Researchers exploring the tipping points of climate change have won the 2008 Times Higher Education Award for Research Project of the year, sponsored by SAGE. Climate system tipping elements, led by Timothy Lenton, University of East Anglia, encompasses the findings of a global project involving researchers from the University of Oxford and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The authors identified a short-list of nine potential tipping elements, where a small change in the environment can have large long-term consequences on human and ecological systems.
Now in its fourth year, the awards aim to raise awareness and reward the contribution that British universities make to the economic and cultural health of society. More than 130 UK higher education institutions submitted over 500 entries to the THE Awards in 2008, including over 50 entries to the Research Project of the Year category.
The judges also granted the London School of Economics a Highly-Commended for their project, "Hunting Facts", which looked at what factors cause facts to lose their integrity as they travel, through misinterpretation or transmission as gossip.
The Times Higher Awards are a celebration of the outstanding achievements of British higher education. The research project of the year is awarded to the individual or team for innovative research that has a far-reaching impact on its field and has caught, or has the potential to catch, the imagination of the public. A full list of all Times Higher Award winners and categories can be found at http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/hybrid.asp?typeCode=246&pubCode=1.
