The Open University

Award success for OU’s Open Justice Centre

23 March 2021

The Education for Justice initiative (E4J) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in which The Open University has played a pivotal role, has won the United Nations Secretary-General 2020 Innovation award. The prestigious global award recognises the vital work that E4J does to directly engage children, youth, teachers and academics to […]

Can the laws of physics disprove God?

23 February 2021

Monica Grady, professor of planetary and space sciences at The Open University, discusses how the laws of physics might disprove God, as part of The Conversation’s ‘Life’s Big Questions’ series. I still believed in God (I am now an atheist) when I heard the following question at a seminar, first posed by Einstein, and was […]

OU study first step for aspiring beauty editor Isabelle

19 February 2021

The latest episode of Life…On Our Terms sees host Gemma Cairney discussing entrepreneurship with Jamal Edwards, founder of online music channel SBTV, and first year OU student Isabelle Lowe. Isabelle, aged 24 from Bolton in Greater Manchester, is studying for a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing. She is combining her studies with […]

Mars: how scientists prevent Earth’s microbes from contaminating other planets

5 February 2021

There are two planned Mars landings in 2021. First, Nasa’s Perseverance rover is due to land on the planet later this month. Then China’s Tianwen rover will follow in May. Both missions intend to search the planet for signs of life. Dr Thomas Cheney, Lecturer in Space Governance at The Open University, explains more. But […]

OU-funded research to tackle social isolation in hospice settings

12 January 2021

It’s no secret that Covid-19 is having a devastating impact on the lives of patients in care homes and hospices. The threat of the virus has forced providers to keep patients isolated from loved ones for their own safety, but this has led to a decline in mental health, an increase in anxiety and even […]

Millions of electric cars will need charging in future – but how?

17 December 2020

Miguel Valdez, Lecturer in Technology and Innovation Management, Matthew Cook, Professor Innovation and Stephen Potter, Professor of Transport Strategy at The Open University discuss the future of electric cars in the UK and explains their research into wireless charging for cars. One consequence of Brexit is that Britain will desperately need a modernising industrial strategy. […]

Clive Emsley, on receipt of honorary doctorate from Edge Hill University, 2016

OU pays tribute to pioneering historian of crime and policing

13 October 2020

Staff and colleagues around The Open University (OU) have been paying tribute to Emeritus Professor Clive Emsley, a founding member of the History Department at The Open University and one of the world’s foremost exponents of criminal justice history, who has died this month aged 76. Among his accolades Clive provided the first scholarly history […]

Survey finds couples “avoid conversation on their relationship”

5 October 2020

Research taken up among couples, conducted in collaboration with the OU shows nearly two thirds do not talk about their relationship – with anyone. The polling (*) was carried out in collaboration with the OU’s Professor Jacqui Gabb to coincide with the launch of Paired – an app for couples to engage in relationship matters. […]

Mars: mounting evidence for subglacial lakes, but could they really host life?

29 September 2020

David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University, discusses the discovery of subglacial lakes on Mars and if this could lead to finding out if there was, or is, life on the planet. Venus may harbour life some 50km above its surface, we learned a couple of weeks ago. Now a new paper, published in Nature Astronomy, […]

Super-Earth planets detected orbiting nearby star

26 June 2020

A system of super-Earth planets – possibly rocky worlds, but larger than Earth – has been detected orbiting the nearby star Gliese 887. An international team of astronomers, including Professor Carole Haswell and Dr John Barnes of The Open University, made the discovery as part of Red Dots, a project to detect terrestrial planets close […]

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