QM Alumni e-Newsletter
ALUMNI IN THE NEWS
Sarah Waters (PhD English, 1995)
Sarah Waters’ latest book Night Watch was shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize. This was the second time that one of Sarah’s novels has been shortlisted; in 2002, her second novel Fingersmith was nominated for arguably the most prestigious book prize in the world.
Sarah Waters turned to the Second World War and its aftermath for the setting of her fourth book. More details.
Commander Simon Foy (Law, 1982)
Commander Simon Foy delivered the Department of Law’s Annual Student Lecture on criminology on Monday 16 October. Commander Foy is currently Head of the Metropolitan Police Performance Directorate. He was previously in charge of murder investigation teams in South London and was Police Commander for the London Borough of Lambeth.
Professor Bill Fishman remembers making history
Bill Fishman, formerly a member of staff in the Department of History at Queen Mary, joined a whole host of people at Toynbee Hall to remember the Cable Street Riots of 4 October 1936.
He relived the day that he, then 15 years old, joined thousands of east Londoners to protest against the growing fascist movement of Oswald Moseley’s Blackshirts who were trying to march through the area.
Bill Fishman has maintained a lifelong passion for the East End and is one of its best known chroniclers. His books include The Streets of East London and East London, 1888. More Details
Peter Wingfield
Former Student, Peter Wingfield who studied medicine at St Batholomew's, has recently joined the cast of the BBC's weekly hospital drama, Holby City. Peter plays the part of Daniel Clifford, General Surgical Consultant.
WHERE ARE YOU AND HOW DID YOU GET THERE?
Did you complete your degree in 2002/03?
You may recall completing a questionnaire as part of the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s (HESA) Destinations of Leavers survey six months after you finished your studies. You may have seen information from the survey in the media, for example, as part of the University League Tables.
There is now another opportunity for some of you to let us know what you have been doing since you gained your degree. YouGov/IFF Research, on behalf of HESA, are conducting a longitudinal survey and may send you a questionnaire. The questionnaire will ask you to detail your current activities - some of you will also get the opportunity to detail all of the activities you have been involved in since you graduated in 2002/03. Any information you provide will help in reviewing and promoting courses and giving current students an insight into early career progression, as well as providing input to government policy development and review.
If you are contacted by YouGov/IFF Research (by email, post or phone) please take the time to complete the survey and return it – your participation is valuable.
Results of this survey will be available on the web next summer.
Did you study Russian at Queen Mary?
The Department of Russian in the School of Modern Languages is keen to contact as many alumni as possible who studied Russian language, history and culture as part of their degree programme, even if based in another department. They are planning to hold a Russian alumni reunion on Saturday 17 March 2007 at Queen Mary. The day will include lunch in the Octagon, an opportunity to see a production by current Russian students, a Russian-style buffet supper and the opportunity to meet with friends and make new acquaintances.
To register your interest, contact Stephanie Mannion: +44 (0)20 7882 7790.
Adding up the numbers, Maths counts
Are you a Mathematics graduate? Has your mathematics training directly benefited your career?
Queen Mary is one of three institutions involved in a £3 million project to increase the number of mathematical science graduates in England over the next three years. The project will involve working directly with local schools, colleges and employers and in developing careers information and education.
Funded by HEFCE, the project, ‘Increasing the Supply of Mathematical Sciences Graduates’, will encourage school and college students to maintain an interest in Mathematics after GCSE level, as well as developing the undergraduate mathematics curriculum to ensure it supports a wide range of students, helping to increase student retention. More details.
Help us to develop our careers information resources by telling us how your mathematics degree has helped your career. Please download a profile form.
25 years of the Queen Mary Hong Kong Alumni Association
1 September 2007 is the 25th anniversary of the inaugural meeting of the Queen Mary Hong Kong Alumni Association. Throughout the year a number of events connecting founder members and younger alumni will take place in Hong Kong, in particular with the aim of helping young alumni with their career development. Plans are currently underway to hold a Hong Kong alumni reunion in September/October 2007 and the Alumni Relations Office in London is keen to contact as many current and former members of the Association as possible.
If you are aware of the whereabouts of friends or other alumni who were members of the Hong Kong and Chinese Students’ Association whilst at Queen Mary and with whom we may have lost contact, please email us.
As we re-develop our alumni website each of the country associations will be able to include their news, details about forthcoming events, as well as reviews and alumni profiles.
Alumni Relations and the Careers Service support National Enterprise Week
On Tuesday 14 November, as part of National Enterprise Week, and for the first time, alumni who have started their own companies returned to Queen Mary to speak to students who believe they have an entrepreneurial streak about their successes.
We welcomed back Justin Rhodes (Economics with Hispanic Studies, 1993) and Piers Corbyn (MSc Astrophysics, 1981). Justin is Managing Director of Elliot Rhodes, a retailer of luxury custom-made leather belts, with premises in Covent Garden (More details), while Piers is Managing Director of Weather Action Ltd, a provider of long range weather forecasting services(More details).
Justin Rhodes and Piers Corbyn shared their experiences; in particular looking at the crucial factors which led them to success, the difficulties they overcame on the way, and some of the factors they learned and wished they had known about before.
If you have started your own business and would like to share your experiences at future careers events or get involved by offering student summer placements or graduate employment opportunities, please contact Anila Memon in the Alumni Relations Office.
To find out more about the Queen Mary careers service visit their website.
Did you row for Queen Mary, Barts and The London or the University of London?
Alisdair Dick, current President of the QMUL Boat Club would like to hear from any former members for a forthcoming reunion - details to be announced in the New Year. Please contact Rachel Nabudde.
Your Profile, Your Success
We are keen to hear how you are progressing in your career and how the knowledge gained from your degree is benefiting your success. Your experience will help other alumni and current students gain an insight into what it is really like to work in your industrial sector or your career type. These profiles will be published on our website and will thus be accessible by your contemporaries and prospective students.
Please share your profile and your success by downloading a profile form or contact Rachel Nabudde for more information. Remember to let us know if you do not wish to have your experience published online.
Women@QM
Women@QM is a celebration of the contribution of women, as students and teachers, from the four historic Colleges that underpin the modern institution that is Queen Mary today: East London College and its successor Queen Mary College, Westfield College, St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College and the London Hospital Medical and Dental Colleges.
As a precursor to the events currently being planned for October - December 2007, profiles will be included in forthcoming QM e-Newsletters, Quad and Barts and The London Chronicle.
Profile: No 1
Constance Garnett (née Black) (former librarian in the People’s Palace, 1887-1889)
Constance Clara Garnett (1861-1946) is probably best known as the English translator of nineteenth-century Russian literary classics. She was the first to introduce many of these works to the English-speaking world during the first half of the twentieth-century.
Born in Brighton, Constance Black went to Newnham College, Cambridge where she read Classics and Philosophy. At her final examinations in 1883 she obtained a First Class, and qualified for (but as a woman could not take) the Cambridge BA degree.
After teaching privately in London for a number of years she became co-librarian of the then new People’s Palace Library in 1887. She later became Head Librarian and published its catalogue, but resigned in mid-1889 in order to marry Edward Garnett, a literary editor and book reviewer for the publisher Jonathan Cape. Constance would have worked in the Octagon library which opened in June 1888 and was stunningly restored in 2006.
Constance was taught Russian by the exile F V Volkhovsky who supported her first efforts at translation. Through him she met other Russian exiles living in England at the time. By 1894 she had made her first trip to Russia which included meeting Leo Tolstoy in Moscow, who praised her translation and encouraged her to attempt more. By the end of her life she had translated dozens of works by leading Russian literati, including Pushkin, Turgenev, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and, of course, Tolstoy.
REUNIONS
Alumni Campus Lunch and Mini-Reunions Day 2006 - Review
With over 150 guests and a waiting list, this year’s Alumni Campus Lunch and Mini-Reunions Day marked our biggest and busiest gathering to date. In the morning, staff and postgraduate students from academic departments including Bob Chew from Electronic Engineering, Dr Mike Salt and Dr Helen Groombridge from the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Dr Virginia Davis from History, Professor Roger Lee from Geography and Professor Peter Evans, Head of the School of Modern Languages, took groups on departmental tours. Others enjoyed campus tours led by current students. Lunch time provided the opportunity for groups to catch up with their contemporaries and to meet new acquaintances.
Following lunch, Mathematics alumnus Dr Mike Stevens took a group on a tour of the
London Canal Museum where he is Trustee and Education Co-ordinator. Those who remained on campus, had the opportunity to see the newly refurbished Octagon and to take a walking tour of Stepney Green, led by alumnus and local historian Derek Morris (QMC, Physics 1957).
A century of teaching German
On the same day, the Department of German celebrated 100 years since the subject was first taught at Queen Mary. The centenary celebration focused on the history of the department and the changing context of German culture; there was also an opportunity to look at the ways in which the department and teaching has evolved. Over 40 alumni attended this event, with attendees spanning over 50 years from 1956 to our newest graduates from 2006 - it was the 2006 team who won ‘The Big Quiz’ with dinner at London’s Bavarian Beerhouse as their prize. The day culminated with the lecture Mozart in London by the freelance commentator Daniel Johnson and an Anniversary Dinner in the Senior Common Room.
VACANCIES
Alumni Relations Manager
The Alumni Relations and Events Office is currently seeking to appoint an Alumni Relations Manager with special responsibility for medical and dental alumni. For further information visit Queen Mary's vacancies website.
Here is just a sample of the 80 or so events taking place between now and the end of term. For a full listing visit our website. You can also request to be put on the mailing list by contacting us.
Thursday 7 December, 7.30pm - College Music Society Concert
This year’s concert will feature works by Mozart, Schumann and Michael Haydn and will end with the traditional carols. The concert takes place in the Great Hall, preceded by a light buffet in the Octagon. To book a place, please contact the Events Office.
Tuesday 23 January, 6pm – Bagehot Lecture 2007
Guardian columnist, Polly Toynbee will deliver the 2007 Bagehot Lecture; her lecture is entitled 'The Art of The Column'. This event is sponsored by The Economist magazine. If you would like to receive further information about this event, please email the Events Office.
Wednesday 28 February, 6pm - Celebrating 40 years of Economics at Queen Mary:
2007 Peston Lecture 'Whatever became of the Monetary Aggregates'.
To be delivered by Charles Goodhart, Emeritus Professor of Banking Finance at the LSE. This event will be chaired by Lord David Currie, Chairman of Ofcom.
For further details, please email the Events Office.
Wednesday 14 March - Celebrating National Science and Engineering Week 2007
Queen Mary will be holding an afternoon of lectures. Speakers will include Professor Lars Chittka from School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Dr Julia Shelton from the School of Engineering; Dr Paul Curzon and Professor Peter McOwan from the Department of Computer Science and Professor Carl Murray from the Astronomy Unit. There will also be an exhibition in the Octagon of photographs taken on the recent Cassini mission to Saturn. The day will close with an Alumni Dinner hosted by Professor Carl Murray. If you would like to receive further information about this event, please email the Events Office.
Saturday 17 March – QMWA Spring Visit and Lunch and Russian Alumni Reunion
All alumni are warmly invited to come to the QMWA Spring Visit and Lunch. This year our visit will be a morning tour of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry on Whitechapel Road. This will be followed by a luncheon in the recently refurbished Octagon. If you have not already done so, there will be optional opportunity to take an afternoon tour of the College campus at Mile End. For further details about events on this day contact Anila Memon + 44 (0)20 7882 3732
Following lunch, the Department of Russian will be holding an alumni reunion. The programme will include a history of the department, a discussion on contemporary Russian politics and society. The event will close with a student perfomance of; "FATEFUL EGGS" by Bulgakov perfomed in Russian (with English translation). There will also be a Russian insipired dinner prior to the play. All welcome.
For more details please contact Stephanie Mannion, +44 (0)20 7882 7790
Monday 30 April - Saturday 5 May - Arts Week 2007 Celebrating Humanities and Social Sciences at Queen Mary
Following on from the success of the first Arts Week in 2005, the College will be repeating the week of events, this time focusing on the collaborative relations that exist between Queen Mary and external partners. Events that have already been planned include a round-table discussion led by Professor Lisa Jardine with the architects commissioned to develop the new Humanities and Social Sciences building on Mile End Road; a workshop on Thomas Mann; a Graduate School Open Day; a lecture on Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers to be given by Professor Peter Evans and followed by an Alumni Dinner; and a special event in Paris which will take place at the University of London Institute in Paris on Saturday 5 May.
If you would like to receive further information about the Arts Week 2007 celebrations please email the Events Office.
Wednesday 30 May, 6pm -Celebrating 40 years of Economics at Queen Mary:
2007 Bernard Corry Lecture; 'Economics of walking about'.
To be delivered by Professor David Blanchflower.
David Blanchflower studied for his PhD at Queen Mary, completing it in 1985. Currently Bruce V Rauner Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, in June 2006 he was appointed to the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England.
Lord Maurice Peston will chair this event.
For a full list of all forthcoming events, visit www.qmul.ac.uk/events
ALUMNI SERVICES
Web Email Directory
This is a password-protected email directory for former students who have asked to be added to the list. Please email Stephanie Mannion if you would like to gain access to the list or if you would like your name added or deleted.
Remember to let us know when you change your address.
Your Alumni benefits:
• 2 issues of Quad and BLC per year
• Access to the Web Email Directory
• Help tracing your lost friends
• Assistance with organising your reunions
• 10% discount in the Gallery Restaurant, Mile End (for Alumni ID card holders)
• 10% discount on conference and holiday room bookings (for Alumni ID card holders)
• Access to the Senior Common Room at Mile End (for Alumni ID card holders)
• Access to the Library (for those with an Alumni ID card). The Alumni ID card also allows you to register for the Lifelong Email Address (for graduates of 2004 and beyond)
QUEEN MARY IN THE NEWS
Queen Mary positioned in the annual university league tables
Each autumn the annual round of league tables are published, below is a round-up of the results:
In November, The Times Higher Educational Supplement, ranked Queen Mary in the top 100 in the latest world university rankings. Queen Mary is ranked at 99 – up from 112 in the 2005 rankings. The College is also in Europe’s top 50 universities, ranked at 41.
The rankings are based on the results of a survey of 3,703 academics worldwide, focusing on research, teaching and international outlook. The third edition of the rankings lists the world’s top 200 universities.
Queen Mary has also been ranked as one of London’s top ten universities in a study published by The Sunday Times. The Sunday Times University Guide 2006 ranks the College in 7th position, out of London’s 20 universities. The study also places the College in 32nd place nationally, in a table of the country’s 120 universities.In the survey, seven of Queen Mary’s departments are rated as ‘excellent’: Dentistry; English; Geography; Modern Languages; Molecular Biosciences; Organismal Biosciences and Politics. Queen Mary is also ranked in the top ten for both ‘best student/staff ratio’ and ‘highest graduate starting salaries’ – with average starting salaries of £20,902.
Results from the 2006 National Student Survey also show that final year students at Queen Mary are satisfied with the quality of their degrees, and their institution. More details.
Higher Education China Partnership
The onset of major partnerships between UK and Chinese Universities is underway. The first research and knowledge transfer partnership that will enable UK and Chinese higher education institutions to develop and commercialise joint research worldwide was announced by Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in September. Led within the UK by Queen Mary, University of London, Innovation China UK (ICUK) is one of a series of initiatives between the UK and China unveiled by the two leaders.China now has the biggest Research and Development (R&D) workforce, and the third biggest R&D investment in the world. ICUK will support collaborative research and innovation in areas such as energy; sustainable environment; aerospace; e-science; marine technology and drug development and therapies for infectious diseases. As such it represents a huge opportunity for the UK to benefit from China’s fast developing economy. More details.
Two academics honoured at the Times Higher Awards 2006
Professor Lisa Jardine, from the School of English and Drama, was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the Times Higher 2006 awards ceremony. John O’Leary, editor of the Times Higher, said: “Lisa transcends higher education. She has brought her discipline to a much wider audience without ever compromising the interests of her students or her research. She is one of the genuine stars of the system.”
Dr Dan Todman, from the Department of History, was awarded the Young Academic Author of the Year award. Dr Todman, author of The Great War: Myth and Memory, impressed The Times Higher’s judges with his expert juggling of ‘an enormous body’ of sources. Jon Turney, former commissioning editor at Penguin Press, said: “He handled all these sources without ever losing control of the material. He latches on to things people remember, from Blackadder to the Pat Barker trilogy of novels. It was a very readable book.”
Double RIBA success
Two of the College’s new flagship buildings have been awarded Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) regional prizes for 2006.
Twentieth anniversary for William Harvey Research Institute
The William Harvey Research Institute, part of Barts and The London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, celebrated its twentieth anniversary in July this year with a programme of lectures at Charterhouse Square. Institute Director (Professor Mark Caulfield, q. The London, 1984) wrote that the Celebration reflected not only WHRI’s scientific achievements, past, present and future, but also the people who had carried out and continued to undertake this very important work:
‘John Vane’s vision when he founded the Institute was to nurture and encourage pharmacological excellence with academia. The WHRI has exceeded this ambition, as illustrated by the representatives from industry, charity, the political arena and the health service who are with us today. The Institute has reached a far wider spectrum and we are particularly proud that over the past twenty years we have worked or collaborated with scientists from forty-four different countries. Since taking over as Director in 2003 the enormous contributions and benefits from these interactions have been very apparent and something cherished by myself and John Vane.’
Mile End Group hosts Head of Security Service visit to Queen Mary
Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, the Director General of the UK’s Security Service MI5, gave a speech at Queen Mary on 9 November, in which she warned of the continuing threat of terrorism and described how the Security Service and others were combating it.
She was addressing an invited audience of academics, students and journalists as a guest of Professor Peter Hennessy, Atlee Professor of Contemporary British History, on behalf of the Mile End Group (MEG).
Dame Eliza spoke of the current nationwide threat, the factors that lie behind the increase in terrorism and the work that is being done to counter it. She paid tribute to the efforts of the Security Service staff and the police, citing the risks that they face in protecting the public.
Dame Eliza’s speech received much national and international press and media coverage.
The text of the speech is available in full at http://www.mi5.gov.uk/output/Page568.html
RESEARCH SUCCESS
Queen Mary scientist sees day and night on exotic world
NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has made the first ever measurements of the day and night temperatures of a planet outside of our solar system.
An international team of scientists, including Dr James Cho from Queen Mary’s Astronomy Unit, used data from Spitzer to reveal that the planet, a Jupiter-like ball of gas circling very close to its sun, is always as hot as fire on one side and potentially as cold as ice on the other.
“This planet has temperature that is extremely different on the day side, compared to the night side,” says Dr Cho. “Such a large difference between the day and the night sides reveals very interesting things about how heat and air masses flow on the planet. It makes for a very unusual climate and weather on this planet”.
Scientist in new hope for HIV vaccine
Aine McKnight, Professor of Viral Pathology at the Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, part of Barts and The London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, is among a number of scientists taking part in a $25.3 million (c. £13.8 million) international research consortium searching for an HIV vaccine.
Led by UCL’s Professor Robin Weiss the group will coordinate an extensive research programme involving scientists in academic institutions and biotech labs across seven European countries, as well as doctors in the USA and Africa.
The grant is one of the largest awards in a $287 million, five-year programme of 16 grants provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to establish an international network of HIV vaccine discovery consortia, known collaboratively as the Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery.
As new vaccine candidates are created, Professor McKnight and other researchers will test vaccines, share data and compare results, so that the most promising vaccines can be quickly prioritised for further development and clinical trials.
Spin-off company secures £1 million in investment
A Queen Mary, University of London spin-off business – Europe’s leading virology research company, and an innovator in tackling avian flu – has secured £1 million in investment from IP Group plc. Retroscreen Virology Limited (“Retroscreen”), founded by top virologist Professor John Oxford, combines medical and scientific expertise with advanced project management techniques and is dedicated to creating the next generation of antivirals and vaccines for the treatment of, amongst other viruses, avian influenza (bird flu), HIV, SARS and rhino-virus. Recent achievements include the development and production of pilot batches of an HIV vaccine and the first human influenza A and B virus challenge studies conducted in a quarantine unit in the UK for twenty years. More details.
Scientist launches pioneering research on heart attack patients
Dr Anthony Mathur, Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary’s William Harvey Research Institute, together with Professor John Martin from University College London, has launched a pioneering research project aimed at reducing the number of fatalities and the amount of suffering experienced by heart attack patients.
For the first time, heart attack patients are to have their own stem cells injected into their hearts within a critical five hours of the attack, to see if stem cells can improve their quality of life, and prevent or even delay, the onset of heart failure, a frequently seen complication of heart attacks.
Dr Mathur explains, “If we can demonstrate improvement in the quality of life of patients then this will be a significant step forward in the treatment of heart disease. Because the stem cells are taken from the patients themselves there are minimal ethical issues surrounding this procedure. There is also less likelihood of rejection complications”.
Heart attack patients brought into the London Chest Hospital (Barts and The London NHS Trust) and the Heart Hospital (UCLH Trust) for direct coronary intervention will be recruited for the study.
This clinical research project is the first to be awarded a grant by the UK Stem Cell Foundation, which was established in December 2005 specifically to support translational stem cell projects which move basic stem cell techniques into the clinic.
Additional funding will come from the London Development Agency and a private donation from Mr William Bollinger, co-founder and retired Limited Partner of Egerton Capital, and his wife, Mrs Judith Bollinger, who added: “We are thrilled to support Dr Mathur, Professor Martin, and their dedicated team as they bring hope to so many at risk of suffering the long term, debilitating effects of heart attack”.
RETIRED STAFF ASSOCIATION
The Retired Staff Association is very keen to recruit new members. The Association holds a number of events, particularly during the summer months, when they arrange visits to places of interest such as Eltham Palace and Chartwell House in Kent. Theatre visits, many of which attract a reduction in ticket price,s are also popular events.
The Association sends a regular newsletter to members, who in addition can opt to received College publications such as Bulletin, the termly Events Leaflet, Quad, and QM magazine.
For further details about joining, please contact the membership secretary Sheila Fenn. website.
ALUMNI MAGAZINES
Barts and The London Chronicle (BLC)
BLC has just been published and is on its way to readers. Contents include in-depth interviews with Professor Dame Leslie Rees; retiring President of BATLAA Professor Chris Hudson; Dr Graeme Snodgrass, who established the neonatal infant care unit at The London, plus much more besides.
Quad 16 to be published shortly
Quad 16 will be arriving shortly. Interviews include Westfielder Dr David Clutterbuck, Europe's leading mentoring trainer; TV chef and author of China Modern, Ching-He Huang. In addition, the Principal will give an overview of Queen Mary’s strategic aims for the next five years. There is also a round-up of events and a new feature ‘Letter from ...’ written by one of our international correspondents. The ever popular Catch-Up section will bring you up-to-date with what your contemporaries are doing.
SUPPORTING CURRENT STUDENTS
If you wish to make a donation to support student bursaries across the College or are considering leaving a gift in your Will to support students, please contact Susan Nettle Susan Nettle; +44 (0)20 7882 7423.