SWIG (the Sensors for Water Interest Group) invites students and employees involved in the field of water sensor research to design a scientific poster summarising their work.

This is an opportunity for researchers within the water and environmental sectors to showcase their work. The SWIG Early Career Researcher Prize is open to under-graduates and post-graduates in full-time education or within the first 4 years of employment within their chosen area of expertise.

Posters must be submitted by 7th September 2012 and final judging of the top 3 posters will take place at WWEM 2012, with the award presented at the WWEM Gala Dinner on the 7th November. The competition rules and more details are available on the attached flyer or on the SWIG website here.

www.swig.org.uk

Or you can contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further information.

Santander shortlists ten London social enterprises for financial boost in new award scheme

Ten social enterprises and community organisations based in London have been shortlisted for the Santander Social Enterprise Development Awards. These selected enterprises will have the opportunity to win up to £50,000 to help their businesses grow and improve their local communities.

The shortlist includes social enterprises across a diverse range of areas from sustainable energy and recycling projects to apprenticeship schemes for young people:

• Be Totally You Ltd, an organisation providing training and work experience to equip at risk and vulnerable people in Lewisham with vital skills for the future

• Energy Solutions, based in Brent, which aims to reduce fuel poverty and carbon emissions by providing energy advice to the local authority and housing associations

• MAC-UK, an enterprise providing youth-led music projects for marginalised young people with complex mental health issues and social care needs in Camden

• Cressy IT Solution in Tower Hamlets, which provides affordable IT solutions and support services to residents, businesses and third sector organisations

• Forest Recycling Project, based in Walthamstow, a community business tackling social and environmental issues through re-use, recycling and reduction initiatives

• Seagull Print Ltd, an Earlsfield-based professional printing service employing individuals with mental health conditions, offering work-based rehabilitative training

• The Green Firm aims to create a sense of community ownership by involving local people from Islington in gardening services for both private clients and public spaces

• Community Money provides practical money and debt training to financially excluded people across London

An opportunity to work in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland to design and build an exemplar housing model to showcase how the latest principles in resource efficiency can be applied in house-building is being offered to architects, builders and developers, it has been announced today (Tuesday 17 April).

Zero Waste Scotland aims to drive innovation and change in the house-building market by supporting a development partner or partner group to demonstrate how resource efficiency measures can be included within the design and construction, and how this can contribute towards a resource efficient lifestyle for future occupants. The exemplar build will be required to meet the 2016 Scottish Building Standards.

Set on a site of the former Ravenscraig Steelworks in Lanarkshire, the project is part of the Building Research Establishment’s (BRE) Innovation Park, which aims to showcase the future of Scottish housing.

The University of Reading is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Ted Shepherd to the Grantham Chair in Climate Science. Professor Shepherd will play a leading role in climate research in the University of Reading’s Department of Meteorology, the renowned international centre for the study of weather and climate, and in the University’s Walker Institute for Climate System Research.

Professor Shepherd, currently based at the University of Toronto, is acknowledged to be one of the leading atmospheric scientists of his generation. His outstanding research record over the past 30 years encompasses atmospheric dynamics, climate dynamics and climate change, and he is particularly known for his research on the stratosphere, the atmosphere above 10 km.

Professor George Marston, Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Reading, said: “We are delighted that we have recruited a scientist of Ted Shepherd’s calibre to the Grantham Chair in Climate Science. We are already one of the leading international centres for weather and climate research. Professor Shepherd will provide a further boost for our research excellence, and new leadership in climate science at Reading and for the UK.”