Skip to main contentCambridge University Reporter

No 6186

Wednesday 28 April 2010

Vol cxl No 27

pp. 757–788

Reports

Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Professorship of Demography

The General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. Demography, conventionally regarded as the study of population structure and change, is an important and active area of research in the Department of Geography. The field, which has attracted funding support from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for research in population change and in the dynamics of ageing, presents many opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations. The Academy of Medical Sciences has highlighted the importance of measuring and understanding determinants of healthy ageing in older people, while the Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change has identified the relationship between international migration and climate change as being of importance for the understanding of large-scale population redistributions in the future. It is the intention of the Department of Geography to make significant contributions to these and cognate fields of demographic enquiry.

2. In the Department of Geography, demographic research is undertaken through the Historical and Cultural Geography research cluster, which includes the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure. This Group plays an important role in bringing about collaborative activities across the social and biological sciences, including Biological Anthropology, Genetics, Judge Business School, and Clinical Gerontology. The Group has particular strengths in technical historical demography but also seeks to develop its research towards contemporary matters. The historic data sets from the 16th century that were assembled by the Group are being used to inform and revise theories relating to population characteristics of present-day societies. A key area of research is on the current debate over the determinants of human longevity and the notion of maximal life extent.

3. The Department is keen to build on the funding opportunities for demographic research and, in view of the imminent retirement of the current Director of the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure, seeks to secure a senior demographer who could continue to lead important collaborative cross-disciplinary activities and direct the focus of the Group’s research more firmly towards contemporary subjects. Therefore, the Department considers that it would be appropriate to establish a Professorship in Demography. This has been endorsed by both the Faculty Board of Earth Sciences and Geography and the Council of the School of the Physical Sciences.

4. In order to meet the costs of the Professorship, the Department has proposed holding two University Lectureships vacant; namely, one released from abeyance on the retirement of Professor A. D. Cliff on 31 December 2009 and one that will be released from abeyance by the retirement of Dr J. S. Duncan on 1 October 2010. The Council of the School of the Physical Sciences has confirmed that funding for the Professorship has been built into its strategic plan and has agreed to meet any shortfall in the cost of the Professorship. The General Board have accepted the Faculty Board’s proposal for the establishment of the Professorship on this basis.

5. The Board are satisfied that an appointment at this level will be likely to attract a strong field of applicants. They are assured that suitable accommodation is available in the Department of Geography for the Professor. The Board have agreed to concur in the view of the Faculty Board of Earth Sciences and Geography that election to the Professorship should be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors and that candidature should be open to all persons whose work falls within the title of the Professorship.

6. The General Board recommend:

That a Professorship of Demography be established in the University from 1 January 2011, placed in Schedule B of the Statutes, and assigned to the Department of Geography.

26 April 2010

Alison Richard,Vice-Chancellor

Simon Franklin

J. Rallison

N. Bampos

Andrew Gamble

Jeremy Sanders

William Brown

C. A. Gilligan

J. G. P. Sissons

H. A. Chase

David Good

Sam Wakeford

Philip Ford

Rachael Padman

Yang Xia

Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Professorship of Old Age Psychiatry

The General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. The School of Clinical Medicine pursues its mission of medical education and research in close collaboration with its NHS partners, and identifies research themes which will link key areas of biomedical science with relevant clinical problems of importance to the health service. Old Age Psychiatry is a key area for the NHS and for social care, given the ageing population. The regional NHS mental health services provider, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, has a strong presence in this area, with senior NHS clinicians active both in research and in national policy formation. The Trust have indicated that they are supportive of the proposal to establish a Professorship of Old Age Psychiatry to provide academic leadership for the discipline, bringing together the established track record of the Trust with the University’s internationally acknowledged strengths in Neuroscience.

2. The School of Clinical Medicine has existing research strengths relevant to Old Age Psychiatry. In particular, the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences, Psychiatry, and Public Health and Primary Care have established programmes in dementias and other neurodegenerative diseases. There are related research interests in other Schools of the University, particularly in the School of the Biological Sciences’ Department of Experimental Psychology. The MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit also undertakes relevant research. The University and the MRC have recently refurbished the Herchel Smith Building on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus to accommodate an inter­disciplinary Centre for Human Brain and Mind Sciences. The proposed chair would form part of this development.

3. The University and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust have recently formed a Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC). This collaboration, funded in excess of £20m over five years, is intended to facilitate the translation of research into clinical service and policy development. Old Age Psychiatry is a significant theme within the CLAHRC. The resources available from this theme significantly strengthen Cambridge’s ability to attract a world-class clinical academic to a senior post in this area.

4. The Faculty Board of Clinical Medicine, having consulted with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, consider that it would be appropriate at the present time to establish a Professorship of Old Age Psychiatry. The Professorship would complement existing strengths in the School and beyond, and would provide leadership in research and teaching in the field. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust would offer an honorary consultant contract to an appropriate appointee. The Faculty Board have proposed that the Clinical Lectureship that was held in abeyance during Professor G. E. Berrios’s tenure as Professor of the Epistemology of Psychiatry and which became vacant on his retirement on 30 September 2007, be suppressed in order to fund the Professorship. The School have confirmed that the cost of the Professorship has been included in the current strategic plan. The General Board have accepted the Faculty Board’s proposal for the establishment of the Professorship on this basis.

5. The Board are satisfied that an appointment at this level will be likely to attract a strong field of applicants. They are assured that the Faculty Board will provide support and facilities for the work of the Professor from within existing resources. The Board have agreed to concur in the view of the Faculty Board that an election to the Professorship should be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors and that candidature should be open without limitation or preference to all persons whose work falls within the general field of the title of the Professorship.

6. The General Board recommend:

That a Professorship of Old Age Psychiatry be established in the University, for a single tenure from 1 July 2010, placed in Schedule B of the Statutes, and assigned to the Department of Psychiatry.

26 April 2010

Alison Richard,Vice-Chancellor

Simon Franklin

J. Rallison

N. Bampos

Andrew Gamble

Jeremy Sanders

William Brown

C. A. Gilligan

J. G. P. Sissons

H. A. Chase

David Good

Sam Wakeford

Philip Ford

Rachael Padman

Yang Xia

Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Professorship of Photonic Systems and Displays

The General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. Photonics, which is concerned with the generation, control, and detection of light, is an active and growing area of research in the Department of Engineering. The field has attracted a high level of industrial, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and EU research grant funding in recent years and new concepts and advances include the development of holographic displays, lasing in liquid crystals, and optical data communication systems. The field is recognized by governments and international research and development organizations as being of strategic importance to the internet, media, healthcare, renewable energy generation, low energy systems, and manu­facturing.

2. The Department of Engineering achieved an outstanding result in the last Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The Electrical Engineering Division, which is one of the Department’s core strengths, includes three Photonics Groups, of which one is Photonic Systems. The activity, with a current grant portfolio of approximately £10m, is growing, in part because increasingly it is benefiting from advances in cognate areas. In particular there is evidence that significant opportunities exist for leveraging current strengths in photonic materials and devices, if a new appointment was to be made in photonic systems and displays. All three Photonics Groups engage in the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics programme, which is a partnership between the University and a number of major industrial companies for the purpose of jointly commissioned research and device development. The work of this Centre and the related research activities of the Cavendish Laboratory are brought together in the Cambridge Integrated Knowledge Centre, which aims to provide the business and technical expertise and infrastructure to enable exploitable concepts to achieve commercial success.

3. In view of the strategic importance of Photonics and the significance of the field to research activity in the Electrical Engineering Division, the Department of Engineering considers that it would be appropriate to establish a Professorship of Photonic Systems and Displays. This has been endorsed by both the Faculty Board of Engineering and the Council of the School of Technology. The person appointed will be expected to provide leadership to academic and research staff in the Electrical Engineering Division and to ensure the strategic development of Photonics-related research within the Electrical Engineering Division.

4. In order to meet the costs of the Professorship, the Department of Engineering has proposed that the University Lectureship previously held by Dr A. R. Travis and vacated on 15 December 2007 be suppressed. Departmental funds will cover the remaining costs up to 1 October 2013, at which point a second University Lectureship will be suppressed following the retirement of Professor H. J. Coles. The General Board have accepted the Faculty Board’s proposal for the establishment of the Professorship on this basis. They have accordingly agreed that, if the recommendations of this Report are approved, they will suppress the aforementioned University Lectureships at the appropriate time.

5. The Board are satisfied that an appointment at this level will be likely to attract a strong field of applicants. They are assured that suitable accommodation is available in the Department of Engineering for the Professor and the Department has undertaken to provide the necessary support and facilities. The Board have agreed to concur in the view of the Faculty Board of Engineering that election to the Professorship should be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors and that candidature should be open to all persons whose work falls within the title of the Professorship.

6. The General Board recommend:

That a Professorship of Photonic Systems and Displays be established in the University from 1 October 2010, placed in Schedule B of the Statutes, and assigned to the Department of Engineering.

26 April 2010

Alison Richard,Vice-Chancellor

Simon Franklin

J. Rallison

N. Bampos

Andrew Gamble

Jeremy Sanders

William Brown

C. A. Gilligan

J. G. P. Sissons

H. A. Chase

David Good

Sam Wakeford

Philip Ford

Rachael Padman

Yang Xia

Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Readership in the Department of Land Economy

The General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. The Department of Land Economy is a leading international centre applying economics, law, and planning for the analysis of the governance of land, real estate, and the environment, from both private and public sector perspectives. The strength of the Department’s research was recognized in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, which placed Land Economy top in terms of the quality of the research work submitted to the Town and Country Planning sub-panel. Teaching in the Department has expanded considerably, especially with the development of new M.Phil. courses and the growth of the Land Economy Tripos.

2. The Department has a strong research profile in both real estate finance and housing. Real estate finance has been furthered following the endowment of the Grosvenor Professorship in Real Estate Finance, recently taken up by Professor Colin Lizieri, and this has supported the development of a very successful M.Phil. course in Real Estate Finance and the expansion of research in the area. The Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (CCHPR) within the Department of Land Economy undertakes research on the interface between housing and planning, the social housing sector, and housing policy more generally. It is directed by Professor Christine Whitehead and is wholly funded by research income which totalled £5m over the period of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

3. With the forthcoming retirement of Professor Whitehead, there is a need to support research in housing and build stronger links between the CCHPR and other parts of the Department. At the same time, in the context of the introduction of market-based fees for the M.Phil. course in Real Estate Finance, the Department seeks to broaden the range of options available on the course and provide increased support for the supervision of dissertations. It is therefore proposed that a new Readership be established primarily to undertake research in housing finance, especially in collaboration with researchers in CCHPR, and make a major contribution to the teaching and supervision of students on the M.Phil. course in Real Estate Finance.

4. The Council of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences has approved the case made by the Department and recommends the establishment of a Readership with the aim of attracting an established researcher in housing finance of international quality. The Readership will be funded by suppressing the underlying University Lectureship left vacant on the retirement of Mr B. C. Moore from his Readership in September 2008, supplemented by postgraduate fee income.

5. The General Board have accepted the proposal of the Council of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences for the establishment of this Readership. The criteria for appointment to a Readership through open competition will be identical to those for appointment through the senior academic promotions procedure. The Appointments Committee will be constituted as specified in the regulations (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 726).

6. The General Board accordingly recommend:

That a Readership be established in the Department of Land Economy from 1 January 2011.

26 April 2010

Alison Richard,Vice-Chancellor

Simon Franklin

J. Rallison

N. Bampos

Andrew Gamble

Jeremy Sanders

William Brown

C. A. Gilligan

J. G. P. Sissons

H. A. Chase

David Good

Sam Wakeford

Philip Ford

Rachael Padman

Yang Xia

Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Readership in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics

The General Board beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. Mathematical analysis provides the conceptual framework and methodology for a large part of current mathematical research and innovation. It underpins the majority of novel applications of mathematics in science, engineering, and industry. Problems originating in science, engineering, and industry are typically formulated in mathematical terms using analysis, while new mathematical ideas, techniques, and algorithms usually make their impact in application areas through the intermediation of analysis.

2. The Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics is keen to continue its longstanding policy to build up strength in modern analysis, in particular in partial differential equations. The EPSRC-funded Cambridge Centre for Analysis, which offers a four-year course in Mathematical Analysis leading to a Ph.D., will be devoted to training a new generation of analysts. One of the cornerstones of the Centre’s activities is the study of partial differential equations. This is a wide subject and whilst the Centre already benefits from having considerable expertise in the mathematics of general relativity, the Department seeks to complement this by bringing in a senior figure with expertise in the equations of kinetic theory with applications, for example, to plasma physics. Therefore, the Department proposes establishing a Readership with a view to attracting candidates with international reputations in Analysis.

3. The Council of the School of the Physical Sciences has approved the case made by the Department and recommends the establishment of a Readership in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics with effect from 1 October 2010. The proposed establishment of this Readership will be funded through the suppression of the University Lectureship that has been vacant since 1 April 2010 following the resignation of Dr B. D. Schlein, and through the recurrent savings that will be released when the Readership currently held by Dr P. K. Friz reverts to a University Lectureship following Dr Friz’s resignation on 31 May 2010.

4. The General Board have accepted the proposal of the Council of the School of the Physical Sciences for the establishment of this Readership. The criteria for appointment to a Readership through open competition will be identical to those for appointment through the senior academic promotions procedure. The Appointments Committee will be constituted as specified in the regulations (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 726).

5. The General Board accordingly recommend:

That a Readership be established in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics from 1 October 2010.

26 April 2010

Alison Richard,Vice-Chancellor

Simon Franklin

J. Rallison

N. Bampos

Andrew Gamble

Jeremy Sanders

William Brown

C. A. Gilligan

J. G. P. Sissons

H. A. Chase

David Good

Sam Wakeford

Philip Ford

Rachael Padman

Yang Xia