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Tuesday 21 December 2010

Christmas Celebrations!

With the snow lingering and everyone thinking of Christmas, Inverness College Research has plenty to celebrate at the end of 2010. Warmest congratulations to Liz Barron for completing all the corrections on her PhD thesis (only minor ones!) to the satisfaction of the examiners. Liz has worked with unwavering committment on her research since 2004, while continuing to work as a lecturer and most recently as a Curriculum Manager with the College. Her thesis explored the potential for growing Arnica as a commercial crop in the Highlands and Islands. The research was carried out in collaboration with the Agronomy Insitute in Orkney College UHI,with trial sites for the Arnica established on the farm at Orkney College. She managed to overcome numerous obstacles and difficulties on the way to becoming a Dr...perhaps the most dramatic being on the day of her viva, when snowy weather combined with 'The Great Flood' in the College (caused by a burst boiler) nearly prevented the viva going ahead. But Skype and phone and determination on the part of all concerned, saved the day. Liz is the first PhD graduate from Inverness College UHI and will no doubt lead the way for others in the future.

A second cause for celebration is the arrival of our new Fisheries Biologist onto the research team. Despite the weather, Jonah Tosney and family managed to move up from Yorkshire to Loch Carron a couple of weeks ago. Jonah immediately got started on working with Bob Kindness, the Project Manager, stripping eggs from fish and walking the Carron to identify redds (sites for salmon spawning) in the river. Jonah's post is shared with Wester Ross Fisheries Trust, and the College and WRFT are looking forward to working jointly on projects in the future. Jonah is an asset to the team and we are all pleased to have the opportunity to develop the research potential for the Carron with him on board.

Merry Christmas and Best wishes for 2011.