Researchers from Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton are helping citizens across Europe to address the environmental impacts of light pollution. As part of the EU-funded STARS4ALL project, a group of astronomers are organizing expeditions to observe and broadcast astronomical phenomena such as solar eclipses, and the Aurora Borealis. Researchers from the ECS' Web and Internet Science group, are monitoring social media during those events and are looking for communities that emerged on Twitter, concentrating on the interaction and (cultural) diversity between citizen science volunteers and participants, to understand the success of such initiatives.

The outcome of this crowdsourcing research will help to design new apps and citizen science projects for individuals and communities to contribute data on light pollution in their locations, assure the quality of the data and monitor the health of those communities. The data will also be made available to schools for educational activities.

Dr Elena Simperl, Associate Professor in the Web and Internet Science group, comments: “Light pollution is an environmental problem that comes with urbanisation, with more and more people moving from the countryside into cities, and with our increased consumption of energy. We are working with communities that are concerned with this development in order to analyse big data that is collected from sensors and different environmental agencies. This will help us to understand how we could create light sensors that are better for the environment and better for the people who live in those areas as well. “This requires a combination of crowd sourcing methods that motivate these concerned communities to engage with us, help us understand what the data is about and collect more data when we need it. Big data algorithms could then identify patterns and would allow us to, for instance, run a comparative analysis between phenomena that happen in different countries or different sizes to understand what causes changes in light pollution in different areas.â€?

STARS4ALL is a collective awareness platform for promoting dark skies in Europe through Light Pollution Initiatives (LPIs). LPI are local or global working groups who fight against light pollution. For the first time, partners from information and communication technology, social science, economy, astronomy, and ecology will join forces and expertise to create self-sustainable light pollution initiatives. These initiatives will be addressing as many disciplines and domains as possible and will offer a platform for citizen science actions in order to increase the awareness of the various environmental problems of light pollution.

The project is funded by the European Union H2020 Programme and is composed of eight institutions (University of Southampton, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), CEFRIEL Italy, the European Crowdfunding Network (ECN) and ESCP Europe) from six countries.

The STARS4ALL project website: http://www.stars4all.eu/

The above image shows the totality path (blue lines) of the Eclipse on 9 March 2016, according to data from NASA. The green dot (GE) indicates where the duration of the eclipse is maximum (4m09s). The observation point of the STARS4ALL expedition Shelios 2016 was Palu (Indonesia, see map expedition, red dot). Image courtesy NASA and Google (eclipse interactive map).

Professor Paul Lewin has outlined an ambitious strategy focusing on excellence and sustainability in his new role as Head of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton.

Professor Lewin, a leading expert in electrical power engineering and Head of the University’s active Tony Davies High Voltage Laboratory (TDHVL), was selected for the distinguished post following an academic career spanning over a quarter of a century at the institution.

“It is an honour to be selected to lead this historic department,â€? Professor Lewin said. “Over the past decades ECS at Southampton has built an international reputation for its innovative teaching and research. I look forward to building on the excellent standards that make Southampton one of the best places in the world to study electronics, electrical engineering, computer science and IT.â€?

Professor Lewin joined the University’s academic staff in 1989 and has received funding and grants in excess of £20m during his career. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and in 2013 was elevated to Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Across a highly-respected three decades in ECS, Professor Lewin has supervised and graduated over 40 PhD students and published more than 450 refereed conference and journal papers. In November, he was also elected the 2016 IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society (DEIS) President, becoming only the second person from outside of North America to hold the position in the Society’s 52-year history.

Professor Lewin's new strategy for ECS focuses on four key areas of research, education, enterprise and sustainability. It includes measures to increase the quality and diversity of student intake, foster an enterprise environment and deploy resources in an equitable and efficient manner.

Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi, Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering, said: “This is an excellent appointment for the department and another signal of an exciting future for ECS after the excellent recent results in the Complete University Guide and Guardian University Guide league tables. “I have been very impressed by Paul’s management of the TDHVL. He commands the respect of his ECS colleagues and am sure his vision and dedication will ensure continued success for our talented staff and students.â€?

In the new Guardian University Guide league tables for 2017, ECS retains the number one position for Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) as well as marking over a decade in the top ten for Computer Science. ECS also topped the UK tables for graduate prospects in both EEE and Computer Science in the recent Complete University Guide 2017. The rankings also held EEE’s top three position for the eighth year running in criteria including student satisfaction, research and entry standards.