Departmental news

The History department is sad to announce the death of emeritus Professor Robin Okey. Robin taught in the department from 1966 until his retirement in 2007.

We are deeply saddened by the death of Professor David Hodgson, who passed away on 29 December 2023 after a long illness.

David Hodgson was a microbiologist of worldwide renown who was a highly valued member of the Department of Biological Sciences and latterly the School of Life Sciences. His generous nature and encyclopaedic knowledge were shared freely with Warwick staff and students alike. His wisdom and humour were also highly appreciated by his colleagues from around the globe, whose esteem was illustrated by the international roll-call of distinguished contributors to the two-day celebration of his career in 2015 when he retired. He had uniquely diverse expertise in the genetics of streptomycetes, myxococci and Caulobacter (types of bacteria unusual in having different cell types), and his fascination with their life cycles and physiology led to intriguing insights into their regulatory mechanisms. His innovative research in this area, which benefited from a Fulbright Senior Research Scholarship to spend a year working with US-based academics sharing his interests, was reflected in his DSc, awarded in 2007. David collaborated with many other academics and was a visiting academic at the University of Surrey. He was an important contributor to collaborative research work at Warwick, in particular playing a key part in a large Warwick-based transnational research programme which helped to redraw the carbon metabolic pathways of Streptomyces coelicolor.

Dr Katherina Brinkert interviewed in BBC Science Focus magazine on solar power in space. tinyurl.com/3kdnrs3v

The University of Warwick announces Warwick Agri-Tech to help the future of farming with automation – addressing issues such as labour shortages, food insecurity and loss of biodiversity.

Warwick Agri-Tech, will also support the UK to meet climate targets while enabling the production of enough nutritious food for the growing population. It will combine two world class faculties at WMG at The University of Warwick and the School of Life Sciences (SLS), working with the High Value Manufacturing Catapult to spearhead automation in areas such as horticulture, crops and forestry.

Robots will be a key tool for farmers as food production comes under increasing pressure. There is a constant demand to grow enough high quality, nutritious food to feed an expanding human population, and to do so in a way that won’t harm the planet.

According to scientists, the UK will need to produce 50% more food by 2050, while reducing land consumption by 50%. This is further challenged by labour shortages, a broken food system and the fact we are overusing the Earth’s biocapacity (the capability of ecosystems to produce useful biological materials and to absorb waste).

The University of Warwick is in a unique position to tackle these issues and develop farming technology, with expertise in both automation and life science.

Warwick Agri-Tech was born out of an initial project which developed a crop monitoring robot (Crombot) to move autonomously up and down glasshouses and check fruit for ripeness. Officially launching today, with a visit from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Warwick Agri-Tech will continue its research on several key projects:
· An Autonomous Logistics Project – developing an autonomous vehicle to help horticultural companies to optimise their product handling logistics.
· A Smart Tree Production System – Warwick Agri-Tech is working with J&A Growers, who are the leading UK growers of quality bareroot trees and hedging, to autonomously sort and grade sapling trees. This will ensure resilience against labour shortages and is scalable in the face of the UK’s ambitious tree planting targets.

· Autonomous Precision Application – creating an autonomous, AI-based weed control robot, to reduce utilisation of herbicides by over 90% - improving soil health and biodiversity.

The University’s leading crop research centre at based at the Innovation Campus, Stratford-upon-Avon is a leading, 200-hectare agricultural research site. Scientists at the University will collaborate directly with industry partners and the Government to drive implementation of new technology in the farming sector.

Professor Gideon Henderson, Chief Scientific Adviser, said: “Seeing the innovation going on here is really inspiring – I firmly believe that Agri-Tech in the UK has a huge future and I look forward to seeing new ways of working being trialled here at Warwick become mainstream agricultural practices in the future.”

Professor David Greenwood, Director for Industrial Engagement, and CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult at WMG, said: “The emerging needs of the agriculture sector have provided a perfect opportunity for The University of Warwick to bring together our expertise in manufacturing automation with our expertise in life sciences, so we can simultaneously develop robots suitable for use in greenhouses and fields, and ways of growing crops which take advantage of the opportunities of automation. As the UK struggles with availability of agricultural labour, and high food prices, this promises to unlock nutritious and affordable food for all.”

Professor Miriam Gifford, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, said: “Warwick Agri-Tech will benefit from the entrepreneurship of WMG and the history of excellence in agricultural innovation from the School of Life Sciences’ Warwick Crop Centre, plus the combined stakeholder groups to inform and enable outputs. The fresh food industries need automation urgently. Warwick Agri-Tech will grow rapidly into research and innovation space screaming for workable solutions and expecting substantial funding initiatives.”

More information about Warwick Agri-Tech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXC3jzqrga0

The University of Warwick announces Warwick Agri-Tech to help the future of farming with automation – addressing issues such as labour shortages, food insecurity and loss of biodiversity.

Warwick Agri-Tech, will also support the UK to meet climate targets while enabling the production of enough nutritious food for the growing population. It will combine two world class faculties at WMG at The University of Warwick and the School of Life Sciences (SLS), working with the High Value Manufacturing Catapult to spearhead automation in areas such as horticulture, crops and forestry.

Press release (21 December 2023)

Aylesford Sixth Form Science students welcomed to complete practical exams and gain hands-on experience in our labs following classroom closures. More at tinyurl.com/mr4d4hpr

Thousands of people with type 1 diabetes could be offered wearable technology to help them manage their condition thanks to guidance based on research conducted by WMS.

The world’s largest review on opioid medicines for cancer pain, which included WMS researchers, has found it is unclear whether some commonly used opioid medicines are better than a placebo and suggests that non-opioid medicines, including aspirin, may be as effective as opioids.

The Department of History seeks to appoint an Assistant Professor in Ottoman History on a full-time and indefinite basis from 1 September 2024.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of one of the largest History departments in the UK with a thriving community of teachers and researchers covering a range of disciplines and geographical areas.

The advert and job description for the post can be found via the Human Resources webpage. For informal enquiries, please contact Professor Tim Lockley (Head of Department) at t.j.lockley@warwick.ac.uk.

The closing date for applications is 14 January 2024.

Expert comment from Dr Harjinder Lallie on the UK's vulnerability to cyber attacks.

Dr Harjinder Singh Lallie, Director of WMG’s Cyber Security Centre at the University of Warwick, commented: "The continued reliance on what is sometimes outdated technology including systems, software, and related processes, makes the UK infrastructure increasingly susceptible to crippling cyber-attacks. As systems become older and more dated, the cost of upgrading increases exponentially in comparison with regular upgrades.

“Added to this is the growing pay and associated skills gap between the public and private sector which makes the public sector less attractive for cyber security graduates in an increasingly open market. The potential for our infrastructure to be susceptible to ransomware attacks should not therefore come as a surprise.”