Reading in the news - Mon 23 Mar

Global centenary celebrations: Professor May Tan-Mullins, Chief Executive University of Reading Malaysia, spoke to That's TV Thames Valley about the University's international centenary celebrations.

Project Hail Mary: Comments from Professor Mathew Owens (Meteorology) explaining the science behind Project Hail Mary were featured by Shortlist 

Health and wellbeing:

• The Sun, News Eisamay, Abczdrowie, The Observer, and Times Now quoted Dr Simon Clarke (Biomedical Sciences) on how meningitis is spread. Dr Clarke also spoke to Times Radio. From our expert comment: Meningitis outbreak 
• Dr Harvey Roweth (Biomedical Sciences) was quoted by DHN about the preventing the spread of cancer. 
• A study by Dr Tijana Blanusa (Agriculture, Policy and Development) found that houseplants can improve mental health, reports Aki Bombo and MTT News. From our story: Attractive houseplants give biggest well-being boost 

#PlanetPartners: working with global partners to protect the environment

• Dr Akshay Deoras (Meteorology) wrote for Down To Earth about winter rainfall in India. Dr Deoras was also quoted by The Guardian, USA News Hub, and The Express (republished by Yahoo News, Inkl, Head Topics, and AOL) on acid rain in Iran following air strikes. 
• Following a recent UN climate report, DNYUZ, DHN, and Democratic Underground also quoted Dr Deoras on how solar absorption is accelerating climate change, highlighting the link to El Niño events in The DailyMail (republished by MSN). From our expert comment: State of the Global Climate report: expert comment 
• The Independent (republished by Newswav) quoted Professor Paul Williams (Meteorology) on how jet stream changes are affecting air turbulence.   
• NCYT, WDC TV News, Starlink Greece, and Popular Science (republished by Yahoo News) featured a study by Dr Matt Greenwell (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) on colour-changing katydids. From our story: Bright pink insect stands out to blend in, scientists say 
• Professor Hannah Cloke (Geography/Meteorology) spoke to BBC Radio Berkshire about government flood defence investments. 
• BBC News (republished by Yahoo News) featured an episode of BBC Radio Berkshire’s Secret Berkshire, where Dr Stephen Burt (Meteorology) discusses a tornado which occurred in Reading in 1840. 
• BBC Radio Berkshire highlighted research from Professor Nicolas Bellouin (Meteorology) on the climate impact of plane contrails. From our story: Contrail sensors aim to cut aviation's climate impact 
• Dr Jamie Thompson (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) was quoted by Nautilus on his research into cacti evolution, with further mentions by BBC Radio Berkshire and Germanic News. From our story: The cactus on your desk is an evolution speed machine 
• The Telegraph (republished by Yahoo News, MSN, and AOL) quoted Professor Andrew Charlton-Perez (Meteorology) on upcoming extreme temperature variations.  
• Dr Claire Ryder (Meteorology) was quoted by Vijesti on what can cause the sky to change colour.  
• Professor Liz Stephens (Meteorology) was mentioned by Climate Centre in relation to an upcoming report on climate disaster warning systems. 

Business and society:

• FirstPost quoted Professor Rosa Freedman (Law) on the US-Israel conflict with Iran.  
• Professor Anne Dibley (Henley Business School) was listed by The HR World as a speaker at a talk about workforce AI training.  
• WCPT 820 quoted Dr Yoshikatsu Hayashi (Biomedical Engineering) on a neuron-powered computer chip which learned to play video games. 

Heritage and culture:

• Dr Annemieke Milks (Archaeology) was quoted by Detikedu on her research discovering wooden tools dating back 430,000 years. From our story: Earliest evidence of wooden tools used by humans 

Other coverage:

• BSA highlighted a workshop from Tom Woolmer, Senior Programme Delivery Manager at Henley Business School, at a recent real estate careers exhibition at Richard Huish College.  
• Professor Philip Beaman (Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences) spoke to BBC Radio Solent about why people get music stuck in their heads. 

Alumni:

• Rod Green, who studied at Reading, has been announced as the Suffragan Bishop of Stepney, reports Gov.UK and TDPEL (republished by Mirage News, UK Times, and GovWire).   
• Imperial featured an upcoming talk from Graham Woodgate, Reading graduate and entrepreneur.  
• Anglican Link reported on the appointment of Andrew Rumsey, Reading graduate, as the next Bishop of St Albans. 
• Alex Finch, Henley Business School graduate and management consultant, was interviewed by The I Paper (republished by MSN) on how to save money.  
• Tiago Cruz, who studied International Finance, has been appointed General Manager of the Global Treasury unit for Banco do Brasil, reports Mercado and Consumo.