The University of Edinburgh · 04 The University of Edinburgh Edit Magazine For the fifth year in a row the University and the National Museum of Scotland continued their successful

The University of Edinburgh

Zhong NanshanhonouredZhong Nanshan, who firstidentified SARS, receivedan honorary degree ata ceremony celebratingEdinburgh’s Chinese links

ALSO INSIDEEdinburgh is to playhost to the first Britishcentre for human andavian flu research, whilethe Reid Concert HallMuseum will house aunique clarinet collection

INCLUDING B ILLET & GENERAL COUNCIL PAPERS S U M M E R 07

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Welcome to the Summer 2007 edition of Edit,and many thanks to everyone who contacted us with such positive feedback about our new design.

A recent ceremony in Beijing celebrated theUniversity’s links with China and saw ProfessorZhong Nanshan receiving an honorary degree;Edit takes a closer look at our connections –historical and present-day – to that country (page 14).

The discovery of H5N1 on a turkey farm inNorfolk earlier this year meant avian flu onceagain became headline news. Robert Tomlinsonreports on plans to establish a cutting-edgecentre at the University to research the virus(page 16).

The focus of our third feature is the ShackletonBequest, an amazing collection of clarinetsrecently bequeathed to the University that will be housed in the Reid Concert Hall Museum(page 20).

Anne BorthwickEditorEditor

18

14

14 Past, Present and FutureDeveloping links between China and Edinburgh.

16 From Headline to LaboratoryEdinburgh takes lead in Britain’s fight against avian flu.

20 Art meets ScienceThe remarkable musical legacy of the paleoclimatologist who championed the clarinet.

Publisher Communications and Marketing,The University of Edinburgh Centre,7-11 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9BE

Editor Anne Borthwick – [email protected]

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No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of the publishers.Edit is printed on environment-friendly, ForestryStewardship Council-accredited paper. Edit, the Universityof Edinburgh’s magazine, is published twice a year. The views expressed in its columns are those of thecontributors and do not necessarily represent those of the University.

xx Foreword

Contents

20

Features

2 University News

18 Talbot Rice Gallery

22 Alumni Events

26 World Service

28 Alumni Profiles

29 Billet

Regulars

16

Cert no. TT-COC-002242

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02 The University of Edinburgh Edit Magazine

University News

Chinese contribution to the University officially acknowledgedMore than 150 years of collaboration between China and the University of Edinburgh were marked in style when a University delegation visited Beijing to celebrate Chinese academic achievement.

The highlight of the trip was the award of an honorary degree to Edinburghalumnus Professor Zhong Nanshan, who identified the SARS virus. The awardwas made in the presence of Chinesegraduates of the University who wereinvited to attend a special graduationceremony celebrating Chinese academicachievement. The event was held 152years after Huang Kuan graduated inmedicine from the University ofEdinburgh, making him the first Chinesegraduate of any European university.

Following this, the Edinburgh delegationhosted ‘A University of Edinburgh Day inPeking University’ to develop further theexisting research and educational linkswith the University of Edinburgh. Theevent provided the opportunity foracademics to discuss future and existingcollaborations.

Vice-Principal Professor Geoffrey Boulton,who is in charge of developingrelationships between the University andChina, says: “We are extremely proud of our historic links with China and theyare links which we are eager to build on. As a crucial part of its current rapiddevelopment, China is investingmassively in education and research, and is keen to engage with the bestinternational universities in doing so.

“We can, because of long-standing anddeveloping links, knock on doors thatmany Scottish institutions and businessescan’t at the moment. From the graduationin Edinburgh of Huang Kuan back in 1855through to the establishment of theConfucius Institute for Scotland at theUniversity in 2006, we have demonstratedthat we have a special relationship withChina and we want to ensure that itcontinues for many years to come.”

Cinema China was conceived by the University of Edinburgh and presented audiences with an overview of the entire history of Chinese film. The festivalshowcased classic action movies,melodramas, musicals and art filmsfrom the People’s Republic, HongKong and Taiwan. Many of the filmswere screened on extremely rareprints imported especially from Asia.

Key highlights of Cinema Chinaincluded masterclasses with Asiansuperstar Maggie Cheung andacclaimed director Xie Fei, thepremiere of Zhang Yimou’s RidingAlone For Thousands Of Miles andthe world premiere of a new filmscore by composer Kimho Ip.

Cinema China Education, anextensive learning package foradults and children, complementedthe screening programme.

The University presented an exclusiveseries of lectures looking at aspectsof Chinese society, history, culture,movie-stardom and filmmaking.

Cinema China is a new partnershipbetween the University of Edinburgh,the Confucius Institute at theUniversity, the Filmhouse Cinema,the Scottish Executive, Beijing FilmAcademy, Scottish Screen, theNational Lottery and the EdinburghInternational Film Festival.

University launches Cinema ChinaThe University participated in the launch of Cinema China,the UK’s largest-ever Chinese film festival. Launched on9 March, this major event featured more than 20 importantfilms from the past 80 years of Chinese filmmaking.

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03The University of Edinburgh Edit Magazine

For all the latest University news, visit:

www.ed.ac.uk/news

In humans with Alzheimer’s disease thisprotein creates ‘tangles’ inside the nervecells, which inhibits messages beingprocessed by the brain. The team saysthat the presence of this protein in cats isproof that they too can develop this typeof disease.

By carrying out post-mortem examinationof cats that have succumbed naturally tothe disease, scientists may now be ableto uncover vital clues about how thecondition develops. This may eventuallyhelp scientists to come up with possibletreatments.

Scientists already thought cats weresusceptible to dementia becauseprevious research had identified thick,gritty plaques on the outside of elderlycats’ brain cells which are similar to thosefound in humans. But by pinpointing thissecond key marker, the Edinburgh-ledteam says we can be sure that cats cansuffer from a feline form of Alzheimer’s.

Dr Danielle Gunn-Moore, at theUniversity’s Royal (Dick) School ofVeterinary Studies, says: “This newlydiscovered protein is crucial to ourunderstanding of the ageing process incats. We’ve known for a long time thatcats develop dementia, but this studytells us that the cat’s neural system isbeing compromised in a similar fashionto what we see in human Alzheimer’ssufferers. The gritty plaques had onlyhinted that might be the case – now weknow.

“The shorter lifespan of a cat comparedto humans allows researchers to morerapidly assess the effects of diet, highblood pressure and prescribed drugs onthe course of the disease. However, wealso need to understand more about ourgeriatric cats for their own benefit, so wecan slow down the degeneration thedisease brings and keep them as happycats for as long as possible.

“As with humans, the life expectancy ofcats is increasing and with this longer liferuns the greater chance of developingdementia. Recent studies suggest that28% of pet cats aged 11–14 yearsdevelop at least one old age-relatedbehaviour problem, and this increasesto more than 50% for cats over the ageof 15.”

Experts suggest that good diet, mentalstimulation and companionship canreduce the risk of dementia in bothhumans and cats. Dr Gunn-Mooreexplains: “If humans and their cats live ina poor environment with little companyand stimulation, they are both at higherrisk of dementia. However, if the ownerplays with the cat, it is good for bothhuman and cat. A good diet enrichedwith antioxidants is also helpful inwarding off dementia, so a cat ownersharing healthy meals like chicken andfish with their pet will benefit them both.”

Study shows cats can succumbto feline Alzheimer’s diseaseEdinburgh researchers are involved in a major study that reveals that cats candevelop a feline form of Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists at the Universities of Edinburgh,St Andrews, Bristol and California have identified a key protein that can build up in thenerve cells of a cat’s brain and cause mental deterioration.

Numerous staff members and alumni ofthe University were recognised in theNew Year Honours List.

Among them was Professor AlexanderMcCall Smith, who has been awarded aCBE for services to literature. ProfessorMcCall Smith taught at the University formany years before retiring from his postas Professor of Medical Law in 2005 to

University in NewYear Honours list

concentrate on his writing career. He isan Emeritus Professor in the School ofLaw.

Dr Stuart K Monro is Scientific Directorof Dynamic Earth. He is an Edinburghalumnus and honorary fellow of theCollege of Science and Engineering. Hewas awarded an OBE for services toscience.

Professor Stuart Gowans Macphersonis Chair of the Scottish ModernisingMedical Careers Implementation Groupbased at the Lister Postgraduate Instituteat the University. He was awarded an

OBE for services to medicine inScotland.

Professor J Fraser Stoddart, who wasthe Edinburgh Alumnus of the Year 2005,is Director of the California NanoSystemsInstitute at UCLA at Los Angeles andwas awarded Knights Batchelor forservices to chemistry and molecularnanotechnology.

Alumna and percussionist Dr DameEvelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie wasappointed Dames Commander of theOrder of the British Empire for servicesto music.

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University News


For the fifth year in a row theUniversity and the NationalMuseum of Scotland continuedtheir successful partnership to offerexciting and fun-filled scienceactivities as part of the EdinburghInternational Science Festival in April.

Located in the Chambers Streetmuseum, events included DiscoverScience, a programme of hands-onactivities, workshops and shows forchildren and families, a Pixaranimation exhibition and Edinburghalumnus Dr Bunhead’s ExplodingBrain Show.

For an older audience there was atalk on the darker side of the internetand an interactive stem cell researchevent. University staff and studentsfrom both the College of Scienceand Engineering and College ofMedicine and Veterinary Medicinewere involved in this popular annualevent.

University joinsScience Festivalfor fifth year

As work begins on the five-year £45million refurbishment of the UniversityLibrary in George Square, a grant of£350,000 has been awarded by theGannochy Trust. The award will supportthe creation of the new Digital ImagingSuite, which will help to make thetreasures of the University’s collectionsaccessible to people all over the worldas well as in Edinburgh and also helppreserve rare and fragile materials forfuture generations.

In this first phase of the redevelopmentthe top two floors of the Library will betransformed into a Centre for ResearchCollections. The new Centre will bringtogether Special Collections withcuratorial, archival and digital imagingstaff, new seminar and reading rooms,study space and a new conservationsuite in which the Digital Imaging Suitewill play a key role.

The Digital Imaging Suite has beencustom-designed for high-quality digitalphotography. The floors will be vibration-free for freestanding photographicequipment. Photographic lighting will be on ceiling rails, making it possible toslide it into any position, and the wallswill be specially prepared for hangingobjects for photography, enabling staffto work with objects of any size.

The Library’s Special Collections datefrom the ninth century and range frommagnificent illustrated Persianmanuscripts to Shakespearean quartos.The collections are of national andinternational significance, including keyworks of the Enlightenment as well asitems relating to famous students of theUniversity such as Charles Darwin andSir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Funding boost as Universityof Edinburgh Libraryrefurbishment starts

Two University of Edinburgh researchershave been given the accolade ofcarrying out the best research on thebrain in recent years in Scotland.

Professor Ian Deary in Psychology andDr John Starr in Geriatric Medicine werewinners of the 2006 Margaret MacLellanAward, presented by the medical charityTenovus Scotland. They collected theaward at a ceremony in the RoyalCollege of Physicians and Surgeons ofGlasgow in December 2006. The thirdrecipient of the award was their closecollaborator Professor LawrenceWhalley from the University of Aberdeen.

Two Edinburgh researchers awarded TenovusScotland’s Margaret MacLellan Award

A spokesperson from Tenovus Scotlandstated: “The theme of research chosenfor this year’s Margaret MacLellanAward was the brain. The winners werethe trio of Professor Deary, Dr Starr andProfessor Whalley from both Edinburghand Aberdeen. This trio were recognisedfor their seminal contributions to ourunderstanding of cognitive ageing. In layman’s terms, this is the loss ofbrain function and memory that occurs.There is huge variation in how much thisoccurs between different individuals, butthis trio have identified key influenceswhich determine this variability.”

The Tenovus (Scotland) MargaretMacLellan Award is awarded everysecond year to honour the best piece of research carried out in Scotland in a nominated subject. This year’s awardwas given to those judged to havecontributed most in the field of researchon ‘The brain, including bothneurological and psychiatric disorders’within Scotland in recent years.

Professor Deary commented: “The threeof us have been working closely foralmost a decade now, conductingfollow-up studies of the Scottish MentalSurveys of 1932 and 1947, trying to findout why some people’s brains age moresuccessfully than others. We aredelighted to share this award, and verypleased that Tenovus Scotland choseour research as worthy of thisprestigious prize.”

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05

For all the latest University news, visit:www.ed.ac.uk/news

The University of Edinburgh Edit Magazine

Treatment hope for Rett Syndrome

Rett Syndrome, which can leave childrenwheelchair-bound, unable to speak and suffering from breathing difficulties, has until now been considered anuntreatable neurological disorder.

But University experts have been able to make symptoms disappear in mice by activating a specific gene.

Research focused on the behaviour of the MECP2 gene that causes thesyndrome to develop. They found thatwhen this gene was activated in micewhich had previously been born with it switched off, symptoms such asbreathing and mobility difficultiesceased. Over a four-week period, themice often became indistinguishablefrom healthy counterparts.

The findings give impetus to ways oftreating Rett Syndrome, which mainlyaffects girls. Further research may alsoshow that the results could apply toother autism spectrum disorders.

Professor Adrian Bird, Director of theWellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology

The symptoms of a severe autism spectrum disorder affecting at least 10,000 children in the UK could bereversed following findings from a University of Edinburgh research team.

at the University of Edinburgh, led theresearch and first discovered the MECP2gene in 1990. He says: “The results wecame across were entirely unexpected.Until now it had been thought that RettSyndrome is irrevocable, but our findingsshow that the damage to nerve cellfunction is, in fact, reversible. This givesa major boost to the search fortreatments or a potential cure.”

Although Rett Syndrome is presentat birth, it becomes more evident

during the second year. It is believed to be the second most common causeof severe and profound learningdisability in girls.

Potential treatment following on from the research could range from overridingthe mutated version of MECP2 with theactivation of a healthy version of thegene. Alternatively, therapy could focuson drug treatment to inhibit the action of proteins expressed as a result of a MECP2 mutation.

Chris James, director of Rett SyndromeAssociation UK, says: “The RettSyndrome Association UK is extremelydelighted to hear about the results ofProfessor Bird’s research. This is a verysignificant step on the road for futuretherapeutic approaches to RettSyndrome and, while the work in thisarea is still at an early stage, it will givehope to those families affected by RettSyndrome.

“It is particularly pleasing for us that we have been able to help fund thisresearch that could have such a positivebenefit for people with Rett Syndrome,their families and carers.”

The research, which is published onlineby the journal Science, was funded bythe Wellcome Trust, Rett SyndromeAssociation UK (with support fromJeans-for-Genes) and the US-based Rett Syndrome Research Foundation.

The University is attracting increasingnumbers of applications to subjectareas that traditionally struggle to drawnew students. New UCAS figures showencouraging rises at Edinburgh in‘hard to recruit’ areas such asengineering and European languages.

Last month undergraduate applicationsto engineering jumped to 2,409,compared to 1,922 for the same datein 2005. The increase of 25% contrastswith a 1.1% drop in UK applications forengineering subjects over the sameperiod. Chemistry and biology havealso seen significant rises at Edinburghover the past two years.

The University is the largest provider of modern language education in

Edinburgh pulls in students in ‘hard to recruit’ areas

Scotland and is benefiting from a wave of renewed interest in modernlanguages. Edinburgh has also seen atwo-year growth of 53% in applicationsto study European languages – upfrom 1,922 in 2005 to 2,409 this year.Subject growth for the UK as a wholewas 1.5% for the same period.

Undergraduate applications to theUniversity as a whole have risen byalmost 17% compared to 2005 figures.

The University has worked hard toencourage student recruitment inengineering and science subjects, bothat home and abroad, with a number of key initiatives that have included theappointment of new schools liaisonofficers.

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University News


Golf DayA Golf Day will be held on 31 May.Staff and student teams will be joinedby teams assembled by various Scottishlaw firms. The competition will be fierce.The tournament will be held at RoyalBurgess Golf Course, Edinburgh.

The School of Law alumni reunionAs part of the Law Tercentenarycelebrations, a special alumni reunionwill be held on the weekend of 8–10June. There will be a range of eventsincluding talks by Sir Neil MacCormickand Lord Cullen, tours of the ScottishParliament, a civic reception with theLord Provost of Edinburgh and a Gala Dinner Dance sponsored byLeslie Deans, Gillespie Macandrew and Dundas & Wilson. Some events are ticketed and numbers are limited, so book early!

Law graduationsOn 23 June unique graduations are totake place: students graduating from theSchool’s LLB and PhD programmes inJune will do so at a ceremony dedicatedexclusively to the School of Law.

At this ceremony the University will alsowelcome and honour further notablenames as honorary graduands from thefield of law: Professor Martha Nussbaum,Ernst Freud Distinguished Professor ofLaw and Ethics, University of Chicago;Professor Alexander McCall Smith,Emeritus Professor of Medical Law,University of Edinburgh; and ProfessorReinhard Zimmermann, Director of theMax Planck Institute for Comparative andInternational Private Law, Hamburg.

Tercentenary LecturesThere will be four Tercentenary Lecturesfrom September to December 2007given by internationally-renowned legalprofessionals including: Professor MarttiKoskenniemi of the University of Helsinki;Lord Hope of Craighead, Antonin Scalia,Associate Justice of the Supreme Courtof the United States; and Professor W R Cornish, Emeritus Professor ofIntellectual Property Law at the Universityof Cambridge (sponsored by Lindsays).

Brussels European receptionA reception is to be held on 2 October at Scotland House in Brussels for Lawalumni based in Europe. It will be achance to catch up with old friends and staff from the School of Law.

House of Lords receptionOn 31 October a reception for alumniand supporters of the School of Law,sponsored by Edinburgh law firmBrodies, will be held at the House ofLords, hosted by Lord Hope. Edinburghalumni who have completed traineeshipswith Brodies include the Secretary ofState for Scotland, Douglas Alexander,and the MP Mark Lazarowicz.

Bayne concertThere will be a concert at St Cecilia’sHall on Friday 23 November featuring,among other pieces, music composedby Alexander Bayne, first Professor ofScots Law.

For further information about anyof the above events please go towww.law.ed.ac.uk or contact KarenBoyle (email [email protected],tel +44 (0)131 650 9637).

Law Tercentenary events

A special graduation ceremony was held in February to mark theTercentenary of the School of Law.

Commemorating the date on whichQueen Anne established the Chair ofPublic Law and the Law of Nature andNations, currently held by Professor Sir Neil MacCormick, honorary degreeswere conferred on distinguishedindividuals from the field of law.

Mary McAleese, President of Ireland,Justice Albie Sachs, Justice of theConstitutional Court of South Africa,and the Rt Hon Lord Gill, Justice Clerk

Special graduation ceremony honours Law Tercentenary

and Senator of the College of Justice,were all presented with honorarydegrees at this special event.

The Tercentenary is also backed by asignificant fundraising campaign, which

has three priority areas: research andteaching; student support; and facilitiesand resources.

Significant progress has been made inraising money for scholarships and thedevelopment of the moot court room. UKlaw firm Shepherd and Wedderburn hasfunded the first corporate TercentenaryScholarship for the School. The £25,000endowed scholarship will provide a lawstudent with the sum of £1,000 a year to help offset the expenses of studying.

The Law Tercentenary is one of more than 30 projects to benefit from the £350million University of Edinburgh Campaign.

President McAleese

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HECToR (High End ComputingTerascale Resources) is a vastcomputing facility worth £113 millionover six years. The computer will bemade by the American supercomputercompany, Cray Inc, and has been paidfor by the UK Research Councils.

HECToR will be installed at theUniversity’s Advanced ComputingFacility on the Edinburgh Technopoleestate in Midlothian. It will start work inOctober this year and is planned to lastfor six years.

The Edinburgh-based supercomputerwill provide UK scientists with the

University signs contractfor supercomputerA multi-million-pound contract for a huge computer system, which will benefit academic research across the UK, was signed by University staff in February.

means to undertake increasinglycomplex research across a wide varietyof projects. Applications includesimulating disasters and emergencyresponse, long-range meteorologicalforecasting and climate change andmodelling the way the universedevelops.

Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre(EPCC) at the University will direct and operate the facility. EPCC’sdirector, Professor Arthur Trew, says:“Traditionally progress in science hasbeen made through theory andexperiment, but an increasing range

of problems now require to besimulated computationally.

“Examples range from climatemodelling to design of new materialsand from understanding sub-nuclearparticles to the evolution of theuniverse. HECToR is critical for UKscientists to compete internationally.We are delighted that EPCC has againbeen chosen to manage this facility.The choice of Edinburgh demonstratesthe University’s leadership in the field.”

On a chilly February morning in 2007, five Cullen family siblings revisited theSchool of Law where all of them hadstudied, graduating between 1979 and 1991. In contrast to the freezingtemperatures, the warmth of feeling forthe institution was apparent as Paul,Stephen, David, Peter and Sallyreminisced about their time as students.

“It is quite remarkable to all have donelaw and all in the same place,” saysDavid Cullen, currently Registrar of theLaw Society of Scotland. “It was reallyour parents who encouraged us – thereare lawyers on Mum’s side of the family.Being from here, it was a natural choiceto go to Edinburgh.”

Peter, who works at the European Courtof Justice and teaches at the Universityof Basel, adds: “We all have memories of some wonderful staff – Bill Wilson,Professor of Scots Law, had a greatsense of humour and was a fantastic

Left to right: Paul, David, Stephen, Sally and Peter Cullen Picture by Pascal Saez

A family affair

lecturer.” A fund of £35,000, set up in his name by graduates when he died,is testament to his popularity.

“The staff were friendly,” adds Stephen.“There was a real family atmosphere.”Paul, the only one of the Cullen siblingsto still practise Scots Law as an advocateand QC in Edinburgh, and Sally, currentlyBritish Liaison Magistrate in Rome, agree.

Stephen, who combines a career as atop attorney and litigator in the US with

teaching obligations at the University of Maryland, is well placed to judge theworth of the education he received atEdinburgh.

“It was fantastic training for practising lawin the US as well,” he explains. “It’s amuch better education than Americanstudents get. The depth of study is farsuperior. The thing I remember most isthe quality of teaching; the tutorials wereexcellent.”

Supercomputer HECToR

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The University of EdinburghManagement School has jumped 28places in the Financial Times 2007global full-time MBA rankings.

Edinburgh was one of only 16 UKschools that made it into the rankings,which ranks the top 100 internationalfull-time MBA programmes. Edinburghmoved up four places to eighth in theUK, and was placed 16th in Europe and54th in the world. Edinburgh was theonly Scottish Business School tofeature again in the rankings.

Prof Nick Oliver, the recently-appointedHead of School, says: “Edinburgh hasfeatured in the FT ranking of the top100 MBA programmes globally for thelast seven years. Our part-time MBAentered the FT global ranking ofExecutive MBAs published in 2006.These are powerful endorsements

of the quality of our MBA programmes,our students and our alumni.

“One of the reasons I joined Edinburghwas the quality of the programmesthat the School offers, which providea great basis for the ambitious planswe have for expansion anddevelopment over the next few years.

“These plans include the move into a state-of-the-art building, recruitmentof a new faculty, the launch of newprogrammes and the furtherstrengthening of the links andcollaboration with industry.

“This is an exciting time for Edinburghas we put in place our plans to furtherenhance our already stronginternational reputation, and this year’simprovement in the FT rankings will only help in strengthening this.”

Edinburgh rises inFinancial Times rankings

University News

To mark the tercentenary of theAnglo-Scottish Union of 1707, theUniversity launched its ‘Scotland andthe Union’ series of events in Januarywith ‘Debating the Union of 1707’.

This event was followed in Februaryby the sell-out ‘Union and Empire:Good for Scotland?’, featuringProfessor Tom Devine and Dr RichardHolloway as speakers, ‘The Death ofUnionism?’, chaired by Tam Dalyell, in March and ‘Where Stands the UnionNow?’ in April.

The debates and lectures in thispopular series considered thecontroversial origins of the Treaty ofUnion, the global consequences of theAnglo-Scottish relationship, nationalismand devolution in the late 20th centuryand the state of the Union today.

The events were supported by SimonFennell, Goldman Sachs.

University of Edinburgh academic CaitMacPhee has won a prestigious‘Women of the Future’ award for hercontribution to science.

Dr MacPhee won the science categoryat a business awards ceremony inLondon attended by Cherie Booth and Ruth Kelly MP, Minister for Women,in November.

The Women of the Future Awardsrecognise the outstandingachievements of women under 35 in the diverse worlds of the arts, business,media, science and technology.Winners were selected by a panel ofjudges chaired by Baroness SusanGreenfield, Director of the RoyalInstitute.

Speaking about her award, Dr MacPheesaid: “It was suggested I should applyby the Royal Society, which funds my

Edinburgh researcher named woman of the futurefellowship. It is one of the fewopportunities to showcase women.

“I work in the physics department but I work at the interface between physicsand biology, so I try and understand howbiology works so that we can maybe dosome interesting physics. Part of it is thatmy research has implications for biologyand health because I work in an area thatinvolves diseases like Alzheimer’s andParkinson’s.

“My work is between physics and biology,so it is taking the best of both worlds.”

Dr MacPhee is a research fellow in theSchool of Physics at the University. Sheis working with proteins related todementia whose properties could beput to positive medical uses. She wasalso awarded a Royal Society DorothyHodgkin Fellowship while still a graduateresearch student.

Cait Macphee (right) collects her award

University debates revisitAnglo-Scottish Union

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Mr Gates, who received an honorarydegree during his visit, heard aboutresearch leading to stem cell therapiesbeing developed at the University’sCentre for Regenerative Medicine,initiatives to combat the spread oftropical diseases and leading-edgecomputer technology being used in the emerging field of bioinformatics.

The Microsoft chairman wasaccompanied on his University visit by Scotland’s First Minister, JackMcConnell, and the Deputy FirstMinister, Nicol Stephen. He waswelcomed by the University’s Principal,Professor Timothy O’Shea.

Professor Ian Wilmut FRS was amongthe researchers to meet Mr Gates.Professor Wilmut and his colleaguesbriefed him on how stem cell researchcan help rebuild the immune system,repair bone and cartilage and offer

Bill Gates meets University researchersMicrosoft chairman Bill Gates was shown world-class scientificresearch that could impact on millions of lives globally when hevisited the University in January.

Light has been shed on the dark parts ofthe moon with experiments by Universityof Edinburgh researchers simulatingbillions of years of lunar evolution.

It is generally believed the moon wascreated after an early, semi-molten Earthcollided with a planet the size of Mars.The collision was so great that theorbiting debris would have formed a so-called lunar magma ocean, or liquefiedrock, up to several hundred kilometresdeep, which would have covered themoon’s surface. Yet until now it hasremained a mystery as to how thismagma ocean cooled and how the lunarlandscape evolved into white highlandsand dark valleys.

Dark lunar rocks are somewhat similar

to dark volcanic rocks on the Earth.However, many dark lunar rocks arecharacterised by unusually high ratios of the rare element hafnium to tungsten.To better understand this, researcherscreated their own lunar rock based onanalysis of samples bought back fromApollo missions, which they melteddown in furnaces at temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees Celsius. They thenexamined it as it cooled and crystallisedto understand how the moon solidifiedinto solid rock.

Dr Stephan Klemme, of the School ofGeoSciences, says: “Looking at howminerals crystallised has enabled us to gain much greater insight into themoon’s geological history. Our

experiments have shown that theminerals creating the white rock – seenin the lunar highlands – would havecrystallised first, whereas the dark andheavy iron-rich minerals would havesunk in the magma oceans, creatingdarker rock that would have been burieddeep inside the moon.

“The reason that the darker rocks arenow visible on the surface of the moon is proof of a later period of intensivemeteorite showers. The iron-richminerals that were deep inside the moonproved to be especially high in hafniumand low in tungsten, and would haveerupted to the surface as molten rock,filling the valleys on the moon to leavethe darker shade we observe today.”

Study shows moon in new light

treatments to patients with brain andliver conditions.

Mr Gates then heard how researchers at the University’s Centre for InfectiousDiseases are developing programmesto tackle the explosive spread ofsleeping sickness in Uganda, and toimprove the control of river blindness in Togo, Ghana and Cameroon.

Lastly, the Microsoft chairman metcomputer scientists from the University’sworld-renowned School of Informaticswho are using a range of scientifictechniques to solve biological problemsat a molecular level.

Mr Gates said: “It is a privilege toreceive an honorary degree from theUniversity of Edinburgh, which has sucha distinguished record in medical andscientific research.

“It is also a real pleasure to meetProfessor Ian Wilmut and some of the

talented young researchers from acrossthe world who have come to Edinburghto carry out exciting and groundbreakingresearch into stem cell science andtropical medicine in the quest toincrease our understanding ofdegenerative and infectious diseasesand to discover new treatments.”

Professor Timothy O’Shea said: “We aredelighted to have this opportunity to talkto Bill Gates about the research theUniversity is leading in areas related toregenerative medicine and infectiousdiseases. We are also very pleased toaward Mr Gates with an honorarydegree from the University of Edinburghin recognition of his technological visionand philanthropic work.”

Bill Gates

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University News


Funded by the Economic and SocialResearch Council, their researchexplores the ‘Scottish School ofEducational Research’ that existedbetween 1925 and 1950. Focusing on questions about intelligence and its place in education, this rich period of intellectual and practical activity hadprofound and enduring influences onworld educational and psychologicalresearch.

A study of this period of Scottishtheoretical, methodological and policyinnovation has not existed until nowbecause its elements have never beenbrought together. However, newlydiscovered papers, images and objects(from both this country and abroad) areenabling the professors to reconstructthe idea of a distinctive ‘Scottish School’and analyse Scottish knowledge

Reconstructing a ‘ScottishSchool of Educational Research’

networking in educational research at the time.

The research also examines how theScottish Council for Research inEducation (SCRE), the EducationalInstitute of Scotland and the CarnegieFoundation in New York, together withinfluential academics, helped organisethe impressive 1932 Scottish MentalSurvey, when children born in 1921 andattending school in Scotland on 4 June1932 were given the same mental test.This mental testing remains unique in the world and its origins have neverbeen explained properly.

The influence of Professor Sir GodfreyThomson is also being examined. The Principal of Moray House College of Education and Bell Professor ofEducation at the University for 25 years,he was one of the principal characters

in the network of Scottish educationalresearch, and in intelligence theory andits applications, alongside Robert Rusk,William Boyd and William McClelland. An archive of his work and papers isbeing constructed in the UniversitySpecial Collections.

If anyone has materials or recollectionsof Godfrey Thomson and his colleaguesin the SCRE networks and would like tocontribute to the project, please contactProfessor Deary, Psychology, 7 GeorgeSquare, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ([email protected]).

The University’s Professor Martin Lawn (Centre for EducationalSociology) and Professor Ian Deary (Psychology) are seekingassistance to reconstruct a once-famous network of educationresearchers in Scotland.

Professors Martin Lawn and Ian Deary infront of a portrait of Sir Godfrey Thomson

Madam

I note in the Winter 2007 edition of Editthat the University of Edinburgh retainsFairtrade status and has received aglowing report from the independentFairtrade Foundation. I am disappointedthat a university that writes freely aboutthe Scottish Enlightenment, and indeedhas a fundraising campaign in the nameof enlightenment, should continue withsuch an unenlightened policy.

Fair trade food is designed to raise poorfarmers’ incomes. It is sold at a higherprice than ordinary food with the subsidysupposedly passed back to the farmer.However, prices of such commoditiesare low because of overproduction. By propping up the price the fair trade

system encourages farmers to producemore of these commodities rather thandiversifying into other crops and sodepresses prices – thus achieving formost farmers exactly the opposite ofwhat the initiative is intended to do.

Only a small fraction of the mark-up on fair trade foods actually goes to thefarmer, most going to the retailer. Thesystem gives rich consumers an inflatedimpression of their largesse and makesalleviating poverty seem too easy. Itwould seem more ethical to encourageyoung people (eg students) to buy thehighest quality at the lowest price andgive any savings to charity. Thisapproach, however, is less politicallycorrect.

In December 2006 The Economist, in itsleader and in a special report, carried a reasoned condemnation of the ethicalfood movement.1 I believe the Universityshould encourage such a debate aboutfair trade before continuing with itspolicy.

Walter S Nimmo(MBChB 1971, MD 1982)[email protected]

1 The Economist, 9–15 December 2006: Goodfood. Why ethical shopping harms the world.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

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The University of Edinburgh Edit Magazine 11


In December the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies received a pledgeof £600,000 from the Robertson Trusttowards its new building at Easter Bushin Midlothian. The money has beenpledged to fund a project called theLibrary Study Landscape, which is setto become the most innovative teachingand learning area in any UK Vet School.

The new resource will provide studentswith hands-on learning usingsimulations and models as well asjournals and reference books. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it will support students and medicalresearch as part of the new building forthe Royal (Dick) School of VeterinaryStudies, a major project within theUniversity of Edinburgh Campaign,which was launched in October.

“We are really thrilled that theRobertson Trust has pledged to support

Funding boosts for vetsthe construction of the new vet school,”says Head of School, Professor ElaineWatson. “The University of Edinburghrecognises that a new veterinaryteaching facility is necessary to enableScotland to deliver professionals whowill lead the way in both animal andhuman healthcare in the 21st century.”

“This proposed development alsocomplements a major investment inresearch facilities at Easter Bush whichwill make this Midlothian site a worldcentre for biomedicine,” she continues.“Critical to this vision is the bringing-together of research, teaching andpractice on one contiguous site, amodel which has been successful forEdinburgh’s Little France campus.”

The new year has brought further goodnews for the Vet School with gifts of£5,000 and £7,500 from the DziniakTrust and the Evelyn Murdoch

Charitable Trust respectively. Both giftswill fund equipment for the Small AnimalHospital, enabling vets to accuratelydiagnose illness without invasive tests.

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togr

aph

Paul

Dod

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12

University News

An idea conceived by one of the world’sgreatest scientists nearly 150 years agohas finally been realised, thanks toUniversity of Edinburgh scientists.Researchers at the University havedeveloped a tiny machine that couldeventually lead to lasers moving objectsremotely.

James Clerk Maxwell, who is rankedalongside Isaac Newton and AlbertEinstein for his contributions to science,imagined an atom-sized device – knownas Maxwell’s Demon – that could trapmolecules as they move in a specificdirection.

Now researchers inspired by Maxwell’sthought experiment in 1867 have beenable to create such a ‘nanomachine’ for the first time with their own ‘demon’inside it to ensnare the molecules as they move.

The work could ultimately lead toscientists harnessing the energy of themolecules to displace solid objects froma distance. Professor David Leigh, of the

University’s School of Chemistry, says:“Our machine has a device – or ‘demon’if you like – inside it that traps molecule-sized particles as they move in a certaindirection.

“Maxwell reasoned that if such a systemcould ever be made it would needenergy to work. Without energy, it mightappear that the perpetual motion of themolecules could power other devices inthe same way as a windmill, but Maxwellreasoned that this would go against thesecond law of thermodynamics.

“As he predicted, the machine does need energy and in our experiment it is powered by light. While light haspreviously been used to energise tinyparticles directly, this is the first time thata system has been devised to trapmolecules as they move in a certaindirection under their natural motion. Once the molecules are trapped theycannot escape.”

Applications of the nanotechnologymachine could include trapping

molecules to generate a force in front of a solid object using a laser pen. Byshining the pen in the direction you wantthe object to move, the force of themolecules could be harnessed to pushthe object along.

The invention of the nanotechnologymachine builds on previous work at theUniversity in which scientists were able to move a droplet of liquid up a slopeusing molecular force.

Professor Leigh continues: “Last yearwas the 175th anniversary of JamesClerk Maxwell’s birth in Edinburgh, so it is fitting that advances in science meanthat we can finally create a machine likethe hypothetical one he pondered overso long ago.

“Maxwell was instrumental to ourunderstanding of light, heat and thebehaviour of atoms and molecules.Without the foundations that he laid down a century and a half ago, thescience that we are doing today wouldnot have been possible.”

Maxwell’s Demon becomes reality

Graduate Dr Piers Sellers and his fellow astronauts visited theUniversity in December to delivera special illustrated talk.

Sellers and his colleagues talkedto an audience that includedlocal schoolchildren about howthey became astronauts, thework of NASA and theinternational space station, andshared details of their STS121mission in July last year.

Sellers, who has twice flown in space, received a sciencedegree from the University in1976. He has also just beenmade an honorary professor.

During his visit he presented the University with a uniquememento that ties theUniversity’s historic past to the

Dr Piers Sellers and crew visitthe University

space age. The crew took asmall scrap of cloth embroideredwith the University’s emblem intospace during their latest 13-daymission. It was then stitchedcarefully into a Geneva Bonnet,which legend says was craftedfrom material taken from thebreeches of 16th-centuryScottish reformer John Knox,and which is still used to ‘cap’Edinburgh students when theygraduate at the McEwan Hall.

You can access a video ofthe event atwww.ed.ac.uk/explore/av/nasa.

Dr Piers Sellers


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The President of the EuropeanCommission, José Manuel Barroso,was among a number of prominentpublic figures who received honorarydegrees at the University’s wintergraduation ceremonies last November.

Mr Barroso, a former prime minister of Portugal, attended a ceremony at the McEwan Hall to collect his honorarydegree of Doctor of Letters. Later in the day he delivered a public lecture inthe Assembly Hall for the University’sEnlightenment Series, sponsored byScottishPower.

Also receiving honorary degrees in thewinter ceremonies were broadcasterand journalist James Naughtie, who wasawarded the honorary degree of Doctor

President of EC amongEdinburgh honorary graduates

of Letters, Baroness Onora O’Neill, whowas also awarded the honorary degreeof Doctor of Letters, and ProfessorAlison Richard, Vice-Chancellor of theUniversity of Cambridge, who receivedthe honorary degree of Doctor ofScience in Social Science.

Professor John Roulston, Group ChiefExecutive Officer of Filtronics plc, wasawarded an honorary degree of Doctorof Science and Dr Robert H Spiro Jr,President Emeritus of the University of Edinburgh USA Development Trust,received the University Benefactoraward, which recognises people ororganisations that have madesignificant contributions to theUniversity.

José Manuel Barroso


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9Past,

14

Xingyuan, who established the ChinaSeismological Bureau – a vitallyimportant institution for a country of which large parts are stillseismologically active.

These important figures are only thelatest in a long line of Chinese graduatesof the University that began with DrHuang Kuan; he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1855 and isbelieved to be the first ever Chinesegraduate of a European university.

At the Beijing ceremony, the Universitypresented a copy of Dr Huang Kuan’sgraduation marks to the chairman ofthe Zhuhai Municipal Cultural ExchangeAssociation. Such historicalcommemorations are as important inChinese culture as they are in Scottishculture, and a bronze sculpture of DrHuang Kuan will be presented to theUniversity later this year as a sign ofgratitude from the Chinese people.

in research on hyperoxia and hypoxiaand their impacts on pulmonary bloodcirculation.

Professor Zhong is Head of theGuangzhou Institute of RespiratoryDiseases, a leading researchestablishment into asthma, pulmonaryinfections, respiratory critical caremedicine and micro-invasive chestsurgery. It was here, during theoutbreak of SARS in 2003, that he drewup the management protocol known as the ‘three propers’ – proper use of corticostoids, proper application of non-invasive ventilation and properaddressing of secondary infections –and the Guangdong Guidelines forSARS prevention and management that were adopted by the ChineseMinistry of Health. He was awarded theNational Labour Medal by the Chinesegovernment for this pioneering work.

Professor Zhong follows in thefootsteps of other renowned Chinesealumni, including the late ProfessorHuang Kun, the world-leading physicistwho worked with Max Born, anEdinburgh Nobel prize winner inPhysics, and who received the 2001Supreme Scientific and Technological

Award from President Jiang Zemin;the nuclear physicist ProfessorLi-Min Yang; and Professor Ma

The importance of the Universityof Edinburgh to one of its mostfamous alumni, ProfessorZhong Nanshan, was underlinedby him at a special ceremony in Beijing in March this year atwhich he received an honorarydoctorate from Edinburgh.

President of the China MedicalAssociation, Professor Zhong, who was the first person to identify the SARS virus, is renowned as a potentforce in Chinese medicine with a fiercecommitment to public health and robust science. From 1979 to 1981 hestudied at theUniversities ofEdinburghand Londonas a fellowscholar,majoring

“These importantfigures are only the latest in a longline of Chinesegraduates of theUniversity...”

Top Left Professor Natascha Gentz, head of the new Confucius Institute for ScotlandTop Right Postgraduate student Xi DiLeft Professor Zhong Nanshan

Following the recent UnRaymond Ross examine

Photograph Chris ClosePhotograph Laurence Winram

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9, Present

Future

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The ceremony was not just acommemorative event, however; it wasalso a celebration of the University’scontemporary Chinese graduates, andtheir families and friends attended in theirhundreds. It also made history when LiWei received her degree in Film Studies,making her the first ever student of theUniversity to be graduated outsideEdinburgh itself.

Speaking at a special dinner in theevening, the Vice-Minister of EducationZhang Xinshang said he was “deeplyhonoured and profoundly pleased” that the University was working in jointresearch and educational projects withits Chinese partner universities andhigher education institutions.

Over 500 students from China arecurrently studying at Edinburgh, andclasses in Chinese language and East Asian Civilisation are attracting over200 UK students every year. This growingdemand for classes in Chinese languageand culture will feed into the newConfucius Institute at the University, whichwill be fully functional by September.

Working closely with partner universityFudan, in Shanghai, the Institute, which is the only one of its kind in Scotland, willoffer language courses, courses on aspectsof contemporary China and individuallytailored courses for professionals.

“Ideally it will be a cultural centre forChina, an information and educationcentre for students, business peopleand the general public to raiseawareness about the global importanceof China,” says its director, ProfessorNatascha Gentz.

With its partner universities in China,Edinburgh is forging ahead to establishjoint scholarships, undergraduateexchange programmes and jointresearch projects and joint exhibitions.

“It is important to grasp that China ischanging economically and socially,”says University Vice-Principal ProfessorGeoffrey Boulton, who is in charge ofdeveloping links with China. “It’s ofabsolute importance that we know theircitizens and they know ours.”

But in a country whose population is270 times the size of Scotland’s, howwell are we likely to be known? “Youmight be surprised,” says postgraduatestudent Xi Di, who is doing a Masters inFilm Studies at Edinburgh. “MostChinese people have heard ofEdinburgh, of tartan, of Mary Queen ofScots and, of course, Braveheart, too.

“The University of Edinburgh is also afamous university in China. People talkabout it a lot. I knew about it at school.”

Xi is doing her dissertation on horrorfilms and describes Edinburgh as “themost haunted city in the world”. Theintensive course is broadening herknowledge of film greatly, and she stillfinds time to make new friends.

“Edinburgh is an international city, a melting pot of different cultures. I’vemet a lot of Chinese students, but I alsohave friends from Palestine, Kurdistanand Spain. Edinburgh’s an attractivecity and the weather is better than Iexpected. I’d like to stay here to work if I could, even for a while.”

With the number of Chinese studentschoosing to study at Edinburghpredicted to at least double in the next 10 years, and the activities of theConfucius Institute, it seems thatEdinburgh’s future links with China are likely to continue from strength to strength.

“Edinburgh is an international city, a melting pot of different cultures.”

t University delegation to Beijing, mines China’s connections with Edinburgh

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Little more than a year ago,

a picturesque fishing village

in Fife became the focus of

international attention when

scientists confirmed that

the H5N1 strain of the bird

flu virus had arrived on

British shores.

News that the potentially deadly strainwas finally here (identified in a deadswan in Cellardyke) came as littlesurprise – a worldwide testingprogramme had tracked its progressacross the Far East, Africa andmainland Europe. The outbreak waswell-contained and public health fearsquickly dispersed, but the finalconfirmation of its presence in the UKstill gave cause for great concern.

Fast-forward less than a year to

February 2007, and the presence

of H5N1 was confirmed again, this

time at a turkey farm in Suffolk.

Again, the outbreak was contained,

but the threat remains and scientists

believe it is inevitable there will be

further outbreaks in Britain, with

all the associated dangers to human

health they will pose.

Robert Tomlinson looks at the University’s upcoming roleas host to a new centre for human and avian flu research.

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Public fear of avian flu isunderstandably high, but realprogress is being made in developingnew ways of combating the disease – and the University of Edinburgh is at the forefront of that endeavour.

With £2 million of backing from theScottish Funding Council, Edinburghwill host a new centre for human andavian flu research, the InterdisciplinaryCentre for Human and Avian InfluenzaResearch (ICHAIR) – the first of itskind in Britain. The Centre bringstogether the country’s leadingbiologists, virologists andepidemiologists based at theUniversities of Edinburgh, Glasgowand St Andrews and harnesses thevery best in scientific talent to find new ways of combating this majorpublic health threat.

The Centre will be focusing onunderstanding of how the virus causesdisease and will investigate methodsof controlling infection, developing a range of revolutionary anti-viraldrugs and constructing a newgeneration of flu vaccines. In addition,using supercomputers, scientists willbe able to predict changes in the virusand to create theoretical models ofhow an outbreak could occur in bothbirds and humans.

The new Centre for avian flu will be atthe heart of the University’s Centre forInfectious Diseases, founded in 2001,which is to be relocated in a facilitypurpose-built for this kind of research.Located on the King’s Buildings site,the new building will bring together a range of scientists – virologists,bacteriologists, parasitologists,epidemiologists, evolutionarybiologists and immunologists – on one site. Other areas of research

17

“...real progress is being made in developing new ways ofcombating the disease – and the University of Edinburghis at the forefront of that endeavour.”

The difficulty for scientists ispredicting when the virus makes thedefinitive leap from being a birddisease to a full-blown disease ofhumans, capable of being easilytransmitted from person to person.

“One important area of the Centre’sresearch will lie in discovering moreabout what virologists refer to as‘cytokine storms’,” continues ProfessorNash. “These are episodes when thebody’s immune system overproducescellular proteins called cytokines whichbecome pathological and kill theinfected bird or human being.

“This was probably the cause of death for many in the 1918pandemic. What you have in effect is an extremely severe form ofpneumonia. The body’s own immunesystem literally turns on itself.Understanding the mechanismsresponsible for this pathology couldthrow up new therapeutic agents.

“Our ultimate hope is that we canachieve new ways of predicting andcontrolling major flu outbreaks, as well as discovering new therapies that quickly translate into products for humans and animals,” saysProfessor Nash. “Knowledge gainedfrom studying the flu virus may also have relevance to other virusinfections. In particular, the Centrecould broaden its remit to includeother viruses that, through climatechange, are extending their range – presenting a significant threat to human and animal life across the world.”

include E coli, sleeping sickness,malaria and variant CJD.

As an expert in the immune system’sresponse to viral infections, ProfessorTony Nash, director of the Centre forInfectious Diseases and the inauguraldirector of ICHAIR, is well placed toput into perspective the media frenzysurrounding avian flu.

“The significance of this threat shouldnot be understated and this is whatmakes the establishment of the Centreso important for the University,” heexplains. “It is very exciting; this is a unique centre in terms of influenzaresearch with such a variety of scientistsworking together with a common aim. It is truly interdisciplinary and willprovide a very strong base for thecontinued training of postdoctoralscientists and postgraduate students in an atmosphere of excellence.”

In the face of over 170 human deathsand the slaughter of millions of birdsworldwide, the need for the Centre isincreasingly urgent. In at least onecase, Professor Nash believes there is enough evidence to show thathuman-to-human transmission hasalready occurred following exposureto very high doses of virus.

“It is not a question of if it happensbut when it happens; history hasshown us that. A flu pandemic issomewhat overdue; there were threepandemics in the 20th century, ofwhich the 1918 Spanish flu virus wasresponsible for killing 40–50 millionpeople. If a new pandemic was tooccur, the World Health Organisationestimates that it could kill in the orderof seven million people, these figuresbeing based only on the outcome ofthe ‘mild’ pandemic of 1957.”

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The University of Edinburgh’s

Talbot Rice GalleryAbout Talbot Rice GalleryEstablished in 1975, Talbot RiceGallery is the public art gallery of theUniversity. The Gallery shows majorart exhibitions in the contemporaryWhite Gallery and round room projectspaces. The University’s permanentcollection of Old Master paintingsand sculptures are displayed in theadjoining Georgian Gallery. Free entry.Join our email bulletin service forregular updates.

Friends of the Talbot Rice GalleryBy organising fundraising activities,Friends help support the Gallery.With invitations to exhibition previewsand events as well as a programmeof special lectures and outingsthroughout the year, the Friends groupis a vital part of your cultural diary:

• Preview invitations to Talbot Rice Gallery exhibitions throughout the year

• June 2007, day visit, Abbotsford • September 2007, day visit, Traquair• December 2007, Friends

Christmas Party

Why not join? Contact the Gallery for membership information.

Supporting the GalleryThe Gallery receives funding from the University and the Scottish ArtsCouncil. Additional support enablesthe Gallery to further develop andstrengthen the programme, and thereare a number of ways you can help to support us.

For information on how to make a donation, please contact theUniversity’s Development Office on0131 650 2240. For information onFriends membership, please contactthe Talbot Rice Gallery office on 0131 650 9746.

Talbot Rice GalleryThe University of EdinburghOld CollegeSouth BridgeEdinburgh EH8 9YL

T: 0131 650 2210E: [email protected]: www.trg.ed.ac.uk

Opening hoursTuesday–Saturday 10am–5pm,admission to all spaces is free.

ImagesMain imageMonika Sosnowska, Installation view. Courtesy of the artist and theModern Institute/Toby Webster Ltd.

Inset images (left to right)The Georgian Gallery. DavidBatchelor: The Pound Shopsof Bethnal Green, Studio view in progress. Courtesy of the artist. The White Gallery.

DAVID BATCHELOR28 July–29 September

Perhaps best known for his lightinstallations and his work on colourtheory, artist and author DavidBatchelor will show a new site-specific installation made for TalbotRice Gallery’s vast atrium space.Concerned with ideas of urbanismand consumption, Batchelor hasscoured the pound shops of EastLondon and the major cities ofScotland to create a multi-colouredforest of plastic and steel. What couldbe seen as vulgar detritus to somebecomes, in Batchelor’s hands, jewel-like and magical.

MONIKA SOSNOWSKA20 October–8 December

Polish artist Monika Sosnowska willarrive at Talbot Rice fresh fromrepresenting her country at the 2007Venice Biennale. Her large-scale workhas a dialogue with its setting wheremass-produced, industrial materialsare used to create disorientatinglabyrinthesque structures. Monika willbe creating an exciting new installationfor the Gallery, as well as exhibitingmodels of unexplained spaces thatmay or may not be realised in reality.

Exhibitions

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Ronald Kerr takes a closer look at the unique collection of instruments that forms the Shackleton Bequest.

The remarkable musical legacy of the paleoclimatologist who championed the clarinet

ARTSCIENCE

meets

20 Photograph Chris Close

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It is one of the most amazing arrays ofmusical instruments ever amassed by a single collector, and now the Universityof Edinburgh is to be its home.

Sir Nicholas Shackleton’s peerlesscollection of more than 800 clarinets will, from this summer, draw scores ofstudents, players and scholars to the cityof Edinburgh when it formally comes intothe University’s care. It promises to bethe most harmonious of associations: anillustrious individual collection – the finestanywhere in the world devoted to asingle genre of instrument – becomingpart of the University’s world-renownedmusical museum at Bristo Square.

The Shackleton Bequest, assembledover a 40-year period and spanning 250 years of craftsmanship, will be asignificant addition to the Edinburghcollection, which has in recent yearsbenefited from a number of substantialgifts, including the Rodger MirreyCollection of Early KeyboardInstruments, which was donated in 2005.

Sir Nicholas Shackleton (1937–2006)was one of the most perceptivepaleoclimatologists of his generation. He was also an astute collector ofclarinets and, befitting a distant relativeof the Antarctic explorer, Sir ErnestShackleton, he was a tenacious one. His collection traces the development ofthe clarinet from its infancy as a noveltyinstrument in the early 18th century tomore futuristic prototypes from the 20thcentury. The unparalleled breadth of thecollection shows how makers in differentperiods and different regions dealt withspecific problems of clarinet design.

Despite being a relatively recent musicalinnovation, the clarinet’s smooth, creamytone – warm and resonant low down,bright and clear high up – has animpressive range which works in chamber,orchestral and wind band settings.Appropriately for an instrument that couldbe considered a younger, mellower

relative of the trumpet, it was also perfectlysuited to the big band and jazz sounds of the 20th century; famous players haveincluded Benny Goodman, Acker Bilk and the filmmaker Woody Allen.

For the museum’s director, ArnoldMyers, who had collaborated with SirNicholas on a major clarinet exhibition at the University in 1986, the Bequest’sarrival is a cause for celebration. It istestimony to the museum’s reputation for curatorial excellence, a key part ofwhich is ensuring that all its historicalinstruments are available to researchers;Sir Nicholas wished his collection to beleft to an institution which could not onlycare for the instruments but alsocontinue making them accessible toscholars and students. Dr Myers, whohas been involved with the Universitycollection for more than 30 years,believes the museum is well placed to honour Sir Nicholas’ wishes.

“Nick was particularly interested in howclarinet sound has evolved,” he says.“He was drawn therefore to instrumentsthat were playable, or could be madeplayable.

“Thanks to Nick’s devotion to hisinstruments, and his well-planned,careful maintenance, most of theclarinets are playable. This givesresearchers a unique opportunity to learn musical history from theevidence of their sounds.

“Nick once said that questions couldn’tbe answered by trying one instrumenthere and another there – you have tohave them in the same place and playthem side by side.”

As a collector, Shackleton wasformidable: a hunter and a gatherer, hiscollection is remarkable not only for itsquantity, but also for the quality of itscarefully-chosen instruments. He wasequally prolific as a paleoclimatologist. He built an international reputation in the

field of quaternary paleoclimatology,where he established the geologicaltimescale – the yardstick by whichscientists gauge the whole of earth’shistory – and determined when and whysignificant changes in climate changeoccurred.

His research was brilliantly carried outand is of significant import for the futureof the planet, but for Shackleton, scienceand art were not compartmentalised. Atscientific conferences, he would generallytake a clarinet or two along and engageother delegates in chamber music; hisuniversity teaching included musicalacoustics, and he once memorablystated that studying acoustics had givenhim an idea for understanding the cyclicchanges in climate.

Crucially, he brought his research skillsto bear on his investigations into thehistory of the clarinet and its makers andplayers. In Shackleton clarinet scholarshad, for the first time, the benefit of abrilliant researcher applying the rigour of a scientist to problems associatedwith the study of musical instruments.Albert Einstein’s interest in the violin hadgone no further than trying to play it.

“There will never be another collectionlike this one,” says Dr Myers. “Apart fromthe rises in values, what was around inthe 1960s and 70s will never again beavailable. A bequest on this scale ismore than a learning resource – it is initself a work of serious scholarship.’

As a collector, Shackleton was formidable ... his collection is remarkable not only for its quantity, but also for the qualityof its carefully-chosen instruments.”

21

Highlights from the Bequest will go on display at the ReidConcert Hall Museum in June,when a special clarinet andwoodwind colloquium willmark its arrival in Edinburgh.For details of the event, go towww.music.ed.ac.uk/euchmi/uec.

“

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Alumni Events


All IMP programmers should take this opportunity to thank Tony for his wonderful language!

There will be an opportunity toreconnect with your old friends,colleagues and lecturers, and to revisityour old stomping grounds (such asthe JCMB machine halls). The eventwill, of course, culminate in theobligatory reunion party!

If you are interested in attendingthis one-off event, please visithttp://history.dcs.ed.ac.ukfor complete information.

Computer History reunion:The Early Days of Computing in EdinburghBack in the 1960s and 70s some of theworld’s most cutting-edge computingwas being done in Edinburgh. Sevenyears ago Graham Toal, an EdinburghComputer Science graduate with aninterest in the history of computing,started the Edinburgh ComputerHistory Project to recover the sourcecode and documentation of this periodwhile some original media survives,and to honour our early pioneersby publicising this significant butinternationally less well-knownearly work.

This year the Project is organising areunion of the ‘Old Hands’ to be held inEdinburgh in late June. As there havebeen very few 20-year class reunionsfor Computer Science and ArtificialIntelligence graduates, the three-dayevent is being combined with a multi-year reunion for those departments.

Guest speakers include such world-famous Edinburgh luminaries asDonald Michie, Tommy Thomas andJohn Ellenby. A special invited guest isTony Brooker, the grandfather ofEdinburgh’s IMP computer language.

50 years of Applied Linguistics at theUniversity of Edinburgh (6-8 September 2007)To mark the 50th anniversary of academic Applied Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, the40th Annual Meeting of the BritishAssociation for Applied Linguistics(BAAL) will be held in Edinburgh in 2007, hosted by the University.

Details of the conference can be foundon the BAAL website (www.baal.org.uk).As part of the BAAL Meeting, a PitCorder Colloquium will be held on Fridaymorning (7 September) in celebrationof the Edinburgh contribution to AppliedLinguistics. The Colloquium will take theform of a discussion among invitedpanellists, followed by questions and

discussion by the audience. There willbe ample time for audience participation.

Among those who have so far agreed to participate are Michael Halliday,Ruqaiya Hasan, Tony Howatt, JohnJoseph, Sinfree Makoni, MiriamMeyerhoff, Rosamund Mitchell, JohnSinclair and Henry Widdowson. Therewill also be a drinks reception in OldCollege on Thursday 6 September.

Former students and staff who wouldlike more information about the reunionare encouraged to contact JeanMcCutcheon at [email protected]. We look forwardto hearing from you.

From left to right: ElizabethCummings (nee Goodstadt)B SocSci (1990), PGCE (1991),MSc (1997); Evelyn Allan; MichaelCummings B Eng (Hons) 1990; KimChamberlain MA (Hons) Linguistics1984; David Kiddey MBA 1994; TomCranney; Les Allan MA BCom 1957;Julia Forsyth MA (Hons) Linguistics1993; Mark Forsyth PhD ElectricalEngineering 1995.)

A big thank you to Les Allan for hisexcellent organisation once again!

Wellington AlumniBurns Supper

For details of alumni clubs or reunions, or to make contact with a reunionorganiser, please contact Beth Munro, Development & Alumni. Tel: +44 (0)131 650 2240 email [email protected] or visitwww.edinburghcampaign.ed.ac.uk

60282_Edit_Summer07 2/5/07 02:03 Page 24

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For all the latest Alumni news, visit:

www.edinburghcampaign.ed.ac.uk


Reunions in 2007 Reunions in 2008

Reunions in 2009

1947 MB ChBJohn Loudon25/26 July 2007New College of Surgeons Hall

1952 ForestryNeil Paterson5–7 September 2007Edinburgh

1957 BVM&SNigel Clayton/John Dawson/Peter Moody22–24 June 2007At Vet Alumni HomecomingWeekend, Edinburgh

1957 MB ChBGraham Meikle26–28 September 2007Peebles Hotel Hydro

1957 LLBMichael Wallace 8 June 2007Old College, Edinburgh

1960 MB ChBTom Kennedy

1960–64 EU Yacht ClubTom Taylor14–16 September 2007

1962 MB ChBDr Hamish Polson6–8 June 2007Peebles Hotel Hydro

1962 MA FrenchJim Inglis6 July 2007Braidwoods Restaurant, Dalry, AyrshireContact: [email protected]

1967 BDSJames O’Donnell28–29 September 2007Capital Hotel

1967 MB ChB Dr Gilmour5–7 October 2007Peebles Hotel Hydro

1971 MiscellaneousChristine Windmill20 October 2007Edinburgh

Does 2007 mark a significant anniversary of your graduation from the University of Edinburgh? Perhaps five, 10, 25 or even 50 years? Maybe your class is already planning a reunion – that’s great, and hopefully we already know about it, but if notplease let us know. If you haven’t started organising your reunion yet, then don’t worry, it’s not too late. Development & Alumnican help you to contact your former classmates, find a venue and give other general advice and assistance. Simply visit ourwebsite at www.edinburghcampaign.ed.ac.uk or email [email protected] to request a copy of our Guidelines onOrganising a Reunion. We look forward to hearing from you.

1972 BSc AgricultureJohn Marshall13 October 2007Carlton Highland Hotel,Edinburgh

1972 BVM&SHelen Franklin21–22 September 2007Edinburgh

1972/1971 LLBAlan Sharp21–22 September 2007Edinburgh

1976 BSc EngineeringKeith Raeburn2 June 2007Teviot Row Union

1976 Commencing LawJohn Sturrock7 June 2007Old College

1977 AgricultureAlex Kellett23 June 2007Raeburn Room, Old College

1977 MB ChB James Garden31 August –2 September 2007Gleneagles Hotel

1977 ChemistryKen Campbell & Kate Ellis

1982 BSc ChemistryDorothy Welch23–24 June 2007Edinburgh

1992 BVM&SMichael Stevenson7 July 2007Balmoral Hotel

1996/1997 MB ChB Jane Tennick 6 October 2007Grosvenor Hilton

2002 BVM&S Sarah Gasper30 June 2007Apex International

1968 MB ChB John Crispin 22–24 August 2008Peebles Hotel Hydro

1988 MB ChB Clare Livingston 6–8 June 2008Peebles Hotel Hydro

Contact:[email protected]

1987/1988 BVM&SAli Cullum

1988 AgriculturalEconomicsHarry Elwin

1956 MB ChBRose Clark September 2009 Lunch in Edinburgh

1959 BDSFrances Gould Edinburgh

1959 MB ChBAllan Forsyth

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Alumni Events

Sport at the University of Edinburgh is thriving, with 65 member clubs andeight associate clubs. The Sports Union(SU) is currently lying fifth in the BritishUniversities Sports Association (BUSA)rankings, with several teams through to the regional and knockout rounds of their championships this season. The SU has been able to purchase ahot air balloon and a new boat for therowing club this year, as well assending members on training andrefereeing courses, thanks to Universityfunding. University sport, whether at acompetitive or recreational level, is animportant part of the universityexperience and a forum for developingnew skills both on and off the field.

This year will see the launch of anEdinburgh SU alumni association.This will allow former members to keepabreast of the latest achievements anddevelopments taking place within theirclubs and the SU as a whole via regular

Development & Alumni The University of EdinburghCharles Stewart House9–16 Chambers StreetEdinburgh EH1 1HT

T: +44 (0)131 650 2240 F: +44 (0)131 650 2239E: [email protected]

Edinburgh Dental Alumni SocietyDental alumni are advised that theSociety no longer keeps a register of graduates. This is the responsibility of the University Development & Alumni(D&A) Office, who can also give expertassistance to those organising reunionsand seeking to trace formerclassmates. Changes of addressshould therefore be sent directly to the

The Veterinary Defence Society isrunning their annual EdinburghGraduate Reunion for 2006 graduateswhich will take place on Saturday8 December 2007. The event involvesa useful communication workshopduring the day at Summerhall followedby a reunion dinner and a ceilidh at the Radisson SAS Hotel, Edinburgh.This provides a welcome opportunity for graduates to catch up with theircolleagues whilst gaining CPD points.

For further information contactMarina Baxter, The Veterinary DefenceSociety Ltd, 4 Haig Court, ParkgateEstate, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 8XZTel: 01565 652737.

Sports Union VeterinaryDefence Society

newsletters. Members will be invited toattend alumni matches and events asthe organisation becomes established.It is hoped that the small subscriptionwill help to fund new equipmenturgently required by the clubs.

So if you feel strongly about your timeplaying sport at the University andwould like others to experience thesame opportunities, please contact us to receive further information:[email protected].

D&A Office at the address opposite and not to the Secretary of EDAS or the Dental Institute.

Responses to Jim Montgomery’sPresidential newsletter, which invitedopinions on the future of the EdinburghDental Alumni Society, are beingstudied. Conclusions will be publishedin a later edition of Edit.

Even after you’ve completed yourstudies at Edinburgh, you’re still amember of the University. We’d like to keep in touch with wherever you are in the world.

So don’t miss out. Send us youremail address and we’ll send you our monthly e-Newsletter with details of reunions and events for you and

your former classmates, as well asUniversity news and the latest on theUniversity of Edinburgh Campaign.

Email your details [email protected] reference EM7 and we’ll add you to our list. Alternatively call +44 (0)131 650 2240.

www.edinburghcampaign.ed.ac.uk

Don’t miss out – keep in touch

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The University of Edinburgh Edit Magazine 25

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Professor W Duncan Reekie BCom 1963His book Spiritual Capital, Natural Law andthe Secular Market Place was published inLondon by Civitas: The Institute for the Studyof Civil Society in January 2007.

1980sDr Caroline McCracken-Flesher MA 1980Recently published Possible Scotlands:Walter Scott and the Story of Tomorrow(Oxford, 2005) and the edited volumeCulture, Nation and the New ScottishParliament (Bucknell, 2007).

Mr Ian D Leveson MA (SS) 1981 MarriedEsther Mizrahi in April 2006 in Edinburghand now has a son, Joseph Isaac.

Mr Colin Stuart BSc 1982 Has beenemployed at the High School of Dundeefor a number of years, starting as aMathematics Teacher then morphing intoa Computing Studies Teacher, which henow combines with his main promotedpost as a Guidance Teacher.

Dr Gerard De Groot PhD 1984 Hasrecently published another book, The DarkSide of the Moon: The Magnificent Madnessof the American Lunar Quest (JonathanCape).

26

World Service


1940sMB ChB Rev Peter G Thomson MA1942 BD 1945 Celebrated the 60thanniversary of his ordination to the Churchof Scotland ministry on 23 January 2007.A commemorative service in HamiltonOld Church was conducted by his son,Rev John M A Thomson.

Rev Robert J S Wallace MA 1942 He andhis wife celebrated their golden wedding in January 2007.

Rev Dr John Wilkie MA 1942 He and his wife celebrated their diamond wedding in July 2006.

1950sRev Patrick N Phillips MA 1950 Has justpublished his fourth book, Life is Meant tobe a Challenge.

Miss Helen Campbell MA 1953 FormerlyMrs Helen Moyes. Gentle metamorphosisfrom Financial Controller to ProfessionalHomeopath including Open University BAand BSc. Currently project coordinator forEdinburgh University SettlementHomeopathy Project in Student Centre.Planning to do that for the next five yearsat least! Objectives are to treat and teachhomeopathy to students of the Universityof Edinburgh.

Professor A David Weaver BSc 1955Book Bovine Surgery and Lameness(2nd edition, Blackwell Publishing) byA David Weaver, Guy St Jean and AdrianSteiner, has been selected by the AcademieVeterinaire de France as the outstandingnon-French veterinary book of the years2005 and 2006. The authors werepresented with the Prix AlexandreLiautard at a Parisian ceremony on7 December 2006.

1960sDr Veer Bhavanandan PhD 1962 DSc1983 Has moved from Penn StateUniversity College of Medicine to ArizonaState University. Daughter lives in SouthCarolina and son in California. Would love to hear from friends from Edinburghdays.

Professor Sir J Fraser Stoddart OBEBSc 1964 PhD 1966 DSc 1980 Receiveda knighthood in the New Year’s Honourslist, January 2007, for services tochemistry and molecular nanotechnology.Sir Fraser, who was named Alumnus ofthe Year 2005, was also the CarnegieCentenary Professor in that year, and isactively involved in the University in manyways, despite being based in California.He has recently set up a prize inchemistry, in the name of his late wifeNorma, and will be chairing a three-daycolloquium at the end of June this year.

Dr Judith Mackay MBE MB ChB 1966 Has published three more atlases. Awardedthe Silver Bauhinia Star by the Hong KongGovernment in the annual honours list 2006.Selected as one of 60 ‘Asian heroes’ overthe past 60 years by Time magazine,commemorating its 60th anniversary in Asia2006. Project Coordinator, World LungFoundation component of the BloombergGlobal Initiative to reduce tobacco use.

Mr Mark R Flinn BSc 1969 Now Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at one of England’snewest universities, Edge Hill University, inOrmskirk, Lancashire.

1970sDr John Smellie BSc 1974 HonoraryProfessor in Environmental Sciences,University of Lancaster (from 1 December2006). Currently Senior Volcanologist andProject Leader, British Antarctic Survey.

Mr Michael Ramsay BSc 1972Was awarded the Royal Academy ofEngineering’s prestigious Frank Whittlemedal for his creation of the digital videorecorder company TiVo Inc. in the USA.Michael Ramsay pioneered the TiVotechnology that is changing the world of home entertainment – the culmination of a lifetime of innovation in computergraphics, workstations and consumersoftware technologies. This medal is‘awarded to an engineer, with strongconnections with the United Kingdom, foroutstanding and sustained achievementwhich has contributed to the well-being of the nation’, and was presented to MrRamsay on 11 January 2007 by LordBrowne of Madingley, President of theRoyal Academy of Engineering.

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Mr James Kynge MA 1985 Won the£30,000 Financial Times/Goldman SachsBusiness Book of the Year award 2006 forhis book China Shakes the World at aceremony in New York last October.

Rev Alen McCulloch BD 1988 Royal NavyChaplain, based in Plymouth, Devon.Married with four daughters.

1990sMr Jorge Sifuentes-Littleboy MSc 1992PhD Geography (2005), University ofCalifornia, Santa Barbara.

Mr Christopher Minty MBE MSc 1994Received an MBE in the New Year’sHonours list, January 2007, for his personalcontribution to a pioneering conservationproject in the rainforest of Central America.Chris first became involved in the work ofLas Cuevas Research Station in 1997, butthrough his efforts the sustainability of theproject has now been ensured. Chris wasresponsible for developing a workingpartnership with the local Maya people


to open the research station to nature-basedtourism, thus providing the Maya with aneconomic incentive to protect the rainforestas a viable alternative to logging, huntingand slash-and-burn agriculture.

Mr Damian Platt MA 1995 Works asInternational Relations Coordinator for theAfroReggae Cultural Group in Rio deJaneiro, an organisation that works usingculture as a tool of social transformation in Rio’s shanty towns and beyond. He hasco-authored a book, Culture is Our Weapon:AfroReggae in the Favelas of Rio, publishedby the Latin America Bureau.

Mr Nicolas Davis MA 1997 Recentlyreturned to London after 18 months onsecondment with professional services firm Deloitte in Tokyo, and married AkikoNishimura in October 2006. Still retains very close links with Japan on both business and personal levels.

Dr Michael Heath PhD 1996 Recentlynamed Head of Upper School at CatlinGabel School in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Dr Clare-Louise Walker BSc 1996 MB ChB1999 Has abandoned the academic careerand is now working back on the wards as aGP registrar after six years in the pathologylaboratories.

Rev Robert MacSwain MTh 1996 Has justco-edited a book with Professor Ann Loadesof the University of Durham, The Truth-Seeking Heart: Auston Farrer and HisWritings (Canterbury Press, 2006).

The Rev Gareth J M Saunders MTh 1999Having worked for seven years as a ScottishEpiscopal Church parish priest, has nowreturned to the University of St Andrews towork as an Assistant InformationArchitect/Web Manager. He and Jane areenjoying the change in the pace of life andrelaxing, having moved house twice in 2006.Now settled in Anstruther – visitors welcome.

2000sMr Jonathan Wilson BMus 2000 Gotmarried in August 2005 and has been livingin Dublin since 2001. Website:www.jaywilsonmusic.com.

Mr Dae Heung Kang MTh 2001 GeneralDirector of the Global Mission Society whichhas 1,750 missionaries among 95 countries.Has been a missionary in Thailand since 1987and moved to Korea in September 2006.

Mr Brendan Walsh BSc 2002 Finallyfinished his PhD and is working withStandard Life Investments in Edinburgh.

Ms Jessica Fadel MSc 2002 Graduatedwith Master of Library Science degree fromthe State University of New York at Buffalo.Engaged to marry Michael O’Donnell inSeptember 2007.

Mr Alan Scobbie LLB 2006 Reading asecond undergraduate degree at ManchesterMetropolitan University in Politics.

Mrs Susan Jackson MA (SS) 1995Won a gold medal at the CommonwealthGames held in Melbourne, Australia inMarch 2006 in the women’s prone 50metre smallbore rifle pairs event, with herpartner, Sheena Sharp (Susan is picturedon the right). This added to the silvermedal which she won at the 2002Commonwealth Games and the bronzemedal at the 1998 CommonwealthGames, all for the same event (partneringSheena Sharp in 2002 and alumnaShirley McIntosh in 1998).

Credit: Donald McIntosh

Ms Lynda Klaamas LLM 1997Linda and husband Robert Oliver areproud to introduce Thomson KlaamasOliver, born September 28, 2006, inToronto, Ontario, Canada (9 lbs, 1 oz).

Dr Stuart K Monro OBE PhD 1982Was awarded an OBE in the New Year’sHonours list, January 2007, for hisservices to science, in particular hiscontribution to the promotion of scienceto a wider audience. Dr Monro helped to put together the scientific story of OurDynamic Earth, and has since beenresponsible for its scientific development,ensuring that Our Dynamic Earth is muchmore than a visitor attraction, but has asignificant role to play in education andraising awareness of environmentalissues. He holds a number of other keypositions within the National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh InternationalScience Festival, Scottish Science CentreNetwork and the John Muir Trust, toname but a few.

We are happy to forward correspondence to graduates for whom we hold current address details. Please contact Development & Alumni to take advantage of this service.

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Alumni Profiles

28

Dr Jerry Lim MBchB Medicine 1958

Dr Lim returned to his native Singaporeafter graduation and went into generalpractice. His son Robert is the fourthgeneration of the Lim family to studymedicine at Edinburgh.

My years at the University of Edinburgh weremost fulfilling, both academically as well asfrom a social point of view. The teachingstandard of the medical school was extremelyrigorous. It was a very enjoyable and highlyeducational period of my life. The warmth of the people of Edinburgh in particular gave

forth many lifelong friendships that I cherishto this day.

I have always felt privileged to have donemedicine at this very prestigious University.Indeed the Lim family has had the advantageof having four generations of Lims who havedone medicine in Edinburgh and returned to Singapore.

Diana Leitch is Deputy Librarian at the John Rylands University Library at theUniversity of Manchester and currentlyPresident of the Manchester Club of theUniversity of Edinburgh alumni.

In my presidential year at the Manchester ClubI’m looking to create, with the Club Committee,a programme of exciting events to draw in moregraduates from the Greater Manchester andCheshire area. We’re hoping to kick off with anevent which I will host in the newly refurbishedJohn Rylands Library in early summer.

I’m committed to the Manchester Club because I have a great love for my alma mater

I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent inEdinburgh studying chemistry. I also feel very strongly about women in science, so my husband David and I have chosen to support scholarships in chemistry at the University of Edinburgh.

Chemistry is the most wonderful training of the mind. People often say they think it’s a waste that I went on to be a librarian but I have been in scientific information work for30 years and I use my Chemistry every day.I’m the only university librarian ever to beelected a Fellow of the Royal Society ofChemistry.

Ed Stoppard MA French 1997

Ed Stoppard played the role of Henrykin Polanski’s The Pianist in 2002 andMalinowsky in Marple: At Bertram’s

Hotel which is due to be screened on TV in May 2007.

I remember in fourth year studying ‘le nouvelroman’, it was dense stuff with Proust as ourcore text. I thought “God, what have I done?”But the tutor managed to make us all adorethis kind of writing. I still have those books.

My University years turned out to be myformative years, the time when I really figured

out who I was, although what I did atUniversity didn’t relate at all to what I’mdoing now. I was terrified of acting, perhaps I felt that it was inevitable that I’d end updoing it because of…well my dad being my dad (playwright Tom Stoppard).

Having spent four years finding out who I was, I was struck by the question – whatwill I do with the next 50 years of my life? I then went to drama school. Somehowdodging the issue for four years enabled meto wholeheartedly embrace a career in acting.

Diana Leitch Chemistry BSc 1969, PhD 1972

“Four generations of Limshave done medicine atEdinburgh.”

“I still have those books.”

“I use my chemistry every day.”

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29

Billet The General Council of the University of Edinburgh


I am glad, once again, to present a positivereport to members of the General Council, and to assure you that both the University and the General Council are in good health.

The Business Committee and the four StandingCommittees have continued to be very activeon your behalf since our last meeting, and youcan read full reports of their programmes andactivities in the current Annex to the Billet,which is available both on the General Councilwebsite, or in printed form on request from the General Council Office. The BusinessCommittee had its annual presentation inMarch 2007 from the Edinburgh UniversityStudents’ Association (EUSA), and this year,Mr Ross Neilson, Vice-President AcademicAffairs, gave an excellent presentation to theBusiness Committee, when he talked about a number of topics – for example, student fees,student accommodation – that are currently of interest to students, and outlined theirambitious plans for the redevelopment of TeviotRow House and the Pleasance Theatre.

The month of February 2007 brought theTercentenary celebrations of the Law School,and the Secretary and I were proud to representthe General Council at the special graduationceremony held in association with theTercentenary on Saturday 10 February 2007,

at which the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Lawswas conferred upon Professor Mary McAleese,President of Ireland, Justice Albie Sachs,Justice of the Constitutional Court of SouthAfrica, and the Rt Hon. Lord Gill, Lord JusticeClerk and Senator of the College of Justice.

This summer, the University will be holding itspre-graduation receptions in Teviot Row Housein the Potterrow, and members of the BusinessCommittee will continue to help support theUniversity by attending these importantreceptions, which are held for graduands andtheir families and friends. The General Councilhas continued to be represented at all majorpublic events and City and University services,and I am grateful to my fellow Officers forparticipating in these duties.

Following the warm endorsement at the lastHalf-Yearly Meeting of Washington DC as theselected venue for the next overseas locationfor a General Council meeting in 2008, theplanning of this important event has nowbegun. Members may like to note that 2008 is also the 150th anniversary of theUniversities (Scotland) Act of 1858, which led to the founding of the General Councils of the four Ancient Scottish Universities.Advance information about the date of themeeting in Washington DC, which will be heldon Saturday 14 June 2008, has already beensent out to General Council members in thenew monthly Alumni Newsletter, and is alsoavailable on the General Council website andin this issue of the Billet within Edit. Furtherdetails will be added via the website and inother publications as they are confirmed overthe coming months. Our colleagues inDevelopment & Alumni, and senior membersof our Alumnus Association in USA, are allvery enthusiastic about the proposed meetingin Washington DC, and we are grateful to them

for their support for what promises to be a very special event.

Last August, the General Council held areception in Old College, and a private view of the Festival exhibition in the Talbot RiceGallery, for General Council members andtheir guests during the Edinburgh InternationalFestival. This year a similar event is beingarranged from 5pm to 6.30pm on Thursday 16 August 2007 in the Talbot Rice Gallery. The exhibition viewing will be followed by a reception in the Gallery’s Georgian Room. All General Council members are mostcordially invited (a ticket request form can be found on the rear inside cover of Edit) to attend and to bring their friends.

For the location of the Meeting in summer2007, which will take place on Saturday 16June 2007, the General Council will be movingout from central Edinburgh to the Easter BushVeterinary Centre near Penicuik. The year 2007is a special year for the Centre, since it is the50th anniversary of the first graduations for theBVM&S degree from the University ofEdinburgh, and so, in celebration, a Dick VetAnniversary Homecoming is being held from22 to 24 June 2007. We are delighted thatProfessor Elaine Watson, who leads the Royal(Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, has agreedto give the after-Lunch address after ourmeeting on 16 June. Further information abouttransport links to Easter Bush will be availableon the General Council website, and will alsobe sent with ticket requests.

This concludes my half-yearly report tomembers, which I hope you agree continuesto be positive. I look forward to welcomingGeneral Council members informally insummer 2007 at Easter Bush VeterinaryCentre.

Report By Alan Johnston, Convener of the Business Committee of the General Council

The General Council is the means by which graduates have a continuing voice in the management of theUniversity’s affairs, and every graduate automatically becomes a member. Academic staff and members of the University’s supreme governing body, the University Court, are also members of the General Council,which meets twice a year and has the right to comment on matters affecting the University’s prosperity andwellbeing. For more information on the work of the General Council, visit www.general-council.ed.ac.uk.

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Billet


PAPER AMinutes of the Meeting of the General Council held on 3 February 2007

10am to 10.30am: Coffee, tea and biscuits in the Ground Floor Restaurant area, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre10.30am: General Council Meeting in the Lecture Room, Ground Floor, Easter Bush Veterinary CentreAfter the meeting: Lunch in the Ground Floor Restaurant, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre (see page 34 for details)

AGENDA FOR THE GENERAL COUNCIL MEETING1 Minutes of the Meeting of the General Council held on 3 February 2007 (PAPER A)2 Matters arising3 Report of the Business Committee4 Motion (PAPER B)5 Dates of future meetings of the General Council6 Notice of forthcoming Elections7 Presentation by Professor Elaine Watson, Head of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies,

College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine8 Any other competent business9 Adjournment

1. Result of the Election of Assessorsand Members of the BusinessCommittee

The Rector announced that the two GeneralCouncil Assessors elected to serve for a periodof four years from 1 August 2007 to31 July 2011 were: Mr Douglas AndrewConnell and Professor Ann McIntyre Smyth.The five members of the Business Committeeelected to serve for a period of four years from1 August 2007 to 31 July 2011 were:Mr Gordon Douglas Cairns, Mr Ralph ValentineParkinson, Dr Alan David Simpson, Dr FrankIan Stewart, and Mrs Hilary Ann Vandore.

2. Minutes of the Meeting of the General Council held in Paris on 17 June 2006

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 17 June2006 were approved.

3. Matters Arising

Mr J Haldane Tait raised the matter of themotion discussed at the last Half-YearlyMeeting, and the Convener of the BusinessCommittee explained that the ConstitutionalStanding Committee was considering thepoints made at the last meeting and wouldbring the Regulation forward when it wascompleted. Miss Mary E Mackenzie asked if the location of the meeting could be givenin the heading of the minutes, and theConvener said that this would be reviewed. Ms Linda Hendry raised a matter relating to the proposed floors of the refurbishedUniversity Library, and the Principal said that Ms Hendry’s point would be relayed to the project design team.

General Council Half-Yearly Meeting on Saturday 16 June 200710.30am: Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Roslin, Midlothian

Present:

Mr Mark BallardRector, in the Chair

Mr Melvyn CornishUniversity Secretary and Registrar of the General Council

Professor Timothy O’SheaPrincipal and Vice-Chancellor

Dr Ann MathesonSecretary of the General Council

Mr Alan JohnstonConvener of the Business Committee

65 other members

The Rev. Di Williamsopened the meeting with prayer.

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4. Report of the Business Committee

Mr Alan Johnston, Convener of the BusinessCommittee, gave his report, and welcomedthe Rector to his first Statutory GeneralCouncil meeting as Chairman. He said thatthe General Council looked forward toworking closely with the Rector on Universityprojects of mutual interest during his periodof office. He also noted that the Rector hadvery kindly stepped in at short notice to givethe after-Lunch address, since the originalspeaker, Ms Sally Magnusson, had suffered a recent bereavement through the death ofher father, Magnus Magnusson, who hadbeen Rector of the University some 30 yearsago. The Secretary had written to MsMagnusson on behalf of the General Councilto offer condolences, and it was very muchhoped that she would be able to attend on a future occasion.

The Convener noted that the General Councilhad taken an important step last year byholding its very first ever overseas meeting in Paris. Encouraged by this, and by similarcomments in London in 2004, the PublicAffairs Standing Committee had been workingwith the University, the Development Officeand Alumni groups to identify an appropriatevenue for the General Council 2008 summermeeting, and at its most recent meeting, the Business Committee had unanimouslyendorsed the Standing Committee’s clearrecommendation of Washington DC in theUSA. A key parameter was the greatenthusiasm and willingness of seniormembers of our Alumnus Association inUSA, and their confidence that suitablevenues and activities would be realisticallypossible in that location. Because of thetiming of summer graduations in 2008, thedate of the June 2008 Half-Yearly Meetingwould be Saturday 14 June 2008.

The Convener commented that the date of theFebruary 2007 meeting had been changed toaccommodate the needs of the Law School’sTercentenary celebrations, and he noted thathe and the Secretary would represent theGeneral Council at the special Law graduationceremony. The General Council had again

been represented at all graduations and majorpublic events, and thanks were due to theVice-Convener, Secretary, Court Assessorsand Standing Committee Conveners forsharing these duties, and for all the supportand time they gave to the work of Council.The Business Committee and StandingCommittees had continued to be very active,and their detailed reports were given in theAnnex to the Billet, which was available onthe General Council website and in hard copyon request.

A reception in Old College and private viewfor members and guests in the Talbot RiceGallery, with the welcome support of PatFisher, the Principal Curator, had been held to coincide with the Edinburgh InternationalFestival, and a similar event would be held onThursday 16 August 2007. The next StatutoryMeeting would take place on Saturday16 June 2007 in the School of VeterinaryStudies, Easter Bush, when Professor ElaineWatson, Head of the School, would give theafter-Lunch address. The Convener noted thenew, and in his view, improved and clearerversion of Edit and the Billet within Edit, andthanked the Secretary, Dr Matheson, for heractive engagement with the design team onthe General Council’s behalf.

The Convener recorded grateful thanks to Mr Roger Windsor, outgoing Convener of thePublic Affairs Standing Committee, and toBusiness Committee members Professor R EAsher, Mr Michael Conway and Mr GrahamRule, who completed their terms of office in2006. Mr Ralph Parkinson, Convener of theConstitutional Standing Committee, had beenco-opted for a further year, Mr Fred Lawson(Finance and Services) and Dr Frances Dow(Academic) continued as Conveners, andMrs Marjorie Appleton had been appointedConvener of the Public Affairs StandingCommittee, in succession to Mr RogerWindsor. He also welcomed as new membersof the Business Committee Mr FrancisBrewis, Miss Helen Campbell, Mr FinlayMarshall, Dr Mike Mitchell and Mr JamesMurray.

The report of the Business Committee wasapproved.

The full text of the Convener’s remarks, andthe record of the discussion that followed thepresentation, are contained in the Annex tothe Billet.

5. Dates of future meetings of the General Council

The next Half-Yearly Meeting would takeplace on Saturday 16 June 2007: anymotions for discussion at that meetingshould be received in the General CouncilOffice by 28 March 2007. The followingHalf-Yearly Meeting would be held onSaturday 9 February 2008. Any motions fordiscussion at the meeting on 9 February2008 should be received in the GeneralCouncil Office by 21 November 2007.

6. Notice of forthcoming Elections

There would be elections for five members of the Business Committee in February 2008:nominations on forms available from theGeneral Council Office should be received in the office by 21 November 2007.

A POSITIVE YEAR7. Presentation by the Principal of

the Annual Report of the University

The Principal said that it was a greatpleasure to address the General Council and to present the Annual Report. He greatlyvalued the work of the General Council, the contributions that the General CouncilAssessors made to the work of the Court,and the valuable support he received fromthe Business Committee. He said that hewanted to begin by emphasising the greatsuccess of the Paris meeting, and that hewarmly welcomed the proposal to go toWashington DC in 2008. He thought that it was highly appropriate for the GeneralCouncil of a University, which from the day it was founded was international incharacter, to hold some of its meetingsoverseas.

The Principal said that he would presentsome of the elements in this year’s Annual

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Billet


Report. In terms of the University’s financialposition, income had risen by eight per centto £435 million in the last financial year, andthe overall position was very healthy. It wasparticularly healthy when it was recognisedthat the University also had a surplus of£8 million, and that this performance wasvery similar to the University’s performancein the previous three years. The Principalsaid that he would be interested if anybodycould tell him after his remarks if there wasanother university in the United Kingdomwhich had had such a robust financialperformance and such robust growth over a consistent period. The University’s assetswere now valued at a US billion, namely£1,000,000,000. The Principal drewattention to the very distinguished peoplewho had received honorary degrees from the University in recent times, and heparticularly mentioned Professor John LHennessey, President of Stanford, and DrNick Donofrio, Executive Vice-President,Innovation and Technology, IBM; andbenefactors Lady Trotman for the tremendoussupport from herself and the late LordTrotman for bursaries, and Dr Rodger Mirreyfor the wonderful gift of the keyboardinstruments which are now housed inSt Cecilia’s Hall. The Principal said thatthere were very many benefactions listed,and he said he would like to ask themembers of the General Council to read all the names and, if they recognised any, to drop them a note to say how wonderful it was that they were supporting bursaries at the University of Edinburgh, or that theyhad promised the University a legacy.

The figures in the Annual Report indicatedthat the University was tending toward 10applications a place, with 24,500 students,11,000 from Scotland, 8,000 from the rest of the United Kingdom, 2,000 from theEuropean Union and 3,500 from outside theEuropean Union. In addition, there were morethan 1,000 students from North America,and more than 500 students from China. The summary in the Annual Report showedthat the University had achieved £140million of research grants awarded in thatperiod. Every pound had been received incompetition against universities like Oxford,

Cambridge, Imperial and UCL, and it wasnotable that of the total figure of £435million, while a third came in formulafunding from the Scottish taxpayer, the othertwo-thirds were achieved in research grantsand against competition.

The Principal said that he would particularlyemphasise that the foundation of theConfucius Institute located in Abden House,with recurrent support from the Chinesegovernment and infrastructure support fromthe Scottish Executive, was a greatachievement. The University’s first Chinesegraduate was Huang Kuan, who had been a medical graduate in 1855, so theUniversity’s engagement with China was not new. In March 2007, the Universitywould be hosting in Beijing a celebration ofacademic success, where Chinese studentswould be able to attend. At that ceremonythe University would be celebrating a keyalumnus, Professor Zhong Nanshan, whowas world-famous as the person who hadidentified the SARS virus. The Principal saidthat members of the General Council wouldbe pleased to know that only a few days agothe University had been awarded funding toset up the Scottish Centre for Research inHuman and Avian Influenza. The researchundertaken on species-jumping diseaseswas a great strength of the University. Inaddition, in partnership with the Beijing FilmAcademy, the University would becelebrating a festival of Chinesecontemporary film in Edinburgh.

Another part of the Annual Report of greatinterest was the work on cognitive ageing, ledby Professor Ian Deary, holder of the Chair of Differential Psychology. Help the Aged hadrun a competition because it had decidedthat it wanted to support just one researchproject in the United Kingdom. The final twoout of some 35 runners were the University of Edinburgh and University College London;and the University of Edinburgh had won.The Principal said that Help the Aged hadpromised to raise £10 million for the veryimportant work undertaken by the Universityon cognitive ageing. He said that members of the General Council would be pleased toknow that the Chancellor had agreed to the

Principal’s request that he be patron of the£10 million appeal for Help the Aged. One ofthe great resources available was that in 1932in Scotland all 11-year-olds had been givenan IQ test, and they were subsequently testedat regular intervals, so that there was awonderful cohort of people for whom one can actually track how their cognitive abilitieshad changed at 10-year intervals since 1932.A key member of that cohort was the actor,Richard Wilson, so he had lent himself alsoto this very important work. It was importantresearch, and it would have an impact onhow older people lived their lives, and onhow care homes and nursing homes wereorganised.

In terms of equality and diversity, theUniversity continued to make progress. For example, the University now had fourfemale Professors of Engineering, which wasvery good. Environmental work continuedapace in partnership with the students doingwork in regard to fair trade. The single issuethat preoccupied students most was theenvironment, and that was why ‘People &Planet’ was the strongest society on thecampus, and it was a very productiveengagement between the students and theUniversity. The University had recentlyappointed very many distinguishedprofessors. Professor Tom Devine, who heldthe Sir William Fraser Chair, was running avery important series of historical debatesabout the 1707 Union of the Parliaments.

The Principal went on to speak aboutscholarships. Access scholarships were veryimportant, because the University wanted towelcome students from a wide range ofbackgrounds, and did not want them to bedeterred from study because of lack ofmoney. It was a really key part of theUniversity of Edinburgh FundraisingCampaign to provide support. In terms ofactivities to date, over 600 students had beenhelped through the undergraduate bursaryscheme, and the Principal was very proud of the University community’s success indoing that. Access bursaries were typicallyabout £1,000 a year, but they did vary, andthen there were individuals like Dr Alfred andDr Isabel Bader, who had supported a large

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number of chemistry students, and LadyTrotman and the late Lord Trotman. In roughfigures, currently the University offeredsupport to about one in eight of theundergraduates; a Campaign goal was tomove that to one in four over the next fiveyears. When it came to postgraduatestudents, some of them got support from theseven Research Councils. The University hadto be aware that in the current environment a lot of students who wanted to bepostgraduate students had already got quiteserious debt from having done undergraduatestudy. Typically, UK students who completeda course of study and did some part-timework ended up with a debt of around £12,000to £14,000, so it was particularly challengingfor a young person who had alreadyaccumulated university debts in excess of£10,000 to come to university to dopostgraduate work, and so the University hadput in a lot of effort to this issue. ThePrincipal was very pleased to report that theDevelopment Trust had agreed to his variousrequests, and that just short of £2 million hadbeen put in to support postgraduates in need.It was really very important that the Universityhelped these young people who had greatpotential through their academic work to do important things, and helped themovercome some of the financial obstacles.The University also had hardship funds givento the University from Government, and thesewere very important. The hardship funds wereused to support students in a number ofways: for example, a student who was asingle mother who required help with herchildcare; or a student who had a disability;or a student who was caring for a parent andhad to travel a lot back to the parent tosupport them. So there was a whole range of hardships that students could have, andthe Principal was very pleased that theUniversity was able to assist in this way. Soin terms of the Fundraising Campaign, whichhad had a wonderful launch, undergraduatescholarships and postgraduate scholarshipswere really at the heart of it, and the Principalhoped that the General Council, as part of thelarger community, would really encouragepeople to support it.

In terms of other forms of support, one partof it was having decent buildings. TheUniversity had a huge campus of about500,000 square metres of teaching andresearch space, and 230 major buildings.The University also needed modern ITfacilities to support students. Its teaching methods also had to reflecttechnological developments. The Universityhad received the Queen’s Award for theextremely high-quality way in whichtechnology was used to support studentlearning for undergraduate medicine andundergraduate veterinary science. It was also hoped that the University would expandits part-time programmes. There was anabsolutely excellent Careers Service, whichhelped students to demonstrate theirengagement to employers. An area that wasabsolutely vital for students was disabilityand counselling. The number of studentswishing to declare a disability had quitedramatically increased from two per cent 10years ago to six per cent today. There werealso excellent advice places run by theStudents’ Association, and an absolutelyexcellent Chaplaincy, led by the Chaplainwith good support from a large cohort ofHonorary Chaplains, which provided veryimportant services to students of all faithsand students of none.

The Principal finished his report with somerecent positive news. Professor IanMegson’s work on organ transplant survivalwas particularly noteworthy; ProfessorMegson and his colleagues had identified a way of keeping organs for transplant alivevery much longer, and that had beenworldwide news and was one of the verymany projects in medicine of which theUniversity should be very proud. TheUniversity’s MBA had recently gone up28 places in the Financial Times rankings,making it by far the strongest Scottish MBAand also giving it a strong worldwideranking. In terms of regenerative medicine,the First Minister and Deputy First Ministerhad recently announced a £40 millioncontribution to the £59 million Centre forRegenerative Medicine to be built at LittleFrance. The Principal reported that in a fewdays time the University would be formally

announcing that it was the preferred bidderto house and run HECToR, which was thenext British supercomputer. The Universityof Edinburgh ran the current Britishsupercomputer, but it was physically locatedin Manchester. The successor machine wasset to be located on the Technopole. Thetechnical position was that the Universitywas the preferred bidder, but the contracthad not yet been signed. The University hadhad a charming visit the previous Tuesdayfrom Mr Bill Gates, who had expressedparticular interest in the work of regenerativemedicine. He had met five teams working in regenerative medicine; and he had metProfessor Ian Wilmut, who had cloned Dolly the Sheep, and some young scientistswho had talked to him about the basictechnology of stem cells and cloning. Hemet a team focusing on using stem celltherapy for diseases of the liver, along withanother team that was working on thethymus, and another team which wasmaking good progress on osteoporosis, and one working on motor neurone disease.He also met a team which is working onsleeping sickness and the tsetse fly inpartnership with the University of Makerere,and some young colleagues from MakerereUniversity came across from Tanzania to bewith us during the visit. The University alsoconferred an honorary degree on Bill Gates.The following day, when he was addressingthe Government Leaders Forum at Holyrood, he explained that his reason for coming toScotland was because of the very strongscience at the University of Edinburgh.

The full text of the Principal’s remarks, andthe record of the discussion that followed thepresentation, are contained in the Annex tothe Billet.

8. Any other competent business

Mr Malcolm Errington raised the matter ofthe honorary degree awarded to RobertMugabe, President of Zimbabwe, in 1984, to which the University Secretary responded.The meeting agreed with a proposal from the floor that the matter should be referredto the Business Committee for furtherconsideration.

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Festival Reception andExhibition Viewing:16 August 2007The General Council is arranging a Receptionon Thursday 16 August 2007 in the TalbotRice Gallery for General Council membersand their friends. There will be an opportunityto see the Festival exhibition in the Gallery,

which this year will present the work of David Batchelor, who is best known for his light installations.

For this exhibition, David Batchelor will showa brand new site-specific installation madefor Talbot Rice Gallery’s vast atrium space.The reception afterwards will be held in theGallery’s Georgian Room. A ticket requestform is available on the rear inside cover of this issue of Edit.

PAPER BMotion

This General Council invites the Senate of the University to consider:

a. taking unto itself powers to allow theUniversity, in exceptional cases, to remove fromindividuals the award of an honorary degreewhere their actions subsequent to their receivingthat award are considered to have brought thegood name of the University into disrepute

b. whether, because of his actions subsequentto his receiving an honorary degree from thisUniversity in 1984, the award given to RobertMugabe, President of Zimbabwe, should bewithdrawn.

Proposed by: Mr Malcolm Errington (MEd1985)Seconded by: Mr Colin Harvey (MA 1972)

Ms Linda Hendry raised the issue of theft of personal property in the Library, and theUniversity Secretary said that he would look into the present position. Mr PeterFreshwater, former Deputy Librarian,commented that personal theft was aperennial problem in libraries. Miss Mary E Mackenzie raised the pointthat five out of 11 nominations for electionwere proposed by the Convener andVice-Convener. The Convener respondedthat he regarded it as his responsibility as Convener of the Business Committee to try to surround himself with competentindividuals, and in the absence of a hugenumber of nominations from elsewhere,individuals, with varied backgrounds andvaried skills were sought, but it was ademocratic election, for which any General Council member could stand.

9. Adjournment

The Motion by the Convener of theBusiness Committee that, for the purposeof considering matters which may betransmitted to the General Council by theUniversity Court or any other business of acompetent nature, the Business Committeebe empowered to act on behalf of theCouncil, and that this meeting be adjournedto a date to be fixed by the BusinessCommittee, was approved.

The Rev. Di Williams closed the meeting with a benediction.

The Annex to the Billet contains supportingpapers for the Agenda, includingcommunications from the University Court,full Standing Committee reports, a transcriptof the presentation, and the BusinessCommittee’s report to the meeting on3 February 2007. General Council membersmay either collect the Annex from half-an-hour before the Council Meeting, or requestit by post from: Mrs Jean Gibson, GeneralCouncil Office, Charles Stewart House,9-16 Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1HT.Tel: 0131 650 2152.Email: [email protected]

Following the Half-Yearly Meeting, membersof the General Council, other alumni, theirpartners, family and friends are cordiallyinvited to the General Council Lunch onSaturday 16 June 2007, in the GroundFloor Restaurant, Easter Bush VeterinaryCentre.

Professor Elaine Watson, Head of the Royal(Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, willgive the after-Lunch address.

If you would like to attend the next GeneralCouncil Lunch, please complete and returnthe form on the rear inner cover no laterthan Monday 11 June 2007.

Tickets at £16.00 include a pre-Lunchwine reception and a three-course meal.Table wines will be available for purchaseat the meal.

Professor Elaine Watson

The June 2007 General Council Lunch

There will be a short tour of Easter Bush afterLunch from 3pm to 4pm. If you would like to join the tour, please complete the Toursection of the Lunch ticket request form.

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Chairman: His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, KG, KTSecretary: Ann Matheson, OBE, MA, Dip. Scottish Studies, MLitt, PhD, Hon DLitt 2009Registrar: Melvyn D Cornish, BSc, PGCE, University Secretary ex-officio

General Council Assessors on the University Court:A Margaret Tait, BSc 2009Robin O Blair, LLB, MA 2007Gavin W T Scott, BCom, CA, MBA 2007

Business Committee:Convener: Alan M Johnston, MBA, CSci, CChem, FRSC, CBiol, FIBiol 2008Vice-Convener: Neil R Hynd, LVO, BArch 2008

A Convener of Academic Standing Committee: Frances D Dow, MA, DPhil 2008

F Convener of Standing Committee on Finance and Services: Charles F Y Lawson, BSc, CA, FSI (co-opted) 2008

P Convener of Public Affairs Standing Committee:Marjorie D Appleton, BArch (Hons), RIBA, FRIAS 2009

C Convener of Constitutional Standing Committee:Ralph V Parkinson, MA Geography (Hons) (co-opted) 2007

Members‘A’ denotes a member of the Academic Standing Committee, ‘C’ a member of the Constitutional Standing Committee, ‘F’ a member of the Standing Committee on Finance and Services, and ‘P’ a member of the Public Affairs Standing Committee:

Chancellor’s Assessor: The Rt Hon. Lord Cameron of Lochbroom, MA, LLB, QC, FRSE, FRIAS ex-officio

C George L Allen, BSc, MSc, MA, LLM, BL, DipLP, FLS, FRSM, FRMS, FRIPH, FRSA, NP 2007

F William R B Bowie, BSc, CEng, MICE, FIHT 2007C Gavin Douglas, RD, QC, MA, LLB 2007F Anne Paterson, BSc (Social Science), Diploma in Social Study 2007C Patricia J Spark, MA 2008P Diana C F Webster, MA, Dip Lib, MCLIP 2008A Ian Wotherspoon, MA, MBA, PhD, FSA (Scot), MCMI 2008P Alan D G Brown, MB ChB, FRCOG, FRCS Ed 2009F J Ewan Jeffrey, BSc, CA 2009C Ann M Sutherland, MA, FBCartS 2009A Charles P Swainson, MB ChB, FRCPE, FFPHM 2009P Francis R M Brewis, MA 2010A Helen M Campbell, MA, BA, MNCHM, RSHom 2010F T Finlay Marshall, MA, FFA 2010P Michael J Mitchell, BSc, PhD 2010A James Murray, BSc, MS CEng, MIEE, MIHT 2010

Assistant to the Secretary: Jean Gibson

Officers

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Before the General Council Lunch, left to right: Professor Timothy O’Shea, Principal and Vice-Chancellor;Mr Alan Johnston, Convener of the Business Committee; Dr Ann Matheson, Secretary of the GeneralCouncil; Mr Mark Ballard, Rector; and Mr Melvyn Cornish, University Secretary and Registrar of the General Council.

June 2008 General Council Meeting in Washington DC, USA

General Council members are warmlyinvited to put the date Saturday 14 June 2008 in their diaries. On this date, theGeneral Council’s Half-Yearly Meeting and Lunch will take place in Washington DC. This will be the first meeting held by the General Council in North America, and it is another very important milestone in taking General Council meetings tomembers, following London in 2004 and Paris in 2006.

The year 2008 is also an importantanniversary for the General Council, since it will be the 150th anniversary of theestablishment of the General Councils of the four Ancient Scottish Universities by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858. TheGeneral Council Meeting and Lunch will be associated with a weekend of eventsorganised in association with the University’sDevelopment & Alumni, and the AlumnusAssociation in Washington DC. We invite you most cordially to attend this very special occasion.

Information will also appear in the newDevelopment & Alumni monthly e-Newsletter:to join the mailing list for the e-Newsletter,please contact Brian Campbell, Development& Alumni, at [email protected].

Further details will be available on theGeneral Council website (www.general-council.ed.ac.uk), and in future issues ofthe Billet within Edit.

US Capitol, Washington DC

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The June 2007 General Council LunchPlease send me tickets for the General Council Lunch.

A cheque for £ is enclosed, payable to The University of Edinburgh.

Name

Address

Postcode

Name(s) of guest(s)

Tour of Easter BushThere will be a short tour of Easter Bush after Lunch from 3pm to 4pm. In order to assist with the organisation of the tours, if you intend to go on the tour, please give the number/s attending in the box provided.

Please complete and return this form to Mrs Jean Gibson, Assistant to the Secretary of the General Council, General CouncilOffice, University of Edinburgh, Charles Stewart House, 9-16 Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1HT. Closing date for applications: Monday 11 June 2007

Festival Reception and Exhibition Viewing: 16 August 2007Please send me tickets (£10 per person) for the Festival Reception and Exhibition Viewing.

A cheque for £ is enclosed, payable to The University of Edinburgh.

Name

Address

Postcode

Name(s) of guest(s)

Please return to: Mrs Jean Gibson, Assistant to the Secretary of the General Council, General Council Office, The University ofEdinburgh, Charles Stewart House, 9-16 Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1HT by Monday 13 August 2007.

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Documents

The University of Edinburgh · 04 The University of Edinburgh Edit Magazine For the fifth year in a row the University and the National Museum of Scotland continued their successful