the-BA : BA Press Release - 8 September 2006

Sarah Collins, a PhD student from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge, has won this year's Perspectives poster competition at the BA Festival of Science, for her poster expressing the risks and the benefits of volcanic eruptions.

“Volcanoes are both dangerous and beneficial to those who live among them, they also provide a gateway to the interior of our planet for the many scientists who study them,” says Sarah.

“My research investigates the geochemistry and petrology of the rocks erupted from volcanoes, most recently the eruption of Mt Etna in Sicily.”

Sarah’s poster highlighted the environmental risks caused by escaping volcanic gases and the danger posed to human and animal life and to land and property from lava flows and ash falls, in comparison with the benefits such incidents provide to local soils and metal deposits and to the local economy, through jobs brought in by tourists visiting the area.

Sarah, whose research is sponsored by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), also emphasised different aspects of her lab and field work and their role in the prediction of future eruptions and the provision of risk assessment for areas of high volcanic activity.

Perspectives – a poster session with a difference – aimed to encourage postgraduate and postdoctoral scientists, engineers and social scientists to explore the social and ethical implications of their research. Finalists for the competition were asked to consider the impact their research has on society, both directly and indirectly, and the extent to which their research has been shaped by society. They presented their work at the BA Festival of Science at the University of East Anglia in Norwich from 4-8 September 2006.

“It is important that students at all stages of university consider the social implications of their work,” says Sue Hordijenko, Director of Programmes at the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science). “The Perspectives competition was created to challenge young scientists to focus on the broader impact of their research. Sarah communicated the social aspects of her work on volcanic eruptions both clearly and vividly, and greatly impressed the judges.”

Perspectives is a BA initiative, supported by Research Councils UK. The BA Festival of Science is taking place in Norwich from 2-9 September and will bring together over 400 of the UK’s top scientists and engineers to discuss the latest scientific developments with the public. In addition to lectures and debates at the University of East Anglia and Norwich Research Park, the Festival will also feature a host of events throughout Norwich as part of the Science in the City programme.

This year’s Festival is supported by the University of East Anglia, the East of England Development Agency and Microsoft Research. The Press Centre is sponsored by AstraZeneca.

For further information on Perspectives and the BA Festival of Science, please visit www.the-ba.net/perspectives and www.the-ba.net/festivalofscience.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Lisa Hendry, Press Assistant, the BA
Tel: +44 (0)20 7019 4946
Email: lisa.hendry@the-ba.net

Note for picture editors

Images of Sarah and the other Perspectives finalists at the Festival of Science can be obtained from the BA Press Office.

Note for editors

1. Thirty-seven scientists exhibited their poster at this year’s BA Festival of Science. The winner received £750 in prize money and had the opportunity to give a press conference at the Festival. Two runners-up each received £350, as did the winner of a ‘People’s Choice’ category. The BA organised workshops to assist the finalists in the preparation of their poster.

2. The BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) is the UK's nationwide, open membership organisation that exists to advance the public understanding, accessibility and accountability of the sciences and engineering. Established in 1831, the BA organises major initiatives across the UK, including the annual BA Festival of Science, National Science Week, programmes of regional and local events, and an extensive programme for young people in schools and colleges. For more information about the BA, please visit www.the-ba.net.

3. The BA Festival of Science 2006 is being hosted in Norwich by the University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park and Norwich City Council.

4. The University of East Anglia (UEA) is an internationally renowned, research-led University. Over 13,000 students from more than 100 countries and around 2500 staff enjoy its architecturally distinguished campus on the edge of the city of Norwich. UEA is known for its pioneering and collaborative approach to research, bringing together academics from different disciplines to create innovative research groups. The latest Research Assessment Exercise (2001) confirmed the breadth and depth of UEA's research excellence through the achievement of the top 5* or 5 ratings in eleven subject areas, with staff inclusion rates in the top 10% across the board.

5. Research Councils UK (RCUK) is a strategic partnership through which the UK’s eight Research Councils work together to champion the research, training and innovation they support. The Research Councils are the main public investors in fundamental research in the UK with interests ranging from bio-medicine and particle physics to the environment, engineering and economic research. For further information visit: www.rcuk.ac.uk

6. Founded in 1991, Microsoft Research is dedicated to conducting both basic and applied research in computer science and software engineering. Its goals are to enhance the user experience on computing devices, reduce the cost of writing and maintaining software, and invent novel computing technologies. Researchers focus on more than 55 areas of computing and collaborate with leading academic, government and industry researchers to advance the state of the art in such areas as graphics, speech recognition, user-interface research, natural language processing, programming tools and methodologies, operating systems and networking, and the mathematical sciences. Microsoft Research employs more than 700 people in five labs located in Redmond, Wash.; Silicon Valley, Calif.; Cambridge, England; Beijing, China; and Bangalore, India. Microsoft Research collaborates openly with colleges and universities worldwide to enhance the teaching and learning experience, inspire technological innovation, and broadly advance the field of computer science. More information can be found at www.research.microsoft.com

7. The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is the driving force behind sustainable economic regeneration in the East of England: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Its vision is to create a leading economy, founded on a world class knowledge base, creativity and enterprise to improve the quality of life for all who live and work here. EEDA aims to do this by: (1) Setting and shaping the direction of economic development in the region, (2) Persuading and influencing others to bring resources together, (3) Investing in imaginative projects that challenge the norm. For further information visit www.eeda.org.uk.

	Home

	Press Office

	Press Releases

	2007 Press Releases

	2006 Press Releases

	2005 Press Releases

	2004 Press Releases