Seeing through HIV's disguises - Cardiff University

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NEWS Saving Station X The famous Bletchley Park code-breaking centre has new hope, thanks to a letter signed by some of the country’s leading scientists. Professor Robert Churchhouse, a pioneer of computer science at Cardiff, was one of them… In 1952, the story of how code breakers at Bletchley Park cracked the German Enigma device remained an official secret. A young Robert Churchhouse certainly had heard nothing about it, despite being taught Mathematics at Manchester by two of the men who had broken the code – Alan Turing and Max Newman. Reporting for his first day of national service to work on ciphers at GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) in Cheltenham, he was asked to sign the Official Secrets Act. He was then handed a thick typescript book. The book told an incredible story of a German code machine with an astronomical number of combinations which were continuously changing. Professor Churchhouse said: “I was amazed. I asked: ‘How could you solve this?’ They told me: ‘Well, we did.’ ” Professor Churchhouse discovered that most his colleagues had served during World War II at GCHQ’s forerunner, Station X at Bletchley Park, a converted country house in Buckinghamshire. From them, he learned more about the Enigma machine – a deceptively simple-looking typewriter-style device used by the German military to send messages. When a key on the typewriter was pressed, a combination of rotors and wires caused a bulb marked with another letter to light up, giving the code. The complication was that there are 1090 possible Enigma set-ups. Each time a key was pressed, at least one rotor moved on, meaning that there would always be a different substitution alphabet. 8 Professor Churchhouse also learned about the work his colleagues had done at Bletchley Park. How mathematicians, engineers, linguists and lawyers worked together to break the Enigma messages. Of the outstanding bravery of servicemen who captured Enigma machines and, vitally, the codebooks giving the rotor settings for the month – all without the knowledge of German High Command, who believed to the end of the war that Enigma remained unbroken. Bletchley Park was also a nursery for the computer age. Another, even more complex, code machine was used for the highest level German military messages – known by the British as “Tunny”. This has 12 wheels and 10150 possible settings. However, without ever having seen a Tunny machine, the Bletchley team deduced how it worked and built a giant, valve-powered computer of their own to crack it. The machine was known as Colossus and Professor Churchhouse’s two former lecturers, Professors Newman and Turing, were among the men who designed it. Professor Churchhouse left GCHQ after ten years. In 1971, he was invited to Cardiff, to take up the first Chair in what was then a very small School of Computer Science. However, his interest in Bletchley Park remained with him. The work on Enigma features in his book Codes and Ciphers. During the 1980s, teaching a course on data security to third year undergraduates, he was able to call in a favour from his old employers at GCHQ, and borrow an Enigma machine to show the students. The workings of the machine was sometimes set as an exam question although, perhaps considerately, Professor Churchhouse never asked his students to crack the code. It was therefore logical, when the School of Computer Science received a request to help Bletchley Park earlier this year, that they alerted Professor Churchhouse, now retired. Bletchley Park had fallen on hard times. The Bletchley Park Trust, which preserves the site on a charitable basis, needed funding. Professor Churchhouse explained: “The main house itself is fine, that’s where they have the National Museum of Computing. However, a lot of the huts in the grounds are in a poor state of repair, and that’s where groups of people did some of the most vital work. “Hut 3, for example, is where they decrypted signals from the German Army and the Luftwaffe. Hut 4 is where those were translated. Hut 6 is where German Navy ciphers were broken and Hut 8 determined which messages should be passed on to the Admiralty.” In July, Professor Churchhouse and other leading computer scientists co-signed a letter to The Times, calling for secure long-term funding to preserve Bletchley Park as a resource for the nation. Professor Churchhouse also carried out radio interviews explaining the importance of Bletchley Park. He believes it should be preserved, both for its crucial role in the war effort and in the history of computing. A WREN operates one of the Bletchley Park code-breaking machines He said: “I think it would be a terrible shame if it was lost or built over. At least one or two huts should be kept open, where some of the most particularly significant work was done.” Professor Churchhouse with the Enigma machine he used to teach Computer Science students at Cardiff. The Times letter, which was also signed by Professor Nick Fiddian, Head of the School of Computer Science and other School members, had a galvanising effect. The American computer giant IBM has announced a large donation to the upkeep of Bletchley Park. More recently, a £330,000 grant from English Heritage will help guarantee the future of the mansion and talks are under way on the future of the huts. Simon Greenish, Director of the Bletchley Park Trust, said: “'The letter to The Times on 24th July this year urged the government to step in to help save Bletchley Park and was signed by 97 eminent scientists and heads of department from Universities around the country. The publication of this letter coincided with a visit to Bletchley Park by Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. “The combined events of that day triggered media and public interest in Bletchley Park on an unprecedented scale. The Bletchley Park website, www.bletchleypark.org.uk received a record 278,000 hits and public donations came in at a rate the Bletchley Park Trust had never experienced before. “I believe that the awareness in the UK of the need for the restoration of Bletchley Park was greatly enhanced by the combined events of both the Royal Visit and the letter to The Times that day and the Bletchley Park Trust is enormously grateful to the 97 scientists for their support. We are now far more optimistic that the site can be restored for future generations.”
Wizard advice from the School of Welsh What do we really know about Merlin? A medieval illustration of young Merlin telling King Vortigern of two dragons – a key tale in Welsh folklore The BBC’s new Saturday drama about the Merlin’s early life has triggered fresh interest in the wizard. An hour-long documentary, Merlin: The Legend, screened before the series began, aimed to answer some of the enduring questions, with advice from Dr Juliette Wood of the School of Welsh and the Centre for Lifelong Learning. Dr Wood acted as consultant to BBC Wales, who made the documentary in association with Cardiff-based Green Bay Media. She appeared explaining the development of the Merlin myth. “The story of Merlin has been told mainly through poetry and prose, but historical facts are hard to find,” said Dr Wood. “He does have many forms – mythical hero and historical bard; hermit and fierce warrior; wise man and madman; fighter of evil; magician and scientist; protector and poet.” Dr Wood trained in the United States, but is now associate lecturer in the School of Welsh and tutor at the Centre for Life Long Learning. She specialises in medieval folklore and Celtic tradition and is interested in the modern revival of interest in magic and Celtic culture. She teaches courses on such topics as Welsh Folk Narrative, Celtic Mythology, Arthurian Literature and the Sources of Contemporary Pagan Thought. Her major interest at the present time November 2008 is the relation between medieval tradition and popular culture with special reference to ‘new age’ movements. She added: “Merlin has been an important figure in Welsh culture for centuries, from the Welsh Arthurian legend in the middle ages to the Celtic revival in the twentieth century. We find him still in the contemporary arts from modern fantasy magicians like Gandalf and Harry Potter to Pagan festivals at Stonehenge. “For centuries, Merlin has influenced poetry, prose, music, the visual arts, film and even television. Merlin still connects us to a past, which we never quite forget, and to a future which we can always imagine.” Front page picture from the drama series Merlin appears courtesy of the BBC. Cyngor Cyfareddol o Ysgol y Gymraeg beth ydyn ni’n wir yn gwybod am Fyrddin? Sbardunodd drama newydd y BBC ar ddydd Sadwrn am fywyd cynnar y dewin ddiddordeb newydd ym Myrddin. Nod rhaglen ddogfen awr o hyd, sef Merlin: The Legend a sgriniwyd cyn y gyfres oedd ateb rhai o’r cwestiynau oesol, gyda chyngor gan Dr Juliette Wood o Ysgol y Gymraeg Bu Dr Wood yn ymgynghorydd i BBC Cymru, a gynhyrchodd y rhaglen ddogfen ar y cyd â Green Bay Media o Gaerdydd. Ymddangosodd yn esbonio datblygiad chwedl Myrddin. “Mae chwedl Myrddin wedi’i hadrodd yn bennaf trwy farddoniaeth a rhyddiaith, ond mae’n anodd dod o hyd i ffeithiau hanesyddol,” meddai Dr Wood. “Mae ganddo sawl ffurf – arwr chwedlonol a bardd hanesyddol; meudwy a rhyfelwr ffyrnig; dyn doeth a dyn gwyllt; ymladdwr drygioni; dewin a gwyddonydd; amddiffynnydd a bardd.” Llên-gwerinwraig broffesiynol wedi’i hyfforddi yn yr Unol Daleithiau yw Dr. Wood, ond mae bellach yn ddarlithydd cyswllt yn Adran y Gymraeg ac yn diwtor yn y Ganolfan Dysgu Gydol Oes. Mae’n arbenigo mewn llên gwerin ganoloesol a thraddodiad Celtaidd ac mae ganddi ddiddordeb yn niwygiad modern y diddordeb mewn hud a diwylliant Celtaidd. Mae’n addysgu cyrsiau ar bynciau megis Naratif Gwerin Cymru, Mytholeg Dr Juliette Wood Geltaidd, Llenyddiaeth Arthuraidd a Ffynonellau Meddwl Paganaidd Cyfoes. Ei phrif ddiddordeb ar hyn o bryd yw’r cysylltiad rhwng traddodiad canoloesol a diwylliant poblogaidd gyda chyfeiriad arbennig at symudiadau ‘oes newydd’. Ychwanegodd: “Mae Myrddin wedi bod yn ffigur pwysig yn niwylliant Cymru ers canrifoedd, o chwedl Arthuraidd Cymru yn yr oesoedd canol i’r diwygiad Celtaidd yn yr ugeinfed ganrif. Rydyn ni’n dal i’w weld yn y celfyddydau cyfoes o ddewiniaid ffantasi modern fel Gandalf a Harri Potter i wyliau Paganaidd yng Nghôr y Cewri. “Ers canrifoedd, mae Myrddin wedi dylanwadu ar farddoniaeth, cerddoriaeth, y celfyddydau gweledol, ffilm a theledu hyd yn oed. Mae Myrddin yn dal i’n cysylltu â gorffennol, nad ydyn ni byth yn ei anghofio’n llwyr, ac â dyfodol, y gallwn bob amser ei ddychmygu.” RESEARCH Family values in Indian religion A £168,715 grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council will take Dr James Hegarty and Dr Simon Brodbeck of the School of Religious Studies on a journey involving visits to India, studying Sanskrit writings, an international conference at Cardiff, public lectures and a new book on the subject. The purpose is to establish to what extent family narratives helped form new social, political and religious concepts and institutions in early South Asia. The two researchers will look at narratives of royal and priestly lineages in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions from the 4th century BC to the 6th century AD. The award came from the Research Council’s early careers fund – the first such be gained at Cardiff. ● The Cardiff Humanities Research Institute and the University’s humanities schools hosted a daylong visit by Professor Shearer West, Director of Research at the Arts and Humanities Research Council. In addition to attending networking events for all researchers, Professor West met current AHRC-funded postgraduate students studying at Cardiff. She also visited the Schools of Journalism, Cultural and Media Studies, of History and of Welsh. The networking sessions included displays of research projects, demonstrating the breadth and depth of original work at humanities schools. Professor West expressed thanks to everyone who had taken time to meet her, and noted how impressed she was with the research culture in humanities at Cardiff. 9
Page 1 and 2: Dame Kiri becomes President See p.2
Page 3 and 4: Extending our Campus Horizons Cardi
Page 5 and 6: HIVʼs disguises no match for engin
Page 7: Gala Concert The University’s 125
Page 11 and 12: Cardiff people: Terry Burnett Terry

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