Jan Sykulski, a Professor of Applied Electromagnetics in ECS, has been awarded an honorary degree by a French university.

Jan has been a Visiting Professor at l’Unniversite d’Artois, in Arras, for the past eight years and his work has been recognised with the bestowing of the degree of doctor honoris causa.

The award is one of only two honorary degrees being made as part of the University’s 20th anniversary celebrations.

“I am thrilled and proud to receive this award. It is not every day that you receive a letter from the rector of a foreign university with such news and it is a mark of recognition and a source of inspiration,â€? said Jan.

“I have been a Visiting Professor at the University since 2004 and have collaborated in research and given lectures twice a year to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as research seminars to staff,â€? he added.

Jan was given the honorary degree at a special ceremony at the University in November.

Jan came to the University of Southampton in 1980 as a British Council Research Fellow. Since then he has been a lecturer and also held the prestigious post of Chair in Distribution Engineering supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

His research specialises in the development of fundamental methods of computational electromagnetic, power applications of high temperature superconductivity, simulation of coupled field systems, and the design and optimisation of electromechanical devices.

He is founding Secretary of the International Compumag Society, a Visiting Professor at universities in Canada, France, Italy, Poland and China, Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Fellow of the British Computer Society, Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (USA) and has been awarded the honorary title of Professor by the President of Poland.

Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) has launched a new, unique, multi-disciplinary Web Science undergraduate degree that is the first of its kind in the UK.

The BSc in Web Science is a pioneering course run by ECS and Social Sciences and aims to provide students with a thorough understanding of the technical underpinnings of the Web as well as the social processes that have shaped its evolution and its impact on society.

Students can choose to follow one of two pathways – Web Science (Social Sciences) or Web Science (Computer Science). They will take a shared core curriculum as well as specialist modules in their chosen pathway.

The three-year degree is based on world-leading research and postgraduate education and adds to Southampton’s role as a key player in the future development of the Web and Web Science.

ECS already offers Web Science at postgraduate and research level; is home to the Web Science Doctoral Training Centre; and has created the Web and Internet Science Research Group (WAIS) that is carrying out research to better understand the origin, evolution and growth of the Web and how it is transforming society.

Many of ECS’ academics were involved in developing the Web including Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Professor Nigel Shadbolt. All are very influential and key players in the continued research and development of the Web and Web Science.

Dr Mark Weal, from ECS, said: “The Web is transforming the world in ways that could never be imagined. Only by understanding the Web will we be in a position to positively impact on its continued evolution.â€?

Professor Susan Halford, from Social Sciences, added: “The Web is the largest human information infrastructure in history. Our unique course will help you understand how it works and how it is changing and shaping the everyday lives of billions of people across the planet from their business and social lives to political organisation.â€?

The BSc in Web Science will start from October 2013. For further information go to www.webscience.ecs.soton.ac.uk

Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) has launched a new degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE).

ECS has long experience in teaching excellent electrical engineering and electronic engineering programmes and is now launching this central unifying degree in EEE.

Students will get the opportunity to study many of the technologies that are key to the 21st Century requirements of energy efficient power transmission, smart grids, mobile phone electronics, communications, robotics, power electronics, and energy aware electronics and computing.

They will gain a broad spectrum of knowledge and skills that will allow them to work in a wide range of industry sectors.

The BEng and MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering will start in 2013. Subject to approval, the first two years of the MEng progamme will also be available at the University of Southampton’s new Malaysia Campus.

Professor Neil White, Head of ECS, said: “In ECS our interests and research span the whole range of EEE from nano-scale devices up to grid level high voltage engineering. The breadth and scale of activity is unique in the UK. We have a long history and in-depth knowledge across the spectrum of electronic and electrical engineering and are delighted to be integrating them to offer students a combined subject for the very first time.

“Our students will be able to investigate the whole area of electronics and electrical engineering from the electronics and chip design behind smartphones to the energy requirements of power transmission.â€?

To find out more about the EEE degree in Southampton go to www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/undergraduate/find_a_programme

To find out more about our Malaysia Campus go to www.southampton.ac.uk/my

ECS is holding an Alumni Reception in Southampton next week (Wednesday 21 November), which brings together alumni from the city and region, as well as members of the ECS Business and Careers Networks.

Following the successful Alumni Reception held in London earlier this year, ECS is holding a Reception at the University's Highfield Campus from 6 pm to 8 pm on Wednesday 21 November. This event is aimed principally at alumni who live in Southampton and surrounding counties, but all members of the ECS Alumni community are welcome to attend. For further information contact alumni@soton.ac.uk or email Joyce Lewis.

This is an informal networking event which also includes key contacts from the ECS Careers and Business Networks. Staff and student alumni from ECS will also be present, including PhD students from the Doctoral Training Centres in Web Science and Complex Systems Simulation, who will exhibit posters, entrepreneurial students from ECS, including Don Ndiweni who runs Urban Expert, and two new activities will be launched: our new consultancy service, Complexity Solutions, based in the Institute for Complex Systems Simulation, and the Electronic Design Initiative. Members of DevECS, a development activity led by ECS undergradate students, will also be at the event.

The event runs in the Garden Court area of the Staff Social Centre from 6 pm to 8 pm and all alumni are welcome to be there.

University of Southampton in the UK and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Germany come together to launch SoFWIRed, a new collaborative venture in Web and Internet Science.

Two of the world’s leading institutions at the forefront of Web and Internet Science have announced a major collaborative project, which will help shape the future of the World Wide Web and associated smart services and technologies.

Researchers from the University of Southampton and Germany’s Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will set the agenda of the digital age for decades through a series of activities that will lead to the development of comprehensive, interoperable platforms for data and knowledge-driven processing of open data. The project will also investigate aspects of collective intelligence through social collaboration and crowd sourcing, dynamic web objects and internet services.

One of the principal aims of the collaboration will be to develop the concept of a ‘Web Observatory’ to enable researchers to share data about how the Web and society evolve over time, analyse how it impacts on business activity and develop mechanisms and tools to enable further interpretation and analysis.

The project will be headed by Southampton’s Dean of Physical and Applied Sciences, Professor Dame Wendy Hall and Professor Nigel Shadbolt from University of Southampton and the two ITC Fraunhofer Institutes for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS (Sankt Augustin) and for Open Communication Systems FOKUS (Berlin).

Southampton is renowned for making the breakthrough in developing the low-loss optical fibres which now ‘drive’ the internet and continues to lead applied research into the power of the information that the Web holds and the ways it continues to transform our lives.

Fraunhofer is Europe’s largest application oriented research organisation whose research has formed the basis of a wide range of technologies for industry and products in everyday use, such as the MP3 player and apps for mobile phones.

“The World Wide Web has had profound effects on society with each emerging wave creating both new challenges and new opportunities available to wider sectors of the population than ever before,â€? says Professor Dame Wendy Hall. “Working in unison, the University of Southampton and Fraunhofer are perfectly poised to make the breakthroughs that will produce the enabling technologies of the future as well as our understanding of how best to exploit these technologies for the benefit of all in society.â€?

Professor Dr. Ulrich Buller, Senior Vice President Research Planning of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and Director of Fraunhofer UK Research Limited, says: “It is foreseen that the cooperation between University of Southampton as the world leading institution in the field of web and internet research and the two Fraunhofer-Institutes IAIS and FOKUS as extensive experts in development of intelligent information and communication systems would open new dimensions in the area of ICT at large.â€?

Warren East, CEO of ARM, one of the world’s leading technology companies, will give a Distinguished Lecture at the University on Monday 3 December, hosted by the Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences.

Beginning with a very brief introduction to ARM technology and the ARM business model, Warren East will review the evolution of mobile technology over the last 10 years and assess likely demands over the next decade. Highlighting some of the main technical challenges and the approaches ARM and the industry is adopting to address these, he will consider how mobile technology can be applied to address key societal challenges through use in other applications, creating a smarter future.

Warren East joined ARM in 1994 to set up its consulting business. Vice-President Business Operations from 1998, he was appointed to the Board in 2000 and became Chief Executive Officer in 2001. He is a member of the UKTI Board for Technology, responsible for driving the UK’s trade and investment objectives in the telecoms and IT sectors.

Founded in 1990, and with over 20 billion ARM-based chips shipped to date, ARM is the world’s leading semiconductor IP supplier, and remains central to the global development of digital electronic products. The company headquarters are in Cambridge UK.

The ARM-ECS Research Centre in Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) was established in 2008 in recognition of the synergies between ARM’s goals and ECS research initiatives. Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi, Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences, commented: “It is a great honour to welcome Warren East to the Faculty and University to give this distinguished lecture. Over the years many ECS graduates have chosen to work for ARM, drawn by the innovative nature of the business and its continuing impact on global technological development. I am delighted to say that today our mutual research interests are enabling us to develop a new generation of low-power chips.â€?

The Centre is co-directed by Professor Al-Hashimi and Dr David Flynn (ARM Fellow and Visiting Professor at ECS), and focuses on leading-edge research on advanced design methods, architectures and their practical validations for energy-efficient and dependable single-core and multi-core processor systems.

The Lecture, ‘Enabling a Smarter Future’, takes place at 6 pm on Monday 3 December in Physics Lecture Theatre (46/3001). Refreshments will be available in the Physics Building Foyer from 5.30 pm. The lecture will be chaired by Professor Phil Nelson, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University. Tickets are not required and all are welcome.

For further information on this event, contact Joyce Lewis.

Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi, Associate Dean Research in Physical and Applied Sciences at the University of Southampton, and member of the Electronic and Software Systems (ESS) research group, has been internationally recognised for his leadership of one of the world’s biggest conferences in embedded systems and electronic design automation.

Bashir has received three awards for his role in making Design, Automation and Test in Europe (DATE2011) one of the most successful events for the design and test of electronic systems in the world. He was the General Chair of the conference and exhibition that was held in Grenoble, in France, in March 2011, and attracted 40 per cent more attendees than previous conferences.

He was given the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Council on Electronic Design Automation award for significant service as 2011 DATE General Chair, the IEEE Computer Society award for significant service as 2011 DATE General Chair, and the European Design and Automation Association Fellow status for outstanding performance servicing DATE. He has also been elected to the main board of the European Design and Automation Association.

Professor Al-Hashimi has said: “I am honoured to have received these awards for my work as General Chair of the DATE2011 conference and exhibition. The conference is a significant event in the global design and test of electronic systems and I am proud and delighted that during my leadership nearly 2,300 more attendees benefitted from the expertise on offer at the convention.â€?

The future of cyber security research has been placed in the capable hands of experts at the University of Southampton following the opening of a new Academic Centre of Excellence.

Led by Professor Vladimiro Sassone, a leading figure within the University’s Web and Internet Science Group, the Centre draws on expertise from across the University including Electronics and Computer Science, Mathematics, Law, Management and Psychology.

Southampton is one of eight UK universities identified to help make the country’s government, businesses and consumers more resilient to cyber-attack by extending knowledge through original research and providing top quality graduates in the field of cyber security. The Academic Centre of Excellence status was awarded by GCHQ as part of the government's national cyber security strategy in partnership with the Research Council UK's Global Uncertainties Programme, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

Each of the new Centres will receive a £50,000 capital investment and will benefit from closer collaboration with GCHQ and the UK Cyber Community and industry. The research conducted will support the drive for better cyber protection for the UK government and enable businesses and consumers to safely benefit from the huge opportunities offered in cyberspace.

“We are very pleased to have our world leading research in cyber security recognised through the awarding of this 'Centre of Excellence' status,â€? said Professor Sassone. “Our well-integrated research portfolio links together aspects of internet privacy and trust, super-identity and access control, and secure hardware devices in one full circle.

“This places the University of Southampton in a unique position. Online activities underpin a growing range of day to day activities and there is a real need to ensure that users are supported in their online transactions and behaviours. Issues span the robustness of our national security and economic processes, to the security of digital information held by government and public bodies, and recognise the technical, legal, ethical and social responsibilities around our own personal privacy,â€? Professor Sassone continued.

Speaking at the formal launch in Southampton, Professor Don Nutbeam, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton said: “Our existing world –leading research in cyber security is being recognised through the award of the EPSRC GCHQ Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research to our University and I would like to congratulate Professor Sassone and his team on this great achievement. The new Centre will give us the opportunity to further develop work we’ve been engaged in for quite some time in this crucial area of research – to foster innovation and provide top quality graduates in the field.

“Southampton is very proud to be one of just eight centres based at UK universities identified help the UK’s government, businesses, consumers and universities to be more resilient to cyber-attack and help us all to benefit from the huge opportunities that we know exist from our internet-connected world.â€?

Two of the world’s leading experts in Web Science from the University of Southampton have been named in a definitive list of the real movers and shakers in UK IT.

Computer Weekly’s third annual ‘UKtech50’ features Professor Dame Wendy Hall and Professor Tim Berners-Lee amongst the country’s top CIOs, industry executives, public servants and business leaders driving the role of technology in the UK economy.

For Dame Wendy, Dean of Physical and Applied Sciences at the University of Southampton, the accolade comes just months after she was named as the second most influential woman in UK IT also awarded by Computer Weekly. The ‘UKtech50’ was decided by an expert judging panel representing every aspect of the IT profession alongside a reader vote to determine who holds the most influence over the future of the UK IT sector in 2013.

Dame Wendy (at number 30) and Professor Berners-Lee (at number 26) were selected on the basis of their influence on the development of UK IT, their achievements over the past 12 months, their profile and authority in UK IT, their leadership and experience and the potential for their influence to grow in the next year and beyond.

“I'm delighted and flattered to be included in such a distinguished listâ€? said Dame Wendy. “I’m particularly pleased to have my academic contribution recognised in a list that features so many big hitters from industry. It demonstrates the impact it is possible to have in the world of industry from an academic position and will hopefully encourage other academics not to be afraid to take an entrepreneurial approach to their work whilst still aspiring to achieve excellence in research and teaching.â€? Dame Wendy has held many leadership roles in addition to her academic research in computer science, in the development of the World Wide Web and, more recently, in establishing and developing the new discipline of Web Science.

With Professor Berners-Lee and fellow Southampton Professor Nigel Shadbolt, she co-founded the Web Science Research Initiative in 2006. She is currently a Director of the Web Science Trust which has a global mission to support the development of research, education and thought leadership in Web Science.

She was President of the British Computer Society; the first non-North American to be President of the Association of Computing Machinery, the world's largest organisation for computer professionals; a member of the Prime Ministers Council for Science and Technology; Senior Vice-President of the Royal Academy of Engineering; and a member of the Research Council of the European Research Council.

In the 2009 UK New Year’s Honours list, Dame Wendy became a Dame Commander of the British Empire and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society later the same year. She holds several non-executive director positions including most recently being appointed to the board of Idox plc. Professor Berners-Lee is best known as the man responsible for inventing the World Wide Web. In 1989, he proposed an idea to integrate hypertext, through the code now behind every Web page, with the internet and personal computers as a way of sharing data and information throughout CERN. The following year he implemented the first successful communication between a hypertext client and server via the internet. From there, that idea quickly grew in to the dominant global industry that is the World Wide Web in the 21st century.

Professor Berners-Lee is the 3Com Founders Professor of Engineering at MIT and in 2004 became a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton. He is a co-director of the government’s new Open Data Institute, along with Professor Nigel Shadbolt, which aims to nurture new businesses to exploit the Government’s open data releases.

The University of Southampton has won the coveted award for Outstanding ICT Initiative of the Year at the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) awards for the second successive year.

The award recognises the benefits of the University’s Open Data Service http://data.southampton.ac.uk/, which provides open access to University data to help improve the life of the University community and our visitors while increasing the transparency of our operations.

One of the judges, Chris Cobb, Chief Operating Officer and University Secretary at the University of London, said that Southampton’s development of open standards was going from strength to strength. “This innovation demonstrates a practical application for their web service protocols – a real case of ‘walking the talk’ and leading by example. It’s even more impressive that it’s been adopted so widely on campus.â€?

Chris Gutteridge, a member of the University’s iSolutions technical innovation and development team in the Faculty of Physical and applied sciences, and the architect who designed and built the data.southampton.ac.uk website, collected the prize at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. “We’re very proud of what we have achieved in creating the University of Southampton’s Open Data Service,â€? said Chris.

“The reason this service has been a success is that we've had by-in and support at all levels, from students and the student union, the academics, the professional services, the Web and Internet Science Research Group (WAIS) and right up to the senior management. It's the positive culture at the University that has enabled us at every step.

“The tools and techniques we used, and in many cases built, are all open source and while this initiative might be ground-breaking now we envisage that in a few years’ time this is going to be business as usual for all organisations, just like having a website is in 2012.â€?

The data the University is making available under an open government licence via the Internet and through associated applications is transforming student life. “The open data site tells students what’s on (the Events Calendar combines 73 different information feeds to provide a comprehensive overview of university activity), where things are (interactive maps show all teaching, leisure and catering facilities and links to all the data about them) and even how to get there (with real time bus data from the Council linked to maps showing bus stops).

“By drawing data from other open data sources, such as Unistats, we have linked information about our courses with NSS scores and other key data, giving prospective students more information than ever before, and easily available in one place,â€? Chris concluded. “We are also extending the benefits to academic peers and industry who can also use data.southampton.ac.uk to find out more about the University’s research facilities and major items of equipment, which could lead to future collaborations and arrangements for working more closely together on academic and commercial projects.â€?

In 2011, Southampton won the THE Award for Outstanding ICT Initiative for the innovative Synote web-based annotation tool, which makes multimedia resources easier to access, search, manage and exploit for learners, teachers and other users.

The University of Southampton was also short-listed for this year’s THE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development for the Uni-Cycle project. This scheme enhances the University’s commitment to increase recycling and reduce its environmental impact by refurbishing unwanted and donated bikes from around Southampton and putting them back into active use.

Professor Don Nutbeam, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, said: “The University of Southampton is exceptionally proud and delighted to have received these nominations and to win the award for Outstanding ICT Initiative. This is a reflection of the outstanding effort and continual dedication of our staff, and the pioneering work going on in Southampton.â€?