Staff excellence recognised with national awards
Wednesday, 05 March 2014
Dr Mathew Owens was awarded the Philip Leverhulme Prize for Astronomy and Astrophysics
Staff achievements in areas ranging from nutrition to design have been recognised both nationally and internationally with a host of recent awards.
Congratulations to University members of staff who have been awarded with the following:
Dr Mathew Owens
Dr Mathew Owens has been awarded the Philip Leverhulme Prize for Astronomy and Astrophysics from the Leverhulme Trust, receiving an award of £70,000 to be used for further research.
Dr Owens has developed a world leading reputation in solar system physics, notably on the evolution of the heliospheric magnetic field. This continuation of the Sun's magnetic field into interplanetary space is a key to understanding how the Sun influenced climate in the distant past and how space weather continues to affect the Earth and space satellites today.
Professor Julie Lovegrove
Julie Lovegrove, Hugh Sinclair Professor of Human Nutrition, has been awarded a prestigious Fellowship of the Association for Nutrition. The Award recognises significant and sustained contribution to the advancement of nutrition research and education at an international level.
A Fellowship of the Association of Nutrition is peer reviewed and demonstrates the highest standards of professional leadership, providing public acknowledgment of professional achievements.
Over the past 25 years Professor Lovegrove has made significant contributions to our understanding of the influence of diet on public health, the inter-relationship between genes and nutrition, and mechanisms relating diet to cardiovascular disease risk.
Professor Kevin Warwick
Professor Kevin Warwick recently received his seventh honorary degree, this time from Kingston University, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the engineering profession.
Professor Warwick will be leaving the University of Reading this month to take up a new post at the University of Coventry, but he will become a Visiting Professor at Reading.
Professor Michael Twyman
Professor Michael Twyman has been awarded the 2014 Sir Misha Black Medal for his outstanding contribution to design and typography.
In 1968 he started a ‘design for reading' course combining intellectual and practical work, which was the first of its kind at a British university. This lead to the establishment of the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication in 1974. Generations of students have benefited from his approach to education that is inspirational, challenging and inclusive.
The Sir Misha Black Awards were established by the Royal College of Art, the Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Design and Industries Association and the College of Medallists to commemorate the life of architect, designer, and professor Sir Misha Black, whose pioneering work played a crucial role in the development of design in Britain.
Professor Matthew Nicholls
Last week, Professor Matthew Nicholls received the 2014 Guardian Higher Education Award for Teaching Excellence for his Virtual Rome project.
Professor Jim Knowlson
In January we announced that Emeritus Professor Jim Knowlson, the world's leading expert on the Nobel-prize winning novelist and playwright Samuel Beckett, was awarded an OBE in the New Year's Honours List. Professor Knowlson will receive his OBE this Friday 7 March.