The latter half of semester one sees many students wishing for a break from “normal” socials and NucSoc aims to please! It has always been our policy to create events which cater to everyone and for that reason, November saw the youthful energy of our Freshers pitted against the tactical genius of fourth years in an intense battle of Lasertag.
The finish line of the hugely successful path of semester one: NucSoc celebrated with the jolly arrival of the man in the red suit and our annual Christmas dinner. Thanks to the hard working staff at the Figure of Eight pub in the city centre, over 80 Nucleons and staff were able to relax after a hard term’s worth of work. The first years’ rejoiced in finishing their first term at university, the second years were delighted with the break and the third years were oddly quiet following their first semester of quantum mechanics. All in all, it was a fantastic night of food and festivities.
The start of second semester always brings a few interesting items. Most people carry a few extra holiday pounds, more people return with a smile and almost everyone begins to think about exams! For this reason NucSoc arranged a number of academic help sessions. Aided by the wisdom and experience of our senior years, various help sessions for problem topics were offered. Whether it was ferrous alloys or microstructure, there was great energy and an appreciative atmosphere at all of the workships. Needless to say this also doubled as a refresher for the senior years who volunteered to act as tutors!
Continuing on a slightly distorted academic trend, it’s incredibly important to NucSoc to keep our socials fresh and attractive to all students. For that reason, semester two saw the creation of the NucSoc ‘Pub’ Quiz. Hosted by the ever charismatic Dr Stephen Kukureka, the first quiz was an incredible success, even though the pizza was incredibly late! Following this huge success, a second quiz was arranged for the end of semester and although Dr Kukureka could not host this event, it did see the introduction of the intellectually stimulating and positively mind-numbing “Dr Strangwood Round”. Again a very enjoyable evening for all and it is inevitable that we will see the return of the NucSoc quiz in future years.
There have been many socials held throughout the year with notable highlights being Pub Golf and the NucSoc/BUMS trip to Propaganda, but the middle of February brought us to the biggest event in the NucSoc calendar: the Materials Ball. Organised by members of both NucSoc and the Materials Society BUMS, the event was held in the prestigious Great Hall at our very own University. Thanks to the a glowing reviews of last year’s Ball we had a huge attendance of over 250 students and staff. As expected the venue looked fantastic and thanks to our DJ the dancing continued until only a faithful few were left standing! A fantastic opportunity for all of the students and staff in Metallurgy & Materials to let loose!
Finally the inevitable arrival of exam season and devotion that requires meant it was time to host our Annual General Meeting and choose next year’s committee. We had a fantastic turnout which both the current and future committees are incredibly grateful for. It’s at this point that I would like to give a huge thank you to our President, Luke Rollings, who has introduced some excellent changes into NucSoc in his two years in charge and has provided an exceptional grounding for the future committee to continue.
Your NucSoc committee for 2016/17 is:
- President – Nicole Soor
- Vice-President – Alex Dickinson-Lomas
- Secretary – Rob Arnold
- Treasurer – Nick Perrin
- Social secretaries – Robbie Campbell & Sarah Talbot
- Fourth year rep – William Hauser
We’re now counting down to the annual EPS Societies’ Awards in June. BUMS are currently Society of the Year but we think it’s our turn this year! If you are or have been part of NucSoc, or have enjoyed reading about our activities this year please nominate us!
That brings us up to date and with exams around the corner, all of us at NucSoc wish all students (and staff) at the University of Birmingham, GOOD LUCK for the exam season!
Best wishes,
Rob Arnold
Secretary 2015-16 and 2016-17