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HUMAN RIGHTSADVOCACY IN ACTION

LIVES WELL LIVED:A NEW AGE OF

ANIMAL WELFARE

ALZHEIMERS:NO SMOKEWITHOUT FIRE

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL MAGAZINE//SUMMER 2012

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Summer 2012 /esuch//Summer 2012

noneSummer 20

EditorsHilary BrowNick Riddle

Contactnonesuch@b

ContributinFreya Sterlin

Advisory GDavid Alder Director of Cand Market

Jill Cartwrigh

Head of PuRelations Of

Dr Lorna CoHead of ResDevelopmen

Hannah JohPress Office

Dr Maggie LHead of thePublic Enga

Dr John McPublicity anRecruitmen

Dick Penny Managing DWatershed

Tania Jane Director of Cand Alumni

Professor JDean of Socand Law

Designpelotondes

Produced Public RelatSenate HouTyndall AvenBristol BS8 T: +44 (0)11

Cover illusGary Neill

Printed byBelmont Pre

Nonesuch , UniversityExtracts mareproducedpermission Relations Of

If you need of this publian alternativplease telep+44 (0)117

Features

Grey matters COVER 6

Change in the air 11

Growth as usual 13

Looking for the good life 18

Brave new world 22

Thought that counts 27

In pictures

Snapshots 5

Taken 29

Regulars

Bristol in pieces 2 & 17

Alumni in the news 3

Bristol and beyond 10

Summer 2012

Contents

29

2

New solutions to old-age problems

Their lives in our hands

Blooming brilliance Together against torture

Listings

Events 25

Alumni in memoriam 26

esuch//Autumn 2011

Greencoat80Silk iscarbonbalancedwhere thecarbonintensityhasbeenmeasuredthroughtheproductionprocessandanequivalentcarboncredit

(offset)hasbeenpurchased.

Carbonbalancingbythe WorldLandTrusttacklesclimate changethroughprojectsthatboth offset

carbondioxide(CO 2)emissionsandconservebiodiversity.

Nonesuchmagazine//Summer 2012

Carbonsaved 10,590kgLandpreserved 890m2

ome toNonesuch. First, Id like to say a personal thankto all the alumni volunteersnd the world, working with thepaigns and Alumni Relations

e, who have a done a trulystic job of organising events

bringing alumni together.

umni Weekend 2012 from 6 to 8 Julyowcase the Best of Bristol, both fromrspective of the University and the city,variety of lectures, lunches, dinnersurs. I am particularly looking forwardValedictory Lectures by Stephen

y (BSc 1972, BDS 1975, PhD 1978,005) and Bob Evans (PhD 1970) bothmed teachers over many years whow Emeritus professors. For a full

end programme and booking details,ristol.ac.uk/alumni/events/reunion.

nd, as Bristol alumni and members ofocation, this is the time of year for youect who you want as a Convocationsentative on Court, and to stand forbership of the Convocation Committee,Chair of Convocation. Details of how toand vote are enclosed.

rely look forward to seeing you atumni Weekend and hope you will join

s rapidly growing LinkedIn alumni groupwell past the 10,000 mark!

ay(BSc 1975)man of Convocation,s alumni association

[email protected]

Is Bristol the same university that itwas when you were a student here?

In one particular aspect, the answer is surelyboth no and yes. Earlier this year, we

decided to increase UK/EU undergraduatestudent numbers in 2012 (see pages13-16). Our current plans will take us toaround 21,000 students by 2015/16. Overall,the expansion is modest and Bristol will retainits relatively small size compared with otherRussell Group universities.

Of course, the University has expanded inevery decade of its life. In 1960, there werearound 3,400 Bristol students; by 1980, therewere 7,100; and by 2000, there were 15,700.Growth is, in fact, business as usual forBristol University.

To support our growth plans now, we areexpanding teaching capacity in various subjectareas, and investing in learning and livingspaces. This is because of our commitment toretaining the quality of the student experience,and our belief that groundbreaking researchmust underpin our teaching.

Such objectives are fundamental to whatBristol stands for, and we deviate from themat our peril. While the University may not, onthe surface, be exactly the same now as when

you studied here, its core value of excellenceis, and always will, remain the same.

Professor Eric Thomas(Hon LLD 2004)Vice-Chancellor

ol.ac.uk/alumni

lcome

6

18

11

22

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Regularsulars

ol in pieces

Ubusing Culture: Alfred JarrysSubversive Poetics in theAlmanachs du Pre UbubyMarieke Dubbelboer (Legenda)Paradox and provocation were essentialfeatures of the work of Alfred Jarry, not least inthe experimental and satirical Almanachs duPre Ubu. Dr Marieke Dubbelboer, PostdoctoralResearch Fellow in the Department of French,examines key characteristics of Jarrys poeticsthrough an analysis of the Almanachs andaddresses their role within European avant-garde.

Examining the Visual in Sportedited by Mike Huggins andMike OMahony(Routledge)This volume, jointly edited by Dr Mike OMahonyof Bristols History of Art Department andProfessor Mike Huggins from the University ofCumbria, brings together an international arrayof art historians, visual culture specialists andsport historians and examines the importanceof visual culture as a vital research resource forunderstanding sport as a cultural phenomenonin the modern era.

e plugNew books

ndrew Kennedy,ol of Biological Sciences

hens that I saw as a boy in the Himalayas helped tomy career in polar ecology. I grew up in Nepal; mys worked for the Save the Children Fund, and I often

mpanied the Nepalese doctors on health visits toe villages high in the Himalayas. During these visits,ascinated by the small c lusters of lichens that I sawng at the snow line. As an 11-year-old boy, this started

ondering: can lichens grow beneath snow cover? Ifow long has the ground where they grow been free of? And is the altitude of the Himalayan s now line fixed,ncreasing or decreasing?now know that Himalayan glaciers are retreating,at the diversity and growth patterns of lichen andcommunities indicate the rate of glacial retreat,ence of regional climate warmi ng; the more maturemmunities, the longer the period since the ground

me exposed.for my boyhood question: yes, lichens can

beneath snow cover, in a habitat known as theean zone. In fact, my research as a polar ecologistown that it is one of the best places for plants and

ebrates to live.

Funded by the HE STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering and Maths)programme, the initiative follows on fromthe success of the Schools BristolDinosaur Project, which enables localpeople to learn more about Theco-dontosaurus, Bristols own dinosaur.

The workshops combine theoryand practice, and activities are gearedtowards specific age groups. Theyounger pupils love the interpretivedance sequences where they cansimulate the energy of a volcano, says

former Palaeontology studentNicky Stone (MSci 2012). Olderstudents act like geologists to workout which rock is the odd one out, orget to decide how to manage volcanichazards on Danger Island.

In the earthquake workshops, pupilsuse kits to design and make their ownseismometers, build earthquake-proofbuildings, generate seismic waves usingslinkies and use a brick-and-pulleymodel to gain an understanding oftectonic plate movements.

The School of Earth Sciencesis rolling out a new programmeof workshops to schools to enable young people to learnmore about volcanoes and earthquakes. The workshops arerun by postgraduates, who in turn learn how to engage withthe public and make their subject more accessible.

In the cityThe University in Bristol

Alumni in the news

Simon Oakes(BA 1980), Vice-Chairman of Exclusive Media, andPresident and CEO of Hammer production company, has broughtHammer films back on to our screens withThe Woman in Black.

he film, starring Daniel Radcliffe, is basedon a 1983 horror fiction novel by SusanHill and held the number-one spot at

the UK box office for several weeks. It follows alawyer who travels to a remote village to sort out adeceased clients papers. As he works alone in theclients isolated house, he begins to uncover tragicsecrets, his unease growing when he glimpses a

mysterious woman dressed in black.Interviewed byThe Independent, Oakes said:

We never in our heart of hearts thought wedhave that phenomenal opening, it just caughtfire. I hope this means Hammer is back. There issomething in the gothic horror theme that reallyspeaks to the heart of Hammer. Its somehowpricked peoples imagination. Hammer has announced that its nextsupernatural thriller,The Quiet Ones,is moving into

production and will be presented at the upcomingEuropean Film Market.

Hammer broughtback from the deadFilm

bristol.ac.uk/alumni/news

NewsillustrationAlbertoAntoniazzi

Marathon inhonour of Registrcancer battleSport

Dr Jonathan Nicholls(BA the London Marathon in hof Dr Tony Rich, the UniveBristols recently retired Rwho is battling cancer.

Dr Jonathan Nicholls (BA 1978), wCambridge Universitys Registrarraised over 15,000 in sponsorshUniversitys Cancer Research Funsupports vital research into canceand treatment. His efforts were prthe heartbreaking diagnosis that hfriend Dr Tony Rich has incurable c Dr Rich started work as RegistOperating Officer at the University at the end of the 2010/11 academichad to retire due to ill health. NicholI completed the marathon in four h49 minutes. My friendship with Tonwas able to greet on Tower Bridge wwatching with members of his faminspired me, as did my debt to the Bristol. We are all truly grateful for ththat has been raised a lready.

If you would like to support the CResearch Fund, please visit our Ce

Campaign website.bristol.ac.uk/centenarycampaign

The newgraze.com crazeEnterprise

Edd Read(MEng 2007) isco-founder of the companygraze.com, a new snackboxdelivery company that isbecoming a huge success inoffices across the county.

Graze delivers healthy, naturalfood by post. Only three yearsold, the company has beengoing from strength to strength.Marketing Weekmagazine reported:Graze.com plans to ramp upits advertising and expand itsmarketing department this year. Read said: Weve created aworld-class innovation in web-

ordering and delivery. Bcombining state-of-thetechnology and bespokbased systems, customour own robotic food poand sourcing the best inin the world, were worktowards our goal of becthe most innovative foodin the world.

sebudryday objectsa special meaning

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The Oscar winning filmWar Horse relied heavily on thecomputer-generated visual effects expertise of Ben Morris(BEng 1993). Interviewed by the Evening Post, Morris said:Where special effects were unavoidable I was determinedto make it so life-like that nobody would know it was CGI.

In pictures

ulars

mni in the news Snapshots

SnapshotsLife and work at BristolClockwise from top left.

CUTTLEFISH EYE//The most acutepolarisation vision found in any animal. bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8228.html

ALPHASPHERE//Futuristic footballor electronic music-maker?bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8320.html

YEAR OF THE DRAGON//Chinese Lion Dance Troupe in action.bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8199.html

BENEATH ST HELENS//Microscopic, sub-volcanic visions.bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8375.html

SLAVE SKELETONS//St Helena burial ground unearthed.bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8294.html

hris Salmonsutograph goes nationalnce

s Salmon(BSc 1990), Executive Director, Banking andf Cashier for the Bank of England, has had his signaturered on the new 50 note, without which the bank-noted not be legal tender.

.ac.uk/alumni/news

CuttlefisheyeShelbyTempleandJustinMarshall//AlphasphereBenjie

Croce//

YearoftheDragonTomDurrant//StHelensBenBuse//Slaveskeleton

sPearsonArchaeologyLtd/DFID

Will Dean gets toughBusiness

n Emmerson QC(LLB 1985)s been selected as the Unitedtions special rapporteur onunter-terrorism and humanhts. Quoted inThe Guardian,merson said: Far too often

ernational law and human rightsndards are seen as incompatibleh effective counter-terrorism.e reverse is true.

Sarah Glennie(BA 1992) hasbeen appointed Director of the IrishMuseum of Modern Art (IMMA).Glennie said: IMMA makes avibrant and valuable contributionto contemporary Irish society andI am truly honoured to be giventhe opportunity to lead this greatinstitution into the next importantphase of its development.

Alastair Paterson (MEng 2004)is CEO of Digital Shadows Ltd, acyber security innovator, whichannounced its partnership withleading information securityprovider, Activity. The partnershipwill provide groundbreakingservice to Digital Shadows clients,keeping organisations safe fromcyber attacks.

Christian Rtz(LLM 2003)has been appointed a CivilCourt Judge by the LandNordrhein-Westfalen, workingat the higher regional court ofKrefeld (Lower Rhine).

e leaders of today

From a list of over 500 nominees worldwide, Will Dean hasbeen selected as one of the 40 under 40 for 2012 to haveachieved success in business before turning 40. ToughMudder is an adventure challenge series which includes 12mile-long obstacle courses designed by the Special Forces totest all-round strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie.

These events can include crawling under barbed wire,plunging into icy water, darting through flames and getting

shocked by 10,000 volts of electricit y. ToughMudder made more than $2 million in revenuesin its first year and about $25 million in itssecond. Now in its third year, it is expandinginto Europe, South Africa, Japan, Australiaand New Zealand.

In an interview with Crains New YorkBusiness.com, Dean said: Its not like

saying, Can I run a hundred miles?Its, Do I have it mentally?.

Dean worked in counter-terrorism for the British governmentfor five years and had to completeUnited Kingdom Special Forcestraining. It was used to measurehis mental grit as opposed topure physical fitness and laterbecame the inspiration forTough Mudder.

Will Dean(BSc 2003), Chief Executive ofTough Mudder, is one of Crains New YorkBusiness.com 40 under 40.

e Salmon was appointed to hist role in April 2011, he ran the Banksg Markets Division for two yearssponsibility for the implementation

Banks monetary and financialy market operations, including thetative Easing programme.

The Telegraph, Salmon said that hed the bank-notes to be instantlynisable and hard to copy. Since beingnted Executive Director, Banking and

Chief Cashier, he has overseen operationsof the new 50 note, which has beenphased in across the country. It carries eightsignificant updates in security features forcash users, compared with the five of itspredecessor.

Salmon said to Nonesuch: A hugeamount of work goes into the launch of anew bank-note, so it was a testament to allinvolved that the launch of the new 50 inNovember went so smoothly.

Bringing War Horse to lifeFilm

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Feature

Dementia affects one in 14 peopleover the age of 65. As the populationages, this number is likely to increase.Professor Seth LoveandDr Pat Kehoe,co-directors of the Dementia ResearchGroup in the School of Clinical Sciences,are among those in the forefront ofresearch into the abnormalities of thebrain in this disease, and new optionsfor its treatment and prevention.

FeatureFeatureCover feature

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er feature

or every dementia scientist, there are

more than six cancer researchers.

And yet more than 465,000 people in

K have Alzheimers disease, costing

conomy more than 23 billion and

ng considerable human suffering.

is currently no cure for Alzheimers.eatments available only alleviate someoms for a limited period they target

ory loss by attempting to correct chemicalances in the brai n, but dont tackle thelying causes of the disease. There is hugere on scientists to deliver new drugs, butntia is still poorly understood and research

ns shockingly underfunded.argues Alzheimers Research UK, therys leading dementia research charity, inent report, Defeating Dementia. It states thate recent initiatives from government andresearch funders, the field is dwarfed bych into cancer and heart disease, neither ofposes the same degree of risk to societye economy as Alzheimers.

nemy within

of funding isan issue, says Seth Love,sor of Neuropathology, but thats notly reason why dementia research isg the field. It was over a century ago thatan neurologist Dr Alois Alzheimer firstbed the symptoms of the disease that bearsme, but for many years cli nicians didntdementia as a disease it was just parting old. It wasnt until the 1950s andthat scientists began to realise that thees in the brains of people with dementianot an inevitable consequence of ageing:me people got to 100 without becoming

nted, and that those who did developntia had a disease, explains Love.eres also the problem of accessibility to

for research purposes. Cancer researchogressed so quickly because in generalatively easy to remove tumours frompatients and extract fre sh cells to study.just not the case with brain diseases like

ntia, says Love. The Human Tissue Actrightly regulates the use of post-mortemn tissue, but this means that organon is more complicated than it used to bemples are at leas t 24 hours old by the timeeive them.Pat Kehoe, Reader in Translationalntia Research, believes that dementia issible than many other illnesses becauseerwhelming majority of people affected

matters

are elderly over 65. Most are retired and toa large extent out of the public eye. And inmany cases, says Kehoe, there are few outwardmanifestations of the disease, especially in theearly stages, which makes it easier to ignore.

While its not entirely clear what causesAlzheimers, there are likely to be severalcontributing factors. In Alzheimers theresa kind of domino effect at work, says Kehoe.The chemical and structural transformationsthat occur in the brain trigger furthercomplications even as the body strives tominimise the damage arising from thesechanges. There is much evidence to suggest

that Alzheimers starts to develop duringmiddle age, so that by the ti me the symptomsshow perhaps as much as 20 years late r several rooms are ablaze, to use Kehoesanalogy of the dementia brain as a house on fire.

A different take

Bristols Dementia Research Group bringstogether scientists with varied but complementaryskill sets to investigate some of these contributoryfactors from different angles. Its researchprogramme focuses on a number of interwoventhemes using molecular, genetic, biochemicaland neuropathological approaches to study theunderlying mechanisms that cause dementia. The group has brought fresh perspectivesto dementia research in two areas in particular.

The first, and the focus of Loves research,relates to the role of plaques la rge clumps ofa protein known as Abeta (A) that kill offbrain cells. There is much evidence to supportthe view that the accumulation of A and thesecondary damage this causes to brain tissue iscentral to the development of Alzheimers. Butwhile most research has targeted the reasonsfor A production, Loves focus is on theenzymes that attempt to bre ak it down andthe complications that can ensue. A accumulation coincides with an increasein the activity of enzymes that act to removethe protein and protect the brain from itsharmful effect s, says Love. One of the things

DEMENTIA ISSTILL POORLYUNDERSTOOD

AND SHOCKINGLYUNDERFUNDED

weve shown is that this activity adversely affectsother systems, such as the renin-angiotensinand endothelin pathways that regulate bloodpressure, and the opening up and closing downof blood vessels in the brain.

Abnormal signals produced by this pathwaycontribute to a number of other damagingeffects often seen in the brains of people withAlzheimers. These include lowered bloodcirculation in the brain, damage to bloodvessels, higher levels of brain inflammationand increased brain cell death due to reducedoxygen supply. You then have the potentialfor a vicious cycle, because A productionincreases when the brain cells are deprived ofoxygen, says Love.

Fire-fighting

Looking at ways to repair damage caused tothe vascular system in dementia, and improveblood supply to the brain, is where Kehoecomes in. One of his main areas of researchis investigating the relationship betweenhigh blood pressure and the development ofdementia in later life, and, in particular, thelinks between the renin-angiotensin systemand Alzheimers. His research has led him to expertsProfessors Richard Martin (PhD 2005) andYoav Ben-Shlomo in the School of Social andCommunity Medicine, who study risk factorsfor disease in large populations and datasets.Together they have been looking at whetherdrugs alre ady being used to treat high bloodpressure, particularly ones that reduce theactivity of the renin-angiotensin pathway,

AboveDr Pat Kehoe (left) and Professor Seth Love

PatKehoeandSethLoveportraitN

ickSmith//IllustrationGaryNeill

ary Brown

StatisThe rand rdeme

1 in people a65 will dform of

168new casdementin EnglaWales e

42%of the Upopulata close family mwith dem

Evesecothere iscase of worldw

alzheimers

What is Alzheimers?Alzheimers disease isthe most common formof dementia. During thecourse of the disease thechemistry and structure ofthe brain change, leading tothe death of brain cells.

As with most forms ofdementia, Alzheimers involvesprogressive memory loss, moodchanges, and problems withcommunication and reasoning.It is likely that a combination of

factors, including age, geneticinheritance, environment,lifestyle and overall generalhealth, are responsible.

might reduce the occurrence of Alzheimers.In a recent study, the team found that people

over 60 who had ever taken certain g roups ofdrugs that target the pathway in the previousten years had as much as a 50 per cent lowerrisk of developing Alzheimers compared withpatients on any other type of hypertensiondrug. These findings corroborate new pre-clinical evidence that the drugs are tapping intospecific biomedical alterations resulting fromthe angiotensin pathway.

Improving blood flow and reducing theaction of angiotensins in the brains of dementiapatients by administering hypertensiondrugs may help delay the onset of the dis ease,says Kehoe. If such treatments were found

to be successful, they could be adopted inAlzheimers care relatively quickly as they arealready used for other conditions, are relativelycheap and have few side effects. More funding is needed to do the clinicaltrials necessary to test these findings, butKehoe, who is always looking for ways totranslate laboratory finding s to the real world,is optimistic. Its not a cure for Alzheimers,but it could offer additional improvementswhen combined with current treatmentsand would have a substantial benefit on thelives of sufferer s, he says. And if we couldmore selectively administer certain drugswhen patients first exhibited the symptomsof hypertension, there may be longer-termbenefits in significantly delaying the onset ofthe disease. Wed certainly be closer to puttingout the fire before the flames ta ke hold.bristol.ac.uk/clinicalsciencenorth/dementia

Brain bankA wealth of information

The South West Dementia Brain Bank

(SWDBB) was established by Gordon

Wilcock, former Professor of Care of

the Elderly and founder of the Dementia

Research Group. The resource was set up

as a means to collect whole brains from

dementia sufferers and non-demented

elderly donors to provide material for

dementia-related research. SWDBB is part

of the Brains for Dementia Research

network, a formal network of five brain

banks. It aims to monitor people b

with and without memory impairm

until they die and donate their braThis enables researchers to look

more specifically at brain chang

relation to particular manifestat

dementia. SWDBB is funded by g

a number of sources including A

Research UK, Alzheimers Socie

Dementias and Neurodegenerat

Diseases Research Network, We

Comprehensive Local Research

and BRACE (which also currentl

consultant seniorlecturership, a

research fellow and a PhD stude

within the Dementia Research G

The Dementia Research Grouphas access to a unique resource: a

collection of more than 850 brains,accumulated over nearly 30 years.

Lead imageThe effects of dementia on thebrain are highlighted by comparison of slicesthrough the brain of a normal elderly person(above) and a person with Alzheimers disease(below). In the brain from the Alzheimerspatient there is obvious loss of brain tissue:the surface convolutions (gyri) of the brain aresmaller and the spaces between them larger.The cavities (ventricles) deep within the brainhave dilated as the surrounding brain tissuehas shrunk.

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Feature

Change in the airol and beyond

Changein the airLife on earth has always had a fight onits hands, as species struggle to adaptto change. The scientists who studyevolution, like the rest of us, have tocope with developments in their ownlives. Some, likeDr Patricia Sanchez-Baracaldo, manage to combine familyand career. But not without a battle

and not without support.

nder a microscope, they look like thin,

translucent filaments of hair. From space,

thermal imaging shows them as great swirls of

green spreading across oceans and freshwater lakes.

Theyre known as cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae. Notonly are they probably the most successful micro-organismson the planet, but without them, li fe as weve come to knowit would never have evolved.

Cyanobacteria transformed the atmosphere during theearly Earth, says Dr Patricia Sanchez-Baracaldo. They werethe first micro-organisms on the planet to perform oxygenicphotosynthesis, and in doing so they released huge amountsof oxygen into the air. This large-sca le release knownas the Great Oxygenation Event, and estimated as havinghappened some 2.3 billion years ago caused the massextinction of most anaerobic organisms, which had been thepredominant life forms on the planet.

Sanchez-Baracaldo, who trained as a plant evolutionarybiologist at Berkeley, California, first looked at cyanobacteria

in depth when she moved to Bristol with her husband andbegan working on molecular ecology as a postdoctoralresearcher in the School of Biological Sciences. As aside-project she developed her own ideas on evolutionarybiology. I was wondering where they sit in the evolutionaryscheme of things, and when oxygenic photosynthesis firstevolved, she says.

It was long thought that cyanobacteria first appearedin the worlds oceans. But as more and more microbialgenomes are sequenced, researchers have been able to beginmapping more accurately the evolution of certain speciesand their relationships with each other. Sanchez-Baracaldoand a colleague in the States used these new techniques toestablish that the first cyanobacteria actually appeared infreshwater rather than marine environments.

ByNick Riddle

ulars

rom Bristol to the012 Olympic Games

a Sterling interviewsJayne Pearce-McMenamin(BA 1986),d of Press Operations for the Olympic Games 2012

Our biggest challenge for the Olympics will

be going from a core team of 36 to 3,000, who will be implementing press operations

on the ground. We have been training our staffat over 40 test events in various venues across thecountry, as well as holding classroom exercises

ready for the opening of the Main Press Centrein June and the Games themselves in July. Staffand volunteers will be there to assist the press:answering questions, managing photographerpositions, running Venue Media Centres andmuch more. Most of the team are volunteers,and I want to make sure that everybody has afulfilling, worthwhile experience.

This is the seventh Olympic Games

Ive been part of, but the London

Games are on a scale like no other.

The 2012 Olympics will be the experienceof a lifetime and will be great for ourcountry. There is so much going on,whether youre interested in sport ornot. Its a fabulous opportunity anda wonderful thing to happen in ourbackyard, in our lifetime. Im thrilledand honoured to be part of it.

JaynePearce-McMenaminS

tephenShepherd

overed my enjoyment for the

nising aspect of sport during my time

stol University. Right from the get-gohe honour of being captain of a varie tyms: basketball, tennis and netball. I alsod roping friends into intra-mural sport.

ularly enjoyed team sports because theydown barriers and encourage people toogether.

t on to become President of the

tics Union; I wanted some practical

ience and to give something back to

ol. Organising minibuses and kit, managingts, chairing meetings and so forth wasially a microcosm of the jobs I was to domy career, and a language degree atgave me a unique competitive edge when

ng for jobs.

A Honours degree in French and

an was a major contributing factor

uring future roles,including my role asManager of the Bordeaux Venue of the

World Cup 98 and as Press Director of theWorld Athletics Championships in Paris.

my first major role at the Internationaliation of Athletics Federations (IAAF) wasting press clippings.

ad of Press Operations for the Olympic

s 2012, I aim to provide great working

es for the press.In the next couple of

s, we will be providing the 5,800 press andgraphers coming to the Games with 33media centres, a huge central Main Press

e, 1,500 biographies of athletes and horses,-plus work spaces and 12,600-plus seats.

nternet has changed the face of

a;everything is instant and weve evolvedategy to reflect this. In London, there wills be someone on a deadline. All around thethe Olympic Games will be watched 24/7tter, Facebook, blogs and news websites.

hat reporting is so much quicker, we have toe that the press can do their job successfully.o our job well, we wont be noticed.

THE 2012OLYMPICS

WILL BE GREATFOR OURCOUNTRY ANDIM THRILLED TOBE PART OF IT

AboveA larg

of cyanobacfrom spaceRight Filamecyanobacter(Planktothrix as seen undelectron mic

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ure

nge in the air

ere are still many questions to bered about the first cyanobacteria tose the oceans. Since they would havearbon dioxide to photosynthesise, thisd have had major effects on global nutrientand the climate of the early Earth.d, the geological record shows majoric events such as global Earth glaciations

wing the rise in atmospheric oxygen. Sore these events linked? And what rolecro-organisms play in regulating theenvironment?

arental erachains of cause and effec t are muchto trace. Sanchez-Baracaldo had already

ed research fields after moving to BristolBerkeley; then, having gained a footholdlogenetics, she entered another period ofe with the birth of her first child.at brings an environment all its own:-the-clock duties, sleep deprivation,ss, baby talk hard ly conditions inacademic-level work can thrive. Id to take a year off w ith each baby, andt regret it for a moment, she says. But itat a cost. After her second child, bornnths after the first, she left science tontrate on parenthood.fter so long away from science, you losedence, she says. Your field moves on,eers move up, new techniques comeThe statistics show how many womencience after having a baby. And I wondere of them regret having lef t.ctly speaking, she never left sciencey. During maternity leave I explorednt ideas, she says. I wanted to dohing worthwhile for society. In 2007-08,vised the Ministr y of Environment intive Colombia on the effects of climatee on high-altitude ecosystems in the: The higher temperatures put those

tems at greater risk, and theyll eventuallyear. That work sparked my interestmate change. She also collaboratedaper with a colleague in the State s, anence she recalls with mixed feelings.was hard she would email me drafts,

was totally sleep-deprived; it felt like anvement if I managed anything beyondng my children happy, clean and fed.the end of her second maternity leaveorked part-time in Biology, running ang programme for PhD students. Buteveral people told me there were fundingtunities for women who had left scienceing responsibilities, and I decided to look

into it. I was convinced there was no chance Id packed away all my notebooks

It may be easy to say now, but the chancesare that the scientist who, as a chi ld inColombia, loved watching all the nerdynature documentaries and reading scienceencyclopedias would probably have found away of getting back to something that is clearlyher passion.

The turning point came when she heardabout the Daphne Jackson Trust, a charity thathelps scientists, engineers and technologiststo re-enter their field after a career break forfamily, caring or health reasons. She sent themher CV and a personal statement, was invitedto apply, and was accepted. And thus began herown Great Oxygenation Event.

Deep breathsIt was great to have the Trust tell me that Ihad a great CV and great publications, saysSanchez-Baracaldo. They were saying Webelieve in you, and thats all it takes to spur youon. She started contacting people at Bristol,beginning with Professor Andy Ridgwell inthe School of Geographical Sciences, whostudies climate change. He li ked the workId done, and agreed to be my mentor. Hewas so enthusiastic, I really felt I was onto something good. Professor Alastai rHetherington in Biological Sciences agreedto be a second mentor.

She then wrote a proposal for a project studying how events such as the evolution

of cyanobacteria influenced the globalenvironment and past climatic events andapplied to the Royal Society for a DorothyHodgkin Fellowship, which is designedfor excellent scientists in the UK at an earlystage of their career who require a flexibleworking pattern due to personal circumstancessuch as parenting or caring responsibilities orhealth issues.

Applications to the Royal Society have atiny success rate, she says. I worked so hardon it; as soon as my baby was asleep, I wasat the computer. But it paid off: in 2011 shewas awarded a prestigious Dorothy HodgkinFellowship, with five years funding.

Labs and laundryIts still a challenge, says Sanchez-Baracaldo.The Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship bringswith it high expectations, and of course I wantto fulfil them. But if I didnt love challenges, Iprobably wouldnt have got the Fellowship i nthe first place. When I was doing my PhD atBerkeley, we worked such long hours in the labthat doing laundry felt like a holiday. Laundry isstill one of my favourite chores.

But, as with the early Earths atmosphere,

its all about finding the right balance. Shehad given up a postdoctoral fellowship at Yaleto follow her husband to Bristol, a decisionthat caused some of her peers to raise theireyebrows; and at times, she admits, I regrettedchanging research fields, which I had to dowhen I came to Br istol. But now, I have supportfrom the Royal Society and the University,Im doing interesting work, and I have twobeautiful kids.

Its amazing how things have worked out,she concludes. Shes referring to her own career,of course, but the same goes for the evolutionof life on Earth; life that she and others havedevoted their careers to studying.

THE FELLOWSHIPBRINGS HIGHEXPECTATIONS AND I

WANT TO FULFIL THEM

Nick Lieven,Pro Vice-Chancellor of Educationand Students, discusses the implications ofthe partial deregulation of student numbers.

growthas usualFeature

PatriciaSanchez-BaracaldoportraitN

ickSmith

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Summer 2012 //esuch//Summer 2012

Student growth1950-2010

Graphical representation of thegrowth of student numbers overthe past few decades beginningwith the 1950s.

The number of students includes home

and overseas students, postgraduates

and undergraduates.

ck Lieven

une last year, the government announced a

rtial deregulation of home (UK and EU) student

mbers.Historically, home and EU student numberstrictly controlled by government but from the 2012, the cap on the number of students that universitiesrol that achieve A-level grades of A AB and aboveen lifted. This is a signi ficant milestone in terms of aulation, albeit partial, of what has been historicall y ay regulated environment.course, UK higher education was already in theof a dynamic structural change; the new coalitionnment had already announced a significant increasetuition fee cap to 9,000. In response to t hat change,rsities found themselves in the spotlight as students

the country including those in Br istol took to thein protest.e news about the deregulation of AAB+ studenters has not dominated education headlines in the

way, yet we believe that it is likely to have an evenpronounced impact on the sector than the fee increase.ersities with lower proportions of AAB+ st udents mayhallenges in recruiting sufficient students, whereasrsities like Bristol, where demand for places fromnding candidates outstrips avail ability, have a newtunity to consider increasing educational provision forof the UKs brightest students.stol is taking that opportunity. We plan to increase our

nt undergraduate intake from around 3,300 per annum,und 3,900. The fundamental questions are, of course:grow? And what does growth mean for Bristol?

grow?

th is not a new concept for universities, or for Bristol.the 1960s the number of UK universities has grown,udent numbers have risen at almost every universitycountry. In 1991 there were around 990,000graduates in UK universities; in 2011 there werellion undergraduates.

stol University itself grew dramatically in the 1960s990s, with slower but still constant g rowth in thed 00s (see panel on right). In fact, growth has beenal to Bristol s success and achievement throughout itsom the addition of a Drama Department (the UKsthe 1950s), to the very recent example of accreditationBSc in Biochemistry with a Year in Industry course,ls undergraduate degree offering s have expanded andoped as the world has evolved. Growth enables us toce new and emerging disciplines with rigour.

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wth as usual

BiographyProfessorNick Lieven,PhD, FRAeS

Job titlePro Vice-Chancellor(Education and

students)Other rolesFellow of theRoyal AeronauticalSociety

Professor ofAerospaceDynamics

ResearchHis particular areaof expertise is thelink between theinherent stress instructures and theirdynamic response

Now, an increase will enable us to expand departmentswhere there is overwhelming demand for places, and toadd key academic staff to others. For instance, in English one of our most intellectually diverse disciplines we havethe opportunity to provide a broader range of intellectualchallenges. Our planned growth now will provide sufficientresource to enable us to recruit into new areas such asContemporary Literature, a topic in the discipline where thereis strong student interest. Its a tight bala ncing act, but we feelthat Bristol will succeed as long as we ensure that our growthis driven by our strateg ic imperatives to provide a positive and improved student experience, underpinned by ourcommitment to provide a r igorous scholarly education.

Growth provides another important opportunity forBristol, in terms of perception. Undergraduate places atBristol are among the most highly sought after in the country.In recent years, restricted course numbers mean weve hadto turn down many well-qualified applicants; this has oftenled to accusations of bias on our part towards one particularstudent type or another. Nothing is further from the truth,but perception is everything; with tens of thousands of AABor better applicants seeking Bristol places, many talentedstudents heard no when they applied to Bristol in the past.We believe that by expanding student numbers in high-demand subjects, we now have an opportunity to say yesto some more of the best students in the country and EU.

The university landscape

Importantly, we are not the only university to be i ncreasingits home undergraduate student intake. The educationplatform has shifted quickly and we can be sure that

other universities will be competing aggressivelysame small pool of highly talented students. In thenvironment, we have to ensure that students knBristol and its reputation, and come to us first. With this in mind, last autumn Bristol develoa campaign of targeted advertisements in newspmagazines and train stations. The ads (se e belowiconic Bristol images (Brunels Clifton Suspensiohot-air balloons), and, with an eye on the mobilusing student audience, incorporated QR codescould instantly access web content about the Un

As I write this piece, our 2012 undergraduatenumbers are pretty much where they should beare not complacent. The world of undergraduatrecruitment has changed radically. Anecdotal evsuggests that students who are predicted three A

are receiving record numbers of offers from comuniversities; top-notch 2012 candidates may finmore spoilt for choice than their 2011 peers. Outhat Bristols great attractions, its resea rch excellecommitment to high-quality teaching and scholits friendly student environment and its fantasticinspire those who have many options to choose Our Vice-Chancellor has said, in his capacityChairman of Universities UK, that changes in stnumber regulation will mean different things toindividual institution and those differences are nnecessarily predictable. It is inevitable that there unintended consequences, there always are in thsuch change. We believe that Bristol is wel l posimake the most out of the opportunities before u

Building our future

I have been delighted by Bristols capacity to emthis opportunity for growth. The Universit ys drespond by growing student numbers was mademindful of the opportunities laid out above, butcapacity questions in mind for us and for the cityas a whole.

200918,615

200015,6861990

8,429

19807,108

19706,410

19603,374

19502,740

2011 THERE

ERE 1.9 MILLIONNDERGRADUATES

GROWTH ENABLES USTO EMBRACE NEW ANDEMERGING DISCIPLINES

The QR code campaign set out to raise awarenessof Bristol in such a way as to reflect the excellence ofour students and academics it had to be clever andeffortlessly excellent simultaneously. The response tothe campaign, both in terms of increased web traffic tokey University web pages, and wide acclaim from theadvertising and marketing media, underlined that wehad hit the mark. Now we must continue to raise the bar,which is a wholly exciting challenge.

David AlderDirector of Communications and Marketing

Discover more campaign

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InterviewGenerations

Clare:I wanted to go to Bristol University because

of its international reputation and I loved my time

there. Bristol gave me so many close friends.

Millie:I chose to study at Bristol, because both

my parents spoke so highly of their time there.

Its a leader in terms of research and standards

of teaching, and that has been reflected in all my

experiences so far. When I tell other people that I go

to Bristol University they always respond positively.

Clare:Millie got a place in Badock Hall, the same

hall of residence I was in! Going back reminded me

of my first term there; its very friendly and small

enough to get to know most of the other students.

Millie:It has a great atmosphere; everyone was

unbelievably friendly and helpful and it was very

easy to settle in.

Clare:Some of my best memories are of certain

lecturers who really brought their subject to

life. Professor Kenneth Ingham was Head of the

Department of Historical Studies and he developed

my passion in Africa. I was amaze d by how helectured with no notes.

Millie:Like Mum, Ive found all the lecturers

passionate about their teaching and always willing

to help if you have any concerns. Th e teaching has

allowed me to use my initiative and think on my feet.

I hope that going to such a prestigious university

will open doors for me in the future.

An interview with Clare Timms (BA 1981),Managing Director of Bare Films, andher daughter Millie Tett (BSc 2010), whois currently studying Social Policy andPolitics at Bristol.

Bristol in pieces

ure

wth as usual

GBCavephotosUniversityofBristolSpelaeologicalSociety

LeadimageRyanMcVay/GettyImages//ClareTimmsandMillieTettp

ortraitS

tephenShepherd

roducing more students to the city, even phased overl years, is a significant undert aking. We have also hadure that our facilities can cope with the increase. Our

mitment to house all UK fir st-years who come frome Bristol is one we are keen to preser ve. The studentntial experience is part of our history and character.tnership with private providers, we have the capacityet our commitment for the next few years, a s we planuild new facilities on the Stoke Bishop site.ur lecture theatres and study spaces will alsoand we will improve the effectiveness of usage to

mise every lecture space we have in the most effectiveor our students. The complexity of timetabli ngrsity teaching across our different undergraduates (many of which contain common elements) isastonishing, but our review of our current use gave

fidence that we can be more efficient with ourg assets. Within four years, as the numbers bed in,ll need to provide some additional space, and we areng for that now.

values

o Vice-Chancellor, one of the catch phrases I heard the University today and indeed across the sectorcus on the quality of the student experience. Whathat mean? I thi nk too many people try to usemeasurable things to provide an answer: contactnumbers of academics per student, size of student

oms, cost of breakfast in a hall. Instead, I believe thatr wiser to measure the student experience and levelolarship, particularly at a great research institutionristol, by asking whether we have inspired ournts to be the very bes t at what they choose to do.inspire students, we need research staff that will

leading-edge, world-class thinking and teachinghe classroom. We need excellent facilities: modernr our scientists, medics and engineers; well-d and attractive libraries for all of our students.eed students to be able to access a broad rangeracurricular opportunities through halls, thents Union and sports clubs, and, of course, wehe students to inspire e ach other through their ownence and willingness to explore and push at theers of knowledge.ur Vice-Chancellor summari ses that Bristolrsity will continue to thrive and develop and we

o so by remain ing true to our vision. Growth nows us to take that vis ion forward into our second

ry with real confidence and enthusiasm.

TRODUCINGORE STUDENTSA SIGNIFICANT

NDERTAKING

Regulars

What happened when Bristol cavers struck it big

TopThe team about to descend the entrance shaftBottomFrancis Goddard looking into the first grotto

THE WALLS AREDRAPED WITH P

WHITE CURTAINOF STALACTITES

NumbersBotanic Garden

The 1.77-hectareBotanic Gardenhas been at itscurrent site since 2005. It is the first university botanicgarden to be created in the UK for nearly 40 years.bristol.ac.uk/botanic-garden

Romantic discovery of a vast and unknowncavern on Mendip, said the headline of an article inthe Illustrated London News(ILN) in August 1941.The subhead went on: An immense system oflimestone caves and stalactites at Charterhouse-on-Mendip, 450 feet below surface, discoveredby Bristol University students. The students concerned Francis Goddardand Charles Barker were members of theUniversitys Spelaeological Society, which hadbeen investigating the subterranean formations

beneath Black Down since the 1920s.Early in 1939, a group from the Society returned

to the site of an earlier dig and began to excavatebeneath a slab of rock where a stream had oncedisappeared underground. A draught from afissure 20 feet below the surface suggested theexistence of a cave, so the team used explosives toenlarge the crack until the two smallest membe rs Goddard and Barker could fit through. This opened out into a series of chambersleading some 300 ft, and amongst them we retwo grottoes of extraordinary beauty, continuesthe article, which goes on to describe stalactitesin wildly varying forms some with tree-likebranches, others fused together into trunks.

Work was slowed by the teams wartimeduties, and by more pressing excavations after

area ofglasshouse,divided intofour distinct

climatic zones

additional >funds raisedby Leipnerto build thegarden

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losophers have debated the mentalities of animals for centuries; today,

mal welfare science is a burgeoningd. Studies by researchers suchDr Becky Whay(PhD 1999) andClaire Weeks(PhD 1981) in themal Welfare and Behaviour Groupvide fundamental information aboutmals perceptions, awareness and

periences in order to develop betterfare assessment methods and

prove the conditions of livestock.

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ByHilary Brown

revention has never been the kind

of thing that makes headlines.

Few know this better than ProfessorMalcolm Evans, a member of the UnitedNations Subcommittee on Prevention ofTorture (SPT) and its Chair since 2011.Mention the word torture and people fixateon the extremes the type of intentional,systematic cruelty youll never eliminate, hesays. Torture is prohibited under internationallaw, but that doesnt stop it happening.

The work of the SPT is much more longterm and involves changing perceptions aboutwhat constitutes humane behaviour. Theres

another side to torture the kind of unthinkingviolence meted out daily in detention centres,prisons and police st ations around the world,says Evans. Thats something you cantackle, byhelping states establish robust criminal justicesystems that rule out such casual ill treatment.Its not glamorous, but it makes a real differenceto many peoples lives.

In it for the long haulEvans involvement in torture preventionstretches back to the early 1990s , when theEuropean Committee for the Preventionof Torture sought the help of Rod Morgan,Professor of Criminology at Bristol, to set uptraining courses on visiting places of detention.Evans provided the international legal expertise.

He then developed links with theAssociation for the Prevention of Torture, aGeneva-based non-governmental organisationthat was one of the drivers behi nd the UnitedNations Optional Protocol to the Conventionagainst Torture (OPCAT; see panel on right).Following on from his work around theEuropean system, Evans fed into the protocolsdrafting process. When the OPCAT cameinto being in 2006, Evans collaborated with

colleague Professor Rachel Murray (LLM 1995)on a project funded by the Arts and HumanitiesResearch Council to monitor its progress. Sobegan a long association with the UN.

Compliance and co-operationThe SPT takes its mandate from OPCAT. Statesparties choose to ratify OPCAT to demonstratetheir commitment to the promotion of humanrights and the prevention of torture and illtreatment. Its a completely new wayof approaching human rights, says Evans.

Traditional approaches are based onaccountability and punishment, he explains.There are laws that stipulate the right to life,

to freedom from torture, to freedom ofexpression and so on; these are the standardsagainst which states behaviour is assessed.If your rights are violated, you should beprovided with a remedy.

This is ess ential, of course, but it doesnt stopa breach from occurring or from recurring.While recognising the need for accountabilit y,the SPT seeks to establish mechanisms toprevent torture and ill treatment in the firstplace; as Evans says, its better if human rightsviolations dont happen at all.

The SPT is also distinctive in that it operatesat both international and national levels. Ithas the capacity to conduct visits to places ofdetention in the jurisdiction of party states

but OPCAT also requires states parties toput in place national preventive mechanisms(NPMs). One of the jobs of the SPT is to helpstates do this, and to advise and assist the NPMsthemselves in their work of reducing oreliminating the risk of torture. Our visitsmay be unannounced, but theyre not designedto catch people out, says Evans. The idea is tomake practical recommendations to improveconditions of detainees and in the long run tosafeguard against ill treatment.

Diplomacy and detachmentVisits can be demanding, both physically and

emotionally. Every country has its challenges,says Evans. Some of the detention centres arevery remote it took a two-hour helicopterride followed by a two-hour trip in a jeep onunpaved roads to get one place we wanted tolook at in Liberia.

Although states agree to the principle ofinspections, SPT members are sometimestreated with suspicion. To be fair, if yourerunning a prison in a n isolated location andsome foreigners turn up waving papers anddemanding access to interview the inmates onbehalf of the UN, you might want to checktheir credential s, says Evans. You have tobe diplomatic when youre negotiating with

Feature

Brave new world

SPTMission andmandate

YOU HAVE TOBE DIPLOMATIC

WHEN YOURENEGOTIATING WITHSOMEONE HOLDING

A MACHINE GUN

The SPT began its w2007. It is a new kindwithin the United Nahuman rights treaty with a purely prevenmandate focused onsustained, proactiveto the prevention of and ill treatment. It c25 independent expedifferent backgrounparts of the world.

SPT operates in accowith the provisions oOPCAT, implementeUnder OPCAT, it alsoright to conduct unavisits to places of detin party states. As weconducting its own vit co-operates with ointernational, regionanational bodies engaactivities related to toprevention, and adviparty states on settinindependent nationapreventive mechanis

ure

e way international organisationsproach human rights is changing.lcolm Evans OBE, Professor ofblic International Law, is helping toer states towards a more proactiveproach to the prevention of tortured ill treatment.

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Listings

Events

CalendarJune 2012 November 2012

Unless otherwise stated, more information and booking detailsare available from bristol.ac.uk/alumni/eventsor by calling+44 (0)117 331 8204. The events programme is always beingupdated, so keep an eye on the website for the latest event news.

June

Saturday 9 JuneTracing human ancestryusing DNA//Cambridge

The Cambridge Branch invites youto hear Dr Peter Forster, Directorof Research at the Institute forForensic Genetics in Menster(Germany), talk about how DNAcan be used to trace family historiesover thousands of years.

Wednesday 20 JuneVictorian London walk

Join the London Branch of theUniversity of Bristol Alumni on theDarkest Victorian London Walkled by an experienced Blue Badgeguide and followed by light buffetsupper. (Repeated 12 July.)

July

Friday 6 July Sunday 8 JulyAlumni Weekend 2012:

Best of BristolCome back to Bristol and enjoya packed weekend of lectures,lunches, friends and tours.There will be special anniversarycelebrations for those whograduated in 2002, 1992, 1982,1972, 1962 and earlier.

Saturday 7 JulyValedictory Lecture: EmeritusProfessor Bob Evans//Bristol

Professor Evans (PhD 1970) onUnderstanding the states of matter:

45 years and still trying. Popularprofessors who have moved onto Emeritus status are invited togive a Valedictory Lecture to formerstudents, alumni and friends.

Saturday 7 JulyValedictory Lecture:Emeritus ProfessorStephen Lisney//Bristol

Professor Lisney (BSc 1972, BDS1975, PhD 1978, MA 2005) onMarshall Hall and the concept ofspinal reflex action (1832). Popularprofessors who have moved onto Emeritus status are invited togive a Valedictory Lecture to formerstudents, alumni and friends.

Saturday 7 JulyConvocation (BristolUniversitys alumniassociation) AGM//Bristol

See details and absentee ballotpaper, enclosed.

Saturday 7 JulyWills Hall and ChurchillHall Associations reuniondinners//Bristol

All alumni and guests are welcometo attend. Guest speaker at Churchill:The Right Honourable the BaronessHale of Richmond DBE (HonLLD 2002), University Chancellor.Guest speaker at Wills: ProfessorBruce Hood, Director of the BristolCognitive Development Centreat the University and 2011 RoyalInstitution Christmas Lecturer.

September

Saturday 8 SeptemberCambridge Branch annualdinner, Pembroke College//Cambridge

Guest speaker: The RightHonourable the Baroness Hale ofRichmond DBE (Hon LLD 2002),University Chancellor.

Friday 21 Sunday 23SeptemberThe 10th annual EasternCanada alumni reunion 2012//Canada

This reunion will centre on theStratford Shakespeare Festival inOntario and combines theatre witha reunion dinner.

Thursday 27 SeptemberAlumni forum: Understandingadmissions and studentfunding//London

Especially for parents and friendsof current and soon-to-beuniversity applicants: a universityview on undergraduate admissionsand student life.

Saturday 29 SeptemberMidlands Branch visit toWinterbourne House andGarden//Birmingham

The University of BristolMidlands Branch of Convocationinvite alumni to join them for avisit followed by lunch atWinterbourne House.

If youre organisievent for alumni awould like our hepublicising it, [email protected]

CalendarillustrationAlbertoAntoniazzi

MalcolmEvansportraitRobVanderplank

October

Wednesday 10 OctPioneers receptioLondon

This is an invitation-onplease see bristol.ac.ucentenarycampaign/recognising-support/

Monday 15 OctobeWills Hall Associatreception//Londo

Enjoy canaps and gocompany at this annuawhich will be held at theand Cambridge Club.

November

Thursday 8 NovemLondon Branch of tUniversity of Bristoannual lecture//Lo

Guest speaker, Tony Ju(BSc 1983), campaigne

sustainability adviser anBritish environmentalistthe London Branchs ke

Saturday 17 NovemCentenary of BristoSchool of Oral and Sciences, Bristol

You are warmly invitedcelebrate the centenarthe School of Oral and Sciences with a varietylectures and lunches. Chow the school has ch

e new world

ure

one holding a machine gun. But weocal liaison officers who can verify ourate and were very persistent.nce inside a facility, the challenge is ton focused on the purpose of the v isit.ant intervene in individual case s, says. Thats extremely difficult, especiallyyouve been t alking to someone whosocked up in appalling conditions, andnow exactly what theyll be going back toyou leave. Half of you wants to prolongnversation to delay that inevitability,e other half is aware t hat the longer youwith this person, who may not have beened out of his cell for months, the less ti meave for seeing others.

pro quourn for unprecedented access to placesention, the SPT keeps its reportsdential unless states agree to makepublic. Around half the committeess have been published so far and notose that are beyond criticism. This isy commendable, says Evans. It showsarkable degree of honesty and agness to improve things.omes as a surprise that some democraticries have not yet ratified OPCAT,others with historically poor humanrecords, such as the Democraticblic of Congo and Cambodia, haveso. Evans believes that the examplecountries set encourages others toTunisia, for example, is the first of

rab Spring countr ies to come on and there are signs that others will

w suit.ow much can the SPT realisticallyve? Not all that much in terms oftions, concedes Evans. A visit may

o many recommendations, such as,ample, moving detainees to alternative

mmodation in a case of chronicrowding, improving conditions, oro close a facility down. But theres ao how many visits teams drawn fromcommittee members can make in a yearently only about six. The committee is,ver, making greater strides in the areaping states establish national structuresa similar mandate to its own. In the UK,used to the idea of having independenttorates, but its new territory for manyries, says Evans. The STP spends a lote working with states to ensure that theyheir own mechanisms in place to createve monitoring bodies.

Entente mondialeSo far, 62 states have ratified OPCAT. Thatmay not sound like many, but its nearly athird of the worlds countries. Evans believesits success is due to its forward-lookingnature. Were not out to prosecute for pastmisdemeanours; were interested in the f uture,he says. The more that states understandthat, the more willing they are to engagewith us. It can be difficult to get that messageacross, especially when other internationalmechanisms work differently, but we keepplugging away.

Familiar as he is with the slow-turningwheels of international diplomacy, Evans isheartened by how much OPCAT has achievedin the short time since its implementation.While the lawyer in him takes nothing forgranted once states establish preventivemechanisms, they still have to maintain them he is cautiously optimistic. A new era ofuniversal understanding? Time will tell.

United we standWho has ratifiedOPCAT?

Albania, Argentina, Armenia,Azerbaijan, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia andHerzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, BurkinaFaso, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica,Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic,Democratic Republic of the Congo,Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, France,Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala,Honduras, Hungary, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia,Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia,Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius,Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands,New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria,Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland,Republic of Moldova, Romania, Senegal,Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey,Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay

AlbaniaFirst to ratifyin 2003

HungaryMost recentstate toratify, earlierthis year

UKThirdto ratify,also in 2003

TunisiaFirst of the

Arab Springcountriesto ratify

Benin, Honduras, Maldives,Mexico, Paraguay, Sweden

All have made SPTs visitreport public

WERE NOT OUTTO PROSECUTEFOR PAST

MISDEMEANOURS;WERE INTERESTEDIN THE FUTURE

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Thoughtthat countsThose neat diagrams in the textbooks makescience look so well, settled. And yet we still havetrouble defining what a species actually is. PhilosopherslikeProfessor Samir Okashatry to shed light on theambiguities that modern science still cant crack.

ByNick Riddle

cience is big on data. Philosophy

not so much.We tend to be lookingfor something a little more nebulous,

says Samir Okasha, Professor of Philosophy ofScience. Philosophy doesnt have a catalogueof definite conclusions or discoveries. Somepeople think of that as a mark against it, butphilosophical investigations can illuminate asubject in a di fferent way.

Philosophy of science as an organised sub-

discipline is no more than 80 year s old, butthe questions and debates that it addresses goback much further, to an era when the notionof a sharp dist inction between philosophyand science would have puzzled your averagescholar; Ren Descartes, the father of modernphilosophy, was one of many philosophers whowere also practising scientists.

Philosophy of science really got going inthe 1930s, after relativity theory and quantummechanics rewrote the laws of physics, saysOkasha. That threw up some profoundquestions to do with objectivity, causality andthe nature of time.

Speaking of speciesSo how can philosophers come to tscientists? True to philosophys repuexample that Okasha gives is a little

In evolutionary biology, there han age-long controversy about whaa species is, he explains. The basic ithat a species is a group of organismcan interbreed with each other but nanything outside the group. As a routhat works fairly well a s long as yowith sexually reproducing animals,

theyre a tiny fraction of life on EartBut biologists know that this leavloose ends. Are species real units in or are they arbitrary divisions that wsuperimposed on to nature? Theremore practical question of how exacan extend the species notion to orthat dont reproduce sexually, says ODividing all plants rigidly into specno grey areas in between, is a bit of

Philosophers have entered this frtimes most recently in the 1970s, wthey proposed a new approach: rathdefine a species as a category, one sh

ngs

Thought that countsmni in memoriam

University extends its sincere condolences to the friends and families ofe listed below for who the University has received notification of death.

of degree date

m Ancrum6, Diploma 1940)cember 2011, aged 97

s Thomas36)

bruary 2012, aged 97

ret Bartlett(ne Poole)7, Diploma 1938)ober 2011, aged 96

ed Nowell Peach FRCSB 1937)uary 2012, aged 98

ethercott38)gust 2011, aged 93

am Heaton-WardB 1944, Diploma 1948)e 2011, aged 91

win HerdmanB 1947)uary 2012, aged 88

Yates47)1, aged 85

Cairns8, Cert Ed 1949)vember 2011, aged 84

rles Crowne48, PhD 1951)1, aged 84

am Paige48)vember 2011, aged 84

Roberts8)vember 2011, aged 84

aniels(ne Hutchings)50)uary 2012, aged 81

d Hope50, Cert Ed 1951)1, aged 90

McGrath(ne Yeats)0)2

e Nnaemezie Aniagolu51)1, aged 89

s Boldero51)ober 2011, aged 87

ayes(ne Daley)1951, BA 1950)

bruary 2012

hony RowlandB 1951, Diploma 1961)bruary 2012, aged 84

Brook2)uary 2012, aged 80

t Harvey52)1, aged 80

Arthur Rust(BA 1952, Cert Ed 1953)died June 2011, aged 82

Dr Sydney Spragg(BSc 1952, PhD 1955)died September 2011, aged 84

John Vowles(BDS 1952)died 2011, aged 88

Anthony Bennett(BSc 1953)died November 2011, aged 82

Philip Bishop(BA 1953)died October 2011, aged 78

Dr Ranchor Lalloo

(MB ChB 1953)died February 2011, aged 85

Judith Blair-Brown (ne Price)(BA 1954, Cert Ed 1955)died August 2011, aged 79

Margaret Dennison(ne Morrison)(BA 1954)died March 2011

Christopher Lapworth(BSc 1955, Cert Ed 1956, Adv Cer t Ed 1980)died February 2012, aged 77

Dr Philip Barry(MB ChB 1955)died October 2011, aged 88

Margaret Bunyan(ne Pollard)(BA 1955)died 2011, aged 78

Alan Gard(BSc 1955)died October 2011, aged 77

Dr Kenneth Parry(MB ChB 1955)died 2011, aged 82

William Wood(BSc 1955)died November 2011, aged 79

Christopher Bowes(BA 1956)died February 2012, aged 76

Dr John Hardy(BSc 1956, PhD 1959)died July 2011, aged 76

Robert Eccles

(BA 1957)died 2011, aged 76

John Green(BVSc 1957)died 2012, aged 78

The Rev Canon Eric Grimshaw(BA 1957)died September 2011, aged 77

Professor Richard Redwood(BSc 1957, PhD 1964)died October 2011, aged 75

Brian Totterdill(BSc 1957)died July 2011, aged 77

Peter Cushing(BVSc 1959)died 2011, aged 77

Alan Davis(BSc 1959)died August 2011, aged 75

Thomas Whymark(BVSc 1961)died October 2011, aged 73

Gillian Bedingfield(ne Thunder)(BSc 1962, MA 1997)died August 2011, aged 70

Dr Geoffrey Burston(MB ChB 1962)died February 2012, aged 72

Alison Baxter(BA 1963, Cert Ed 1966)died February 2012, aged 70

Christopher Powell

(BArch 1963)died December 2011, aged 70

Roderick Fox(BDS 1964)died June 2011, aged 79

Susan Mira(ne Ison)(BA 1965)died August 2011, aged 68

Michael Pearce(BA 1965)died August 2011, aged 72

Derek Walkerdine(BA 1965)died July 2011, aged 75

Dr David Howard(BSc 1966, MB ChB 1969)died January 2012, aged 67

Jonathan Latham(LLB 1966)died May 2010, aged 65

Dr Veronica Tatton-Brown(ne Wilson)(BA 1966)died March 2012, aged 67

Dr Richard France(PhD 1967)died February 2012, aged 73

Marcia Wilson(ne Leavey)(BA 1969)died May 2011, aged 63

The Rev Mr Malcolm Grills(BA 1974)died July 2011, aged 62

Professor John Turner

(PhD 1974)died 2011, aged 64

Richard Fisher(BSc 1977)died October 2011, aged 55

Dr Robert Newton(MSc 1978, PhD 1984)died August 2011, aged 56

Peter Edholm(BSc 1979)died October 2011, aged 53

Raymond Mardle(BSc 1980)died 2011, aged 53

Brian Liversage(Certificate 1983)died October 2011, aged 67

Sister Amelia Ip Cheng(BEd 1984)died November 2011

Roberta Dikeman (ne Davis)(JYA 1988)died February 2012, aged 45

Paul Hawksworth(BA 1988)died November 2010, aged 44

Alastair MacGilp(MPPS 1989)died 2011, aged 71

Rebecca Cook (ne Smith)(BVSc 1992)died 2011, aged 45

Pamela Brown

(MEd 1993)died June 2011, aged 68

Helen Holder(BSc 1993)died August 2011, aged 38

Dawn Warner(BA 1994)died November 2011, aged 41

Etham Vimes(MA 1996)died July 2011, aged 39

Andreas Milakovic(Certificate 1998)died 2011, aged 43

Claire Cordon(MSc 2006)died June 2008, aged 25

Octavia Morris(BA 2006)died August 2010, aged 27

Clemens Reutter(BSc 2011)died 2011, aged 23

Please email any notifications of death [email protected]

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an individual thing, born when an oldere splits and then becomes extinct.he relation between a species and thesms that belong to it is akin to thaten a multicellular organism like you or me,e cells in our body, says Okasha; theyref the whole. So if you find an organism onhat re sembles a domestic dog but has noction with the dog lineage here on Earth,oud have to conclude that its not a dog.might seem a hair-splitting distinction, butbiologists believe that it offers a possibleto applying the species concept in practicenstance, when measuring biodiversity.

tions of degree

ha and colleagues in the Department ofophy run postgraduate courses that bringophy to bear on science, mathematics,ology, cognitive science and biology.e are aimed at students with a sciencee who have found that it doesnt quitean itch, he says. They might be curious

the history of the ideas behind the theories,ut how their basic principles tie in withareas of enquiry. And there are broaderons: How confident can we be aboutfic ideas? How should we understand thenship between evidence and theory?ats not to say that science is badly taught,

ds: In some ways, its good to have ation between learning something anding philosophically on it. But I do thinke more we can get people to see that

und philosophical issues are raised bye, the better.

t and Darwinismophy does seem to attract people withng doubts about some other field. Weo have a rather chaotic intellectualory, says Okasha. Philosophy oftens people who have studied other things

come a little disillusioned. It can be a kindge for malcontents from other subjects.kashas undergraduate work was inophy and economics, but he was drawnw sub-discipline called philosophy of

gy. Im particularly intr igued by thehat many issues in political and socia lophy also crop up in evolutionarygy, he says. One of my research projectsved studying the tension betweendual self-interest and the welfare of the, and how both evolutionary biology andophy address this trade-off. Both havens of the theory that individuals acting innterested way can produce outcomes that

are not beneficial for their group, communityor species. And both try to explain why animalssometimes sacrifice themselves for the welfareof others, even those not their genetic relatives.

Head to headIn academia, scientists and philosophers haveinteracted in positive and often fruitful ways: theflourishing of cognitive science in the 1970s, forexample, was the result of work by philosophersas well as psychologists. Okasha, who spendshalf his professional life with philosophers andhalf with scientists, has observed the differencesbetween these species at close quarters.

Your typical philosophy talk goes on for anhour, he says, plus another hour of discussion,

thrashing out some tiny point, everyonepitching in. A science talk generally las ts halfas long, with fewer questions.

But argument is intr insic to philosophy,he points out; its all about pitting one positionagainst another. So I always have to rememberwhich company Im in when Im ta lking. Notthat scientists are unfai lingly polite, but thekinds of questions at a philosophy talk would,he thinks, probably be seen as an att ack onsomeones competence if you were to asksimilar questions after a sc ience lecture.

Both approaches have their merits, heemphasises, but the adversarial approach tends tofavour combative, even aggressive, people. Thatmight help to explain the rather embarrassinggender imbalance in philosophy, adds Okasha.At the top of the profession only about five percent of philosophy professors are women. I do

think we could learn something f rom sciencesmodel of presenting and discussing ideas.

Right to roam

But as for sciences model of workingtowards concrete conclusions We dontreally do conclusions, he laughs. But thatswhy philosophy complements scienceso well; without the pressure to producedefinitive results, philosophers can explorethe ambiguities of science more thoroughly.As Okasha says, These are important andinteresting ideas for anyone whos interested inthe bigger picture, and in what science can and cant reveal about the world.

ure

ught that counts

SamirOkashaportraitNickSmith//IllustrationJoelHolland

Taken

In pictures

Patryk and his cats is one of a series of images from a projectentitled People and Animals. The photographer,Charlie Clift(BSc 2010), honed his skills while studying at the University.

I decided to study Psychology at Bristol becauseIve always been fascinated by the variation inpeoples personalities. During a year out from mystudies, I discovered the joy of photographingpeople. Once back at uni versity, I spent loadsof time experimenting with the PhotographySocietys equipment, gaining the confidence todive into a freelance career as a photographer

straight after graduating. Since 2010, Ive beentaking portraits for editorial and advertising clientsand pursuing my own projects.

For the People and Animals venture, Ive beenphotographing interesting individuals who chooseto live closely with animals. Patryk travels a roundthe world showing the amazing ragdoll cats hebreeds with his mother. All the kittens are from the

same litter. I shot the cats individuallythe photos together later. We had to a good couple of hours playing with toffering toys and other distractions tolook just right. Fortunately, ragdolls hplacid temperament, otherwise theyhung around long enough to get the charliecliftphotography.com

Key pioneersPhilosophyof science

David Hume (1711-76)author ofA Treatise of HumanNature(above) whose ideasabout causation, in particular,have strongly influencedmodern philosophy of science.

Karl Popper (1902-94)whose booksThe Logic ofScientific DiscoveryandTheOpen Society and its Enemiesstill influence British philosophyof science.

Thomas Kuhn (1922-96)influential author ofThe Structureof Scientific Revolutions, whichintroduced the concept of theparadigm shift a wholesaleoverturning of received scientificwisdom by a radical new idea.

ITS ABOUT PITTINGONE POSITION

AGAINST ANOTHER

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JasonIngram

Everyone canleave a legacy.

Please thinkabout it.The Department of Music has been able to buya suite of new instruments, thanks to a legacyfrom a mature student, who had wanted to helpothers enjoy his passion for music.

bristol.ac.uk/centenarycampaign/how/legacies

Contact:Ella Searle (MA 2002), Planned Giving ManagerT: +44 (0)117 331 7971E: [email protected]

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