Editorial: Celebrating 50 years

The School has grown considerably in the succeeding quarter century and in the current academic year (2011-2012) comprises 33 academic, administrative, secretarial and technical staff, and around 350 taught-course and 70 research students. There are approximately equal numbers of undergraduate and postgraduate students on a total of three undergraduate and eight postgraduate programs, several of which are delivered in collaboration with other parts of the University of Sheffield. The University of Sheffield's students learn in an environment in which teaching, research and the translation of knowledge into positive impact in the wider world are all fundamental components of the University and are thus taught by research-active academics that have made an important contribution to their fields. Data mining techniques typical of those used in information retrieval are increasingly being used for the processing of geographical information.