The WMG team had a busy, fun-packed British Science Week, taking part in six special STEM events reaching out to more than 2015 young scientists and engineers.

British Science Week is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths; and is a chance to look into the future and celebrate the impact scientific ideas can make on society. In support, the Team took part in the University of Warwick’s ‘Slice of Science;’ attended the Royal Institution’s Powering our Sustainable Future event, where Rohin Titmarsh and Phil Jemmett shared their expertise on battery tech and robotics; and conducted experiments at a library science fair in Staffordshire.

Dr Phil Jemmett, Outreach Project Officer at WMG, said: “Presenters at the events noticed students building in confidence as they engaged with our staff, and we have received some really positive feedback from both organisers and parents.”

The team at Perton Library said the ‘experiments were great – excellent explanations for the children.’

A parent at the Ri event said it was an ‘excellent event. Having the booths from universities/companies after the event was a great bonus for my son. He had the chance to discuss not only about batteries but about different courses to study as he is still undecided as to which course to choose.’

Another parent added: ‘It gave my 17-year-old a frame of reference to where a career in STEM could lead.’

Phil explained: “For the UK to remain at the forefront of innovation, a strong and diverse workforce will be needed. We believe that events such as these can give youngsters the information and the inspiration, they need to pursue a STEM career.”

The Outreach team would like to say a huge thank you to Bethany Haynes; Rebecca Swan-McAdam; Mucahit Ozden; Veronika Majherova; Yiduo Wang; Zeina Rihawi; Jianhua Yang; Rohin Titmarsh; Tom Goodman; Rachael Kirwan; Eugene Prout; Nilavan Thipaharan; Bianca Agapito; and Claire Davis, for their help and support at the events.

Find out more about WMG’s Outreach programme, including the Lord Bhattacharyya Engineering Education Programme and the Resonate Festival, taking place in April, here: Public engagement and Outreach (warwick.ac.uk)

Researchers from WMG and the School of Engineering, at the University of Warwick, attended two bespoke Parliamentary Seminars at the Palace of Westminster in March.

A total of 18 researchers enjoyed a guided tour of the Central Lobby before observing live sessions with MPs and Lords in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The visits were hosted by the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT) and facilitated by Huw Edwards, Parliamentary and Government Training Consultant and former MP.

Huw provided an overview of the work of UK Parliament, the legislative process, and the scope for research in the Government.

Sarah Wilson from WMG Research Office, who organised the visits, explained: “The aim of these visits was to empower our researchers to share their knowledge and expertise with key policymakers, influence and inform relevant policy, and support parliamentary scrutiny processes.

“It was an invaluable experience - they heard about various engagement points, and the means to liaise with key government departments and Parliamentary Select Committees.”

Find out more about WMG’s breath of research here: Research (warwick.ac.uk)

WMG’s Professor Margaret Low was presented with an MBE, for her services to public engagement and widening participation, on Tuesday 15th March by HRH The Princess Royal at a special ceremony at Windsor Castle.

Professor Robin Clark, Dean of WMG, and Director of Education explains: “Margaret joined WMG back in 1988, and for many years she has made it her mission to inspire young people from all backgrounds in STEM subjects and into higher education. We are all so proud of her many achievements.”

Margot James, Executive Chair at WMG adds: “Margaret’s MBE is a true testament to her hard work and dedication in connecting the local community with academia and, promoting STEM in an engaging way. I send her my warmest congratulations.”

Professor Margaret Low said: “It’s lovely, if a little overwhelming and totally unexpected, to be recognised in this way. Everything I’ve achieved has been in collaboration with fantastic colleagues and friends at WMG and across the University. None of this would have been possible without their hard work and dedication.

“I’ve also had the good fortune to work with some brilliant students through Warwick Volunteers who’ve been instrumental in bringing outreach activities into schools.”

Working with Warwick Volunteers, Margaret collaborates with University of Warwick students to run Scratch workshops in local primary and secondary schools reaching more than 250 children each year through the Technology Volunteers project. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Margaret and her team also developed invaluable resources to help support home-schooling.

In 2016 Margaret was awarded an HEA National Teaching Fellowship. The Fellowships recognise and celebrate the absolute highest standards of learning and teaching across higher education.

More than a decade ago she pioneered the use of Scratch in the UK, a user-friendly programming tool, for outreach work in schools.

Read more about the WMG Public Engagement and Outreach Programme here: Public engagement and Outreach (warwick.ac.uk)

WMG’s Head of Human Factors for Future Mobility, Dr Roger Woodman, has shared his expertise in a whitepaper entitled ‘Navigating new technologies and the safety and business risks.’

The whitepaper, produced by DriveTech UK, from The AA, the world leader in fleet risk and driver safety management; including driver training, aims to inform businesses about the challenges and risks of micromobility, as well as their corporate obligations.

It also anticipates a wider and likely legalised use of private e-scooters, in the near future, and recommends a serious need to focus on training to keep all users safe.

Dr Roger Woodman explains: “It’s highly likely that rental and private e-scooters will be legalised in the next year or so. Undoubtedly there will be restrictions on these vehicles for both speed and weight. Rental e-scooters will be relatively easy to maintain control of, and from what I have witnessed, the trials have been broadly successful.

“However, the legalisation of private e-scooters is where issues will arise and will quickly become a big social and safety problem if certain things aren’t considered. The most important of which is people will modify e-scooters to make them go faster.

“Consequently, we need to introduce rules similar to car and motorbike ownership, which makes people more aware that they are responsible for what they do with the vehicle and importantly there is a link between them, the vehicle and law enforcement. Psychologically this is very important and is one of the reasons the e-scooter rental trial has made it a requirement that riders must have at least a provisional driving license.

“I believe we need several legal rules imposed with the legalisation of private e-scooters. Firstly, all private e-scooters (including rental), should require a registration plate. Secondly, e-scooters should be taxed and insured in the same way as motorbikes. This requirement greatly reduces the number of people who can own and operate an e-scooter, and I expect this will be dropped for both rental and privately owned e-scooters. However, there will be greater emphasis put on training, which will include safe riding and the Highway Code.”

Read the report in full here: DriveTech-E-Scooter-White-Paper.pdf

WMG is in the process of creating a Micromobility Roadmap, in consultation with users and industry, which will be made public later this year. Read more about WMG’s Intelligent Vehicles research here: Intelligent vehicles (warwick.ac.uk)

Noor Abu-Jbara, WMG MSc Innovation and Entrepreneurship alumna, has been selected as a finalist for a prestigious Study UK Alumni Award in her native Jordan.

Noor, who graduated from WMG in 2019, has been nominated for a Business and Innovation Award.

The UK Alumni Awards are led by the British Council to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the UK’s international alumni. Award winners and finalists are leaders in their fields who have used their experience of studying at a UK university to make a positive contribution to their communities, professions and countries.

The Business and Innovation Award category specifically recognises those who are active in initiating and contributing to innovative or creative new ideas, solutions or business opportunities, that have the potential for growth.

Professor Jay Bal, MSc Innovation and Entrepreneurship course lead at WMG said: “Noor is passionate about Women’s Entrepreneurship as a tool for empowering women in developing countries. We hope her efforts get recognised at the awards.”

After graduating Noor became the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Supervisor at TheTank by Umniah and the Founder of SHEE. She is trainer and mentor for start-ups and has worked as a consultant and researcher in the fields of innovation, entrepreneurship, women empowerment and management consultation.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 30th January.

You can read more about Noor’s career here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/education/wmgmasters/alumni-profiles/noor-abu-jbara_iae/

Research led by Dr Mark Elliott, Associate Professor at the Institute of Digital Healthcare at WMG, has been featured in the House of Lords National Plan for Sport and Recreation Report.

The report considers the effectiveness of current sport and recreation policies and initiatives, and the case for a national plan for sport and recreation.

Dr Elliott’s research has investigated the effectiveness of the use of incentives and rewards for exercise, using a rewards-for-exercise app called Sweatcoin. The contribution to the House of Lords report was based on the findings that people increased their daily step count by an average of nearly 20% when using the incentives platform.

Dr Mark Elliott, comments: “Our findings highlighted how digital platforms that incentivise physical activity through tracking step count recorded on smartphones can have a positive impact on people’s exercise behaviours. We were pleased to be able to contribute our findings as evidence to the House of Lords National Plan for Sport and Recreation Report.”

Read the report in full here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5802/ldselect/ldsportrec/113/113.pdf

· Dr Siddartha Khastgir, from WMG at the University of Warwick has been appointed to be on the Department for Transport’s Science Advisory Council (SAC).

· The DfT Science Advisory Council (SAC) provides independent strategic advice and challenge to the Department on key areas of science, social science engineering and technology.

· Dr Khastgir will focus on taking a systems thinking approach across various modes of transport (land, air and marine) to ensure their safe enrolment and public acceptance in the UK

Dr Siddartha Khastgir from WMG, University of Warwick, has been appointed to be on the DfT’s Science Advisory Council, where he will advise on a wide range of science and engineering issues, such as enrolment of Autonomous Vehicles.

Today, Friday 14th January 2022, the Department for Transport have announced five new members and a new Chair joining their Science Advisory Council, including Dr Siddartha Khastgir from WMG, University of Warwick.

The DfT’s Science Advisory Council provide the DfT with advice and challenge on key areas of science, engineering and technology, supporting the role for the DfT Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Sarah Sharples, by ensuring departmental activity is informed by the best external expertise and evidence, identifying relevant emerging issues and trends and assuring DfT’s use of science and technology.

Dr Siddartha Khastgir is Head of Verification and Validation of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles at WMG, University of Warwick. In 2019 he was awarded a UKRI Future Leader Fellowship focusing on Autonomous Vehicle safety standards. Leveraging his research on Autonomous Vehicles safety, he will focus on taking a cross-domain approach to safety in land, marine and air.

With his new appointment on the council Dr Khastgir will help advise DfT on the technological and societal challenges surrounding introduction of new technologies, and how they can be enrolled in UK safely and efficiently. He comments:

“To be a part of the Department for Transport’s Science Advisory Council is incredibly exciting, I’m looking forward to working with other experts in the field to provide advice to help the DfT to inform future policy, with its foundations in strong research outputs. Not only do we need to create safe systems, we need to communicate with the public to ensure public acceptance.”

Margot James, Executive Chair at WMG, University of Warwick adds “I am delighted to hear that Siddartha has been appointed to the Department for Transport Science Advisory Council, a reflection of his world-leading research into safety for connected and autonomous vehicles. I will be watching with interest to see how the DfT moves this emerging technology forward, and look forward to Siddartha being a key part of this.”

UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Director Stephen Meader said:

“The world leading research undertaken by Dr Khastgir and his team is vital for the development of safe autonomous vehicles that can cut both congestion and carbon emissions.

“Dr Khasgir’s appointment to the Department for Transport’s Science Advisory Council (SAC) demonstrates both the importance of this work to the future of mobility in the UK and the value the Future Leaders Fellowships scheme brings in enabling his research.”

Other new appointees joining six existing members include:

· Dr Siddartha Khastgir, Head of Verification and Validation of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, University of Warwick 

· (SAC Chair) Professor Alastair Lewis, Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry, University of York

· James Gaade, Head of Programme Management, The Faraday Institution    

· Professor William Powrie, Professor of Geotechnical Engineering, University of Southampton 

· Dr Emma Taylor, Head of Digital Safety, RazorSecure Ltd.

· Professor Patricia Thornley, Director of the Energy & Bioproducts Research Institute, Aston University

Department for Transport Chief Scientific Adviser, Sarah Sharples, said: “I’m pleased to welcome the new members appointed to the Science Advisory Council. They bring significant additional expertise in key areas that will support DfT’s effective use of science and engineering. I look forward to working with them.”

ENDS

14TH JANUARY 2022

NOTES TO EDITORS

High-res images available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/april2020/sid_39.jpg

Caption: Dr Siddartha Khastgir, from WMG, University of Warwick
Credit: WMG, University of Warwick

For further information please contact:

Alice Scott
Media Relations Manager – Science
University of Warwick
Tel: +44 (0) 7920 531 221
E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk

Tim Watson, WMG’s Professor of Cyber Security and the Director of the WMG Cyber Security Centre, has been named as the new Programme Director for Defence and Security at The Alan Turing Institute.

Professor Watson will lead a portfolio of work applying data science and artificial intelligence to national security, cyber security, and defence challenges, working closely with national and international partners.

He will take responsibility for the refresh and delivery of the strategy for the Institute’s Defence and Security Programme. His work will be vital in the development of a vibrant and high impact research and training programme.

Professor Watson is seconded to the Institute from his role at WMG where he has more than thirty years’ experience working with government, industry and in academia, and is an advisor to various parts of the UK Government and to several professional and standards bodies.

Professor Watson said, “I am delighted and honoured to be joining The Alan Turing Institute as its new Programme Director for Defence and Security. The role of data science and AI is more central than ever to our collective safety and security.

“It is vital that the world-class talents brought together by the Turing deliver the tools, insights and advances we need for a safer, more prosperous world. Together with the rest of the team at the Turing and with the wider research community, I look forward to contributing to this important and exciting work.”

Dr Ahmad Mohsseni, Chief Technology Officer at UKBIC, has been made an Honorary Associate Professor at WMG.

Dr Ahmad Mohsseni joined UKBIC in April 2019, where he sits on the executive committee - the team responsible for delivering and operating the Centre. Dr Mohsseni is responsible for Engineering and Quality specifically.

Prior to this Dr Mohsseni was team leader, project manager and research associate at RWTH Aachen University, and a management consultant at McKinsey and Company. He holds Bachelor and two Master of Science degrees from RWTH Aachen University in Economics, Manufacturing Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, as well as a PhD in engineering.

Professor David Greenwood, Director for industrial Engagement at WMG comments: “I am delighted for us to deepen the research relationship between UKBIC and WMG through the appointment of Dr Ahmad Mohsseni as Honorary Associate Professor. Ahmad, as CTO of UKBIC has worked closely with the research team at WMG in the fields of battery electrochemistry and battery manufacturing, and his scientific and technical knowledge will contribute greatly to our joint research agenda in the future.”

Jeff Pratt, UKBIC’s Managing Director, said: “I’m delighted with Ahmad’s appointment as Honorary Associate Professor at WMG, at the University of Warwick. This appointment, alongside his role as Chief Technology Officer at UKBIC, recognises Ahmad’s valuable contribution to the development of UKBIC, a facility created to support UK industry with development of battery technologies for future electrification. He will be a great asset to the University.”

In his role as Honorary Associate Professor, Dr Mohsseni will share his expertise by giving seminars and contributing to joint research with WMG staff.

Professor Tim Watson, Director of WMG’s Cyber Security Centre, has shared his expertise in the House of Lords Select Committee on Risk Assessment and Risk Planning report entitled ‘Preparing for Extreme Risks: Building a Resilient Society.’

Professor Watson gave evidence to the panel which was used to shape the report published on Friday 3rd December.

The Committee was appointed in October 2020 to "consider risk assessment and risk planning in the context of disruptive national hazards". Following 29 oral evidence sessions with 85 witnesses and 90 written submissions, the Committee concluded that the UK must be better at anticipating, preparing for and responding to a range of challenging risk scenarios, including those which it has never experienced before.

The report emphasises that the Government's current strategy of centralised and opaque risk assessment and risk management, which fails to make adequate preparations, has left the UK vulnerable.

The Chair of the Committee, Lord Arbuthnot, said: "Our inquiry has concluded that the UK must adopt a whole of society approach to resilience, one which emphasises the important role played by all sections of society in preparing for, adapting to and recovering from the effects of risk. Risk and resilience are not solely the concern of central Government policymakers, and since they have the capacity to alter the lives of everyone in the country, everyone needs to be involved in shaping the response to the risks that we face."

Read the report in full here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5802/ldselect/ldrisk/110/11002.htm