Tuesday, 11 December 2012

The University of Everything


The US takes every of the highest six places within the physical sciences league table - and twenty seven of the highest fifty. Honours are shared for the highest spot by the West Coast's California Institute of Technology and therefore the East Coast's Princeton University. Chartered in 1746, Princeton is that the fourth-oldest school within the US, however its work within the physical sciences is as up up to now because it gets. The first undergraduate chemistry laboratory within the US was founded by Princeton physician John Maclean in 1795, and throughout the nineteenth century chemistry was a needed subject for all Princeton students. Today, it boasts the flagship Frick Chemistry Laboratory, opened in 2010. it's the second-largest single tutorial building on the university's campus and homes a number of the world's most advanced instrumentation within the discipline. Covering a variety of subjects as well as astronomy, chemistry, arithmetic and physics, the physical sciences could be a globally various field - and an increasingly competitive one. Although the US accounts for quite [*fr1] the world's prime fifty, there are 9 countries represented within the table. France has 3 representatives: the École Polytechnique, the Université Pierre et Marie Curie and therefore the école Normale Supérieure. Pierre et Marie Curie is one amongst the 3 famous Parisian Sorbonne universities. It specialises in science and drugs and it accounts for the lion's share of the annual budget allotted to the trio: €472 million (£416 million) out of €684 million. Its foundations within the heart of the capital's Latin quarter date back 900 years. Its most famous alumna is Marie Curie, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 together with her husband Pierre for his or her work on radioactivity, and therefore the prize for chemistry in 1911 for her analysis into polonium and radium - analysis that ultimately value her her life. Curie remains the sole lady to possess won 2 Nobel prizes.

THE 100 Under 50 university rankings: results


New league table aims to spot the rising stars of the worldwide academy. John Morgan reports The Republic of Korea's Pohang University of Science and Technology has topped the primary Times Higher Education ranking of the a hundred best universities underneath the age of fifty, leading a powerful showing for East Asian universities. The THE a hundred underneath fifty aims to point out that nations are difficult the US and also the UK as higher education powerhouses - and offers insights into that establishments is also future world leaders. The list uses an equivalent thirteen performance indicators because the the globe University Rankings, however with a reduced weighting for subjective indicators of educational name. East Asian nations contribute six establishments to the highest twenty, with Pohang (known as Postech) at much loved, followed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (third), the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (fifth), the Chinese University of Hong Kong (12th), Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (16th) and also the town University of Hong Kong (18th). Postech, founded simply twenty six years ago, has benefited from investment by Posco, one amongst the world's largest steel corporations - and support from the Republic of Korea's government throughout a time when the state was finishing its fast transformation into a complicated industrial and technological economy. The UK takes 5 places within the prime 20: the University of York (eighth), Lancaster University (ninth), the University of East Anglia (10th), the University of Warwick (13th) and also the University of Essex (20th). The UK has a lot of establishments within the a hundred underneath fifty than the other nation, with twenty representatives. Academic 'diasporas' Writing in THE's supplement to accompany the rankings, Jamil Salmi, former tertiary education coordinator at the globe Bank, notes that the creation of recent universities with world ambitions is a very important trend in higher education, citing notable ventures in rising economies like Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. He argues that it "may be easier to succeed in world-class standing by establishing a replacement establishment than by making an attempt to upgrade an existing one". Dr Salmi identifies the employment of educational "diasporas" as key to the success of some newer East Asian establishments. "As Postech and HKUST have shown, convincing massive numbers of overseas students to come back to their country of origin is a good method of increase the educational strength of an establishment rapidly," he says. Additional factors he identifies as keys to success within the ranking embrace the employment of English because the main operating language - a key consider attracting leading foreign teachers - and concentration on niche areas like the sciences and engineering, enabling the fast achievement of important mass in analysis. In terms of the UK's leading young establishments, Laurie Taylor, emeritus professor of sociology at York, writes within the supplement that his university created a way that it absolutely was "trying to try and do things differently" through its self-contained campus, school structure and stress on interdisciplinary collaboration.

Top 50 Physical Sciences universities


The United States takes each of the very best six places among the physical sciences league table - and twenty seven of the very best fifty. Honours square measure shared for the very best spot by the West Coast's California Institute of Technology and thus the East Coast's Princeton. Chartered in 1746, Princeton is that the fourth-oldest college among the United States, but its work among the physical sciences is as up up to currently as a result of it gets. The first college boy science laboratory among the United States was based by Princeton medical practitioner John Maclean in 1795, and throughout the nineteenth century chemistry was a required subject for all Princeton students. Today, it boasts the flagship Henry Clay Frick science laboratory, opened in 2010. it is the second-largest single tutorial building on the university's field and houses variety of the world's most advanced instrumentation among the discipline. Covering a range of subjects similarly as natural philosophy, chemistry, arithmetic and physics, the physical sciences can be a globally numerous field - ANd an progressively competitive one. Although the United States accounts for quite [*fr1] the world's prime fifty, there square measure nine countries portrayed among the table. France has three representatives: the École Polytechnique, the Université capital of South Dakota et chemist and thus the école Normale Supérieure. Pierre et chemist is one in every of the three noted Parisian Paris University universities. It specialises in science and medicines and it accounts for the lion's share of the annual budget assigned to the trio: €472 million (£416 million) out of €684 million. Its foundations among the center of the capital's Left Bank originate 900 years. Its most noted grad is chemist, United Nations agency won the award in Physics in 1903 along side her husband capital of South Dakota for his or her work on radiation, and thus the prize for chemistry in 1911 for her analysis into metallic element and metallic element - analysis that ultimately worth her her life. Curie remains the only real girl to possess won a pair of Alfred Bernhard Nobel prizes.

Top 50 Clinical, Pre-Clinical and Health Universities


The University of Oxford, that super the league table for clinical, diagnosis and health subjects, is that the entirely non-American institution at the summit of any of the subject tables. Oxford can trace the study of medicine there back to the ordinal century, tho' clinical student teaching began throughout the Second war once medical students were exhausted from London throughout the Nazi bombardment of city. Its medical courses area unit perhaps best known for being terribly exhausting to induce into: in August, student Prina crowned head created the headlines once she was rejected despite her four A* grades at level. In 2000, Oxford's rejection of equally asterisked state-school pupil Laura Spence sparked a political storm: Gordon Brown, the long haul prime minister, suspect its admissions tutors of political theory once she didn't win a section to browse medication. But it's in medical analysis wherever Oxford very stands out, bolstered by the most important cluster of overseas analysis activity across the full university - the continent and Asia Tropical medication network. And the future look bright, too: in August, the institution was awarded run out £100 million over five years in three separate tranches by the National Institute for Health analysis to fund analysis partnerships between the university and native hospitals. Oxford heads a listing of eight British universities among the prime fifty, with four among the prime 10 also as Imperial college London and additionally the University of Cambridge. Three Asian representatives produce the table - the University of Tokio, the University of city and additionally the National University of Singapore. Hong Kong's medical school was supported by the London Missionary Society in 1887 and is presently the most important of the university's faculties.

Top 50 Arts and Humanities universities


.Stanford University knocks Harvard University off the best spot among the humanities and humanities subject rankings. With Pulitzer prizewinners and MacArthur Fellows leading its liberal-arts programme, the relative newcomer (founded in 1891) has proved quite a match for its illustrious Ivy League rival. The University of Chicago, with a humanities department that teaches quite fifty languages, takes third position. While the humanities and humanities table, like all the others, is predominantly Anglo-American, it is the sole subject area where an institution outside the US and additionally the united kingdom makes the best five. The Australian National University, based totally in Canberra and alma mater of Kevin Rudd, the previous prime minister, is ranked equal fourth alongside Princeton University. It leads a list of three Australian institutions among the prime twenty, with the faculties of Sydney and Melbourne taking eighteenth and nineteenth place respectively. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (26th) is that the top-ranked institution in continental Europe. Founded by tutorial reformer Wilhelm von Humboldt, it's taught variety of history's greatest thinkers, like thinker Arthur Schopenhauer, political theorist Karl Marx, master of realpolitik Otto von Bismarck and physicist Albert Einstein. Freie Universität Berlin (29th), established in 1948 to push intellectual freedom in post-war Europe, additionally performs well among the table and is one of five German institutions featured, the country's best showing in an exceedingly non-public subject table. The Netherlands has three representatives, along side the University of Amsterdam (30th), Leiden University (35th) and Utrecht University (45th). Asia has solely a pair of institutions featured (the University of Hong Kong at thirty sixth place and additionally the National University of Singapore at 38th), though that represents an improvement on last year, when not one university from the region created the list

Top 50 Engineering & Technology universities


The engineering and technology table is, find it irresistible was last year, dominated by California. 3 of the highest 5 establishments within the rankings hail from the Golden State, home of the worldwide high-tech hub Silicon Valley. But the East Coast business powerhouse the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that boasts an $8 billion (£4.9 billion) endowment, remains a serious player. It shares 1st place with last year's outright high dog, the California Institute of Technology. The University of California, Berkeley occupies fourth place whereas Stanford University, whose alumni embody William Hewlett, David Packard and alternative electronics tycoons, takes fifth. Four alternative members of the University of California - l. a. (eighth), Santa Barbara (joint 16th), San Diego (24th) and Davis (32nd) - are highly placed. The results return despite the funding crisis facing the State of California: solely time can tell whether or not the establishment will maintain its competitiveness. In total, twenty two US establishments feature within the high fifty. The UK additionally scores highly within the table, with 3 of the highest ten and 5 representatives overall. But the sphere of engineering and technology, covering everything from aerospace engineering to sustainable energy analysis, software style and robotics, is one among the foremost various of the topic tables in terms of national illustration. It is additionally the topic during which Asia makes its strongest showing in any discipline. It has ten establishments within the high fifty (compared with solely six from mainland Europe), headed by the National University of Singapore (19th). Engineering is that the largest of the university's fourteen colleges and has grown from simply three hundred students within the late Seventies to concerning ten,000 students these days. The University of Tokyo, in twenty first place, has won many massive grants underneath the japanese government's twenty first Century Centre of Excellence Programme, got wind of in

Top 50 Life Sciences universities


The University of Oxford, that tops the league table for clinical, preclinical and health subjects, is that the solely non-American establishment at the summit of any of the topic tables. Oxford will trace the study of drugs there back to the 14th century, though clinical student teaching began throughout the Second World War when medical students were evacuated from London throughout the Nazi bombardment of town. Its medical courses are maybe best known for being very exhausting to induce into: in August, student Prina Shah created the headlines when she was rejected despite her four A* grades at A level. In 2000, Oxford's rejection of equally starred state-school pupil Laura Spence sparked a political storm: Gordon Brown, the long run prime minister, accused its admissions tutors of elitism when she did not win an area to browse drugs. But it's in medical analysis where Oxford extremely stands out, bolstered by the biggest cluster of overseas analysis activity across the whole university - the Africa and Asia Tropical drugs network. And the future appearance bright, too: in August, the establishment was awarded well over £100 million over 5 years in 3 separate tranches by the National Institute for Health analysis to fund analysis partnerships between the university and native hospitals. Oxford heads an inventory of eight British universities within the prime fifty, with four within the prime ten as well as Imperial faculty London and also the University of Cambridge. Three Asian representatives create the table - the University of Tokyo, the University of Hong Kong and also the National University of Singapore. Hong Kong's medical college was founded by the London Missionary Society in 1887 and is currently the biggest of the university's schools.