Research

Technologica spins out from plant research

A new spin-out company has been formed by the University to market a range of high-tech instrument systems emerging from research in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Technologica was formed in December and, initially, is marketing an instrument which measures chlorophyll fluorescence in plants.

Developed by Professor Neil Baker, Dr Kevin Oxborough and John Bartington, the FluorImager could be used by commercial and academic plant biology departments.

A distributor, Qubit Systems Inc., has already been appointed for the North American market.

The University's Business Development Director Bill Huston, who is also a director of Technologica, said the company's aim was to market a range of novel instruments.

Key role for ISER in Bosnian Survey

Two members of academic staff from the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) recently returned from a week in Bosnia where they have been running data analysis workshops for researchers in the country's statistical institutes. Karen Robson visited Sarajevo and Jonathan Scales visited Banja Luka for a week during December as part of a project aimed at developing the local research skills base in order to facilitate the rapid analysis of a recent survey.

The Bosnian Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS) has been funded by the World Bank and co-ordinated by a number of other organisations including the consultancy company Birks Sinclair and Associates and the Independent Bureau of Humanitarian Issues. Jonathon explained that the survey covers themes such as incomes, consumption, health and use of health services, migration and work and employment and has around 15,000 respondents living in 6500 households. He said: 'It is the first such survey to be carried out since the war and will provide a crucial insight into the social and economic state of Bosnia. Findings from the survey will play a key role in determining resource allocation, both within Bosnia and in terms of international aid, and hence will play an important part in building the future stability of the region'.

ISER was contracted by Birks Sinclair and Associates to contribute staff because of the Institute's expertise in the analysis of large and complex household level data sets. The Institute's involvement in social and economic research in the region is likely to grow since there are also plans for a Bosnian Panel Study, similar to the British Household Panel Study run by ISER, to be carried out in the near future. This will be funded by the Department for International Development and again, managed and co-ordinated by Birks Sinclair and Associates.

Also in the printed January edition of Wyvern:

• UECLAA goes on-line
• World record for ESE
• Bookshelf