Kevin Eldon and Reece Shearsmith. Jessicacomments; "I wanted to get in to Manchester because ithad a great reputation for producing comedy writers andI'm always proud to say I studied there. It used to be calledmessing around and now it's called my job, it's wonderfuland I'm very grateful."

Success for Jess

L

Alumni in the spotlight


It was recently back to Manchester for actor Rob James-Collier who appeared in more than 300 episodes ofCoronation Street and won the Sexiest Male Award at the2007 and 2008 British Soap Awards .

Since leaving Coronation Street in 2008 former UMISTmarketing student Rob James-Collier has played Thomasin ITV’s blockbuster Downton Abbey and then starredearlier this year in Love Life, a romantic comedy set andfilmed in Manchester.

His character Joe is quite different from Downton’s greedybutler: “There’s no malice to Joe, he’s just a nice guy,”says Rob.

Rob began acting in 2005 with little training after findingan acting coach in the yellow pages and going to classesone night a week – making his debut in the BBC1 dramaDown to Earth. He subsequently landed roles inShameless, Perfect Day, Casualty and Dalziel and Pascoebefore taking the role of Liam Connor in ITV’slongstanding soap Coronation Street.

TV Starring role for Rob James-Collier

Chief Executive of NorthernIreland Hospice, Judith Hill,who graduated fromManchester in 1977 with anMSc in medicine, has beenawarded the honour of aDame for her services topeople receiving palliativecare in Northern Ireland.

Dame Judith joined theHospice as Chief Executivein March 2005. Prior tothat, she held the role ofChief Nursing Officer at theDepartment of Health, Social Services and Public Safety(1995 – February 2005). During this time, she wasresponsible for leading nurse developments acrossNorthern Ireland, which included the move of nurse andmidwifery education into local universities in 1997 and theroll-out of nurse prescribing.

n November 2011, Manchestergraduate Muhammad ZamzamFauzanafi received the President'sCommittee 2011 National Arts andHumanities Youth Program Award

from US First Lady, Michelle Obama.

This prestigious award is given toorganisations with creative after-schoolprogrammes for teenagers. The award wasin recognition of Kampung Halaman, anon-profit youth media organisation co-founded by Zamzam.

Zamzam received his master's degree inVisual Anthropology from Manchester in2006. A few months later, he foundedKampung Halaman (‘Home Town’ inEnglish) to promote the use of audio-visualmedia through community basedprogrammes, particularly targetingmarginalised youth in rural and urban areas

in order to further their goal of a bettersociety. “We help young people make theirown media so they can learn how it affectsthem. Their voice is rarely heard bymainstream media, so they need to maketheir own,” says Zamzam.

“My training in Visual Anthropology at TheUniversity of Manchester gave me anexcellent grounding in this field and hasbeen really helpful in my developing the‘video community’ programme withKampung Halaman.”

Zamzam receivesaward fromMichelle Obama

riters Sam Bain (BA Hons 1993)and Jesse Armstrong (BA Hons1994) who shared a housewhile studying here atManchester won the ‘Best New

Comedy' award at the Channel 4 BritishComedy Awards 2011 for their comedy dramaseries, Fresh Meat.

Fresh Meat follows the lives of six studentfreshers at the fictional Manchester MedlockUniversity and was broadcast in September2011. The programme was filmed at TheSharp Project in Manchester, a recently built£16.5 million studio facility designed to fill thevoid when Granada Studios closes in 2013.

The writing partners are best known for theChannel 4 British sitcom Peep Show (broadcast from 2003-2010). They met at University,Sam studied English and Philosophy and Jesse American Studies.

On why they chose Manchester for the setting of their new sitcom Sam said: “Manchesterwas a great place for us to set it because you find an interesting mix of people; a greatclash of backgrounds. For instance I went to public school in London and Jesse went to acomprehensive in Shropshire so we had our own stories to tell.”

When reminiscing about Manchester student experiences Sam said: "I remember gettingthe Fresher's Pack including Toast Toppers that was a highlight. Also being press gangedinto joining Nat West." Sam also had some fond memories of life in student digs. He said:“We put rubbish in the backyard rather than the bins for a whole term – you can onlyimagine the smell when we came back.”

The second series of Fresh Meat is set to be broadcast in September 2012.

‘Best new comedy’ award

I

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Congratulations Dame Judith!

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t is 38 years since Sir Terry Leahy arrived atthe then UMIST to study ManagementSciences and despite a subsequent retail-conquering career as Chief Executive ofTesco – not to mention the knighthood –

his links with The University of Manchester arestronger than ever.

It would have been difficult during his years oncampus for the young Terry to foresee the futurethat awaited him as boss of the grocery giant.

“Manchester really made me a businessperson,”says Liverpool-born Sir Terry. “I had no businessbackground in my family and no idea what I wasgoing to do. I came to Manchester to study adegree in management and that taught meeverything about business and helped me tobecome successful.

“But it was more than that – it was coming to acity with its tradition of business and its great

record of people who’ve left and gone on to dowell in business. It gave me the confidence tocome here and do well too.”

And ‘do well’ he did, graduating with a BSc(Hons) in 1977 and joining Tesco two years lateras a marketing executive. Throughout the 1980s,he charted a steady rise through thesupermarket’s ranks, from marketing manager to commercial director, before joining the Tesco board in 1992 and becoming ChiefExecutive in 1997.

As an indication of how pivotal his input was tothe company, more than $750 million was wipedoff Tesco’s market value when, in March 2011, hisretirement was announced.

Any extra time Sir Terry now has is wisely invested.He is a former co-chancellor of the University andgives regular talks to students at ManchesterBusiness School (MBS).

Former Tesco boss Sir TerryLeahy is committed toturning the green movementinto a mass movement forchange

Sir Terry Leahy

IA changing climate

Sir Terry Leahy

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Last October, he delivered the prestigiousFoundation Day Lecture commemorating theQueen’s inauguration of the University, in theprocess becoming the first non-academic to givethe address. For his theme, he chose a subjectincreasingly close to his heart: the role ofconsumers in the ‘green consumption’ revolution.

Describing climate change as “perhaps thegreatest challenge facing our world,” Sir Terrybelieves that mobilising the power of consumerscan be a powerful force for environmental good.

“In the end, it is these billions of individual smalleveryday decisions which will add up to the bigchanges required,” he explains. “And they arealso key to driving the government and businessaction we need.”

During his address, he warned that if globaltemperatures rise just 2 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels – and we are already halfwaytowards that scenario – the climate could bealtered permanently and uncontrollably. Only onemeasure potentially safeguards against this, andthat is ensuring greenhouse gas emissions peakno later than 2020 and are halved within thesubsequent 30 years.

Unfortunately, two factors continue to drive upglobal gas emissions year after year – an increasein population and a tandem rise in consumption.Sir Terry’s vision is to turn this concept on its headand use consumer purchasing power to drive amore sustainable world.

“If, for example, everyone switched to usingconcentrated or compacted laundry products, thatalone would save almost 4.5 million tonnes ofCO2,” he says. “That’s the same as taking onemillion cars off the road – from just one productout of thousands.”

It is little wonder, given his personal interest in thesubject, that Sir Terry is chairman of theUniversity’s Sustainable Consumption Institute(SCI). It was Tesco which, five years ago, fundedthe foundation of the Institute to the tune of £25million, after a hard-fought competitive bidprocess. Since then, the SCI has explored ways ofhelping households, businesses and governmentsslash their carbon footprint.

Drawing from a range of disciplines, the SCIunites the foremost scientists, academics andresearchers to analyse customer data and exploitindustry links, in the process devising strategies for

combating climate change right across the supplychain, from growers to shoppers.

“There is plenty of evidence that in environmentalterms consumer understanding is running aheadof government understanding,” says Sir Terry.“Consumers see climate change not just in termsof a threat to our planet and way of life, butdirectly related to their children and grandchildren.They want to do something to stop it.”

His ongoing support for MBS was honoured inJanuary with the unveiling on-site of a portraitpainted by renowned north-west artist StephenAshurst. The gesture recognises the fact that SirTerry’s passion for the University – and for theenvironment – is unwavering.

Because despite the doom and gloom we oftenread in the media, he believes there is somejustification for green optimism.

“Change, if it goes with the grain of what peoplewant, can come amazingly quickly,” he says. “Iam confident that if we work together we willturn the green movement into a mass movement.And I am absolutely sure that this great seat oflearning and innovation will remain at the heart ofthis vital work.”

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Outstanding AlumniAwards are presentedto people who haveachieved distinctionwithin their profession.

They may have provided exemplaryservice to the University, or madean outstanding contribution of apersonal humanitarian nature.

Every year, the University recognisesthe achievements of its formerstudents with outstanding alumniawards and in 2011 five awardswere presented to distinguishedalumni.

Linda Norgrove PhD Development Administrationand Management 2003

For the first time, the Universitymade an outstanding alumni awardposthumously, to Scottishdevelopment worker LindaNorgrove who was kidnapped andkilled in Afghanistan on 8 October2010, aged 36.

Linda had completed a PhD at theUniversity’s Institute forDevelopment Policy andManagement between 1999 and

2003 under the supervision ofProfessor David Hulme. She waswell known for her academicwork, her support for friends andcolleagues and her love andcommitment to Afghanistan andits people.

Linda worked in various countriesincluding Mexico, Uganda (whereshe researched how national parkmanagement affected theindigenous population aroundMount Elgon National Park), Peruwhere she worked for the WorldWildlife Fund, then for the UN inAfghanistan and for UNEP in Laos.While working in Laos, she spentthree weeks of her annual leavetrekking with friends to theWakhan Corridor, in the extremenorth-east of Afghanistan, andthen through the Pamir mountainsshowing her love of Afghanistanand its people.

She returned to Afghanistan towork in February 2010 and becameregional director of the American-based Development Alternatives Inc(DAI). Based in Jalalabad, she wasin charge of a five-year,

$94 million, aid project in unstableareas of eastern Afghanistan.

She worked with more than 200Afghan professionals buildingroads, bridges and markets,installing small-scale hydroelectricsystems, improving agriculture andencouraging local businesses toproduce textiles, honey, talc andmarble. She taught herself to speakDari (an Afghan version of Persian),to help her to talk to the locals.

Her posthumous OutstandingAlumni Award was collected at theUniversity by her parents, John andLorna, at a private ceremony, whichtook place on 20 October 2011. Itwas attended by some of herformer classmates and lecturers andrepresentatives of the AlumniAssociation including the Chair,Janine Watson.

Linda’s parents have set up theLinda Norgrove Foundation(www.lindanorgrovefoundation.org) in her memorywith the aim of carrying on herwork in the country she waspassionate about. So far, they haveraised more than £300,000,funding a multitude of smallprojects with guidance and supportfrom DAI.

John Norgrove said: “Linda'skidnapping and subsequent deathhave been extremely difficult tocome to terms with. From theoutset, we were determined toavoid the road of blame culture

and compensation, and to try toensure that something positivemight come out of the tragedy.

“The charity that we set up inLinda's name to help women andchildren affected by the war inAfghanistan has gone fromstrength to strength. It has kept usbusy in a positive way and it hasbeen great to see good work beingachieved on the ground inAfghanistan. We have been keento support small projects which wecan easily monitor and of a scalethat donors can identify with.”

Her former PhD supervisor,Professor Hulme said: “Linda washighly regarded by her Afghani andexpatriate colleagues – she had theanalytical and practical skills to getthings done in the most difficult ofenvironments.

“She was one of the few people inthe world to have the values andskills to help improve livingstandards in such difficult contextsand fully understood howdangerous this work was.”

Standing outfrom the crowd

Outstanding Alumni Awards

At the time of going to press,nominations for 2012Outstanding Alumni Awards havebeen received and are underconsideration. If you have anysuggestions for future recipientsplease submit these by email to [email protected] or by telephone on +44 (0)161 306 3066.

Special alumni receive awards from the University

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Linda’s parents Lorna and John Dr Linda Norgrove


Dr Keith Ridge PhD Pharmacy 1998ChiefPharmaceuticalOfficer,Department ofHealth

Keith helped toestablish therespected NationalInstitute for Healthand ClinicalExcellence as well asserving as ChiefPharmacist for NHShospital services inNorth Glasgow. Heled the developmentof both a landmark

White Paper for pharmacy across England, and theestablishment of a new professional regulator for pharmacy,the General Pharmaceutical Council. He is currently leading aprogramme to reform pharmacy education and careers. He hasbeen the driving force behind the ‘healthy living’ pharmacyand public health concept now being piloted across England,and has contributed at a senior level to UK planning processesfor pandemic and seasonal influenza.

Mr Vincent Chan MBA 1988CEO and Co-Founder, Spring Capital Asia Ltd

Vincent has 19 years of experience in private equity, and has made over 40 investments in growth companies in China since he began investing there 17 years ago. Vincent was previously a Managing Director and an InvestmentCommittee Member of JAFCO Asia, serving as the co-head of the Asian privateequity funds. Prior to JAFCO Asia, he was a private equity investor with SuezAsia and HSBC Private Equity (Asia) based in Hong Kong.

Vincent was named a Top 10 Venture Capitalist in China by Zero2IPO in 2002,2003, 2004 and 2006. He was also selected as one of the tenth “MostInfluential Venture Capitalists in China” by Top Capital in 2005 and one of the“China Best Venture Capitalists: Midas List” by Forbes Magazine in for fouryears running from 2006 to 2009.

Mr Timothy Sear BA Commerce 1960Former President and Chief Executive Officer, Alcon Laboratories Inc

Tim has pursued a highly successful career in the pharmaceutical industry formore than 50 years. This culminated in his appointment as President and CEOof Alcon Inc, a leading ophthalmic company.

He joined Alcon International in 1971, as area VP for Australasia and the FarEast. His success in helping Alcon penetrate the Japanese market saw himrelocate to Texas, going on to become Alcon’s President and CEO. He retiredfrom Alcon in 2004, but still fondly remembers ringing the bell at the New YorkStock Exchange on the day of Alcon’s successful IPO in 2002.

A vocal advocate of education for all, Tim and wife Judith support theUniversity from their Texan home. They are active members and majorcontributors to NAFUM, the North American Foundation for The University ofManchester. Their financial backing has helped several students from thedeveloping world study in Manchester via Equity and Merit scholarships.

Professor Anthony C Jones PhD 1979, BSc Hons Chemistry 1976 Professor, Department of Chemistry and Surface ScienceResearch Centre, University of Liverpool

Tony is an expert in the chemical technologies which lie behindthe electronics and visual displays of many modern devices –from traffic lights to computers, and LEDs to back-lit televisions.Now a research professor with the University of Liverpool, wherehe has helped to develop chemicals used worldwide in themicroelectronics industry, he is intent on inspiring the scientistsof tomorrow with his passion and commitment to science.

Dr Keith Ridge

Vice-President and Dean Professor ColinBailey with Professor Anthony Jones

Vice Chancellor Professor DameNancy Rothwell with Timothy Searand Professor Fiona Devine

Director of Development, Chris Cox andDirector of Manchester Business School,Professor Michael Luger with Vincent Chan

Your Manchester Insights LondonThe October 2011 annual London Lecture entitled ‘The Global Energy Crisis:Addressing the Major Energy Challenges of the 21st Century’ took place atthe Royal Overseas League. The event took the form of a panel discussionwith four of the mostinformed experts on energyincluding Professor ColinBailey, Dean of the Faculty ofEngineering and PhysicalSciences; Professor AndrewSherry, Director of the DaltonNuclear Institute; Professor IanCotton, Academic Coordinatorfor Manchester Energy; andJohn MacArthur, VP of CO2Policy at Shell.


Alumni news

Events updateJoin our many former students who attend an alumni event in the UK oroverseas each year. To keep yourself informed about the latest events, registerfor the exclusive alumni community websitewww.manchester.ac.uk/yourmanchester and make sure that your details areupdated regularly.

Here we highlight just some of the many events which have recently taken place. London dinnerhosted by ourChancellorThe 2011 London Alumni Dinner washeld at the prestigious Inner Temple.Hosted by Chancellor Dr TomBloxham (BA Hons Politics andModern History 1986).

Online Australia reunionOn 25 November 2011 over 60 Australian alumni overcame vastgeographical distances by joining in a Skype chat.

Alumni Association (Hong Kong)In October 2011, the UMAA(HK) officially registered and they held their firstmeeting on 14 October to elect their members. They enjoyed their firstevent at the Royal Yacht Club on 18 November. They celebrated the end of2011 with a party on 30 December in the Penthouse Sky Lounge inCauseway Bay. In February 2012, they hiked to the Tin Hau Temple in JossHouse Bay for lunch, sightseeing and afternoon tea. Visit their website formore details or to become a member https://sites.google.com/site/umaahongkong/home.

Alumni reception in TorontoIn November 2011, over 50 alumni and guests gathered in a suite on the46th Floor of Toronto’s newest skyscraper, the Bay Adelaide Centre, toreminisce about their time at Manchester and meet fellow alumni.

Equity and Merit scholar, ToufiqHasan with Dr Tom Bloxham


Since June last year we have been tweeting about the University and ouralumni. We’ve been having really good conversations with alumni and otherTwitter users and so far, 550 of you have become followers. It is the quickestway to get up-to the minute news about what is going on in the Universityand our alumni events programme. It’s also an easy way for you to reach youralumni community. If you have questions to put to our followers, just get intouch and we’ll tweet it. If you already use Twitter, tweet at us and we’llretweet for you.

But what is Twitter and why should you use it?Twitter is a social networking and short message service which communicatesthrough the internet – it allows users to send and read short text messages ofup to 140 characters long called ‘tweets’. The format is similar to a textmessage on a mobile phone but what you tweet is visible to anyone who‘follows’ your Twitter feed. You can direct messages directly to other Twitterusers, or just broadcast your thoughts to the ‘twittersphere’.

Why use it?

Dip your toe into social mediaTwitter is one of the first social media platforms we have adopted – why? It islow maintenance, your twitter following grows organically and by word ofmouth and it gives you an uncomplicated, short but sweet introduction tohow to use social media. It will also show you what people are talking about.

Quick, human interaction with our alumniYou can ask fellow alumni questions and get a load of instant responses. Youcan post a photograph of your Hall’s football team and ask if anyoneremembers the name of the man second from the right; you can ask thepeople who graduated in your subject if they know of opportunities in yoursector or ask postgraduate alumni about a course you are interested in.

Find out news firstTwitter doesn’t wait for the 6pm news or for going to press – news carriesthrough Twitter across the world instantly and generates conversation aboutevents as they happen. You won’t have to wait for your eNewsletter to findout what we are doing, we will tweet about new events registrations andopportunities as soon as they are ready. More and more news stories arebreaking through Twitter now too, like the discovery of ice on Mars or theaeroplane which crashed into the Hudson River.

Share what you care aboutIt’s an instant way to share links to websites or photos you’ve taken on thehoof with hundreds of fellow Twitter users. The web addresses you share areautomatically shortened to help keep you under the character limit. If youwant to promote your favourite charity, Twitter helps you direct people to thegood causes you care most about.

Keep in touchOther people’s Twitter feeds tell you what they are doing as they are doing it –you can keep up with your friend’s activity without being intrusive; you justhave to follow their Twitter feeds. If you want to vet your followers, you canchoose to approve every follower request which comes through before theysee what you are tweeting about.

Follow us on Twitter @alumniuom

Your Manchester Insights on campusIn March 2012 alumniheard from DrMelanie Giles and herteam ofarchaeologists aboutan ambitious dig inWhitworth Park andhow it worked tobring the Universitycloser to the localcommunity.

LA reception with Dame Barbara HayIn Los Angeles in August 2011, Her Majesty’s Consul-General, DameBarbara Hay, hosted a reception in the breathtaking grounds of the Consul-General's residence in Hancock Park. Dame Nancy highlighted many of theUniversity’s accomplishments and Tony Thornley, President of the NorthAmerican Foundation for The University of Manchester, also spoke on theimportance of alumni staying involved and supporting the University.

Summer picnic at Jodrell BankIn September 2011, an end of Summer picnic took place at Jodrell Bank tohighlight the new Discovery Centre.

Alumni news

Outstanding award for alumna Ann Johnson

nn worked as a lectureruntil 2006 when sheretired on ill healthgrounds at the age of 53

with early onset Alzheimer’s.

She works as a patient educator toraise the understanding of how tobest support sufferers of Alzheimer’sand aims to influence governmentpolicy. In March 2010, she wasinvited to the House of Commons torepresent sufferers at the launch ofthe National Dementia Campaign.

Nominator and fellow alumna DameBetty Kershaw (Diploma Nursing1975) says: “Ann uses her teachingskills to talk about her experience, tothink positively and to share whatshe can still enjoy with others. She isa role model; perhaps even a beaconof hope.”

In second place in the alumnicategory was Amy Lythgoe, (BArchArchitecture), founder of the charityRefugee Welcome Trust whichprovides grants to bring to the UK thedependants of refugees who havebeen granted permanent residence.

In third place was Keith Mills (MEdSpecial Education), founder andpresident of a charity which workswith disadvantaged children inUganda and has overseen thesponsorship programme of 75primary school children.

The University aims to encouragegreater social responsibility and oneway it recognises and celebrates thecommunity activity of its members isthrough the Social Responsibility andVolunteer of the Year Awards.Awards are given in three categories;Alumni Volunteers of the Year, StaffVolunteer of the Year and StudentVolunteer of the Year. The overallwinner in each category receives acheque, made out to theorganisation that they support: £300for the overall winner, and £200 and£100 for the 2nd and 3rd placerunners up. In addition the overallwinner in each category is putforward for the University SocialResponsibility Award.

University welcomes ClaireThe University welcomes Claire Kilner as thenew Head of Alumni and DonorCommunications and Engagement, as shetook up her position at the beginning ofMarch 2012.

Claire is a graduate of the University ofSheffield (BSc Hons Anatomy and CellBiology 1995, MA Journalism Studies1997). She joined us from the University ofNottingham where she was in post as Headof Alumni Relations for just over two years.On her new role Claire comments, “I amthrilled to be joining The University ofManchester and look forward to meetingand working with many alumni over thecoming months and years.”

Ann Johnson with Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell


Ann Johnson (BANursing 1991) haswon the University’s2011 Volunteer ofthe Year Award inthe alumni category.

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The Division of Development and Alumni Relations (DDAR) at the University is expanding to reflect the growing importance that the University attaches toits connections with alumni and donors. There have been a number of key appointments over the past few months and there have also been a number ofchanges to roles amongst the longer serving members of the team. For more information visit www.manchester.ac.uk/yourmanchester


Exceptional award for former Chair of the Alumni Association

ndrew was Chairman ofthe newly constitutedUniversity of ManchesterAlumni Association from2005 until 2011. Janine

Watson is now current Chair of theAlumni Association.

In his role Andrew was a strong,highly visible and active networkerfor the University and its alumni. Hehas had a variety of constitutionalresponsibilities including chairingthe Alumni Association AdvisoryBoard. He also chaired each of theAssociation’s Annual GeneralMeetings where all alumni aregiven the opportunity to raisebusiness with the University. Inaddition, he chaired the Your

Manchester Fund steering group,overseeing many grants to projectswhich benefit students on campus.He has also been involved in theOpportunity Manchester fundwhich supports students from areasof Manchester where there istraditionally a low participation ratein Higher Education.

Andrew was one of two people toreceive the 2011 award, with theother award going to Kay Hinckley, aphilanthropist whose role as the firstpatron of scientific Egyptologyenabled the University to establishthe KNH Centre for BiomedicalEgyptology, which opened in 2003 inthe Faculty of Life Sciences.

Our expanding DDAR team

Former chair of the Alumni AssociationAndrew Spinoza has been awarded e University of Manchester Medal ofHonour for his exceptional contribution to the work of the University.

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2012 sees the biggest change to higher education funding in a generation.Increases in undergraduate tuition fees could mean that many of the mostgifted students feel they cannot afford a world class Manchester education.The University is delighted that so many alumni share the view that lack offinance should not affect decisions about whether to continue with highereducation. Without the support of an alumni-funded scholarship, manystudents have said they would be unlikely to continue on to highereducation, despite their keen academic aspirations.

The Opportunity Manchester Scholarship was established in 2007, andawards are made to students from the Greater Manchester area who haveproved their academic talent through exceptional A-level results, andoutstanding performance at pre-University summer schools, workshops andacademic assignments.

There are currently 361 students benefitting from an OpportunityManchester Scholarship. Luke Monaghan (pictured above), who is studyingfor a degree in Mathematics, is really grateful to receive the alumni-fundedScholarship. Luke said: “You have given me the confidence to go for it inlife and made it so much easier for me to believe I can get into a superbcareer that I could only have dreamed of as a child. I am from a family of 17 and I am definitely the luckiest to be awarded this support in the formof a scholarship. Thank you ever so much.”

Your Manchester Fund

e University’s alumni andfriends make a tremendousdifference to the lives ofthousands of currentManchester studentsthroughout the year. roughgenerous gis to YourManchester Fund, our alumniand friends provide significantsupport for talent basedscholarships and world classresearch programmes whichcreate invaluable opportunitiesfor outstanding Manchesterstudents

Opportunity ManchesterBridging Hardship awards are made to students who hit unforeseenfinancial difficulties, either through loss of personal income, that of asponsor, or other genuinely unpredictable causes, which threaten to endtheir academic career prematurely.

Donations towards Bridging Hardship awards have a direct, positiveimpact on these students and put them back on track to academicsuccess as this student explained after a series of personal problemsthreatened to overwhelm him: “I felt absolutely helpless as I was in themiddle of a very challenging degree and my visa would only allow me towork part-time in the UK. My student loan from my home country wasonly enough to cover the first instalment of my annual tuition fee. I wasleft with no choice but to either leave university, or to start looking fororganisations that would assist financially. I applied to countlessorganisations but most of them turned me down because I was a foreignstudent. I was certain that after completing 2.5 years of my 3 year degreeI would have to drop out.

“When I got news from the Bridging Hardship Fund that my applicationwas successful I was completely shocked. I could not believe people werewilling to financially assist students they didn't even know. Thanks to yourkind donations, my life is back on track. I managed to achieve a 2:1 onmy degree and I'm on my way to becoming a lawyer.”

Bridging Hardship

Dreams that come true

Your Manchester Fund also provides muchneeded funding for three further vital student-focused areas:

Global Outreach provides Equity and MeritScholarships for students from developingcountries such as Uganda, Rwanda andBangladesh;

Learning Enrichment Awards, providingfunding for projects across campus which enrich the academic experience for the wholestudent body;

Research Impact Scholarships supportpromising research students as they embark onPhD programmes aiming to tackle some of themost pressing global issues we face today – fromcancer studies to reducing our carbon footprint.

For more information on the areas supported byYour Manchester Fund visit:www.manchester.ac.uk/yourmanchesterfund

How can you help?

Right now, alumni support for The University ofManchester is absolutely critical. Cuts to highereducation funding have resulted in new challengesfor the University – you can help us meet thesechallenges and ensure Manchester continues to beaccessible for the most talented students.

If 14 alumni give £5 per month, topped up by25% extra funding from the government in GiftAid*, we can provide an additional OpportunityManchester Scholarship, worth £1,000 to atalented undergraduate student from GreaterManchester.

OR

If 11 alumni give £11 per month, topped up by25% extra funding from the government in GiftAid*, we can cover the costs of an averageBridging Hardship Award, worth £1,717 to astudent in unforeseen financial need.

Please show your support for Manchester studentstoday – complete and return the donation formenclosed now! Alternatively, you can make a giftonline at www.manchester.ac.uk/donate

*If you are a UK tax payer, we can claim back25% in tax relief on the value of your gift at nocost to you. For more information about Gift Aid,go to www.hmrc.gov.uk/individuals/giving

Together we’re shapingthe world of tomorrow

Fund

Your ManchesterFund

All recipients of Opportunity Manchester Scholarships are grateful for alumni support


Student callers

Each year, a team of around 35 enthusiastic Manchester studentsmakes thousands of telephone calls to engage with members of thealumni community. e telephone campaign is an eagerly anticipatedopen dialogue between alumni and the University

s proud representatives ofthe University our studentcallers relish the opportunityto speak with alumni andenjoy sharing the news on

campus developments, groundbreakingresearch and the University’s recentsuccesses. Alumni are given the chanceto share their personal experiences ofbeing a student at Manchester and talkabout how their degrees have shapedtheir lives. It is also a perfectopportunity for us to hear feedback onthe alumni service we provide. Studentcalling is a rich and worthwhileexperience – finding out about how theUniversity has changed and learningfrom alumni who generously impartsome of their knowledge.

During the telephone campaign over athousand alumni and friends supportedthe University through donations,helping us to provide the very bestfacilities and support for our studentsand researchers.

Thanks to the money generatedthrough the telephone campaignalumna Jayne Charnock (PhD Medicine

2010, BSc Hons Anatomical Sciencewith Industrial Experience 2006) is aformer recipient of the Research ImpactScholarship. Now she is a member ofthe University’s Alumni AssociationAdvisory Board and in her new officialcapacity she and other members of theAdvisory Board recently visited thestudents during their telephonecampaign. Jayne comments “What afantastic and impressive experience itwas to visit the Your Manchester Fundcentre! Even as a former recipient Iwasn’t fully aware of how the processhappened and it was so exciting toexperience the buzz of the campaign! Iparticularly thought that thepersonalised postcards, written by thestudents for the donors, is excellent andI’m now fearful that when I finallyreceive a call myself I’ll end up handingover my life-savings – they were thatgood!”

Your Manchester catches up with someof our student callers finding out whythey are so passionate about thetelephone campaign.

Calling all alumni!

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Chairman of e University of Manchester Alumni Association Janine Watson (r) and Advisory Board MemberJayne Charnock (l) speaking to student caller Catherine Havers, following a telephone call to one of our alumni


Conor Rose

Georgia Vesma, BA History of Art said she hadlearned a lot from speaking to alumni: “I learned thatthe University helped evacuate children to Canadaduring WWII, that Psychology used to be an artsdegree not a science, that technological advancementshave enabled our alumni to survive brain aneurysms,and that you can always rely on a vicar.

“Your Manchester Fund does incredible work inmaking the University more accessible, moresuccessful and more democratic. If you get a call,give the student caller a chance – if nothing else,you’ll be guaranteed an interesting conversation andyou might just discover a reason to give!”

Andy Partington, MSc OrganisationalPsychology, said there had always been a traditionof alumni giving, but now it was more importantthan ever: ‘All donations have and will continue tohave a massive impact on the lives of our current andfuture students.”

Wuraola Ladejobi, MBus Global BusinessAnalysis pointed to the future of highereducation: “Not only are you helping studentsto experience a life changing Manchestereducation, you are helping future doctors,engineers, entrepreneurs and politicians, toname a few. If you give you will help a studentachieve their dream and give back to society.

“You can donate for less than a price of a cupof coffee per month and it will make amassive difference. We are changing livestogether and educating future leaders.”

Lisa Mukubvu, BA Politics, Philosophy and Economics (pictured above) explained whyshe applied to be a student caller: “I am currently in my final year and I wanted theopportunity to speak to graduates and find out about their careers.

“I have been humbled by the overwhelming support alumni are willing to provide for currentstudents, both financially and in terms of mentoring and career development.”


Francesca Rooney, MSc Operations, Project andSupply Chain Managementhas really enjoyed her chats withalumni “Conversations haveranged from being invited roundfor a cup of tea, being convincedto move to California (on thebasis of the weather and a datewith a single attractive son) andhearing tales of how people mettheir future husband or wife atMBS. The conversation that stoodout for me, was talking to agentleman who was trained bymy grandfather to fly in the RoyalAir Force!”

Mo Yin Kwok


Following a successfulcareer in engineeringGeorge Rigg wanted togive something back toManchester

ublic interest in physics ingeneral, and at Manchesterin particular, has increasedsignificantly in recent yearsthanks to the success of the

primetime BBC astronomy showStargazing Live – broadcast from ourvery own Jodrell Bank Observatory –and to the high profile discovery ofthe wonder material graphenewhich earned two of our physicists aNobel Prize in 2010 (see page 8).

Alumni support for students andresearchers allows us to continuepushing scientific boundaries in thepursuit of knowledge and discovery.George Rigg is an active member ofthe University’s North AmericanFoundation who began hisprofessional career designing missileguidance systems and later was partof the US space programmedeveloping process control andground equipment computers.

George, a BSc Science graduate, isfunding a postdoctoral researchfellowship in particle physics. Herecalls his time studying inManchester fondly, apart from theweather: “My memories are of greyclouds, cold rain, more rain andwarm people, teamed with a strong

sense of being part of an historic,exciting and great university.”

George adds: “I remember a lecturerin a physics class who brought in atape recorder, asked for silencewhile demonstrating two ‘pings’eight minutes apart, and said: “Thatwas the first radar echo fromVenus.” It inspired me, and gave mea lifelong interest in, and occasionalcontribution to, various spaceexploration programmes.”

The current recipient of George’sgenerous support is postdoctoralresearcher Terrance Figy, whoseresearch focuses on creatingprogrammes investigating theelusive Higgs boson particle at theinternationally renowned LargeHadron Collider (LHC) at CERN,Geneva. The Higgs boson isimportant in the scientific world asmany scientists believe that it isresponsible for giving mass to allknown particles, but it is elusivebecause it requires a considerableamount of energy to be created andtherefore is believed only to be ableto exist for a fraction of a second.

Terrance said: “This year could bevery exciting, if the existence of theHiggs boson is established by

experimentalists at CERN. ThisFellowship has an enormous impact.It provides the necessary support forme to connect with high energyphysics groups from around theworld. Hopefully in the future,science will have the support ofmore people like George Rigg.”

George’s main motivation to supportpostgraduate research comes from hisstrong pride in, and warm affectionfor, the University. He said: “Withretirement has come an activeinvolvement in NAFUM and renewedcontact with the University. This in turnhas reinforced my wish to ‘give back’in a structured and productive way.”

Alumni giving is more importantthan ever in the current climate headds. “It seems that human progressis heading into an era of ever fasterchange, far higher complexity,explosively growing communicationand greater danger. In straightenedfinancial times across all sectorsthere is inevitably pressure onfunding for breakthrough research,and for student access touniversities, so there is a growingneed for increased alumni supportof the universities that launched, oraccelerated, their careers.”

Development

George’s gift

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Image courtesy of C

ERN ©

George Rigg


ledging a will gift to the University ofManchester is a spectacular statementwhich allows you to support an aspect ofthe University which is important to you,perhaps as part of your longer term

philanthropic plans. Alumni often consider this ifthey are unable to support the University now butwould like to know that, in time, their gift willhave a huge impact on the University, its students,researchers and activities.

By including The University of Manchester amongother commitments in your will you can make adifference in ways that you probably neverimagined – assisting students, supporting cutting-edge research into cancer or dementia, helping toadvance new discoveries in science andengineering, helping to solve some of the majorsocial, economic or environmental problems to thebenefit of our global society.

Mr Francis Henstock (LLB Hons 1954) provideda gift to in his will to further the University’swork in connection with Parkinson’s disease and

related disorders. The gift has contributed to twoinnovative research projects which aim toimprove our understanding of two differentaspects of the condition: the underlyingneurophysiological processes of swallowingdisorders, which are extremely common inpeople with Parkinson’s disease, andinvestigating certain cognitive processes in thebrains of Parkinson’s sufferers.

You may have been inspired by the University’steaching or research, or you may want to celebratehow the University has influenced your life orcareer, or that of someone close to you. You mayhave received a Scholarship or perhaps you didn’thave to pay tuition fees yourself and would like toensure a current student has the sameopportunities that you had.

Miss Jean Blackwood (BA Hons French Studies1953) made a gift to the School of Languages,Linguistics and Cultures to further its links withEurope. Thanks to this gift, ten awards are nowavailable to undergraduate students who are

spending an extended period abroad in Europe toundertake a project that will enhance theiremployment prospects. Miss Blackwood’s gift hasalso enabled the School to invite visitors fromEuropean countries to interact with undergraduatelanguage students. This has greatly enhanced theirability to communicate in their chosen language.

Whatever your reason, a gift in your will, no matterhow small or large, can help the University maintainand enhance high standards in teaching, research,and scholarly enquiry, for future generations.

If you are considering – or have decided toremember the University among your othercommitments in your will – we thank you mostsincerely and are keen to acknowledge yourgenerosity. We would encourage you to share yourplans with us if you feel able to do so to ensurethat the University can meet your wishes in full forthe long-term future.

For further information please contact: LouiseWardle, Legacies Manager, tel: 0161 275 7230,email: [email protected]

ey might be dramatists or dentists but whatever their interests, the University is greatly helped bythe generosity of alumni who have supported Manchester through a bequest or gi in their will

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your manchester, your Legacy

Legacy

M002 05.12 The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL Royal Charter Number RC000797

There are lots of other ways to enjoy Your Manchester Extras – a package of over 40 special discounts and offers for Manchester alumni. Don't miss out!Sign up now at www.manchester.ac.uk/yourmanchester

All Manchester alumni are nowentitled to free remote access to many academic eJournals via JSTOR

JSTOR has more than a thousand academic journalsand over a million images, letters, and other primarysources and is used by millions for research, teachingand learning. We are currently running a pilot foralumni access to this resource until the end of July2013 and it is available to use now. Alumni can accessthe service through Your Manchester Online (you willneed to be a registered YMO user and log in first). Go to: www.manchester.ac.uk/yourmanchester

Free alumni access to online journals

Your Manchester Extras

Photo of Joule Library, Sackville Street Building by: Louis Sinclair ©

Your Manchester 2012

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