Many Thanks to Applied Computing Graduates Dafydd Moore (IT Manager @ Waitrose – John Lewis PLC), Lisa Fox (Business IT & Computing Teacher) and Edd Turtle (Leader Developer @ Hoowla) for coming back to speak with our students today, for sharing industry insights and hints & tips for Academic Career and Life Success. Congratulations on your achievements to date and we hope you visit us again soon.
Continuing SoAC’s proud tradition of marking its notable achievements and milestones with food, a Tardis cake materialised in the departmental office this morning.
This worthy inductee into the School’s Cake Hall of Fame was brought in by lecturer Tim Bashford to celebrate his recent birthday and PhD. Congratulations, Dr Tim!
The School of Applied Computing is proud to report that the achievements of three of its lecturers have recently been recognised by the Higher Education Authority (HEA).
Our congratulations go to Dr Stephen Hole Associate Professor, Dr Kapilan Radhakrishnan and Dr John Rees, who were awarded prestigious Senior Fellowships of the HEA over the summer.
The status of Senior Fellow is awarded to those professionals who reach the highest standards of teaching and supporting learning in higher education. The award recognises excellence across a broad range of key criteria, including management, coordination, subject and pedagogic research, scholarship, academic practice, professional values, supervision, assessment and mentoring.
The HEA, globally recognised for inspiring excellent teaching as an essential driver of student success, delivers a platform for continuous professional development and aims to improve learning outcomes by constantly enhancing the quality of teaching in Higher Education.
In a first for the world of archaeology, Dr Nik Whitehead (pictured) recently took the School of Applied Computing’s laser survey scanner to a top-secret Bronze Age dig in the North West of England.
The technology had never been applied in the field in this way before, and was used to scan finds in situ as they emerged from the ground encased in mud. When the data captured onsite has been processed and analysed, it’s hoped that it will reveal information about remains and artefacts which can’t be seen with the naked eye.
Nik was also lucky enough to uncover an interesting find herself during her visit, a fragment of rock quartz excitingly labelled as “small item 74, found in context 2 of trench 2.”
To prevent plundering, the location of the dig is a closely-guarded secret. The site was discovered in 2013, when two metal detectorists found a small but well-preserved Early Bronze Age hoard – extremely uncommon in this part of Britain. An assessment of the area by the Portable Antiquities Scheme sparked great excitement; the discovery of jet, worked flint, cremated bone and charcoal confirmed that the detectorists had located something highly significant.
The site has been identified from the evidence as a prehistoric burial mound, or round barrow, in use between the Late Neolithic and Late Bronze Age, a remarkable 1,200 period waiting to be explored. But the really exciting thing about this one is that it was intact.
Most barrows were severely damaged by 18th and 19th century antiquarians, who dug into them indiscriminately looking for treasure. So archaeologists rarely have an opportunity to excavate one that’s completely untouched – which makes the Lancashire barrow of major importance.
UWTSD Applied Computing Blog 