ISSUE 18 • AUTUMN 2007T H E R O Y A L S O C I E T Y O F E D I N B U R G H

RESOURCET H E N E W S L E T T E R O F S C O T L A N D ’ S N A T I O N A L A C A D E M Y

news

World-class research talent recognised

On 28 September, fifty-three researchers,representing some of the most outstanding youngscientists and innovators working in Scotland today,were recognised at the Society’s Annual ResearchAwards Reception. The Society continues toadminister various Research Fellowship schemesoperated through Fellowship selection Committees,and this year awarded grants totalling £1.7m. Withthe exception of the BBSRC and STFC EnterpriseFellowships, all of the Fellowships are held inScottish Higher Education Institutions, thus retainingScottish researchers in Scotland and attracting othersfrom elsewhere in the UK and overseas. Awardsrange from summer vacation scholarships forundergraduates in Astronomy to Prizes presented toacademics eminent in their fields. The awards wouldnot be possible without the continuing financialsupport of organisations such as BP, the CaledonianResearch Foundation, Lloyds TSB Foundation forScotland, the Biotechnology and Biological SciencesResearch Council (BBSRC), the Science & TechnologyFacilities Council (STFC), The Scottish Government,Scottish Enterprise and other specific-purposelegacies bequeathed to the Society.

Left: Lessells Travel Scholar, Susan Deeny, receives award from RSE President, Sir Michael Atiyah.

Stimulating debate Inspiring children The Planet’s Future

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Recognising Excellence

Alexander Ninian Bruce PrizeProfessor Christopher Secombes FRSE, Head of School, School of BiologicalSciences, University of Aberdeen, for his outstanding contribution to ourunderstanding of the immune system of fish, particularly salmonids.

James Scott Prize LectureshipProfessor Stephen Barnett FRS FRSE Department of Physics, University ofStrathclyde, for his outstanding contribution to the field of Quantum Optics.

Keith MedalProfessor Antonio DeSimoneProfessor of Scienza delle Costruzioni, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di StudiAvanzati (SISSA), Trieste, ItalyProfessor Robert KohnProfessor of Mathematics, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New YorkUniversity, USAProfessor Stefan MüllerDirector, Max Plank Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Leipzig, GermanyProfessor Felix OttoInstitut für Angewandte Mathematik, Bonn, GermanyFor their paper “A compactness result in the gradient theory of phase transitions”which was published in Proceedings A, Volume 131, Number 4, 17 August 2001pp833-844.

Professor Stephen Barnett FRS FRSE

These Prizes and Medals were awardedat the Research Awards Reception alongwith the Research Fellowships andEnterprise Awards given in 2007. TheAwards and recipients are listed in fullon pages 4 and 5.

PRIZES AND MEDALS

PRESTIGIOUS AWARD PRESENTED

The 2007 IEEE/RSE/Wolfson James ClerkMaxwell Award was given jointly to DrIrwin M Jacobs and Dr Andrew Viterbi, co-founders of Qualcomm Incorporated, forfundamental contributions, innovationand leadership that enabled the growthof wireless communications. Dr Viterbiwas present to receive his Award at theFellows’ Summer Sóiree held atEdinburgh’s Telford College in July 2007.Prior to the start of the formal business ofthe Annual Statutory Meeting on 1October, Dr Jacobs (pictured above) waspresented with his Award, after which hegave a talk entitled Reflections on theAmazing Ubiquitous Cellphone.

Before he and six other industry veterans set up Qualcomm in 1985, chairman DrJacobs worked for Linkabit Corp. Founded by Dr Jacobs and Dr Viterbi in 1969,Linkabit was one of the stars of the American telecoms industry and many leadingtelecoms companies, including Qualcomm, are branches of the Linkabit family tree.

When Dr Jacobs sold his interest in that company, he found himself unable to ‘sit backand relax’. Linkabit was a hard act to follow but Dr Jacobs and his partners soon putQualcomm on the map in wireless telecoms. For Dr Jacobs and his industry partners,the explosive growth of the mobile phone market has been nothing less than amazing,and today, there are three billion wireless subscribers worldwide, including 500 millionusing third-generation technology. Annual shipments total roughly one billion cellphones, many of them featuring Qualcomm technology.

Dr Jacobs took his audience on a whirlwind tour of some of the landmarks in thisdevelopment, reminding everyone how far we have come since the launch of the firstmobile ‘brick’ in the late 1980s. “Technology is moving ahead very fast” said DrJacobs, “but now it’s time to focus on the best uses for the technology”.

The new generation of cell phones are more intelligent, enabling users to downloadnew applications including games, financial software, educational programmes andmedical data. Television is the next frontier, with current networks capable of carrying25 channels broadcasting multimedia programmes in real time and up to 100 channelsin total. Wireless technology is also having an increasing impact on life in developingcountries, “empowering citizens” in remote areas by providing information such ashealthcare advice or financial news.

In the last 22 years, Dr Jacobs has not only witnessed a revolution in wirelesstechnology, he is also one of the people who helped to precipitate it two decades agoand continues to drive it today.

Reflections on the The Amazing Ubiquitous Cellphone

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President’s Perspective

As Fellows may be aware, the Royal Society of Edinburgh has now secured full,unconditional planning permission for a statue of James Clerk Maxwell to be erectedin Edinburgh’s George Street, close to the present building of the RSE, as pictured.Entirely in keeping with this prestigious site, the statue will be cast in bronze andMaxwell shown dressed in costume of his time. I am encouraged that many peopleappear to share my view that a scientist of Maxwell’s stature should be betterrecognised in Scotland and that the project has been so widely welcomed.

Edinburgh World Heritage were the first external body to contribute £10,000 to theFund and, as with others who offer donations at this level, will have their nameengraved on the plinth. We are also grateful to the City of Edinburgh, the CockburnAssociation and Historic Scotland for their encouragement and confidence in ourinitiative. Our target is £300,000. Any surplus funds, after covering all costsassociated with the statue, will go into a Clerk Maxwell fund of the RSE, which will beused to support RSE objectives in science and the humanities.

The sculptor, Alexander Stoddart, (www.alexanderstoddart.com) has extensiveexperience of public monuments. It is our hope that the statue of Maxwell can becompleted by October 2008, the end of my term as President of the Royal Society ofEdinburgh.

To Donate to the project, cheques should be made payable to ‘The Royal Society ofEdinburgh - Clerk Maxwell Fund’ and sent to: The President, The Royal Society ofEdinburgh, 22-26 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PQ. For US Donors, it is possible tomake donations to the RSE through the American Fund for Charities (AFC).www.royalsoced.org.uk/maxwell The RSE is a registered Scottish charity (No.SC000470)

Sir Michael Atiyah, OM, FRS, PRSE, HonFREng, HonFMedSci, HonFFAMaxwell pictured in the handsomeportrait that hangs in the Hall, TrinityCollege, Cambridge

James Clerk Maxwell is generallyregarded as the greatest physicist afterNewton. While Newton laid down thelaws of mechanics and universalgravitation, Maxwell did the same forelectromagnetism, showing inparticular that light was part of theelectromagnetic spectrum. Our moderntechnological society, from thecomputer to telecommunications, restsfirmly on the foundations establishedby Maxwell. Albert Einstein was one ofMaxwell’s great admirers and it wasMaxwell’s emphasis on the basic role offields of force that led Einstein to hisgeneral theory of relativity and themodern understanding of gravity. Maxwell was born in Edinburgh in1831 and studied at EdinburghAcademy and Edinburgh University. In1850 he moved on to Cambridge.

After holding chairs at Aberdeen andKing’s College London, he retired to hisfamily estate at Glenlair inDumfriesshire, where he wrote his greattreatise on Electricity and Magnetism. In1871 he returned to Cambridge as thefirst holder of the Cavendish chair andthe Laboratory that he established wenton to achieve remarkable distinction,producing a long list of Nobel Prizewinners, including J.J. Thomson,Rayleigh and Rutherford. SadlyMaxwell died in his prime at the earlyage of 48.

Statue looking towards the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Sketch by Alexander Stoddart.

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Scotland’s Research Talent

Cormack Vacation ResearchScholarshipsEuan BennetWave Mechanics - A New Approach toModelling the Large Scale Structure ofthe Universe.Department of Physics and Astronomy,University of GlasgowEwan DicksonSolar Flare Electron Spectra withAnomalous Dips energy emission fromsolar flares.Department of Physics and Astronomy,University of GlasgowJudith FergusonApplication of WKB Theory to 3D MHD.School of Mathematics and Statistics,University of St AndrewsJonathan HigginsA Monte Carlo estimate of the scatteringof intergalactic resonance photons froma central source.Institute for Astronomy, University ofEdinburghMartin McDonaldAutomated Feature Tracking in TRACESolar UV Data.Department of Physics and Astronomy,University of GlasgowLaura J PorterPhysics of Sungrazing Comets.Department of Physics & Astronomy,University of GlasgowJohn RostronAngular Momentum Evolution ofIntermediate to Low-Mass Stars on theMain Sequence.School of Physics and Astronomy,University of St AndrewsCormack Undergraduate PrizeJennifer NobleAn Alcohol Problem! Understanding thefirst step in the formation of CH3OH instar forming regions from H20:COreactions.Department of Physics, University ofStrathclydeCormack Postgraduate PrizeRita TojeiroNon-Gaussianity in the WilkinsonMicrowave Anisotropy Probe data usingthe peak-peak correlation function.Institute for Astronomy, RoyalObservatory Edinburgh, University ofEdinburgh

AWARDEES 2007The following awards were made at the Annual Awards Ceremony held at the RSE on Friday 28 September 2007

Lessells Travel ScholarshipsDr Daniel ClarkDepartment of Electrical, Electronic andComputing Engineering at Heriot-WattUniversity received funding to visit theUniversity of Melbourne, Australia tostudy Multi-Sensor Multi-Target Trackingwith RandomSets.Kim de MoraInstitute for Materials and Processes,University of Edinburgh, received hisaward to visit the Department of SystemsBiology, Harvard Medical School, USA toresearch Glucose sensing in yeast: designand construction of an artificial controlsystem.Susan DeenySchool of Engineering and Electronics,University of Edinburgh, received heraward to attend a course at the Collegeof Engineering, University of Canterbury,New Zealand to study Predicting FirePerformance of Concrete Structures.David MitchellSchool of Mathematics, University ofEdinburgh, received his award to travel tothe Department of Electrical Engineering,University of Notre Dame, USA to studyTheory and Applications of AlgebraicChannel Codes with Moderate Block-Size.

CRF European Travel Fellowships -Visits to ScotlandDr Maurizio CampanelliIstituto Storico Italiano per il Media Evo,Rome to visit the Department ofMediaeval History, University of StAndrewsFourteenth-century Rome and Europe inthe Cronica of Anonimo Romano.Dr Emilio Jose Luque AzconaEl Colegio de America, Universidad Pablode Olavide, Seville, to visit the School ofthe Built Environment, Heriot-WattUniversityHeritage and identity in Edinburgh:analysis of the debate around the MasterPlan for the Caltongate.

Professor Carla SassiFacolta di Lingue e Letterature Straniere,Universita Di Verona, Verona, to visit theDepartment of English Studies,University of Stirling

Caribbean–Scottish Passages: representations of colonial relations in Scottish literature.

Professor Deniz ZeyrekDepartment of Foreign LanguageEducation & Cognitive Science, MiddleEast Technical University, Ankara, to visitthe School of Informatics, University ofEdinburghDeveloping a Turkish DiscourseTreebank.CRF European Travel Fellowships- Visits to EuropeDr Andrew NewbySchool of History & Classics, Universityof Edinburgh, to visit the Centre forNordic Studies, University of HelskinkiThe Nordic ‘Free Peasantry’ andVictorian Scotland.Dr Josefa Toribio-MateasDepartment of Philosophy, University ofEdinburgh, to visit the Department ofLogic, History & Philosophy of Science,University of BarcelonaConceptualism vs. Nonconceptualism.Dr Arnoud VisserSchool of Classics, University of StAndrews, to visit the Catholic Universityof Leuven, BelgiumConfessionalising Augustine: TheImpact of Erasmus on the CollectedWorks of Augustine.Professor Chris WarhurstDepartment of Human ResourceManagement, University of Strathclyde,to visit the Institute of Work &Technology, University of Duisburg &EssenInternational Comparative Analysis ofLow Wage Work in the UK and GermanHotel Industries.

For full details of awards available in2008 see the RSE web page atwww.royalsoced.org.uk/research_fellowships/index.htm

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BP Trust Personal ResearchFellowshipsDr David KrásaGeology’s record collection - Studyingthe reliabiity of palaeomagnetic data bymeans of nanofabricated magneticmineral samples.School of GeoSciences, University ofEdinburghDr Alexander MorozovViscoelastic instabilities in flows ofpolymer solutions.School of Physics, University ofEdinburghCRF Personal ResearchFellowships in BiomedicalSciencesDr Pleasantine C. MillPhenotypic and molecularcharacterisation of novel ENU mousemutants affecting hedgehog signallingduring development and disease.MRC Human Genetics Unit, WesternGeneral Hospital, EdinburghDr Alan L. ParkerDeveloping optimised adenoviralvectors for in vivo gene delivery andtherapy.BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular ResearchCentre, University of GlasgowHenry Dryerre ScholarshipLucinda LowCentre for Cardiovascular Science,University of EdinburghDo glucocorticoids inhibitcardiovascular lesion formation byreducing inflammation in the vascularwall?Lloyds TSB Foundation forScotland Research StudentshipRobin Coltman Is the wiring of the brain faulty inageing and in Alzheimer’s Disease?Centre for Neuroscience Research,University of EdinburghLloyds TSB Foundation forScotland Personal ResearchFellowshipDr Linda FerringtonDoes cerebrovascular dysfunction affectthe development of Alzheimer’s diseasepathology?Centre for Cognitive & Neural Systems,University of Edinburgh

Lloyds TSB Foundation forScotland Support ResearchFellowshipDr Mark Mon-WilliamsUnderstanding and alleviatingmovement problems in the elderly withand without stroke.School of Psychology, University ofAberdeenLloyds TSB Foundation forScotland WorkshopsDr Kathleen RiachDepartment of Management, Universityof Glasgow andDr Wendy LorettoManagement School and Economics,University of EdinburghThe changing working lives of the over-50s: control, choice and flexibility.Dr Marilyn McGee-LennonDepartment of Computing Science,University of Glasgow (on behalf of theMATCH consortium)Including Stakeholders in the Design ofHomecare Systems.Scottish Executive PersonalResearch FellowshipsDr Timothy GeorgeBarley cultivars to cope with nutritionaldrought.Scottish Crop Research InstituteDr Brian GerardotQuantum Optics of Single Spins in aQuantum Dot.School of Engineering and PhysicalSciences, Heriot-Watt UniversityDr Christopher TuttleThe Rational Design of Hybrid Catalystswith Computational Methods.Department of Pure and AppliedChemistry, University of StrathclydeScottish Executive SupportResearch FellowshipsDr Peter BusseyResearch on the ZEUS, CDF and FP420Projects in Experimental Particle Physics,Department of Physics and Astronomy,University of GlasgowDr Graeme CookeTowards Synthetic FlavoenzymesDepartment of Chemistry, University ofGlasgowProfessor Richard RibchesterTranslational Biology of Motor NeuroneDiseaseDepartment of Neuroscience, Universityof Edinburgh

Scottish Executive ScienceFellowships for TeachersColin GuthrieKelso High School; placement withTweedstartAngling in the School Curriculum.Stuart RobertsonJames Gillespie’s High School;placement with SSERCE-learning materials for HigherChemistry.Scottish Executive Arts &Humanities WorkshopsDr Gail LowSchool of Humanities, University ofDundeeInvestigating the archive: Aninterdisciplinary enquiry into theconcept and role of archives.Diana MurrayRoyal Commission on the Ancient &Historical Monuments of ScotlandIdentifying Scotland - Context andCollaboration.Dr John ScallyDirector of University Collections(Library, Museums and Gallery),University of EdinburghDarwin and Scotland.Enterprise Awards – BBSRCDr Andrew AlmondFaculty of Life Sciences, University ofManchesterExpediting drug discovery bydetermining the 3D structure of smallkey molecules.Dr Michael McArthurDepartment of Molecular Microbiology,John Innes CentreDNA-based therapies to combatantibiotic resistance in pathogenicbacteria.Sridhar VasudevanDepartment of Pharmacology, Universityof OxfordVirtual screening: an innovative methodfor drug discovery and development.Dr Christopher WardCentre for Molecular Medicine,University of ManchesterCommercial exploitation of a novelembryonic stem cell technology.

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International

Jan Figel’, a European Commissioner since 2004, sees his remit as central to the futuresuccess of the European Union. The Union’s goal, as set down in the 2000 LisbonStrategy, “to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy inthe world” can only be achieved through education and training. European universitieshave a potentially vital role but are currently failing to deliver all that is required of them.

Provided below is an excerpt from the report of his lecture, which is available in full onthe RSE website at www.royalsoced.org.uk/events/recent.htm#european_lecture

Commissioner Figel’ opened by thanking the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) for theinvitation to present the 2007 Annual European Lecture. He welcomed the opportunityprovided by his visit to start to engage Scottish universities in dialogue about ways inwhich the university sector throughout the European Union (EU) can better contributeto economic and social policy. For the first time since the establishment of the EU, thestrategic importance of education to its future success is now properly recognised. Atthe European level, political interest in higher education has never been greater.

The Commission sees universities within the EU as being too fragmented into smallnational systems; too uniform compared with the US; generally disconnected from thebusiness sector and the needs of the labour market; over-regulated; and under-funded.Whilst progress is being made towards the creation of a European Higher EducationArea (the Bologna Process) Commissioner Figel’ argued that, while curricular reforms areimportant, reform of university governance and funding is also required. Member Stateselsewhere need to move towards the situation in Britain with universities beingafforded greater autonomy in return for increased accountability for their performances.

Funding for universitiesthroughout Europe, includingthe UK, must increase. In 2004the EU spent 1.18% of GDP onhigher education compared with2.95% in the US, equivalent to adifference of 10,000 Euros perstudent. In return for lessinterference by government andmore money, universities will beexpected to interact more withother sectors of society, inparticular with business.

Commissioner Figel’ welcomedthe endorsement by MemberStates a few days earlier of theproposal for a European Instituteof Technology (EIT). Althoughfinal approval is subject to theviews of the EuropeanParliament, there is confidence inBrussels that the EIT will goahead and will “act as apathfinder in reformingEuropean higher education”.

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH ANNUAL EUROPEAN LECTURE

Jan Figel’, Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth

The Commissioner defended whatsome consider to be a very modestproposed budget for the EIT of 309million Euros for the period to 2013,making the point that this was only thedirect EU contribution and support forspecific areas of work is expected fromelsewhere, including structural funds,the 7th Framework Programme and,importantly, from the business sector.

In keeping with his desire for dialogue,Commissioner Figel’s lecture wasfollowed by a lively Q&A session inwhich he acknowledged that universityfunding is a political question butargued that, in addition to demandingbetter value from current spend,increased funding is essential ifuniversities are to develop theirpotential along the lines he haddescribed.

Commissioner Figel’ pictured with Neil Mitchison, Headof the European Commission Office in Scotland and SirMichael Atiyah

Reforming Europe’s Universities - Why and How?

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The RSE is pleased to announce thesigning of a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with The NationalNatural Science Foundation of China(NNSFC). The agreement was signed bythe NNSFC Vice-President ProfessorZuoyan Zhu and the then RSEInternational Convener, Professor SirNeil MacCormick FRSE on Sunday 1stJuly 2007 at the Society’s rooms. Thesigning of the agreement was followedby an informal dinner with members ofthe RSE International Committee andinvited guests.

RSE–NNSFC JOINT PROJECT AWARDS MADE IN 2007Two projects were successful in obtaining funding through the RSE–NNSFC Joint Project Scheme in 2007. The projects will becompleted in Spring 2009. The following are brief updates from the Project Leaders.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE NATIONALNATURAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION OF CHINA

Scottish-based Project Leader: DrXiao-Zhong Zheng, the Institute ofAquaculture, The University ofStirlingChina-based Project Leader:Professor Zhaokun Ding, MarineBiology Institute, Shantou UniversityStudy of the desaturases of omega-3highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA)biosynthesis in the Cobia (Rachycentroncanadum).

The agreement sets out thecommitment to facilitate,encourage and support researchcollaboration in all areasbetween research groups inScotland and China.

Under this agreement the twoacademies also agreed to fundacademic exchanges between thetwo countries through the RSE–NNSFC Joint Project Scheme.

Dr Douglas Tocher and Dr Xiao-ZhongZheng travelled to China, where theyworked closely with their Chinesepartner, Professor Zhaokun Ding andhis group, including a post-doctoralworker and two PhD students, andtrained then all in the main laboratorytechniques required for the cloning ofgene cDNAs. Total RNA was extractedfrom Cobia liver and muscle tissuesample and cDNA was synthesized.Primers had been designed andproduced in Scotland and were takento China to initiate the PCR cloning.The primers proved successful, andseveral promising fragments wereobtained including one that was theexact size match for the primer pairused. Subsequent sequence analysis inScotland has confirmed that thisfragment was part of the Cobiadesaturase gene. Therefore, theChinese group can now use thesequence information from this initialfragment to continue the PCR cloningtechniques to isolate the full-lengthcDNA sequence. In addition, Dr Tocherand Dr Zheng gave oral presentationsto staff and students in Nanning toshow recent research progress anddescribe the research techniques in thisarea.

Dr Zheng outside the Department building inNanning beside the posters advertising thepresentations

Scottish-basedProject Leader:Professor ChrisSecombes,(pictured right)the School ofBiologicalSciences, TheUniversity ofAberdeenChina-basedProject Leader:Professor Pin Nie, the Institute ofHydrobiology, The Chinese Academyof ScienceStudy of MHC and gamma interferongenotype and disease susceptibility toviral pathogens in farmed fish species.

Dr Qian Gao from the Institute ofHydrobiology is currently visiting theUniversity of Aberdeen, and is studyingthe interferon receptors in fish, whichare unclassified to date. His studies aregoing well and relate to the project’smain aim of improving understandingof antiviral resistance in fish. Thisautumn Professor Stet and ProfessorSecombes visited the Institute inWuhan for two weeks beginning 13thOctober to initiate some of the otheraspects of the programme.

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InternationalINTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMME

One of the main purposes of the RSE International Programme is to award short-termtravel grants to enable Scottish researchers to establish links with colleagues in othercountries with a view to a long lasting collaboration, through joint publications andjoint applications for longer term funds. These International Exchange Awards areavailable to all researchers of at least postdoctoral level. The awards are particularlyappropriate for researchers at the early stages of their careers, to facilitate theestablishment of international connections. There are four deadlines per year forapplications. Full details are available on the RSE website at www.royalsoced.org.uk/international

The following are excerpts from five reports of visits supported by the InternationalExchange Programme.

Scottish-based host: Dr David Middleton, The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Visitor: Dr Pramote Triboun, Bangkok Herbarium, Thailand

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is one of the world’s leading herbariumfor holdings of tropical Asian plants. In addition there has been a long history ofresearch on Gesneriaceae. This makes RBGE an indispensable location for research onSoutheast Asian Gesneriaceae. The Gesneriaceae of Thailand are currently poorlyknown but a programme of research has been initiated as a collaborative projectbetween Scottish and Thai botanists to provide a thorough taxonomic account of thefamily within five years. Pramote Triboun is the principal Thai collaborator and thework he is currently undertaking is a revision of the genera Paraboea and Trisepalumin Thailand. It is work on these two genera that he undertook when in Edinburghusing the specimens from RBGE’s herbarium and other materials sent on loan toEdinburgh for Dr Pramote’s work. Over 400 specimens were examined formorphological characters, species were delimited and preliminary descriptionsprepared. Although more research will be continued on these genera in Thailand, DrPramote’s current assessment is that there are 40 species of Paraboea and 12 speciesof Trisepalum in Thailand, including six new species of each genus.

Discussions were also held with Dr Michael Möller of RBGE. Dr Möller conductsresearch on the evolutionary relationships within Gesneriaceae and Dr Triboun willprovide materials from his fieldwork in Thailand for these investigations.

Dr Triboun’s work, once completed, will provide an important contribution to theoverall revision of the Gesneriaceae for the Flora of Thailand.

The flowers of Paraboea glanduliflora

The hydraulic properties of geologicalfaults are critical for a range ofresources important to society, such asthe formation of mineral deposits,tapping of geothermal fluids,development of petroleum reservoirs,stability of man-made dams and thestorage of CO

2. The visit focused on theapplication of numerical modelling andfield techniques to gold mineralisedfault systems from Australia, butdetailed discussions touched on all thethemes outlined above.

The program was extremely successful,providing opportunity for collaborativeresearch, the development of amanuscript for publication, discussionson the future use of softwaredeveloped at Strathclyde University(MOPEDZ) for modelling fault growth,the presentations of seminars andtraining of PhD students at GlasgowUniversity, a mini-workshop fieldtrip,and discussions on development ofproposals for future research betweenthe Glasgow Universities and DrMicklethwaite.

Scottish-based host: Dr Zoe Shipton,University of Glasgow

Visitor: Dr Steven Micklethwaite, TheAustralian National University

Branching fracture traces cutting throughancient rocks at Glencoe – possible evidencefor fossil seismic events.

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Dr Glenn Iason, Macaulay Institute

Visited: Dr Julianne O’Reilly-Wapstraand Professor Brad Potts, Universityof Tasmania, Australia

The secondary chemistry of plants is animportant determinant of theirresistance to herbivores and pathogens,and mediates their interactions withother plants animals and microbes. Thisvisit by Glenn Iason of the MacaulayInstitute, Aberdeen, to the University ofTasmania, Hobart, Australia aimed toinvestigate the chemical variationwithin and between the two remainingpopulations of Eucalyptus morrisbyi,both of which are found close toHobart, Tasmania. A rapid method ofquantifying these chemical differenceshas been developed in Australia andapplied to this system, in order to helpunderstand how and why this rareplant has declined. During the visit, DrIason obtained first hand experience ofthe method and applied it toEucalyptus morrisbyi. He drewcomparisons between the chemicalecology of the eucalypt-dominatedecosystems, with Scotland’s own nativeScots pine woodlands, which arechemically very similar.

Professor Chim Lang, University of Dundee

Visited: Dr Paolo Colombo and Professor Donna Mancini MD, ColumbiaUniversity, USA

Despite continuing advances in the therapy of heart failure, the mortality of thissyndrome remains high. Heart transplantation, with 1-year survival rates nowexceeding 85%, has emerged as an important adjunct to medical therapy. However,the resultant increase in referrals to heart transplantation centres has widened thegap between the number of potential transplant recipients and available donororgans. Therefore we need reliable prognostic markers to better select our patients.Peak oxygen consumption has been used to help select patients, but it may beinfluenced by confounding factors including muscle deconditioning and obesity.Technological advance has greatly simplified the non-invasive measurement ofcardiac output. This visit enabled collaboration with Professor Donna Mancini inevaluating an inert gas-rebreathing system in determining cardiac output in patientsbeing evaluated for heart transplantation at Columbia University. We found thesystem to be easy to use. More importantly, the measures of cardiac output wereprognostically superior to peak oxygen consumption in our cohort of patients. Thesefindings have significant clinical implications and may help us to better selectpatients for heart transplantation. The visit also allowed me to collaborate with DrColombo, who had pioneered the endothelial cell sampling technique. Thiscollaborative work will be useful in my research into developing a comprehensivebiomarker model of endothelial function in humans.

Dr Stephen Woodward, University of Aberdeen

Visited: Dr. Caroline Mohammed, University of Hobart, Australia

The main aim of this visit was to establish research collaboration between DrWoodward’s group in Aberdeen and that of Dr Caroline Mohammed at the Universityof Tasmania. The visit was highly successful; Dr Woodward contributed to field andlaboratory work associated with a project on browsing damage to radiata pine, wasinvolved in considerable discussion on other research underway in Tasmania andpresented seminars on resistance of spruce to root disease and on decay fungi incoarse woody debris in spruce plantations. There were many productive exchanges ofexpertise and ideas on tree pathology problems, including work on root diseases oftrees, on foliage pathogens and on early detection of disease.As a result of the visit, there will be further exchanges of postgraduate students andpostdoctoral scientists between the two laboratories over the next year, and furtherresearch projects combining the groups in Hobart and Aberdeen are planned.

The image shows a young (2years old) radiata pine withsevere browsing damage. Themain stem has been girdledabove the lower branch whorl,hence we can see the yellowingof the dying upper crown, alongwith bright green foliage on thestill healthy lower crown.

The foliage of one of only two remainingpopulations of Eucalyptus morrisbyi beingexamined by Glenn Iason. This population isin decline, a contributory factor to whichmay be the insect attack suffered by thefoliage.

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events@royalsoced.org.uk

TICKETS ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL RSE EVENTS. To book tickets online, visit www.royalsoced.org.uk or phone events ticket line - 0131240 2780. Contact events@royalsoced.org.uk for further information. Unless stated otherwise, events are held at the RSE.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

NOVEMBER 2007 Thursday 1 November 2007 at 5.30 pm LECTURE The Science of Improvement: Why Scotland Needs its Public Intellectuals Professor C Duncan Rice FRSE, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Aberdeen

Monday 12 November 2007 at 5.30 pmLECTUREClassical Music and the Subject of ModernityProfessor John Butt FRSE, Professor of Music, University of Glasgow

Wednesday 14 November 2007at The Kelvin Gallery,University of GlasgowINSTITUTE OF PHYSICS CONFERENCEKelvin 2007

Lord Kelvin was a giant of the 19thCentury Science, his fundamentalcontributions to thermal physics,electromagnetism and optics beingmatched by practical achievementsranging from undersea amplifiers tomarine compasses. In Glasgow, whereKelvin held the chair of NaturalPhilosophy for over 50 years, the 100thanniversary of his death will becelebrated by inviting four leadingscientists to look where the fields Kelvinstarted are now and where they aregoing. Professor Michael Berry will talkon vortices in light, Professor Ed Hindson cold atoms, Professor Wilson Sibbetton telecommunications and ProfessorDenis Weaire on Foams and Kelvin’sLegacy.

Kelvin was three times President of TheRoyal Society of Edinburgh.

To register interest in this meeting pleasecontact: Claire Garland, The Institute ofPhysics, 76 Portland Place, London, W1B1NTclaire.garland@iop.org - phone 02074704800www.kelvin2007.org

This lecture presents the thesis thatwhat we generally term ‘classical music’in the western tradition is integral tothe very concept of ‘modernity’. This issomething that makes it exceptional,and bound to a specific historicalcontext, rather than something that canbe regarded as a timeless norm withinworld music.

While classical music is difficult toisolate entirely from all other forms ofmusic in terms of its materials andstructure, it is more securely defined inrelation to a particular historicaltendency which embraces an ensembleof cultural practices. One of the ways itrelates in particular to modernity isthrough its association with a particularrange of human subjects.

This lecture is organised jointly with theBritish Academy.

The Scottish Enlightenment made no distinctionbetween public and private scholarship. Theintellectuals of the age felt they were working onthe “science of improvement” for the country andthe wider world. Why does the public intellectualstill matter? How can formal thinking inuniversities reach outside the academy? How dowe mobilise a new generation of publicintellectuals? How can they and our greatuniversities inspire and inform our evolvingdemocracy? Professor Rice will explore the ideaand role of the public intellectual in contemporaryScotland.

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The full list of RSE events appears on the RSE website, www.royalsoced.org.uk/events and in the RSE events diary,available from the Events Team - events@royalsoced.org.uk.

Thursday 29 - Friday 30November 2007 at The RoyalCollege of Physicians, 9 QueenStreet, EdinburghCALEDONIAN RESEARCH FOUNDATIONBIOMEDICAL CONFERENCEInflammation and InflammatoryDiseaseInflammation has long been recognisedas a beneficial response of the body toinjury or infection. It is now recognisedas a complex interplay betweenconstitutive cells, multiple mediatorcascades and migratory cells from thebloodstream which, paradoxically, isalso implicated in the pathogenesis of avariety of important diseases. Theseinclude atherosclerosis, arthritis andCOPD, and, when the formidable arrayof its redundant effector mechanisms isturned against the host, thedevelopment of safe, incisive therapy isproblematical.

In the conference we will explore themechanisms by which this normallybeneficial defence process may causedisease and how a new understandingof its mechanisms is leading to noveltreatments for inflammatory disorders.

A Conference fee will apply. Lunch andrefreshments will be provided.

Supported by the Caledonian ResearchFoundation

Monday 3 December 2007 at5.30 pmLECTURECellular ClocksProfessor Ole Laerum CorrFRSE,President, Norwegian Academy ofScience and Letters and Professor ofExperimental Pathology andOncology, The Gade Institute,University of Bergen

Practically all functions in the body varyfrom time to time. Such variations areoften cyclic, where the variations occuras regular rhythms. Such rhythms canhave a periodicity ranging fromseconds, to day and night (circadian)and up to annual variations. In recentyears it has been found that all cells inthe body have clock functions, enablingthem to keep time and also to be inequilibrium with the rest of the body.This lecture is a survey of how cellularclocks operate and how cyclic variationsin different functions are importantaspects of human daily life.

This lecture forms part of an RSE Ordinary Meeting and so shall be preceeded by Society business.

Monday 19 November 2007 at5.15 pmMOCK TRIALAre Our Civil Liberties BeingEroded?

This event promises to be a frankdebate about the perceiveddegradation of civil liberties withinScotland, the UK and Europe.Detention without charge, police spydrones, CCTV, id cards and challengesto the independence of the judiciary –are these symptoms of a Big Brotherstate or a necessary response to newthreats? Jim Naughtie, the judge, willask you to decide. Using a dynamicmock trial format, Lord Falconer QCand Baroness Helena Kennedy QC willeach call witnesses to examine thiscritical issue. Audience members willbe asked to form the jury and decidewhose argument they find moreconvincing.

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Startup Science Master Classes

Saturday morning science masterclassesare arranged for S1/S2 students,emphasising the role of science,engineering and technology in society. These imaginative events enablestudents to investigate a variety oftopics in greater detail, through hands-on, fun activities. Startup Sciencemasterclasses are run in partnershipwith organisations throughoutScotland. The next classes to be run aretaking place during the autumn term atDundee, Glasgow, St Andrews andHeriot-Watt Universities.

Eighty-six S5 and S6 pupils from schoolsin East and West Lothian, Midlothian andEdinburgh attended the Heriot-Watt/Royal Society of Edinburgh SET SummerSchool for two courses which took placethis summer, during 23 – 27 July and 30July – 3 August. The SET summer weekprovides a relaxed and informalopportunity for local school pupils toexperience university life and gives themthe chance to explore the broad range ofsubjects on offer.

The week started with a treasure huntaround the University Campus organisedby a team of staff and two formerstudents, to help the pupils get theirbearings and to make them aware of thesocial side of University life as well as thevarious support facilities available to themshould they decide to continue intohigher education. Sessions included:‘How students get by financially’ and‘How to balance your studies with yoursocial life’.

The pupils then experienced a number ofinteractive SET workshops in a variety ofsubject areas, including civil engineering,mechanical engineering, computerscience, chemistry, actuarial maths, sportspsychology and physics.

The summer school also offered core-skills workshops intended to improveskills, such as presenting and note-taking,that are helpful in the final years ofschool, at university, as well as inemployment.

Young People Free, fully organised educational activities for youngpeople throughout Scotland

Mid-week, the pupils had a change ofscenery, attending some group-worksessions and a presentation at the RSE.The group-work covered the differentapproaches to studying at Universitycompared to school and best-practicein exam preparation. The presentationintroduced the students to the role ofthe RSE, providing examples of currentand past inspirational Fellows andgiving details of grants and awards thatcould be made available to themshould they continue their studies inresearch areas that could benefitScotland and beyond.

Following the RSE visit, a social andteam-building exercise took place at theFountain Park bowling alley, where staffand pupils competed to achieve asmany ‘strikes’ as possible!

On the Friday afternoon of each weekthe pupils, in groups, gavepresentations to staff and parents/carers about what they felt they hadgained from the SET summer week.Their feedback was positive andenthusiastic.

The two SET Summer weeks were run inpartnership with Heriot-Watt Universityand are also supported by City ofEdinburgh, Midlothian, East Lothianand West Lothian councils.

Maths Masterclasses

These lively Saturday morningworkshops aim to show that maths isfun and creative, whilst presentingchildren in their final years of primaryschool with challenging investigations,designed to develop problem-solving,intuition and analytical skills.

The RSE@schools lectureprogramme

This autumn RSE@schools speakers arevisiting schools throughout Scotland totalk about a variety of topics, including:

Dr Greig Chisholm - Capturing Colourwith Chemistry at Belmont Academy

Professor Thomas Krauss - Lazing downthe Internet at Keith Academy and EllonAcademy

Dr Adrian Linacre - DNA profiling? Itsuse in famous cases at Lanark GrammarSchool

Dr Nicola Stanely Wall - Bacteria live inCommunities at Clyde Valley HighSchool

Professor John Brown - Black Holes andWhite Rabbits at Linlithgow Academy

Dr Val Mann - What has your Grannygot in common with a Spaceman? atKilchuimen Academy

Professor Murray Campbell - Serpentsand Synthesisers at Dollar Academy

Dr Jonathon Chubb - Watching Genesat James Watt College

SET (Science, Engineering and Technology) Summer School“A fun and relaxed way to find out what university life is all about”

Pupils from Edinburgh and Midlothian schools during second course

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The Autumn Roadshow 2007

This year’s Autumn Roadshow is planned to take placein Falkirk on 26 and 27 November 2007. Exactdetails are still to be confirmed but planning isunderway and 9 Primary schools in Falkirk will takepart. Workshops provided will include:

A Hands-on Maths Workshop for P6/7 pupilsdelivered by Professor Jack and Teresa Carr

A Hands-on Bridge Building Workshop for P6/P7pupils by Professor Miles Padgett

An Evening Interactive Talk for the general public,parents and carers, teachers and sixth-form studentsfrom the local High Schools. Does God Play Dice? byProfessor Miles Padgett

Christmas LectureTall Tales of the Mind and Brain

Johnny Ball

Monday 17 December 2007University of Edinburgh1.30 pm – 3 pm - Schools lecture6 pm – 7.30 pm - Public lectureTuesday 18 December 2007University of Glasgow11 am – 12.30 pm - Schools lecture1.30 pm – 3 pm - Schools lecture

The RSE Annual Inspiration Awards

This year the Awards Ceremony will take place on Monday 29 October at the RSE.The awards will be announced by Professor Miles Padgett, the Young People’sConvener and presented by Sir Michael Atiyah, President of the Society. Johnny Ball’s motivational lecture aims

to encourage young people to considerUniversity studies and career paths inMaths, Science and Technology. In atime of uncertainty, when the world isin a mess and experiencing threats toits very existence, the media invariablyfocuses on past scientific failings thathave brought it to this precariousposition. In contrast, this lecture takesa look at the successes and benefits ofscience and technology over the past50 years. Johnny encourages youngpeople today to be more confidentabout the future. The lecture offersinsights into how, as technology movesforward, we might produce a world forthe next generation, that is better thananyone has ever before imaginedpossible.

For further information on all of the above, visit our website - www.royalsoced.org.uk/schools or contact the RSE Education Team -0131 240 5035 - education@royalsoced.org.uk

Wobbling on the Shoulders of Giants

Conference

The RSE conference for schools and the public took place at Dynamic Earth onThursday 5th and Friday 6th September 2007. The Conference aimed to unravelpsychology and neuroscience topics that are seen in the popular press but oftenmisinterpreted - so-called Tall Tales. The programme was designed to complementthe Higher Human Biology and Psychology curricula. Topics challenged conventionalthinking and explored myths and ‘old wives tales’. A total of 506 pupils attendedthe Conference over the two days.

Resource Pack

In addition, an RSE ‘Tall Tales about Mind and Brain’ Resource Pack for Teachers wascreated, produced and sent to all schools that have a higher human biology and/orpsychology department, irrespective of whether or not they attended the conference.This resource can now be downloaded from the RSE website atwww.royalsoced.org.uk/schools/tall_tales/index.htm.

Continuing Professional Development

A Continuing Professional Development Workshop was also held after theConference on 5 September, for 21 teachers who had pre-registered. The CPDsession was designed to provide further theoretical knowledge, innovative teachingideas, useful sources of information and an opportunity to network and establishnew contacts.

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Fellows’ Notice Board

Executive Board

General SecretaryProfessor Geoffrey Boulton OBE

TreasurerMr Edward Cunningham CBE

CuratorProfessor John Howie CBE

International ConvenerProfessor Sir David Edward KCMG, QC, PC

Programme ConvenerProfessor David Ingram OBE

Research Awards ConvenerProfessor Peter Holmes OBE

Young People’s ConvenerProfessor Miles Padgett

Council

PresidentSir Michael Atiyah OM

Vice-PresidentsProfessor Jan McDonaldLord Patel of DunkeldProfessor Tariq Durrani OBE

General SecretaryProfessor Geoffrey Boulton OBE

TreasurerMr Edward Cunningham CBE

Fellowship SecretaryProfessor Andrew Walker

CouncillorsProfessor Sir John ArbuthnottProfessor Sue Black OBEProfessor April McMahonMs Shonaig Macpherson CBEProfessor Christopher Whatley

ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COUNCIL FOR SESSION 2007/08

All Fellows entitled to vote had been sent a ballot paper by the General Secretary on 30August. Professors David Fergusson and Iain Boyd Whyte were confirmed as Scrutineersat the meeting on 3 September and examined all the returned ballot papers on 27September. There were 610 returned ballot forms of which 601 were clean papers. Allof those proposed for election had been elected by an overwhelming majority. SirMichael thanked the Scrutineers and congratulated those elected for the first time andthose re-elected. He also thanked the retiring Office-Bearers and Councillors,specifically Andrew Miller, John Mavor, Neil McCormick and Rona McKie.

Membership of Council and the Executive Board for the 225th Session will be asfollows:

ANNUAL STATUTORY MEETING

The Annual Statutory Meeting endingthe 224th Session took place in theSociety’s Wolfson Theatre on Monday 1October 2007. The formal businessfollowed a talk given by Dr Irwin MJacobs, who was also presented withthe 2007 IEEE/RSE/Wolfson James ClerkMaxwell award by the President. Dueto technical difficulties the meeting wasnot webcast live as had been intended,but the proceedings were recorded infull and can be viewed by Fellows at theRSE website - www.royalsoced.org.uk/video/index.htm using the passwordprovided.

Sir Michael Atiyah with Dr Irwin Jacobs infront of the portrait of James Clerk Maxwell

The role of a national academy is easy to define, difficult to deliver, and in the RoyalSociety of Edinburgh’s case, further complicated by the shifting cultural, social andpolitical landscape of Scotland. Effectively engaging with these changes is animportant challenge to the Society.

Apart from working to support the objectives set out in the Society’s Annual Report,my particular current enthusiasms are for inspiring the young, involving youngresearchers and Fellows from business in the Society’s work, influencing policy-makersand for the Society to be an important part of Scotland’s window on the world. I amtemperamentally inclined to seek novel and possibly radical ways of increasing theSociety’s impact in Scotland and beyond, and will hope to elicit creative ideas from theFellowship.

Message from the newly elected General Secretary, Professor Geoffrey Boulton OBE,FRS, FRSE, Regius Professor and Vice-Principal of the University of Edinburgh (picturedright).

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The 2007 Fellows’ Golf outing was heldat Buchanan Castle Golf Club on 24August. The Stewart Cup was won byProfessor Roy Burdon.Suggestions for the 2008 venue arewelcome. Please contactgolf@royalsoced.org.uk

FELLOWS’ COFFEE MEETINGS

Coffee is available in the Fellows’ Room on Tuesday mornings at 10.30 am. Once amonth, between October 2007 and March 2008, this will take the form of an informaldiscussion in the East Wellcome Room. These are informal and friendly occasions,open to all Fellows and, if you are able to attend, you will be made most welcome.Below is the programme for the coming season:

9 October 2007 Illness and Disease: The Butterflies of History - Professor David E MTaylor

6 November 2007 Entanglement in Copenhagen - The trouble with QuantumMechanics and the Flight from Reality - Dr Malcolm Fluendy

4 December 2007 A Business Unworthy of a Woman? The female performer ascelebrity and political agitator on the nineteenth-century British stage - Professor JanetB I McDonald.

8 January 2008 Are you being served? The Civil Service in a changing world - SirRussell Hillhouse.

5 February 2008 The place of the victim and the victim’s family in criminalproceedings - The Rt. Hon. Lord Cameron of Lochbroom.

4 March 2008 Science and conservation: their influence on livestock farming inScotland - Dr James Irvine

.

LEGACIESThis form of giving makes an extremelyvaluable contribution to the resourcesavailable to registered charities, as wellas having tax benefits for the donor’sestate. Any Fellow interested indiscussing, in confidence, how a legacymight contribute further to the life ofthe Society and its public-benefitactivities, is invited to contact the ChiefExecutive, Dr William Duncan,wduncan@royalsoced.org.uk or RSETreasurer, Edward Cunningham,treasurer@royalsoced.org.uk

FELLOWS’ GOLF OUTING

Professor Roy Burdon, winner of the 2007 trophy

Professors Brian Burchell (left) and SeanMcKee and on the golf course

Sir John (Harrison) BURNETT

Professor Heather May DICK

Professor Henry John EVANS

Sir Abraham GOLDBERG

Professor Richard Milne HOGG

FELLOWS DECEASED

Professor Ralston Andrew LAWRIE

Professor Joseph Alan ROPER

Professor Raymond John SCOTHORNE

Professor Timothy L S SPRIGGE

Colin Edward THOMPSON

It is with much regret that we record the deaths of the following Fellows:

APPOINTMENTS, AWARDS, CITATIONS

Professor Peter Grant was recently appointed the 8th Regius Professor of Engineeringat the University of Edinburgh.

Professor Sarah Broadie, Professor of Philosophy, University of St Andrews, has beenmade of a member of the Academia Europaea.

Professor Sir Roderick MacSween received an honorary DSc from the University ofGlasgow in July 2007.

The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland awarded the 2007Rivers Medal to Andrew Whiten, Wardlaw Professor of Psychology at the University ofSt Andrews, “for a recent body of work which makes, as a whole, a significantcontribution to social, physical or cultural anthropology or archaeology”.

Professor Timothy Williamson of the University of Oxford is among Scientists, Artists,Civic, Corporate and Philanthropic Leaders recently inducted into the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Sciences.

Professor Dr Gerhard Ertl HonFRSE was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2007.

Dr Adam Neville CBE has been awarded the Gold Medal of the Concrete Society andwas elected as Honorary Member of the Brazilian Concrete Institute.

COPYPlease send any copy to Jenny Liddell atthe Society -newsletter@royalsoced.org.uk

ReSourcE : ISSN No 1473-7841replaces RSE News

ADDRESS22-26 GEORGE STREETEDINBURGH, SCOTLANDEH2 2PQAny opinions expressed in thisnewsletter are not necessarily those ofall RSE Fellows

INFORMATIONwebsite: www.royalsoced.org.ukwww.rsescotlandfoundation.org.uke-mail: rse@royalsoced.org.ukTel: 0131 240 5000

Fax: 0131 240 5024

events ticketline: 0131 240 2780

The View from Space

The three speakers, Viktor Savinykh, DrJay Apt and Vasilyevic Avdeev, gavefascinating insights into theirexperiences and it was comfortingthat even though for them, Space mayhave involved mostly a routine ofdetailed experiments and complextechnological and engineering tasks,these hard-bitten space farers neverlost the sense of magic about wherethey actually were. Avdeev revealedthat when new cosmonauts on theirfirst trip are asked what they wouldchange about life aboard a SpaceStation, their almost universal answeris “More windows!”

The Lecture clearly illustrated, however, thatthey are not just gazing out of the spacecraftin rapt admiration. In fact, for as long asSpace travel has existed, astronauts andcosmonauts have been monitoring changesin the Earth that can only observed from theirvantage point high above. They have beenable to record how the earth has changedover the 50 years of space flight and, forinstance, the effects that natural and humanimpacts have had on climate change. Thetalks went on to illustrate the vital role thatspace research has and is playing inaddressing some of these issues.

The talk ended with a warning: theobservation from Space is on-going, but it ismore important that what is revealed is actedupon, in order to solve some of the problemsoccurring now.

Viktor Savinykh (right) with Alexei Leonov,the first man to walk in Space on March 181965, pictured at the Society attending adinner after the Lecture. The portrait, by SirHenry Raeburn, is of John Robison, the firstGeneral Secretary of the Society who helpedto reorganise the Russian Imperial Fleet in1770, on the orders of Catherine the Great.

A summary of the Lecture is available on theRSE web site at www.royalsoced.org.uk/events/recent.htm

Around 100 astronauts andcosmonauts (fliers) spent a week inScotland in September 2007 for theAssociation of Space Explorers (ASE)twentieth Planetary Congress hosted byCareers Scotland. It was the first timethis major event has been held in theUK and was a result of CareersScotland’s relationship with NASA andthe international space community.

During the week, two of thecosmonauts and one astronaut wereinvited to deliver the first 2007/08Edinburgh Lecture, which waspresented by the Royal Society ofEdinburgh in association with theEdinburgh Lectures Partnership.

Under the banner ChangingLandscapes; Changing Planet, thesixteenth series of The EdinburghLectures is exploring issues about ouruniverse, our heritage, our society andhow it is changing. Nine of Edinburgh’skey organisations are working inpartnership to bring together thisseries, which takes place in Edinburghbetween September 2007 and March2008 (see www.edinburghlectures.org).

It was appropriate that the Lectureseries started with a view of our planetfrom the unique perspective of Space -a ‘Gods eye’ view of the planet weinhabit.