CeG students help women rowers triumph at Henley

Emily Field and Amanda Wilson

29.6.09
Emily Field (Stage 3 Civil Engineering) and Amanda Wilson (Stage 1 Surveying and Mapping Science) have helped Newcastle University Boat Club (NUBC) to add another title to their recent run of victories with a win at Women's Henley.

The women's eight beat off competition from some of the UK's best rowing universities to win Pricewaterhouse Coopers Cup in the Academic Eight category at Women's Henley. On the way to winning the title, they beat crews from the University of Bristol, St Catharine's College, Cambridge and Durham University, before facing Cardiff University in the final. Newcastle's rowers won the final comfortably by a length and a half in a time of 5m 11s.

The victory was a great achievement for the crew, all of whom have only learnt to row since attending the University, and for their coaches, Newcastle alumni Jay Roberts and Carolyn Johnson. It is 14 years since NUBC last won a trophy at Women's Henley, in the College coxed four event in 1994.

Head coach of the Boat Club, Angelo Savarino, commented: "This was an amazing performance by the crew, and it is only the second time NUBC has ever won at Women's Henley. Much credit for this outstanding result is due to Jay, Carolyn and Emily Field, for all the effort they have put in towards achieving this victory".

forecasting the way forward

Jim Hall

29.6.09
Professor Jim Hall has been given a key role advising the Government on how the UK should prepare and adapt to climate change.

The Newcastle professor of Earth Systems Engineering has been named as one of six members of the Adaptation Sub-Committee to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). Bringing with him expertise in flood risk assessment, climate change impacts, adaptation and decision making under uncertainty, Professor Hall is also Deputy Director (Engineering) of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Flood Risk Management.

Announcing the new appointments on Monday, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said: “The recent publication of the UK Climate Projections shows how important it is for the country to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate. The Adaptation Sub-Committee will play a significant role in helping to achieve this.

"The founding members of the Sub-Committee are leading experts in their fields, and their knowledge will make a vital contribution in our efforts to adapt to climate change.”

landmark science warns Britain is facing dangerous climate change

Chris Kilsby

29.6.09
Newcastle University plays a key role in providing the most detailed picture to date of future weather forecasts. The UK Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09) illustrate for the first time the extent of the changes the UK might face if no action is taken to cut emissions: warmer and wetter winters, hotter and drier summers, increased risk of coastal erosion and more severe weather.

By 2080, it is predicted the country will be between 2oC and 6oC hotter than it is now and summer rainfall could decrease by about 20 per cent by the middle of the century. Drawing on the expertise of researchers based in the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, the system uses computer models of the world's climate to make projections of parameters such as temperature, rainfall and wind.

Newcastle University’s Mr Phil James, who led the development of the web portal that allows users access to the data, said the system could be used to give predictions for different climate scenarios. “The idea is that anyone can interrogate the data and create climate maps of their chosen postcode area or region,” he explained. “The projections are particularly important for policy makers, farmers and developers who need to plan for the future.”

Professor Chris Kilsby, who led the team responsible for the ‘weather generator’ which produces the data, added: “Until now we have been working with estimates. Now we have actual data that can be used to predict what the future climate will be 50 years in the future.” Launching the report, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said, “Climate change is going to transform the way we live. These projections show us the future we need to avoid, and the future we need to plan for."

Professor Jim Hall added: “We need to understand what changes are likely in the future and make decisions which take account of these changes. Climate change is really happening and we need to act now.”

best paper award for CeG geoinformatics team

Phil James

29.6.09
A paper entitled "Mapping Future Climate" presented at the First Open Source for Geo conference held at Nottingham University on 18 June won the best paper / presentation award. The conference attended by over 150 people from commercial, academic and government backgrounds saw over 25 presentations and 3 workshops highlighting the growth of open source software.

The paper described the development of the web-based application for the delivery of the recently launched UK Climate Projections data (UKCP09) by the geoinformatics team (Phil James, Simon Abele and David Alderson). If you want to see what all the fuss is about then you can try out the their work yourself at http://ukcp09.defra.gov.uk. The project, funded by DEFRA, provided tools and visualisations for the next generation of Climate statistics computed by the Met Office Hadley Centre.

£3.9million trial puts electric cars on north east streets

Phil Blythe

29.6.09
Newcastle University is to play a key role in a Government-led scheme to develop and trial electric cars in the region.

Launched today by the Technology Strategy Board, the Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Project will see an initial 35 electric vehicles - including cars, taxis and minibuses - being tested in the region, together with a network of charging points.The scheme will be monitored by Newcastle University's Transport Operations Research Group (TORG) who will be using a series of sensors to determine how efficient the new cars are and how they are used.

Professor Phil Blythe, Head of TORG, said the aim was to inform new traffic management plans that would improve urban air quality and influence the way we travel.“We are already monitoring pollution levels in a few cities across the UK using the sensor technology,” he explained.“By fitting the electric cars with GPS technology, we are looking to find out how people use their car – journey length, time etc – to build up a real-life picture that can be used to create new, sustainable transport systems.”

More than 340 electric and other low carbon vehicles are being tested in eight separate projects across the UK.The first vehicle is expected to be an executive minibus with the trials taking place in Newcastle and Gateshead, where the first charging points are to be installed.

BBC news article

Newcastle University hosts north east transport education and training forum

Clare Gordon

29.6.09
On Friday 5 June 2009 Newcastle University played host to a North East Transport Education and Training Forum. Representatives attended from a variety of organisations including Nexus, Sunderland City Council, Jacobs Consultancy, Gateshead Council, Northumberland County Council, Capita Symonds, CPT Northern, the Transport Planning Society, One North East, WYG, Association of North East Councils, Highways Agency, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Living Streets, Durham County Council, Neighbourhood Services, Newcastle City Council and Newcastle University.

The aim of the event was to identify and understand better the training needs of the region's transport industry (for policy development, planning and implementation) and how these needs might be met both from within and outside the region. The event was supported by guest speaker Paulo Humanes who is the North East branch chairman for The Institution of Highways and Transportation. Paulo is also an associate director at Jacobs Consultancy in Newcastle and their training coordinator for the North of England.

The day was a great success and identified a number of skills and training gaps. These training needs might include half-day workshops and week-long courses, or possibly longer term requirements for new school leavers, undergraduates, postgraduate education and other further learning. The development of these initial discussions will be initiated via an online forum. Access to the forum can be requested at ceg.cpd@ncl.ac.uk with the view to assist in establishing a programme of transport Continuing Professional Development in the North East. The forum outcome confirmed that training is a fundamental part of staff development and skills in certain areas are still in short supply.

where do you think you’re going…?’
digital transport for a digital Britain workshop

Gareth Evans and Hannah Bryan

17.6.09
As part of the SIMM project, TORG are organising a Digital Transport workshop to be held in Newcastle on 25 June. The aim of the day is to look at the shape of future research into sustainable intelligent transport, discuss the directions in which digital transport research is currently heading and debate where it should be heading. It will be sparky; it will be challenging; it will think the unthinkable!

The event’s programme is set to be an exciting one and, in-keeping with the main theme, has been organised digitally. The day itself is designed to be interactive and facilitate as much contribution from the audience as possible, so a blog has been set up, as has live tweeting on Twitter. Please feel free to visit the event’s blog and make comments and suggestions on the content of the event, get tweeting @wdytyg and add the Twitter hashtag (#wdytyg) to your tweets to help spread the word.

The chosen venue is a converted railway shed in Hoults Yard, and has been specifically selected to reflect a changing society and a changing economy. The railway shed, and indeed the whole site, would have been in its prime during the Industrial Revolution, strongly reflecting the North East’s rich transport innovation heritage and its then contribution to the British economy. By holding the workshop here, TORG are confident that attendees will be inspired by the past to identify and debate the big challenges surrounding the new industrial revolution - the digital economy – and to explore how digital transport can serve a digital Britain.

The proceedings of the event will be used in the final SIMM project report, and will also play a key role in the wider Digital Economy and Digital Hub arenas which themselves are vital parts of a Digital Britain.

pollution threat of old pits set to be assessed

David Parker

9.6.09
The threat posed by pollution from long-abandoned metal mines will be highlighted at a Newcastle conference tomorrow.

The event at Newcastle University will explore the legacy of hundreds of years of exhaustive coal and metal mining which ranges from pollution and gas to subsidence, unpredictable ground movements and shaft collapses.

The North East, once honeycombed by collieries, is riddled with old mineworkings and shafts. Newcastle University experts and the Environment Agency have been working on a assessing the level of pollution of rivers and streams from old lead and other metal mines in areas like the North Pennines.

The problem is that the mines date from many years ago and were never nationalised, so nobody is currently responsible for the pollution. Zinc, cadmium and lead is leaking into waterways and affects fish and other aquatic life.

“We are now recognising that there is a quite substantial pollution problem,” said Hugh Potter, one of the conference speakers and a principal scientist for the Environment Agency based at Newcastle University. He said that as progress was being made in dealing with pollution like sewage and industrial discharges, the risk from metal mines was coming increasingly to the fore.

The Newcastle University survey had identified around 400 waterways in the UK affected by metal mine pollution.

Journal article

1st INSR workshop brings sediment researchers to newcastle university

David Werner

2.6.09
More than forty researchers from the United States, China, Cuba, Germany, Finland, Greece and the United Kingdom attended the 1st workshop organized by the International Network for Sediment Research (INSR) at our School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences. Participants were asked to identify current sediment research challenges. Among those identified are multi-disciplinary models of the pollutant fate in sediment which require greater understandings of sorbent-sorbent interactions and the functional ecology of organisms dwelling in sediment. Professor Upal Ghosh from the University of Maryland emphasized that practical tools to study the biodegradation of pollutants under realistic field conditions are yet to be developed, whereas Stanford Professor Richard G. Luthy pointed out that the greatest insights into the effectiveness of sediment remediation technologies are gained from well-documented case studies comprising remediation plans, remediation efforts and post-remediation monitoring. INSR will invite speakers to present such case studies at its second workshop to be held in the summer of 2010.

More information about the INSR activities can be found at: http://www.ceg.ncl.ac.uk/insr/

CeG sirens winter league

Claire Walsh

26.5.09

The winter league in which the School netball team, The CeG Sirens, compete has just finished. Improving on last season's performance they were runners up in a final within their league, for which they received medals. Thanks to all of those in the squad who have played during the winter season (Katie Anderson, Lynsay Blake, Emma Bowen, Jen Harrison, Jennine Jonczyk, Natalie Kruse, Sharon Mason, Ali McAnena, Angela Sherry, Donna Swan, Claire Walsh, Maggie White). The team are straight back into a packed timetable of fixtures during the summer league. If you would like to join the team or join us for practices then please email cegs-netball@newcastle.ac.uk.

special award for sustainability

Chris Kilsby

20.5.09
The North East Climate Change Adaptation Study received a "Special Award for Sustainability" at the Institution of Civil Engineer's (North East Region) Robert Stephenson Awards Ceremony on 30 April. The study was carried out by Royal Haskoning and Newcastle University for Sustainability North East and the Environment Agency and was undertaken to provide a clear picture across the region of what changes in climate are likely by the 2050's, what sectors will be most affected and what we need to do now to prepare and adapt. The study relied on high resolution future climate information provided by a Newcastle University team led by Chris Kilsby (Professor of Hydrology and Climate Change in the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences). The project web site can be found at www.adaptne.org

The Newcastle team used their EARWIG weather generator software to estimate changes in extremes and local climate which are not otherwise available from climate models. The technology is being used further in a second study for the Yorkshire and Humber region, and will also form part of the national UK Climate Projections to be launched this summer (see http://www.ukcip.org.uk/).

the Exploring Your Environment (EYE) project wins 2009 museums & heritage award for excellence

Phil James

19.5.09
The EYE Project (http://www.eyeproject.org.uk) Website has won a prestigious national award in the category - Use of Technology - at the 2009 Museums & Heritage Awards for Excellence, beating competition from 5 other shortlisted entries including; English Heritage, The National Archives, British Library, Culture and Sport Glasgow and Antenna Audio.

The EYE Project Website was developed by Geoinformatics/GIS researchers (Phil James, Simon Abele) in the School of Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Newcastle University in partnership with Tyne & Wear Museums who manage the project - allows people, specialists and non-specialists alike, across the North East region to record their own wildlife sightings and to explore those of other users. The Website, along with the Regional Environmental Data Hub being developed by the EYE Project and its partners will be used by conservationists working to protect the natural environment, ensuring that the region's species and habitats are protected for future generations.

This years winners, in each of the 12 categories, were announced during a ceremony attended by over 250 industry professionals from all over the world and presented by journalist and broadcaster, Simon Calder on 13 May at Church House in Westminster, London.

Anna Preedy, Director of the Museums & Heritage Show and founder of the Museums & Heritage Awards for Excellence, said:'Despite challenging economic times, the creativity and determination of this sector has never been more evident and it was a great privilege to be able to celebrate the impressive achievements of so many. The event really is one to remember ñ the diversity of the projects submitted was truly remarkable and it is enormously uplifting to see what a difference so many of them have made in encouraging new audiences to our museums, galleries and heritage visitor attractions and often working within extremely tight budgetary constraints.'

Created by The Museums & Heritage Show, the sector's largest annual trade exhibition, The Museums and Heritage Awards for Excellence, now in its senventh year, aim to recognise and celebrate best practice within museums, galleries and heritage visitor attractions across the UK.

The Awards were judged by a panel of industry professionals, including: Bernard Donoghue, Head of Government and Public Affairs at VisitBritain; Diane Lees, Director of V&A Museum of Childhood; Matthew Tanner MBE, Director of ssGreat Britain; Marie Roberts, Editor of the Museums and Heritage Magazine and Sam Mullins, Director of London Transport Museum.

EYE is a Newcastle University project which is being managed by Tyne & Wear Museums, and sponsored by Northumbrian Water - For the environment. The Project has been made possible through a grant of £226,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. In addition, it receives funding and support from Natural England, the North East Regional Museums Hub, Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Tyne & Wear Museums Business Partners.

http://www.museumsandheritage.com/?location_id=59&item=125&itemoffset=50http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/newslink/item/centre-stage12

fellow of the royal society - Professor Steve Larter FRS

Martin Jones

16.5.09
It has been announced today that Steve Larter, who is J B Simpson Professor of geology here in CeG, as well as Professor of petroleum geology at the University of Calgary, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.

The Royal Society note on their website that he "is a leading petroleum geochemist, distinguished in both academic and industrial arenas.

National and international recognition includes the 1998 William Smith Medal of The Geological Society and the prestigious 2000 Friendship Medal of the People's Republic of China. Using molecular and kinetic insights, he played a pivotal role in developing quantitative chemical typing of sedimentary organic matter, thereby improving understanding and modelling of petroleum generation. He has pioneered the use of molecular tracers in following secondary migration and the charging of reservoirs, the origin of gas condensates and tar mats, and the microbial degradation of oil."

The fundamental insights that Professor Larter's work on the biodegradation of crude oil in reservoirs over geological time has provided, is currently being developed to aid the enhanced low carbon exploitation of energy resources during the transition from the age of fossil fuels to renewable alternative energies.

http://royalsociety.org/publication.asp?id=8518http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/newslink/item/centre-stage12

CeG to host north east transport and education forum

Neil Thorpe and Clare Gordon

15.5.09
Newcastle University in conjunction with One North East, TAG and the ACE are hosting a North East Transport Education and Training Forum on the 5 June 2009 at 10.00am in the Devonshire Building. Invited speakers to the event will include One North East, Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit, Association of North East Councils, Nexus, Association of Consulting
Engineers, the Institution of Highways and Transportation, the Tyne and Wear LTP Core Team and Newcastle University's Transport Operations Research Group.

The event is hoping to attract transport representatives from throughout the North East with the aim of identifying and understanding better the training needs of the region's transport industry (for policy development, planning and implementation) and how these needs might be met both from within and outside the region. These training needs might include half-day workshops and week-long courses, or possibly longer term requirements for new undergraduate and postgraduate education. This exercise will cover gaps in both technical and transferable skills. Training is a fundamental part of staff development and with skills in certain areas in short supply, the transport forum will be used to
establish a programme of Continuing Professional Development for the transport industry in the North East.

For anyone interested in attending the forum please go to http://www.ncl.ac.uk/cegs.cpd/transport/forum.php

ICE themed issue on urban development and sustainability

Neil Thorpe

13.5.09
Neil Thorpe has been invited to be the guest editor of a special themed issue of the Institution of Civil Engineers’ journal ‘Urban Design and Planning’ and has also been invited to join the Editorial Advisory Panel. Authors are invited to submit papers that cover a range of issues concerning the relationship between land-use, urban development and sustainability on local, urban and regional scales. Abstracts should be submitted by 1st September 2009 with full papers required by 1st December 2009.  The journal’s website can be found on http://www.thomastelford.com/journals/  under ‘Proceedings of ICE, Urban Design and Planning’ and the full call for papers is attached as a pdf.

CeG students shine at 7th enterprise challenge awards

Stephanie Glendinning

13.5.09
Thursday night 7 May saw the culmination of Newcastle University’s annual business planning competition Enterprise Challenge in association with Accenture, with a black-tie awards ceremony at the Civic Centre.

In it's 7th year the competition, organised by the Careers Service, had a staggering 227 entries from students and graduates into the ideas and business plan rounds.

This years’ winners included two students from the school of Civil Engineering and Geosciences. Robert Grisdale and Jack Payne, who study MEng Civil and Structural Engineering and MEng Civil Engineering respectively, won with their idea of setting up an automated street based bike hire service.

On winning the award they commented: ‘We are honoured to be awarded the TEDCO Business Award - it has given us the drive we needed to take our idea forward to the next step...Keep your eyes peeled for WhipBikes!'

Sponsor Carole White from TEDCO commented:‘TEDCO is delighted to continue to sponsor the Enterprise Challenge Awards 2009, the quality of the entries get better year on year which is a tribute to both the staff and students. We have worked in a strong partnership with Newcastle University for over 10 years and we passionately believe they are exemplars in their approach to spreading the enterprise message and developing entrepreneurship.

For a full list of winners and more information on the Enterprise Challenge visit: www.ncl.ac.uk/careers/enterprisechallenge

TORG @ the TRL

Gareth Evans

13.5.09
The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) (28.04.2009) recently hosted a research symposium at their offices in Crowthorne, Berkshire.

The main focus of the day was to identify the key issues which will shape future transport policy and decision making. Throughout the day, delegates were involved with an in-depth discussion regarding the possible directions in which transport research should be heading to assist policy makers in meeting new and more challenging demands on the transport networks, from both a socio-economic and environmental perspective.

Presentations were given on ‘The Effectiveness of Urban Transport Plans’, ‘Human Factors in Transport’, ‘A Vision for Intelligent Low Carbon Vehicles’ and ‘Landslides and Climate Change’ – all vitally important issues in defining the future of transport.

As part of the event, UK universities involved with transport research were invited to attend the symposium and take part in a poster exhibition to showcase their research. Gareth Evans attended the event on behalf of TORG to present three posters outlining key areas of research (Intelligent Transport Systems, the Environment and Regional Engagement) and also to give a live demonstration of the MESSAGE project, which highlighted TORG’s expertise in both Intelligent Transport Systems and the Environment.

The demonstration illustrated how the MESSAGE project allowed traffic emissions to be remotely monitored (in real-time) from the TRL’s offices, using a network of low-cost pervasive sensors deployed around 120 miles away in Leicester, and was received with great interest from the other delegates.

conferences bring £8M to region

David Parker

8.5.09
Three engineering conventions are tol be held at Newcastle University next summer. The three conferences will attract high-profile speakers, academics and delegates from across the world.

The International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) Technical Commission V takes place at the end of June 2010 after a successful bid by The School of Civil Engineering and Geoscienceswas made in Beijing in July 2008.

A few days later the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (IGS) Workshop 2010 arrives. The previous conference took place in Miami in 2008.

see full Newcastle Journal article

university to host £12m digital technology centre

David Parker

30.4.09
Science Minister Lord Drayson has announced that the University will host one of three digital technology research hubs.

Newcastle University is working with Microsoft, IBM and Philips to establish a major research centre to bring the benefits of digital technology to more people.

Lord Drayson, Minister for Science and Innovation, announced that three new research “hubs”, based at Newcastle, Nottingham and Aberdeen universities, will develop digital technology aimed at transforming the lives of the elderly, disabled, and people in rural communities.

Key projects at Newcastle's £12m Digital Economy Research Hub include:

• An 'ambient kitchen', designed to look like a normal kitchen but with sensors, projectors and electronic equipment to aid people suffering from dementia who wish to lead independent lives.
  
• Digital jewellery, containing hidden digital technology such as communication devices, which can keep people in touch or cause the jewellery to stimulate a memory or emotion, for example by displaying an image.
  
• Pedestrian Satnav that can give older people the assistance they need to continue walking around their neighbourhoods, shopping centres and even large retail outlets.
  
• GPS locators enabling people with dementia to go out and about - while their families can keep track of them, in case they lose their way or risk straying into danger.

The team will work with a group of 3,000 volunteers including people from a range of age groups and with a variety of disabilities and learning difficulties. Collaborations with Philips Research, IBM and Microsoft will be developed, while Age Concern, the Alzheimer's Society and other charities will be closely involved.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Chris Brink, said: "This is an excellent example of how world class research can directly benefit society. Digital technology is changing the world in which we live and it is important that everyone shares in the advantages. Newcastle University is proud to be tackling this societal challenge."

Pictured is an example of digital jewellery, 'Blossom'. The petals unfold after a certain amount of rain falls, stirring memories of the owner's grandmother's farm in Cyrpus, where the rain sensor is located.

Further details of the hub and associated projects can be found in a press release on the University website and on the Inclusion Through the Digital Economy web page.

The hub involves all three Faculties. Those involved are: The Informatics Research Institute; Culture Lab; Institute of Ageing & Health; the Schools of Computing Science; Arts & Cultures; Geography, Politics & Sociology; Civil Engineering & Geosciences; Mechanical and Systems Engineering; Electrical, Electronic & Computer Engineering; the Business School, the Beacons for Public Engagement project and Information Systems and Services.

any old iron?

Simon Poulton

30.4.09
The Geoscience Group welcomes three esteemed scientists who will be on extended visits during may. All of the visitors will be employing new geochemical techniques, developed by scientists in the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences at Newcastle University, to evaluate the major role that iron plays in controlling biogeochemical cycles and the chemical evolution of the biosphere. Professor Rob Raiswell (Leverhulme Emeritus Professor at Leeds University), will be investigating the behaviour of terrestrial iron during deposition in Golfo Dulce (Costa Rica), an anoxic, non-sulfidic tropical marine basin. Peter Kraal (Utrecht University) will be examining iron mineralisation during diagenesis in a variety of modern marine settings, including the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Arabian Sea. At the other end of the spectrum, Dr David Johnston (Assistant Professor at Harvard University) will be using iron mineralogy to investigate ocean chemistry and links with the evolution of the first animals over 580 million years ago, by examining rocks recently collected from the Russian Platform.

engines secure league title and second trophy of the season

James Barber and Jack Payne

29.4.09
Rugby playing students of the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences have secured their second piece of silverware for the season. The Engines rugby team have won the Newcastle University Intra Mural Rugby Union league following on from their victory against Birmingham University engineers in the Matt Hampson trophy a few weeks ago. The Engines team is made up from undergraduates from a variety of courses in the university but the majority come from the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CeG).

Their played 10, won 9 record gave them a two point lead over their nearest rivals and their first ever intra-mural sports title. Tom Bramald, Development Officer for the School of Civil Engineering and
Geosciences said, "This has been a great season for the Engines and their trophies are a great example of the wide range and high quality of CeG students' extra-curricular interests."

The Engines team is made up from undergraduates from a variety of courses in the university but the majority come from the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences.

CeG student presents at Traffex 2009

Glyn Rhys-Tyler

27.4.09
CeG transport PhD student Glyn Rhys-Tyler was recently invited by ITS UK to present at Traffex 2009. Traffex, held at the NEC in Birmingham from 21 – 23 April 2009 is a biennial international event for the traffic management, road safety and transportation industry, attracting 11,000 visitors. This year Traffex was opened with a keynote address by Paul Clark, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State.

The Traffex 2009 seminar programme was organised by ITS UK and the Institution of Highways and Transportation (IHT). Glyn is a Fellow of the IHT and a member of the IHT Network Management and Operations advisory panel. His presentation, entitled “Traffic Management for Environmental Benefit: Beyond UTMC 28”, discussed the opportunities presented by emerging technologies. The presentation was warmly received and generated interest amongst a number of UK local authority representatives.

www.traffex.com, www.iht.org and www.its-uk.org.uk

season climax for engineers rugby team

James Barber and Jack Payne

22.4.09
The Engines rugby team play their final game of the season on Wednesday 21 April. Having already secured one piece of silverware this year, Wednesday's game is a "winner takes all" affair against Armstrong: the victors will be rewarded with the university intra-mural league trophy.

The Engines head in to the game with their last outing seeing victory in the Matt Hampson tournament in Birmingham. A victory in the final against Birmingham University Engineers saw the engines bring home the trophy they just missed out on last year.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's showdown, co-captain James Barber (Stage 4 Civil Eng) said, "We've played some great rugby this year in attack and defence and we hope we can carry this on for one last 80 minute push." The squad's other co-captain, Jack Payne (Stage 4 Civil Eng) added, "With the victory in Birmingham under our belts, we are hungry for more and it all boils down to Wednesday - it should be a great game between two good sides."

torg visit to the northumbria safer roads initiative driving simulator

Gareth Evans and Neil Thorpe

17.4.09
The Northumbria Safer Roads Initiative (NSRI) have recently acquired a new XPI Simulation Ltd. DS1 driving simulator, which is being showcased across the North East to promote safer, more responsible driving styles. A group from TORG were invited to visit the NSRI headquarters in Cramlington to experience the simulator's capabilities and investigate the potential for developing the simulator into a research tool. TORG has been involved in collaborative research activities with the NSRI since its inception in 2003, most notably in an in-depth investigation of the impacts of road safety cameras on the demand for secondary heath care.

The NSRI are keen to explore how the simulator can be used to investigate the environmental impacts of different driving styles, which has strong synergies with the existing Foot-LITE project and other aspirations of the Environmental team within TORG. It is hoped that there will be some exciting future collaborations between TORG and the NSRI to explore various research opportunities, including combining the DS1 simulator with the University's Virtual Reality suite in the Devonshire Building, the calibration and validation of the simulator's output against driver behaviour on real-world roads and ultimately, using the simulator output to measure and monitor environmental impacts under different driving scenarios.

For further information about the NSRI campaigns please see:

http://www.safespeedforlife.co.uk/default.asp
http://www.roadrespect.org/
http://www.rrcharter.org/

scientists confident over Belford flood defences

Mark Wilkinson

6.4.09
Scientists are increasingly confident their unique approach to Belford's flooding problems has succeeded. A series of ponds and wetlands were created in fields around the Belford Burn last year to help control the flow of water off the land.

The £600,000 scheme funded by the Regional Flood Defence Committee is managed by the Environment Agency, working in partnership with Newcastle University. Phil Welton, Environment Agency project manager, said: "At the end of the day there is always going to be a risk because there is a river there and that is important to remember. "However, we are pleasantly surprised at how well it has worked considering we have only done 10 per cent of the work so far."

Five ponds have been created, holding run-off water which is then slowly released through gaps in the wood, helping to slow down the flow which in turn prevents flooding downstream. "We think the solution is absolute genius," said Mr Welton. "Traditional flood defences are quite unsustainable with climate change but here you can put in more ponds if river flows increase." They passed their first major test in September when only one property was flooded in the torrential rain which devastated large parts of Northumberland.

Mark Wilkinson of Newcastle University said: "We received the same rainfall here as in Morpeth but did not have the same flooding and that was down to the new ponds." Belford has flooded five times in the past three years, with ten properties affected on a regular basis and 28 at risk of a 'one in 100-year' event. It is planned to create another dozen or so ponds in the catchment, which is not as many as had initially been anticipated because it has worked so well.

see full artice by Ian Smith, Berwick Advertiser

geomatics stage 3 study tour

Henny Mills

3.4.09
The Geomatics Stage 3 students went on their annual Study Tour at the end of March. The study tour aims to give students an overview of wide-ranging Geomatics applications in industry, the public sector but also research. As part of the three day study tour British Antarctic Survey was visited, which is the main British institution responsible for surveying and mapping the Antarctic from the British base. Following BAS, the surveying instrument manufacturer Leica was visited, which presented the newly released Monitoring Total Station TM30. The highlight of the study tour was the visit of the Olympic site, at which the students had the opportunity to listen to talks about the local coordinate system and the surveying specifications applied for the Olympic Buildings. This visit was rounded up with a tour around the site, seeing the athletic stadium been built. In the evening of the second day the NERC Satellite Laser Ranging station in Herstmonceux was visited and several Glonass and GPS satellites were tracked while orbiting the Earth. The final day of the study tour consisted of a visit to the Ocean Business exhibition, allowing students to make contacts with potential employers. The final visit was the Ordnance Survey, the national mapping agency of Britain, which gave the students an inside into their photogrammetric and printing department. Henny

the FARMTOOL goes national

Paul Quinn

3.4.09
A Decision Support Tool developed by Mark Wilkinson, Paul Quinn and Caspar Hewett is now live for all to see and use on the Environment Agency website. The website reveals the close collaboration we have had with the EA in developing the tool:-

'We have also developed an advisory tool with Newcastle university to help assess the risk of flooding from your farm land and to explore options for reducing flood risk. The Flood and Agriculture Risk Matrix (FARM) tool is an interactive tool that is free to download and allows you to experiment with different practices and compare the levels of risk.'

The FARMTOOL forms part of an overall strategy to address the origins of flood flow and the role that agriculture and rural communities play in both generating and suffering from increased flood risk. The Proactive team, are proposing the use of a series of soft engineered approaches to managing runoff within the landscape.