Staff Newsletter 13 October 2023
- Annabel Jackson (Deactivated)
Good morning folks! Thank you to all those that have nominated a colleague/team for a Making The Difference award. It is great to read about all the hard work going on in the Department.
Have a fantastic weekend 🌳
Annabel Jackson - PA / Admin to EGLT
Crafty Lunch - Call for Volunteers 🧶
Crafty lunch was set up for DEG crafters to meet up on a Wednesday lunchtime in the Heartspace and share crafts, teach others and generally get to know one another. We've collaborated on a "show your stripes" project for the department which will be unveiled very soon.
However, the crafty gathering has been on a very long break due to covid and some of our original volunteers leaving for pastures new. I'd love to start it up again but I need your help.
Are you interested in getting involved or want to find out more? If so, drop me an email and let's have a chat.
Jenny (jenny.pollard@york.ac.uk)
British Photography Awards, Photo of the Year - 'What's all the fuss about?' - Alumni nominated! 📷
Will Palmer, one of our Alumni students who is now a photographer, has been shortlisted in the British Photography Awards for his wonderful photo of Thor the Walrus in Scarborough!
Voting is now open so click here for more information and to give him your vote 🌊
Thanks to Jenny Pollard for sending in 😊
Climate scientist / comedian films - 2 minute survey
You may have seen these short films pairing climate scientists with well-known comedians - an attempt to break through into the mainstream with the climate message.
They are asking UK climate scientists to fill in a very quick survey designed simply to generate news content to help promote the films. If you can spare a minute, your input would be hugely appreciated.
DEG World Mental Health Day Celebration 🧠
On Wednesday 11th October, as part of our annual activities in EDC, the Department celebrated World Mental Health Day 2023.
Thank you to all that joined us for our celebrations on Wednesday.
For those that were unable to attend the Talk from Guest Speaker Dr Nick Rowe, please find here a link to the presentation 😊
🏆 Making the Difference Awards are back so it's time to get nominating! 🏆.jpg?version=1&modificationDate=1696948658000&cacheVersion=1&api=v2&width=375&height=250)
The University recognises and values the hard work, commitment and achievements of all staff. The 'Making the Difference' awards are intended to provide recognition to any member of staff whose contribution on a one-off or short-term basis has been exceptional or outstanding and is worthy of particular note. The scheme provides staff, managers and colleagues with the opportunity to nominate an individual or a team for a recognition payment worth up to £250 per person (subject to normal pay deductions, e.g. PAYE). (The university also recognises and values outstanding contribution of a sustained nature. Staff should refer to details of the 'Rewarding Excellence' scheme for information about awards of that kind.)
For more information about MTD awards, including the criteria, all past nominations and winners, please visit our Making the Difference Wiki Page. Please note that nominees must have been in post for a minimum of 6 months to be eligible to win an award.
If you would like to nominate someone for a Making the Difference Award, please click here to fill in the form.
Deadline for nominations: Friday 3rd November 17:00
Seminars taking place next week 🎓
All are welcome to attend so please do join us and offer your support!
DEG Seminar - Fully Online next weekDate / Time: Tuesday 17th October at 12:05 Location: Fully Online via Zoom - click here to join) Speaker name: Mariusz Lamentowicz Title: Unveiling tipping points in long-term ecological records from Sphagnum-dominated peatlands.
Blurb Prof. Mariusz Lamentowicz and his team at the Climate Change Ecology Research Unit (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland) use palaeo-ecological and experimental approaches to understand the impact of current and past climate changes and anthropogenic disturbances on peatlands. Ecosystems are increasingly prone to climate extremes, such as drought, with long-lasting effects on plant and soil communities and, subsequently, carbon cycling. Unveiling past tipping points is a prerequisite for a better understanding how individual species and entire ecosystems will respond to future climate changes, especially soil moisture. The work presented here represents a significant advance in understanding the nonlinear nature of ecosystem properties and paves the way towards a truly mechanistic understanding of peatland tipping points using experiments and paleoecology. Click here to watch the recording of the previous DEG Seminar entitled 'For Peat’s Sake: Why are tropical peatlands burning, and what are the impacts?' Passcode: i6&yWhD9 | Sustainability SeminarDate / Time: Wednesday 18th October at 12:05 Location: Zoom - click here to join Speaker name: Dr Matthias Tager Title: Is finance saving the planet? The making(s) of green finance.
Blurb Is finance with the recent boom in ESG investment and net zero pledges saving the plant? In this talk I argue that in order to answer this question we need to understand the different versions of sustainability that finance is imagining and pursuing. These versions are rarely explicitly articulated but tend to be encoded in financial tools, technologies, and standards. Drawing on two empirical examples of such tools - climate scenarios and Implied Temperature Rise metrics - I demonstrate how the concept of ontological politics can facilitate both critical scholarship and practical interventions into 'green' finance. This makes it a tool useful for practitioners and researchers alike who seek to do and to understand 'green' finance, its limits, and its potentials. |
- Our wonderful Director for Students, Samarthia Thankappan is back with her weekly audio messages for students. Click the links below to listen to Samarthia's messages:
- S1 Week 1 Message from DfS
- S1 Week 2 Message from DfS
- S1 Week 3 Message from DfS
Gideon Baffoe for published a paper in Cities. Details of the paper: Baffoe, G. (2023). Neoliberal urban development and the polarization of urban governance.
Sarah West has co-authored a second publication relating to the Tupumue project - the paper was published in BMJ - Open Respiratory Research. Read a summary and access the full paper. Sarah was also interviewed for a POSTnote on indoor air quality. The parliamentary briefing highlighted the SAMHE and INGENIOUS projects.
Rob Marchant has recently:- Been interviewed by TV Monde about the Environmental and social impacts of a Total Oil pipeline passing through Uganda and Tanzania.
- Led a discussion session at the African Conference on Linear Infrastructure in memory of Tobias Nyumba.
- Been a coauthor on a paper published in the journal Land entitled One Hundred Priority Questions for the Development of Sustainable Food Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Along with Rebecca Newman, led a paper published in the journal Sustainability Science entitled Community-based scenario's framework for supporting water, energy and food security in Zanzibar.
- Been invited to give a keynote talk on the impact of climate change on mountain ecosystems and societies at the World Climate Research program congress.
- Co-led a workshop for the Adaptation @ Altitude program bringing some 30 participants from across the African continent to develop datasets, and adaptation pathways for Africa's mountains.
- Along with Ploy and Paramita Punwong, led a paper published in the journal Quaternary Science Advances entitled A multi-proxy reconstruction of the late Holocene vegetation dynamics in Krabi mangroves, Thailand Andaman Sea.
Well done everyone on your fantastic achievements 👏
Yorkshire Cancer Research 2024 Research Funding Fall
Yorkshire Cancer Research has opened its annual research funding call. Applications focused on the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Yorkshire, cancers causing the most deaths and life years lost in Yorkshire or projects across multiple cancer types will be prioritised and health inequalities is a new focus area for YCR as of this year and they are particularly interested in research projects involving targeted interventions in underserved groups in Yorkshire. Please be aware that Yorkshire Cancer Research does fund fundamental science or early stage drug/intervention development. The preliminary application deadline is 12 noon, 07 December 2023 and the full application deadline is 12 noon, 21 March 2024 (invitation only).
If you are interested and would like any additional support with your application, please contact Sharon Godwin (sharon.godwin@york.ac.uk).
Global Social eEnterprise - Collaboration Opportunities
Solar Ear is a global social enterprise with sales of over $15 million of their globally affordable hearing aids. They are considering making York Science Park their new UK base and, as part of their selection process, are interested to understand what collaborations (including and not limited to: placements, research, teaching) might be feasible with the University.
If you are interested in collaborating with them, please email enterprise-works@york.ac.uk - we will run an introductory meeting with Solar Ear, at a convenient time for all involved, to investigate these collaborations and to show them York would be an excellent home for their organisation.
Some initial potential areas of collaboration include digital hearing health programme, audio detection, community empowerment and supporting social wealth creation. Further information can be found here.
The York Researcher Festival
The York Research Festival will be taking place 6-10 November 2023. This is an opportunity to collectively celebrate the contribution that early career researchers (both postgraduate researchers and postdocs) make to research, culture and community at York. The Festival provides opportunities for researchers and staff who support research to come together across disciplines to share experiences, learn, network and develop new skills. The primary audience for the Festival is researchers (including postgraduate researchers) but all who are interested are warmly invited and welcome to attend. A wide range of events will be running, with contributions from across the University and beyond.
Please visit the York Research Festival webpage for full details.
Book using the York Researcher Festival Event Registration Form, and please direct any questions to bric@york.ac.uk.
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