Newcastle University

Fulbright Distinguished Scholars award

Dr Yvette Taylor, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology (pictured), has received a Fulbright Distinguished Scholars award to be held at Rutgers University, New Jersey from September 2010 to July 2011.

The award will fund her research project 'Just' cause, or impediment? Costs of civic acceptance, exploring intersections of class, gender and race in the negotiation of same-sex rights.

Each year, typically two awards are offered to outstanding UK professionas or academics to undertake lecturing, research or a combination of the two in any field, at any accredited US institution for a period of three to ten months.

In making the awards, the Commission looks not only for academic excellence, but a focused application, a range of extracurricular and community activities, ambassadorial skills, a desire to further the Fulbright programme and a plan to give back to give feedback to your home country upon returning.

Speaking of this award, Yvette said, "I am honoured to receive this award and really excited at the prospect of working with colleagues in the Centre for Women and Gender Studies at Rutgers.  

"My research project will build on my previous work including working-class lesbian life and lesbian and gay parenting."

American Academy of Neurology International Award

A team from the University's Institute for Ageing and Health has been given the Neurology Resident & Fellow Section writing award 2010.

The award, which was set up to further medical education and recognizes the writing abilities of those currently in training in neurology, was for the article Clinical Reasoning: Blurred vision and Dancing feet: Restless Legs Syndrome presenting in Mitochondrial Disease*.

The main criteria for selection are educational value, novelty, depth of exposition, and clarity of writing. Speaking on behalf of the authors, Dr Grainne Gorman said, "We are sincerely grateful for the American Academy of Neurology and the American Academy of Neurology Foundation for honouring us with this international writing award.

"We are indebted to all within the Institute for Ageing and Health and beyond who have been instrumental in the construct of this article but primarily we wish to acknowledge the help and co-operation of our patient without whom this paper would not have been possible."

* Authors of the paper: Hannah Aitken, Grainne S. Gorman, Robert McFarland, Mark Roberts, Robert W Taylor, and Douglas M. Turnbull.

Trio's fragrant bid to take top branding title

Three Newcastle University Business School students will represent the UK at the finals of L'Oreal's international brand manager challenge later this month.

Kyle Clarke, Toby Winch and Jono Rayner’s Team Devolution will compete with teams from 43 other countries at the two-day final on June 16 and 17. The team will be pitching their ideas for men’s grooming products at the cosmetics firm’s head office in Paris.

Entrants to the seventh annual Brandstorm challenge had to develop a marketing strategy for a new idea. They worked on ideas for a stubble softener, a shower gel dispensed through a sponge and a container featuring two hair products that can be mixed or used separately.

About 90 teams entered from the UK, and Newcastle was selected from a group of 11 to appear in the final.

The marketing campaign, which features a frog, a horse and a monkey, is competing for the first prize of a trip worth £10,000 to the city of their choice.

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