The past fortnight's news from schools around the University

Library opening hours for spring bank holidays The ASSL will be open 24 hours on both spring bank holidays (6 May and 27 May); the Medical, Queens, and Wills libraries will be open 9am to 5pm. All will have reduced services. The Enderby Room, in the Physics Building, will also be available for additional study space 4 to 6 May.

Blackboard scheduled maintainance Thursday 9th May Dear All Blackboard will be unavailable from 8am till 9am on Thursday 9th of May to allow us to install a patch to the software on our database server. This should prevent a repeat of the problem that was experienced last weekend that caused Blackboard to be unavailable from late Friday night to midday Saturday.

Services unavailable due to server upgrade between 16:00 and 19:00 on 13th May Due to essential server maintenance Datahub (DPROD) and Business Objects will be unavailable between 16:00 and 19:00 on Monday 13th May…

Children’s brain processing speed indicates risk of psychosis New research from Bristol and Cardiff universities shows that children whose brains process information more slowly than their peers are at greater risk of psychotic experiences.

Children’s brain processing speed indicates risk of psychosis New research from Bristol and Cardiff universities shows that children whose brains process information more slowly than their peers are at greater risk of psychotic experiences.

Benjamin Meaker Fellowship award will further boost Criegee research Benjamin Meaker Fellowship for Dr Craig Taatjes will enable further Criegee research

Recent communication sent to suppliers View memo sent to suppliers about the University's payment process

Xenon gas successfully delivered to babies in ambulance Two babies at risk of brain injury following a lack of oxygen at birth have received xenon gas and cooling therapy while being transferred from one hospital to another in a specially equipped ambulance.

Shape-shifting mobile devices Prototype mobile devices that can change shape on-demand will be unveiled today [Monday 29 April] by academics in the University’s Department of Computer Science and could lay down the foundation for creating high shape resolution devices of the future.

Diet MOT Special: Eating for Exams To bring a bit of clarity and make it all that much more palatable we run 'diet MOT' sessions covering the main aspects of a healthy diet. These interactive sessions enables you to assess how good your current diet is, compare it with the most recent research on diet in mental and physical health and set some realistic practical goals to improve it. This session will include evidence-based tips on what to eat to help you during exam preparation.

Athena SWAN awards The University is pleased to announce that the Schools of Social and Community Medicine and Oral and Dental Sciences have both been awarded Silver in their respective applications for Athena SWAN awards.

Xenon gas successfully delivered to babies in ambulance Two babies at risk of brain injury following a lack of oxygen at birth have received xenon gas and cooling therapy while being transferred from one hospital to another in a specially equipped ambulance.

Professor Jonathan Reid honoured with 2013 RSC Corday-Morgan Prize Professor Jonathan Reid has been awarded the prestigious RSC Corday-Morgan Prize

World Universities Network grant awarded to Dr Adam Dixon Dr. Adam Dixon has been awarded a World Universities Network grant to visit Maastricht University's European Centre for Corporate Engagement (ECCE). At ECCE, a leading research centre on sustainable finance and responsible investing, Dr. Dixon will conduct research on the geopolitics and economic geography of transparency and long-term investors.

The School is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Stephan Lewandowsky. Steve is an internationally renowned cognitive scientist who has joined us from the University of Western Australia.

Proactis Bulletin - April 2013 - now available News of developments within Proactis and its associated processes

Blackboard downtime – 9.30pm 26th April – 2.00pm on 27th April Due to a problem with the database that supports Blackboard the system was unavailable to users between 9.30pm on Friday 26th and 2.00pm on Saturday 27th April. We would like to extend our apologies for any inconvenience  caused during this time. Our colleagues in IS are investigating why this problem occurred so that the appropriate measures can [...]

February's Best Practice Group Minutes February's Best Practice Group Minutes now available

Exam survival guide Exam survival guide

New induction films for staff A series of short films have been created for new staff to help raise awareness of the University and the support that is available.

Professor Kelvyn Jones appointed as Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales Professor Kelvyn Jones has been elected to a Fellowship of the Learned Society of Wales; as such he becomes the third geographer to be so honoured. Sir John Cadogan, the Society’s President, said: We have once again elected a further very strong cohort of new Fellows; the Society’s continuing focus on excellence and achievement will ensure that its Fellowship will represent the very best of which Wales is capable in the major academic disciplines.

Engineering Leadership Advanced Award Brittany Harris awarded Engineering Leadership Advanced Award

Bristol Student wins 2013 Salters' Graduate Prize Alex Few, a final-year MSci undergraduate student at the University of Bristol, has been awarded a 2013 Salters’ Graduate Prize by the Salters' Institute.

Professor Kelvyn Jones appointed as Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales Professor Kelvyn Jones has been elected to a Fellowship of the Learned Society of Wales; as such he becomes the third geographer to be so honoured. Sir John Cadogan, the Society’s President, said: We have once again elected a further very strong cohort of new Fellows; the Society’s continuing focus on excellence and achievement will ensure that its Fellowship will represent the very best of which Wales is capable in the major academic disciplines.

Bristol hosts seminar to help improve children's rights The University of Bristol has hosted a two-day seminar to discuss the challenges of implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child across the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) and Europe.

School awarded Athena SWAN Silver Award The School of Oral & Dental Sciences is first to be awarded Athena SWAN Silver award at a school level.

Museum find proves exotic ‘big cat’ prowled British countryside a century ago The rediscovery of a mystery animal in a museum’s underground storeroom by an undergraduate at the University of Bristol proves that a non-native ‘big cat’ prowled the British countryside at the turn of the last century.

Re-routing of Corporate Credit Card-related expenses claims New Functionality to move PCard Expense Claims between Completer Pools now available

Personal experiences of cleft lip and palate needed for research study Parents of children with cleft lip and/or palate, or people who were born with a cleft lip and/or palate themselves are being asked to consider taking part in a new research study led by the University’s School of Oral and Dental Sciences to develop an online resource for families and individuals affected by this condition.

Multi-ethnic neighbourhoods have increased across England and Wales Many more Whites live in mixed neighbourhoods in 2011 than 2001, according to first analyses of recently-released census data, although there was no movement towards creation of substantial Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi exclusive neighbourhoods, study finds.

Personal experiences of cleft lip and palate needed for research study Parents of children with cleft lip and/or palate, or people who were born with a cleft lip and/or palate themselves are being asked to consider taking part in a new research study led by the University’s School of Oral and Dental Sciences to develop an online resource for families and individuals affected by this condition.

Alice Oswald, Memorial: An Excavation of the Iliad Alice Oswald event

Guidance on the security of credit and debit card details PCIDSS compliance and card data security.

Alice Oswald, Memorial: An Excavation of the Iliad Alice Oswald event

Problems with submissions and Grade Centre A small number of staff and students may be experiencing problems using the Grade Center or submitting assignments. This problem is due to a change made to their personal settings. To fix this follow the instructions below - Click on the Home tab From the tools menu select Personal Information Select change Personal Settings Set availability of [...]

Patients with chronic fatigue use additional areas of brain when using memory Scientists studying the brain scans of chronic fatigue patients have found they use additional brain regions to do simple tasks requiring attention. This may explain the problems many sufferers have with memory. The findings are just one of several new studies being presented today [22 Apr] at the launch of a new UK-wide research body to advance understanding and treatment into this debilitating condition which affects over 600,000 people in the UK.

Engineering research makes front-page news An article about pioneering research into energy and CO2 reduction, led by Professor Joe McGeehan in the University's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, was the front-page story in the Bristol Post.

Three more Chemistry staff honoured with RSC prizes Bristol Chemistry scoops 3 more RSC prizes

Patients with chronic fatigue use additional areas of brain when using memory Scientists studying the brain scans of chronic fatigue patients have found they use additional brain regions to do simple tasks requiring attention. This may explain the problems many sufferers have with memory. The findings are just one of several new studies being presented today [22 Apr] at the launch of a new UK-wide research body to advance understanding and treatment into this debilitating condition which affects over 600,000 people in the UK.

Three more Chemistry staff honoured with RSC prizes Bristol Chemistry scoops 3 more RSC prizes

Reliability of Neuroscience Research Questioned A team led by academics from the University of Bristol reviewed 48 articles on neuroscience meta-analysis which were published in 2011 and concluded that most had an average power of around 20 per cent – a finding which means the chance of the average study discovering the effect being investigated is only one in five.

New technology helps Bristol scientists investigate novel nano-materials New technology developed in Physics helped Bristol scientists investigate novel nano-materials.

Summer term extended opening hours ASSL is open 24/7; many branch libraries have extended their hours during the exam period. See www.bris.ac.uk/library/using/branches/ for details.

Random walks on DNA Scientists have revealed how a bacterial enzyme has evolved an energy-efficient method to move long distances along DNA. The findings, published in Science, present further insight into the coupling of chemical and mechanical energy by a class of enzymes called helicases, a widely-distributed group of proteins, which in human cells are implicated in some cancers.

Bristol to provide cutting edge cloud network technology to enhance the fields of telemedicine Researchers at the Universities of Bristol and Cardiff will today [Friday 19 April] show how groundbreaking ultra high definition (UHD) technology is making a real difference in remote medical training and diagnosis, with 3D demonstrations on a ‘virtual patient’.

Walking works! May is national walking month, and the week beginning 13th May is identified as 'Walk to Work Week'. Sign-up to the University's workplace team and record your walking during the month.

New catalysts offer better prospects for biofuels New ethanol-to-butanol catalyst as a better biofuel option

New Blog: Thatcher's Gender Trouble Professor Sarah Childs considers what Margaret Thatcher's premiership means for the study of politics and gender

Peter Dent awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship Peter Dent awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship