News in Brief

Elemental Science

Budding scientists arriving from as far afield as Bradford, London and Colchester heralded Cambridge's National Science Week, which ran this year from 15-23 March. Fired up by this year's theme, The Elements, events spanned all areas and aspects of science, from Chemistry to Antarctic survival. Launched by the BBC's Adam Hart Davis and spectacular juggling duo Feeding the Fish, the Science on Saturday events, held on the New Museums and Downing Sites, were again a huge success - helped in part by a break from tradition: sunshine for once accompanied the science. Sarah Shaw, National Science Week Co-ordinator, said: "We were thrilled to see so many scientists of the future having fun and learning. Hopefully we will have encouraged lots of children to think about continuing with science in school or at University." Elsewhere in the University many Departments worked with schools in Cambridgeshire during Science Week. The Engineering Department hosted over 300 primary school children. Groups were challenged to build a rocket and its launch pad from sheets of paper. The event 'Science Week 2002 Challenge' was co-ordinated by the 'St John's college & Gatsby Charitable Foundation' to promote engineering in schools.

University scoops Business Award

For the first time in the award's history, a Business Commitment to the Environment (BCE) Award has been presented to a university department. The University of Cambridge Programme for Industry was recognised for its outstanding contribution to environmental and sustainability education at a ceremony attended by the Rt Hon Margaret Beckett. Dating back to 1975, this independent awards scheme promotes excellence in business commitment to the environment. The CPI runs several cutting edge programmes and events for environment and sustainability education in the corporate sector, working with partners and associates from all over the world. Its director, Polly Courtice, said "Education and training is vital if industry is going to be able to respond effectively to the sustainable development challenge, and the BCE scheme highlights this. We are delighted that the University's contribution is being recognised in this way.

CPI works with a range of partners to deliver its sustainability learning programmes, drawing on the expertise and scholarship of the University, as well as outside academic institutions, non-governmental organisations, public and private sector partnerships. Examples of its work include The Prince of Wales's Business & the Environment Programme, The Sustainability Learning Networks Programme and The BP Cambridge Executive Programme.

For more information see: www.cpi.cam.ac.uk

Spreading the word even wider

Over 1,300 young people in the North East got the chance to hear the truth about studying at Oxford and Cambridge at the first ever Oxbridge conference to be held in the region.

The 16 and 17-year-olds travelled to Newcastle United Football Club conference centre in March to find out all about applying to Cambridge and Oxford.

The aim was to dispel the myths that surround applying to, and studying at, Cambridge and Oxford and to get the message across to as many people as possible that students from all backgrounds can thrive at Oxbridge.

The seminars, led by Oxbridge tutors and undergraduates, offered students an opportunity to find out about how to apply to Oxbridge, what degree course subjects are available, interview techniques and financial planning. In addition, organisations including the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Army, Teacher Training Agency, Gap Activity Projects and PriceWaterhouseCoopers ran seminars on gap year placements and sponsorships that they offer.

The Newcastle event was one of four Oxbridge conferences organised this year around the country. Over 8500 students will be travelling to Manchester United, Cheltenham racecourse and Sandown Park racecourse as well as Newcastle United.

"There are no secret rules about getting into Cambridge and we do not have a hidden agenda. We want to get the message across to as many young people as possible that they can apply to Cambridge," said Cambridge Admissions director Susan Stobbs.

Dispelling the myths

Teenagers from across the country took up the Young Black and Asian Achievers Challenge in March. Over 100, 13 to 15-year-old students from ethnic minority backgrounds took part in the annual Challenge event, designed to give school children an insight into undergraduate life at Cambridge. The school children competed in three challenges, devised to test their skills in journalism, science/engineering and general knowledge. At stake was the Young Black and Asian Achievers Challenge Cup and £500 in prize money.

Whilst the emphasis is on enjoyment and participation, the Challenge has a more serious objective. YBAA is a sub-committee of the Group to Encourage Ethnic Minority Applications, GEEMA, and is run by undergraduates. GEEMA co-ordinator, Manish Maisuria, said the aim is to increase awareness among pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds about the possibility of applying to Cambridge and other universities.

Gigantic crane nests in King's Parade

The largest mobile crane in the country dominated Cambridge's skyline for a week in March. Weighing 650 tonnes, the crane was lifting 24 new study bedrooms into place on top of King's College Keynes building and 21 study rooms and three tutorial rooms on to the adjoining St Catharine's College Gostlin building. Charles Crawford, Bursar of St Catharine's College hopes that the new rooms will ease the pressure felt by the College. "We desperately need more accommodation; principally for students but also because we welcome more and more delegates to conferences and summer schools than ever before. For us to be able to meet those demands we need accommodation at the heart of the college rather than at a distant hostel." Roger Salmon, Bursar of King's College has been conscious of the possible noise and disruption accompanying normal building work. "We desperately need more accommodation; principally for students but also because we welcome more and more delegates to conferences and summer schools than ever before. For us to be able to meet those demands we need accommodation at the heart of the college rather than at a distant hostel." Roger Salmon, Bursar of King's College has been conscious of the possible noise and disruption accompanying normal building work.

"A conventional building programme would have lasted at least a year and would have had to be suspended in May and June because of the absolute need for silence during the University's examination period. Nowadays, there is precious little time when College buildings are not in use and construction work is inevitably disruptive. That level of disturbance for a full 12 months would simply not be tolerable."

Students offer constructive ideas

Cambridge diploma students got the chance to work with some of Europe's most exciting architects and landscape architects at a workshop run by the University's Department of Architecture, with support from the French Embassy in London.

The course gave four teams of students the chance to make hypothetical proposals for the development of the University's science and technology campus at West Cambridge. The site, located about a mile from the city centre, is being developed to house the University's physical sciences and engineering departments. Its development follows the principles of a masterplan, produced by MJP architects for the University. One third of the buildings either exist or are in construction, leaving two thirds of the site available for consideration.

The workshop was led by architects and landscape architects Peter and Anneliese Latz, Pascal Cribier, Camlin/Lonsdale and Eric Parry (with artists Pierre Vivant and Shealagh Wakely). Alan Short, head of the Department of Architecture, said:"This master-class gives our graduate students an insight in to the opportunities and constraints of developing a mixed use site like West Cambridge.

"It is also a way to launch a long term involvement with landscape issues both within the school and the University".

Max Perutz and César Milstein

Cambridge has lost two of its greatest scientific figures. Max Perutz, one of the founding fathers of molecular biology, died in February, aged 87, and César Milstein, co-inventor of the hybridoma technique for the production of monoclonal antibodies, died in March, aged 74.

Max Perutz was the creator of X-ray protein crystallography, demonstrating that by introducing a heavy atom in a protein molecule it was possible to determine its 3-D structure. He won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1962, along with his first PhD student, John Kendrew, for their structural analyses of haemoglobin and myglobin.

César Milstein, also a Nobel Laureate, was a Fellow of Darwin College and Honorary Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He was one of the leading figures at the Medical Research Council's Laboratory of Molecular Biology, where he was Deputy Director from 1988 until 1995. Milstein's most famous contribution to science was the invention of monoclonal antibodies, for which he and Georges Köhler shared the 1984 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, together with Niels Jerne, who had laid the theoretical foundation for part of their work.

African Studies Fellowship Scheme

The Centre of African Studies has set up a Visiting Research Fellowships Scheme, with the help of a $250,000 grant from the Ford Foundation, and £120,000 from the Isaac Newton Trust. The scheme is designed to bring four senior faculty members from Africa to Cambridge for six months. It will run initially for five years, with the first batch of Fellows due to arrive in Cambridge in January 2003. Even though the emphasis is on multidisciplinarity each set of Fellows will be appointed around a particular theme. The theme for the first set of Fellowships is on Human Rights and Good Governance in Africa.

Visiting Fellows will be affiliated to a College. Colleges who have so far expressed an interest in hosting a Fellow include Wolfson, Pembroke, Clare Hall, and Jesus. The Fellows will also be placed under the auspices of specific Departments and will be encouraged to participate as fully as possible in the intellectual and academic life of the University.

The main aim of the scheme is to give African academics the opportunity to work in Cambridge's stimulating intellectual environment, to publish their work, and to establish contacts for future collaboration. Particular emphasis is placed on academics with strong research track records, or those with a potentially interesting piece of research to complete. Applications are also encouraged from scholars working in the various Libraries and Museums in Africa.

Masters of Enterprise

An innovative new course in Community Enterprise started at the Judge Institute of Management in March. The two year Masters of Studies course has been developed by Dr Eileen Rubery and Helen Haugh, of the Judge Institute of Management, in conjunction with the Development Trusts Association. It is a collaborative programme with the Cambridge Entrepreneurship Centre and the Department of Social and Political Sciences. Dr Rubery is the course director. The course, which is the first of its kind in the country, is intended to provide leadership and enterprise skills to senior practitioners in the sector. It is hoped the course will increase the research base and identify best practice in the sector.

Students taking part in the course will also get the chance to attend a series of guest lectures. The first of these was given in March by the Rt Hon Chris Smith, Former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, on National Lottery Funding and Seizing Opportunities.