User:AlexD/.Institute of Advanced Study (Durham)

The Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) is a research centre of the University of Durham. The IAS has been set up to bring researcher from across the world to collaborate on cutting edge research. The IAS was set up to mark Durham's 175th anniversary and will be housed in the Grade 1 Bishop Cosins Hall in the Palace Green world heritage site. The Institute will accept its first fellows in January 2006.

Facilities and Themes
Fellows of the IAS will be able to access all the facilities of the University and will work in one of the University's 27 departments along side existing scholars. Fellows will also be invloved with the colleges by giving and attending various lectures, seminars and formal dinners within the IAS, colleges and departments. The fellows will a dedicated office building, access to the four university libaries, two museums and botanic garden as well as the university's laboritories and research centres.

The research of the IAS is based around research themes across the Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities. The theme of the IAS's research is published a year in advance. A scoping exercise in late 2005 set out the core themes across the three academic strands with the inaugural theme in 2006-2007 being the "Legacy of Darwin". Research with the theme will inclucde:
 * the conflict between scientific and creationist thinking on evolution,
 * the dynamics of complex systems, and
 * long-term geophysical change

Fellowships
The IAS offers fellowships to UK and international scholars with two different types of fellowships: distinguished and fast-track. The Fellowships will each last three months, with ten award each semester. The first semester runs from January to June and the second from September to December.
 * Distinguished Fellowships will be offered to members of Academia who have an international standing and a history of high quality research in their field of study.
 * Fast track Fellowships will be offered to scholars who are emerging as fore funners in their chossen discipline but who as yet are not of a high international repute.

Directorates
The IAS is run by four directors noiminaly appointed by the Vice-Chancellor of the university. The directors are responsible for the academic calendar and research events of the IAS. Three of the directors are responsible for maintaining links with the IAS and are thus named after the relevant faculty. The present directors are:
 * Professor Ash Amin - Executive Director
 * Professor Michael O'Neill - Director for the Arts and Humanities
 * Professor Susan J Smith - Director for the Social Sciences
 * Professor James Stirling - Director for the Sciences

Advisory Council
The advisory council works along side the directors and meets once a year to develop the academic calender of the IAS and aid in its promotaion through members acting as ambassodors to the IAS and advising on new research themes. The present members of the council are
 * Professor Sir Kenneth Calman
 * Dr Bill Bryson
 * Professor Dame Gillian Beer
 * Professor Gillian Clark
 * Professor Julia Goodfellow
 * Professor Martin Daunton
 * Professor Sally Macintyre
 * Professor Nikolas Rose
 * Professor Lord Bhikhu Parekh
 * Dr Matt Ridley
 * Professor Malcolm Schofield
 * Professor Peter Smith
 * Mr Peter Watson