Glittering prizes

Merryn Hutchings, reader in education at the University of North London, has received the British Educational Research Association Dissertation Award for her PhD thesis, Children's Constructions of Work, the first time the award has gone to a PhD given by a new university.

Peter White and Ewen Smith from the University of Strathclyde have won a Pounds 45,000 Smart Award for Innovation from the Department of Trade and Industry for developing a new technique to analyse drugs and environmental samples.

Smart awards have also gone to two University of Aberdeen companies. Microbiological and chemical service company NCIMB Ltd will develop home diagnostic kits for detecting micro-organisms such as salmonella, E.coli and listeria. Research and development company Aubec R&D Ltd will develop a new removable nail for repairing broken bones.

Emeritus professor at the University of Surrey, Michael Bader, has been awarded the Holliday Medal and Prize by the Institute of Materials after a 30-year career in the field of composite materials.