Lord Sainsbury launches science lecture series

Lord Sainsbury, Minister for Science and Innovation, will visit the University of Teesside on Thursday, 17 July and deliver the inaugural Annual Science and Technology Lecture. He is due to arrive just before midday and will tour the University's Innovation and Virtual Reality Centre and meet academic staff and postgraduate students.

The day's theme is the role of modern universities in supporting business, commerce and industry through knowledge transfer and industrial reach-out.

The University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Graham Henderson, will introduce the lecture. He said: "I know that Lord Sainsbury's address will be of great interest and we are delighted that he is visiting our university. This event provides the opportunity for us to showcase the work of our School of Science and Technology and its increasingly important work in supporting both the University and the region."

There will be an opportunity to photograph Lord Sainsbury from 12.05pm to 12.25pm as he tours the School of Science & Technology and meets staff and students. He will deliver his lecture from 12.30pm to 12.55pm. Professor Brian Hobbs, Director of the School of Science & Technology, will then speak. Lord Sainsbury will be available to speak to the media from 1pm to 1.15pm. From 1.15pm to 1.55pm Lord Sainsbury will be having lunch and not available for any further photographs or interviews. The Innovation and VR Centre is situated between the Evening Gazette offices and the main University entrance. Access from Stephenson Street, Middlesbrough.

Research and other centres to be showcased during the visit include:-

* the University's new B2B Manufacturing Centre, set-up in collaboration between Teesside and Warwick Universities, One NorthEast and the DTI. * work in the field of nanotechnology, including an opportunity to find out about the work of Teesside's Dr Zulf Ali, who has just been appointed to the Board of the region's Centre of Excellence for Nanotechnology, Micro and Photonic-Systems. * activities carried out by the University's Clean Environment Management Centre (CLEMANCE), including the new Tees Valley Industrial Symbiosis Project, which aims to recycle industrial waste. * the collaborative VIRCON construction research project, supported by the Universities of Teesside, Wolverhampton and University College London and 11 construction companies.

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