On this page First Author* brings you details of events in the Oxford scientific community, whether alerting our readers to upcoming events of interest or reporting on past events and scientific breakthroughs. The university's RSS feed and links to other websites of local interest are also provided. Information is divided into upcoming events, coverage of past events, Oxford news items, and links. All updates are arranged within section by month. Follow the links on the right hand side of this page to view updates.
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*06/03/07, 5 pm: Somerville College: Annual Dorothy Hodgkin Lecture
Professor Jenny Martin, Principal Research Fellow, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland: The name's Bond.....Disulfide Bond. Disulfide bond catalysts and their role in bacterial virulence and sex manipulation
The lecture is named in honour of Professor Dorothy Hodgkin, a Somervillian and the only British woman to win a Nobel Prize for chemistry. The lecture is timed to coincide with the International Women's Festival which is organised by the Association of Women in Science and Engineering (AWiSE).
Venue & time: Lecture Theatre, University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW, 5 pm. Followed by a drinks reception.
*14/02/07 - 28/02/07, 3 - 5 pm: The Future of the Internet (lecture series) Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation of the Oxford Internet Institute, will host a series of lectures in the OII seminar room. The lectures will explore the Internet's history, present, and future, with an emphasis on how easily it can be regulated by sovereigns and private actors around the world.
The series will continue in Trinity Term (dates tbd).
*06/02/07, 5 pm: The 2007 GlaxoSmithKline Lecture will be given by Professor Sir Ravinder Maini, Emeritus Professor of Rheumatology, Imperial College. The title is Lessons learnt in taking successful anti-TNF biological therapy from the bench to the clinic. The lecture will be held on 6th February 2007, at 5pm, in the Medical Sciences Teaching Centre Lecture Theatre, South Parks Road, followed by a reception.
Professor Sir Ravinder Nath "Tiny" Maini, recently retired as director of the Kennedy Research Institute at Imperial College London. He led a team of researchers over a 15-year period looking for new treatments for rheumatoid arthritis.
*30/01/07 - 12/02/07, Tuesdays at 5:30 pm: News International Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media Lecture Series, The Importance of Being Serious: Why Serious Television Still Matters in the Digital Age
Janice Hadlow, the Controller of BBC4, will give a series of 3 lectures at Green College on Woodstock Road. On 30 Jan, her topic will be The history boys. On Tuesday 6 Feb, her topic will be The children's hour. On Tuesday 13 Feb, her final topic will be The best in the world?
*26/01/07: Four Oxford academics have been awarded the CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours list. They are as follows:
Professor Doreen McBarnet, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies and a Fellow of Wolfson College, was honoured for services to social science.
Professor Stephen Nickell, formerly a member of the Monetary Policy Committee and Warden of Nuffield College since 2006, was honoured for services to economics.
Sarah Spencer, Associate Director of Centre for Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), and an Associate Member of Nuffield College, was honoured for services to equal opportunities and human rights.
Professor Farhan Nizami, a Fellow of Magdalen College and Founder Director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, was honoured for services to Islamic studies.
*11/12/06: A new journal founded and edited by postgraduate researchers from Oxford University has a clear goal: to make economics accessible and relevant to real life. Oxonomics: Oxford University Economic Studies, which launched on 27 November, promises to retain the rigour of academic research while exploring a wide range of economic issues, from the effects of high oil prices to the best ways to promote development in poor countries, to how an auction should be designed. Articles by students from the Economics Department and the Sa?d Business School will appear alongside those of well-known economists. The first issue also boasts an interview with Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz. The journal, backed by an editorial advisory board of senior University academic staff, will be published by Blackwell at the start of each term. It is supported by the international economics firm NERA, Blackwell Publishing and Oxford University’s Economics Department. Professor David Hendry, Head of the Economics Department, said: ‘Oxonomics is an exciting new venture: a peer-revised academic journal established by graduate students at Oxford University’s Department of Economics. It will publish original articles that critically analyse economic issues in a concise yet comprehensible and perhaps even entertaining style. Oxonomics will provide an excellent forum for emerging scholars to publish ideas alongside papers by established academics and policymakers.’ Oxonomics is available free on Blackwell Synergy. Oxford University students will also receive a free print compendium once a year. (Read Oxonomics online)
*21/09/06: The new John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science was opened in Oxford on the 19 September. The partnership with Royal Holloway was set up by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) in partnership with the Central Council for the Laboratories of the Research Councils (CCLRC). The Institute, which is named after th pioneer acclerator physicist Sir John Adams (1920-1984), will work on two main areas as well as developing new types of acclerator. The first involves the development of a 'linear collider', a ten-mile long structure in which to test the effects of high-energy collisions of electrons and positrons, simulating the first moments after the Big Bang. The second goal of the Institute is to unravels the mysteries of neutrinos, particles that appear to possess the ability to pass through even solid objects. (More from the Oxford University site).
*21/09/06: The report of the Oxford Internet Institute on the uses of the Internet for gathering scientific information is now available to download (PDF). The report examined the online strategies adopted by researchers gathering information in four different fields to test the 'winner takes all' hypothesis that online access in fact concentrates control over information in the hands of establishing authorities rather than expanding the range of information accessed. The year-long project followed the searching behaviour of 20 UK-based researchers working on climate change, Internet and society, poverty, trade reform, terrorism, and HIV/AIDS. It concluded that there was no overall 'winner takes all effect' but that there were different gatekeepers depending on the subject area and type of information sought. The role of search engines, as faciliators or influential gatekeepers varied according to the particular information environments.
14/07/06: Two Oxford academics have been selected to participate in a series of international workshops sponsored by the Volkswagen Stiftung, an independent research funder that aims to encourage the exchange of cutting-edge research and ideas. Dr Nicholas Shea, a British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Philosophy and Dr Kristine Krug, a Royal Society University Research Fellow in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics have been elected to join nearly 60 participants as part of a project called ‘European Platform for Life Sciences, Mind Sciences, and the Humanities’. The first workshop taking place in Berlin in October.
Dr. Shea will be part of a discussion regarding the nature of information gained from fMRI brain scanning. He said: ‘Fundamental questions about the mind transcend disciplinary boundaries. Institutional structures make genuinely interdisciplinary work difficult to achieve. That is why I jumped at the chance to be involved in this innovative endeavour. I hope to develop a collaborative project and build long-term relationships with like-minded scientists and philosophers who are committed to adopting an interdisciplinary approach to the deep questions about human psychology which we all face.’
Dr. Krug will be exploring new approaches to the role of free will and emotions in decision-making. Her research focuses on the role of single neurons in perception and decision making. She said: ‘To be selected for the European Platform is just a fantastic opportunity. It is a bit like a think-tank for unravelling the workings of the mind. But it does not stop there. Further funding is earmarked to kick-start new research collaborations and projects for Platform members over the next two years.‘
Academics at the event will be discussing recent developments in the cognitive neurosciences, particularly the combination of imaging technologies like fMRI with methods of experimental psychology. They will also look at how the field of basic neuroscience is now expanding to bring in other disciplines like philosophy, psychology, and the social, historical and theological sciences. This has led to potentially new fields of research like ‘neurophilosophy’, ‘neuroeconomics’, or ‘social neuroscience’. The interdisciplinary fields have met with fascination and interest, but also some scepticism, with on-going debates about how certain experiments are interpreted and whether there are far-reaching consequences – for science, society and the very idea of man at large.
18/06/06: The University of Oxford has recently launched 2 RSS feeds: one describing news from all aspects of the university , and one detailing research headlines. The research RSS feed will soon be available for viewing on this site.
*15/06/06: A groundbreaking internet course on nanotechnology, aimed at professionals keen to further their scientific development, has just been launched at Oxford University. Professor Sir Henry Kroto, a Nobel laureate in Chemistry and a world expert on nanotechnology based out of Florida State University, has launched the course in Oxford on the 2 June. The course will begin in September 2006, and cover three modules: the Wider Context of Nanotechnology, the Fundamental Science of Nanotechnology, and the Fundamental Characterisation for Nanotechnology. More information regarding the course syllabus and application procedure can be found here.
*12/12/06, 10:00 - 16:00: Ethics in e-Science Monday 12 December 2005. Oxford Internet Institute, 1 St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3JS. The aim of the workshop is to develop a shared framework for understanding the ethical issues of the e-Sciences. The workshop will begin with a short introduction by Michael Parker on how to think about ethics in the context of the e-sciences. The second part of the workshop will consist of facilitated discussions aimed at enabling e-Scientists and application developers to raise the ethical issues arising in their own work. The workshop will contribute to raising awareness of ethical issues in e-Sciences and developing ways to share expertise in this area. Participants will be asked to table one specific ethical issue that is relevant to their own e-research. (More details.)
*6/12/06: STAIR/Oxford Internet Institute Conference, The Internet: Power and Governance in a Digitised World
Ten years since its emergence as a mainstream global medium, the Internet has interwoven with many contentious political issues, whilst also inspiring alternative visions on the nature of change and order in world politics. To explore and understand dynamics of power and governance through the Internet, St Antony’s International Review (STAIR) will be hosting a conference in collaboration with the Oxford Internet Institute at St Antony’s College Oxford on the December 6th 2006. The conference aims to facilitate discussion and debate around the fundamental issues concerning power relations and governance in the Internet era.
Reflecting upon the ethos of STAIR, the conference will bring together both established and younger academics from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. While providing a platform for academics to exchange views, the conference also aspires to introduce a wider audience to this new and exciting but little explored field. The conference will examine many topics, including citizen journalism, hacktivism, terrorist use of the medium, and broader questions of inter-state and private governance.
The conference speakers come from various UK, European and North American universities representing the cutting-edge research of their field. STAIR is proud to present Professor James Der Derian of Brown University as the keynote speaker. He is a Watson Institute research professor of international studies and Director of the Institute's Global Security Program, which includes the Information Technology, War and Peace Project. Biographies for the Conference speakers are available here Visit the OII or STAIR web pages for attendance and registration information.
*02/12/06: Ethical, Legal, and Institutional Dynamics in e-Science: the case of eDiaMoND. Oxford Internet Institute, 1 St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3JS. This event is open to the public. This workshop will discuss the ethical and legal issues that have emerged from the Diagnostic Mammography National Database Project (eDiaMoND). The workshop will begin with a presentation of the project, including its vision and implementation. This will be followed by a roundtable discussion of the issues raised and lessons learned from the project for the future of e-Science research. (More details.)
*30/11/06: On the 30th of November, at the University Museum on Parks Road, the inaugural Unither Biotech Lecture in Virology, featuring three short lectures on the topic Viruses: Solutions and Problems, will convene. The lectures will be presented by the following: first Nobel Laureate Professor Baruch Blumberg, of the Fox Chase Cancer Center and Oxford Glycobiology Institute, will discuss the topic: Hepatitis B. The first cancer vaccine. Next Professor Dennis Bunton, Professor of Immunology of the The Scripps Research Institute will discuss The challenge of an HIV vaccine from the antibody perspective. Finally, Dr Martine Rothblatt, the Chairman and CEO of the United Therapeutics Corporation will discuss Management of xenoviral risk. The lecture series is open to the general public, or alternately, lecture coverage can be found at FirstAuthor.org.
*20/11/06: On Monday 20 November, Silicon Valley will be coming to Oxford's Said Business School. Now in its fifth year, this annual event brings together outstanding entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and related professionals from Silicon Valley, California, and MBA students from one of the leading business schools of the world, for a full day of stimulating and challenging debate and discussion. In 2006 we will focus on the theme of "mass collaboration" – the profusion of new software and businesses aimed at college students and commercial businesses to enable people to work online together.
From 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., to celebrate the informal beginnings of many Silicon Valley companies, a garage will be created at the Business School where students, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists can hang out, have fun, feel as though they are in Silicon Valley and discuss ideas for new projects.
The day's program begins at lunch time, when from 1-2pm a panel discussion will be held giving an overview of "life in the Valley today." A series of 20-30 person Master Classes will take place from 2pm - 5pm, and the evening panel discussion will commence at 6pm. A reception will follow the panel discusison. For more information consult the Said Business School's own description.
*3/11/06: On Friday, 3 November, at 1 pm, Oxford's Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics is hosting a lecture by Professor John Hall of the University of Mississippi Medical Centre. Professor Hall will be discussing the topic, Pathophysiology of hypertension in obesity/metabolic syndrome. First Author will be attending the event and will provide coverage of the lecture in the upcoming week.
John Hall is the Guyton Professor and Chairman of Physiology and Biophysics and Director of the Center of Excellence in Cardiovascular-Renal Research at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Hall received his doctorate in physiology with James Schwinghamer at Michigan State University in 1974 and did postdoctoral training at the University of Mississippi Medical Center with Arthur Guyton before joining the faculty in 1976. He was promoted to full professor in 1982 and appointed as department Chair in 1989. He served as the 74th president of the American Physiological Society from 2001-2002. Hall’s major research interests include cardiovascular and renal physiology, mechanisms of hypertension, the renin-angiotensin system, obesity and insulin resistance, and modeling and computer simulation of the cardiovascular-renal systems. In recent years, his research has helped to unravel the mechanisms that link obesity with hypertension and kidney disease. Hall has authored or co-authored over 390 publications and has written or edited 11 books. He is Chief Editor of The American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals. He is past Chairman of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research, American Heart Association (AHA); Chair of the Committee of Scientific Councils, AHA; and President-Elect of the Inter-American Society of Hypertension. He also serves on the executive committee of The American Society of Hypertension and the Board of Directors of the AHA.
Read a full account of Sir Martin Wood's enthralling lecture on the history and future of superconductors
*23/10/06: This afternoon Sir Martin Wood, the founder of Oxford Instruments, will be lecturing to the Oxford Biochemical Society on the field of 'The horizons of superconductivity.' Sir Wood has long been a pioneer in the field of superconductivity, with his company a leading developer of state of the art MRI and NMR magnets and cryoprobes, to give one example. Coverage of Sir Wood's lecture and career will be posted on First Author in the coming week.
*Michelmas Term 2006: The Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics has also released their seminar schedule for the upcoming term. Again, an upcoming highlight includes Prof Pasko Rakic from Yale University, who on Friday 27th Oct will be lecturing on "Making maps of the mind: From stem cells to complex architecture" in the Large Lecture Theatre of the Sherrington Building. For a complete listing see the Department of Physiology website.
*Michelmas Term 2006: The Oxford University Biochemical Society has recently released its schedule of seminars for the upcoming term, Michelmas 2006. Some highlights include Sir Martin Wood, an Oxford graduate who founded Oxford Instruments and the Oxford Trust, and Professor Karim Labib of the Paterson Institute of Cancer Research in Manchester. Sir Wood is speaking on 23 October on the future of semiconductors, and Professor Labib will lecture on 6 November on a novel method for studying the cell cycle. The term’s first lecture will take place on Monday 9 October, at 4 pm in the Hans Krebs building. Professor Tony Watts the director of Oxford’s Biological Solid State NMR Facility, will give a talk entitled Peering into the site of action of membrane receptors and drug targets. Professor Watts specializes in the elucidation of the dynamics and structural details of membrane proteins and lipids, using solid state NMR. In addition to his directorship at the NMR facility, Professor Woods's, titles include Professor of Biochemistry and Fellow of St Hugh's College, Oxford, Managing Editor of European Biophysics Journal, and Chairman, British Biophysical Society. First Author* will continue coverage of notable happenings in the world of science at Oxford with a review of Professor Watts’s lecture, to be posted later during the week of the 9th. See http://www2.bioch.ox.ac.uk/~oubs/events/termcard.htm for a full list of speakers.
*20-22/09/06: In September, the University of York will host the 10th Annual Symposium of the Journal of Information, Communication, and Society. The meeting will provide an international forum for discussion of the impact of increasingly sophisticated communications, information, and digital convergence technologies. The University of Oxford's Internet Institute is serving as a co-sponsor of the event. The symposium website can provide a guide to booking and content information.
*10/07/06: On Monday 10 July at 11am, Dr. Katy Borner will give a lecture in association with the Oxford Internet Institute, entitled Towards a Cyberinfrastructure for the Study of Science. In her talk, Dr. Borner will discuss the Institute's efforts to create a cyberinfrastructure the supports the study of scholarly knowledge. The event is open to the public ; for more information on how to register and attend, consult the Oxford Internet Institute. If you are interested but cannot make it, check back on First Author* shortly after the event for a summary of the background, significance, and thesis of Dr. Borner's talk.Molecular machines for protein degradation
*13/06/06: Yesterday, Professor Robert Huber of the Max-Planck-Institut gave a lecture in conjuction with the Oxford University Biochemical Society. A career crystallographer, Professor Huber was one of three individuals to receive the 1988 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work in elucidating the structure of a trans-membrane protein containing a photosynthetic site in cyanobacteria. Professor Huber's lecture, entitled Molecular machines in protein degradation, focused on his recent research efforts in structure determination o f a range of proteins and proteases, and chaperone molecules. An in-depth piece describing Professor Huber's early accomplishments, the impact his research has had on the scientific community, and his 12th June lecture in more detail, will be featured on First Author* in a few days.
This section provides several links with current information regarding the Oxford scientific community. Most sites are featured in this section of First Author*, though additional information can be found at these websites.
Oxford University home page
Oxford University, upcoming events. This page contains events open to the entire public, and includes scientific and non-scientific events.
Oxford University Biochemical Society
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