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The Most Urgent Need for promoting gender equality is to seek, in the developed world, to increase education 'investment':spending: the best possible investment, that any nation can make: 'investment' to as high a level and degree as possible and, particularly, in further and higher education and, most importantly, to seek to promote education as a 'necessity and meaning of existence'. And in the developing and LDC countries, we ought to do everything in our power to expand universal education across the globe so that every child, every girl, every boy, has a right to get educated to up to 'college' level. And this Universal Education Programme Must Be supported by the UN Mechanism so that it simply is not just declarations and meetings. Societies can not be 'dictated' to change nor can they be changed because people are being abusive and demanding it on their so called, social media 'graveyards'. Societies change because the people, that make it, are educated by an education, that offers them what the world has come to call 'enlightenment', consequence of which is their minds, their very persons, their way of thinking and looking at things become different than otherwise they would have been like and that brings the 'revolution'.

There is no human progress unless that humanity is constituted with enlightened, empowered, enriched human beings, who are rational, all rounded, fully developed and well-equipped both with knowledge, expertise and skills and the enlightenment, that they generate so that these individuals are human agencies and, therefore, are capable of leading individual, as well as, civic life without becoming part of a mob. For a mob is where humanity is dead and out of that death arises a monstrosity, that kills humanity all together. Societies across the globe are headed towards this mob-phase. This enlightenment comes from education and, because of this, people are now better able to 'see' everything with the light of that 'enlightenment', including, their own contributions and achievements in society as they take part fully, being active, positive and engaged in political, economic, social, artistic and cultural and every other sphere of life and, that makes them better human beings as well. Politics, Political Philosophy and the Political Parties and all agencies involved in promoting common human good, that are in the public domain, must seek to take this forward with commitment, that is paramount to be made and to be sustained vigorously. That would translate into the economic, business and commerce spheres of life, which would show how society changes with the changes in the 'infrastructures' of all that we do: Philosophy > Political Philosophy > Political Economics > Society > Arts > Culture, of life. The quality of a nation or people is directly determined by the quality of education their 'infrastructures' can provide them with. There is no opinioneering about it. Education is what makes humans to know and be that what humanity they want to be and then go about existing as such as individuals, as members of families, members of communities and with and among all other individuals in civic societies. In other words, education it is, that makes societies into civic societies. The Humanion

Marnie McKay: Engineers are Individuals with a Passion for Science and Maths Who Commit to Work Together and With Others to Make a True Difference to the World and I was Left in No Doubt That I Wanted to Do Likewise

|| February 19: 2018: University of Strathclyde News || ά. The road to advancing the human condition for both the individuals and the society they create can not but go through education: there is no other short cut to it. And this soul, Ms Marnie McKay, is following it in great stride. Ms Mackay, a fourth-year Engineering student at the University of Strathclyde, has won a £10,000 Rising Star award. She is not a star because she has been given this award but she has been a star because she had realised what she wanted to make of her life out of her love and passion for mathematics and science and all the rest, that goes with them: that one must stretch one's arms as she does in this beautiful image, as if they are 'immortal human' with the power and capabilities to encompass the entire Universe and shape it with the highest of imagination, ingenuity and creativity to make better, to bring about change.

The award was presented to her by the John Mather Trust to help her achieve her educational goals for the benefit of the wider public. The John Mather Trust has supported scholarships at the University of Strathclyde since 1997. In addition to the Rising Star award, the Trust, also, funds undergraduate scholarships for widening access and a hardship fund. Ms McKay, from Falkirk, is studying for a MEng Electrical and Mechanical Engineering with International Study after being inspired by participation in the Scottish Space School, run by Strathclyde, which saw her travel to Houston, Texas in 2013. Ms Marnie McKay said, “I had always loved maths and science at school but fell for the male-dominated stereotypes, which I believed dominated this field and, instead, aspired to study Law. It was only after attending the Scottish Space School’s week-long residential programme at Strathclyde and the subsequent Learning Journey to Houston, Texas, that my eyes were opened to the world of engineering.

Privileged to talk with current engineering students and faculty staff and to spend time with engineering and science experts, both from the University and from NASA, I was enlightened by the vast extent of engineering’s true global contribution and potential. More importantly, though, I was to learn that gender was no barrier. Engineers are individuals with a passion for science and maths, who commit to work together and with others to make a true difference to the world and I was left in no doubt that I wanted to do likewise.”

Ms McKay returned from her Scottish Space School experiences determined to pursue engineering and, in addition to achieving straight A’s in her seven Highers and three Advanced Highers, went on to receive a Distinction for the Scottish Science Baccalaureate for her project on ‘Aircraft Safety Advances’, which involved collaborating with industry, scientists and students from the Faculty’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Currently, she is relishing academic life at Strathclyde, “The learning attached to my course is very exciting, I become absorbed in what I’m being taught and am fascinated by the endless possibilities we are being helped to realise.” In addition to her studies, she has fully embraced the student societies, which are available through the University; she attends meetings of Interconnect, a society for women studying science and engineering, and is a student representative with the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Society. She is, also, a committed member of the Strathclyde Space Exploration and Development Society and enjoys rehearsing and performing with the University’s Choir.

Ms McKay is passionate about school outreach and ambassadorial work and embraces every opportunity to encourage young people to consider engineering as a career option. She is making the most of networking and industry learning as a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology:IET, Institution of Mechanical Engineers:IMechE, Women in Science and Engineering:WISE and Women’s Engineering Society:WES professional institutes.

Earlier this year, she was the proud recipient of one of the UK’s prestigious IET Diamond Jubilee Scholarships. She is now, also, a member of the Diamond Scholars Representative Council, where she hopes to make a difference through representing her fellow scholarship holders. Ms McKay, also, succeeded in winning a much sought-after IET Power Academy Scholarship, with Atkins Global as her sponsoring company. As part of this unique partnership between academia and industry, she will benefit from paid summer internships between each year of her undergraduate degree programme.

“Choosing to study engineering at Strathclyde has definitely been the best decision I have made in my life. The opportunities for learning, networking, skills development and befriending like-minded people are immense and I’m confident it will enable me to make a real contribution to society. The Scottish Space School at Strathclyde was pivotal in opening my eyes to engineering, and I hope, in turn, I can continue to share my story and encourage others to do the same.”

Her ambition is to develop a career in the power and energy sector, working on and innovating future power energy systems. She has developed a two-year plan to gain the necessary expertise to achieve her goals which the award will help to fulfil.

Dr Richard O’Leary, Course Director on the MEng Electrical and Electronic Engineering programme, said, “She is academically very talented, a meticulous multidisciplinary engineer, with the technical abilities and personal qualities to excel. That she secured one of the highly competitive international study places to spend year four at the world renowned institution, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore is entirely to her credit.”

Amongst the achievements, which helped the award judges decide included her exceptional academic performance having passed every class at a level significantly above the Distinction threshold. She is currently studying for a year in Singapore at Nanyang Technology University as part of her course. It is not just her own progress she is focused on; she is a STEM Ambassador, visiting local schools to promote awareness of engineering, mentors school pupils to identify and overcome barriers to Higher Education, supports delivery of individual activities within outreach programmes and provides voluntary Physics tuition to pupils in her home town.

She holds an Institution of Engineering and Technology:IET Diamond Jubilee Scholarship and chaired the scholars committee. She is one of the IET’s Young Professionals Community Council and delivered a speech in front of HRH Princess Anne at the opening of the Institution’s London headquarters. She, also, holds a Royal Academy of Engineering Leaders Scholarship.

She said: “I am absolutely over the moon and still in shock! I feel quite emotional that Strathclyde University and The Trustees of The John Mather Charitable Trust believe in my potential. I am an ambitious person, driven to push the boundaries of engineering through global collaboration and a career in future power or energy innovation.

I am focused on harnessing my full academic, professional and personal potential and this award will help me achieve my goals by helping to fund professional qualifications, international study and attending learning and development events. I have relished summer placements within the Power Sector of Atkins and have been inspired at Energy-related conferences, including the recent IET’s Renewable Energies Conference in Wuhan, China. Networking with Engineers has sparked particular interest in the need for alternative methods of energy production and importantly, innovation.” ω.

Caption: Marnie McKay: Image: University of Strathclyde

Whatever Your Field of Work and Wherever in the World You are, Please, Make a Choice to Do All You Can to Seek and Demand the End of Death Penalty For It is Your Business What is Done in Your Name. The Law That Makes Humans Take Part in Taking Human Lives and That Permits and Kills Human Lives is No Law. It is the Rule of the Jungle Where Law Does Not Exist. The Humanion

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A Mind Lost Among the Stars: But the Royal Astronomical Society Found Professor Claudia Maraston for Its Eddington Medal for Astronomy

|| February 01: 2018: University of Portsmouth News || ά. Professor Claudia Maraston works at the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, who is a world-leader in modelling of the spectro-photometric and mass properties of galaxies. These Stellar Population Models are crucial to study galaxy formation and evolution both theoretically and by interpreting data. Professor Maraston has won the Eddington Medal for Astronomy from the Royal Astronomical Society for her work on the evolution of stars and galaxies.

Previous recipients include Stephen Hawking, 1975 and Roger Penrose. Professor Maraston is one of only two women to have ever won the award since its inception in 1953, the other being Professor Cathie Clarke from the University of Cambridge. Professor Maraston, who receieved the award for ‘investigations of outstanding merit in theoretical astrophysics’. On receiving the medal she said, “In my research I have always tried to push borders and go against the mainstream. This year marks 20 years after my PhD and I feel that receiving the Eddington medal is simply the greatest achievement I could hope for. I am very grateful to the Royal Astronomical Society Committee for appreciating my work.”

Professor Bob Nichol, Director of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, said on her medal, “The ICG congratulates Claudia on receiving this award in recognition of her pioneering work in modelling the most complex objects in the Universe; namely, galaxies full of different stars, all evolving differently over billions of years. I believe Claudia would agree with me that we are still at the beginning of understanding these wonderful objects in the sky and there is still a lot more work to be done.”

Professor Pal Ahluwalia, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation, said, “This award is a wonderful reflection of the world-leading research conducted by Professor Maraston, only the second woman ever to be recognised in this way and her colleagues at the ICG, who are at the forefront of providing greater understanding of our Universe.”

In recent years stellar population models have provided powerful tools for understanding galaxy evolution from high redshift to the present. Professor Maraston has revolutionised such models through a comprehensive understanding of stellar evolution. The models are publicly available on this website.

A landmark single-author paper by Professor Maraston, published in 2005, provided the first evaluation of how the input from stellar evolution theory impacts the predicted integrated spectra of galaxies. New features in the models, the inclusion of the evolved stellar phases, called, the Thermally-Pulsating Asymptotic Giant Branch, resulted in lower ages than earlier models, a feature, that helped to reconcile stellar population analysis of galaxy ages with the hierarchical galaxy formation scenario.

The new models constructed by Professor Maraston and expanded by her and others in subsequent work have generated huge interest and wide application. Her insights have pushed the details of stellar evolution into the realm of cosmology. ω.

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