Jonathan Taylor

"emphasis on usability and maintainability will not only cultivate researchers who naturally think in terms of clean code but also equip them with transferable skills that are valuable in any industry". To get students on board & doing this out of choice, they must see benefits for themselves [3/3]

Very much on my mind as I revamp a course on software development practive for STEM: "Currently, STEM undergraduates learn to program on toy problems. These do not adequately prepare one to deal with sprawling code bases that they will encounter in practice [...]" [2/3]

A thoughtful account of why version control is essential for research software: "achieving the highest levels of insight and impact requires robust tooling and reproducibility baked into its core"; "...requires code that can handle significant complexity and can evolve" [1/3]

I whispered the answer but you were too far away to hear. If only there was a way you could hear me from further away

A hexagonal honeycomb made by ‘C’s rather than bees?

Two beer glasses of Prosecco

The impromptu celebration lacked champagne flutes for the prosecco, so we had to make do with beer glasses 😂

I'm delighted to share the news that I've been promoted to (full) Professor. Feeling very thankful for all those who have mentored and supported me over the years, the smart and enthusiastic team I get to work with on cool science, and the colleagues who make Glasgow a great place to work.

Some wise words on the use of GenAI in scientific activity. "...that is a tacit admission that the work is not worth being done by the scientist. [...] we’ve yielded the opportunity to think about science, discuss our practice, expand our understanding, spark new ideas and develop as researchers."

I’ve used their CCDs for years and have been quite a fan of them. Engineers are very responsive about driver stuff. After CCDs discontinued I am trialling a xiC and am impressed so far- but will need to check out Doug’s comments…

Félicitations! Ça a l'air important et interessant.

Word cloud of keywords written by attendees, including "imaging forces", "technologies", "forces and mechanobiology", "tissue tension" etc

I'm excited to be co-organising a workshop on Imaging Forces & Mechanobiology in Living Tissues @ Imperial College London, Wed 2 July (with @noelresearchlab.bsky.social & @jvermot.bsky.social). Register here forms.cloud.microsoft/e/hakfMEbgRB by 13 Jun (limited spaces; will confirm acceptance asap)

University of Glasgow illuminated in rainbow pride flag colours

Queer teachers are living proof of queer futures - created by Adrian

A group of people standing outside of the univeristy of glasgow main building

Lauren stands in front of a presentation screen, it's titled: Category is... staff and student experiences of rainbow office hours.

As we mark #PrideMonth, we take this moment to celebrate LGBTQ+ identities and also reflect on the ongoing work to make our universities places where every member can thrive.

Thank you to colleagues for co-authoring this powerful piece on Rainbow Office Hours ➡️ gla.ac/3Zio6uv

#OneTeamUofG 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

#Science Bluesky, do your thing:
We're organising the International Symposium on Mechanobiology (ISMB) 2026 in #Glasgow & we're looking for research groups in Latin America & Africa who are doing great work in #Mechanobiology or adjacent areas.
Can you indicate some names to me?

1. Over the past four months I've talked with many foundation directors about science philanthropy during Trump 2.0.

Two things come to the fore every time.

i) The most important they can do is maintain the pipeline of talent

ii) With the federal govt pulling out, ROI is higher now than ever.

For this scheme, you can choose the topic of study in conjunction with your chosen PhD supervisor. If you are considering PhD study, and are interested and eligible for this opportunity, I would be happy to help link you up with potential supervisors based on the research area you are excited about.

Fully-funded and well-supported PhD opportunity for Black UK-domiciled students here at Glasgow University: www.gla.ac.uk/scholarships.... The main call for applications closed in January, but evidently 2 more places have become available - a potential open goal for a suitable applicant! [1/2]

You’re only human: a six-step strategy to surviving your PhD Graduate students are not machines. Behaving like one during your programme will leave you frustrated and unfulfilled, says Gauthier Weissbart.

Some wise advice here about how to approach the challenges of PhD study, from the human perspective: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

It’s definitely in Edinburgh somewhere

Wonderful meeting on Friday organised by @glasgowimaging.bsky.social , with inspiring and impressive keynote talk by @alicepyne.bsky.social and a brilliant array of ECR speakers doing cool science driven by imaging. Had some great conversations; looking forward to next year already 😀

Neil Chue Hong (www.linkedin.com/in/neilchueh...) discusses SSI's £4.8M Research Software Maintenance Fund (www.software.ac.uk/news/ukri-aw...), supporting research software maintenance, and its role in software sustainability.

Listen at 🎙️ podcast.sustainoss.org/264

Nice setup. Just wondering if there was a particular reason you used the BE05-532 high power expander, rather than the cheaper
GBE05-A?

This is a valuable course for UK researchers writing research code and wanting to put their practices on a more robust and open footing, and learn more about best practices in the field.

🧑‍🏫 The SSI is delivering a course on “Software practices for open and reproducible research” from Tuesday 1-4 April. Find out more about it at www.software.ac.uk/news/worksho...

Of course, go right ahead!

One more week left to apply! Closing date 19th March

ZEISS LSM Lightfield 4D | High-speed Light-Field Microscopy Experience instant volumetric high-speed imaging of living organisms. Extend your LSM with Lightfield 4D for fast volume acquisition of dynamic processes.

Looks like Zeiss just released a Fourier light field (doi.org/10.1364/OE.2...) product: www.zeiss.com/microscopy/e...

I'll be very interested to see how people get on with it.

As an add-on to a confocal microscope I think there are some very cool possibilities for using the two modalities in tandem, if the two can be integrated closely enough, scriptable etc. [4/4]

Cons: I struggle to see it being the right tool for detailed 3D structural imaging or for quantitiative measurements in all but the sparsest samples, without some much stronger validation of fidelity-of-reconstruction. Resolution is (of course) somewhat limited [3/4]

Pros: impressive engineering of a technology that I didn't think could be easily engineered into a consumer product. Good (albeit somewhat opaque) handling of background signal and clutter. No AI in sight. [2/4]

It seems like a good instrument for getting a 2.5D sense of your sample structure, with a lot of potential for rapid large-scale overview, detection of events where you've got a pretty good idea what you're looking for (but not when/where), etc. [1/4]