News in brief

Our future is spinning
A Leeds-led team of physicists presented their cutting-edge research on spintronics at the Royal Society’s prestigious Summer Science Exhibition, held from 30 June to 3 July.

The exhibit showed how the spin, or magnetic movement, of electrons allows digital data such as music, images and documents to be stored on hard disc drives as little magnets. “The more sensitive the data reader, the more data can be contained on a disc, so we have seen a 10,000 fold increase in the capacity of today’s computer hard disc drives,” explains Dr Gavin Burnell from the School of Physics and Astronomy.

He says further research will lead to even more sensitive devices with groundbreaking applications in science, technology and medicine.

On 11 July, the University of Leeds awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science to one of the founding fathers of spintronics, Professor Albert Fert. In 2007, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics (together with Peter Grünberg), for the 1988 discovery of the existence of Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR), which opened the door to the modern age of the internet, i-pod and Google. For more details about Professor Fert, see http://www.leeds.ac.uk/media/grads_08/fert.htm.

Sowing the seeds of change
A sensor device to help some of Africa’s most impoverished farmers maximise their crop yields is being tested this summer at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew.

Developed by engineers at Leeds, the sensor conveys crucial information about air temperature, humidity, air pressure, light, soil moisture and temperature – all vital to helping farmers make the right decisions about planting, fertilisation, irrigation, pest control and harvesting.

The Leeds team has been working with two villages in Kenya to develop the technology as part of the EPSRC’s Village E-Science for Life project, which seeks to improve quality of life in developing rural communities through education and improved agricultural techniques.

“In some areas of Kenya, localised variations in growing conditions can cause severe fluctuations in crop yields. Our part of the VESEL project is about providing the right information at the right time to farmers,” says Professor Jaafar Elmirghani (School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering). “This means they can use available water more efficiently, and optimise their harvests to feed their families.”

Agricultural experts will help advise the farmers, and data from the sensors will also be fed back to Kenyan schools and used to inform research at the University of Nairobi. The technology should be rolled out to other communities in 2009.

Bound for Beijing
If you’re watching the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics this summer, give a special cheer for three young athletes who all hail from the University of Leeds.

Sports science student Alistair Brownlee, 20, will be representing Great Britain in the men’s triathlon on 19 August, starting at 3am (UK time), after becoming the world under-23 triathlon champion.

“My original focus was 2012, but I’m not treating Beijing as a practice run, I’m going to make the most of it,” he said.

Paralympics swimmer Claire Cashmore, 20, is due to begin a linguistics course at Leeds this autumn, and her events will take place from 7 to 10 September. Claire won silver at the 2007 Paralympic World Cup in the women’s S9 100m freestyle, and at Athens 2004 she won bronze medals in both the S9 100m backstroke and the 200m individual medley.

Sports science graduate Rebecca Gallantree, 24, will compete in the women’s 3m springboard diving event, being held from 15 to 17 August. Rebecca came fourth in the 3m synchronized diving event at the FINA Diving World Series 2007.

The University of Leeds is developing a five-year Olympics programme of events, starting this August. See http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk/533/s8.htm for details.