What a buckyballs-up

One would imagine that having a Nobel laureate on staff is both an ego boost and a useful marketing tool for a university - especially for one that is not part of the hallowed golden triangle. But perhaps not.

Rumour has it that Sir Harry Kroto - winner of the Nobel prize for chemistry in 1996, president of the Royal Society of Chemistry and holder of a string of other international chemistry prizes - has received a letter from Sussex University, where he is based, that was rather less than fawning. Confirming his forthcoming retirement, it thanked him for his work as professor of psychology. Perhaps the university's administration could use some of Sir Harry's scientific rigour.