CEDARS (Culture, Employment and Development in Academic Research Survey)
Lancaster has launched the CEDARS 2022. It is important that all researchers and those who manage researchers, take this opportunity to help create a rewarding and supportive research culture at Lancaster.
Feedback received in 2020 had direct input into the activities within the HR EiR action plan for 2021/2023, ensuring that focus is maintained on a strong researcher voice, improving policies and procedures with an emphasis on equity and consistency.
At a practical level, new development programmes have been introduced specifically aimed at researchers and academics, including Project Management for researchers and Mentoring for academic development, a career development package and a range of other initiatives.
To have your say please complete the CEDARS 2022. Closing date for the survey has been extended to 12th June.
Philip Simpson
Works in ULT corridor
There will be works on going in the corridor outside the low temperature labs in the early part of June. These are associated with works being undertaken in the spine ducting that runs under the building. Operatives will be transiting from the spine duct and exiting the building along this corridor which may have to be closed at times. Further details will be publicised as they become available.
Shonah Ion
Scaffolding on roof of liquefier area
The re certification of the large helium storage vessels on the liquefier roof will require the erection of protection scaffolding. No date as yet set for the start of these works but some disruption and inconvenience should be expected.
Shonah Ion
Welcome to Jake Manning and welcome back to Stephen Holt
Jake Manning joined Physics on Thursday 5th May as Research Associate in Rob Young’s group. Please make him feel welcome.
Those of you who know him will be happy to hear that Stephen Holt is back with us. Stephen will be working on Tuesdays as Design Mentor.
Grainne Wilkinson
Brampton 2 Zero Seminar
Brampton 2 Zero is a local grassroots project with the ambitious aim to take the community of Brampton to net carbon zero, and to inspire similar projects nationwide. An initiative led by Phil Furneaux (Honorary Teaching Fellow in Physics), in only six months, B2Z has gained Community Interest Company status, taken on a Lancaster University intern, won a £22,000 grant for a feasibility study for a community energy scheme and has started fundraising for a shared heating scheme.
Brampton 2 Zero would like to invite Lancaster academics to contribute their expertise to collaborate in their net carbon zero community and increase their resilience to climate change. With what they learn, they intend to write a “Blueprint for a market town to transition to a zero carbon community “ in order to help other communities to reduce their carbon footprint.
Phil and colleagues will host a seminar on the 13th June at 4pm in LUMS to highlight their project and explain how academics at Lancaster could contribute. Anyone interested is invited to join the event.
https://brampton-2-zero-call-on-academics.eventbrite.co.uk
Monday 13th June at 16.00 in Mngt School LT19 WPB002
Manus Hayne & Philip Simpson
Calling all campus runners
The 43rd Physics Relay will take place this year on Thursday 23rd June.
The rules are unchanged since the year dot. For more information and to enter a team go to http://www.hep.lancs.ac.uk/relay/2022/. Same route as previously starting from the new sports centre and using the woodland walk.
This annual fun run is open to teams of four. The course consists of four unequal length legs making up a circuit of campus. It is open to all. There are four prizes on offer, Mens, Womens, Mixed and “Age Corrected”. Enter a team now!
Alex Finch, and Rob Henderson (aka The Physics Relay Committee)
Alex Finch
PLASTICS WASTE AND MICROPLASTIC RESEARCH EVENT
12th – 14th July 2022
The Storey, Lancaster
Invitation to register for the first plastic waste and microplastic research conference at Lancaster University.
To register please email Rachel Lyon (msi@lancaster.ac.uk). If your registration is successful, you will be required
to attend the event on all 3 days.
Plastic waste and microplastics are potentially the biggest global environmental challenge after climate change. (And the
two are not unlinked, with plastics in soil displacing carbon.) Beyond plastic waste, microplastics have infiltrated all parts of
the food chain and are now being found in (nearly) all human organs. Their potential to act as vectors for disease
transmission and the development of antimicrobial resistance is only now being recognised.
This workshop will bring together all the multi-facetted threads of plastic waste and micro-plastic research conducted at
Lancaster University in one workshop. International speakers will highlight global challenges and internal speakers will
highlight the quality and quantity of research conducted at Lancaster. The workshop provides a platform for Lancaster
researchers to connect with each other and to build further plastics activities.
Finally, the event provides a forum for our PhDs and early career researchers to present their research, providing for some
their first experience of the intellectual life, following two years of lockdown.
Tuesday 12th July
A presentation from keynote speaker Professor Meththika Vithanage followed by a ‘Question Time’ style Q&A about the future of plastics with a
panel of experts. This session will be facilitated by materials scientist and story teller, Dr. Anna Ploszajski.
Wednesday 13th July
A presentation from keynote speaker Professor Gay Hawkins. After this, the students will be invited to give group presentations about their
research. The presentations will be separated by questions and discussion. This session will be facilitated by Dr. Neil McLatchie. In the evening,
the attendees will participate in a litter pick on Morecambe Bay followed by a dinner at the Midland Hotel.
Thursday 14th July
A session focussed on creating a plastics community at LU and a discussion leading to a list of actions for the community. This session will also be
facilitated by Dr. Neil McLatchie.
Grainne Wilkinson
Visualisation of oscillatory dynamics of electrons on surface of liquid helium
C36 and Online
Friday 27 May 2022
3:00pm to 4:00pm
Condensed Matter seminar
Speaker: Hala Saddiq (Lancaster University)
Michael Thompson
Title TBC
title tbc
joining info tbc
Monday 30 May 2022
3:00pm to 4:00pm
Astrophysics seminar
Speaker: Mr. Alex Gagliano (University of Illinois)
Izzy Garland
POE UPDATES – APRIL 2022
Development opportunities for staff:
Recruiting the best training.
All panel chairs and all members of the recruiting panel are required to participate in this training prior to engaging in any recruitment activity at the University. Please note that places on these events are limited and in high demand. We ask that you only book a place if you have recruitment activity coming up, and if this is the case book the session closest to the recruitment activity. Scheduled dates for 2021/22 are below:
Committee servicing
The session will cover the role of the secretary in supporting committees, preparation of minutes, managing confidential material and adopting a paperless approach.
Tuesday 28th June, 9.30am till 12pm. Book here.
Manager@Lancaster Programme
Manager@Lancaster is a development programme with a difference. Tailored to the needs of Lancaster University managers the programme supports and challenges managers to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to build and develop high performing teams.
The programme incorporates a range of activities that are practical and highly relevant to the managers role. This is the ninth cohort of this programme which has consistently received strong reviews and has supported managers in enhancing their practice and finding solutions to common management challenges.
The next cohort is running from May 2022. To make an application please fill in this form. For more information please visit the OD webpage.
Managing Difficult Conversation
This workshop is appropriate for anyone that may need to have one-to-one conversations such as about poor performance, student conduct, or negative attitudes.
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- Tuesday 14th June, 10am till 12pm. Book here.
Updated COVID-19 reporting process
As the University has a public responsibility to report its staff and student COVID-19 cases to external agencies including Public Health England, it remains important that all staff report COVID-19 test results, in particular positive results, to their Line Manager. Line managers should then record these on People XD as soon as possible upon receipt of either a negative or positive, lateral flow or PCR test result. Please continue to familiarise yourself of the process and remind colleagues of their responsibility to report such cases. If a staff member tests positive, as a line manager you should:
- Submit a Managers Request in PeopleXD to record the positive case
If the member of staff has been on campus within 48 hours before receiving their positive test result, or you/employee believes this to be a workplace transmission, a short preliminary investigation should be carried out by you as line manager. This will help you and the University’s management understand where the suspected infection could have occurred. Please note, if the member of staff has not been on campus 48 hours before or there is no concern of workplace transmission, the short preliminary investigation (step 2) does not need to be completed.
Review of Redundancy, Restructuring and Redeployment
The HR Partnering team are carrying out an ongoing review of current redundancy, restructuring and redeployment processes across the University. Commencing in time for June Redundancy Committee and with the agreement of the Dean, FST will be trailing the new paperwork and template documents which were approved for use by th1qae University’s Redundancy Committee in January. Briefing sessions with the Designated Officers and further communication will follow after Easter. Work is also ongoing to review the University Redundancy, Restructuring, Redeployment Policies, Procedures and Guidelines and is in the early stages. We are working to bring the documents up to date and in line with best practice, to streamline and to combine in to one policy document. This is a significant piece of work and no timescales set for at the moment however further information will follow in due course in relation to focus groups and consultation both across Faculties and Departments and with the trade unions.”
Redundancy Committee Reminder of key dates:
| Redundancy Paper Deadline | Redundancy Committee Meeting Date |
| 01 June 2022 | 17 June 2022 |
| 08 July 2022 | 25 July 2022 |
- Equality Section
The following documents are now live on the EDI Web page:
Philip Simpson
Research Software Skills Workshops
After the success of these courses in the Michaelmas term, we are delighted to announce another programme of workshops aimed at skills development for Computationally Intensive research, courtesy of our new N8CIR Research Software Engineer Robin Long. All the workshops are designed to help researchers (PhD students and staff) with the skills, they need for using and developing software as part of their research. If you have any questions about these workshops, or if you are unsure whether they are the correct ones for your needs, please email Robin Long at rse@lancaster.ac.uk.
This terms schedule (starting in week 21)
Week 27 (9/06/22): Plotting in Python, part 2
This is the second part of the introduction to Python course. Here you
will learn about how to run the same tasks multiple times with loops;
getting your code to run depending on the data with if statements; re-using
code with functions and more.
https://lancaster-uk.libcal.com/calendar/dsi/python-2
Week 29 (23/06/22): Git 2: Sharing your development with others using Github
This course will show you how to take your usage of Git and Github to the
next level by harnessing the power of GitHub for collaboration.
Have you ever been confused about how to start a Pull Request or how to fork
a repository and merge your changes back? Perhaps you know and want to gain
confidence in doing so? This course will teach you how to collaborate using
git, and give you an environment in which to practise.
https://lancaster-uk.libcal.com/calendar/dsi/rse-git-intermediate
Robin Long
Manus Hayne