The Bogle Stroll is a heritage of the University of Manchester and UMIST.
Each year hundreds of determined students set out to walk 55 miles around Greater Manchester to raise valuable funds for charities close to their hearts.
Launched in 1961, Bogle has been a centre piece for the student calendar for over five decades. The event is completely organised and managed by students who are juggling coursework, lectures, dissertations and revision with planning an event which supports and caters for hundreds of people whilst they gradually loose strength and energy.
In recent years the quickest recorded time to complete the full 55 mile route is a little over 14 hours, though the average completion time is closer to 21 hours.
The route takes the form of two loops; the first is the 29 mile southern loop bringing walkers to Manchester Airport and through Stockport before taking them back to the University of Manchester North Campus, adjacent to Piccadilly Station.
The second takes in the north of Manchester by heading out on Oldham Road and then continuing north through Prestwich and Farnworth, before finally returning through Salford.
Each person who signs up to the event commits to raise a minimum of £60 for a charity of their choice, though the organisers hope that, given the scale of the challenge, friends and family will be generous to give a lot more.
This year it is hoped that over 500 people will take part in the walk raising over £50,000 for charities.
Although the event is organised by students, anyone is welcome to take part and to help raise awareness of the event throughout the Greater Manchester population The Children’s Society have been nominated as this year’s charity of the year.
Bogle organiser Tom Bartley said, “Having a partner with such great links to a non-student supporter base is a fantastic opportunity to grow the event. Students often get a bad press with local residents, part of the aim of the walk is to demonstrate that we can be very hard working and determined to do good for the community. The Children’s Society do an incredible job with children and young people throughout the UK and have several programmes and centres within Greater Manchester, making them the perfect partner for this year’s event.”
This year’s Bogle takes place on Friday 2nd – Saturday 3rd March and people can sign up at www.bogle.org.uk.
Showing posts with label university of Manchester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label university of Manchester. Show all posts
Monday, 6 February 2012
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
10,000 jobs could be created if the North can become the world’s nuclear base says report
The North of England has the opportunity to become one of the world’s leading nuclear manufacturing hubs, creating many thousands of new jobs and generating substantial economic growth for the UK, according to a University of Manchester report.
The report commissioned by the Dalton Nuclear Institute, highlights the opportunity for the Government to invest in the vast potential of the region to meet the demands of the UK’s nuclear new build and use this as a springboard for providing goods and services to the £300bn global nuclear sector.
Already a world-leading centre for the nuclear supply chain with more than 50 per cent of the UK’s nuclear workforce, the North also contains the UK’s full fuel cycle capability, uranium conversion and enrichment, fuel fabrication, generation, spent fuel reprocessing, waste treatment and storage and decommissioning.
The global market for new nuclear build is estimated at more than £800bn over the next 20 to 30 years. The UK new nuclear build programme is estimated at £40bn, with the demand potential to support the rebalancing of the UK economy.
The report claims investment in the North of England would create at least 10,000 new jobs and secure many others in manufacturing and other professional services at a time when there are cut backs in other sectors. Many of the skills in sectors such as aerospace and oil and gas could complement the nuclear skills already available and pump billions of pounds into the UK economy.
One of the reports authors,Professor Peter Storey said:
“The UK Government and nuclear industry are faced with a choice,to do nothing and possibly watch the UK nuclear supply chain lose business and economic growth opportunities to overseas- based firms, or to develop a national policy to coordinate the development of UK nuclear supply chain and position UK based businesses for economic growth in the UK and overseas markets.
“This report makes it clear that commercial opportunities do exist. With a national policy that is coordinated with the nuclear industry, these opportunities can be realised.”
The report commissioned by the Dalton Nuclear Institute, highlights the opportunity for the Government to invest in the vast potential of the region to meet the demands of the UK’s nuclear new build and use this as a springboard for providing goods and services to the £300bn global nuclear sector.
Already a world-leading centre for the nuclear supply chain with more than 50 per cent of the UK’s nuclear workforce, the North also contains the UK’s full fuel cycle capability, uranium conversion and enrichment, fuel fabrication, generation, spent fuel reprocessing, waste treatment and storage and decommissioning.
The global market for new nuclear build is estimated at more than £800bn over the next 20 to 30 years. The UK new nuclear build programme is estimated at £40bn, with the demand potential to support the rebalancing of the UK economy.
The report claims investment in the North of England would create at least 10,000 new jobs and secure many others in manufacturing and other professional services at a time when there are cut backs in other sectors. Many of the skills in sectors such as aerospace and oil and gas could complement the nuclear skills already available and pump billions of pounds into the UK economy.
One of the reports authors,Professor Peter Storey said:
“The UK Government and nuclear industry are faced with a choice,to do nothing and possibly watch the UK nuclear supply chain lose business and economic growth opportunities to overseas- based firms, or to develop a national policy to coordinate the development of UK nuclear supply chain and position UK based businesses for economic growth in the UK and overseas markets.
“This report makes it clear that commercial opportunities do exist. With a national policy that is coordinated with the nuclear industry, these opportunities can be realised.”
Thursday, 8 December 2011
How sustainable is nuclear power asks Manchester study
Nuclear power could contribute significantly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the UK but this would lead to considerable impacts on natural resources and the environment, a report from The University of Manchester claims.
The study by the SPRIng research consortium led by Professor Adisa Azapagic looks at the techno-economic, environmental, social and ethical sustainability of nuclear powerin the UK.
The research into the sustainability of nuclear and other electricity options in the UK shows that nuclear power could make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
However, that would require a huge expansion of nuclear, constituting 35% of the electricity mix by 2035, almost double the current contribution.
Given that most current nuclear power stations are due to close in this period, this scenario seems unfeasible, the authors claim.
At the same time, expansion of nuclear power would worsen other sustainability aspects, including depletion of natural resources, ozone layer depletion, toxicity and health impacts from radiation.
SPRIng found that meeting UK carbon emissions targets would only be possible with a huge expansion of both renewables and nuclear electricity. By 2020, renewables would have to contribute 55% to the UK electricity mix by 2020 and nuclear 35% by 2035.
The SPRIng report, which is released today, also shows that if energy consumption can be reduced significantly, nuclear power is not essential for meeting the UK climate change targets.
If, however, the consumption of energy continues to grow as it has in the past, the role of nuclear power becomes much more important in meeting climate change targets.
Expansion of nuclear power will depend on many factors, including availability of uranium, fuel used in today’s nuclear reactors. Uranium shortages could within a few decades constrain any significant global expansion of uranium nuclear plants, unless major new uranium reserves can be identified and exploited economically.
The findings suggests that carbon taxation could play a significant role in promoting low-carbon electricity options, including nuclear. For example, a carbon price of £100 per tonne of carbon dioxide would be sufficient to make nuclear plants of current designs highly profitable.
The research also shows that even when the radiological consequences of a large accident are taken into account, nuclear power remains one of the safest sources of electricity.
However, the research claims, nuclear power poses complex ethical questions regarding its intergenerational impacts as future generations, who will not benefit from today’s nuclear electricity, will have to bear both the risks and costs of nuclear decommissioning and waste management.
Professor Azapagic said: “Our research shows that there is no ‘best’ electricity option overall but the choice of sustainable options will depend on individual preferences of stakeholders, including the public and decision makers.
“For example, our findings suggest that solar, hydro and wind are the most favourable electricity options for the UK public. Nuclear power is favourable for 42% of the UK public while electricity from coal, oil and gas is least favoured.
“The Government should ensure that decisions on the future of nuclear power and other electricity options in the UK take into account a range of sustainability criteria rather than be based solely on a market-led approach dominated purely by economics.
“However, a market-led approach could play a role should it prove politically possible to set tight enough carbon targets with high enough penalties for non-compliance.
“Whether such leadership is possible is highly questionable. Even more doubtful is whether various stakeholders, including the UK public, would accept it.
Source-University of Manchester
The study by the SPRIng research consortium led by Professor Adisa Azapagic looks at the techno-economic, environmental, social and ethical sustainability of nuclear powerin the UK.
The research into the sustainability of nuclear and other electricity options in the UK shows that nuclear power could make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
However, that would require a huge expansion of nuclear, constituting 35% of the electricity mix by 2035, almost double the current contribution.
Given that most current nuclear power stations are due to close in this period, this scenario seems unfeasible, the authors claim.
At the same time, expansion of nuclear power would worsen other sustainability aspects, including depletion of natural resources, ozone layer depletion, toxicity and health impacts from radiation.
SPRIng found that meeting UK carbon emissions targets would only be possible with a huge expansion of both renewables and nuclear electricity. By 2020, renewables would have to contribute 55% to the UK electricity mix by 2020 and nuclear 35% by 2035.
The SPRIng report, which is released today, also shows that if energy consumption can be reduced significantly, nuclear power is not essential for meeting the UK climate change targets.
If, however, the consumption of energy continues to grow as it has in the past, the role of nuclear power becomes much more important in meeting climate change targets.
Expansion of nuclear power will depend on many factors, including availability of uranium, fuel used in today’s nuclear reactors. Uranium shortages could within a few decades constrain any significant global expansion of uranium nuclear plants, unless major new uranium reserves can be identified and exploited economically.
The findings suggests that carbon taxation could play a significant role in promoting low-carbon electricity options, including nuclear. For example, a carbon price of £100 per tonne of carbon dioxide would be sufficient to make nuclear plants of current designs highly profitable.
The research also shows that even when the radiological consequences of a large accident are taken into account, nuclear power remains one of the safest sources of electricity.
However, the research claims, nuclear power poses complex ethical questions regarding its intergenerational impacts as future generations, who will not benefit from today’s nuclear electricity, will have to bear both the risks and costs of nuclear decommissioning and waste management.
Professor Azapagic said: “Our research shows that there is no ‘best’ electricity option overall but the choice of sustainable options will depend on individual preferences of stakeholders, including the public and decision makers.
“For example, our findings suggest that solar, hydro and wind are the most favourable electricity options for the UK public. Nuclear power is favourable for 42% of the UK public while electricity from coal, oil and gas is least favoured.
“The Government should ensure that decisions on the future of nuclear power and other electricity options in the UK take into account a range of sustainability criteria rather than be based solely on a market-led approach dominated purely by economics.
“However, a market-led approach could play a role should it prove politically possible to set tight enough carbon targets with high enough penalties for non-compliance.
“Whether such leadership is possible is highly questionable. Even more doubtful is whether various stakeholders, including the UK public, would accept it.
Source-University of Manchester
Monday, 10 October 2011
Manchester's Graphene goes from strength to strength
Graphene was the buzz at the Tory party conference last week and now the University of Manchester have announced that they have come one step closer to creating the next generation of computer chips made from it.
It follows George Osborne's announcement last week for plans for a £50m graphene research hub to be set up.
Now, writing in the journal Nature Physics, the University of Manchester team have for the first time demonstrated how graphene inside electronic circuits will probably look like in the future.
The team has written that by sandwiching two sheets of graphene with another two-dimensional material, boron nitrate,they have created the graphene ‘Big Mac’,a four-layered structure which could be the key to replacing the silicon chip in computers.
You can read more about it HERE
It follows George Osborne's announcement last week for plans for a £50m graphene research hub to be set up.
Now, writing in the journal Nature Physics, the University of Manchester team have for the first time demonstrated how graphene inside electronic circuits will probably look like in the future.
The team has written that by sandwiching two sheets of graphene with another two-dimensional material, boron nitrate,they have created the graphene ‘Big Mac’,a four-layered structure which could be the key to replacing the silicon chip in computers.
You can read more about it HERE
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Manc Professor recreates missing Beethoven piece
A piece of music composed by Beethoven in 1799 and lost for over 200 years has been painstakingly reconstructed by a Professor of Music at The University of Manchester.
This from the University's Press Release
Professor Barry Cooper’s reconstruction of the original slow movement of Beethoven’s String Quartet in G, Opus 18 Number 2, will be heard in something like its original form this week, in a performance by the University’s resident string quartet Quatuor Danel.
The movement was composed in 1799 but was discarded a year later and lost when it was replaced by a new movement now known to music lovers across the world.
It is almost certainly the first time, says Professor Cooper, that the piece will have been performed since Beethoven’s day.
Although the original movement is lost, detailed sketches survive for every one of its 74 bars, as was established in 1977 by Sieghard Brandenburg.
It is only since then, however, that it has become clear that Beethoven actually finished the movement and wrote it out at the time.
Professor Cooper has now managed to put the 74 bars together so that they fit perfectly, adding harmony and other details that enable the work to be performed again.
He said: “This movement is of particular importance as it stands out as the last substantial work that Beethoven composed in full and apparently had performed in 1799 before it was discarded and lost.
“With other works that he revised, like his opera Fidelio, discarded movements still survive more or less intact.
“So the prospect of hearing a Beethoven work that has been absent for over 200 years should be of much interest to anyone who loves his music, even if my reconstruction may differ slightly from what the composer wrote.”
A 28-year-old Beethoven had delivered the manuscript copies of three new quartets - Op 18 Nos 1-3 - to Prince Lobkowitz for 200 florins in October 1799.
But the following year, he revised Nos 1 and 2, writing a completely new slow movement for No 2, in which little of the original material was retained and the rhythm was completely different.
“Prince Lobkowitz had possession of early versions of Nos 1 and 2 for about a year or more, during which time Beethoven seems to have made no effort to publish them – a usual practice,” said Professor Cooper, based in the University’s School of Arts, Histories and Cultures.
“Since the first three quartets were published in June 1801, and Nos 4-6 on 28 October 1801, just over a year after this second group was presented to Lobkowitz, this contract was probably for a twelve-month period.
“During the period that Lobkowitz had the early version of Nos 1 and 2, it seems inconceivable that he would not have arranged for a performance of them, or more likely several performances, since that was the whole point of commissioning them.”
The performance will take place at a seminar open to the public at 2.30 pm on Thursday 29 September, in the Martin Harris Centre at the University of Manchester.
This from the University's Press Release
Professor Barry Cooper’s reconstruction of the original slow movement of Beethoven’s String Quartet in G, Opus 18 Number 2, will be heard in something like its original form this week, in a performance by the University’s resident string quartet Quatuor Danel.
The movement was composed in 1799 but was discarded a year later and lost when it was replaced by a new movement now known to music lovers across the world.
It is almost certainly the first time, says Professor Cooper, that the piece will have been performed since Beethoven’s day.
Although the original movement is lost, detailed sketches survive for every one of its 74 bars, as was established in 1977 by Sieghard Brandenburg.
It is only since then, however, that it has become clear that Beethoven actually finished the movement and wrote it out at the time.
Professor Cooper has now managed to put the 74 bars together so that they fit perfectly, adding harmony and other details that enable the work to be performed again.
He said: “This movement is of particular importance as it stands out as the last substantial work that Beethoven composed in full and apparently had performed in 1799 before it was discarded and lost.
“With other works that he revised, like his opera Fidelio, discarded movements still survive more or less intact.
“So the prospect of hearing a Beethoven work that has been absent for over 200 years should be of much interest to anyone who loves his music, even if my reconstruction may differ slightly from what the composer wrote.”
A 28-year-old Beethoven had delivered the manuscript copies of three new quartets - Op 18 Nos 1-3 - to Prince Lobkowitz for 200 florins in October 1799.
But the following year, he revised Nos 1 and 2, writing a completely new slow movement for No 2, in which little of the original material was retained and the rhythm was completely different.
“Prince Lobkowitz had possession of early versions of Nos 1 and 2 for about a year or more, during which time Beethoven seems to have made no effort to publish them – a usual practice,” said Professor Cooper, based in the University’s School of Arts, Histories and Cultures.
“Since the first three quartets were published in June 1801, and Nos 4-6 on 28 October 1801, just over a year after this second group was presented to Lobkowitz, this contract was probably for a twelve-month period.
“During the period that Lobkowitz had the early version of Nos 1 and 2, it seems inconceivable that he would not have arranged for a performance of them, or more likely several performances, since that was the whole point of commissioning them.”
The performance will take place at a seminar open to the public at 2.30 pm on Thursday 29 September, in the Martin Harris Centre at the University of Manchester.
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