North American Newsletter 16 - Spring 2014

News

Issue 16 Spring 2014 For alumni and friends living in North America

From left to right: Dr Heather Reid OBE, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Professor Anton Muscatelli

A winning start to the Andrew Carnegie Lectures Britain’s greatest Paralympic athlete Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson visited Glasgow during the year of the Commonwealth Games to present the Inaugural Andrew Carnegie Lecture ‘Seize the Day’ on Monday, 17 March 2014.

The evening was hosted in the Bute Hall by Dr Heather Reid OBE (DUniv 2010), Scottish meteorologist and former television presenter.

Baroness Grey-Thompson competed in five Paralympic Games, winning 11 Gold Medals, and is acknowledged as one of the most gifted and courageous sportswomen of her generation. In addition to her outstanding Paralympic achievements, she won the

London Wheelchair Marathon a total of six times between 1992 and 2002.

The Andrew Carnegie Lecture Series, funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, will be delivered annually over the next ten years. The second lecture will be given by Paul Tudor Jones II, Founder and Chairman of Tudor Investment Corporation, in November 2014. Details to follow in the coming months.

Welcome from the International Dean

New light cast on ill-fated ‘Franklin Expedition’ to find the Northwest Passage

The University was delighted to welcome Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson to present the Inaugural Andrew Carnegie Lecture ‘Seize the Day’. Baroness Grey-Thompson talked about her five Paralympic Games and success in winning the London Wheelchair Marathon a total of six times. She also spoke of her appointment to the House of Lords where she serves as a non-party political crossbench peer.

Baroness Grey-Thompson was a most fitting speaker to launch the lecture series during 2014, the year of the Commonwealth Games. When the Queen’s Baton arrives in Glasgow this summer, it will carry with it the sporting ambitions of thousands of sportsmen and women from across the Commonwealth nations. Glasgow 2014, however, is more than a sporting event. It is also a cultural exchange and the University is right at the heart of delivering the legacy of the Games. As well as hosting alumni events in Canada to coincide with the Baton reaching Ontario, a number of staff and students have volunteered to take on a variety of roles in the Games here in Glasgow. All in all, we are looking forward to an exciting few months ahead!

Now, a reappraisal of that theory is taking place as a result of further research carried out by Professor Keith Millar of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences and Professor Adrian Bowman of School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Glasgow, and their colleague, the archaeologist and author William Battersby.

Their analysis, published in the journal Polar Record (Cambridge University Press), has shown that whilst levels of lead in the crew were high relative to today’s levels, they may not have been exceptional in lead-contaminated 19th century Britain where lead poisoning was not uncommon.

Using statistical estimation, they also showed great variation in lead levels amongst the crew which is similar to that seen in present-day, lead-exposed workers.

Captain Sir John Franklin

Fresh analysis of forensic and other historical data by University of Glasgow scientists has cast new light on the fate of Captain Sir John Franklin’s Royal Navy expedition to find the Northwest Passage nearly 170 years ago.

The disappearance of the “Franklin expedition”, which set off in 1845, made international headlines and led to the biggest search and rescue mission in history.

Professor David Fearn International Dean for the Americas

Twentieth-century analysis of ice-preserved remains found high levels of lead, prompting the theory that lead poisoning caused by inexpert soldering of the expedition’s tinned provisions had played a significant role in the catastrophe by causing widespread death and debility.

How to contact us Emma Sloan, International Development Officer Development & Alumni Office, 2-3 The Square, University of Glasgow Glasgow G12 8QQ Scotland, UK Tel: +44 (0)141 330 2810 Email: emma.sloan@glasgow.ac.uk www.glasgow.ac.uk/alumni

From this, they conclude that although a proportion of the 129 men may have suffered symptoms of lead poisoning – much as in the contemporary land-based population – the physical and mental state of others would have been largely unaffected, at least while their general health remained good.

This finding, linked to other historical evidence that suggests the crew suffered no serious debility until their provisions began to run short after more than two years in the Arctic, may justify a reappraisal of the supposed central role of lead poisoning in the disaster, suggest the team.

It is now known that the expedition had the misfortune to set out at a time when, according to ice-core analysis, Arctic climatic conditions were unusually harsh. The two ships involved in the expedition to find the Northwest Passage – HMS Erebus and HMS Terror – became trapped for two winters in a region so remote that neither rescue nor escape was possible.

The Canadian Government agency Parks Canada conducts an annual summer search for the expedition’s missing ships. Their eventual discovery may provide definitive answers to the Franklin mystery, suggest the researchers.

For more information contact: Liz Buie, International Media Officer +44 141 330 2702 email Liz.Buie@glasgow.ac.uk

AAGU board member in profile Norrie J W Russell (BSc 1974, PhD) Norrie was inspired to join the board of AAGU by good friend and fellow board member Dr David U’Prichard (BSc 1970).

Since his appointment in 2010, he has served as the West Coast representative from his base in San Diego.

Why did you choose to study at Glasgow?

When I left Hamilton Academy in 1970 my parents wanted me to do Law or Medicine however my mentor at school convinced me of the reputation of the Science Faculty at Glasgow. I intended to do Chemistry

but moved on to Physiology and in 1974 I graduated with a BSc Honours.

Following graduation I was awarded the Strang-Steel Scholarship and had the opportunity to work with Dr Margaret Gladden and Professor Ian Boyd in the Physiology Department. During those three years I completed my research on nerve development and received my PhD. I then lectured in the Department for a further two years, teaching medical and dental students during the day, and doing research in the evenings. It was hard work but a wonderful experience!

How has your Glasgow degree shaped your career?

In 1979 I moved to ICI Pharmaceuticals in Alderly Edge, Cheshire to do neurophysiological research on respiratory sensations of breathlessness in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

By the early 90s the process of drug discovery was changing and as (by then) Head of Biotechnology for Zeneca (previously ICI) I had the great privilege to travel the world giving presentations on modern drug discovery such as the integration of genomics, genetics, high throughput screening, and bioinformatics into the process. By 1999 I ended up as Global Head of Biological Science & Technology for AstraZeneca with staff on six sites across Sweden, the US and the UK and an office at 35,000 feet! American Airlines loved me.

What has your involvement been with the University since you graduated?

In the mid 80s I collaborated on research projects in joint pain with Professor Bill Ferrell in the Physiology Department. I was then appointed as an Honorary Research Fellow which I still view as a great honour.

What is your role as a board member of AAGU? I intend to give back to my Alma Mater by working on the West Coast from Seattle through San Francisco and down to San Diego to raise awareness throughout the region of the University’s initiatives and successes.

SoCal Alumni Association Norrie will be in San Diego on Thursday 29 May 2014 to meet with fellow graduates at an informal networking event for all alumni and friends. Further information can be found online at www.glasgow.ac.uk/alumni/events To date there has been a gap in our Southern California activities and we hope this may be about to change. Norrie and Alison Kane (JYA 2012) are interested in getting together with alumni in the region. For anyone interested or with suggestions for future events to help revive the SoCal Alumni Association contact Norrie and Alison at norrierussell@roadrunner.com and ali@hollowskull.com

Norrie J W Russell

News from AAGU AAGU has been delighted to receive a flurry of individual donations, matching gifts and grants allowing us to make two significant disbursements over the past few months totaling $465,000 to the University of Glasgow. These funds will be used to support work in a number of areas including the Centre for Robert Burns Studies, the College of Arts and College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences. In addition some monies are designated to the Chancellor’s Fund to provide support for many diverse and interesting projects around campus.

Increasing amounts are being assigned to scholarships to help talented undergraduate and postgraduate students in financial need.

There are a number of Scholarship Funds for each of the four Colleges and they are proving to be an extremely valuable resource as without this support, many of the brightest and best individuals would be unable to realise their potential. What’s more, donors in the US have the opportunity to realise the impact of their support by connecting with their scholarship recipients at Glasgow through regular reports.

Details of the various scholarship funds can be obtained at www.glasgow.ac.uk/about/ givingtoglasgow/scholarshipsfund/ I am pleased to help with any questions you may have about making gifts to AAGU and the way in which we support the University.

I can be contacted at melvynpond@aol.com Melvyn Pond (BVMS 1966) President, AAGU www.glasgow.ac.uk/givefromtheUSA

Events round-up Alumni reception and whisky tasting at Stanford, Tuesday 17 September 2013

New York City Alumni Pub Night, Thursday 5 December 2013

For the second year running we were delighted to invite alumni to attend this special event in association with SU2P, the Stanford Photonics Research Centre (SPRC) and Scottish Development International (SDI). This unique event is a joint venture between the Scottish universities of Glasgow, St Andrews and Heriot Watt and Stanford University. The guest speaker on the night was Professor David Miller, W. M. Keck Foundation Professor of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University.

While in town on business Frances Shepherd, Vice President International Development and Emma Sloan, International Development Officer, hosted an informal pre-holiday drinks evening at the Houndstooth Pub. An enjoyable evening was had by all who dropped by.

Burns Supper celebrations in Boston, Thursday 22 February 2014

From left to right: Tom Pixton, Jennifer Currier, Mike Macnintch

The hotly anticipated Boston Burns Supper made a welcome return to the Hampshire House and was well supported with over 60 alumni, applicants and friends in attendance. A group of study abroad students currently at Boston College also joined the mix to celebrate Scotland’s Bard. Singer Kirsten Cairns serenaded guests as part of the evening’s entertainment and musical trio Tom Pixton, Mike Macnintch and Jen Schoonover kept guests on the dance floor.

Special thanks must go to Boston Alumni Association Coordinator Stewart Craig (BSc 2000, EdD 2013) for his help in organising the event.

Annual Chicago Burns Supper and Ceilidh, Saturday 22 February 2014 The University Club of Chicago provided the backdrop for this year’s festivities. Alumnus and well-known Burns enthusiast Clark McGinn (MA 1983) took centre stage to Address the Haggis swiftly followed

by Dr Alexander D Macrae (BSc 1983) and Dr Jane M Tiller (MBChB 1986) who delivered a thoroughly entertaining Toast to the Lassies and Reply respectively. Special thanks to musical group Glen Ayre and Dave Johnston for keeping the ceilidh going into the wee small hours.

From left to right: Rebecca Biggs, Andrea Forney (JYA 2000), Mary McCausland (MA 2008), Hugh Douglass Vondracek, Amy Langenberg (MLitt 2009), Emma Sloan.

University of Maryland appoints Glasgow alumnus as Chair of Psychiatry and Leader of new Brain Science Research Consortium Unit In August 2013 the University of Maryland School of Medicine appointed Glasgow graduate Bankole A Johnson, DSc, MD, MBChB, MPhil, as Professor and Chair of the University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science.

Prior to taking up his new role Dr Johnson was the Alumni Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

Dr Johnson, a leading expert in neuroscience and the psychopharmacology of addiction research, will also lead the new Brain Science Research Consortium Unit (RCU) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

The establishment of the new RCU will bring together faculty from multiple disciplines to probe the inner workings of the brain and to develop therapies for a wide range of neurological disorders.

Gaining his MBChB from Glasgow in 1982, Dr Johnson went on to train in psychiatry at the Royal London and Maudsley and Bethlem Royal Hospitals. In 1991 he graduated from the University of London with a Master of Philosophy degree in neuropsychiatry and then went on to conduct doctoral research at Oxford University. Returning to Glasgow he obtained the MD degree in biomedical sciences in 1994 and most recently in 2004 he earned a Doctor of Science degree in medicine specialising in neuroscience and neuropharmacology.

Dr Bankole A Johnson

Glasgow alumnus is named Executive of the Year by Seattle-based business journal John McAdam, one of the University of Glasgow’s earliest graduates in computing science, has won one of the most illustrious business titles in Seattle, recognized as the US centre of technology since the 1980s.

The 62-year-old former student from Wishaw, now president and chief executive officer of the tech company F5 Networks, was in December 2013 awarded the title of 2013 Executive of the Year by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Previous holders of the annual award include Jeff Raikes, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.

telecom companies, Facebook, airline reservations and Allrecipes.

It is all a far cry from when he graduated with a 1st class Honours degree in computer science from the University of Glasgow in 1972 when the technology was still in its infancy and he worked with an English Electric KDF9 computer which filled a whole room and was less powerful than an iPhone is today. The University acquired its first computer in 1957, under the late Professor Dennis Gillies, and the department of computing science came into being in 1969, the year John McAdam began his computer studies with a scholarship from one of the early computer technology companies in Scotland, Honeywell.

Mr McAdam took over F5 Networks in 2000, just before the bottom fell out of the dotcom market. But he has diversified the company and grown it from a staff of 300 to 3,500 in the intervening years.

“Computing was as exciting then as it is now,” said Mr McAdam, who has lost neither his West of Scotland accent nor his enthusiasm for technology.

His company makes software and hardware that manage internet traffic in and out of data-centres and protect that traffic from cyber attacks. Its customers include major

For more information contact: Liz Buie, International Media Officer +44 141 330 2702 email Liz.Buie@glasgow.ac.uk

John McAdam

smithsonianmason field school at university of

glasgow

June 30 – July 11, 2014

Dumfries House, renowned for its collection of furniture

by Thomas Chippendale

Join the Smithsonian-Mason MA in the History of Decorative Arts program for a summer experience that will enrich and inspire you. This 3-credit graduate-level course is led by curators and specialists in the research and preservation of Scotland’s artistic and cultural heritage.

Collectors and Collections Explore Scotland’s great houses and gardens, known for magnificent architecture and interiors filled with the finest collections of furniture, ceramics, silver, textiles and other decorative arts. This varied and stimulating summer course offers students the opportunity to closely study Scotland’s preeminent collections of decorative arts. Particular focus is paid to the history of individual collectors and collections, as well as 18th- and 19th-century social and architectural history. The course features behind-the-scenes visits to historic houses and gardens, master classes with renowned experts, study sessions at museum collections in Glasgow, and access to the University Library for research.

The stately interiors of Hopetoun House, decorated by Robert and James Adam

PHOTOS BY NENETTE ARROYO

treasure houses of scotland

Robert and James Adam

Open to all current graduate students and those holding a bachelor’s degree, this 3-credit graduate-level course (earned through George Mason University) offers first-hand experiences in Scotland’s treasure houses and guided access to its historic decorative arts collections. Don’t need graduate credit? Contact us for information about auditing.

Tuition and Housing: $4,900 (includes 13 nights in University housing — single room with private bath) For more information, please visit hda.gmu.edu/glasgow or contact Nenette Arroyo (202-633-8629; narroyo@gmu.edu) Students atop Glamis Castle, the ancestral home of HM Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother

in partnership with

Dates for your diary We are looking forward to meeting alumni and friends at our forthcoming events. Further information is available online at www.glasgow.ac.uk/alumni/events

Thursday 1 May

Montreal Alumni Pub Night

Friday 2 May

San Francisco Alumni Drinks Reception

Thursday 29 May

San Diego Alumni Networking Event

June (date tbc)

Washington, DC ‘An American in London: Whistler and the Thames’ exhibition tour at the Sackler Gallery

Commonwealth celebrations in Canada The Queen’s Baton Relay has begun. The Baton will travel across 70 nations and territories before arriving back in Scotland just before the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July.

During the run up to the games the University will be hosting a variety of new events including receptions in Ottawa and Toronto on Sunday 27 and Tuesday 29 April 2014. Alumni and friends are warmly invited and email invitations will be sent in advance of both occasions. Further information can be found online at www.glasgow.ac.uk/alumni/events During the relay we will be posting information and research about our connection to the countries where the Baton is currently visiting, from major artefacts in the University of Glasgow’s Hunterian to small items hidden within our archives. You can also find out more about each country from the regular blog posts on our International Story blog. Visit www.glasgow.ac.uk/about/commonwealthgames/batonrelay

New York date for Andy Furlong Professor Andy Furlong, Dean of Research in the College of Social Science, was recently invited to New York by the United Nations and Columbia University’s Global Policy Initiative to participate in their public policy dialogue on inequalities and marginalisation in youth.

The event in March 2014 involved a day of presentations at Columbia University and a half-day session in the main debating chamber of the UN. Hosted by the Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, participants included academics, activists, senior UN officials, representatives of the International Labour Office and diplomats from nine countries.

The Columbia session was streamed live to eight of Columbia’s global centres in four continents.

Giving from Canada

Giving form

(tax deductable)

American Alumni of Glasgow University

Give online: www.gla.ac.uk/about/givingtoglasgow Telephone: +44 (0)141 330 2810 or email Emma.Sloan@glasgow.ac.uk to arrange a call from Glasgow.

Give online: www.glasgow.ac.uk/givefromtheUSA

Please complete this form and return to: Development & Alumni Office, 2-3 The Square, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK

Please complete this form and return to: Melvyn Pond, President, AAGU, 183 Wolf Harbor Road, Milford CT 06461-1961

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I understand that AAGU’s Board of Directors retains sole discretion and control over all gifts made to help support its grants to the University of Glasgow.

The University may not include my name in its publications in connection with or by reason of my gift to AAGU.

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Small Animal Hospital, Edwin Morgan Postgraduate Scholarship fund.

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Please make cheques payable to ‘The University of Glasgow’, not ‘University of Glasgow Trust’. The University will send you a receipt for your own tax records.

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Thank you for your donation. Acknowledgement of your gift will be sent to you.

Details about this gift will be shared with the University. American Alumni of Glasgow University is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization (recognised by the U.S Internal Revenue Service) which funds grants that benefit the University of Glasgow. In compliance with IRS regulations, the Board of Directors of American Alumni of Glasgow University maintains complete discretion over allocation of gifts to the University. A copy of its latest annual report may be obtained, upon request, from its Treasurer.

If you are giving from Canada, please complete the form opposite.

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Data Protection Act 1998 Under the codes of the 1998 Data Protection Act, the University of Glasgow will use the information provided by you for University education, social and charitable purposes only. Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 The Development & Alumni Office acts in accordance with the terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Information on donations received by the University of Glasgow is provided in ‘Giving to Glasgow’ and other project-specific newsletters.

Information is included only on donors who have given us their express permission to do so.

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