Reading in the news - Mon 25 Nov

#UniForReading: our role as a civic university  

• A story in The Reading Chronicle looks at the historical and cultural links featured in the town’s Christmas lights this year, mentioning the iconic scallop shell emblem, which is also part of the University crest. The University itself is also featured in the decorations.

Health and wellbeing:

• MailOnline features comments from Professor Gunter Kuhnle (Food and Nutritional Science) expressing his scepticism about David Beckham's new £65 health supplement. Republished by What's New 2Day and Mahalsa.
• Professor Netta Weinstein (Psychology) is quoted in MailOnline, saying that AI friends cannot replace real-life friendships. Republished by Mahalsa and What's New 2Day.
• SurreyLive, Gloucestershire Live and Yahoo News quote Dr Hisham Al-Obaidi (Pharmacy) on why the continued selling of ineffective common cold treatments could damage public trust in over-the-counter medicines.
• Libelle highlighted a University and Royal Horticultural Society study examining the impact of houseplants on mental health.

Food and farming:

• BBC Radio Berkshire spoke to an organisation pushing for better rights for asylum seekers staying in hotels – they mentioned that University of Reading nutrition students are analysing food in order to put forward a case for healthier food options.
• AAP FactCheck featured Professor Richard Ellis (Agriculture, Policy, and Development) explaining that the negative effects of elevated CO2 and temperature on grain production generally outweigh any positive effects.

Business and society:

• NYPost features comments from Dr Holly Andrews (Henley Business School) discussing how psychopathic traits in corporate environments may be mistaken for traits of successful businesspeople. Republished by MSN and Yahoo News.
• Dr Dominic Lees (Film, Theatre and Television) was quoted in this Guardian article about celebrity voices being cloned using AI, and the need for more up-to-date privacy and copyright laws.
• Inside Housing (in print) reports that Gurpreet Dhillon, HR Business Partner at Anchor, praised the University of Reading for its programmes boosting student social mobility in the housing sector.

#PlanetPartners: working with global partners to protect the environment 

• DNYUZ quotes Dr James O’Donoghue (Meteorology) who says Mars’s moons ‘look like asteroids, smell like asteroids and look like potatoes.’
• PhD researcher Fiona Spuler (Meteorology) endorsed an article on Alliance Magazine about climate-driven wildfires in the Global South
• Illvid quoted Professor Nicolas Bellouin (Meteorology) on how factory emissions can convert rain clouds into snow clouds. From our story: Factories trigger local snowfall by freezing clouds. 
• Newsweek, DNYuz, and Idaho Statesman quote Professor Hannah Cloke (Meteorology/Geography) on how climate change is worsening droughts.
• Huffington Post reports on research led by PhD student Rosie Mammatt (Meteorology on the different weather apps available in the UK. Republished by Yahoo News.
• UDN and Uzhilong report that the design pattern for a new T-shirt partly made from pineapple leaf is inspired by the University’s climate stripes.
• Interaksyon quoted Dr Xiangbo Feng (Meteorology) on the rare occurrence of four simultaneous tropical cyclones in the North Pacific.
• Wales247 highlighted the CROCUS collaboration with Swansea University to train future environmental science leaders. From our story: New PhD centres support environmental sustainability studies.
• Wokingham Today mentions that Holme Grange School hosted a mock COP event guided by Professor Chris Merchant (Meteorology) from the University.
• BBC Radio Berkshire interviewed Dr Emmanuel Essah (Construction management) and PhD student Thea Stevens (Meteorology) reflecting on their experiences at COP29 in Baku.  

Heritage and culture:

• Museums Association publishes an article by Joe Vaughan (Museums and Special Collections) on the Museum of English Rural Life’s experience of the Bluesky social media site.
• Everything Zoomer reposts a The Conversation article by Dr Neil Cocks (English Literature) discussing The Cure's return to their gothic roots for their new album.
• Professor Eleanor Dickey (Classics) will speak at the "The Other Pompeii. Voices, Traces" conference on November 28-29, agenparl.eu reports.

Other coverage:

• Chemistry World mentions future plans for the University’s Chemistry department.
• Westminster Architecture mentions that University of Westminster students teamed up with University of Reading students to create a design that reimagined London’s Strand Aldwych area.
• AGDaily highlights the focus of the University’s Agriculture teaching in a comparison of global Agriculture degrees.
• The Arabian Post, Pan African Visions, and Super Adrian Me mentions that Dr Tony Capstick (English Language and Applied Linguistics) spoke at the New Directions East Asia 2024 conference.
• The Reading Chronicle and BBC Radio Berkshire highlight the University of Reading's Winter Festival.
• RDG Today reported that Nigel Frankland (Strategic Estates Manager) has been nominated for Coach of the Year in the Reading Sports Awards. From our story: University estates manager nominated for Coach of the Year.

Alumni:

• CultureNow highlighted alumna Elena Maroutsou in connection with a Kafka-focused exhibition in Greece.
• The Moorlander (in print) did a review of a new children’s book written and illustrated by Typography graduate Coralie Bickford-Smith.
• Political Economist and The Eagle Online report that Reading graduate Beatrice Eyong was inducted into the Realnews Hall of Fame.
• The Guardian.ng highlights Abdulmalik Orakwue Egbunike as a highly respected and influential figure in Nigeria’s real estate and facilities management sector. He has qualifications from both the University of Reading and Henley Business School.
• Lynn News reports that a school leaver is studying remotely at the University of Reading while working as a chartered surveyor with Maxey Grounds in Wisbech.