People

National posts for SU officers

Students' Union President, Darren Jones, and Vice-President (Welfare and Academic), Hannah Essex, have been elected to two coveted positions within the National Union of Students (NUS) at the recent NUS Regional Conference.

Darren Jones has been elected onto the NUS National Council which meets three times a year and has the power to set interim policy in between the annual National Conferences. The Council effectively holds the National Executive Committee (NEC) to account and is able to commend, censure or, in extreme cases, remove responsibilities from NEC members.

Hannah has been appointed as an NEC Observer which will see her attend all NEC meetings to ensure that the Committee is representing students issues effectively and addressing regional issues fairly.

Darren Jones said: 'It is great for us here at Essex to be represented at such a high level. Myself and Hannah will be able to make sure the NUS are doing everything they should be, both for those studying at Essex and the student movement as a whole.'

Essex peers join EPSRC

Three researchers from the Department of Computer Science have been nominated to join a Peer Review College that evaluates research proposals and applications for fellowships.

Dr Ulrich Nehmzow, Professor Huosheng Hu and Professor Riccardo Poli will join the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's (EPSRC) Peer Review College in the new year.

College members are nominated experts who can be called upon to assess research grant proposals and prioritise such proposals when in competition. Although they do not directly decide which proposals receive funding, they do play a critical part in the process. About 5,000 proposals are consider by the College every year.

Also in the printed December edition of Wyvern:

• Rubber possums to recruit students?
• Un appoints Essex expert on right to health