Departmental news
Dr Alex Baker explores the real-world science of Star Wars
Science fiction meets science fact at the Royal Institution on May 4th, as Dr Alex Baker discusses the captivating inspiration real-world reactions have had on the Star Wars universe. bit.ly/4a4oyiw
Warwick Economics student leads Warwick Quadball Team to success
Final year BSc Economics student Khushi Sampat coached Warwick's Quadball Team to triumph in all three competitions that took place this year.
Quadball is a full-contact mixed-gender sport that can be considered a mix of Netball, Dodgeball, and Rugby.
Khushi joined the Quadball Society in March 2022, took over as coach in April 2023, and was invited to join the Team England training squad in November 2023. There are three tournaments in a season that university teams take part in:
• Development Cup
• Southern England League/ Nothern England League
• British Quadball Cup (BQC)
Khushi celebrating a tournament win with a trophy
Khushi was happy to announce that “Warwick won all three tournaments this season and the commentators recognised the quality of coaching and gameplay!”
Outside of the university league, there are international competitions such as the European Games and World Cup which take place over the summer that Khushi hopes to take part in with the England Squad.
The Department would like to congratulate Khushi and the Warwick Quadball Team for this great success and all the hard work they have put in.
The image at the top of the article was taken in Sheffield during the British Quadball Cup on April 28th 2024. Khushi Sampat is third from left in the front row.
Dr Angela McShane Ballads Podcast
Dr Angela McShane, Department of History Honorary Reader, features in an episode of the History Extra podcast, produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
As part of the '100 Ballads' project, Dr McShane and Professor Christopher Marsh have identified 100 of the biggest musical hits from 17th-century England. They speak to Charlotte Hodgman about the popularity of these broadside ballads and introduce some of the top singing stars of the day.
Professor Peter Marshall new book release
Professor Peter Marshall's new book "Storm’s Edge: Life, Death and Magic in the Islands of Orkney" was launched 11 April 2024. Storm's Edge is a magisterial history, a fascinating cultural study and a mighty attestation to the importance of placing the periphery at the centre. Britain is a nation composed of many different islands, but too often we focus on just one. This book offers a radical alternative, encouraging us to reorient the map and travel with Peter Marshall through landscapes of forgotten history.
For more information visit the Harper Collins website
'A surprising page-turner, full of humour and startling details' THE TIMES
'If I read a better history this year, I will be lucky' TOM HOLLAND
'An astonishing tour de force’ SPECTATOR
Prof. Chris Corre wins PhD Supervision Excellence Award
The 2024 Warwick Research Celebration Event saw three of our professors nominated for an award with Prof Chris Corre taking the Excellent Supervision Prize for the SEM Faculty.
Workshop on heterogeneous and distributed data
Join us for a CRiSM workshop on Heterogeneous and Distributed Data from 10-12th June. Registration is free!
Economics researchers take on key roles in new Interdisciplinary Research Spotlights
Two members of the Department are taking on leadership roles in the University’s Research Spotlight programme, a new programme designed to promote collaborative work on urgent global challenges.
Professor Daniel Sgroi has been appointed Chair of the new interdisciplinary Behaviour Spotlight, and Professor Thijs van Rens is a member of the leadership team for the Health Spotlight.
A total of six interdisciplinary ‘Research Spotlights’ have been created. Each of them identifies a major global challenge: “They are all serious interdisciplinary areas that are going to make a big difference,” Daniel explains. “The University has asked, ‘what are the big issues facing the world?’ and decided to put a spotlight on each of them and bring people from every department together to work on them.
“This is important because most of the world’s big problems are problems that can only really be solved by disciplines working together – for example, how we deal with climate change, how we tackle political polarisation, how we handle pandemics.
“We know from COVID that medics worked with behavioural scientists so that they didn’t just develop vaccines, they developed strategies to ensure people would take them.
“Our Behaviour Spotlight aims to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration between behavioural researchers that seek to understand and address some of the biggest problems faced by the world today.
“We can provide seed funding for pilot experiments or to kick-start projects, we can create and financially support new seminar series, workshops and conferences, and help fund early-stage research.
“We have a big network already, inherited from the Behaviour, Brain & Society GRP, but we now want to reach across the whole university. We’ll be inviting anyone doing behavioural research at Warwick to join us as part of our mission to build a university-wide network of active researchers.”
A new Health Spotlight has also been created. Professor Thijs van Rens is one of four academics on the leadership team. He said:
"There are many people at University working on research that is relevant to health, at Warwick Medical School, of course, but also in Business, Chemistry, Economics, Engineering, English, History, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, Statistics and probably other departments as well.
“Our aim is to build the network and infrastructure to bring these people together so that together we can make better progress on the big questions that cannot be addressed from a single discipline.
“Some of the interdisciplinary areas that we will focus on are technologies in health, prevention and public health, mental health and wellbeing, and interdisciplinary methodologies. Warwick has strengths in all of these areas, and we hope that by providing a supportive environment for collaboration, we can further build on these strengths and encourage ‘blue-skies’ research ideas.”
“My own research on healthy and sustainable diets has made me realise how the quality of the research can benefit from an interdisciplinary team, and how much it helps to secure funding for that research."
Professor Ben Lockwood, Head of the Economics Department, said “I am delighted that Daniel and Thijs have been appointed to these leadership roles and will be contributing to the University’s ambitious interdisciplinary research programme.”
The Spotlight programme is intended to run for at least 10 years and is an indication of the University’s long-term commitment to world-changing research.
FIND OUT MORE
- Behaviour Spotlight : Behaviour | Research at Warwick
- Health Spotlight: Health | Research at Warwick
Kasia Jasiniewska: an ambassador for student research at Warwick
The Department of Economics wishes to congratulate Kasia Jasiniewska, final year Modern Languages and Economics student, for promoting excellence of student research at Warwick Research CelebrationLink opens in a new window event on 29 April 2024 and for showcasing it at the national Posters in Parliament event earlier this year.
Kasia Jasiniewska was selected to represent ‘Student Research at Warwick’ at the Celebration of Warwick Research event, based on her excellent undergraduate research, which had previously been chosen as one of two Warwick submissions to the national Posters in Parliament event this year. Professor Jane Bryan, one of the organisers of the Warwick Research Celebration event said: "Kasia spoke confidently and knowledgeably about her research at both events. She is a great ambassador for student research at Warwick."
Kasia’s research looked at “The impact of the 1999 Polish education reform: did the socio-economic disparities in academic achievements narrow?”. This research is of particular importance considering the significance of education for social progress and economic development. Kasia’s findings suggest that the Reform had a substantial positive impact on academic performance in Poland, especially for the top ten percentiles of the socioeconomic spectrum, thereby not effectively narrowing the achievement gap. Additionally, the model shows evidence of temporal dynamics, with the effects being most pronounced six to nine years after the Reform. This delayed response emphasizes the need for long-term evaluations to understand the complex impacts of educational policies on academic achievement across socioeconomic groups.
Kasia presenting her research at the Posters in Parliament event
“Nowadays, most of us have access to data, but the key is how we use it to explain a broader, more complex picture. My studies in the Economics Department, particularly the econometrics course, equipped me with the essential skills to tackle the most intriguing unanswered questions. I am grateful and proud to represent the impactful work of the Warwick undergraduate community, contributing to our understanding of the changing world around us.”
- Kasia Jasiniewska
As a final year student, Kasia is a great advocate for undertaking research as part of an undergraduate course, raising awareness amongst many staff and senior leaders at Warwick and beyond about the importance of encouraging students to undertake research as part of their university education.
WMG researchers present new Alzheimer’s widespread screening device at parliament
On Wednesday (24th April), WMG at the University of Warwick’s Professor Alan Chalmers, and his research team, held a parliamentary drop-in session, hosted by Sir Jeremy Wright, MP for Kenilworth & Southam and Vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Dementia.
Scientists at WMG, have been working on ground-breaking medical screening for neurodegenerative conditions, with a particular focus on Alzheimer’s disease. The research is based on growing evidence that people suffering with such diseases can lose their sense of smell and taste, many years before other symptoms, such as memory loss, become apparent.
An early diagnosis is critical for those with the disease. New drug technology can slow the progress of Alzheimer’s, but only if detected early enough.
Together with research partners including the NHS, Neurosaliance, and Superlunary Labs, the scientists updated policy makers on the progress of a National Engagement Framework for facilitating screening across the county and demonstrated a new working prototype of their flavour perception testing system.
Matt Western, MP for Leamington and Warwick, said: “We should strive for equality in dementia diagnosis across the UK. It was great to meet Professor Chalmers and his team from WMG. They are working with Superlunary Labs to develop flavour perception technology, for wide-spread non-invasive screening, which could help us achieve that goal.”
The Framework was piloted last year and resulted in data being collected at a number of venues across the country facilitated by MP’s constituency offices.
The plan is for the easy-to-use, low-cost perception testing system to be deployed in pharmacies, care homes and GP surgeries across the country.
This will allow people to measure their own flavour perception ability without the need for a GP appointment. The results will be sent to GPs via a mobile app, and those who perform poorly can then be referred for further tests.
WMG’s Professor Alan Chalmers, who is leading the research said: “In this simple screening test, people are given different flavours to smell and taste. They then, for example, determine which is sweeter, less astringent or smells more of lemon. It’s an easy, non-invasive test which can be rolled out to people quickly right across the UK. It was great to have an opportunity to share our Framework with policy makers.
“At the moment, people who present with symptoms of memory are referred for MRI scans and spinal fluid tests to confirm a diagnosis. By the time memory loss occurs things are often too late; pioneering drug treatments only perform well in the early stages of degeneration. MRI scans and spinal fluid tests are currently not done before there is an indication of the disease as they are incredibly invasive, can cause distress and are expensive and time-consuming for the NHS. Failure of the flavour test can give the necessary early indication.”
Marcus Jones MP for Nuneaton, added: “It was wonderful to meet the team from WMG and Superlunary Labs working to develop flavour perception testing as a method of early screening for neurodegenerative conditions. Work like this is essential for tackling the growing problem of dementia in the UK.”
Read more about WMG’s Visualisation research here: Visualisation Group (warwick.ac.uk)