WMG News - Latest news from WMG
Privacy and trust in children’s e-books is first focus for new £1.2m study of our future connected world
WMG at the University of Warwick have secured £1.2m grant funding from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) to explore how decentralisation, personal data, and our Internet-connected possessions come together on the Hub of all Things (HAT) platform. The first focus of the WMG team’s project will be issues of privacy and trust in children’s e-books.
The WMG team’s Dynamic, Real time, On-demand Personalisation for Scaling (DROPS) project is a collaboration between academics at the universities of Warwick, Surrey, and the West of England. It will examine the privacy, trust, and identity issues that arise from the development of personalized e-books for children's reading. The researchers’ focus on children's reading is motivated by evidence that shows that despite the value of personalised e-books for learning and reading enjoyment, there is a lack of research that engages with the range of privacy issues that these technologies introduce.
Working with the HAT Community Foundation, a non-profit promoting the use of HAT micro-servers for decentralized, person-controlled personal data, the DROPS project will investigate the technology, business, economic, and legal models of personalisation in a newly decentralised digital economy.
One of UK’s foremost NHS chief executives to lead Healthcare Systems activities at WMG
It was announced today, Thursday 26th April 2018, that Dame Julie Moore, currently Chief Executive of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), is to become a Professor of Healthcare Systems at WMG, University of Warwick. Her new role will see her leading on a range of both research and education projects, leading collaborations with the NHS and other healthcare providers.
Dame Julie has held the position of Honorary Professor, at WMG, since 2013. In that time she has delivered three thought provoking and informative special lectures covering topics such as ‘Is the NHS Succeeding or Failing?’
Professor Stuart Croft, Vice Chancellor of the University of Warwick said
“This is a stellar appointment. Nursing Times has described Dame Julie one of the best leaders in the NHS, and Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour has named her as one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK. I have no doubt that her new research role here with us in WMG at the University of Warwick will result in transformative research that will help enhance the delivery of healthcare across the UK.”
WMG to help Jaguar Land Rover develop self-driving car that can ‘see’ around corners
WMG at the University of Warwick is to work with Jaguar Land Rover in a key part of a £4.7 million project called AutopleX which will develop vehicles that can ‘see’ around corners and through obstacles, enhancing the capability of self-driving cars.
Jaguar Land Rover is leading AutopleX project to investigate pioneering safety technology for self-driving technology The Innovate UK funded project combines connected, automated and live mapping tech to allow self-driving cars to ‘see’ and ‘talk’ to each other and it brings together Jaguar Land Rover with WMG at the University of Warwick and Highways England, INRIX, Ricardo, Siemens, and Transport for West Midlands.
WMG will bring scientific expertise in the area of connected autonomous driving systems, V2X systems, physical and virtual validation, and cyber security. Using their unique vehicle simulation facilities they will work with partners to create insight prior to physical tests as well as post trial impact assessment in various scenarios that cannot be carried out in physical test due to the environmental restrictions. WMG will also advise the project team on cyber security aspects and will continuously assess resilience of the AutopleX systems against potential cyber-attacks.
WMG welcomes the Governor of the State of Michigan
WMG was delighted to welcome Rick Snyder, Governor of the State of Michigan, on Friday (20 April 2018).
Our Academic Director, Professor Barbara Shollock introduced the Governor to WMG and gave an overview of our research capabilities and education programmes including those aimed at the next generation of young engineers and our executive education programmes.
The Governor was then given a tour of our world-class research and development facilities, including the International Manufacturing Centre. There, Professor Paul Jennings explained more about our Intelligent Vehicles research, including our state-of-the-art ‘3XD Simulator for Intelligent Vehicles.’ Professor Jennings also explained more about the UK Central CAV Testbed, a £25m project led by WMG which will see roads in Coventry and Birmingham become the UK testbed for developing the next generation connected and autonomous (CAV) vehicles. This was an area of particular interest as the University of Michigan is home to MCity, a demo ground built specifically for driverless car technology.
Healthcare technology conference hosted by the Institute of Digital Healthcare
On Thursday 3rd May 2018, the Institute of Digital Healthcare (IDH) at WMG, University of Warwick, will be hosting the Digital Health & Care and Safety of Connected Health: Improvements & Applications Conference (DICOH’18).
The national conference is being sponsored by the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network and NHS Digital.
Professor Maureen Baker CBE, Chair of the Professional Record Standards Body, Dr Cian Hughes Senior Research Scientist, DeepMind and Professor Theo 
Arvanitis, Chair in e-Health Innovation and Head of Research at WMG will be joining other key experts in digital healthcare speaking at the conference.
There will also be a tutorial on clinical IT safety organised jointly by the Institute of Digital Health and the NHS Digital.
You can get more information or register for DICOH’18 here.
Dodo’s violent death revealed
The famous Oxford Dodo died after being shot, according to breakthrough research by Oxford University Museum of Natural History and WMG at the University of Warwick.
Using revolutionary forensic scanning technology and world-class expertise, researchers have discovered surprising evidence that the Oxford Dodo was shot in the neck and back of the head with a shotgun.
The significant and unexpected findings, made by Professor Paul Smith, director of the Museum of Natural History, and Professor Mark Williams from WMG at the University of Warwick, only became apparent when mysterious particles were found in the specimen during scans carried out to help analyse its anatomy.
Subsequent analysis of the material and size of the particles revealed that they are lead shot pellets, typically used to hunt wildfowl during the 17th century.
The findings cast doubt on the popular theory that the Oxford Dodo is the remains of a bird kept alive in a townhouse in 17th-century London.
WMG Assistant Professors support EPSRC in ‘Manufacturing the Future’
Dr John Low and Dr Jerome Charmet have been appointed as members of EPSRC’s prestigious Early Career Forum in Manufacturing Research.
They will be tasked with establishing a community of early career academics to provide Theme Leaders at EPSRC with strategic advice to develop their themes in ‘Manufacturing the Future’. They will also act as a conduit for communication (with EPSRC), covering the broader community in manufacturing research both nationally and internationally.
Dr John Low who works in WMG’s Energy Innovation Centre, explains: “I will share my vision of manufacturing science in energy storage to help accelerate the UK’s advances in fundamental electrochemistry through to application-driven programmes.”
Dr Jerome Charmet, who is based within the Institute of Digital Healthcare team said: “I will endeavour to bridge the gap between the 
biomedical/clinical sciences and the manufacturing communities, in particular in the area of micro and nanotechnologies.”
Three senior figures from AstraZeneca, JLR, and Associated British Ports grapple with Brexit’s impact on global supply chains at special WMG event
Three senior figures from Jaguar Land Rover, AstraZeneca, and Associated British Ports will be giving their views on Brexit’s potential impact on Global Supply Chain at a special WMG debate and event at the University of Warwick on Tuesday 8 May 2018.
The confirmed speakers and panel members at the event include:
- Tim Sherwell from AstraZeneca, Regional Supply Director for Europe, and key member of the AstraZeneca Brexit team
- David Leighton from Associated British Ports, Group Head of Corporate Affairs, and a leading player in discussions with government in the UK and Brussels about the UK’s role as a Maritime Nation and the impact of Brexit
Professor Lord Bhattacharyya recognised by China
Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, Chairman and founder of WMG, at the University of Warwick, has been honoured by the presentation of a China Talent Visa (R), in recognition of his high-level expertise in manufacturing and inward investment and sustained interaction with the People’s Republic of China.
The China Talent Visa (R) was presented to Professor Lord Bhattacharyya by the Chinese Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency, Ambassador Liu Xiaoming, in a special ceremony at the Chinese Embassy in London today (Tuesday 3rd April).
WMG data specialists helps streamline production at Warwickshire brewer
Purity Brewing Ltd is a small brewer based on a farm between Studley and Great Alne not far from Stratford upon Avon. Sales continue to boom, which means constantly balancing the production of their beers with growing customer demand. The company turned to the SME team in WMG at the University of Warwick to help develop data systems to manage this complex operation while they get on with brewing the beer.
Andrew Thurston, Finance Director at Purity Brewing said:
“The WMG SME Group quickly identified our technical and business challenges. The new production tool will save us money and support Purity with its rapid growth.”
Purity Brewing benefitted from collaborative project support through the WMG SME Group’s Product Innovation Accelerator Project, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. This helps manufacturing SMEs within Coventry and Warwickshire and the Black Country are to create, test and develop new products, improve processes and access innovation support.