George is still a high flyer - as he showedby graduating at Dundee Uni at age of 76

By Scottish Recruitment

George Lamont has always thrived on a challenge, so when a stroke forced him to give up flying planes at the age of 70, he wasn't content to accept the quiet life. Instead, the ex-paratrooper and former local councillor looked to the University of Dundee to provide his next adventure. George enrolled to study for an honours degree in history at the University and now, at a sprightly 76, he was the most mature student amongst the 3000-plus graduating in the Caird Hall this month. True to form, however, George still isn't content. He plans to continue by studying German next semester at the University's Centre for Applied Language Studies, with help at hand from German-born wife Renate. George said: "I have spent my life facing new challenges, and when one ends I find myself automatically looking for the next. Doing a history degree was an extremely rewarding experience, and it has really given me a whole new perspective on the history of Scotland and the city. "There is a wonderful social aspect to University too - I made new friends of all ages, and the enthusiasm of my fellow students towards their course impressed me greatly. As long as you're committed, there's no reason why there should be an age limit on taking up a university course." identical graduation And graduation was a rite of passage for a set of identical twins not only receiving their degrees, but facing the next chapter in their lives the first time they will have been apart. Afshan and Nabila Masood (22) have been studying for their degrees, Afshan in law and Nabila in pharmacology. They both graduated at the same ceremony, receiving their degrees from University Chancellor Sir James Black. Nabila is hoping to go on and study medicine and Afshan is continuing with her conversion to Scots law. Whatever they do, they will not be living in the same place, and are a little wary of leaving each other. But Afshan says: "University has given us the opportunity to make friends of our own in our different courses and we feel equipped to go our separate ways." The girls' mother and brother are currently in Pakistan, but their father Mohammed Masood was at the Caird Hall to see them graduate with 2:1 honours.  award Professor Dario Alessi from the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit based at the University of Dundee has been awarded the Federation of Biochemical Societies' Anniversary Prize for outstanding achievement in the field of Biochemistry, the seventh in a series of awards for this top Dundee scientist. Dario, principal investigator at the MRC Unit, leads a research team in biochemical studies of insulin-regulated signalling transduction pathways. The Anniversary prize of the Gesellschaft fur Biochemie und Molekularbiologie (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) is awarded to scientists under the age of 40 for their outstanding achievement in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The prizes are provided by the pharmaceutical companies Boehringer Mannheim GmbH and Eppendorft Geratebau-Netheler & Hinz GmbH. In 2002 Dario was awarded the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Macdougall Brisbane prize for his discovery and characterisation of PDK1, the "missing link" in insulin signal transduction, the Prizer Academic Award for his groundbreaking work in the fight against diabetes and the Young Investigator GB Morgagni Prize 2002 for outstanding achievements in the field of metabolism.  He was also elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He won the Eppendorf Young European scientist of the year in 2000, and is also one of eight members of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee to win the Colworth medal in 1999 for young scientists under the age of 36.