Dr Ray Elliott, Syngenta- Book of Condolences

Dear CPPS members

Many of you will have heard about the sad news of Dr Ray Elliott's death earlier this month. Ray has been very supportive of the aims of CPPS, and has been a conduit of information between the CPPS research base and Syngenta. BBSRC are collating a book of condolences, for which I will provide an entry from CPPS, but if you would like to add a person message, please follow the instructions in below.

Best wishes, Beatrix

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You may well already have heard, but Dr Ray Elliott of Syngenta died unexpectedly in his sleep when in the USA earlier this month.

Ray was passionate about bioscience and played an active role in many BBSRC activities and initiatives, both on the ground and at a high level. His involvement with the IBTI Club, PMS Peer Review Committee, Young Entrepreneurs Scheme and Innovator of the Year highlights just some of the many ways he contributed to the breadth of our work and community. He has worked closely with many of us at BBSRC and his support has been very much valued and appreciated. Our condolences go to his friends, family and colleagues. He will be greatly missed.

Whilst some of you may prefer to contact colleagues at Syngenta directly, my executive assistant, Romy Thackeray, is currently coordinating messages and comments to be included in a condolences book. It you would like to include a message, please submit it to Romy by 5th July: Romy.Thackeray@bbsrc.ac.uk.

Dr Celia Caulcott
Director, Innovation and Skills, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Swindon

General events: June 2012

TUE 17th JULY 2012 - Speed dating with scientists

JIC Conference Centre Open to Public - start 18:30

Further information

News: June 2012

Partner News

Rothamsted Research: Providing solutions for food security - Rothamsted Research launches "20:20 Wheat ®"

Scientists at Rothamsted Research have launched a new 20:20 Wheat ® Programme at the UK Cereals 2012 event on 13 June, aiming to provide the knowledge base and tools to increase potential wheat yields in the UK to 20 tonnes per hectare within the next 20 years. It is hoped that this could bring significant economic benefit to UK farmers as every 1 tonne per hectare increase in yield is estimated to be worth £318M per year at the farm gate.

Further information

Partner News

UK PlantSci 2012 Talks now online

Did you miss out on the inagural UK Plant Sciences Federation conference, UK PlantSci 2012? If so don't worry many of the talks are now available online.

Further information

NATIONAL PLANT PHENOMICS CENTRE

On Monday 14 May 2012, the new National Plant Phenomics Centre, which features the most advanced research greenhouse in the UK, was formally opened at Aberystwyth University's Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences. The new Centre is a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) supported national facility and has been developed at a cost of £6.8M.

Further information

MINISTER ANNOUNCES £250M FUNDING FOR THE UK’S BIOSCIENCE

On May 24th, during a visit to the Babraham Research Campus, near Cambridge, Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, has announced substantial funding that will ensure the UK's bioscience research base remains globally competitive and at the forefront of meeting the grand challenges faced by society in the coming decades.

Further information

NEW WEBSITE TO SUPPORT WHEAT RESEARCH

A new wheat research information resource was launched on 18th June in a bid to help coordinate worldwide research efforts in the fields of wheat genetics, genomics, physiology, breeding and agronomy. The new website provides a central hub for the Wheat Initiative which aims to coordinate wheat research programmes and contribute to food security across the globe.

View the website

Funding news: June 2012

British Ecological Society: Research Grants

These grants support scientific ecological research where there are limited alternative sources of funding. Small projects can be awarded up to £5,000 and early career ecologists can apply for funding up to £20,000.

Further information

BBSRC: Industrial CASE Studentships

Proposal deadline: 26 July 2012, 4pm. Funding for 90 4-year studentships is available.
CASE studentships (formerly known as 'Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering') are collaborative training grants that provide students with a first-rate challenging research training experience, allowing top quality bioscience graduates to undertake research, leading to a PhD, within the context of a mutually beneficial research collaboration between academic and partner organisations.

Further information

‘AD and Algae: Closing the Loop’

InCrops and EnAlgae host 'AD and Algae: Closing the Loop'; a networking meeting to introduce opportunities and challenges for coupling AD with growing microalgae. The event will take place on Wednesday 18 July 14:00 -17:30 at Db Conference Rooms, Kempson Way, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP32 7AR.

Why couple AD with algae?

• AD produces liquid digestate, CO2 and, if coupled to CHP, low grade heat.
• All these are needed to grow algae.
• Growing algae for feed, chemicals and/or energy applications could add value to AD operations.
• Currently demand for algae outstrips supply, and new business opportunities are emerging.

This FREE event is aimed at anyone interested in either growing algae, or in exploring options for adding value to AD.

It will

• give an overview of the synergies that exist between AD operations and growth of algal biomass
• discuss challenges involved with the recovery and utilisation of AD digester products and the potential benefits if applied to microalgae production
• discuss the practical implications of scaling up the integration of algae production into an AD system
• introduce the variety of commercial and legal aspects that need to be considered
• facilitate building links between AD and algae experts
• showcase the work of the newly launched INTERREG NW Europe Strategic Initiative 'EnAlgae', of which InCrops is a partner

Registration - please contact Julia O'Rourke, InCrops Events Co-ordinator, before 10 July 2012, by email adapt.events@uea.ac.uk or call 01603 591765.

More information.