Upcoming Digital Economy Events: Autumn 2013
by Lisa Harris via Digital Economy USRG
We have lots of goodies planned for the new term, and there are more still in the pipeline – please check out our DE Events page for more detail and ongoing updates. All staff and students are welcome to attend DE events, which are normally held at lunchtimes and come with free sandwiches š Events […]
DE2013 Open Digital Conference at MediaCity
by Lisa Harris via Digital Economy USRG
#DE2013: Open Digital: http://t.co/BfgckwGH0L at MediaCity Salford 4-6 Nov. Early Bird registration rates end 9/9 @sotonDE — Lisa Harris (@lisaharris) September 6, 2013
Recent Grant success: EPSRC First Grant on āConstrained low rank matrix recovery: from efficient algorithms to brain network imagingā
by Thomas Blumensath via Computational Intensive Imaging Blog
Dr Blumensath, a researcher and one of the co-chairs from the Computationally Intensive Imaging group was recently awarded a grant from the EPSRC to study advanced image processing techniques to analyse Brain Imaging Data. In this project Dr Blumensath will develop new computer algorithms to analyse data that arises, for example, in brain imaging. Building on […]
MDR Vacation Bursary Project: Automated Extraction of Multi-band X-ray Spectra
by Benjamin Tunbridge
By Ben Tunbridge, undergraduate student (MPhys Physics with Astronomy), Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering.
I am a student of the School of Physics & Astronomy preparing to commence my fourth and final year on the Physics with Astronomy (MPhys) here at the University of Southampton. For the year ahead, I will be heading out to the U.S. for my year abroad part of my degree.
Galaxy clusters are some of the largest gravitationally bound structures in the universe and can interact on extremely large timescales. Studies of these massive and vast structures can teach us much of the large scale world and the mysteries of the Universe. From our Earthly snapshot views we can determineĀ important features of these clusters includingĀ large scaleĀ radio relics, shock waves and temperature jumps in the structures medium; remnants of the clusters history such as past inter-cluster mergers.
Currently this processĀ requires several interactions which can take considerable human time. Working under the supervision of Dr Anna Scaife, the aim of this project is to remove the need for lengthy human input by developing a pipeline program to automatically process this data. Key interfering processes which must be considered and dealt in the development of scientific standard quality images include such analysis techniques as the removal of interfering solar flares from data sets and cross-correlating data from the four (3 soft and 1 hard X ray) detectorsĀ on boardĀ the SuzakuĀ satellite to determine common events. This could improve the effectiveness of data analysis and therefore the science we wish to investigate.
During the summer I will be working through this procedure step by step on particular galaxy clusters starting with one known as A2256 (or more imaginatively the toothbrush cluster) and as I go I will be developing the pipeline program using python programming language along with wrapped C++ library routines to investigate and process this data into workable scientific images ready with minimal human input.
Extra galactic studies is an ever improving field in astronomy and with the development of observational power, reaching further out into the universe and with much more detail than before it is a very exciting time to be part of the astrophysical community and certainly an area I would like to explore further in my academic path.
Supervisor: Dr Anna Scaife
Visit: The School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Southampton.
MDR Vacation Bursary blog series available at: http://blog.soton.ac.uk/multidisciplinary/tag/vacation-bursary/
MDR Vacation Bursary Project: Modelling Co-evolution of Transport and Land Use
by Rory Devonport
By Rory Devonport, undergraduate student (MEng Civil Engineering), Faculty of Engineering and the Environment.
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As a third year civil engineering student, I am well aware of the major, on-going projects within the UK specific to the improvement of transportation networks (for example Crossrail and HS2). Whilst it is expected and observed that such projects spur economic growth, there is a lack of quantitative approaches which directly allow the prediction of the impact of transportation improvements on urban development and of urban land use on transportation networks simultaneously.
There is of course a profound relationship between functional land use (and land development), and the capability and geometry of the connecting transportation links. Strong transportation links supporting an area can facilitate growth through increasing the attractiveness of the land, providing incentives for further investment in transportation, resulting in a strong positive feedback loop. Furthermore, the converse is also true, where poor transport links or a reduction in land use or resources will result in a loop of negative growth for developed urban land.
The principle goal of this project is therefore to create a model which demonstrates and is able to provide understanding of this co-dependent relationship. The land use model will take the form of an array, each cell representing an area of discreet land use type (variants of residential, commercial, industrial are expected) which provide an influence over the land use of local cell to replicate the formation of land use clusters replicating real urban areas (CBD, Suburbs, Sub-centres etc.) These will be facilitated by and exert demand on an overlaying transportation network which, in adapting in parallel to support the land-use requirements, provides means for further growth and expansion of the land use clusters and the developed urban area.
In order to achieve this, relationships between areas of both differing and similar land use must be established to determine their spatial and transport requirements. This may be obtained from the rich array of existing literature dating back more than half a century, which establishes these relationships and provide quantitative procedures, such as those finding the accessibility of land use zones. The key difference between many of these previous models and approaches however is the attempt of this project to implement the co-evolution of the land-use transport system.
Naturally, the computational model produced from this project will provide a foundation for future projects contemplating and addressing specific questions and ideas which can be represented within the developed model. By creating the model as a framework to understand the consequences of the co-evolution, the model can then be continually improved through further research for example in either improved calibration of attraction-repulsion relationships between different land use types, the impact of physical constraints (e.g. a coastal city) on the co-evolution or long term consequences of the transport policies and investment decisions of the city authorities.
Supervisor: Dr Ben Waterson
MDR Vacation Bursary blog series available at: http://blog.soton.ac.uk/multidisciplinary/tag/vacation-bursary/
Making Digital: Visual Approaches to the Digital Humanities
by Nicole Beale via Digital Humanities | Digital Humanities
Over the past few months Gareth and I have been lucky enough to be involved in a project working with artists from Winchester School of Art to develop a series of training events looking at the relationship between art and archaeology. This project has been a fantastic experience. Later this week, we are all going to EVA London 2013 to …
āThe Internshipā : Precarious Work Futures #2
by Pauline Leonard via Work Thought Blog
The smiling faces of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson currently decorating the sides of many local buses are advertising a new film called ‘The Internship’. Their cheerful demeanor informs us that the film is a comedy-but the rising number of internships appearing in the UK and European youth labour markets is far from a […]
MDR Vacation Bursary Project: Modelling forest growth to determine future sustainable forest harvest rates in Southern Malawi
by Luke Goater
By Emma Green, undergraduate student (Master of Environmental Science), Faculty of Engineering and the Environment.
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I am about to start the fourth year of my degree in Masters of Environmental Science: Sustainable Management pathway. I have really enjoyed the multidisciplinary approach that my degree course has offered me so far and to further my experience I have always wanted to go abroad to carry out research for my dissertation in order to experience a different culture, whilst using GIS (Geographical Information Systems) as a mapping tool. I was fortunate to gain this opportunity in collaboration with the ESPAās (Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation) ASSETS (Attaining Sustainable Services from Ecosystems through Trade-off Scenarios) project which currently has research bases in Malawi, Columbia and Peru focussing on poverty – environment interactions and food security. I have chosen to carry out research into forest growth rates in Malawi, as this affects many aspects of peopleās livelihoods.
With a team of seven other Southampton students, I recently spent a month in Zomba, situated in Southern Malawi. I collected forest, settlement, cropland and grassland plot data within four villages across the region to gain a better understanding of the type and number of trees that occur in different land uses. I also undertook individual and group interviews with members of local communities, focussing on the management practices that occur and will support this with secondary data gained from household surveys.
This will provide me with the information I need to model the current and future growth and off-take rates of trees in the region, using three forest growth rate models – LPJ GUESS, SYMFOR and MYRLIN. I am then hoping to map the tree cover across the four villages and finally combining all of my findings to determine if the current off-take rates are sustainable.
I now have until May next year to insert the data I have collected into forest growth models in order to attain if the current rate of wood off-take is sustainable. I am hoping that my research will enable the villagers to manage their resources in a more sustainable way, which will improve their livelihoods in the future.Ā I have really enjoyed the experience of researching in another country and hopefully the experience I have gained will help me with whatever I would like to do after I have completed my degree!
Supervisor: Simon Willcock.
MDR Vacation Bursary blog series available at: http://blog.soton.ac.uk/multidisciplinary/tag/vacation-bursary/
Further details about Ecosystem Services research carried out by the University of Southampton can be found on the Sustainability Science at Southampton website: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/sustainability_science
MDR Vacation Bursary Project: Graphene Oxide ā Gold Nanoparticle Assemblies for Use in Plasmonic Solar Cells
by Liam Kiessling
By Liam Kiessling, undergraduate student (Physics (MPhys)), Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering.
As a third year physicist, learning to work in a chemistry lab and all the techniques involved in this environment is a challenge but an enjoyable one. What I find most appealing about research into nanotechnology is the ability to take new materials from concepts, to synthesis and eventually into applications for these new materials. Most things in this area are thought up by a physicist, made by a chemist and used by a biologist or doctor. When given the opportunity to work in such a hot area of research, I had to take it.
I will be working with a graphene derivative, graphene oxide, as the base for nanoscale assemblies of DNA and gold nanoparticles. Once we have confirmed that we have created these structures, with UV-Vis spectroscopy and TEM imaging, we will send samples off to get them blended into a solar cell, with the hope that the combination of all three things will increase the energy conversion efficiency over a cell without these structures. If successful, we could see these solar cells in use in mobile phones and other portable electronics so that they would require little or no charging from mains power sources; easing our dependence on fossil fuels for electricity generation.
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I will be continuing this project into my masterās year where I will be looking to make ever more complex structures. Future structures could include: sandwiches of graphene with nanospheres between; paired nanospheres attached to the graphene; exchanging the nanospheres for other shapes (nanorods, nanostars, etc.); and possibly exchanging the gold for other materials (platinum, copper selenide, iron oxide, etc.). We will be running multiple tests on these structures as well to see if there are other potential applications for these which may include: biosensors, batteries, capacitors or display devices.
Supervisor: Dr. Antonios Kanaras.
MDR Vacation Bursary blog series available at: http://blog.soton.ac.uk/multidisciplinary/tag/vacation-bursary/
MDR Vacation Bursary Project: Assessing the cultural values of land uses in Malawi: An ecosystem services approach.
by Luke Goater
By Sophie Van Eetvelt, undergraduate student (Master of Environmental Science), Faculty of Engineering and the Environment.
Iām just about to start the fourth and final year of a Master of Environmental Science in the Faculty of Engineering and the Environment. Iāve chosen the sustainable management pathway and enjoy the breadth of topics that my degree covers, however I never thought Iād end up researching cultural ecosystem services! Ecosystem services are a rapidly emerging area of research and itās exciting to be part of such a new and dynamic field. Iād already decided that I wanted to conduct my dissertation research broadly around poverty-environment interactions and then the opportunity to work with ESPAās (Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation) ASSETS (Attaining Sustainable Services from Ecosystems through Trade-off Scenarios) project in Malawi came up.
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Working with a field team of six other Southampton students, Iāve spent a month in the Zomba region of southern Malawi. I conducted group interviews and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercises in four villages in order to gain a better understanding of cultural ecosystem services, a generally neglected part of ecosystem service research.Ā I am looking to understand the spatial distribution of such services, their current status and how they have changed in the past and may change in the future, and finally to critically analyse the methodology behind assessing cultural ecosystem services. Iām particularly interested in critiquing the use of a rapid appraisal approach for such a qualitative and spatially variable subject.
I now have just under a year to compile my data and produce a journal article-style dissertation. Iāve really enjoyed working in the field conducting PRAās and it has definitely made me more aware of the possibilities for further research in this area after graduation. ESPA ASSETS has established research bases in Malawi, Colombia and now Peru ā so who knows where this area of expertise will take me in the future!
Ā
Supervisors: Kate Schrekenberg, Kelvin Peh, Simon Willcock.
MDR Vacation Bursary blog series available at: http://blog.soton.ac.uk/multidisciplinary/tag/vacation-bursary/
Further details about Ecosystem Services research carried out by the University of Southampton can be found on the Sustainability Science at Southampton website: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/sustainability_science