RCUK Office in China Newsletter 22 October 2010

          Our temporary website        22 October 2010                               

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·       NSFC Young Scientists Research Fellowship Call for 2011 (website in Chinese only)

Established in 2009, this scheme has funded 120 international young scientists to work in Chinese HEIs and research institute for 6-12 months. In 2010, 80 international young scientists are funded with total 15.1 million RMB.

 

All applicants must be nominated by the Ministry of Education and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Funding: 100,000 RMB for 6 months and 200,000 RMB for 12 months.

 

The First Round for 6 months project (1 July- 31 December 2011) and 12 months project (1 July 2011- 30 June 2012)

31 January 2011  deadline for Ministry/CAS nomination

15 March 2011     deadline for individual nominees’ application 

 

The Second Round for 6 months project (1 January- 30 June 2012) and 12 months project (1 January- 31 December 2012)

30 June 2011       deadline for Ministry/CAS nomination

15 August 2011    deadline for individual nominees’ application 

 

·       The ESPA Research Consortium Grants
Ecosystem Services & Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme funded research must provide evidence and tools to enable decision makers and end users to manage ecosystems sustainably and in a way that contributes to poverty reduction. This announcement of opportunity invites proposals for research consortium projects that will address this agenda.

     Awards may be between three and five years in duration, with a total value of the project (the 100% full economic cost) between £500k and £4m, with exceptional projects able to bid for up to £5m.The call has a total budget of £16m.

The closing date for Expressions of Interest is 8 December 2010
The closing date for full proposals is 19 January 2011

There was a workshop held in Edinburgh 4-6 October. This will be web streamed and pod cast later, and if people sign up to the mailing list, they will be sent info of how to access this.

The RCUK China Office is organising an explanatory seminar with video link to the ESPA Director on 3 November in the office conference room.

 

·       The Awards of UK-China Collaborative Research Projects in Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies  
Following from two previous calls for collaborative research with China in Renewables and Cleaner Fossil Fuels, this call is issued in partnership with the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). The total value of the 5 awarded projects is £2.78m from the Energy Programme/EPSRC and RMB 2.96m from NSFC.

 

The EPSRC web link at: http://gow.epsrc.ac.uk/ViewPanelROL.aspx?PanelId=5030&RankingListId=6929

 

The NSFC web link at: http://www.nsfc.gov.cn/Portal0/InfoModule_396/30987.htm

 

·       BBSRC China Partnering Awards
The 2010 call proposals deadline: Wednesday 24 November 2010

This scheme allows leading UK research groups to forge long-term international relationships to enhance their BBSRC research and provide pump-priming for joint international research projects within BBSRC’s remit and especially to projects aligned to BBSRC’s strategic priorities. The main objectives of the Partnering Awards are to:

·         promote the exchange of scientists, particularly early career researchers

·         promote access to facilities not available within the UK

Prospective applicants should note that partnering awards are not a vehicle by which to support single research projects or link ongoing single collaborative projects. Funds may be used for travel and subsistence or other activities, such as workshops or exchanges.  The award is not intended to fund salary costs, consumables, items of equipment or other research costs. See individual scheme details for indicative funding levels.

Eligibility: Open to UK based, current BBSRC grant holders and researchers at BBSRC-sponsored research institutes (www.bbsrc.ac.uk/organisation/institutes/institutes-of-bbsrc) that are in receipt of BBSRC funding.

Application procedure: For the first time, applications for this scheme must be submitted through the Research Council’s JeS system. Full guidance notes and moreinformation on this scheme are available at www.bbsrc.ac.uk/china.

 

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The 2010 Nobel prizes in Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics have been awarded to researchers in the UK for work supported by the Research Councils. Press releases congratulating the awardees, based at Manchester, Cambridge, and the London School of Economics, are here:

 

New World University Rankings published 
Under the revamped Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the UK remains a clear second to the US. The UK has 29 universities in the top 200, compared with 72 US institutions. Five of these make the top 50: Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London, University College London and the University of Edinburgh. The UK’s highest-ranked institutions, Cambridge and Oxford, are joint sixth in the world.

BIS Science and Innovation report published
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have published online the Science & Innovation Network Report.

The report highlights some of the achievements of the UK’s Global Science and Innovation Network (SIN) over a two-year period. Part I gives an overview with examples from around the network and Part II has country and regional profiles from places where the network is active, with examples of successful outcomes.

All enquiries about the report should be directed to: Stephen.Mak@bis.gsi.gov.uk  

The web resource explains both where evidence is well established and where findings and projections remain subject to greater uncertainty.

 

A new report released on 13 October by RCUK presents the case for public funding of UK research and why it is so vital for our future prosperity. “Research for our Future:UK business success through public investment in research” includes input from leading decision-makers from business and industry in the UK and elsewhere, and examines why they choose to work in partnership with British researchers.

China ranks third in research and development investment, after the US and Japan, a recent report says. 

Update on SAIN Working Group Meeting- “International Conference on China-UK Circular Agriculture”
The workshop was held in Beijing, China on 30 Aug.- 2 Sep. 2010. More than 40 representatives and experts from the UK and China attended. The workshop comprised one day of presentations and discussions, followed by a two-day field trip in Tianjin and Shandong province.   

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The BBSRC China Partnering Awards 2010 call is open from 22 September and the application deadline is 24 November. See details at www.bbsrc.ac.uk/china

 

Scientists eradicate deadly rinderpest virus
Elimination of virus that causes deadly cattle plague makes rinderpest only the second viral disease in history to have been wiped out by humans. The BBSRC’s Institute of Animal Health played an important role in this achievement.

Funded by the EPSRC and the Technology Strategy Board, these 'Innovation and Knowledge Centres' (IKCs) will mix business knowledge with the most up-to-date research to harness the full potential of emerging technologies – ensuring the UK is first to develop this cutting-edge research.

 

EPSRC researcher Professor Andre Geim based at the University of Manchester is one of two scientists to share this year’s Nobel Prize for Physics for their "groundbreaking" work on a material with amazing properties.

Professor Chris Pissarides of the London School of Economics (LSE) was awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, jointly with Professors Peter Diamond and Dale Mortensen. Professor Pissarides is a fellow of the ESRC Centre for Economic Performance, (CEP), at the LSE where he works on the macro programme.

Results from the largest ever international clinical trial of a preventive HIV gel are published on 20 September’s online edition of The Lancet. This trial is part-funded and sponsored by the MRC.

 

 

MRC launches Pipeline report 
The report details a number of projects and interventions that are on course to improve health in the UK within the next three to five years. This includes drugs being approved by regulators, tests that are in development and preliminary trial results that show promise.

BGS is participating in a responsive project assessing risks associated with the recent major landslides in Zhouqu, China. This is in collaboration with Loughborough and Portsmouth Universities and funded by a NERC Urgency Grant. BGS (and Portsmouth) role is in remote sensing data interpretation and hazard modelling, with the ground truthing being carried out by the Loughborough scientists. The partners in China are: the Research School of Arid Environment and Climate Change (RSAECC), Lanzhou University and the Geological Hazards Research and Prevention Institute (GHRPI), Gansu Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou.

Scientists and supercomputers prove theory which could revolutionise lasers
A consortium of British and European laser scientists has proven a technology at the theoretical level to have more brilliant X-rays, more cost-effective methods for developing new energy sources and advanced manufacturing processes. The research, led by scientists at STFC’s Central laser Facility (CLF), is published on Nature Physics.

 

MIRI starts space adventure at STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL)

The pioneering camera and spectrometer for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the gigantic successor to the Hubble Telescope, is about to receive its first taste of the harsh conditions of space, without even leaving the UK. The sophisticated instrument will shortly be put through its paces in the space test chamber at the STFC's RAL. The tests include ensuring it can survive the vibrations of a rocket launch and operate successfully in the cold vacuum of space.

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It was co-funded by RCUK China and NSFC and organised by Durham University and Zhejiang University.

 

It was co-funded by RCUK China, NSFC and CAS. The lead organisers are from University of Manchester and CAS Institute of Geography and Natural Resources.

 

It was co-funded by RCUK China, Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, and Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (CAGS). The lead organisers are British Antarctic Survey and CAGS Institute of Geomechanics. Leading researchers from Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) and other institutes presented at the workshop.

This summer school was organised by Nottingham Trent University and Harbin Engineering University.

 

The lead organisers are from Royal Veterinary College University of London and Fudan University.

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RCUK China Office is organising an explanatory seminar with video link to ESPA Director Paul Van Gardingen on 3 November 3pm-5pm in the the RCUK China Office.

1–3 December  Application of Imaging Science to the Interdisciplinary Study of Wall Paintings along the Silk Road, Xi’an

25–31 October   Cognitive Communications, Hangzhou