Glyndŵr University Inaugural Professorial Lecture Series 2010/11

glyndwr.ac.uk

Glyndŵr University

Inaugural Professorial

Lecture Series 2010/11

showcasing the nextgeneration of research

world-leading research at Glyndŵr UniversityThe Glyndwr University Graduate School has an enterprising and innovative ethos which fosters the development of its postgraduate and research students.

The School encourages debate and interdisciplinary working to facilitate professional development and innovation.

The Graduate School offers:Taught postgraduate courses in a wide range of •subjects

Master of Research courses in sport, computing• , health and engineering

Professional doctorates in health, religion and• education.

Research degrees (PhDs and MPhils)•

Research successResearch being undertaken at the University was classed as of high international standard in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008).

Many of our research projects have an international profile including our part in the collaborative research on the European Extremely Large Telescope project.

For more information about the Graduate School contact:01978 293439 [email protected]

glyndwr.ac.uk

The Transformation of Christianity? an interpretation of the 20th century

Professor William K KayProfessor of Theology

Tuesday 11th January 20116.30pm for a 7pm startCatrin Finch CentreGlyndwr University, Mold Road, Wrexham

The 20th century saw extraordinary changes in the scope and style of Christianity. One of the catalysts of these changes was a renewal movement that appeared apparently spontaneously in Wales, in the USA, in India and in Korea in the years before 1914.

Largely unnoticed by the politicians and academics, the Pentecostal revival encircled the globe, survived totalitarian repression and war and emerged as a powerful humanitarian and spiritual force after 1945 and 2001.

How did this movement start? What are its characteristics? What is its appeal?

This lecture will attempt to provide some answers.

Glyndŵr University Inaugural Professorial Lecture Series 2010/11 03

The History (and Future?) of Composites in AviationProfessor Richard DayProfessor of Composites Engineering

Thursday 3rd February 20116.30pm for a 7pm startCatrin Finch CentreGlyndwr University, Mold Road, Wrexham

Composite materials have been used in aircraft for the past 100 years. But what is a composite? And what uses do they have? Professor Day will explore the history of composite use in aircraft, from the Wright Flyer to modern day jumbo jets. The seemingly steady aircraft industry is, in fact, an agile and changeable one. The use of carbon fibre composites in commercial aircraft is set to increase, driven by environmental issues and economics.

Composites have many other applications – they have been used in the Formula One world for a number of years – and this lecture will explain how lessons learnt there could help the aircraft industry. What impact will these factors have on future demand for commercial aircraft? What potential issues will this demand raise? And how is Glyndwr University rising to the challenge?

04 Glyndŵr University Inaugural Professorial Lecture Series 2010/11

What can Materials Science tell us about Solar Energy of the Future?Professor Stuart IrvineResearch Professor of Solar Energy and Opto-electronic Materials

Thursday 17th February 20116.30pm for a 7pm startCatrin Finch CentreGlyndwr University, Mold Road, Wrexham

The global solar energy industry has been growing rapidly for over a decade and has continued to expand through the economic recession. The industry is, however, in its infancy and there are significant opportunities to improve the current generation of solar electric modules with new materials to reduce cost, increase solar conversion efficiency and modify appearance according to the needs of the building design.

Professor Irvine will look at the fundamental limitations to conversion of solar energy into electricity and at how the discovery of new materials might achieve higher performance than the current generation of solar electric modules. Deposition of thin organic and inorganic semiconductors onto flexible substrates will become more prevalent but materials compatibility and the long lifetime needed for a solar electric product to be incorporated into a building (at least 25 years) will be a challenge. This lecture will explore what we know about materials science and make predictions about what could be achieved in the future.


From Policy to Practice: the Value of Work-based LearningProfessor Karen GrahamProfessor of Childhood and Family Studies

Tuesday 22nd March 20116.30pm for a 7pm startCatrin Finch CentreGlyndwr University, Mold Road, Wrexham

The Leitch Report, Prosperity for all in the Global Economy: World Class Skills (HM Treasury, 2006) has placed skill development and workplace learning central to economic prosperity. It recommends that by 2020 more than 40 per cent of adults be skilled to graduate level and above, a target to be achieved, in part, through the development of workplace and lifelong learning.

In this lecture Professor Graham will focus upon the workplace as a centre for learning, qualification and skill development and explain how, in the childcare sector, pathways to qualifications can be used to promote individual, family and national economic prosperity. Describing the current qualification systems she will explore the importance of sector knowledge, values and work-based skills and how workplace learning opportunities can be structured to provide a coherent framework within which to build a culture of continuous quality improvement.


The Challenge of the Surface - from our own back yard to the ends of the universe

Professor David WalkerProfessor of Optics

Monday 11th April 20116.30pm for a 7pm startCatrin Finch CentreGlyndwr University, Mold Road, Wrexham


Surfaces control the way in which many manufactured items interact with their surroundings. Examples include bearings where surfaces slide, catalysts that interact with chemicals, solar arrays that convert light into electricity, and fluid-dynamical surfaces such as turbines and propellers.

In this lecture Professor Walker will consider some of the relevant properties of surfaces and contrast how the form and texture of surfaces can be controlled by craft processes on one side, and by modern computer-controlled manufacturing techniques on the other. He will examine the Precessions process (developed by UK spin-out company Zeeko Ltd) from the perspective of polishing complex surfaces where traditional methods fail. This has particular applications for polishing of prosthetic joint implants, which provides a real example of where automated methods are displacing craft processes, resulting in improved lifetimes in the human body.

At the other extreme lie surfaces that combine large sizes up to a metre or more, with the finest control – even down to near-atomic dimensions. This is the case with large optical surfaces – and in particular, mirrors for astronomy, remote-sensing from space, and high-power lasers. The lecture will also look at the international project to build the world’s largest optical telescopes – the 42-metre European Extremely Large Telescope, the greatest challenge of which is the manufacturing of the 1,148 mirror segments, each some 1.4m across. OpTIC-Glyndwr has been awarded a contract to manufacture seven prototype segments, and Professor Walker will give an overview of the technical approach adopted and the current status of the project.

Mental Illness, Social Inequality and Recovery: What Does Science Have to Offer?Professor Robert PooleProfessor of Mental Health, Glyndwr University, and Hon Consultant Psychiatrist, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board

Thursday 2nd June 20116.30pm for a 7pm startCatrin Finch CentreGlyndwr University, Mold Road, Wrexham

The role of science in mental health treatment is under attack, on the one side by professionals who want to introduce a post-modernist perspective into practice (so called ‘post-psychiatry’), and on the other side by those who would integrate spirituality or religion into treatment.

In this lecture, Professor Poole will examine the role of science within his profession of psychiatry. With focus on one particular thread in his current clinical research, the extent to which social deprivation can be regarded as a specific cause of mental illness, he will explore issues of reductionism and biological determinism as scientific dilemmas, sharpened by a dependency on commercial funding of research. He will argue that empiricism and science are important in overcoming the effects of social inequality and injustice, and that they are the essential tools if recovery is to become the expected outcome for everyone who suffers from a mental illness.


academic profilesProfessor William K KayWilliam Kay was educated at the universities of Oxford, London, Reading and Nottingham and has taught at the universities of Southampton, London and Bangor. He has the rare distinction of holding PhDs in both education and theology. His research interests include the role of church schools in society, the psychology of religion and child development. He has published extensively on educational and psychological themes but one of his enduring concerns has been to understand the role of Christianity in private and public life.

In 2000 he wrote Pentecostals in Britain (Paternoster) and in 2004 he edited A Reader in Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies (SCM). In 2007 he wrote Apostolic Networks in Britain: new ways of being church (Paternoster), followed by Pentecostalism: core text (SCM) in 2009. His Pentecostalism: a very short introduction is due to be published by Oxford University Press at the end of December 2010.

Professor Richard DayRichard Day originally graduated as a Physicist from the University of London. After a move to Bristol University to study the Physics of Materials, he returned to London to undertake a PhD in the stability of molecular electronic materials. He then joined the University of Manchester where he stayed for 23 years. His interests there spanned polymer engineering and composites. During this time Richard was one of the founders of the Northwest Composites Centre (NWCC). Established by the Universities of Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster and Bolton, the centre is one of a network of regional composites centres across the UK, which now includes Glyndwr University.

Richard joined Glyndwr University in 2009, where his role includes Academic Leader for Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering and Associate Director of the Graduate School. He is based at the new Advanced Composite Training and Development Centre in Hawarden, the result of a groundbreaking partnership between Glyndwr University, Airbus, Deeside College and the Welsh Assembly Government. Research led by Glyndwr University here will be targeted at developing faster manufacturing and processing techniques for composite materials which will help to meet future demand for aircraft.


Glyndŵr University Inaugural Professorial Lecture Series 2010/11

Professor Stuart IrvineProfessor Irvine has over 30 years of experience in compound semiconductors, working for government, industry and in academia. A Chartered Physicist, he received his BSc degree in Physics from Loughborough University of Technology in 1974, PhD in Physical Metallurgy and Science of Materials in 1978, and DSc in Physics in 1994, both from the University of Birmingham. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FInstP) and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM).

Professor Irvine is Director of the Centre for Solar Energy Research (CSER) based at OpTIC Glyndŵr in St. Asaph. The centre provides a link between basic research and industrial exploitation in the opto-electronics industry. He is also currently Executive Director for the £6.2m PV Supergen consortium of UK Universities. In addition to his academic research, Professor Irvine maintains close links with industry and is a non-executive director of successful spin-out business ORS Ltd. Other current responsibilities include chairing the Welsh Opto-electronics Forum PV Group, a management board member of the Low Carbon Research Institute (LCRI), advisor to DECC on solar energy research and various technology strategy planning roles.

Professor Karen GrahamKaren Graham has been at Glyndwr University for more than eight years, since establishing an on campus day nursery at the University’s Wrexham campus. Appointed Professor of Childhood and Family Studies in 2010, she is set to lead cutting edge research projects which will be carried out at the University’s new £2m Centre for the Child, Family and Society. The centre will be home to an operational day care centre that can be used observationally by researchers – all under a strict ethical framework – and is designed to bridge the gap between research and real-life practice, enabling future improvements for the industry.

Karen has had an extensive and varied career in teaching and early years education. After studying for a BEd (Hons) focusing on Maths and Science, she taught Key Stage Two, before occupying roles as a deputy head teacher, teaching advisor for curriculum development and then later special educational needs specialist, visiting schools to provide support for teachers. Karen left school education to open a day nursery, eventually operating a series of day centres across north east Wales – including the one at Glyndwr University. The day centres have won several awards. Within the education sector, she has also worked as a consultant to the Care Council of Wales and Halton Borough Council, and as an external examiner and verifier for both further and higher education. She also holds a BA and MA in Education and a PhD from the University of Wales.

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Professor David D WalkerProfessor Walker is half-time University of Wales Professor of Optics at Glyndwr University, and half-time Professorial Research Associate at University College London. He gained his PhD in astronomical instrumentation at UCL in 1980, and subsequently founded the Optical Science Laboratory there. After working on cryogenic CCDs, he developed a high resolution optical spectrograph for the 3.9m Anglo Australian Telescope, and was subsequently Principal Scientist for the high resolution spectrograph for the southern 8m Gemini telescope. He has also undertaken numerous commissioned studies and developed sub-systems for instrumentation for some of the leading astronomical observatories around the world, and for industry.

Professor Walker went on to develop his research interests in computer controlled polishing and measurement, and formed the company Zeeko Ltd in 2000 with industrialist Richard Freeman. In 2005 he moved from London to North Wales to lead the formation of the National Facility for Ultra-precision Surfaces at the OpTIC-Technium (now OpTIC-Glyndwr). He provided the technical lead on the successful tender response to the European Southern Observatory, to manufacture seven prototype mirror segments for the European Extremely Large Telescope, and currently leads the R&D team on that project. With his experience of both sides of the university-industry divide, he sits as an industry representative on HEFCW’s Research Innovation and Enterprise committee.

Professor Robert PooleRob Poole worked as an NHS psychiatrist for 28 years before taking up post at Glyndwr University Wrexham in 2009. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (FRCPsych), and a social psychiatrist interested in disadvantaged populations. He trained at St George’s Hospital, London and in Oxford. From 1988 to 2004 he was a consultant psychiatrist in a severely deprived part of Liverpool. Here he was closely involved in developing services such as the Criminal Justice Liaison Team and the Homeless Outreach Team. In 2004 he moved to a clinical post in rural North East Wales.

His research interests include the relationship between substance misuse (especially alcohol) and mental illness, the care of people with intractable mental illness in the UK, prescribing practice in psychiatry, the nature of the relationship between social inequality and severe mental illness, and the relationship between mental illness and creativity. He has work in progress on all of these topics and others. In the past five years he has co-authored two books concerned with clinical skills. With Robert Higgo he is working on a third text, Mental Illness and Poverty. He has recently inadvertently become a leading opponent of the integration of spirituality into routine clinical practice.


The Catrin Finch Centre is a £3m state-of-the-art conference and performance centre that opened its doors in 2009. Equipped with ultra-modern, hi-tech audio-visual facilities, it has become a major hub for performing arts in north east Wales, playing host to small scale theatre productions, plays, music events, conferences and exhibitions. The centre is also used by Glyndwr University’s performing arts students for rehearsals and productions.

All lectures in the series are open to all and free to attend.

To book your place at any one of these events please email [email protected] or call 01978 293466.

Each lecture will be followed by a reception, where guests will have the opportunity to meet the speaker and discuss the topic in more detail.

to Art & Design, Regent Street

A541

MOLD ROAD

54

CATRIN FINCH CENTRE

B5107

about the venue


We are delighted to announce that the 2011/12 Inaugural Professorial Series will begin in October with a lecture by Professor Michael Scott, Vice-Chancellor of Glyndwr University.

Thursday 13th October 20116.30pm for a 7pm startCatrin Finch CentreGlyndwr University, Mold Road, Wrexham


Professor Michael Scott was educated at the University of Wales, Lampeter and Nottingham University and gained his PhD from De Montfort University. He is a distinguished literary scholar having written numerous books and articles and edited two major series, most notably the influential Text and Performance series which helped spawn Masters programmes in a new approach to Shakespeare Studies in the UK, the USA, Australia and elsewhere.

He has spent thirty years in the higher education sector devoted to social inclusion and the opening up of universities to the community. He was previously Pro Vice-Chancellor of De Montfort University, Leicester, which he joined in 1989 from Sunderland Polytechnic where he was Professor of English and Head of the School of Humanities. For fourteen years he was Visiting Professor of English at Georgetown University, Washington DC which honoured him with the Centennial Award for Distinguished Teaching and Scholarship in 1989.


Glyndwr University is proud of its world-leading research and enterprising focus, and the implications these have for business, industry and society.

Our lecture series are free and open to all, and play an important role in bringing leading research and thinking to the wider community for discussion and debate.

If you have any ideas about topics that you would like to see explored through future lectures, or want to have your say on the lectures you have attended, we would love to hear from you.

You can email us at [email protected] or you can get involved online via our “...and discuss” blog: http://anddiscuss.blogspot.com

Glyndwr University Mold Road, Wrexham LL11 2AW

T: 01978 293439 F: 01978 290008 E: [email protected]

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Glyndŵr University Inaugural Professorial Lecture Series 2010/11