The new lab logo was designed by Benjamin Hope and launched on 14th November 2012 at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History following the 7th Unither Baruch Blumberg Distinguished Annual Lecture in Virology given by Prof Donald Henderson. The white inner circle of the logo represents a virus surrounded by glycoprotein spikes on an Oxford blue background. The white spear passing through the virus signifies the group’s antiviral research to combat viruses. In the early morning of Friday 9th November 2012 the Zitzmann group launched into space their new logo and the logo of their sponsor United Therapeutics both on an Airfix Saturn 1b model rocket. Also launched was a picture of Dr Martine Rothblatt, the CEO of United Therapeutics, and both this picture and the rocket were suspended from a helium balloon. The launch took place in the Oxford University Parks and its flight was recorded with a GoPro Hero HD camera and tracked using GPS monitors. It headed East and rose to a predicted height of 32 miles before bursting and crash landing in Linton, Cambridgeshire where it was recovered almost completely intact (minus the balloon) soon afterwards.
