OMT Travel Grant Reports 2012-13 by S Dewsbery

OLD MEMBERS’ TRUST

TRAVEL GRANT REPORTS 2012-13 About a sixth of Univ students receive an Old Members’ Trust Bursary worth between £100 and £1,750 each year. Thanks to the support of our Old Members, Univ is able to offer undergraduates and postgraduates the chance to undertake travel and research for their studies that might not otherwise have been possible. Students are asked to write a journal of their travel and experiences. Here are a few recent reports:

Travel to Illinois and Paris, 2012 NESSA CARSON (2009, Chemistry) MChem Candidate, University College, Oxford

With great thanks for a Univ Old Members’ Trust travel grant and funding from Eisai, this summer I was able to work on my dream chemistry internship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I headed over to America in June and spent three months working on organometallic chemistry with Professor M. Christina White. I had never been further abroad than Paris, so this was a whole new cultural experience as well as the chance to work with a leading group in the field. Before I left, I was asked to blog about the experience for Nature Chemistry. I initially wondered how much I would have to say without being able to talk about confidential research secrets, but in the end, the vast difference in scientific cultures allowed me plentiful material. As soon as I stepped off the plane in Chicago, I saw a place unlike anywhere I had ever experienced before. The air was hot and humid even as the sun was beginning to set, the cars in the car park were mostly much larger than their British counterparts, all displaying gleaming registration plates proclaiming the merits of the vehicles’ states of origin. I asked for a glass of water in the pizza restaurant I stopped in in Chicago, and the waitress unloaded a huge leviathan of a vessel onto the table before me. I could see things were going to be different here. Lab life was fantastic and difficult. The worst times seemed to coincide with the wee small hours; the best with breathlessly taking spectroscopic data to check whether the new compounds I formed were what I needed them to be. The first month dragged, the second was spent rushing, and the third with never wanting to leave but simultaneously

missing Oxford and what now seemed like normality. In my last week, Prof White called me into her office and promised me authorship on the publication to come from my work, and a PhD position in the group if I could successfully apply to UIUC. Cultural aspects of the visit were often interesting but occasionally frustrating. One of the negative things that I encountered was the widespread belief in stereotypes about ‘European’ researchers, nominally including Brits. If I had a pound/dollar for every time I heard “you’re very hardworking… for a European”… Working in the organic chemistry department in Illinois gave me experience in reactions and methods that were new to me, many new contacts in the world of careers, and knowledge of how the systems work in both countries – useful for the postgraduate applications I’m currently waiting on. In a more real sense, it was also full of incredible and epic chemistry, and great new friends. Working in a fast-paced research group is always going to be a rollercoaster ride, but in the end, being on the other side of the Atlantic was a completely eye-opening and amazing experience, and I am beyond glad that it all happened. The five postgraduate destinations I have applied to for further work in organometallic chemistry are all based in the US, and include amongst them UIUC. The next chapter of my life may well be a PhD with the White group, and along with a non-negligible amount of trepidation, I can’t wait.

Language Course at Beijing Language and Culture University and Visit to the National Library of China ELISABETH FORSTER (2011, Oriental Studies) DPhil Candidate, University College, Oxford

My five-week trip to Beijing was one of the most productive and enjoyable journeys I have ever made. From 12 December 2012 to 17 January 2013, I undertook a language course and library visit in the capital of the Middle Kingdom.

Every day after the language classes, which were in the morning from 8am to 12pm, I travelled (about one hour on the bus) to the National Library of China. This is one of the world’s biggest libraries for topics related to China, and it is the dream of any DPhil student in Chinese studies. Consequently, I found a huge amount of very interesting materials, which will really make a difference to my thesis.

As a DPhil student of Chinese Studies, I read both modern and Classical Chinese on a daily basis. But I hardly ever have the opportunity to speak the language of the subject I have been studying for several years.

Being in Beijing was also very special for me, because I am writing my DPhil thesis on events that took place in that city almost a hundred years ago, in 1919. These events are called the ‘New Culture movement’. It was a movement launched by Chinese academics, who wanted to renew Chinese culture by introducing elements of Western culture, by creating a new national language and by redefining moral values.

Therefore I decided to attend a language course at Beijing Language and Culture University, a university which has a long tradition in, and a good reputation for, teaching the Chinese language to foreign students. Fortunately I was lucky enough to secure funding from the OMT graduate travel grant. Beijing Language and Culture University deserves its good reputation, as I found out during my stay at the school. The teachers were very competent and enthusiastic, and I enjoyed finally getting a chance to practise and improve my modern spoken Chinese. The only disadvantage was that only courses at an intermediate level and below were offered. But this was only a minor setback, because it gave me more time to work more specifically on my DPhil thesis in the afternoons.

My stay in this city where the events I study every day happened was therefore a unique experience, which gave me the chance to improve my Chinese language skills and to expand the scope of sources that form the basis of my DPhil thesis.

My stay in this city was a unique experience, which gave me the chance to improve my Chinese language skills and to expand the scope of sources that form the basis of my DPhil thesis. Elisabeth Forster, DPhil Candidate

Image: The National Library of China

Research Trip to the University of New York, Center for Soft Matter Research ELISEY KOBZEV (2008, Chemistry) DPhil Candidate, University College, Oxford

I am very thankful to have received and Old Members’ Trust bursary to help me fund a month long international research trip to the University of New York, Center for Soft Matter research. I had visited the University of New York, to study advanced techniques of colloid synthesis with Dr Stefano Sacanna, who is one of the world leading specialists on the subject in preparation of my future DPhil work in the field for the Roel Dullens group here at Oxford.

will study in the next three years. Furthermore, this research experience has significantly contributed to my personal and professional development by building my knowledge of the state of the art colloid science, as well as giving me transferrable skills: academic writing, laboratory techniques, project management and team work. Aside from the work I have undertaken for my PhD, I found my visit to New York very exciting. I have visited many interesting tourist locations and gained a better understanding on the East coast American culture. On the last weekend of my trip, I rented a car and drove down to Washington to see the world famous Smithsonian Institution museums.

The experience gained on this trip provided me with invaluable experience directly related to my Physical Chemistry DPhil. I have learned new advanced synthesis techniques required to develop colloidal systems for confocal microscopy that I

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting TERESA KYRKE-SMITH (2010, Geology) Earth Sciences DPhil Candidate, University College, Oxford

Thanks to receiving an OMT Travel Grant, at the start of December I travelled to San Francisco, California, to attend the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. This is the largest annual gathering of Earth Scientists (over 20,000 attend). It is a very exciting event to go to, both to hear about current groundbreaking research taking place all over the world and to meet and connect with colleagues.

people who were attending the meeting. The oral and poster presentations then started on the Monday, and each day there were presentations between 8am and 6pm. I presented a poster with my current research outlined on the Wednesday morning. It was a valuable experience, and I talked to people about my work throughout the whole session. It was good both to have the experience of explaining my work to leading academics and to get some feedback on the potential different areas of my research have for further development. I hope to return to San Francisco next year to attend the conference again.

I flew out to San Francisco on the Saturday, so to have the Sunday to recover from the jet lag and attend the ‘ice-breaker’ in the evening which was the first opportunity to meet with other

Please could you pass on my sincerest thanks to the old member money to the Old Members Trust. I am currently completing the Part II, M.Chem. degree (Masters in Chemistry) in Germany and was lucky enou OMT travel grant to allow me to come back to Oxford for a week in Nov about protein film electrochemistry.

OneI feel Week Trip that I now have a solid grasp of some very specialist methods such to Oxford to learn about chronoamperometry to determine substrate affinity constants and cycli determine potential at which reduction begins to occur. Some of the Protein Filmthe Electrochemistry

obtained were (2009,Chemistry) really interesting (and exciting!) I currently doing some fo THOMAS LONSDALE MChem University College, Oxford inCandidate, Berlin using biochemical assays and am hoping to come back to Oxfor carry out further electrochemical tests.Photo: Prof Edman Tsang (one of my tutors) and me I am currently completing the Part II, research year, of my On a non-academic note it was great to be able to see some MChem degree (Masters in Chemistry) in Germany and of the friends I have made in Oxford over the last 3 years was lucky enough to receive an Old Members’ Trustagain travel thankagain. was also nicewishes to see how my chemistry friends’ Part II Once youIt and best grant to allow me to come back to Oxford for a week in research projects are going and to chat about the similarities November to learn about protein film electrochemistry. I feel and differences about working in Oxford and at the Humboldt that I now have a solid grasp of some very specialist methods Universität zu Berlin, Germany. Another highlight was being such as chronoamperometry to determine substrate affinity able to see some of my (old) tutors at scholars’ dinner and Tom constants and cyclic voltammetry to determine theLonsdale potential watching Chicago with the Oxford Singers (an acapella group at which reduction begins to occur. Some of the results which founded by Univ Old Member, Jack Haynes). I obtained were really interesting (and exciting!) I currently My sincerest thanks to the old members who have made doing some follow up work here in Berlin using biochemical donations to the Old Members’ Trust. assays and am hoping to come back to Oxford again in April to carry out further electrochemical tests.

The results which I obtained in Oxford will form a key part of my Master it was, in addition, incredibly useful to receive guidance in the writing up project from my supervisor in Oxford (Dr Kylie Vincent). As well as receiv how to, among other things, cope with the frustrations of research and programs such as Pymol and Origin from Holly Reeve (a D.Phil. student i group of Dr Kylie Vincent). Allowing me to produce beautiful pictures of

The results which I obtained in Oxford will form a key part of my Master’s thesis. However, it was, in addition, incredibly useful to receive guidance in the writing up of my Part II project from my supervisor in Oxford, Dr Kylie Vincent. As well as receiving assistance in how to, among other things, cope with the frustrations of research and how to use programs such as Pymol and Origin from Holly Reeve (a DPhil student in the research group of Dr Kylie Vincent). Allowing me to produce beautiful pictures of enzymes like this, a homology model of HoxF:

I was lucky enough to receive A homology modelanofOMT HoxFtravel grant to allow me to come back to Oxford for a week in November to learn about protein film electrochemistry. Thomas Lonsdale, MChem Candidate

École Normale Supérieure, Paris training with Dr. David Holcman, theoretical physiology group DAVID A. MENASSA (2009, Medicine) DPhil Candidate in Clinical Neurology, University College, Oxford

I spent the week between the 16th and the 21st of December in the laboratory of Dr David Holcman at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. I also spent two days at the Collège de France with Dr Nathalie Rouach. The purpose of my visit was to observe the patch-clamping of astrocytes in the autism mouse model that the laboratory has and apply stochastic analyses to simulate the interaction between neurons and glial cells. This experience was extremely interesting and an ongoing collaboration has been established with Dr Holcman for the future. In fact, after I submit my PhD in September 2013, Dr Holcman and Dr Rouach will host me for a few months to work on a mathematical model of neuron-glia interactions in the brain.

Image: mammalian astrocyte cultures stained with GFAP antibody, cells that were patched in Dr. Holcman’s laboratory in Paris. Image courtesy of DA Menassa 2011

University of Cambridge, MEG-UK 2013 Conference 9th – 11th January 2013 I spent three days in Cambridge at the MEG conference. I presented a talk entitled ‘Gamma oscillations associated with perceptual simultaneity in autism spectrum disorder’ at the conference. The talk summarized my findings under the direction of Dr Sven Braeutigam for my DPhil and was very well received according to speakers in the conference and my supervisor’s comments. I would like to thank the Old Members’ Trustees for awarding me the above grants, which have allowed me to establish a strong collaboration and to present my research in an international conference.

I would like to thank the Old Members Trustees for awarding me the above grants, which have allowed me to establish a strong collaboration and to present my research in an international conference. David A. Menassa, DPhil Candidate

Trip to Berlin 5th – 8th December 2012 THOMAS NELSON (2009, Classics) BA Classics Candidate, University College, Oxford

Last December I travelled to Berlin to visit some of the classical museums that the city boasts, as well as to practice some German, a language which will prove very important for my planned postgraduate study next year. The main museum I wanted to visit was the Pergamon, specifically for the Pergamon Altar, a remarkable monument which reflects the cultural pretensions of the Hellenistic Attalid dynasty – a core topic in the Hellenistic History paper that I am studying for Finals, as well as an important test-case for my proposed postgraduate research (on the cultural continuities and use of the past and myth in the Hellenistic period). Seeing the Gigantomachy and Telephus friezes in person has really helped me to set what I have read about the monument in context, especially since I was able to compare the friezes with those of the Attalids’ main model, the Parthenon of fifth century Athens (having also visited Athens in the summer of 2011). The Zeus and Athena of the Altar’s east frieze, for example, evoke the same pair on the Parthenon’s west pediment, thus associating Attalid achievement with the former success of classical Athens. It was unfortunate, however, to discover upon my arrival that the wing of the museum containing other Hellenistic artwork had been closed for renovation. Nevertheless, I was still able to listen to the audio guide comments on these exhibits that I could not see (by some careful entry-number guess-work), which still proved very useful, including a discussion of one sculpture

The Pergamon Altar (detail)

depicting Herakles freeing Prometheus as a ‘political allegory’ (a sculpture which I have since been able to find a picture of online). Whatever I missed seeing in person at the Pergamon, however, was definitely made up for by the recently renovated Altes, whose antiquities collection ranges from archaic Greece to Rome, including some Etruscan art along the way. I found some very interesting Hellenistic coins and sculptures, especially a depiction of Theseus and the Minotaur, which the display case suggested might be another political allegory for a Hellenistic King. Alongside these museums, I also visited the National Gallery and the Neues (with its extremely interesting Nefertiti exhibition, Egyptian collections, and room on the archaeology of ancient Troy). Overall, therefore, this trip was very beneficial, not only for my immediate studies, but also for my planned postgraduate work and general interest in antiquity. Alongside the museums, I was also able to meet up with Univ Classics tutor Dr Bill Allan, who is on sabbatical this year in Berlin, and it was very helpful talking through postgraduate plans with him in person. I am very grateful for the financial assistance received from the College Old Members’ Travel Grant which enabled me to undertake this trip, and certainly recommend all these Berlin museums to those who have not yet had a chance to visit them.

The Pergamon Altar (detail)

This trip was very beneficial, not only for my immediate studies, but also for my planned postgraduate work and general interest in antiquity. Thomas Nelson, BA Classics Candidate

The Pergamon Altar 7

bout an earthquake, keeping in mind the eventual goal of an opera ystem. Whilst on the west coast, I also spent a week in Las Vegas at I am very grateful for the financial support from the xploration Geophysicists’ Meeting. This was the first time I Old Members’ Trust, which helped make Annual this trip affordable to a final year DPhil student. ather Thomas thanO’Toole, academic, conference and it was very interesting to see DPhil Candidate esearch. I also took this opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon, an a eoscientist! On Trip my journey Research to the home, I stopped off in San Francisco to onference, time Geophysical Union’s Fall Meetin West this Coast ofthe theAmerican USA THOMAS O’TOOLE Geology) ther research I have(2009, done on monitoring seismicity caused by hydr DPhil Candidate in Seismology, University College, Oxford “fracking”).

The main focus of my DPhil research has been developing Whilst on the west coast, I also spent a week in Las Vegas am very grateful for the financial support from the Old Members’ T methods for analysing earthquake-induced ground motions attending the Society of Exploration Geophysicists’ Annual recorded by Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. Meeting. This was the first time I had been to an industry, make this trip ofaffordable a final year DPhil student. Dense networks these instruments have to been deployed rather than academic, conference and it was very interesting in places like California, Japan and Italy, and may be useful for earthquake early warning: extracting information about a quake either as it is still in progress, so that some seconds of warning may be given to those in harm’s way, or in the following minutes, enabling first responders to be directed to locations where they are needed most.

to see the latest applied research. I also took this opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon, an amazing experience for a geoscientist! On my journey home, I stopped off in San Francisco to attend another conference, this time the American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting, and presented some other research I have done on monitoring seismicity caused by hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”).

om O’Toole

Last autumn I spent four weeks in San Diego collaborating with the researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography who operate the South California real-time GPS network. We exchanged knowledge about GPS data processing, handling and modelling. We are now working jointly to develop algorithms allowing the real-time extraction of more sophisticated, and hence more useful, information about an earthquake, keeping in mind the eventual goal of an operational early warning system.

I am very grateful for the financial support from the Old Members’ Trust, which helped make this trip affordable to a final year DPhil student. Photo of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography GPS seismology group (I am fourth from left). The department occupies a spectacular cliff-top location overlooking the Pacific Ocean; this photo was taken on the adjacent beach, which is very popular with surfers.

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16th Joint Meeting of the Signal Transduction Society 5th – 7th November 2012 EVGENIA (JENNY) ROUKA (2010, Medicine) DPhil Candidate in Medical Oncology, University College, Oxford, Department of Oncology

The Old Member’s Trust travel grant gave me the opportunity to attend the 16th Meeting of the Signal Transduction Society, held in Weimar, Germany. The meeting was jointly organised by the ‘Signal Transduction’ study groups of the German Societies for Cell Biology (DGZ) and Immunology (DGfl) and the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM). The subject of this year’s meeting was ‘Signal Transduction Receptors, Mediators and Genes’, while the special focus of the meeting was ‘Tumor Biology’, which was co-organised by the DGZ study group, the EU-funded consortium SYBILLA (Systems biology of T-cell activation in health and disease) and the Pancreatic Cancer Consortium Kiel. A variety of workshops and three poster sessions covered many aspects of the signal transduction research. I am in my final year of my DPhil in Medical Oncology. As part of my project, I investigate the molecular details of a proteinprotein interaction and how it contributes in health and cancer. The interdisciplinary character of the sessions allowed me to increase my insight into how to investigate different model systems. Moreover, I enjoyed talks from excellent speakers of my field and became more aware of the most recent advances. Furthermore, the poster sessions allowed me to become more familiar with other signal transduction events.

It was a great occasion to meet current collaborators and build new collaborations. I am grateful to the Old Members’Trust for making it possible to attend this meeting.

I gave a talk on ‘A novel and atypical interaction of the tandem SH3 domains in the adaptor protein CD2AP with the Rab5GDP/GTP exchange factor (Rab5-GEF) RIN3’. This was the first time I gave a talk to an international audience outside Oxford and a great opportunity to improve my communication skills. The informal character of the meeting allowed me to get good feedback for my project and meet many scientists from related fields. Finally, it was a great occasion to meet current collaborators and build new collaborations. Therefore, I am grateful to the Old Member’s Trust for making it possible to attend this meeting.

Evgenia Rouka, DPhil Candidate

Research trip to the Haganah Archive, Tel Aviv STEVEN WAGNER (2010, History) DPhil Candidate, University College, Oxford

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Old Membersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Trust again for their financial support in my research trip to Israel during December 2013, and to describe what I accomplished.

these records is interesting in terms of its details, and also its general structure. The CID underwent severe problems and restructuring during the Arab rebellion from 1936-39. Until that time, it had relied largely on Arab staff to fill securitysensitive clerkships, analysis work, and even as agents and handlers. The rebellion forced the police to purge the ranks of all unreliable staff, and British Intelligence helped them restructure into a military organization. Therefore, we see very few original records from before 1939. What survives, are summaries for the personal, subject and organization indexes which the CID intended to send to London in 1947. So we can see exactly what issues the CID thought were important on a long term basis. I have copied the personal files of all important Palestinian rebel leaders, politicians (both pro and anti-British). These records reveal the development of the relationship between these movements and the British government in Palestine, whether they fell apart during the 1930s or whether opposition movements were coopted into supporting British rule. These records also constitute the only surviving record of British internment of Arabs during the Second World War. I have put in several requests for the British intelligence records which deal with these, including those of the Special Operations Executive which relied on these internees for deception and covert action, but the records remain unavailable.

I spent two and a half weeks exclusively at the Haganah Archive in Tel Aviv. I originally had intended to visit a few other archives, but my time was consumed at this one important source. The archive was short on staff, so service was slow. However, the permanent staff there were very kind to me, and gave me privileged first access to newly released documents from the records of the Palestine police. This archive has an interesting history on its own. Before the British withdrawal from Palestine in 1948, there had been a question of what to do with security intelligence records. The bombing of the King David Hotel in the summer of 1946 had destroyed part of the security service records, and so during 1947, the police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) began to microfilm its entire archive. By the summer of that year, the security services in London requested the archive be sent back to London. Arrangements were made to have it sent via Port Said to London. The archive never made it to Port Said, and the means by which it disappeared remain a mystery. In the early to mid 1990s, staff at the Israeli Security Service (known as Shabak or GSS) noticed a foul smell emerging from the basement. They uncovered several drums filled with microfilm reels, preserved in motor oil. The mix had begun to spoil, so they spent some effort in uncovering the films with historians and preserving them. Many reels are completely illegible, but what survives in the CID archive which went missing in 1947-48. The Haganah archive took over custody of these records in the late 1990s, and slowly has made new batches of material available to historians. I am one of the first to use this material in English language publications, with an article I published in 2008 in Intelligence and National Security, the leading intelligence studies journal.

These records also reveal much about the issue of communism in Palestine from the 1920s. They are confirming one of my important arguments in my thesis that British intelligence saw Palestine security in the early 1920s in a trans-national context. They were concerned for the most part by questions of how Bolshevism and Pan-Islam might affect Palestine security, and how these issues in Palestine might affect Imperial security elsewhere (especially India and Egypt). The records show how the CID relied on German, Yiddish and Russian speaking Jews to maintain its grasp on communism. As the CID maintained a handle on the dangerous agents provocateurs, the British government was able to rely on other Arab and Jewish movements to manage communism

During my visit in Tel Aviv, I was given first access to the Arabic section of the CID records. What survives from

activity which was less subversive. For instance, the Jewish labour federation, Histadrut, became an important source for support in breaking labour strikes. This two-pronged approach succeeded in managing communism as a subversive threat to British security in Palestine.

why Britain was surprised by the Arab rebellion, why the government struggled to handle it, and why British intelligence eventually had to lead the campaign which did succeed in supressing it. These records also contain important sources on the Zionist-British relationship, and will help develop my arguments as to why, despite a strong partnership which lasted from 1916 to 1939, did Britain abandon its support for Zionism on the eve of the Second World War. It is clear from these records that intelligence played a key role in this mutually-dependent relationship. Zionist intelligence records also contain some material copied and stolen from British government offices during the 1920s and 1930s, which help complete the overall picture about these issues of intelligence, policy and security.

I also had the chance to look at records of the Jewish intelligence services. These records reveal most critical details about Arab politics during the 1920s and 1930s. One cannot write a proper history of this period without using these Hebrew records. During the Arab rebellion, British intelligence came to rely on the Zionist intelligence services for support. Jewish agents and handlers in Damascus helped the British consul there coerce Arab rebel leaders to switch sides by using deception, propaganda, financial means and force. The information they provided made the British campaign a success. They also provided translations to British intelligence of all the intercepted records of communication between Arab rebels. These records, if they survive, have not been made available in English. However, all of the original Hebrew translations, and some Arabic originals, do survive. Only by using this material is it possible to understand

I would like to take the opportunity to thank you again for your financial support. This support is making my research possible, and is providing for a cutting-edge history which will change the way we think about the 30 years of British rule in Palestine, and the origins of the Israeli-Arab conflict. If you are interested in my subject, it is always my pleasure to discuss it in greater detail. With much gratitude, Steven Wagner.

This support is making my research possible, and is providing for a cutting-edge history which will change the way we think about the 30 years of British rule in Palestine, and the origins of the Israeli-Arab conflict. Steven Wagner, MA History Candidate

Medievalist Conference in Ghent, Belgium 24th – 26th September 2012 JUDITH WESTON (2012, Modern Languages) MA Candidate, University College, Oxford

I would like to thank the Old Members’ Trust so much for helping to sponsor my trip to Ghent, Belgium to learn Old French for my one-year Masters course in Medieval and Modern Languages. My trip was also sponsored by the University and Oxford’s Medium Aevum, The Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature.

dialect. The University of Ghent hosted us, and we used their conference room all three days from nine to five working on the language. We were taught by a wonderful medievalist from Fordham university in the United States, and though we all came from various places in Britain and Europe, we became friends and bonded over our love of the medieval French language. We were especially inspired, not only by the many scholars who gave presentations, but also by the city of Ghent, which is itself a beautiful, medieval city. In the three days I had there, I came to love Ghent so much, and I really enjoyed the Belgian chocolate most of all. It was absolutely the best introduction imaginable to my course and to my time at Oxford. I was so fortunate to be able to attend such a wonderful and instructive conference in such a marvelous, historic city, and it would not have been possible without the generosity of the Old Members of University College. I cannot thank you enough.

My supervisor Dr Helen Swift, University Lecturer (CUF) in Medieval French, requested that I attend a three day conference in Ghent for medievalists so that I could have a head start in learning to read Old French, as well as to hear other scholars from all over Britain and continental Europe give papers on their subjects. Over the three days, I and the other participants were given a crash course in Old French grammar and vocabulary in order that we might learn to read medieval manuscripts written in the

I was so fortunate to be able to attend such a wonderful and instructive conference in such a marvelous, historic city, and it would not have been possible without the generosity of the Old Members of University College. Judith Weston, MA Candidate

Society for Neuroscience Meeting 2012 – New Orleans FRANZISKA R. RICHTER (2009, Psychology) DPhil Candidate in Experimental Psychology University College, Oxford

First, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the Trustees for their generous sponsorship that supported my visit to the Society for Neuroscience 2012 meeting.

The study I presented were the results of an EEG experiment in which I compared a measure of selective memory and with a measure of general memory success, to show that traditional correlates of successful elaborative encoding seem to be more closely related to selective encoding success than more general measures of successful memory. The poster sessions allowed for valuable discussions and networking, and I was able to talk in person to many researchers that do related work.

I arrived in New Orleans at the night of Friday the 12th of October. My poster presentation was not due until the following Tuesday, which meant that I could spend the first couple of days visiting talks and posters of other research in related areas. These conversations with other researchers were extremely helpful for me: on the one hand I was writing my thesis at this time and the stimulating conversations provided me with new ideas how to think about my data. Moreover, I already knew at this point that I was going to start a post doc in New York, and I was able to meet researchers that work in this areas on similar topics. Amongst others, I also met my future supervisor in person.

The broadness of the topics presented at such a large meeting as that of the Society for Neuroscience moreover meant that I was able to learn about connected topics and methods that will be beneficial for my own career. Overall the Society for Neuroscience meeting was a great event, and I enjoyed my attendance there. The organizers did a wonderful job of coordinating the countless presenters, exhibitioners, and more than 30,000 attendees.

My poster presentation was scheduled to take place in the session “Human Long-Term Memory: Encoding and Retrieval II ”. My presentation took several hours which I spend talking to colleges in my area of work – many whose research I have been following over the last years. I was glad to find that these researchers had great interest in my work. I received very helpful and positive feedback on my findings. At the end of my presentation I had given out all of my printed hand-outs (around 40 copies), and had several requests for PDF reprints of my work.

In addition to the experiences on the conference itself, I also had the great opportunity to spend an afternoon exploring New Orleans and its famous French Quarter. To conclude, my visit to the Society for Neuroscience meeting was very successful and enjoyable. I would like to thank you once again for making this wonderful experience possible.

Fieldwork around MochoChoshuenco Volcano, Chile 2013 HARRIET RAWSON (2011, Geology) DPhil Candidate, University College, Oxford

From January to March 2013 I was carrying out fieldwork in Chile and Argentina for my DPhil. I research MochoChoshuenco Volcano, in southern Chile near the city of Valdivia, which is a dormant volcano that has produced huge explosive eruptions in the past including historic times.

After exploring the proximal deposits around the volcano I joined Karen Fontijn (a Post Doctoral Researcher from Earth Sciences, Oxford) in Argentina to explore the distal deposits. The prevailing winds in Chile mean that most of the volcanic deposits are found to the north or east (i.e. Argentina) of the volcanoes. Close to the city of San Martin I was fortunate to find deposits from Mocho-Choshuenco which will greatly help to constrain the size of the largest eruptions.

Most of my time in South America was spent in the village of Neltume, at the foot of Mocho-Choshuenco Volcano, from where I explored the region around the volcano looking for road-cuttings. Roads often cut through old stratigraphy revealing the rocks from past eruptions. By sampling and measuring these rocks from many road-cuttings it is possible to reconstruct the frequency, style and size of past eruptions thus enabling the risks the volcano could pose to be better quantified.

Thank you for supporting my trip which has given me essential data and samples for my DPhil.

Lago Ri単ihue in front of Mocho-Choshuenco volcano

An example of a road-cutting, about 10km east of the volcano, where many eruptions from Mocho-Choshuenco are preserved. The thick unit at the base (labelled A) is made up of pumice from the second largest eruption at Mocho-Choshuenco that is preserved. Using carbon the age of this eruption has been calculated to be around 7,000 years ago.

Thank you for supporting my trip which has given me essential data and samples for my DPhil. Harriet Rawson, DPhil Candidate

The cone on Mocho-Choshuenco, that is thought to have formed in the 1864 eruption, the last eruption at Mocho-Choshuenco.

British Neuroscience Association 2013: Festival of Neuroscience 7th – 10th April 2013 JULIA BROUARD (2012, Neuropharmacology) DPhil Candidate, University College, Oxford

I arrived at the Barbican Centre, the venue for the BNA 2013 conference, early on Sunday morning. Despite the quietness of the surrounding streets, the Centre itself was littered with images of brains, people discussing the most contemporary and sometimes controversial neuroscience topics, and children engaging in the exhibitions set up to awaken an interest in neuroscience in the general public. This welcoming, and the imposing nature of the 1960s Barbican building, gave me high expectations of the calibre of talks to come, which were not disappointed.

clinical effectiveness of these drugs, legalisation in a controlled manner for medicinal use only could be hugely beneficial to the field. Many talks started by introducing the history of research in their field. For example, in a series of talks entitled ‘Impulsivity, Compulsivity and Habit Formation’ Dr Sam Chamberlain from The University of Cambridge reported the first accounts of Trichotillomania (a disorder characterised by the compulsive pulling out of one’s hair), which was documented in Homer’s Iliad and The Bible. In other lectures we heard about the discovery of the first antidepressants, and the first insights into the neurological effects of psychotropic drugs in Aldous Huxley’s ‘The Doors to Perception’, which is about the author’s experiences of taking mescaline (a psychotropic drug from various species of cacti). It seemed to me that in highlighting the history of a drug, or how we came to understand a certain pathology, we can determine whether the conclusions we’ve drawn on the basis of this evidence is reliable, or whether it should be reviewed in light of modern technologies and understanding. It also encourages researchers to consider alternative causes of pathologies, or therapies that had previously been dismissed

A series of talks that were particularly in line with the topic of my DPhil discussed the effectiveness of current antidepressant drugs, and the emerging drugs that may replace them. Included in this symposium was a talk by Professor David Nutt who is well known not only within his field, but in the media for his campaigning for the legalisation of some psychedelic drugs. He presented data from his latest work using psilocybin, a psychedelic agent naturally occurring in mushrooms, which targets a serotonin receptor known to be involved in depression. Within this talk he highlighted the mammoth task he and his group faced in obtaining the drug for research purposes, and then in getting a license for the hospital to carry out clinical trials with the drug, weighed against the potentially huge and previously unreported benefits of the drug for patients with resistant forms of depression and bipolar disorder. The sensationalism that surrounded the media’s coverage of Professor Nutt’s proposal to lift the ban on psychedelic drugs had made me sceptical of the benefits of this; however, his talk did convince me that in the case of scientific research into the

Other topics covered over the course of the conference that were of interest in my field included lectures on Obsessive, Compulsive Disorder, the 4th most common psychiatric disorder worldwide. Here a dysfunction of the serotonin system (a neurotransmitter which is the focus of my DPhil) is implicated in the aetiology. Other symposiums discussed the neural

I would sincerely like to thank Univ’s OMT Graduate Travel Grant donors and trustees for giving me the opportunity to attend this conference. Julia Brouard, DPhil Candidate

circuits involved in face expression recognition, dysfunctions of which are implicated in autism, and the brain areas affected in Frontotemporal dementia, a disease characterised by psychiatric changes including loss of the ability to empathise and the development of compulsive behaviours, which unfortunately means these patients are at risk of become isolated from friends and family. The conference also tackled the ethical issues that neuroscience research comes up against; of particular interest were a series of lectures about memory enhancing and erasing drugs. With the discovery of the procognitive drugs, most famously Ritalin, the question was posed as to who should be prescribed these drugs, and whether they have a use in healthy humans to heighten normal brain function. Running alongside the scientific programme of the conference were a collection of educational exhibitions and talks open to the public aimed at making neuroscience more accessible. For me, these exhibitions were some of the best of the conference, and though aimed at children, they brought back to me some of the bizarre and mysterious elements of neuroscience that had sparked my interest in the first place. Especially interesting, and important was the stand run by â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ignite!â&#x20AC;?, a company that travel around schools providing an interactive learning experience focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects. I would sincerely like to thank Univâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s OMT Graduate Travel Grant donors and trustees for giving me the opportunity to attend this conference; I hope it will be first of many in my academic career.

LEC Workshop for Law Professors on Public Choice Economics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Northern Virginia 25th â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 27th January 2013 PATRICK LUFF (2009, Law) DPhil Candidate, University College, Oxford

From 25th to 27th January 2013, I attended the LEC Workshop for Law Professors on Public Choice Economics, put on by the Law and Economics Center at the George Mason University School of Law. The conference provided an overview of the major topics in public choice theory, which applies economics methodologies to political science and legal issues. The conference mostly focused on the economic analysis of collective decisionmaking; that is, on the incentives individuals and entities have to organize, and the legal and political structures that organized groups seek that will reinforce their political, legal, and economic advantages relative to unorganized groups. The conference was particularly enjoyable because it was conducted rather informally. Coupled with the small number of participants, this informal structure allowed me a large amount of interaction with the other participants, as well as the leaders of the discussions, among whom were some of the most well-know and well-respected members of the academy working on public choice issues. The conference was also substantively useful for my scholarship. I am presently writing my dissertation on the use of courts and litigation in the United States as a device to fill shortfalls

in meeting the social demand for risk regulation left when the normal regulatory apparatus (legislative delegation to administrative agencies) malfunctions. In my dissertation, I discuss public choice theory both as an explanation for the failure of the normal regulatory process, and as a means of justifying court-based risk regulation, which requires the courts to take a more active role than that envisioned by the standard account of separation of powers in the United States. This conference not only allowed me to enrich my knowledge of the fundamentals of public choice theory, but also enabled me to discuss my work with and receive feedback from leading scholars in the field. At the same time, I was able to network with and disseminate my views to the other participants at the conference, which was improved by the fact that my group was part of a larger conference that included groups on the economics of litigation and the economics of contract law. These discussions have already proven helpful as I write my dissertation, and I have integrated some of the concepts I learned at the conference into an article I have written which has been accepted for publication with the Utah Law Review.

This conference not only allowed me to enrich my knowledge of the fundamentals of public choice theory, but also enabled me to discuss my work with and receive feedback from leading scholars in the field. Patrick Luff, DPhil Candidate

Sunset Beach

Geometric and Asymptotic Group Theory with Applications (GAGTA) Conference City College of New York 28th – 31st May 2013 ELISABETH FINK (2009, Maths) PhD Candidate, University College, Oxford

The conference which I used my travel grant for was part of an annually held series of conferences with the name ‘Geometric and Asymptotic Group Theory with Applications’ or GAGTA for short. The event this year was the seventh in this series and was held at the City University of New York on the first three days and at the Graduate Centre on 34th Street/5th Avenue on the fourth and last day. Upon arrival there was a small registration fee to be paid to cover lunches and tea breaks. Shortly after, at 9am daily, we started with the first talk. The first four talks were of a longer 40 minutes format with only five minutes in-between talks to allow questions and have a short break.

In particular I enjoyed meeting Gilbert Baumslag, one of the most senior active mathematicians in my field. Although not advertised as such, the conference I attended was held at CUNY in honour of his 80th birthday. Due to the format of talks and the very busy schedule it required somewhat more effort than usual to interchange ideas with the speakers after their talks. After almost having to chase some people around, I had by the end of the event spoken to everyone who I had questions for. Conferences as these always give a great opportunity to hear about new interesting concepts and other topics related to my own work. This allows me to progress in my work and find new research directions.

After a lunch break where vouchers for the local cafeteria where provided, we soon found ourselves back at the first afternoon block of talks. These were now at a shorter 25 minutes format, with also only five minutes intermission between them. After four of these talks we had a small coffee break with hot beverages and biscuits provided. This allowed some interchange of ideas and discussions about topics presented. Returning from the coffee break we attended three more talks before the format changed. The last four talks of the day were held in parallel sessions to allow people to choose between two talks at the time.

The travel constituted quite some effort due to the length of the journey. Although the very interesting talks and people I met there definitely made it worthwhile.

The talk I presented was one of the parallel session talks which was mainly reserved for PhD students such as myself. I found myself quite relieved after having presented my talk. With this off my mind on the first day already, I hence had more chance to interact with other participants and exchange ideas.

Conferences as these always give a great opportunity to hear about new interesting concepts and other topics related to my own work. This allows me to progress in my work and find new research directions.

An almost obligatory part of any conference is going for dinner and drinks with other participants to socialise and discuss work in a more relaxed setting. This has brought me outside the campus grounds of CUNY and I was able to explore a little bit of the lifestyle in NY. While eating out there can be quite expensive, a group of mostly PhD students and I were always able to find a somewhat more inexpensive though nutritious and healthy option.

Elisabeth Fink, PhD Candidate

Artek Event 2013: Sustainability and Mining in the Arctic, Sisimiut, Greenland 9th – 11th April 2013 DAWN BERRY (2009, History) Doctoral Candidate, Faculty of History/ Jr. Dean University College, Oxford

The £300 travel grant awarded to me from the University College Old Member’s Trust Travel grant was used toward my flight from Copenhagen to Nuuk, Greenland to attend the 2013 Artek event on sustainability and Mining in the Arctic in Sisimiut, Greenland. The total flight cost for that portion of the travel was £650.

This experience was tremendously helpful for the writing of my thesis and was incorporated into my final chapter. It would not have been possible for me to have attended the conference without the generous support from the University College Old Members’ Trust Travel Grant. Through the conference I made important contacts which have resulted in an invitation to present at the National Museum in Denmark. In addition, my paper was selected for publication in the peerreviewed conference proceedings. Both the contacts I made as a result of the conference and the publication will be invaluable for my future career in academia and it would be impossible to overstate my gratitude to the college for the support it has offered me.

I presented a paper on the first day of the conference entitled ‘Cryolite: Lessons from History for Contemporary Practice.’ My paper was generally well received and I had a number of incisive questions both concerning my paper specifically and my thesis project in general. In addition, my work benefited tremendously from the time in Greenland. My thesis deals with the North Atlantic Triangle and the American occupation of Greenland during the Second World War. Prior to this conference I had never been to Greenland.

I conducted several oral interviews about Greenlanders’ perceptions of their history and the impact of the American occupation on the lives of Greenlanders during the war.

Dawn Berry, Doctoral Candidate

Greenland - photographs by Dawn Berry 21

Bucharest Colloquium in Analytic Philosophy (BCAP) 2013 24th – 26th May 2013 NEIL DEWAR (2011, Philosophy) DPhil Candidate, University College, Oxford

Between the 24th and 26th of May this year, I attended the Bucharest Colloquium in Analytic Philosophy. The Colloquium was run for the first time last year, with a focus on the philosophy of mathematics; this year focused on the philosophy of physics, with two themes: ‘New Directions in the Foundations of Physics’, and a symposium on Einstein’s philosophy of science.

between systems connected by no physical medium). This was my first ever time presenting at a conference, so I was a little nervous beforehand; but it seemed to be received fairly well (though I also got a number of useful suggestions and ideas for how to improve the paper). Overall, attending the conference was fantastic: massively stimulating intellectually, and also enormous amounts of fun. I learnt a huge amount, both from the talks themselves and – perhaps more importantly – the endless conversations over breakfast, and coffee, and lunch, and afternoon coffee, and dinner, and drinks. I love doing philosophy of physics, but as with any research, it can sometimes feel a little isolating; and there’s no better antidote for that than spending three days talking to, and trading ideas with, philosophers of physics from all over Europe and America. Finally, I really enjoyed making new friends, and starting to form relationships that will – hopefully – be a part of my life for many years to come. All in all, it’s been a great few days, and I’m enormously grateful to the Old Members’ Trust for making the experience possible.

The conference had a fairly packed schedule: six talks on the Friday, seven on the Saturday, and three on the Sunday morning. It was definitely evident how broad a field philosophy of physics has become over the last few decades: topics ranged from how one might modify the formalism of quantum mechanics to incorporate a Heraclitus-style notion of time as creating the universe anew from instant to instant, to a discussion of whether there is any physical significance to the fact that both particle physics and classical statistical mechanics use renormalisation-group methods, to a proposal for reworking the formalism of General Relativity in the hopes of avoiding some of the problems that plague current attempts to obtain a quantum theory of gravity. That said, some themes did emerge. One was whether we can read philosophical lessons into mathematical commonalities between theories. If two theories have a similar mathematical structure (as discussed by the talk on renormalisation), or dual mathematical structures (as is the case in string theory – another speaker’s concern), is that of significance – and if so, what is that significance? Another was the relationship between physics concerning different scales: one talk considered how material scientists explain the homogeneity of behaviour of a number of materials with significantly different microstructure, whilst another concerned the puzzles around phase transitions (the sudden, discontinuous changes in the macroscopic properties of systems comprising large numbers of particles – for example, boiling or freezing). My own talk was about the impact of the Aharonov-Bohm effect (essentially, a modied version of the famous two-slit experiment) on different conceptions of locality (such as the impossibility of instantaneous signalling, or of influences

Overall, attending the conference was fantastic... I love doing philosophy of physics, but as with any research, it can sometimes feel a little isolating; and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no better antidote for that than spending three days talking to, and trading ideas with, philosophers of physics from all over Europe and America. I really enjoyed making new friends, and starting to form relationships that will â&#x20AC;&#x201C; hopefully â&#x20AC;&#x201C; be a part of my life for many years to come. Neil Dewar, DPhil candidate

Bucharest 23

Ideals and Reality in Social Ethics: Annual Conference 2013 University of Wales, Newport 19th – 21st March 2013 STEPHEN HUSSEY (2011, Politics) DPhil Candidate in Political Theory, University College, Oxford

I have received the Old Members’ Trust Travel Fund twice for the purpose of funding my attendance and participation in the ‘Ideals and Reality in Social Ethics’ conference, held annually at the University of Wales, Newport. On both occasions, I attended the conference in order to present my academic research on human rights, and I am extremely grateful to the Old Members Fund for allowing me to participate in the conference proceedings, as the fund covered both my travel and accommodation costs for the duration of the three-day event. Attending the conference has allowed me to received crucial feedback on my work from leading academics in political theory. I was delighted to receive personal comments on my DPhil thesis from Professor Jo Wolff, Professor Daniel Weinstock, and my supervisor Professor Marc Stears, all of whom attended my panel session and made fruitful contributions to the subsequent debate.

rights function in political practice, therefore my thesis is closely aligned with the themes of the conference. Being able to attend events such as this is invaluable in enabling students such as myself to share their work with others whilst also subjecting it to rigorous critique from colleagues and senior academics, and the opportunity to present one’s work during the early stages of development is very conducive to making progress on the DPhil. Furthermore, during the conference dinner I was brought together with other graduate students from universities all over Europe, many of whom shared precisely my own research interests, and many of the contacts made during this conference have developed into good friendships in which work is regularly shared and discussed, and again, this is very fruitful for academic work. I would once again like to extend my warmest gratitude to the Old Members for providing this fund, as it has allowed me two very enjoyable and intellectually stimulating academic opportunities, and I regularly encourage many other students at University College to apply for the fund to benefit their own studies.

The ‘Ideals and Reality in Social Ethics’ conference was founded in 2012 and following its initial success has developed into an annual event dedicated to exploring the problems and relations between theorists and ‘real world’ political practice. Namely, it asks some of the most pressing philosophical questions about how theorists should go about attempting to interpret and apply their findings to the messy real world of institutions, and questions the extent to which philosophers should engage in ideal or non-ideal thinking when they attempt to make normative recommendations for political actors. The event consists of three days of panel workshops and keynote speakers in areas as diverse as education, health policy, the philosophy and practice of human rights, international law, and even talks from those who have had direct influence in the workings of parliamentary politics. I stayed for three days at the conference, and was accommodated by the Priory Hotel, a quaint and beautiful hotel whose main building dates back to 1180, which was also the location of the conference dinner.

I am extremely grateful to the Old Members Fund for allowing me to participate in the conference proceedings. Attending the conference has allowed me to received crucial feedback on my work from leading academics in political theory. Stephen Hussey, DPhil Candidate

My own work is focused on the burgeoning school of human rights theorists such as Charles Beitz, Joseph Raz, and Andrea Sangiovanni, who argue that human rights theory needs to be constructed by primarily looking at the way human

Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) Annual Conference St Catherineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s College, Oxford 17th â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 19th March 2013 NAUREEN KARACHIWALLA (2008, Economics) DPhil Candidate, University College, Oxford

I was invited to present one of the chapters from my thesis at the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) Annual Conference, which was held from March 17-19, 2013. I am currently finishing up my thesis in Washington, DC, while I work part time at the World Bank. The OMT Travel Grant helped me to fund the cost of traveling to Oxford for this conference. Being able to present my work at this conference was a unique opportunity. The conference is one of the best conferences for development economics internationally, and it attracts many of the best speakers. It also has an extremely wide audience. It was wonderful to hear eminent speakers talk on a wide variety of topics during the plenary sessions, and to hear some of the best new papers in the field presented during the parallel sessions. The feedback I received from presenting my paper during a parallel session was also extremely helpful. There were some

people present during the presentation that knew a lot about the topic, and I also received very helpful feedback from the discussant of the paper, who had read it very thoroughly in advance. This feedback has greatly improved my paper. The conference was also a unique opportunity for me, because starting in the fall, I will be joining the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, DC. Many of my future colleagues from IFPRI were at the conference, and it was great to be able to hear many of them present their work, and also to speak to them about my work and get to know them personally. I am very glad I was able to attend the conference, and the OMT Grant was very helpful in this respect. The conference blog summarises some of the most interesting findings from the conference: http://www.csae.ox.ac.uk/ conferences/2013-EdiA/blogcsae2013.html

It was wonderful to hear eminent speakers talk on a wide variety of topics during the plenary sessions, and to hear some of the best new papers in the field presented during the parallel sessions. Naureen Karachiwalla, DPhil Candidate

The 11th International Conference on Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s Diseases (AD/PD) 2013, Florence, Italy 6th – 10st March 2013 HEIKE J WOBST (2010, Medicine) DPhil Candidate in Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics University College, Oxford

In March 2013, I attended AD/PD, with almost 3,000 participants the biggest European conference on neurodegenerative disorders of the central nervous system.

- Drug development in neurodegenerative diseases and discussions about the failures of previous clinical trials across all phases

Over the course of five days, research scientists from academic as well as industrial and clinical backgrounds presented their current work in 52 symposiums, 7 plenary lectures and over 1,500 poster presentations. Since sessions covering different disease aspects always ran in parallel, I planned my personal conference schedule to focus on the following key areas:

- Novel functions of tau protein, a major factor in several neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, and potential new tau-targeting therapies Besides attending many symposiums and lectures, I also presented my own work as a DPhil student in the lab of Dr. Richard Wade-Martins in the form of a poster.

- Evidence of the involvement of prion protein – which has been thoroughly studied as the protein causing Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease – in Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology

I am very pleased to have been able to attend AD/PD 2013. In addition to being able to present my research, I had the opportunity to listen to many interesting talks showing currently unpublished data as well as to experience some lively discussions regarding controversial pieces of published research.

- Novel disease models to study the etiopathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders, especially tauopathies, in vivo

2013 Meeting of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) Boston, USA 17th – 20th April 2013 AISLING O’LOUGHLIN (2011, Medicine) DPhil Candidate in Neuroscience, University College, Oxford

Thanks to the generous financial support of the Old Member’s Trust at Univ, I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Boston, MA in April for the 2013 meeting of the International Society for the study of Extracellular Vesicles. The conference went ahead in spite of events in Boston at the time and proved to be a great success. I had the opportunity to attend talks, view posters and speak with researchers in my field and in those closely related that deepened my knowledge in key areas related to my project – the use of extracellular vesicles as a vehicle for gene therapy – but also allowed me to learn about other areas of the biology of extracellular vesicles. This has facilitated my experimental design process as well as allowed me to consider other avenues my project could take that I may not have considered otherwise. I attended talks on all areas of extracellular vesicle biology and learnt about current research into how cargo is packaged into these vesicles under normal physiological conditions, which has allowed me to consider alternative methods of loading the vesicles I use in my project with our cargo of choice through exploiting the cell’s endogenous mechanisms. I was also able

to learn more about the potential immune response that these vesicles could elicit upon injection, and how they can be engineered to be immunosuppressive. I heard about alternative cutting edge methods to isolate and detect extracellular vesicles which may result in a higher yield of vesicles for my experiments and better resolution in detection. In the lab I am part of, one of our goals is to obtain a sustainable source of exosomes and to this end attending talks and speaking with those working with stem cells proved valuable. I also had the opportunity to find out more about how extracellular vesicles can participate in disease pathogenesis which may require further study in relation to the disease I focus on in my research. I had the opportunity to speak with many different researchers in all of the above areas and there is now a potential for new collaborations which may further help my DPhil project to develop. I would like to thank the Old Member’s Trust for their continued support of students and their research, particularly through funding for travel to international conferences.

I would like to thank the Old Member’s Trust for their continued support of students and their research, particularly through funding for travel to international conferences. Aisling O’Loughlin, DPhil Candidate

Research Trip to Emory University and Michael Carlos Museum, Atlanta Autumn 2012 NICHOLAS REID (2011, Oriental Studies) DPhil Candidate in Cuneiform Studies, University College, Oxford

With help of a generous OMT Travel Grant I was able to travel to Emory University, Atlanta, GA this past Fall. During the week, I presented on my research to professors and graduate students at Emory and worked with the Cuneiform collection housed at the Michael Carlos Museum, as described in the official announcement below: ‘The Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University (<http:// carlos.emory.edu>), and the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI), an international research project based at the University of California, Los Angeles, are delighted to announce the completion of an initial phase of digital capture, processing and web posting of the Carlos collection of 326 cuneiform artifacts (<http://cdli.ucla.edu/collections/emory/emory.html>).

All texts may be browsed at <http://tinyurl.com/cc9hhfb>. We welcome queries and proposals about the publication of these texts, or the correction of our catalogue, transliterations, or images, that may be posted to Carlos staff or to CDLI. All texts may be browsed at <http://tinyurl.com/cc9hhfb>. The Emory effort was made possible by funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and is part of the on-going mission of CDLI to ensure the long-term digital preservation of ancient inscriptions on cuneiform tablets, and, in furtherance of humanities research, to provide free global access to all available text artifact data.’ Thank you for your continued support of University College students and their research!

Following a series of e-mail communications among CDLI and Museum staff, including Emory faculty member Jacob Wright, that led to the creation of an updated catalogue of inscribed artifacts, the texts were imaged in November 2012 by Nicholas Reid from CDLI’s Oxford group, employing primarily conventional CDLI flatbed scanning procedures; the heavy bricks and brick fragments were photographed separately by Reid, and professional images of the collection’s two inscribed stone pieces were made available to CDLI courtesy of the Museum. The staff of the Museum, in particular Jasper Gaunt, Todd Lamkin, and Stacey Gannon-Wright, created an exceptional work environment to make this mission successful. Post-capture fatcrosses were created by UCLA staff. The collection consists of texts, from a variety of periods of Babylonian history, that are broadly representative of the nature of documents found in Mesopotamian schools and administrative offices. Some ninety of the texts were published by Daniel Snell in 1987 (ASJ 9, 233-275), including, as no. 12 (<http://cdli.ucla.edu/P102288>), an otherwise unassuming Ur III messenger text made famous by its ride in space on NASA’s STS-33 mission that lifted off in the dead of Thanksgiving night in November 1989; a handful were edited by Edmond Sollberger in 1958 (JCS 10, 27-29). The rest, well over 200 artifacts, remain, to the best of our knowledge, unpublished. Cuneiform artifact, Michael Carlos Museum, Atlanta

With help of a generous OMT Travel Grant I was able to tr 28 this past Fall. During the week, I presented on my research Emory and worked with the Cuneiform collection housed

Research trip to New Delhi and Tbilisi September 2012 ALEXANDER VOLSKY (2008, IR) DPhil Candidate in International Relations, University College, Oxford

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the travel grant I received and to write a brief report of my travels to New Delhi and Tbilisi in late September 2012. The purpose of my trip was to conduct interviews with leading policymakers on issues related to my dissertation on great power politics. During my week in New Delhi I had the opportunity to conduct several interviews with some of India’s highest-ranking officials. For instance, I was invited to the personal residence of I.K. Gujral, India’s former Prime Minister (1998-1999) and Foreign Minister (1996-1998), to conduct an interview related to my dissertation. I also had the chance to interview a former Indian ambassador to the Soviet Union and a current Member of Parliament who sits on the defence sub-committee. On my penultimate day I had the opportunity to interview Shiv Shankar Menon, the standing National Security Advisor and chief advisor to the current Prime Minster on matters of international security. It was an experience of a lifetime. On my free time I was able to visit some of India’s most iconic sites, including the Taj Mahal and Red Fort. After my extended week in India I travelled to Georgia where I experienced a very warm first welcome: the customs officers in Tbilisi airport give all new visitors to Georgia a bottle of wine in recognition of the country’s status as the world’s “birthplace of wine.” In Georgia I conducted interviews with officials and academics from leading universities and thinktanks. For instance, I had the opportunity to interview George Tskhakaya, the former Deputy-Mayor of Tbilisi and current Deputy-Minister of Justice, and other officials from the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. My trip to Georgia coincided with the country’s historic elections, which gave me an opportunity to meet and informally discuss the political situation with several international elections observers from the United Nations and the OSCE.

international system. One of the ways that Russia challenges America’s preponderant position is through its diplomatic relations with great powers such as India. Therefore, my interviews with the former Prime Minister, former ambassador to Russia, and the current National Security Advisor were invaluable in understanding Russo-Indian relations. Furthermore, one of the chapters in my dissertation is almost exclusively devoted to the 2008 Russo-Georgian August War, and thus my interviews with the former Deputy-Mayor/Minister of Justice and other officials from the Georgian Foreign Ministry were very useful in understanding the politics and motivations behind the war. These interviews have served to provide an empirical strengthening to my doctoral dissertation which is now nearing its completion. I would like to thank you once again for your generous contribution and support for this research trip.

I had the opportunity to interview Shiv Shankar Menon, the standing National Security Advisor and chief advisor to the current Prime Minister on matters of national security. It was an experience of a lifetime. Alexander Volsky, DPhil Candidate

My research trip to India and Georgia has been highly relevant to my dissertation. The general topic of my research is on balance of power theory, and in particular how great powers combine with each other to challenge US preponderance in the Image top right: Front Gate leading to the Taj Mahal, Agra

Prime Minister’s Office, New Delhi

Trip to Japan to present at the International Workshop for Optical Terahertz Science and Technology (OTST 2013) April 2013 CHRISTIAN WEHRENFENNIG (2010, Physics) DPhil Candidate in Condensed Matter Physics, University College, Oxford

What is a better way to pass one’s time than talking about science? Talking about science in a place full of blooming cherry trees. It is only for about a week or two that large parts of Japan turn pink and white and the entire country celebrates ‘Sakura’ - the Japanese cherry blossom marking the arrival of spring. Hardly coincidentally the organizers of OTST chose the first week of April for this year’s workshop on optical terahertz science and - five days precisely in the middle of the cherry blossom season in Kyoto.

Certainly one of the highlights of the meeting was the conference banquet on Thursday night with delicious Japanese food, traditional dance performances, the poster award ceremony, and of course plenty of opportunities to get to talk to people about other things than terahertz. Traveling to Japan for the first time I did of course not book my return flight for the day the conference ends, but rather took the opportunity to see more of the country. Places I visited during these extra days include Osaka, Hiroshima, the Island of Miyajima, the ancient capital Nara and Tokyo. A particular highlight of this trip was an overnight stay at a Buddhist temple at Koyasan giving the most fascinating and immediate insights into this very spiritual place.

OTST is a rather specialized meeting focussing on an experimental technique that not even many physicists are familiar with. But for my DPhil research project, for which I use so called optical-pump-terahertz-probe spectroscopy to study After three and a half days packed with the latest in terahertz science it was time to take a charge transport in photovoltaic materials, it is certainly one of digestive break and grateful to actually Kyoto. organizers I’m very forsee the something support ofofthe Old The Members Trusthad offered an the most important and useful events on the agenda. About 300 excursion toenabling some of me the most important landmarks, but since Kyoto is not to undertake this fascinating, enjoyable and really a huge city scientists came to present their work at OTST 2013 in talks andorthe public transport network is densejourney and reliable, it was just easy to explore the city on scientifically highly fruitful to Japan. on posters. This number made it necessary to run two sessions our own with a smaller group. A great place for seeing cherry blossoms was Nijo castle with in parallel, and picking the more interesting session was not its wonderfully designed Japanese gardens. The enormously photogenic golden temple is always easy. another must-see among many other ones, such as Kiomizudera with its terrace supported by an impressive wooden structure.

For me as a new player in the field the exposure from giving a Certainly one of the highlights of the meeting was the conference banquet on Thursday talk about my own work was of great value. However at least night with delicious Japanese food, traditional dance performances, the poster award as much as this I benefited from finally meeting some of the and of course plenty of opportunities to get to talk to people about other things colleagues whose names I have read over and over again inceremony, the than terahertz. literature. The coffee breaks and poster sessions offered plenty of opportunities to discuss new results and ideas. After three and a half days packed with the latest in terahertz science it was time to take a digestive break and to actually see something of Kyoto. The organizers had offered an excursion to some of the most important landmarks, but since Kyoto is not really a huge city and the public transport network is dense and reliable, it was just easy to explore the city on our own with a smaller group. A great place for seeing cherry blossoms was Nijo castle with its wonderfully designed Japanese gardens. The enormously photogenic golden temple is another must-see among many other ones, such as Kiomizudera with its terrace supported by an impressive wooden structure. Opening of the sake barrel at the conference banquet.

Opening of the sake barrel at the conference banquet

Traveling to Japan for the first time I did of course not book my return flight for the day the 30 ends, but rather took the opportunity to see more of the country. Places I visited conference during these extra days include Osaka, Hiroshima, the Island of Miyajima, the ancient capital

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m extremely grateful for the support of the Old Membersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Trust enabling me to undertake this fascinating, enjoyable and scientifically highly fruitful journey to Japan. Christian Wehrenfennig, DPhil Candidate

Cherry Blossoms at Nijo-Castle in Kyoto

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