Your stories: spring 2017

I’m Professor of Neuroscience in the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California, Irvine. My academic career has included roles at several top American universities. My current research interest is, appropriately, how to slow down brain ageing. 

After an academic career in Canada and Malawi, I joined the British Council in 1978 and served in London, Bombay, Jakarta, and Brasilia as Science / Education Officer, and then (after a short spell in Manchester) as Country Director in Namibia (1995-96) and Botswana (1997-2001). I retired in 2001. 

I’ve been inducted into the Order of Canada (the highest civilian honour) and was recognised for my outstanding research contributions to the success of the Canadian canolas (rapeseed oil) industry. I have been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Herbert J. Dutton Award by the American Oil Chemists' Society in recognition of my significant contributions to the analysis of fats, oils and related products. 

We are a group of alumni who studied modern languages, who have met up every year in a different German-speaking city since being reunited at a reunion in 2010. Last year, in Leipzig, we marked the 50^th anniversary of our first term at Birmingham.

Caption: Nicola Ash (nee Ellis) (BA German, 1970); Alwyn Ayres* (nee Brown) (BA German, 1970); Richard Brighton* (BA German, 1970); Elis Jones (BA German, 1970); Stephen Lamb* (BA German, 1970); Patricia Petrou* (nee Maxton) (BA German, 1970); Patricia Roever* (nee Scrimshaw) (BA German and Spanish, 1970); Sylvia Rutter* (nee Bone) (BA French and German, 1970); Djenane Watkins* (nee Farmer) (BA French and German, 1971); Geoff Watkins* (BA French and German, 1970); Frances White* (BA French and German, 1970); Mary Wunderly (BA German, 1970); Sue Cooper (nee Nothard, deceased) (BA French and German, 1970); Peter Dun (deceased) (BA French and German, 1969).*pictured

​In 2016 I received the Distinguished Service Award from the International Association for Dental Research (IADR). I was also honoured with the World Dental Federation’s (FDI) highest award when I was elected as a Member of the List of Honour. 

​After living and working in the United States for nearly 20 years, I returned home to a position at the University of Manchester in 2006 and am now an Emeritus Professor there. I am about to publish my first book of literary non-fiction, titled Austerity Baby.

​I’m still working as a freelance translator and recently moved from Germany to Poland.

My debut novel, True Religion, is out now. The story follows Seth Davis, a gay journalist from Manhattan, who is sent on a profoundly religious journey after an unexpected encounter with an otherworldly spirit. 

I bought the model that was I think an original architect's model of the University and used to sit in the entrance to the Great Hall. It is incredibly well made and now adorns our garage wall.

I was the first woman from Jordan in the 1970s to gain a higher education degree in Nuclear Engineering. In 2016, I was named as one of the top 50 influential women engineers in the UK by the Daily Telegraph in collaboration with the Women’s Engineering Society (WES). I was also elected as a Fellow of WES last year.

My haiku Semi-night was published by an online literary journal in both English and German. 

semi-night

twilights of the night

moon behind the pallid twigs

finite quietness

​I was a Teaching Fellow at the University in 2015-16 and have recently written a book on back pain called Back to Life: How to unlock your pathway to recovery, published by Penguin.

​I was very honoured to be named as one of the Top 100 most influential British women in the Global Car Industry by Autocar magazine and the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders). The award recognised my work as a Research and Technology Strategy Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover.

I was a finalist in the Royal Society of Biology’s 2016 Teacher of the Year Awards. I was presented with my certificate at the Royal Institute and it’s now proudly on display in my classroom at Greenacre School, Banstead. 

​I have a new book coming out called Yaffa and Fatima Shalom Salaam. As the International Positive Education Network's Global Representative for UAE, I'm very eager to promote positive education and well-being. 

​My latest entrepreneurial venture is Causr, a location based app that helps professionals connect on the go. 

I’ve combined my passion for skiing with my experience working in the media to start a media consultancy called Holmlands. 

Kin: Fallen Star, a feature film which I produced, is now being distributed on Amazon Prime in the UK, USA, Germany and Japan. 

​I’m Executive Director and Resident Astronomer for the UK's largest mobile planetarium provider for schools and businesses. As a Biosciences graduate this is a surprise for me, but I do occasionally deliver amazing cell biology shows inside our domes! 

Since graduating I’ve worked for a furniture recycling project, for Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, with a scrap car referral company in Australia, in health and safety, human resources, environmental management and software testing. I’m hoping to move on to a conservation role in British Columbia.  

I’ve set up my own company called GadJet, designing and manufacturing premium quality consumer electronics and mobile phone accessories. We’re doing extremely well, have become one of the leaders in our industry and have already started to expand internationally this year. 

​I’m currently Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at The Open University of Hong Kong. Right now, I am working on a children's book series about Hong Kong memories. 

I’m playing Rusty, one of the lead roles in the UK tour of Footloose. 

​I won the Prize of the Pontifical Academies, an international prize awarded to young artists and scholars, in December 2016. My book Reforming Music: Music and the Religious Reformations of the Sixteenth Century was published in February by De Gruyter. 

I am heavily involved in setting up Reed Commercial, a start-up venture incubated by Reed Online. 

My book series Greek Island Mysteries involves murder/mysteries set upon the picturesque Greek Isles. 

I was appointed Queen’s Chaplain in January 2017, a personal appointment by The Sovereign. I have become a member of the Queen’s Household and one of just 34 priests who support the monarch spiritually and in prayer.

​I’ve set up a company called Yumzee. It’s a brand new way of social dining, helping people to connect with others in the community through a shared love of food. It is a bit like Come Dine with Me meets Airbnb.