1. Photographs taken at signing of the memorandum between the University of Birmingham and QinetiQ are available as follows:
a) l – r: Professor Nigel Weatherill, University of Birmingham, University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor David Eastwood and Chief Executive of QinetiQ Leo Quinn.
b) l – r: University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor David Eastwood, Professor Nigel Weatherill, University of Birmingham, Jon Salkeld, QinetiQ, Professor Paul Cannon, QinetiQ and Director of the Poynting Institute, Leo Quinn, QinetiQ.
2. The University of Birmingham’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences plays a significant role in creating new knowledge, training new generations of engineers and scientists, and interfacing with industry. It comprises nine Schools: Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electronic, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials and Physics and Astronomy.
3. A FTSE250 company, QinetiQ uses its domain knowledge to provide technical support and know-how to customers in the global aerospace, defence and security markets. QinetiQ's unique position enables it to be a trusted partner to government organisations, predominantly in the UK and the US, including defence departments, intelligence services and security agencies.
4. The Institute is named after John Henry Poynting (1852-1914) who became the first Mason Professor of Physics at the Mason Science College, Birmingham (later the University of Birmingham) in 1880 until his death in 1914. He was the developer and eponym of the Poynting vector, which describes the direction and magnitude of light and radio energy flow and is used in the Poynting theorem, a statement about energy conservation for electric and magnetic fields.
For further information
Kate Chapple, Press Officer, University of Birmingham, tel 0121 414 2772 or 07789 921164.