THE UNIVERSITY OF READING has been shortlisted in two categories for this year’s Times Higher Education (THE) Awards.
Prof Paul Williams and Hong Lin have been nominated for the Research Project of the Year: Stem and Outstanding Technician of the Year awards respectively.
Deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Reading, Prof Parveen Yaqoob, said: “Congratulations to Paul and Hong. We are delighted to have been nominated in the THE Awards, once again, and whether or not we win an award this year, it is an opportunity to celebrate the excellent work and achievements of our colleagues.
“The University of Reading seeks to bring about positive change in the world. Both Paul and Hong have made significant contributions in that respect and should be justly proud of themselves.
“Their work sits in the context of an active, lively, and successful research community, here at the University of Reading.”
Alongside Prof Nancy Nichols and PhD student Cathie Wells, Prof Williams has worked on reducing aircraft emissions by improving transatlantic flight routes.
The team used a mathematical algorithm to calculate optimum routes between European and American destinations. They found that traditional routes were up to 16.2% longer than the optimised routes.
This resulted in 6.7 million kilograms of unnecessary carbon dioxide emissions over a three month period in 2019 and 2020 for flights between London Heathrow and New York JFK alone.
During 2020 and 2021, Hong Lin was involved in two major breakthroughs: The first cannabinoid-derived medicine to become fully available to the NHS and a Covid-19 therapy which uses antibodies produced in llamas at the university’s farm.
The technician boasts expertise in techniques such as radio-ligand binding, immunostaining and western blot, and is also passionate about the visibility of those in the same role, particularly those from underrepresented groups.
