THE KEY TO SUCCESS

The quality of any organisation can be judged by its staff: talented and enthusiastic people who inspire others to achieve their potential, and who themselves reach exceptional standards.

Providing the Inspiration
Director of Swimming Ian Armiger was named 'Coach of the Year’ at the Leicester Mercury Sports Awards. Beating off competition from Leicester City boss Micky Adams, and Dean Richards, Leicester Tigers’ Director of Rugby, Ian clinched the title in recognition of his swimmers’ superb achievement at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and their success in gaining fifteen National Championship titles.

Chemical Engineering lecturer Dr Andy Stapley hit the headlines in June when he revealed the formula for the perfect cup of tea. Having regularly used tea brewing to demonstrate infusion to his undergraduate students, Dr Stapley was commissioned by the Royal Society of Chemistry to mark the centenary of the birth of author and renowned tea-drinker George Orwell. The study looked into several factors, such as the oxygen content of the water, the optimal temperature for infusion, and the perennial talking point – whether the milk should be added to the cup first or last!

Tom Waller, a PhD researcher in the Sports Technology Research Group, was selected as a UK role model to promote science and engineering to young people as part of the NOISE (New Outlooks in Science and Engineering) campaign, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). As a member of the NOISE ‘Be Yourself!’ team, Tom will demonstrate to young people the range of challenging, interesting and rewarding careers available in science and engineering, through workshops, media interviews and personal appearances.

Honouring Achievement
Alexei Abrikosov, a Leverhulme Visiting Professor in the Department of Physics, was announced as a joint recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics, for ‘pioneering contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids’.

Sculptor John Atkin, from LUSAD, enlisted the help of local steel fabricators to create The Navigator – a striking 16ft tall, four tonne sculpture in weathered steel. Commissioned by Ipswich River Action Group with funding from the Arts Council England Lottery Programme, the sculpture has been installed on the banks of the River Orwell in Ipswich.

Assistant registrar Karen Alexander and Martin Tailby from the Residential Organisation were awarded the Loughborough University Medal
at the summer degree congregations in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the University. The Medal was developed in 2000 to mark service for and on behalf of the University.

Dr Robert Knight from the Department of Politics, International Relations and European Studies was selected as the only non-Austrian member of an independent Austrian historians’ commission, which published its findings this year on property expropriation during the Nazi era and post-war restitution and compensation. Compiled over four years, the report chronicles the thousands of Jewish banks and businesses, and the real estate, personal property and other assets that were seized under the Nazis.

Jim Miller, Professor of Analytical Chemistry, was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry’s SAC Gold Medal – the highest award given to analytical chemists from the Society for contributions to all aspects of analytical chemistry.

Professor Charles Oppenheim, from Information Science, was awarded the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers 2002 award for service to Publisher/Library Relations.

Civil and Building’s Dr David Pitfield and Professor Peter Golding from Social Sciences were appointed as Academicians of the Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences. The Academy represents the social sciences of the United Kingdom to government, research councils, business
and international bodies.

LUSAD’s David Poston was presented with a gold award for his innovative design of a two-part, 18ct gold bracelet, in the ‘technology innovation’ category at the Annual Goldsmith’s Craft and Design Council Awards in March. David also received a silver award in the 'Fine Jewellery Finished Pieces’ category for his work on the same bracelet.

John Presley, Professor of Economics, became the first non-Muslim to receive the IDB (Islamic Development Bank) Prize in Islamic Banking, the most prestigious prize within the field of banking in the Islamic world.

Geography’s Professor Peter Taylor was selected by the Association of American Geographers (AAG) to receive the Distinguished Scholarship Honours.

Director of sports development Rod Thorpe was presented with the sector’s top award, the A D Munrow Award, for distinguished service to sport.

Chemistry’s Professor Peter Warwick was awarded the Becquerel Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, which recognises outstanding contributions to and achievements in radiochemistry.

Rewarding Teamwork
The Residential Organisation became the first University-owned accommodation, catering and retail service to be granted full registration to the new ISO 9000:2000 standard – an internationally recognised benchmark for customer service excellence. It was also presented with a Best Practice Award by the Meetings Industry Association (MIA), representing the ultimate accolade for organisations that uphold and practice the highest standards in the hospitality and meetings industry.

Burleigh Court International Conference Centre achieved Hospitality Assured accreditation – the nationally and internationally recognised standard for customer service and business excellence in the hospitality industry – and its second Investors in People (IiP) award. IiP provides a framework and standard criteria to help an organisation focus on unlocking the full potential of its staff, by identifying the skills, knowledge and strengths of individuals and teams, and the areas for improvement and development.

The Navigator, created by sculptor John Atkin		David Poston's award-winning bracelet		Dr Andy Stapley, who revealed the formula for the perfect cup of tea