apex ISS

UE

10

A U T U M N 2 0 0 2

Gifted graduatereturns withSpecial EFX

Aston University Alumni Magazine

Title Name Address

Postcode Country

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Tick as appropriate

❏ I enclose a cheque in pounds sterling drawn on a bank in England for £

❏ I wish to pay by MasterCard/Visa/Switch/Access/Delta/Solo. Please charge to my account.

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Take a look at the new range of AstonUniversity branded gifts available from the Alumni Relations Office…

32

Aston University Gifts

The changing face ofBirmingham – how weused to look

Rising stars andAston honours

To order your Aston University Gifts, pleasecomplete the order form below and return itto: Alumni Relations Office, Aston University,Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK. Allprices include postage and packing.

Payment can be made by credit card orcheque made payable to Aston University insterling and drawn on a bank in England. Allorders must be accompanied by fullpayment. Refunds will only be given if thegoods are faulty. Please allow 28 days fromreceipt of order.

Item description Quantity Unit price (£) Total (£)

Cufflinks 15.00

Tie 10.00

Scarf 15.00

Aston key-ring 5.00

Mug 3.00

Parker rollerball 3.50

Umbrella 18.00

Lapel badge 1.00

Waterman fountain & ballpoint pen set 30.00

Bookmark 1.00

Euro-calculator mousemat 10.00

Coaster set 12.00

Jumper key-ring 5.00

Tower clock £15.00

Dual time alarm clock £15.00

Order total:

AL011/N

OV02

1006 Aston 10 11/10/02 2:26 pm Page 1

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How to contact the Alumni Relations Office

www.aston.ac.uk/alumnialumniinfo@aston.ac.ukTel +44 (0)121 359 3611Fax +44 (0)121 359 4664Alumni Relations OfficeAston University BirminghamB4 7ETUK

Aston honours 4

Rising star 7

The changing face of Aston 8

A gifted graduate 10

Expedition Uganda 12

Welcome to the Class of 2002 13

Alumni networks 13

Bookshelf 13

Alumni advantage 14

Prestigious prizes in national awards ceremony 14

Graduate update form 15

Aston Academy of Life Sciences: a first for UK and Europe 19

Polystyrene babies 20

Plans for expansion 21

???? 22

Roundup 23

Where are they now? 24

Return to Aston 29

Reunions and events 30

Alumni gifts 32

Contents

Editor Sarah Pymm

Special thanks go to everyone whocontributed to this issue of Apex. Apex ispublished twice a year for alumni of AstonUniversity. Letters, photographs and newsare very welcome but we reserve the rightto edit any contributions. Please address allcorrespondence to the Alumni RelationsOfficer. The opinions expressed in Apex arethose of the contributors and do notnecessarily reflect those of the AlumniRelations Office or Aston University.

Photographs p12-13: courtesy of Steve Knight

Photograph credits p10 and front cover: Jim Berry

Editor Sarah PymmReporter Caroline Hidson

Designed and produced by NB Group

Sarah PymmAlumni Relations Officer

Caroline HidsonAlumni Relations Assistant

W e can’t believe we’re sending you the tenth edition ofApex! Our first edition went out five years ago in

Spring 1998. Since then we’ve had the opportunity to meetmany of you and some of you have even shared yourexperiences in the pages of Apex. We’ve journeyed with youto the summit of Kilimanjaro and down to the depths of theSouth China Sea; we’ve explored shipwrecks together andshared in your celebrations when you won competitions,races, prizes and professional recognition. All this alongsidesome key moments in history have been recorded in Apex.You can revisit these moments on the alumni web site –www.aston.ac.uk/alumni – where all the past editions of Apexare waiting to be read again.

The tenth edition, we hope, will continue to do you proud. We meet anAston graduate who owns his own merchandising company and, throughthis connection, now have some exciting new gifts on the back page totempt you. While you’re browsing through your magazine, have a look atpage 14 where you’ll find some special offers for alumni and catch up withlost friends in the ‘Where are they now’ section. Don’t forget, the latestresearch news from your former department is here as well. But that’s notall. We’re taking a close look at the changing face of Birmingham andbringing it alive with your memories and glimpses of the new Citydevelopments. (Why not see the reality for yourself and come back to theAlumni Reunion on 15-16 March?)

With Apex 11 looming on the horizon, our thoughts are turning towardswhat you’re doing now. Ever fancied being in print? Now’s your chance.Send in your pictures, news and stories to the usual address or email. We’vebeen told that some of you keep quiet because you’re concerned thatyou’ve changed a little since your student days, don’t worry – we all haveand that’s part of the fun.

But that’s all in the future. The tenth edition of Apex is in your hands now,so sit back, relax and enjoy what Aston University means to you.

Happy tenth edition!

Sarah Pymm

1006 Aston 10 11/10/02 2:26 pm Page 3

4 5

Aston honours

Edward Raymond (Ray) Evans

A native of Birmingham, Ray Evansattended King Edwards Camp HillGrammar School before taking up anapprenticeship with the British CastIron Research Association andattending evening classes atBirmingham Central Technical College– the forerunner of Aston University.

In the war he was a member of a CivilDefence First Aid party during the airraids before volunteering to join theRoyal Air Force where he qualified as anavigator in 1943. He rejoined BCIRAin 1946 and continued part-timestudies to gain College Associateship.He was awarded a BSc ad eundem inMetallurgy when Aston became auniversity.

In the research department of BCIRA,he covered a variety of topics anddeveloped wide recognition in thefields of light castings, vitreousenamelling, the fluidity of molten castiron and in advisory work on heavycastings, especially steelworks ingotmoulds. He played a major part in thedevelopment and production of

Compacted Graphite Cast Irons.

In recognition of this work, he wasawarded Associateship then Fellowshipof the Institution of Metallurgists,Membership of the Institute of BritishFoundrymen and of the Institute ofVitreous Enamellers where he gainedthe Grainger Medal. He presentedpapers in Australia, Europe andAmerica and was awarded the HowardF Taylor Prize for the best technicalpaper at the American Foundrymen’sSociety 1976 Conference in Chicago.

He maintained an interest in AstonUniversity through AGA during some17 years on its Committee. He was alsoelected to the Standing Committee ofConvocation, serving twice asChairman – a post he still holds after 8years. During this time he wasprominent in the establishment of theAlumni Relations Office and hasrepresented Aston on the Congress ofUniversity Convocations and AlumniAssociations and its forerunners. Rayhas been a keen rugby player andcross-country runner, but nowcontents himself with golf and bridge.

David Gwilym Gregory

David Gregory was educated at StCatherine’s College, Oxford University,and the Centre for Urban and RegionalStudies, Birmingham University. Afterholding various posts in banking andlocal government, he joined AstonUniversity as a lecturer in 1969. Hesubsequently held the positions ofHead of the Public SectorManagement Group, Chairman ofAston Business School, Dean of theFaculty of Management and Modern

Languages, Director of Aston BusinessSchool Management DevelopmentProgramme and Director of theInstitute of Continuing Professionaland Managerial Studies. He retired in1999 but remains an Honorary Fellowof Aston Business School and isChairman of its Advisory Board.

Throughout his career he sustained aresearch interest in evaluation of publicservice performance and the interfacebetween top managers and politicians.He contributed regularly to theCabinet Office Top ManagementProgramme in its early years andundertook many public serviceconsultancy assignments in the UK andoverseas.

He was an elected Councillor and aJustice of the Peace for six years. Healso developed an interest in the workof housing associations and was afounder member and Chairman ofWolverhampton Housing Association,and Chairman of Focus 2 Housing. Inretirement, he now has time to pursuehis other main interests in music, theperforming arts and travel.

Alan David Jones OBE

Alan Jones is Group Managing DirectorTNT Express and he is a member of theBoard of Management of TNT PostGroup NV, a major public companylisted in Amsterdam, London, NewYork and Frankfurt.

Alan is the Variety Club of Great Britain1998 Midlands Businessman of theYear and winner of the 2000 Investorsin People Ambassador Award.

Alan is the founder Chairman ofMidlands Excellence and was electedto the European Foundation forQuality Management (EFQM)Governing Committee in October1999. Alan is Chairman of In KindDirect, a successful charity founded byHRH The Prince of Wales thatdistributes surplus donated goods tovoluntary organisations, and amember of the Board of Business in theCommunity.

Alan is a member of the Ministry ofDefence Tri-Service Logistics MinisterialSteering Committee and a member ofthe Defence Procurement MinisterialAdvisory Agency Board. He is also thepartner chosen by the Cabinet Officeto sponsor and lead the TNTModernising Government PartnershipAward competition.

Alan is a former Director of the BritishQuality Foundation and a formerChairman of The Chartered Institute ofTransport. He is a Freeman of the Cityof London and was made an Officer ofthe Most Excellent Order of the BritishEmpire in the June 1996 Queen’sBirthday Honours List.

Marylane Barfield

Marylane Barfield was born inMichigan, USA, where she waseducated at the Michigan StateUniversity. From 1960-65 she taughtart in Long Island, New York. In 1965she came to London to take the job asHead of the Art Department at TheAmerican School in London. Shemarried and moved to Birmingham in1969 where her husband was a lecturerin archaeology at the University ofBirmingham. She continued to paintand exhibit her work.

In 1988 she was elected AssociateMember of the Royal BirminghamSociety of Artists. She then served asCurator and was elected full memberin 1993 and President in 1995. Duringher term as President, the Societymoved their gallery from New Street toSt. Paul’s Square which Marylane hasthe honour to supervise. She nowserves the RBSA in the position ofDevelopment Manager and continuesto paint and exhibit her work.

Sir Nicholas Dominic Cadbury

Sir Dominic Cadbury has beenChairman of the Wellcome Trust sincehis retirement from CadburySchweppes in May 2000 where he hadbeen CEO and subsequentlyChairman. He is also Chairman of theEconomist Group and of TransenseTechnologies, Deputy Chairman ofEMI and a Non-Executive Director ofMisys plc.

He has been involved in many aspectsof education through the CBI asChairman of its Education & Training

Committee and as Deputy Chairmanof the Qualifications & CurriculumAuthority. He is a Fellow of EtonCollege, Vice-President of EdgbastonHigh School for Girls and a Trustee ofthe Teaching Awards Trust, whichhonours outstanding teachers, as wellas Chairman of an advisory committeeof the National Life Story Collection ofthe British Library. He was knighted inthe Queen’s Birthday Honours List inJune 1997.

Sir Dominic has always been a keensportsman though his maincompetitive sporting interest now isgolf. Other interests include walkinghis dogs in the Oxfordshirecountryside where he lives with hiswife Sally and attending the opera andballet at Covent Garden, London.

Professor Cary Lynn CooperCBE

Cary Cooper is currently BUPAProfessor of Organisational Psychologyand Health in the Manchester Schoolof Management and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University ofManchester Institute of Science andTechnology (UMIST).

He is the author of over 80 books onoccupational stress, women in theworkplace and industrial andorganisational psychology. He haswritten over 400 scholarly articles foracademic journals and is a frequentcontributor to national newspapers, TVand radio. Currently he is FoundingEditor of the Journal of OrganisationalBehaviour and co-editor of the medicaljournal Stress and Health (formerlyStress Medicine).

At this year's Degree Congregations held inMarch and July, Aston welcomed eight newHonorary Graduates as Members ofConvocation, acknowledging their achievementand contribution to their respective fields.

1006 Aston 10 11/10/02 2:26 pm Page 5

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T he plan made financial sense. The programmingexisted. There was an audience. "So why not simply

bring these together," began Lisa. A simple concept, maybe,but one which was put to the test in a market where therewere already 20 channels broadcasting to the UK’s twomillion strong South-Asian community.

In India, 39 of the top 50 shows are STAR’s. STAR wasrenowned for high quality programming and this proved tobe the ultimate driving force to grow and retain an audience.UK viewers were gaining access to the cream of Asian shows:Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Saans.

"Having launched on the Sky platform at a higher price thanall channels, my first challenge was to encourage trial,convinced that once people were hooked onto the award-winning serials, there would be no question regarding churn

– subscribers leaving the channel." A winning strategy.Having fought with the powers-that-be to secure a three-month free window for viewers, Lisa launched an aggressivemarketing campaign highlighting the USPs of both thechannels across ethnic print and radio. STAR News came intoits own within weeks of launch with the tragic earthquake inGujarat. But the channel brought families together andshowed the power of a 24-hour news channel broadcastinginto the UK from the Subcontinent.

Lisa remains at the cutting edge of international mediaalways driving forward to break through the next obstacle,taking STAR further and faster into a highly competitiveworld. After months of negotiating with cable networksclaiming full capacity, STAR Plus and STAR News launched onTelewest last October. "We have a solid role to play, in theeveryday lives of the UK’s Asian community," declares Lisa. "Iam committed to bringing the very best in programmingfrom both the Subcontinent and the UK to our viewers. Afterjust a year and a half we have expanded our distributionacross all possible UK platforms. We now need to make surethat everyone has a reason to subscribe. I’m confident thatSTAR Plus and STAR News will be the UK’s number onechannels, just as they are in the Subcontinent."

A brief look at her career since graduating from Aston showshow her attitude and constant determination to succeed hascatapulted her through the ranks right to the top of herprofession where she occupies one of the most influentialpositions in the world of satellite TV. She has worked asInternational Marketing Manager for Universal Pictureslaunching an intranet site and working on campaigns formany of the company’s specialist video and DVD productsincluding Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals and MichaelFlatley’s Lord of the Dance. At 20th Century Fox HomeEntertainment, she gained expertise in the field of children’sentertainment working specifically on all 20th Century’schildren’s titles and alongside the Fox Kids network team.Lisa has worked with several other home entertainmentcompanies including Paramount Home Video with particularresponsibilities for Nickelodeon and MTV. Within theinternational marketing arena, Lisa has also worked withSeaFrance Ferries and Federal Express Europe where she waspresented with the Bravo Zulu Award for Excellence.

Professor Cooper is a Fellow of theBritish Psychological Society, the RoyalSociety of Arts, The Royal Society ofHealth and an Academician of theAcademy for the Social Sciences. He isalso President of the British academy ofManagement, is a Companion of the(British) Institute of Management andone of the first UK-based Fellows of the(American) Academy of Managementhaving also won the 1998Distinguished Service Award for hiscontribution to management sciencefrom the Academy of Management. In2001 he was awarded a CBE in theQueen’s Birthday Honours List for hiscontribution to organisational health.

He is currently Joint Editor (withProfessor Chris Argyris of HarvardBusiness School) of the internationalscholarly Blackwell Encyclopaedia ofManagement and the Editor of Who’sWho in the Management Sciences. Heas been an advisor to the World HealthOrganisation, ILO and recentlypublished a major report for the EU’sEuropean Foundation for theImprovement of Living and WorkConditions on Stress Prevention in theWorkplace.

In addition he is President of theInstitute of Welfare Officers, Vice-President of the British Association ofCounselling, an Ambassador of TheSamaritans and Patron of the NationalPhobic Society.

Dr John Parnaby CBE

John Parnaby is a native of Cumbriaand has had a long career in bothindustry and academia. He spent atotal of fourteen years as an academicin two spells, interspersed with periodsin industry. After holding a Chair inEngineering, he left the universityworld in 1980 to resume his industrialcareer, initially as Managing Director ofa machinery company.

He first moved to live in the Midlandswith his family in 1981 to take up apost as General Manager with Dunlopplc before moving in 1983 to LucasIndustries plc as Group Director forTechnology. Subsequently he becameChief Executive of the Lucas ElectronicSystems Products Sector.

At the beginning of 1998, Dr Parnabyretired from Lucas but continued as aNon-Executive Director of severalcompanies including Jarvis plc, Molinsplc and Scottish Power plc. He iscurrently Chairman of KnowledgeProcess Software plc, Think Digital plcand Amchem Ltd. He is also a memberof the Council of Aston University andTreasurer.

Professor John Maxwell Irvine

John Maxwell Irvine was born andraised in Edinburgh. He studied at theuniversities of Edinburgh, Michiganand Manchester.

As an academic physicist, he hasauthored more than one hundredresearch papers and half a dozenbooks in his field. He was Vice-President of the Institute of Physics,

Chairman of the SERC’s NuclearPhysics Committee and ResearchFellowships Panel, Dean of Science atthe University of Manchester andChairman of the ManchesterComputing Centre.

In 1991, he joined the University ofAberdeen as Principal. He chaired theCommittee of Scottish UniversityPrincipals, the Association ofCommonwealth Universities and was amember of the Scottish EconomicCouncil. In the same year he waselected a Fellow of the Royal Society ofEdinburgh and in 1995 and HonoraryFellow of the Royal College ofSurgeons.

In 1996, he came to the WestMidlands as Vice-Chancellor of theUniversity of Birmingham and workedfor closer co-operation between thehigher education institutes in theregion. He chaired the RegionalInnovation Strategy Group and wasappointed a Deputy Lord Lieutenantin 1999.

In 2001, Professor Irvine returned toManchester from which he currentlychairs the JISC, responsible for ICTinfrastructure throughout the UK andpromotes international highereducation through his work with theACU, E-SU, CommonwealthScholarship Commission, BritishCouncil and the Association ofEuropean Universities. He is also aBoard member of the Public HealthLaboratories Service.

Rising starJanuary 2001 saw Asia’s most successful 24-hour satellite entertainment channel, STAR Plus and its sister channel STAR News, beamed onto UK TV screens. Already serving 300 million viewers across 53 countries, STAR promised to be a leading contender in ethnic TV and the challenge to pioneer its expansion into Europe was seized by Lisa Srao (1995 BSc Managerial& Administrative Studies). Now Vice-President Business Operations, she gaveApex an insight into the fiercely competitive world of satellite media.

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The changing face of Aston...Founded in 1895 and a university since 1966, Aston is an old university with a proven historyof academic excellence. Its green campus in the heart of the vibrant City of Birmingham hasbeen home to thousands of students from all over the world. Here you studied. Here you metyour friends. And no doubt Aston has a special place in your heart. We’ve captured yourmemories and unfolded them here alongside the new developments in the City and oncampus. But this is only a snapshot of generations. Experience it again, come back to Aston.

Lakeside Residences, the first new buildingon the Aston campus for 12 years, wasofficially opened on November 16th 1999.A striking 17-storey tower with a snakingeight-storey tail has changed Birmingham’sskyline and received landmark acclaim fromthe architectural community. Lakesidefronts onto the inner ring road and theentrance to Aston.

Lakeside Conference Centre (formerly the Vauxhall Dining Centre and Oscar’s) wasopened in summer 2001 providing a convenient and accessible location for small orlarge events. Lakeside, dedicated to the provision of conference, training and meetingfacilities, is a contemporary new development featuring an eye-catching glassfrontage.

Bar Lago, situated in the Sumpner Building, is a modern, stylish food and drink outlet,open between 8.00am and 11.00pm.

More changes are planned on campus in the near future as the University implementsa major new estates strategy over the next 10-15 years. Apex will keep you up to date.

Pharmacy class around 1963 "We were all about to embark on a coach trip to Hertfordshire; we stayed overnight

at the Russell Hotel in London. Mr Bateson was Head of Department and Mr Jepson

taught us dispensing. My years at Aston were happy and we used to enjoy our

dances. One night Tom Jones sang. He was ribbed a little and walked off stage, only

to return later and apologise to very loud cheers – all had a wonderful time

afterwards."

David Lee

"Do folk remember the Birmingham SUN

– a top quality college newspaper! I

joined the editorial team in 1967 when

MJK Stanworth was editor. I remember

well the balls in the Great Hall with

names like The Merseybeats, The

Rockinberries, Tom Jones and the Squires,

the John Barry 7 and Spencer Davis."

Christine Bray (née Nixon 1966

BSc Pharmacy)

Birmingham looks and feels better than

ever thanks to massive investment

which has transformed the City into

one of Europe’s most exciting venues

for entertainment, shopping, business,

culture and sport. There’s a whole host

of new developments and many more

planned on the east side of the City

close to campus.

"I had formed a football team for which

I played – it was no surprise to be

asked to do a similar job for the

University. As a qualified coach, to be

later assisted by Aston Villa player Geoff

Vowden, we began the grading of 70

potential players. The standard of those

who would form the 1st and 2nd XI’s

was extremely high. A football

committee was formed. Paul

Bloodworth, ex Coventry City player

and member of the Physical Recreation

Department, took over training.

Shustoke was well established. An

organised club was complete."

Stan Arthurs (1967)

"I arrived in Birmingham in September 1981 and enrolled as a student on the MSc

Public Sector Management course. Back in Nigeria I had obtained a BA degree and

was Senior Hospital Administrator. In my first year I lived in Vauxhall Court and

Dalton Tower in my second. During the unusually severe winter of 1981/82, I ran

cross-country races with a number of students through the streets of Birmingham in

the mornings."

James E A Ituru (1982 MSc Public Sector Management)

"Stafford Tower roof, a brilliant sunny

day immediately after my graduation,

1982. In this shot you can see

buildings and features which are no

longer there like the Tea Warehouse,

Geology block and prototype

Biotechnology centre."

Steve Knight (1982 BSc

Biochemistry and Chemistry)

"Since I started as a day-release student (aged 16) at Suffolk Street in 1950, things

have certainly changed. I did chemical calculations using long multiplication and

division, a slide rule for checking, proficiency in foreign languages for engineering

students was a requirement and when the first computer arrived at Gosta Green in

the late 1950s, it was the size of a large wardrobe."

David G Owen (1959 ACT)

"When I got my degree I shook hands

with the Chancellor and left the stage a

little confused, being a bit deaf (hay

fever I think) on the day. As we got

down, I asked my best mate Matt

O'Hare (just behind me as it happened)

how he knew me as I’d never seen him

before. "What do you mean, how he

knew you?" asked Matt.

"Well," I explained, "he said, ‘I’ll miss

you’."

"And what did you say?"

"That I’d miss him too and he didn’t

half look at me strange afterwards."

"That’s because he actually said, ‘I

admit you’."

Oh dear.

Daniel Lees (1997 BSc Modern

Languages French)

"I briefly passed by Aston recently."

(Don't pass by, drop in – Ed.) "The

campus was looking nice but the

Vauxhall Brasserie (formerly the

Vauxhall Dining Centre, affectionately

known to all as the VD Centre) has

been closed and turned into seminar

rooms! What happened to the barman,

Hugh, with his trademark moustache

and Guinness tie? I was probably his

longest standing customer – was still

going there six years after graduating.

Now that I live in France, I've had to

find other student bars to go to

instead."

Andrew Winder (1992 BSc Transport

Management)

Victoria SquareThe Water’s Edge Brindley Place

...in Birmingham

Latest additions to campus

A full panoramic vista of campus

Aston University from Millennium Point, October 2001

1006 Aston 10 11/10/02 2:27 pm Page 9

11

Tell us about Special EFX – you’vebeen going for over ten yearshaven’t you?

Yes, that’s right. I started Special EFX in1991 and we’ve been going strongever since. I’ve actually been in thisindustry much longer though, havingowned another business prior to this in1971 called Troika. My first everproduct was a gear-knob for a car,which had a silver top engraved withan individual’s initials. We soldhundreds of thousands of these bymail order in the first few years andquickly grew to employ seventy-fivepeople. Troika was sold in the teeth ofrecession in 1989, ratherunfortunately, and two years later Istarted Special EFX. I have always beena manufacturer at heart – it must bethe Birmingham roots – and we are stillexpanding the engineering andproduction side of our business.

Is this what you expected to endup doing?

I have the attention span of a gnat! Idon't think I have ever seriouslyplanned anything in my career, whichI guess can also mean rolling along outof control! I spend most of my timenow pursuing concepts and productideas and marketing them.

So what is different about SpecialEFX?

Our by-line is ‘EFX...Special by Design’.We try to do everything differently and

hopefully better than anyone else. Weare innovative in both design andtechnology and 72% of the productsin our range have been developed andbrought to market by us, using ourown in-house design facility. Ourproducts are very original, some quirkyand fun, others with advancedtechnical features. We (thirty-one ofus) operate out of a group ofeighteenth century barns just south ofStratford-upon-Avon, in a delightfulrural setting. EFX is very much a familybusiness whether through blood orpurely a shared passion for theenterprise.

You’ve won plenty of awards –tell us about them.

In 1988 we won the British DesignAward for a new ‘Ergo’ pewter hipflask, which won acclaim all over theworld and is now recognised as adesign icon. Since then we have wonawards for product innovation inGermany, Japan and the USA and havebeen outright winners three times ofthe Gift of the Year Award, which isorganised by the British GiftwareAssociation. We were also a finalist inthe Coventry and Warwickshire SmallBusiness of the Year.

We are delighted that you havebeen able to provide Aston withsome new products for its giftrange. Has it been nice for you tobe able to give something backto your University, so to speak?

Yes, I was honoured when youapproached me with a view toproviding some new items for your giftrange. Having worked with you fromstart to finish on the whole project, it’swonderful to now be able to see thefinished products and I think they lookgreat, even if I do say so myself. I hopethat they will be a success. I havemany, many happy memories of Astonin the swinging sixties and a very largesoft spot in my heart for the place. I amthe worst at keeping in touch andwelcome the new ‘re-association’.

Finally, what would you buy fromthe range you’ve given to us? Youcan only choose one!

I would definitely buy the coasters. Theoriginal version was designed by mydaughter, Holly, and my wife, Melanie,for BA Concorde. They were intendedas a memento to be given out toprestigious passengers. They aremodern, tasteful, good-looking andfunctional. What more can you ask?

A gifted graduate

When looking to inject a tad more style into our gift range earlier this year, we were delightedto discover that Peter Osborne (1970 BSc Behavioural Science) owned his own successfulmerchandising company – Special EFX – which boasts clients from Aston Martin and Mercedesto Harrods and the Gadget Shop. We quickly sought him out and with Peter’s help, and hisenthusiasm to give something back to his University, we have been able to add four stylishnew gifts to our range. We went to find out more about Special EFX and just what, out of thegifts Peter’s supplied, he would buy with his money!

10

"I was honoured when youapproached me with a view toproviding some new items for yourgift range. Having worked with youfrom start to finish on the wholeproject, it’s wonderful to now be ableto see the finished products and I think they look great."

The new additions – courtesy ofSpecial EFX…

COASTERS

TOWER CLOCK

DUAL TIME ALARM CLOCK

JUMPER KEY-RING

Full details on how to order anyof our gifts can be found on theback of Apex, page 32.

1006 Aston 10 11/10/02 2:27 pm Page 11

12

Expedition: Uganda Welcome to the Class of 2002

Alumni networks

Every week we hear from graduates eager to tell us about their travel experiences, fromclimbing mount Kilimanjaro to walking the Inca Trail in Peru. Increasingly, more and more ofyou are choosing to go away on organised expeditions, drawn in by the opportunity to workwith people from different backgrounds and nationalities on a variety of community andenvironmental projects all over the world. Claire Surtees (née Lewis, 1992 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies) has been going on expeditions for the last five years. Having justreturned from Uganda, we were keen to catch up with Claire to find out about her latestexpedition and why she finds them such an attraction.

Welcome to all our new alumni! That’s a welcome to allof you who graduated this year either in March or Julyand now belong to the Class of 2002 and also to thoseof you who we’ve recently caught up with and arereading Apex for the first time.

13

W hy do I love going on expeditions? I just thrive on thechallenges that these expeditions present. It’s

wonderful to have the opportunity to be able to get to knowa country better by living and working with local people. Ialso get to meet a new group of people with whom I candevelop new friendships.

A small company called XCL runs the expeditions, which arebased in remote communities rather than being purelyadventure based. I’ve been going away with them for fiveyears, and it’s great because as the expeditions are relativelyshort, I can take them as part of my annual leave. As theBusiness Development Manager for Matthews Foods, I can’tjust choose to go away whenever I feel like it, so this providesme with a good compromise.

Uganda was a fantastic experience and particularly excitingfor me as I was Group Leader this time. I was in charge of tenother adults and had been involved in training andpreparing them right from the start. The expedition lastedthree weeks and our time was divided so that two weekswere spent working on two different community projects,whilst the final week was simply adventure based.

Our first community project was to work alongside theUgandan Wildlife Authority in Mount Elgon National Park.They are trying to make the park more of a destination fortourists, so we spent a lot of time helping to improve thefacilities on the main campsite. One of our tasks involvedmarking a trail through the forest so that visitors can makethe most of the park’s environment. I think the park keepersappreciated our help, as they said we provided a ‘vision’from a tourist’s perspective.

During the second week of our stay, we were based atKapchesombe Primary School, again in the lush MountElgon region of Eastern Uganda. When we arrived at theschool, the children were fascinated by us. They had neverreceived white visitors before and then eleven turned up ontheir doorstep all at once! They seemed to find the way we

lived unusual – the way we ate and where we slept – butthey soon got used to us, as we did to them. It was mostdefinitely a learning experience for all involved!

During our stay here we ran a sports developmentprogramme for the children. ‘Tag’ rugby was particularlypopular with one primary class who were more than eagerto illustrate their newly found skills in a tournament. The restof the school cheered on enthusiastically! We also ran Englishteaching workshops with teachers from the school and thesurrounding areas. The curriculum in Uganda is quitedeveloped, but the challenge is having to look after classesof between 60-120 students with limited resources.Hopefully we were able to teach some valuable new skillsthat can be taken away and developed further. We werecertainly encouraged to hear the Head say that we hadinjected some 'new life and excitement' into the village.

What have I gained from my experience? A great sense ofachievement I think, and being able to meet and live withthe Ugandan people. I shall be taking home some fondmemories and the impression of an incredibly welcomingnation with a fantastic creativity and talent – some of themusic we encountered was amazing! I will definitely beencouraging other expedition groups to follow up the workwe did in Uganda as there is still a lot to be done.

As for my next expedition, I’m off to Sikkim in northernIndia next September. It will be a three-week expedition with similar objectives to this one, living and working in remote communities. I can’t wait!

As an Aston graduate, you are automatically a member of a global network ofAston alumni which is becoming increasingly more active throughout the

world. Membership of this network is free and new members are joining all thetime. You will receive Apex twice a year (in November and May) and an invitationto the annual Alumni Weekend which is held in the middle of March. The AlumniWeekend is a reunion for everyone to enjoy. Full details of Alumni Weekend 2003on 15-16 March will be sent out in January. Make sure you don’t miss it.

We now have six local alumni networks throughout the world helping Astongraduates to keep in touch. Alumni networks bring together all of the Astongraduates living in the same area. Network members organise their ownsocial events throughout the year and often arrange to meet Aston stafftravelling through their hometown. Alumni networks can now be found in:

Beijing Shanghai Cyprus Hong Kong

KL and Southern Peninsula Malaysia

Penang and Northern Peninsula Malaysia

If you would like to know more about these networks, please contact theAlumni Relations Office.

Now you’re part of an ever-growing alumni network, what

else is in it for you?

• social networking events for like-minded alumni – get your year group back together again

• reunions back on campus (or nearer home) to mark landmark anniversaries ofyour graduation from Aston

• an In-Touch Service to help you find faces from the past – whatever happenedto what's-his-name?

• membership of international alumni groups – wherever in the world you findyourself, there's bound to be more like you nearby

• opportunities to put something back into the life of Aston today by supportingyour former School, the Careers Service or current students

• a range of discounts and promotions for Aston graduatesA number of University publications areproduced over the year, all of which areavailable free of charge to Aston alumni.If you would like a copy of any of thesepublications, please contact CarolineHidson in the Alumni Relations Office.

1 Undergraduate Prospectus 2003 entry

2 Postgraduate Prospectus 2003 entry

3 University Annual Review

4 Heritage Trail Leaflet

5 Aston Business School Annual Review 2002

Bookshelf

Right: The rugby tournament gets underway!

"We were certainly encouraged to hearthe Head Teacher say that we had

injected some 'new life and excitement' into the village."

1

2

3

4

5

1006 Aston 10 11/10/02 2:27 pm Page 13

Key activities within the Academywill include:

Cornea and Refractive Surgery: AstonUniversity will have the first optometryschool in the UK able to carry outrefractive surgery on site. With theongoing collaboration of many of theUK's leading ophthalmologists, theAcademy will be a unique centre ofexcellence in the UK's academic andmedical communities. The theatre suitesare designed such that the range ofsurgeries offered can be extended to anyday case procedure and will broadenover time to include further proceduresin ophthalmology and other specialistareas, making this research facility aEuropean first.

Brain Imaging: A recent award from theHEFCE and The Wellcome Trust enabledAston University, through its world classteam of neuroscientists, to establish itselfas a unique centre for brain imaging. TheNeurosciences Research Institute containsthe first whole head Magneto-encephalographic (MEG) system in theUK and the addition of functionalMagnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) willmaintain Aston's unique status infunctional brain imaging with directbenefits for patient care and for research.The diagnostic capability of thecombined MEG and fMRI facility will

increase effectiveness and reduce riskscurrently associated with brain surgery.

Paediatric Cochlear Implantation andRehabilitation: The BirminghamPaediatric Cochlear Implant Programmeis recognised as one of the largest in thecountry. Provided by the BirminghamChildren's Hospital NHS Trust, theimplant team's incorporation into theAcademy will facilitate the NRI'sexpanding research programmes onhearing dysfunction, and speech andlanguage disorders.

Dyslexia and Epilepsy: Aston has a longand impressive track record in theprovision of clinical services for epilepsyand dyslexia and these services will begreatly expanded in the new Academy.Clinical research partnerships with theBirmingham Children's Hospital NHSTrust and the paediatric cochlear implantteam present new opportunities forresearch into hearing, speech, language,attention and hyperactivity disorders andautism.

Human Myopia: Research into humanmyopia has achieved internationalrecognition in understanding linksbetween myopia and near work,measurement of eye dimensions andaspects of high myopia in children. Theincreasing prevalence of myopia inadolescents is now recognised as a

worldwide problem and the Academywill provide an important European focusfor myopia research. New work willconcern various treatments for myopiainvolving new synthetic biomaterials andpharmaceutical agents.

The Academy will have a multidisciplinaryteam including surgeons, medical staff,optometrists, psychologists, pharmacists,physicists, engineers and nursing staff. Itwill be at the heart of the MidlandsMedical Technologies Cluster withcomplementary links to other localUniversities and will provide leading edgeservices to businesses in the region.

Pat Laughlin, Director of Advantage WestMidlands, said: "The Agency is workingwith Aston University to promote anddevelop the Academy as an internationalcentre of excellence for the region. TheAcademy will be an important hub forthe medical technology cluster in theregion. This builds upon Advantage WestMidlands commitment to developingand promoting the medical cluster aspart of our drive to grow knowledge-based industry with the resultingenhanced employment potential, newbusiness opportunities and superior levelsof care for regional, national andinternational patients." Professor MikeWright, Vice-Chancellor of AstonUniversity, commented: "The newAcademy represents a major step forwardfor research in neuroscience, vision andaudiology, not only for Aston Universitybut for the West Midlands region and theUK. In addition to being a national centreof excellence, the Academy will providethe focus for improved treatment andcare for all those patients who currentlysuffer, or who may suffer, from life-limiting effects of neurological, visual andauditory disease."

S C H O O L O F L I F E & H E A L T H S C I E N C E S

Aston Academy of Life Sciences: a first for UK and EuropeAston University will open its new £8 million Aston Academy of Life Sciences in April 2004. It willbe a unique facility for biomedical research which will build on Aston's grade 5 rated NeurosciencesResearch Institute. The project is funded by HEFCE's Science Research Investment Fund (SRIF),Advantage West Midlands, The Wellcome Trust and Aston University. Through Aston's BusinessPartnership Unit, the Academy will provide a platform for the development of patents, licenceopportunities and new spin-out companies, resulting in income generating opportunities andenhanced employment potential within the West Midlands.

19

Library Membership: as an Aston graduate you are able toregister to use the University Library for just £24.50 a year.This entitles you to borrow one medium loan item and fivelong loan items subject to the library's normal loan rules.Access to Aston’s web catalogue is also available. Contact theAlumni Relations Office for an application form and a list ofterms and conditions on 0121 359 3611.

Management Development Centre: Aston alumni can enjoypreferential rates on overnight accommodation in the

Management Development Centre, starting from just £55.22for bed and breakfast including VAT. For further details, or tomake a reservation, contact Maureen Wood onm.p.wood@aston.ac.uk or telephone 0121 359 3011.

Further details on all of the above can be found atwww.aston.ac.uk/alumni/benefits.

Alumni AdvantageThe Alumni Relations Office has been working hard this summer negotiating a range of discountsfor you both on and off the campus. Take a look at what’s on offer and see how you can benefitfrom keeping in touch!

14

The City of Birmingham SymphonyOrchestra is offering a 10% discounton tickets for CBSO concertpromotions at Symphony Hall,Birmingham. Alumni wishing topurchase tickets should call theSymphony Hall Box Office on 0121780 3333 and quote 'AstonUniversity Alumni Offer'. For details ofCBSO concerts visit www.cbso.co.ukor call CBSO offices on 0121 6166500 for a brochure.

Avis Car Rental Ltd. areoffering Aston alumni

10% off Supervalue rates in Europe; 5%off inclusive Holiday rates in the USA andCanada; 10% off Avis Chauffeur Drive;10% off Avis Prestige Cars and up to10% off Standard rates in Asia, Pacific,Middle East and Africa. To book, call0870 606 0100 and quote Avis World-wide Discount Number K626925.

Green Flag motoringassistance are offering avariety of discountedpackages to Astonalumni, with Recovery

Only starting from as little as £38. Call0800 800 662 for further informationand quote reference D-1C01.

A ston’s Alumni Relations Office wasone of only 19 UK institutions to win

a coveted gold award in this year’s HEISTAwards for Education Marketing. Theannual awards are supported by TheGuardian newspaper and celebrateexcellence in the marketing of universitiesand colleges. This year’s awards attracted246 entries.

We won gold for our alumnicommunications strategy which keepsyou, our graduates, in touch with Astonand each other whilst encouraging asmany of you as possible to be involved inthe life of your University today. NaturallyApex was a major part of our strategy butrecognition was also given to the

Network Lectures, international alumninetworks and e-groups. You have awealth of expertise and tremendousgoodwill which you are willing to sharewith each other and our current students.Thank you for all your support over thepast few years and we look forward to aneven closer future with our alumni.

Congratulations also go to Astongraduate Claire Davies (1996 BScBusiness Administration and PublicPolicy/Management, pictured right) whowon the Merit Award for the YoungEducation Marketer of the Year in thesame competition. Claire is currentlyMarketing Co-ordinator with the OpenUniversity and was a driving force behindthe launch of the Faculty of Education

and Language Studies’ PGCEprogramme. This was an importantstrategic development which positionedthe Open University as a major nationalprovider of initial teacher training. Claireexplained: "My role included marketanalysis, positioning the course in acompetitive market, producing themarketing plan and implementing theinitial campaign."

Tussauds Group is offering 25% offentrance to four of its attractions: AltonTowers, Thorpe Park, Chessington Worldof Adventures and Madame Tussauds.Please note that this offer will notcommence until April 2003 as the parksare closed over the winter. Bookingdetails to all four attractions will beavailable in the New Year atwww.aston.ac.uk/alumni.

PRESTIGIOUS PRIZES IN NATIONAL AWARDS CEREMONY

The above information is correct at the time of going to press. Aston University accepts no liability for any losses incurred by alumni resulting from these offers or any reliance placed upon them.

On campus discounts and promotions…

Is your company or organisation willing to offer a discount toalumni? We would be pleased to receive any suggestions.Email: alumniinfo@aston.ac.uk.

1006 Aston 10 11/10/02 2:27 pm Page 15

20

D r Tonge, a lecturer in Chemical

Engineering and Applied

Chemistry, has worked tirelessly for

over a decade on his research to

discover why premature babies die. He

found that one of the main causes, the

collapse of babies’ lungs, is currently

being treated with expensive animal

proteins costing around £300 per shot.

He was determined to find out

whether a cheaper alternative could be

found. And after six years in the lab –

and a further five years to patent the

idea – he’s come up with the answer.

Dr Tonge’s new synthetic polymer

molecule replaces the animal protein

found in the lungs of pigs and cattle

which is used in today’s treatment. Its

structural properties could keep

babies’ lungs open until they are

strong enough to breathe normally.

What’s more, Dr Tonge’s treatment is

10,000 times cheaper at 3p per shot

than those that are being used in NHS

hospitals today.

This is good news not only for the

UK’s health service but also for third

world countries which find current

treatments too costly and have no

suitable alternative. For this reason

the treatment will not be subject to a

patenting process in developing

countries that may be deterred from

utilising such a product. Should Dr

Tonge’s treatment become

commercially available it will

undoubtedly save the lives of

thousands of babies living in

developing countries.

The treatment is a combination of the

widely available food additive lecithin,

found in many health food shops, and

a simple polymer or liquid plastic

based upon polystyrene – the plastic

used to make those ubiquitous

throwaway cups. These two

components combine to form sub-

microscopic particles known as

nanostructures that spread out to coat

the babies’ lungs and prevent them

from collapsing.

Polystyrene babies

S C H O O L O F E N G I N E E R I N G & A P P L I E D S C I E N C E

Throwaway cups are a lifesaver. An Aston academic, Dr Steve Tonge of theSchool of Engineering & Applied Science, has discovered that the materialused to make polystyrene cups could save the lives of thousands ofpremature babies who are dying unnecessarily.

T o meet the demand for its

courses ABS will continue to

grow both physically and in terms of

staffing. In the next five years the

number of its full time academic staff

will rise from the current 80 to over

120 and its turnover will increase from

£15 million to around £25m.

The growth in both student and

academic numbers requires an

expansion of its headquarters, the

Nelson Building. Befitting an

ambitious business school, ABS has

plans to build a huge extension to its

HQ at a cost of around £20m. This will

be funded by the growth in income

from an increase in programme

provision.

Strategically, this will extend the

capacity of ABS to compete more

effectively in areas where it is already

strong: conferencing, postgraduate

programmes, research and

management development courses,

which enable top managers to keep

abreast of the latest business

concepts. There is a new MBA suite

consistent with the quality and scale of

European market leaders as well as

refurbishment of existing interiors and

new academic accommodation.

The project will lift ABS from its

current position as Britain’s leading

provider of undergraduate and MSc

programmes, and Britain’s sixth

largest business research school, to a

premier position in Europe. It will also

drastically reduce the student:staff

ratio to ensure quality teaching is

provided which will keep it ahead of

its major competitors.

The extension to the Nelson Building

and ABS’s other expansion plans willhave a positive knock-on effect far andbeyond the Business School. Thegrowing popularity of business andmanagement programmes will attractstudents to combined and jointhonours and access programmesoffered in conjunction with ABSprogrammes.

It’s also fair to say that the home of aleading business school will add to thesignificance of the Eastsidedevelopment. It will also enhanceBirmingham’s attraction as a globallysignificant first-class conference city.

Professor John Saunders, Head of ABS,said: "These plans provide aneconomic flagship building consistentwith being a leading Europeanbusiness school. We have partnershipswith most of the region’s significantbusinesses and as they prosper weneed to provide first-class facilities andprogrammes that befit their ownaspirations. Standing still in a city likeBirmingham which, as everybodyknows is experiencing explosiveregeneration, is simply not an option.We’re growing alongside Birminghamand, at the moment, we’re both doingvery well indeed!"

A S T O N B U S I N E S S S C H O O L

Aston Business School’s undergraduate business courses are the best in theUK outside London according to The Times Good University Guide’s surveyof 92 UK universities. This accolade is another illustration of thecontinued success of ABS.

Plans for expansion

21Professor John Saunders

1006 Aston 10 11/10/02 2:27 pm Page 17

2322

S C H O O L O F L A N G U A G E S & E U R O P E A N S T U D I E S

Roundup Around the world in…one pageWe continue with our worldwide search for Aston alumni. Letters now come to us from far-flung reaches of the globe: from Australia to Zambia, Alfaro to Zante. Apex is hot on the heelsof four Aston graduates who have settled some distance from their alma mater.

Name: Elisa Harca

Degree: 2001 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies

Where do you work? At the momentI work for Write Image in New York, aLondon based marketing servicesagency. I’ve worked here for about twomonths now. I was previously workingfor The History Channel, which was anamazing opportunity for me. I learntinvaluable skills, particularly as mydepartment’s role was to market TheHistory Channel to over seventycountries worldwide. I was sad to leavebut I’m still based in New York, so my ex-colleagues can’t escape me for long!

What does your work at WriteImage involve? Life is even more of achallenge working for Write Image. Weare basically a two-person team and ourmission is to establish this well-knownBritish marketing agency in the toughNew York FinTech (financial services andtechnology) industry. No day is ever thesame. We are often up at the crack ofdawn for photo shoots, or burning themidnight oil to deliver proposals. It isfast-paced, high responsibility but it alsoallows me an opportunity to be creative,which is great.

About New York: Lifein New York is verydifferent to London. Ithas an energy likenowhere else in theworld and it inspires youto be creative andadventurous. I live inthe heart of Manhattanwhere there is never adull moment. Timezooms by and you still have ten morethings on your ‘to do’ list. It's certainlycaught me - I love it here. It is right forme both career wise and on a personallevel for a few years yet!

Memories of Aston: I have so many.Overall I remember it being non-stoplaughs, even at exam time! And it’s truewhat they say, you do meet your friendsfor life through university. I may bethousands of miles away but my friendsare still very much a part of my life.

Name: Candice Kwok

Degree: 1993 BSc Ophthalmic Optics

Career: I work as an Optometrist in theOphthalmology Department of QueenMary Hospital in Hong Kong, one ofHong Kong’s major hospitals. I’veworked here for over seven years nowand I really enjoy it. I prescribe spectaclesand contact lenses to hospital patientsand am also involved in other ocularinvestigations such as visual field testing,orthoptics and photography. I findworking in a hospital much more of achallenge than working in privatepractice, as patients at the hospital oftenhave a wide range of medical problems,not just sight problems.

What’s life in Hong Kong like? It’sexciting! There’s always so much to dohere after work. The shops stay openuntil eleven o’clock at night sometimes.Also, as the city is quite small, everythingis really accessible andyou can cram a lot intoa day.

Memories of Aston:Being involved in theChinese Society,which was fun.Staying up late onweeknights to goclubbing and stillbeing able to getup for lectures the next day! The MayBalls were also fantastic. I rememberthose well, amazingly!

Name: Marco Adria

Degree: 1999 PhD Management

Where do you live? I live inEdmonton, the capital city of Alberta, in

western Canada. Alberta isone of Canada’s tenprovinces whose economyis based mainly onagriculture and theproduction and export ofoil. It is also home to thescenic and well-knownCanadian Rockies.

Where do you work? I work at theUniversity of Alberta as AssociateProfessor of Communications. I am also aDirector of a postgraduate degreeprogramme – Master of Arts inCommunications and Technology. I

provide academic leadership to theMaster’s programme, which has somesixty students and several facultymembers. I also carry out research onthe relationship of electronicallymediated communication to emergingorganisational forms.

Memories of Aston: From Canada, Ivisited Aston University for several weekseach year over a period of seven yearsfrom 1992-1998, as I was an external,part-time PhD student. I remember therewas a movie theatre during the earlyyears of my visits that was good forwatching alternative films. I alsoremember the meat pies in the Students’Guild, the colourful walk from the trainstation to Aston triangle and, of course,the Birmingham accent – I just can’t getenough of it!

Name: Po Chan Neo

Degree: 1980 MBA

Career: I have been in a number ofdifferent jobs since graduating. Firstly Iwas a Computer Systems Manager, thenan Insurance Manager and now I amsettled as a Remisier (an agent for astockbroker, helping clients to buy andsell shares on the Stock Exchange). I havebeen in this job since 1993 in KotaKinabalu, Sabah, East Malaysia and haveexperienced all the ups and downs of the

stock market, especially the financialcrisis that hit Asia in 1997-1998.

Memories of Aston: Drinking beer andhaving fun with fellow students at theGuild and the Sack of Potatoes. I alsoenjoyed walking to the city centre andshopping in the Bull Ring.

Future plans: To work for a few moreyears and send my children into furthereducation. I’d like to retire before it’s toolate – after I’ve made a million on thestock market of course!

Candice Kwok

Mario Adria

Elisa Harca

T he conference ‘Teaching EuropeanLanguages in a Multilingual

Context' was attended by teachers,languages advisers, careers advisers anddelegates from a wide variety of businessand education organisations from all overthe UK. The event also included inputfrom Aston University's own languagegraduates, and featured an introductionto the new website "Languages for Life"(www.les.aston.ac.uk/langlife), whichwas set up to encourage more youngpeople to study modern Europeanlanguages at university.

The conference focused on Britishattitudes towards learning, teaching andusing foreign languages. The aim was toexamine the particular perspective ofteaching languages in a multiculturalcontext. Among issues raised were theadvantages of bilingualism and ways ofcombating the misconception that"English is the language of business",which is currently putting Britishcompanies way behind their Europeancounterparts.

An impressive line-up of speakersincluded Isabella Moore (NationalPresident, British Chambers ofCommerce), Hilary Footitt (Chair of theUniversities' Council of ModernLanguages) and Terry Lamb, SheffieldUniversity (President of the Associationfor Language Learning and Astongraduate 1978 BSc Modern Languages).There were also contributions fromteacher practitioners with experience ofworking in schools with a wealth ofcultural and linguistic diversity.

Isabella Moore is the recently elected(and first ever woman) President of theBritish Chambers of Commerce. She waseducated at St Andrews University,gained a Masters degree at WarsawUniversity and is managing partner ofCOMTEC Translations in LeamingtonSpa. She was previously chairman of theWest Midlands Confederation ofChambers of Commerce.

Speaking about the importance oflanguages in relation to business, Isabellasaid: "Businesses need employees whocan operate successfully in the globalmarketplace. Success means more thanone language under your belt. As abusiness person, offering a languageservice, I am concerned about thestandards of language teaching inschools and the potential shortage offoreign-speaking teachers."

Isabella also said that Midland companiesmay be losing out on more than 20% ofinternational business opportunities

because of the shortage of foreignlanguage skills and cultural awarenessamongst workers. With the numbers ofstudents studying foreign languagesdropping at all academic levels, this willinevitably have a knock-on effect on thelinguistic and cultural awareness ofBritain’s businesses. Whilst othercountries in Europe, such as Germany,enjoy the advantages of the widespreadability to speak more than one language,British businesses could loose out toforeign companies who are more flexibleand are willing to communicate withpotential customers in languages otherthan their native tongue.

"Language skills are vital to businesssuccess and are an important element ofcompetitive advantage," said Isabella. "Asuccessful economy must haveemployees who can operate on a globalscale and that means speaking morethan one language."

No languages, no business!The School of Languages & European Studies kicked off the celebrations forEuropean Day of Languages with a national conference held on Tuesday,September 24th. The event attracted considerable media attention, with articlesin the local press and a visit from Sarah Cassidy, education correspondent fromThe Independent newspaper.

From left to right: Hilary Footitt (Chair of the Universities' Council of Modern Languages),Isabella Moore (National President, British Chambers of Commerce), Professor AnneStevens, (Head of the School of Languages & European Studies), Annie Bannerman,(Researcher and Conference Organiser) and Aston graduate Terry Lamb, SheffieldUniversity (President of the Association for Language Learning).

“Language skills are vital tobusiness success and are an

important element ofcompetitive advantage.”

1006 Aston 10 11/10/02 2:27 pm Page 19

Peter Goddard (1981 BSc Behavioural

Science) emigrated to the United States

in 1982. He lived in New York for twelve

years before moving to Raleigh, North

Carolina, where he has since developed

and run an executive search firm

consultancy. Peter is keen to re-establish

his roots with Aston and any fellow

students from 1977-1981.

Juli Arthurs (1982 BSc French and

Linguistics) having always had a keen

interest in complementary medicine,

has recently set up her own practice

from home in Dorking where she works

as a Hypnotherapist. People visit Juli for

a variety of different problems ranging

from addictions such as smoking,

through to those needing help with

self-improvement and stress-related

problems. In addition to this, Juli writes

for magazines and also runs a web site

containing the email addresses of many

different ethical practitioners. Visit

www.houseofpeace.info if you would

like more information.

Marc Bardi (1982 BSc Managerial and

Administrative Studies) lives in

Singapore and works as Project and

Programme Manager for Citigroup’s

Global Corporate and Investment Bank.

His hobbies include swimming, squash,

looking after his seven-year-old son and

music. Whilst at Aston, Marc was a

drummer in a band called Anagram,

along with two other Aston graduates,

Rob Watson (1982 BSc Mathematics)

and Neill Davison (1982 BSc

Computer Science), and one non-Aston

graduate called Steve Lawrence. Marc,

Rob and Neill had a reunion in

Birmingham recently, where they

managed to take a replica photo to one

they had taken in 1982. As you can see,

they haven’t changed a bit! We’re not

sure about Steve Lawrence though, he’s

looking a bit pink!

Steve Notman (1982 BSc Geology

and Biology of Man and his

Environment) lives in Perth, Western

Australia, with his wife, Juli, and his two

children, Nicole (16) and James (14).

He works as a Regional Sales Engineer

for BBL Weatherford, an international

oilfield service and manufacturing

company. Steve’s pastimes include

building a Westfield sports car and

running his teenagers all over town!

Keith Willcox (1982 BSc Transport

and Urban Planning) lives in Petersfield,

Hampshire, and is married with 11-

year-old triplets. Keith has worked for

many consultancies and local

authorities in the transportation sector

and, until 2001, led the development of

the £190m Light Rail Scheme in South

Hampshire for Hampshire County

Council. He is currently Project Director,

Light Rail, for Stagecoach Group Plc,

based in London. In his spare time

Keith still enjoys many sports,

particularly mountain bike riding.

Vijay Bhatia (1983

PhD Modern

Languages) went to

work as a Senior

Lecturer at the

National University of

Singapore soon after

graduating. In 1993 he

moved to the City

University of Hong Kong where he is a

Professor in the Department of English

and Communication.

Albert Chan (1983 MSc Construction

Management and Economics) lives in

Hong Kong where he works as an

Associate Professor at Hong Kong

Polytechnic University in the

Department of Building and Real Estate.

Not afraid of a challenge, Albert lived in

Australia for seven years between 1989

and 1996, where he worked at the

University of South Australia as a Senior

Lecturer. Albert is married with two

boys aged 11 and 6.

Greg Clement (1985 BSc Business and

French) lives in Anaheim, California,

where he is working as a Transactional

Business Attorney for a law firm. Greg

has been married to Stephanie for eight

years and has two daughters, Samantha

(5) and Jessica (2). Interests include

gloating about how much better the

weather is than in sunny Birmingham,

whilst complaining about how much

worse the beer is in the US than at the

Sack of Potatoes! Greg would love to

hear from anyone that

remembers him from those

halcyon days.

2524

Where are they now?

1960sJenny Martin (née Gilbert, 1962 BSc

Applied Chemistry and 1971 MSc

Metallurgy) started at Suffolk Street

Technology College as a sandwich

course student apprenticed to Lucas

Aerospace. After qualifying she spent six

years as a Development Chemist before

moving into further education as a

Lecturer. In 1976 she transferred to

school teaching in Birmingham

and then Solihull. Jenny retired

earlier this year after five years as an

Ofsted Inspector and is looking

forward to spending more time

playing golf, watercolour painting

and visiting jazz festivals. Jenny has

been involved with various University

committees ever since she graduated,

including a spell on Council.

Raymond Roberts (1962 BSc

Electronic Engineering) is Director of

Technology for Consarc Corporation.

He lives in Moorestown, New Jersey,

USA, and is married with three children

and three grandchildren.

1970sSteve Bowden (1971 BSc Building)

still lives in Wolverhampton and is

married with three children. He has

enjoyed a varied career in the

construction industry and is currently

employed by Bovis Lend Lease where

he is working with Railtrack on the

CCRM (Cross Country Route

Modernisation). Steve still loves sport,

especially rugby, but is now more active

as a referee after years of playing. By

now, Steve will have climbed up Mount

Kilimanjaro on behalf of Whizz Kids, a

children’s mobility charity. If you would

like to make a donation, please contact

the Alumni Relations Office and we will

pass on Steve’s address.

Phil Barker (1973 BSc Chemistry and

1978 PhD Chemistry) has lived in

Australia since 1988, where he currently

works for BHP Steel Research

Laboratories as a Senior Research

Scientist. Areas of research include

surface coatings chemistry, free-radical

reaction mechanisms and pigment

photocatalysis/reactive oxygen species.

Phil was Chairman of the Soccer Club

and the Postgraduate Association Bar

Club during his time at Aston and was

also a member of the legendary

‘Beverley Sisters’ five-a-side team. Phil is

married with two daughters, aged 9

and 10, and although he turned 50 this

year, he still manages to play tennis

with people 30 years younger! Contact

the Alumni Office if you would like to

be put in touch with Phil.

1980sTrevor Timson (1980BSc Ophthalmic Optics)is the Proprietor ofCentre ViewOptometrists inNorthampton. It isthrough his work thathe met his wife Karen,when she consultedhim about her contactlenses! They have

been together since1984 and have two

daughters, aged 11 and 15. In hisspare time Trevor plays keyboard in a1980s rock band.

A regular feature bringing you bang up-to-date withthe activities of your contemporaries. Here you’lldiscover who’s doing what and where. If you’d liketo share your news with fellow alumni, please dropa line to the Alumni Relations Office at the usualaddress. Go on, send a photograph!

Third from left, back row: Steve Bowden and the Cobras in 1971

Steve and family

Trevor Timson in his bandRob, Steve, Neill and Marc at a gig

outside Breedon Cross.

Rob, Steve?!, Neill and Marc recreate 1982!

Vijay with his wife, Archana

Greg with his daughters

Albert and family

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Gareth Mills (1985 BSc Geological

Sciences) is an Associate with Leighton

and Associates Inc. a geotechnical

consulting company in Los Angeles,

California. He is the Managing Director

for two of its offices. Gareth is married

to Donna and has a six-year-old

daughter named Megan.

Helen Rutter (née Jones, 1987 BSc

Geology and Water Resources and 1991

PhD IHD) started working as a

Hydrogeologist for the British Geological

Survey in Wallingford, Oxon, soon after

graduating. She still works here and in

1994/1995 spent fifteen months on

secondment in Botswana carrying out a

groundwater investigation for the

Botswana Government. Helen is married

to Nick and they have two daughters,

Georgia (4) and Danielle (2). Both Helen

and Nick enjoy running, biking,

swimming and skiing and this year

Helen completed the London Marathon.

Martin Collyer (1988 BSc Managerial

and Administrative Studies) emigrated

to Australia in 1990. He lives in Sydney

where he works for ACNielsen as

Product Development Manager DSS

(Decision Support Systems). Martin

revisited Aston last Christmas and was

slightly disappointed to find no elbow

room at the Sacks!

Shirley McCay (1989 BSc Urban Policy

and Management and Business

Administration) became the first

Economic Development and European

Liason Officer for Broadland District

Council, Norwich. She moved back to

Belfast in 1993 and currently works as

Head of Economic Initiatives for the City

Council. This involves taking

responsibility for Belfast’s economic

development, tourism, arts, heritage and

major events, Europe and international

relations. Shirley is heavily involved with

Belfast’s bid to become European

Capital of Culture in 2008 and

has established a company to take

this forward on behalf of the city.

1990sMichael Psaltakis (1991 MSc

Information Technology) is now living in

Paris (after Athens, London and

Brussels), where works for Unilever

Bestfoods as European Retail Channel

Manager for hot and cold beverages. He

is not married yet as he says his career

comes first!

Mark Bodger (1992 BEng Electrical

and Electronic Engineering) and Rachel

Bodger (née Wood, 1996 BSc

Ophthalmic Optics) were married in July

2001 at Milton Abbey, Dorest. The

wedding turned out to be a mini Aston

reunion, as the bridesmaids, ushers and

the best man were all graduates of

Aston. Rachel is currently working for

Dolland and Aitchison as an

Optometrist, while Mark is working for

Siemens in Poole and is due to start a

new job as Product Manager responsible

for traffic control systems. In their spare

time Mark is involved with the air cadets

and both enjoy working backstage on

productions for Ringwood Musical and

Dramatic Society.

Martin CollyerVeronique Fox-Baret (1992 BSc

French) currently lives in London where

she is attempting to start up her own

business called Cocoonzzz Ltd.

Veronique explains further: "Cocoonzzz

is a revolutionary new product to be

located at airports world wide, offering

a luxury sleep experience to all." Prior to

this, Veronique has worked extensively

in corporate management and has also

been a Private Tutor to the Saudi Royal

Family, travelling with them to London,

Rome, Riyadh and Washington DC.

Meriel Overloop (née Newey, 1992

BSc International Business and German)

currently works as a Spoken

Communications Consultant for Templar

Advisors, London. She has recently

returned from a yearlong trip around

the world with her husband, Jeroen.

Part of their journey included three

months in Brazil, two months in New

Zealand, and two months in South

Africa where they stayed to do some

charity work with AIDS

orphans. Highlights of

the trip included

reaching Everest Base

Camp, climbing

Kilimanjaro and being

joined for breakfast by

a grizzly bear.

John Petre (1994 BEng Chemical

Process Engineering) and his wife

Keziah (née Latham, 1990 BSc

Ophthalmic Optics and 1995 PhD

Ophthalmic Optics) have recently

moved to Worksop, Nottinghamshire.

John is currently an R&D Manager for

Campbell’s Grocery Products, having

previously worked for British Sugar and

Kraft. Kez lectured in Optometry at

Aston between 1995 and 2001, but now

works as an Optometrist with Boots

Opticians. They have a daughter called

Ellen (2) and a son called Aidan (1).

Valerie Gonzales (1995 BSc Computer

Science) has worked for AMS

Management Systems since graduating.

Having started out as a Programmer

Analyst, she has more recently worked

her way up to the position of Project

Manager. Valerie has worked on

assignments all over the United States

and Europe, but she has finally settled in

Montreal. She recently got married and

is currently on maternity leave, having

given birth to a baby girl called Mareva

in October 2001.

Simon Thomas (1996 BSc Transport

Management) lives in Harrogate and

works as Supply Chain Development

Manager for Asda. He met his wife Susie

Thomas at the May Ball in 1997 and

they were married in July 2001. They

are both patiently awaiting the birth of

their first child, so congratulations

Simon and Susie!

Lydia Lewis (1997 BSc Psychology and

Social Studies) worked in mental health

for a year after graduating, then trained

as a teacher before moving to Toronto

to study for an MA in Sociology. She has

now returned to the UK and

is working as a Research

Assistant and studying for a

PhD in the area of gender

and mental health, at the

Health Services Research

Unit, University of

Aberdeen.

Lilian Martin (née Lau, 1999 BSc

Applied Chemistry) and Peter Martin

(1999 MEng Chemical Engineering and

Applied Chemistry) began dating in

their final year at Aston. They were

soon engaged and this July they finally

tied the knot! Lilian described their

wedding day as a mini Aston reunion,

which brought back many happy

memories for them. Both now live in

Swansea, where Lilian works as a

Chemistry Teacher, and Peter as Process

Technologist for INCO, a nickel refinery.

Lydia Lewis

Lilian and Peter on their happy day. Valerie and family

Henry Bull (1992 PhD Management)

must have set a trend within his family,

as both his brother, Philip Bull (2001

MSc Management) and his niece

Elizabeth Bull (2002 BSc Managerial

and Administrative Studies) have gone

on to graduate from Aston, all in the

same subject area. Lydia is in the

process of finding work, but Henry is

currently employed as Chief Executive

of the British Education and Training

Association (B.E.T.A.) and he also

teaches in his spare time. Philip is a

Consultant on business banking for the

Chartered Institute of Bankers and he

also offers accountancy services to

small firms.

John, Keziah and family

Meriel and husband,

Jeroen, at Ganden.

Gareth with Megan and Donna

Helen with Danielle and Georgia

Shirley McCay

From left to right: Alistair Knight (1992 BScInternational Business and German), JasonPower (1995 BSc Applied Physics andElectronics), Mark and Rachel, EloiseAddison (1998 BSc Optometry), SallyFairbrother (1995 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies and 1998 BScPharmacy), Malcolm Williams (1992 BEngElectrical and Electronic Engineering), GuyScudder (1996 MEng Chemical Engineeringand European Studies).

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28

Tessa Avery (1995 MSc PersonnelManagement and Business Administration)

Malcolm Bramfitt (1978 BSc Metals and Materials Technology)

Kuldip Chiheru (1987 MSc InformationTechnology)

Anita Debnath (1992 BSc Computer Science)

Mark Eccleston (1998 PhD Chemistry)

Sarah Emes (née Moorhouse, 1993 BScHuman Psychology)

Laura Fitzgerald (née Burton, 1990 BScManagerial and Administrative Studies)

Louisa-Jayne Galpin (2000 BSc Managerialand Administrative Studies)

Paul Holmes (1976 BEng MechanicalEngineering)

Carl Irvin (1976 BSc Biochemistry andChemistry)

Dorothy Jones (1982 MSc EducationalStudies)

Mark Jones (2001 BSc Human Psychology)

Martin King (1995 BEng ChemicalEngineering)

Shradha Lakhani (1995 BSc HumanPsychology)

Mark Lawson (1999 BSc Managerial and Administrative Studies)

Judith Luckins (1985 BSc Managerial and Administrative Studies)

Jane McManus (1995 BSc InternationalBusiness and German)

Manish Mianger (1996 BSc Optometry)

Stuart Muckley (1997 BSc ComputingScience)

Olivia Munden (1999 BSc Business and French)

Christopher Nolan (1995 MBA)

Sarah O’Donnell (née Dornan, 1992 BScBusiness and French)

Rebecca Oldham (1999 BSc HumanPsychology)

Shreeti Patel (1989 BSc Ophthalmic Optics)

Georgina Pyle (née Bell, 1993 BSc HumanPsychology)

Janet Richmond (1985 BSc French andGerman)

Nicolas Rowlinson (1991 BEng CivilEngineering)

Nicola Sawtelle (1999 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies)

Anthony Snape (1986 BSc OphthalmicOptics)

Deborah Summers (née Knight, 1984 BScFrench and German)

Sarah Taylor (2000 BSc Psychology and French)

David Thomas (1987 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies)

Rachel Thompson (1998 BSc IBML French)

Gayle Uren (2001 BSc Human Psychology)

Victoria Walbancke (1997 BSc Business and French)

Ryan Wheeler (1997 BSc Computing Science)

Ben Whittle (1995 BSc Optometry)

Charlotte Wilshire (née Audland, 1985 BScFrench and German)

Ghassan Younes (1980 PhD Chemistry)

Anne Balmforth (1983 MSc ComputerScience Applications)

Suna Biray (1979 PhD Chemical Engineering)

Andrew Dove (1990 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies)

Lesley Kelly (1980 BSc Chemistry and Physics)

Anila Patel (1982 BSc Pharmacy)

Karl Selmer (1992 BSc Managerial andAdministrative Studies)

Duncan Toms (1979 BSc Chemistry andBusiness Administration)

Looking for someone at Aston? Contact the Alumni Relations Office.

If we have a current address, you will be invited to write a letter or leave your contact details.We will pass these on to the address we hold. As we rely on alumni telling us when they moveon, we cannot guarantee the person you are looking for will still be at that address. We wouldlike to hope, however, that you all keep in touch with us and let us know of any changes toyour address. The in-touch service does not give out individual names and addresses toinquirers and all mail is treated in the strictest of confidence.

2000sSarah Sillars (2000 BSc European

Studies with French and German)

joined Factiva after graduating as a

Translator/Abstractor. She currently

works as a Technical Support Analyst

for Hyperion, an American software

company that supplies financial and

accounting software to various

businesses. Sarah's language skills are

put to good use as much of her work

involves resolving software problems

with her German and sometimes

Dutch clients.

Matthew Taylor (2002 BEngElectrical and Mechanical Engineering)has been involved with the AstonFormula Student Racing Car Projectsince June. He spent a hectic couple ofmonths building and preparing the carsfor the competition held inBruntingthorpe. Aside from that he hastravelled around North America andCanada, visited friends and family inNorth Carolina and enjoyed ampleamounts of American food and beer!He hopes one day to move to the US,but feels Aberdeen will be the morelikely prospect! Matthew is currentlyworking part time for a local college,lecturing in Engineering and Maths,but he hopes to find a job with a largerorganisation soon. He is also planningto study part time for a Masters degreein Mechanical Engineering.

In touchWe’d like to findIf you’ve lost touch with your friends from Aston, or would like to contact your formerlecturers here, why not get in touch with us?

You’d like to findFriends, flatmates and research partners. A number of alumni have contacted us wanting toget back in touch with lost friends. Many have been successfully reunited, but others areproving more difficult to track down. Do you know any of the following?

Return to Aston

Full details out January 2003 Contact the Alumni Relations Office: alumniinfo@aston.ac.uk

Not-so-fresh Freshers’ visits to Schools and departments • see the new

face of Birmingham • alumni reunion lunch • AGM of Convocation •

expert comment • guest lectures • lost friends •

...and you!

ALUMNI WEEKEND 200315-16 MARCH

Matthew Taylor

Would you like to be in the all new'Where are they now?' in the May2003 edition? If so, emailalumniinfo@aston.ac.uk with a fewdetails about yourself.

29

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30 31

15 November: HiddenHeritage, an AGA tour ofsome of the treasures ofthe Birmingham Museumand Art Gallery

25 November: NetworkLecture, Simon Mordue onEU expansion

14 December: AGA's Charles Steiner will outline thedevelopment of the fountain pen and illustrate his talk withexamples from his collection, followed by seasonalrefreshments

22 January: Network Lecture, Paul Evans Cruising the InternetHighway. Can I lose the stabilisers?

23 January: Inaugural Lecture, Professor Felix Brodbeck of theOrganisation Studies Research Group

14 March: AGA AGM followed by the traditional wine andcheese party. We look forward to receiving a report from theVice Chancellor on the state of play at Aston

6 June: South-East graduate reunion in the House ofCommons

14 June: Class of 1978 reunion

21 June: Class of 1983 reunion

18 July: Fond(ue) memories for the Class of 2000, 2001 and2002 in the Students’ Guild

What a gregarious lot you are! Aston alumni reunions and get-togethers are the perfectway to meet up with other Aston alumni either in your hometown or right back oncampus in the heart of Birmingham. And there’s lots going on! Here we bring youadvance notice of reunions coming up all over the world. So, get your diaries out andmake a note of what’s happening near you. Why not join in with some of these events– you’ll be pleasantly surprised at who you’ll meet there. And, if you’re worried you’vechanged since your student days, just remember we all have! Come along and enjoycatching up with all those lost friends and acquaintances.

Reunions and eventsComing up over the next 12 months

Early members of the Aston UniversitySub Aqua Club (AUSAC) held a reunionat the Royal Festival Hall in London on24th August 2002 (left to right) Dermot(Mac) McKeone, Founding Chairman,Garry Flashman, Fiona Harris (College ofCommerce, Library School), DavidHarris, Founding Safety Offficer, KenHiggs, Founding Secretary, Bill Forster(College of Commerce Library School).

O ur staff from the InternationalOffice enjoy meeting you

when they are attendingexhibitions and fairs overseas.Dennis Crumpton, Head of theInternational Office, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Nigel Reevesmet up with Mr and Mrs Goh ona recent visit to Singapore.

Notice Board

Singapore

W e now have six alumni networks: Cyprus, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, KLand Southern Peninsula Malaysia and Penang and Northern Peninsula

Malaysia. Each network has its own co-ordinators who arrange meetings in the localarea. Peter Thong recently organised a meeting in Beijing for his fellow alumni. If youwould like to join these networks, please contact the Alumni Relations Office. And, co-ordinators, don’t forget to send in some photographs of your network’s events.Meetings coming up in the next few months.

F or the second year in a row theOld Cobras and Vipers entered a

team at the Oswestry Charity 10-a-side tournament and had somesuccess, finishing second in their poolbefore loosing in the semi-final of theplate competition. A good day washad by all and hopefully next year willsee us enter a couple moretournaments (we've beeninvited to enter a beach7's tournament in Sitges,near Barcelona). If you'reinterested let us know, e-mail stuart.flint@nokia.com.A big thanks to all thosewho turned out to don theAston colours again.

If you're a former Cobra or Viper andwould like to get involved, drop anemail to Stuart Flint

A rattling good tournament

Back row left to right: Cliff Thomas,Stuart Flint, Steve Pensom, GrantLowden, Rich Lumby, Pat Keefe, Willie,Dave Love. Front row left to right: BenHughes, Dave Cumpston, Ross Grant,Matt Cooke.

Overseas alumni networks

ALUMNI WEEKEND 2002 wasanother successful weekend forAston graduates who cameback to campus to see howthings had changed at theiruniversity. Sir Terry Leahy,Chief Executive of Tesco,gave the ConvocationLecture and Saul Gray (akathe orange man) wasawarded the AGA Prize.

News from AGAJenny Martin reports on the most recent AGA eventsAGM, March 2002

Vice-Chancellor Professor Mike Wright detailed the proposed developments for theAston campus and explained how the changes would impact on the University bothphysically and academically. Members were pleased to hear that many of the plansresult from the excellent reviews of both teaching and research, which have beenreceived recently. The AGM was followed by the traditional wine and cheese party anda stimulating quiz for wine connoisseurs.

From Pétanque to skittlesAlthough billed as a Pétanque match atHints, the July meeting was changed toan indoor skittles match due to asummer thunderstorm at the crucialmoment. Nevertheless, Aston againovercame the opposition and triumphedto regain the trophy and take thedoughnuts, which are always the mostpopular part of the prize. Unlike theCommonwealth Games, membership ofthis team varies from 3 to 80 years andno previous experience is needed totake part. Why not join us next year.

This year the annual joint meeting of AGA and the Birmingham Guild of Graduateswas held on the Birmingham campus in June. A talk by Ken Hughes provided afascinating look at the effect that the growth in the food industry had on thedevelopment of trade in Birmingham. He explained how the import of spices fromaround the world in the 18th century and the consequent establishment of tradingposts in far flung countries led, in part, to the establishment of the British Empire. Theillustrated lecture highlighted the development of Lea and Perrins sauce at Worcesterand the growth of Typhoo tea and the Bird’s custard factories in Birmingham.

The meeting was followed by light refreshments and an opportunity to renew oldacquaintances and exchange news about changes in the fortunes of the two graduateassociations.

Future events are on the Noticeboardabove and are also posted on the web sitewww.astongraduates.com. If you haveany suggestions for future AGA events, orfor information on joining AGA, pleasecontact the Secretary through the AlumniRelations Office.

F or some time now the idea of setting up special interestnetworks has been discussed in the Alumni Relations

Office. These networks would give you the chance to meetwith other Aston graduates working in the same profession orfield of work as you. The networks could widen yourprofessional circle and pave the way for future developments.Before going any further, we’re keen to see how many of ouralumni would be interested. Let us know if you would see avalue in professional networking groups and indicate thenature of the group you’d be interested in.

CHINA

Special interest groups

Sir Adrian presents Saul Gray with

the AGA Prize.

All you former STAGS. Saul Gray has set up Aston Stags FC atwww.friendsreunited.co.uk and is waiting to hear from you.

Joint meeting at Birmingham University

M ay 2002: Shanxi UniversityCentennial Celebration. A vast

open square in the University with anaudience numbering some 60,000awaited Pro-Vice-Chancellor ProfessorNigel Reeves who was giving acongratulatory address. Professor Reevesmet students who were interested instudying at Aston and was assisted byAston graduate and Vice President ofTianjin Foreign Languages University, Dr Yu-E Li.

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