PHOTO STORY: UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OPENS THIS YEAR'S ABERDEEN INTERNATIONAL YOUTH FESTIVAL Read More

WORK STARTS ON SPORTS VILLAGE AQUATICS CENTRE Read More

HAVE EUROPEANS EVOLVED TO BE FAT DEPRESSED ALCHOHOLICS? Read More

ABERDEEN PROJECT AIMS TO ENGAGE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE Read More

FAMILY FUNDRAISE FOR FERTILITY CENTRE TO SAY THANKS Read More 

1 September, Cromarty – The annual Dolphin Watching Boat Trip from Cromarty includes a tour of the University's Lighthouse Field Station - our Highland base for the Zoology Department's research and teaching on the ecology of seals, dolphins and other marine life. Dinner will be served afterwards at Suttor Creek. To book tickets please contact Hazel Veitch.

7 September, London – There will be an informal gathering for alumni living in and around London at The Pontefract Castle 71, Wigmore Street, off Oxford Street, London W1U 1QB from 6.30pm onwards. The evening will offer the opportunity to meet with fellow graduates over a drink. If you would like to attend, please email Hazel Veitch.

10 September, London – The London Alumni Ambassadors are organising an outing for Aberdeen Alumni to go to this year's Proms in the Park on Saturday 10 September 2011, tickets cost £32.50. If you are interested in joining them please contact Hazel Veitch.

5 October, Fochabers – There will be an exclusive event at Baxters Highland Village for Aberdeen Alumni. Join us for morning coffee and scones, a tour of the factory, product tasting, a cookery demonstration and 2 course lunch. Tickets cost £15 per person. To book your place please visit the online store or contact Hazel Veitch.

12 October, Glasgow – Join us for drinks, canapés and a chance to try the bagpipes, at The National Piping Centre, Glasgow from 6pm. Tickets for this exclusive alumni event are £10 (A tour of the piping museum is also included in the cost). To book your place visit the online store or contact Hazel Veitch.

Saturday 15 October, Philadelphia – Alumni are invited to attend a guided tour of The Union League in Philadelphia, which was founded in 1862 to support the Union and policies of President Abraham Lincoln. Following the tour, Rider University Professor and Aberdeen graduate Roderick McDonald and his wife Michelle have kindly offered to host a reception at Cassatt House. The event will start at 2.30pm. Professor Bill Naphy, Chair in History, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy will attend. To book your place, please contact Jim Day.

Monday 17 October, Washington – Aberdeen graduate, Jill Scharff has kindly offered to host a reception for alumni at her home in nearby Chevy Chase, from 6.30pm. Professor Bill Naphy, Chair in History, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy  will attend. To book your place, please contact Jim Day.

Monday 24 October, Boston – Join Professor Bill Naphy,Chair in History, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy, for a drink and canapé reception at The Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston, MA 02114 at 6.30pm. There will be the option to tour the 1st and 2nd floors of the Green Wing during the evening. To book your place, please contact Jim Day.

Tuesday 25 October, New York – Join Alumni Ambassador, David Baxter for a drinks reception at Slattery’s Midtown Pub, 8 East 36th Street for drinks and appetizers at 6.30pm. Dr John Morrison, Senior Lecturer at the University will also attend this event. To book your place, please contact Jim Day.

Wednesday 26 October, Texas – There will be an informal gathering in Texas hosted by Professor Bill Naphy, Chair in History, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy, from 6.30pm in the Lobby Bar, The Worthington Renaissance Hotel, 200 Main Street, Fort Worth. To book your place, please contact Jim Day.

 Word 2011 was a weekend to remember and one that had its own special kind of magic. If you managed to come to any of the events during the weekend, we hope you had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Next year the University will host the British Science Festival from 4–9 September. This is a major coup for both the University and Aberdeen. The Festival is the biggest science festival in Europe and a substantial undertaking. It will require significant staff resource, and support from partners in the public and private sector to stage an event expected to attract 50,000 people from across the country and beyond.

In addition to the Science Festival we will offer a rich and varied programme of individual arts and culture events distributed throughout 2012.

While we focus on planning for the Science Festival, we also intend to use 2012 as a planning year for a major new celebration of arts and culture which we aim to launch in 2013. This will build on all the experience, networks and warmth generated by Word, to develop a wider event showcasing the literary, visual, performance and musical arts and further strengthens our position as a cultural leader in Scotland and throughout the UK.

Our new Discovery Gallery series at Aberdeen Art Gallery continues through the summer. This series is inspired by a current exhibition in Aberdeen Art Gallery which, for this pilot run, is the stunning Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. Come along for a glass of wine, enjoy the exhibition and then hear a talk from a guest speaker. University of Aberdeen staff and students can enjoy a discounted concession rate of £3 and places should be booked in advance by calling the Art Gallery on 01224 523695. The next event in the series is:

Drugs from the Deep
Thursday 11 August — 7pm, Aberdeen Art Gallery
Professor Marcel Jaspars, Director of Marine Biodiscovery Centre, University of Aberdeen
Although most medicines are derived from nature, our oceans remain relatively under-exploited despite covering 70% of the planet. However with new marine-sourced molecules now entering the clinic, how can we preserve the balance of ocean life?

Cafe Scientifique in the City: Saturday Special in August - The Yummy Food Lab
The next city Cafe Sci session is on 13 August in the downstairs children’s section of Waterstone’s bookstore in Union Bridge. Dr Sue Bird, Sylvia Stephen and colleagues from the University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute for Nutrition and Health will present Yummy Food Lab, exploring the science of food and drink.

 Take part in colourful and fun hands-on experiments and brave the famous spaghetti tower challenge! Guaranteed fun and facts for all ages, and especially suitable for families.

Admission is free and the event runs from 2pm — 4pm as a drop in session — just come along and join in. 

Fabric of the Land - 27 August – 18 September 2011
Fabric of the Land is a series of exhibitions exploring links between art and science and is brought to you by the Geology & Petroleum Geology Department at the University of Aberdeen. This year’s brief encouraged emerging and established artists to submit artworks that considered the ‘elements’ within the environment and landscape from a geological perspective. For more information visit www.fabricoftheland.com

University of Aberdeen Wedding Fair
You are invited to the University of Aberdeen Wedding Fair to be held on Sunday 4th September 2011 from 11am - 4pm at Elphinstone Hall. This is an ideal opportunity for you to meet the Wedding Co-ordinator and our service partners such as florists, cake designers and make up artists who can add the finishing touches to your day. Entry is free with a glass of bubbly and Canapés on arrival. For Further information click here 

COME RAIN OR SHINE ABERDEEN’S NEWEST GRADUATES LAUGHED AND CHEERED AS THEY CELEBRATED THEIR SUCCESSES. 

Whether it was with a glass of Pimms or a cap toss, our new graduates marked the end of years of study before they embark on a new adventure in their lives

Click here to read stories from this year’s graduation or click on the photo above to view our online galleries.

5 MINUTES WITH .....  

Dr Alan Bowman who was recently included in Esquire magazine’s list of the “20 men who will shape the next 20 years” is the next subject in our '5 Minutes With' series. 

Biologist Dr Alan Bowman appears alongside quantum physicists, entrepreneurs, activists, Prince Charles and others who, the men’s glossy claims, “hold our future in their hands.”

The Senior Lecturer was included because some of his research — also involving the University of Aberdeen’s Dr Ewan Campbell and Dr Giles Budge at the National Bee Unit — is trying to protect the endangered honey bee the population of which has been declining by as much as 30 per cent a year.

To find out more about this and Alan’s research interests watch his 5 Minutes With interview.

An Intern Opportunity with The MS Society. Click here to find out more

Aberdeen graduate, Richie McColm, named Scotland’s best new teacher. Read More

Reunion News
The Development Trust would like to acknowledge support they received for Medical Research from the Medical Class of 1955-1961. The class recently held their 50th year anniversary in Aberdeen and enjoyed meeting up with one another again.

If you would like to organise a reunion, the alumni office would be happy to help. Advice on how to organise a reunion can be found on our website at www.abdn.ac.uk/alumni or you can email alumni@abdn.ac.uk.

In Memoriam – William Johnston, MA 2010.
After his retirement from his post as Rector of Aberdeen Grammar School, Bill Johnston joined Celtic Studies as a mature student in 2006. In the 4 years of his studies, he proved himself to be exceptionally committed, enthusiastic and capable, achieving a First Class Hons degree in 2010. He was delighted to be accepted to continue his studies at PhD level, and Bill applied his characteristic enthusiasm and verve to his research into Gaelic Medium Education. His main aim was that his studies would have an impact on Gaelic education.

Bill was equally committed to his hobbies. He was a very active member of the Aberdeen Gaelic Choir, an ardent lover of Scottish music and someone who displayed a lifetime love of the challenges as well as the beauty of the Scottish landscape. But above all else, Bill was the ultimate family man, fiercely proud of his daughters and he absolutely relished his more recent role as Grandfather. On a personal level, Bill was one of nature's gentlemen, very intelligent, quietly reflective, very kind and generous of spirit. He possessed a unique ability to engage with people at all levels and will be remembered for his exceptional warmth and genuine nature. He will be greatly missed within the University by his tutors, fellow students and all those who were privileged to have known him and become his friends.

Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with his family and close friends at this very sad time. 

This summer Professor Crispin Wright (Northern Institute of Philosophy Director) will undertake a Philosophical Ramblings challenge by walking The Pennine Way - all to support Northern Institute of Philosophy graduate students. 
This summer Professor Wright  will walk 268 miles across the Pennine mountain tops. While an arduous task in itself, Professor Wright has the additional challenge of answering a philosophical (or not) question, each night of the 20-day journey. Between blisters and tiredness, Professor Wright will encounter Epistemology, Metaphysics and Semantics. 

In return he is seeking sponsorship with the additional incentive that donors can vote on which question Professor Wright must answer.

Professor Wright is undertaking this task to support the Northern Institute of Philosophy's graduate students to visit other institutions. This is in line with a general mission of the Institute to support early career philosophers to develop their interests and skills through collaboration and philosophical interactions. The Institute hopes to build a Trust Fund to enable the provision of such support as a part of it's regular working routine.

How You Can Help?

Sponsor Professor Wright's Philosophical Ramblings! Donate a minimum of £5 to receive a password that will enable you to vote for 3 questions you would like Crispin to tackle and to access the full list of replies when they are published. Please click here to donate now.

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