Reading in the news - Thu 7 Mar

Resilience rucksacks: BBC Radio Berkshire and That’s Thames Valley TV report that more than 1,000 schoolchildren throughout Berkshire and Oxfordshire will receive ‘Resilience Rucksacks’ from the University of Reading to support their mental health. Professor Stella Chan (Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences), who is leading the project, was interviewed. Read our news story.

Warmest February: 

• Professor Richard Allan (Meteorology) comments on record global warmth in February 2024 and El Niño’s impact on global sea surface temperatures for the Daily Mail, The Sunday Post, The Belfast Telegraph, The National, Western Telegraph, The Mail, Stourbridge News, New Scientist and Devdiscourse.
• Professor Hannah Cloke (Geography/Meteorology) also record global warmth for CNN. Republished by KTVZ, ABC17 News and Yahoo! News.

#PlanetPartners: working with global partners to protect the environment 

• PhD researchers, Chris Wyver and Laura Reeves, explain the adaption challenges insects face due to warmer weather for The Conversation. Republished by Foreign Affairs, Yahoo! News, Knews Media and Big News Network.
• BBC Radio Jersey mentions The Climate Stripes, created by Professor Ed Hawkins (Meteorology).
• BBC Radio Surrey spoke to Dr Jess Neumann (Geography and Environmental Sciences) on water companies discharging sewage into rivers during times of wet weather.
• Wokingham Today quotes Dr James O’Donoghue (Meteorology) on a recent meteor sighting in Wokingham.

Heritage and culture: 

• Professor Roberta Gilchrist (Archaeology) is quoted in Live Science, discussing medieval Christian burials. Republished by Verve Times and Yahoo! Life.

Business and society:

• Dr Shu-Ling Lu (Construction Management and Engineering) states that networking is key for success in Construction Management. 

Other Coverage:

• The Reading Chronicle interviews Ish Aa Sujai, welfare officer at the Reading Students’ Union about her work to understand how safe students feel in the town centre. 
• Vice Chancellor Professor Robert Van de Noort writes for Reading Today and Wokingham Today about the importance of freedom of speech and academic freedom. Read our news story.