In the News: 9-15 Feb

This evening our Professor of Sustainable Wastes Management, Margaret Bates, will be on the aptly titled ITV Tonight when they’ll be asking if we can live without plastics? Just don’t try it until after you’ve used the remote control. The show starts at 7.30pm.

A piece in The Observer featured the recently launched Centre for the Reduction of Firearms Crime, Trafficking and Terrorism and spoke to its head Dr Helen Poole – as well as the National Ballistics Intelligence Service – on how tracing guns recovered during criminal investigations might help track down the international smugglers.

Baseball is not a sport normally associated with the University, or let’s face it, the UK, but it turns out twenty-one-year-old Sports Development and Physical Education student Callum Vinall is also one of the country’s top young baseball stars. The GB national star, who plays for Southampton Mustangs, also coaches local side Northants Centurions, who last season won 22 games – a big step up from their previous best of five wins. He spoke to BBC Friday Night Sport (starts 9m 52secs in).

You may have heard about, and even experienced, the craft beer revolution. But you may not know that the trend of small start-up breweries has also sparked something of a revolution in the artwork which accompanies the brews. Our Illustration graduate, Luke Knight, has sampled success in the industry by designing bottle label and can designs for small breweries. Read more on the Chronicle & Echo website.

Historian, Professor Matthew McCormack, got up very early on Valentine’s Day to talk to Talk Radio’s Paul Ross about a soon to be auctioned “Georgian sex manual”, Aristotle’s Masterpiece. He discussed its publication, which dates back three centuries, and disappointed many when he revealed – despite much prurient interest from the media – that it’s less sex manual and more eighteen-century antenatal guide.  (3:30-4:00, starts 13 mins)

The Chronicle & Echo covered the story about one of our graduates, who has, together with his business partner, come up with an innovative scheme for the site of Northampton’s former Greyfriars bus station.