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Oral history project sails in to port
Fiona Clampin (BA Comb Hons French & Music, 1995) found herself in familiar-looking territory when she began a Heritage-Lottery funded oral history project at Britannia Royal Naval College - the college had been designed by Sir Aston Webb, the original architect of Chancellor's Court at the University. Fiona has compiled interviews with former naval officer cadets who trained at the college over a 60-year history, including HRH the Duke of York, a former First Sea Lord and the chief of the Kenyan military. Their memories will go on display this summer in an exhibition, which is intended to then tour the country.
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Kiss and tell
Nicholas Collett (BA Drama and Theatre Arts, 1981) hit his mark late in 2016 with a leading role in Currys PC World's series of Christmas adverts. Nicholas won Best Performance by an Actor at the British Arrows Craft Awards 2016 for the commercial "Spare the Act - Laptop," starring alongside Hollywood legend Jeff Goldblum - and even got a kiss for his efforts!
Have you worked alongside a Hollywood star of stage or screen? If so, let us know in the comments below!
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A virtual Mayflower
The Mayflower’s historic journey to the New World is being recreated to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the date it set sail for America. Professor Bob Stone, Director of the Human Interface Technologies Team at the University, is leading a team that will build virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) versions of the ship and enable people to walk around the vessel using a headset. The virtual ship will be incredibly accurate as the team has referenced the original plans and a laser scan of a replica ship, built in the 1950s.
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Pam rows into history
Alumna Pam Relph MBE (BSc Physics, 2011) created history at the 2016 Rio Paralympics when she retained her title in the mixed coxed four, becoming the first rower to win two Paralympic golds. Soon after her victory, Pam returned to Birmingham for an interview with Old Joe. The 27-year-old announced her retirement earlier this year, saying: ‘The one thing I definitely will not miss is the blisters. I tried for six long winters to toughen up my hands but to no avail. I even had tape on my hands during the Paralympic final in Rio! I’m looking forward to baby soft hands, racing the London Marathon in April, and planning my wedding.’
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Making Space
As part of International Women's Day, artist and anthropologist Liz Hingley was commissioned to produce a special exhibition celebrating the achievements of its inspirational female staff, students and alumni. The Making Space exhibition features a series of group portraits photographed by Liz, who worked with groups of inspirational women chosen to reflect the breadth of female contribution to the University and beyond.
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Special memories
The Raymond Priestley Centre, Coniston is celebrating the 70th anniversary of students from the University using the Hoathwaite site at Coniston. Over the years thousands of students have visited as part of their course, so for the anniversary the centre is creating a memory archive to record student’s experiences of visiting Coniston and the things they have gone on to do since. If you would like to contribute, either with written memories or with photographs, then email staff at the centre via Coniston@bham.ac.uk, or write to: The Raymond Priestley Centre, Torver, Coniston, Cumbria LA21 8AX.
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Royally speaking
Academics from the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues helped HRH the Duke of Cambridge to launch the new Prince William Award, run by SkillForce. The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues are the academic partners for this national award, which helps children aged six to 14-years-old to flourish by building character virtues. Watch this video from the launch, featuring Professor James Arthur and Dr Tom Harrison from the Jubilee Centre, to find out more about the award.
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Partnership in the Punjab
University researchers have joined forces with colleagues in India in an exciting new partnership to tackle the problems of population growth and antimicrobial resistance. Experts from Birmingham and Panjab University (PU), the leading university in the country, met in Chandigarh and Delhi to lay the foundation for the programme, which will undertake joint research on sustainable cities and identifying the causes of antimicrobial resistance. India is predicted to face a massive population wave in the future, and as the world's largest consumer of antibiotics, faces significant issues as the drugs lose their power to heal.
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New tune for Old Joe
Dr David Onac, a Teaching Fellow in Music at the University, has composed a piece for the piano, 'Toll', inspired by the Old Joe clock tower. It was performed recently as part of a pioneering live-stream YouTube concert by Birmingham's New Music Ensemble. The concert can be viewed above, with 'Toll' introduced at 20:45.
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Revealing the past
Birmingham archaeologists made two significant discoveries in the first year of a dig in the Aswan region of Egypt. The University of Birmingham/Egypt Exploration Society Research Project at Qubbet el-Hawafirst unearthed a 133-metre long causeway (pictured) that was used to access the tomb of Sarenput I, a high-ranking official in the Ancient Egyptian reign of pharaoh Senusret I (1971 BC – 1926 BC). Further investigations also found evidence of a new cemetery of tombs from the period.