Australia's Nobel Laureates, Volume II by One Mandate Group

GREAT AUSTRALIAN HEROES In 2003, Fast Thinking Press published a book dedicated to a special breed of Australian hero - winners of the Nobel Prize. It is surprising that it took nearly 90 years for the father and son team of William H. and William L. Bragg, winners of the award for physics in 1915, not to mention the other eight laureates at the time, to be commemorated with a book of any kind. Public interest over the initial volume was overwhelming and its success proved that Australians are, indeed, interested in science when it is presented in a coherent and accessible way. As Australia's Nobel list seems to be growing faster than ever before, this current volume is a welcome update. Since the original volume, there have been four more Australian heroes added to the list. Prof Barry Marshall and Dr Robin Warren jointly won the award for physiology or medicine in 2005; Dr Elizabeth Blackburn, our first female laureate, was crowned in 2009, also in physiology or medicine; and as luck would have it, just prior to press time, another award, this time for physics, was handed to Brian Schmidt. All of the original biographies have been reworked, and the new edition incorporates a number of shorter pieces from leaders in various science, technology and innovation fields. Of special importance is a new section devoted to women in science. And, as previously, we include a broad array of profiles of companies and organisations, possibly the largest compilation of Australia's innovation yet published. Our goal, as before, is to honour our national (and sometimes unsung) heroes. As well, it is to inspire Australian youth- and particularly young women - to consider science as a career. Overall, we recognise that the future belongs to a science-literate country. And in that exercise, we hope this second edition on Australia's Nobel Laureates makes a continued impact.

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Adventures in Innovation

FROM THE PRIME MINISTER

Our nation is honoured to have produced 14 Nobel Laureates - gifted men and women whose brilliance has been recognised by the whole world. Australia's first Nobel Prize- to the father and son physics team of William and Lawrence Bragg- was won in 1915, the year of that great defining event in our history, Gallipoli. Almost a century later, we rightly accord scientific and intellectual achievement an honoured place in our national story alongside our military and sporting traditions. Our Nobel Prize winners reflect the nation's strong record of innovation and scientific achievement, and they summon us to further achievement in a century that will be defined by our mastery of human and intellectual capital. The Australian Government is committed to developing and implementing policies and programs to build a competitive and world class science, research and innovation system in Australia. Our Nobel Laureates are proud examples of the great work being done by our research community, whose commitment to excellence has the admiration and respect of our whole country.

The Honourable Julia Gillard MP Prime Minister of Australia

Australia's Nobel Laureates

FOREWORD Âˇ Earlier this year, I had the great privilege of meeting Professor Elizabeth Blackburn and congratulating her on becoming Australia's eleventh Nobel Laureate and the first Australian woman to achieve this distinction. Professor Blackburn's work is deepening our knowledge of ageing and disease, and promises to deliver important breakthroughs in these vital areas. It reminds us that excellence in science has the power to transform people's lives - and that there are few problems we can't solve by applying a little intelligence and imagination. We look to our best minds not just for new inventions and discoveries. We look to them not just for material progress and better living standards. We also look to them for wisdom, insight and understanding. This is what Patrick White- our one Nobel Laureate outside science and medicine- provided. It is what all our great interpreters of the world provide, whether they work in the arts, the humanities or the social sciences. While we celebrate our heroes in physics, chemistry and medical research, we also acknowledge that they cannot do it all on their own. It will take every kind of knowledge and every kind of creativity to build a better future. The skills and endeavours found in business, ICT, infrastructure development , urban planning , finance ,sustainability, and perhaps especially education all contribute to the on-going enrichment of our society. Most Australians appreciate the value of ideas and of the people who produce them. The Australian Government shares that appreciation -which is why we have increased support for science, research and innovation by 25 per cent this year. Australia's Nobel Laureates is a book about brilliant individuals and the nation that enabled them to shine. It is an inspiration to us all.

Senator Kim Carr Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research

Adventures in Innovation

WHAT IS SCIENCE LITERACY? No doubt there are many criteria by which to judge a nation's capability to confront the challenges of the 21st century, to change and improve the world. I propose this one: the degree of a country's Science Literacy. Though not provable by scientific method, this is a broad, Âˇdeep concept with sharp edges and powerful implications. It would measure the number of students engaged in science, mathematics or engineering degrees; the number of women entering these fields - to date a tremendous wasted resource; the num~er of universities and other organisations engaged in original research; the amount of commercialisation of such research and the structures and funding available to them. Criteria like these could go on for a page ... The above list is necessarily select and elitist by nature. So as to be more democratic, the apex of the question might well be: what is our awareness of, and appreciation for, our Nobel Laureates - those few who have received the highest honour? In Australia's case these are found primarily within the sciences, notwithtstanding Patrick White's resplendent work as Australia's Tolstoy. When the day comes that our wider citizenry has gleaned at least a passing knowledge of our Nobel Laureates in science (and kindled their curiosity further), this will perhaps mark the beginnings of a true Science Literacy. The attainment of this ideal is not unknown in certain European, and, now, East Asian societies, who, not incidentally, currently lead the world in percentages of gross domestic product devoted to research . As Dr Barry Jones has intoned, all of our leaders, especially those in business, should be more aware of the role of science and its increasingly sharp impact on our economy. Such an acquaintance might best begin with our Nobel Laureates. I add: If a mere 5 per cent of the time and energy spent discussing sports were diverted toward science, our nation would be a better one, in many senses. This is the point of this book, a requested second volume to its 2003 predecessor, which is remarkably, the only volume ever produced on the subject, though we Australians have been winning Nobel Prizes since 1915, and at an increasing rate. Eight years after the first publication we boast 14 winners rather than 10 - and our first female Laureate, Dr Elizabeth Blackburn. Two special sections complement the first half of

the book, which is devoted to in-depth, colourful biographies of our Nobel Laureates. The first provides intimate articles and interviews from Women in Science designed principally to motivate young women to consider a science degree, as a number of testimonies demonstrate, with the prospect of great success. The second, larger section is devoted to a carefully selected group of Innovators - companies and organisations - who display how applied technology and creative, smart thinking has lead to successful commercialisation, worthy flows of funding and a spectrum of ingenious ideas made real. The variety of Australian innovation inspires. And the torchbearers for such inspiration are, above all, our Nobel Laureates. Let us learn, let us give them their rightful place in the relatively unpeopled Pantheon of real heroes in this young country.

1 JM# KÂĽney Chttan,ETN

Australia's Nobel Laureates

CONTENTS

Message from the Prime Minister

Message from Kim Carr

Letter from the Editor-in-Chief, John Keeney

Advisory Board

Roll of Honour

Nobel Laureates

William Henry Bragg & William Lawrence Bragg

Howard Walter Florey

Frank Macfarlene Burnet

John Carew Eccles

Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov

Bernard Katz

Patrick White

John Warcup Cornforth

Peter Charles Doherty

Barry Marshall & Robin Warren

108

Elizabeth Blackburn

118

Brent Schmidt

126

Innovation by Tim Mendham

134

Women in Science

135

Adventures in Innovation

156

Mining, Energy, Sustainability

162

Infrastructure, Logistics & Manufacturing

184

Science & Biotechnology

190

Banking & Finances

216

Climate change & Environment

226

Social innovation

238

Education

260

Medical research & Health

272

Technology & Communications

300

Index

317

PLATINUM

Australian Government Department of Innovation Industry, Science and Research

MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY

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GOLD

QUT

Australian Bureau of Statistics

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Lend Lease

~ THE UNIVERSITY ~OF QUEENSLAND

NICTA

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SILVER Griffith University QSL - Queensland Sugar Limited RMIT University

BRONZE AIS- Australian Innovative Systems Pty Ltd ARC-Australian Research Council Australia's Academic and Research Network (AARNet) Australian Wool Innovation (AWl) Bayer Australia BOQ-Bank Of Queensland CAT Projects Deakin University Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Innovation Science Pty Ltd Merck Serono Australia Murray Darling Basin Authority University of Sydney Walter and Eliza Hall institute Xstrata Mount Isa Mines

KEY 3D-GEO Pty Ltd

Invetech

AGRF Australian Genome Research Facility

Menzies

Ambulance Victoria

NSW Department of Trade and Investment

ANSTO Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation

Peabody Energy Australia Pty Ltd

Australian Academy of science

Qiagen Pty Ltd

BeefMLA

QMI Solutions

Beef CRC ABRI Bio Power Systems BlueScope Steel Cast CRC Cellabs CETEC Pty Ltd Children's Hospital At Westmead Curtin University

Plant Health Australia

Questacon- The National Science and Technology Centre Research Australia Ltd . ResMed Rubik Financial Limited St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research Technology One Limited Toshiba University of Technology Sydney Victoria University

Dept of Further Education, Employment, Science and Investment

Vision, Oral Hearing CRC-

Fred Hollows Foundation

The HEARing Cooperative Research Centre (HEARingCRC)

Ground Probe Pty Ltd IBM Australia Ltd IDP Education Pty Ltd

The Vision Cooperative Research Centre (VisionCRC)

Integria Healthcare

The oral Health Cooperative Research Centre (OralHealthCRC)

Interface Flor

Women in Technology Inc

Adventures in Innovation

NOBEL

AUSTRALIANS By Stephan Wellink

The tyranny of distance has resulted in Australia becoming a nation of innovators. The achievements of Australia's Nobel Laureates are a reflection of the country's inventiveness and drive. The year 1901 is significant for both Australia and the Nobel Prize. This was the year when Australia achieved nationhood and also the year when the first Nobel Prizes were awarded. Both Australia and the Nobel Prize have grown up together, jointly celebrating their centennial year. The Nobel Prizes are renowned throughout the world and bring the recipients great kudos and fame. The legacy of Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833-96) rested with the fact that he was able to combine his background in science with the vision of an industrialist and the drive of an entrepreneur. Nobel wrote literary works and was a keen observer of social matters and issues surrounding world peace. His legacy, the Nobel Prizes, reflect the interest he held during his life. Nobel nomina~ed five areas for recognition: physics, chemistry, peace, literature and physiology or medical works. Another award, the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was established in 1968 and first awarded in 1969.

CELEBRITY STATUS

Each year, the announcement of the winners of the Nobel Prizes causes great interest and excitement. It is the chance for scientists, writers, economists and peace advocates to gain recognition for excellence in their spheres of intellectual pursuit. For a small window of time in October and December each year, the recipients acquire the celebrity of a sports champion or film star. Australia is recognised as an inventive and creative nation and these attributes can be traced back to 1768 when Captain James Cook was given command of the HMAS Endeavour. His orders were to take scientists on an expedition from England that led to the discovery of Australia via Tahiti and New Zealand in 1770. It can be said that Australia was founded as a result of scientific expedition. The tyranny of distance has made it difficult for Australians to obtain, collaborate and share their knowledge outside of Australia's shores. The introduction of air travel and the information technology revolution has greatly assisted Australian in contributing to the stock of human knowledge from home. PhDs were first awarded in Australia as recently as 1948 when Sir Rupert Myers became the first Australian to receive one. In the same year, Erica Wolff, an immigrant from Germany, was the first woman to

Australia's Nobel Laureates

receive a PhD in this country. Both graduated from the University of Melbourne. Until this time, Australians had to travel overseas for their doctorates and to do collaborative research. In spite of this disadvantage, Australia has built an excellent research infrastructure and has since trained many eminent researchers who have made - and will continue to make- significant impacts internationally. Why should we laud Australian recipients of the Prize and who are they? To answer these questions there is a need to understand the impact of the Prize itself. No other award in the world brings the prestige that a Nobel award delivers. The Prize is seen as the watershed for all awards that honour scientists and significant achievers in literature, peace, and economics. The honourees are those who have completed a piece of work that is considered by the Nobel committee to be a breakthrough and a significant contribution of new knowledge for the benefit of society. Australia has produced Nobel Laureates in Chemistry (John Cornforth), Medicine or Physiology (John Eccles, Bernard Katz, Howard Florey, Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Peter Doherty, Barry Marshall, Robin Warren and Elizabeth Blackburn), Physics (Lawrence and William Bragg, Aleksandr Prokhorov and Brian Schmidt) and Literature (Patrick White). Each Australian laureate is unique and their achievements transcend politics, prejudice, physical impairment and refugee status. With the exception of Patrick White, all the Australian laureates have been scientists. Like many great people, they have been comfortable in themselves and have not sought public recognition. Patrick White also possessed this quality. David Marr, author and biographer of Patrick White, related the story of how the Swedish Ambassador to Australia tried to contact White to advise him of this Nobel Prize win for Literature. White, a very private man, had an unlisted telephone number and even when his friends and colleagues were contacted they would not break White's rule about giving out his number. According to Marr's book, Patrick White: A Life: "Chaos followed".

No other award in the world brings the prestige that a Nobel award delivers. The Prize is seen as the watershed for all awards that honour scientists and significant achievers in literature, peace and economics. 16

Australia's Nobel Laureates attempts to rmse awareness of the contribution these great Australians have made to society and acknowledge the credit they have brought to Australia through their achievements. These people flourished in an era when our country was growing up and finding its character. The country relied on allowing immigrants to enter and contribute to the welfare of the nation. Australia was a very different place last century. Katz and Prokhorov were both refugees. Katz (Physiology or Medicine 1970) found a home here after being persecuted as a Jew in Germany. He served in the Royal Australian Air Force in World War II. Prokhorov (Physics 1964) was born in Atherton, Queensland. His parents fled Russia at about the time of the Tsarist revolution and returned in 1923. NOBEL LINKS

There have been other Nobel Laureates with links to Australia. An American, Daniel Gajdusek (Physiology or Medicine 1976), was an investigator at the Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne in the 1950s when he began the work that would lead to his being awarded the Nobel Prize. John Harsanyi was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994, shared with John Nash Jnr and Reinhard Selten, for their pioneering analyses of equilibria in the theory of non-cooperative games. Although residing in the United States at the time, he had completed a masters degree at the University of Sydney (1953) and had also worked in a research position at the Australian National University. The 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to South African-born John Maxwell Coetzee who resides in Australia where he is attached to the University of Adelaide. In times past, Australians have been compelled to pursue their careers abroad in order to be recognised as successes at home. This need to compete, combined with the quest for knowledge and creative pursuit, has meant Australians punch well above their weight in cultural, sporting and scientific activities. Much has been written about the exploits of our sporting heroes and movie stars. This book attempts to go some way towards raising the awareness of a different type of hero, to celebrate their achievements and provide inspiration. Hungarian scientist professor Isrvan Hargittai states in his book The Road to Stockholm that, from very early on, the Nobel Prizes have been surrounded by an "aura" and that science in particular needs icons. The Australians featured in this book have all been high achievers who were rewarded by the ultimate recognition of excellence: the Nobel Prize. Stephan We/link is an associate with consulting and training company Calibre Communications and former director of Research and Commercialisation, University of Technology, Sydney.

Adventures in Innovation

WILLIAM HENRY BRAGG

WILLIAM LAWRENCE BRAGG

HOWARD WALTER FLOREY

Nobel Prize in Physics 1915

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1945

FRANK MACFARLANE BURNET

JOHN CAREW ECCLES

ALEKSANDR MIKHAILOVICH PROKHOROV

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1960

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1963

Nobel Prize in Physics 1964

BERNARD KATZ Nobel Prize in Physiology

PATRICK WHITE Nobel Prize in Literature 1973

JOHN WAR CUP CORNFORTH Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1975

PETER CHARLES DOHERTY

BARRY MARSHALL

ROBIN WARREN

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1996

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2005

ELIZABETH BLACKBURN Nobel Prize in Physiology

BRIAN PAUL SCHMIDT Nobel Prize in Physics 2011

or Medicine 1970

or Medicine 2009

Adventures in Innovation

Australia's Nobel Laureates

The Bragg family (1902). LtoR: lawrence, Gwendoline, Robert and William

MUSICAL EFFECTS

He conducted some ingenious experiments and worked out what is now known as the Bragg equation - how to accurately calculate the wavelength of each type of X-ray from its diffraction pattern.

He went on to work in the famous Cavendish Laboratory in the Department of Physics at Cambridge University, which was headed at the time by JJ Thompson, who won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906 for identifying the electron. William played tennis with Thompson, and it was he who suggested that Bragg apply for the chair of maths and physics at the University of Adelaide in South Australia. From a field of 24 applicants, Bragg was short-listed and interviewed in London. Thompson was among those on the selection committee. Bragg got the job and sailed for Adelaide, arriving there early in 1886 at the age of 23, having consumed physics textbooks on the journey to expand his knowledge for this new role. The university, although a pioneering one in Australia, was short of apparatus, so he apprenticed himself to a firm of scientific instrument makers to enable him to build his laboratory equipment. Although William was short on lecturing experience, he trained himself so well that he is remembered at Adelaide for being a gifted and enthusiastic teacher who gave popular practical demonstrations of physics phenomena to students and the public alike.

William also had a musical ear and a talent for playing the flute, which blossomed into an interest in acoustics and led him to becoming involved in helping to design the organ case at the university's Conservatorium of Music. Later, during two wars, both he and Lawrence worked on military acoustic sensing and ranging devices. William married Gwendoline Todd in 1889. He was 26, she was 18. Her father was Sir Charles Todd, who had risen from head of the Adelaide Observatory to become Postmaster-General of South Australia. Todd's wife, Alice, was the source of the name given to the famous town of Alice Springs. William and Gwendoline had three children: two sons - William Lawrence and Robert - and a daughter, Gwendolen. From all accounts, their marriage was a happy one. As a scientist, William Bragg was a relatively late bloomer and he began to consider doing original research only in his early 40s, around 1903 and 1904, when he became president of the physics section of the Australian Association of the Advancement of Science. That burst of creativity was sparked in part by the many extraordinary inventions and discoveries that were happening in physics at the time, which included wireless radio, telegraphy and radioactivity. Most pertinent to the later story of the Braggs, however, was the accidental discovery in 1895 by the German physicist, Wilhelm Roentgen, of a mysterious form of radiation that he named X-rays. William kept up-to-date with these developments and pursued his own research, especially into radioactivity. He exchanged ideas with New Zealander Sir Ernest Rutherford (awarded the 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research into radioactivity) and made a striking discovery that when alpha particles were emitted by a radioactive source, the distance they travelled could be used to work out what kind of atomic nucleus they came from. International acclaim followed and he was honoured in 1907 with election as a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Society in Britain, having gained the support of Rutherford, among others. After 21 years, Adelaide could no longer hold him and, thanks to his original radiation research, William was awarded the post Cavendish Professor at the University of Leeds in 1908. Here the focus of the Bragg story begins to turn to his eldest son. "Billy" (confusingly based on his first name) was a quiet, dreamy child. One of his favourite pastimes was shell collecting, which he did on family holidays by the sea. He even chanced upon a new "slender" cuttlefish, which was named Sepia Braggii after him. Lawrence was educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide - the very same school that later nurtured another great Australian Nobel Laureate, Howard Florey (see Mould resistant). Lawrence was so adept academically that he went to Adelaide

William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg

University at the age of 15 and, at 18, was awarded a first class honours degree in maths while other boys his age were still in high school. But while ahead of his peers academically, Lawrence found social activities quite arduous. He once said to his sister Gwendolen, "You and I find 'things' easier than people, Gwendy."

CHANGE IN FOCUS

With the family's move to Britain, Lawrence transferred on a scholarship to Trinity College at Cambridge University, where in 1909 he changed his focus to physics. He graduated with first class honours in 1912. It was an exciting and fast-moving time in physics. Since Roentgen's discovery of X-rays, a string of researchers had been probing their mysteries and had made important progress in understanding not only what they were but what they revealed about the nature of materials and their structure. The year' before Lawrence graduated from Cambridge, the British physicist Charles Barkla had discovered that different metals scattered X-rays in different ways- in short, that each element makes its own peculiar kind of X-rays (an insight that won him the Nobel Prize in 1917). However, it was not known at the time whether X -rays were streams of particles or a wave-like radiation, more like light. The German physicist Max von Laue reasoned that passing X-rays through crystals to see whether they could be diffracted - forced to change direction - might offer insight into that dilemma. In 1912, von Laue's experiments revealed not only that the mystery rays could be diffracted but that they

formed a pattern on a photographic plate, revealing them to have the properties of waves, not particles- for which he, too, received a Nobel Prize in 1914. The newly graduated Lawrence Bragg had started actively studying von Laue's findings as soon as they became known; his father had drawn his attention to them during a summer vacation. Lawrence returned to Cambridge and by November that year had published his first paper on the topic in the Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. Importantly, he had conducted some ingenious experiments and worked out what is now known as the Bragg equation, that is, how to accurately calculate the wavelength of each type of X-ray from its diffracted pattern. It related the angle that X-rays are deflected by a crystal to the distance between its orderly arranged atoms. William's instrument-making skills then came to the fore and soon the pair had a purpose-built X-ray spectrometer available to put the maths to work and measure the deflection angles, again during vacation time together. These instruments went on to be developed by using photographic film to record the diffraction patterns to electronics counters, but until computers came along it was tedious and time-consuming to use them for analysing three-dimensional structures. William and Lawrence studied the structures of many crystals, including proteins.

TOP

Gwendoline Todd at 16

University of Adelaide staff (1906). William is seated front row, third from left LEFT

Because he won his Nobel Prize so young, Lawrence was one of the few Laureates able to celebrate a golden jubilee. Physicists soon jumped onto this marvellous new bandwagon for probing the secrets of matter. So did chemists, who were previously confined to studying chemical reactions between compounds to try to work out their structures. This was especially important for methodically devising new pharmaceutical products, but it was laborious and slow. Now, with an X-ray spectrometer, they could study the compound of interest directly.

COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS

Picnic in Adelaide Hills 1887. William is seated fifth from left

ABOVE

l-R: Brothers Robert, William and James in the late 1870s

ABOVE RIGHT

OPPOSITE The Braggs founded a new branch of science with their studies of X-rays

The Braggs knew they had discovered something profound but they could have hardly foreseen the myriad uses their work would be put to. William and Lawrence Bragg brought complementary interests and skills to their collaboration. The father's experience, investigating expertise and command of instruments were important, but his interest in diffraction was what it revealed about X-rays. The son, however, had a rare intuitive insight and a great capacity to conceptualise problems and express them mathematically. "In saying something about the work for which we were awarded the Nobel Prize, I feel that I cannot but speak for both my father and myself," Lawrence said in a speech in Stockholm in 1922. "It was with his inspiration and under his guidance that any contributions of my own were made, and it was one of the proudest moments of my life when I heard that you had associated my name with his and awarded the prize to us jointly."

The generous and inclusive public praise and credit for his father apparently masked tensions he felt privately about the issue. Even so, the Nobel Prize clearly meant a great deal to him and he accepted it at such a young age with due humility. He said: "That you should have given me, at the very outset of my scientific career, even the most humble place amongst their ranks, is an honour of which I cannot but be very proud." He also credited von Laue, "whom we owe the great discovery which has made possible all progress in a new realm of science, the study of the structure of matter by the diffraction of X-rays". The pair won the prize in Physics on November 12, 1915 for "a discovery of epoch-making significance", as the Nobel citation speech put it, into X-ray crystallography. Put simply, it was a method for analysing the three-dimensional structure of crystals, atom by atom. Lawrence Bragg worked out the mathematics of how to do it and his father invented the instrument- the X-ray spectrometer- that made such precise measurements possible. Together, they founded a new branch of science that is still in everyday use in laboratories the world over. It was a fundamental advance, an enabling technique with far-reaching consequences. It has since been used to unravel the structure of everything from diamonds to drugs, vitamins, insulin, bacteria, viruses and countless other organisms, compounds and materials. As such, it ushered in a revolution in physics, chemistry and biology. In giving the citation speech, professor G Granqvist, the chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, said: "Thanks to the methods that the Braggs have devised for investigating crystal structures, an entirely new world has been opened and has already in part been explored." In turn, that brought more Nobel Prizes for many other researchers who followed in their footsteps. Appropriately, in 1947 Lawrence Bragg helped to set up what became the Medical Research Council

William Henry Bragg and William Lawr ence Bragg

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Laboratory of molecular biology at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, and under his direction, Francis Crick and James Watson famously used X-ray crystallography to work out the double-helix structure of DNA. William and Lawrence worked together from 1912 to 1914, investigating a range of crystal structures. They jointly published the results in abridged form in 1915 in the paper titled "X-rays and Crystal Structure", for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize. From 1915 to 1919, Lawrence was involved in the war effort as a technical adviser in the map section of British army headquarters in France, on sound ranging or determining the distance of enemy artillery from the sound of their guns He was serving there when he heard the news about his prize. In 1921, he married Alice Hopkinson of Cambridge, and they had two sons and two daughters (their eldest son became chief scientist with Rolls Royce). He moved back to Cambridge as Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics from 1938 to 1953, and again served as a scientific advisor in Britain and Canada during World War II. There was also a string of other awards, honorary degrees and fellowships, and in 1941 he was knighted. When William heard the news,

The first x-ray taken in Australia: William Bragg's hand

he was delighted. In a letter to his sister-in-law, Lorna Todd, on January 5, 1941, he wrote: "You will learn by newspaper cable that Willie is knighted. Isn't that fihe? ... He will have to be Sir Lawrence: we can't have confusion worse than ever. I am so very glad for his sake. In spite of all care, people mix us up and are apt to give me first credit on occasions when he should have it. I think he does not worry about that all now, and will never anyhow have cause to do so now. I think I am more relieved about that than he is." Because he won his Nobel Prize so young, Lawrence was one of the few Laureates able to celebrate a golden jubilee, as a special guest at the awards ceremonies in Stockholm in 1965. While there he delivered the first Nobel Guest Lecture - reviewing developments in his field since 1915. William's subsequent career and life were equally distinguished. After advising on anti-submarine matters during the war, he established a school of crystallographic research at University College, London, from 1915 to 1925. He then served as director of the Royal Institution (of Great Britain) and the Davy Faraday Research Laboratories in London, attracting and inspiring many young scientists who went on to great things. He maintained a broad and fruitful interest in research as well. As one biographer put it: "His research interests embraced a great many topics and he was adept at picking up a subject, almost casually, making an important contribution, then dropping it again." In 1923, William became head of the Royal Institution serving in that post for two decades, only to be succeeded by Lawrence. William was a popular lecturer and writer about science as well. He became well known for giving Christmas lectures for children, which also became best-selling books. Sir William Bragg died in 1942. Those who knew him said he remained a simple and humble person, as well as a proud father. When Lawrence succeeded his father at the Royal Institution, he developed that tradition by introducing year-round lectures that attracted 20,000 schoolchildren a year. Lawrence also became a popular and successful lecturer who made many radio and television appearances. He retired in 1965 and quit the Royal Institution the following year, but continued to lecture there until his death l.n 1971. A fitting postscript to the lives of the two Braggs came from the winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Dorothy Hodgkin. She recalled in a 1988 BBC Radio interview how the Braggs and X-ray crystallography were fundamental not just to her winning the prize but to her whole passion for, and career in, science. 29

William Henry Bragg and William Lawr ence Bragg

Australia's Nobel Laureates

The first x-ray taken in Australia: William Bragg's hand

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Howard Walter Florey

For a m.an who was not thinking m.uch about relieving hum.an suffering while he was experim.enting with penicillin, Sir Howard Florey m.ade one of the biggest contributions to the quest. Of all of Australia's Nobel Laureates, Howard FloYet Florey claimed such concerns did not motivate rey is undoubtedly the one whose work has provided his research. "Peopie sometimes think that I and the humankind with the most profound benefits. Former others worked on penicillin because we were interprime minister Sir Robert Menzies once said Florey ested in suffering humanity," he told Hazel be Berg had more effect on the welfare of the world than any in 1967 (transcript from a taped interview with Lord other Australian. Howard Florey, April 5 1967, National Library, Through his central role in bringing the lifesaving Canberra). "I don't think it ever crossed our minds miracle of penicillin to the world, and so ushering in Âˇ about suffering humanity. This was an interesting the era of antibiotics, Floret's enduring legacy ranks scientific exercise, and because it was of some use him as a genuine giant in the world of public health. in medicine is very gratifying, but this was not the Without those drugs, millions of people - and count- reason that we started working on it." less domestic animals and livestock- would have died or suffered serious illnesses from bacterial infections. SENSITIVE SCIENTIST It is easy to forget that before antibiotics became This comment highlights the complexities of the inavailable, common infections took an appalling toll dividual behind the legend. His letters and the recolon human life. Many infants and mothers died in, lections of friends and colleagues point to a man who or soon after, childbirth; tuberculosis and bacterial was a chain-smoker, inwardly shy, sensitive enough pneumonia were often deadly; and one bacterium to be moved to tears by a musical performance, unalone - the infamous golden staph (staphylococcus pretentious, self-deprecating and possessed of great integrity. He hated nationalism and was deeply conaureus) - killed eight out of every 10 people infected after sustaining even the slightest wound. cerned for the plight of the dispossessed and hungry.

Florey (back row, second from left) with fellow science students at St Peter's College, Adelaide, 1911

Yet he was notorious for being gruff, driven, uncompromising, blunt, overbearing and, at times, callous to others. He once unceremoniously sacked a technician for theft, yet quietly found the man another job. For all his achievement, he humbly attributed much of it to luck and to the hard work of those around him. A long-time colleague once commented that he never heard Florey utter a word in praise of himself. Florey was born in suburban Adelaide on September 24 1989, the only son (he had four older sisters) of Joseph and Bertha Florey. Joseph was widowed when his first wife Charlotte died from tuberculosis but his early business success as a footwear manufacturer meant that Howard had a comfortable start in life. In 1906, his father's growing wealth enabled the family to move into Coreega, a two-storey, 16-room sandstone house in the well-to-do suburb of Mitcham. It was obvious from an early age that the young Florey was an exceptional individual. Between 1908 and 1910, he attended Kyre College preparatory

school - now Scotch College - and later St Peter's College. He soon emerged as a genuine all-rounder, with diverse intellectual and physical talents, a strong character with leadership qualities. He won medals in gymnastics, sprinting and hurdles, and he captained tennis, cricket and football teams. At high school he was secretary of the debating society and was made head prefect in 1916. He regularly topped his classes academically and excelled in both science and the humanities, winning prizes in chemistry and history among other awards.

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Florey

as a baby Florey, the prefect, 1915

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Howard Walter Florey

Florey (back row, second from left) with fellow science students at St Peter's College, Adelaide, 1911

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Florey

as a baby Florey, the prefect, 1915

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Howard Walter Florey

He did not make friends easily, writing home in one letter: Sometimes I think I am liked here. At others, I get most depressed about it, and revile the English.

Penicillin production at the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories in the 1940s ABOVE

and was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in 1924. He did not make friends easily, writing home in one letter: "Sometimes I think I am liked here. At others, I get most depressed about it, and revile the English." He knew himself well enough, though, to concede that: "I may not be able to throw off my selfishness and domineering manner." Those doubts were later scotched by his success in forming and leading an exceptional research team. His adventurous spirit saw him join a university expedition to Antarctica in 1924- by repute, the first to fly and crash-land an aircraft on the continent. Switching to Cambridge University, he became a research student and instructor while he completed his He was inspired by his chemistry teacher - known doctoral studies. A Rockefeller Grant in 1925 took as Sneaker Thompson - the same man who had earlier sparked the intellect of another outstanding him for a time to America, where he rubbed shoulstudent from the same school who also went on to ders with prominent scientists and honed his intellect and research skills before returning to Cambridge. become a Nobel Laureate: Lawrence Bragg. All the while he corresponded with Reed, writing Florey decided to study medicine at the University of Adelaide in 1917 but in the following year tragedy more than 150 letters to her up to 1926, when she began working at Royal Adelaide Hospital. Having struck the family: not only did Joseph Florey lose all his wealth when his business failed but he died soon Âˇ suffered pleurisy and tuberculosis, she was steadily after of a heart attack. Despite more straitened cir- losing her hearing but their letters at the time reveal that they were discussing marriage. cumstances, Florey was able to continue his studies with the help of scholarships and he again excelled in She joined him in England in September 1927, and they were married the following month, a haste that sport and academically at university. It was there that he met Ethel Reed, the bright, attractive and outgo- later proved ill-advised since the marriage became a ing young woman who was to become his wife and rocky one. Nevertheless, they remained together and a key member of his research team. She had begun had a daughter, Paquita, two years later, and a son, Charles, in 1939. studying medicine in 1919 and was the only female From 1930-34, Florey was Professor of Pathology in her year. Florey took his final exams in 1921 and was award- at Sheffield University and in 1935 he was appointed ed a Rhodes Scholarship. He left Australia in December director of the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology of that year for Oxford University - working his pasin Oxford, which he came to lead and dominate for sage as a ship's doctor - where he studied physiology the next three decades.

There he began to assemble the team- in itself an unusual approach in those more individualistic days -which would crack the bacterial infection problem. As one of his biographers, the late Robert Gwyn McFarlane (Howard Florey: The Making of a Great Scientist), said: "Florey was a rough, tough Australian, completely uncompromising, rather prickly, very energetic and tense as a coiled spring. And he brought to his work this extraordinary dedication which was very infectious, in such a way that he really could collect a team of people who became almost as dedicated and enthusiastic as himself." Often forgotten behind the drama of the penicillin story is that Florey's other scientific contributions were significant, including important research into immune responses that helped pave the way for vaccination. Indeed, at 43 he had published so many important research papers that he was elected to the prestigious Royal Society in the United Kingdom. Two decades later, Florey was elected its president, the first pathologist and the first Australian to obtain that post. His interest in penicillin was born amid a broader surge of scientific inquiry into the drug-making potential of biological compounds produced by the human body, animals and plants. At Oxford, Florey hired Ernst Chain, a German biochemist, to supplement his own technical skills. Chain was working on snake venom but Florey and others attracted his interest to a substance known as lysozyme, an antibacterial enzyme found in tears and nasal secretions. Together, Chain and Florey decided to systematically survey all known natural antibacterial substances. Among those substances was a simple mould discovered years earlier in London by the Scottish researcher Alexander Fleming, in one of the greatest and most famous pieces of luck in medical research. Fleming returned to his laboratory from a twoweek holiday in 1928 to find that a petri dish with a culture of bacteria left uncovered on his desk had been settled on by a mould spore that had begun to grow to about the size of a 20-cent coin. Around the rim of the mould the bacteria were dead.

it to be too difficult to work with and not showing enough promise beyond being a possible disinfectant of skin wounds, he moved on. However, luck again intervened, as Lennard Bickel, a Florey biographer, recalled in a 1998 ABC radio interview. "Chain was reading Fleming's old paper of 15 lines when he had a vision of a woman, one of the ladies who worked at the Dunn School of Pathology, walking along a corridor with a dish in her hand on which a mould was growing. He went to see this lady and said to her, 'This mould that I saw you with .. .', she said, 'Yes', he said, 'What is it?' She told him it was penicillium notatum, this species of mould, and he said, 'That is the very mould that Fleming found in 1928'. She said, 'Yes, he cultured it and he gave us a piece of it, and we've kept it alive ever since'. Science is so full of pieces of serendipity." BELOW A crucial discovery: In 1938, Florey and Chain began to study mould, seen here magnified, the mould more closely and found that it and its effect on bacteria grew slowly and had special needs. They exBOTTOM Bottles for the surface perimented with different growing mixtures, culture of penicillin are filled with growth serum including Marmite, malt extract, meat and

MOULDY MUSINGS

At first, Fleming merely noticed the mould then threw it into a bucket. He later retrieved it and tinkered with it experimentally. He had earlier made a study of different antibacterial substances and discovered the antibacterial enzyme lysozyme, so the mould interested him enough to cultivate it. The green mass that grew on the surface of a broth had such a strong effect on bacteria that even when diluted 500 to 800 times, it completely prevented the growth of staphylococci bacteria. It turned out to be a species of the penicillium group of moulds - penicillium notatum -described for the first time only in 1911. Fleming discovered that penicillin was highly effective against many different kinds of bacteria. He performed basic tests on white blood cells and mice to show that it was not toxic and had a little success testing its effect on infected wounds. He published a brief scientific report about it in 1929 but, believing

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Howard Walter Florey

He did not make friends easily, writing home in one letter: Sometimes I think I am liked here. At others, I get most depressed about it, and revile the English.

Penicillin production at the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories in the 1940s ABOVE

MOULDY MUSINGS

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Howard Walter Florey

yeast extracts and studied its growth rate. They began to work out how to extract the active penicillin compound from the brown juice that accumulated beneath the surface layer of green mould. Funds were short despite Florey's many urgings for more financial support, so in the Australian tradition of making do with whatever materials were to hand, he encouraged his team to experiment with growing the mould in biscuit tins and various dishes and pans. Hospital bedpans turned out to be the best-shaped growing containers. Old dairy equipment, a letterbox and an aquarium pump were among the items pressed into service to make the first penicillin. It turned out to be highly unstable stuff. The scientists quickly moved on from filtering the juice through parachute silk to a more sophisticated extraction process using solvents. Chain worked out a series of steps to isolate, purify and concentrate the penicillin in the liquid but another member of the team improved the process so that soon they were able to extract and produce penicillin as a brown powder in small but useful quantities. Now the team could experiment with the powder to test its effects. Chain dissolved some in water and injected it into two mice that survived the experience despite its highly impure state. Working with increasing strengths of the powder, Florey's team tested it on blood, hormones and living cells. The turning point came, however, one morning in May 1940, when Florey injected a lethal dose of streptococcus pyogenes bacteria into eight mice but injected four of them with penicillin as well. The team anxiously watched the mice and by the middle of that night - just 16 hours later - all the unprotected mice were dead while those that had received penicillin remained alive and well. Chain is said to have almost danced with glee and even the understated Florey gave way to excitement when he later called his assistant Margaret Jennings to report the outcome of the experiment and said: "It looks like a miracle". The team duly reported to other scientists that penicillin was a therapeutic agent able to kill sensitive germs in a living body and, with so many people suffering war wounds, the race began to work out ways to make enough of the stuff to test it on people. Not until February 1941 was there sufficient funding to do that. A policeman named Albert Alexander, near death from an infection sustained when he pricked himself on a rose thorn, was selected as the first recipient of penicillin. Within a day, Alexander was showing dramatic signs of recovery but there was no more penicillin available to give him further treatment. Despite heroic efforts to filter his urine to recapture any excreted penicillin, Alexander's infection took hold again and he died. It became apparent that a course of several treatments was needed to thoroughly kill off germs and Florey firmly decided that not until supplies of penicillin were great enough to effect a cure would it be tested on anyone else. With British funds limited due to the war effort, Florey and a colleague took the risk of flying a blacked-

In 1944, Australia was the first country to offer penicillin for civilian use. out aircraft to the United States a few months later to seek help in boosting production of the drug. Better ways of growing the mould were soon found and another species of it - penicillium chrysogenum- was discovered having infected a cantaloupe melon, by Mary Hunt (an enthusiastic seeker of new moulds known as Mouldy Mary). It turned out to be a much better producer of penicillin. Florey returned to Britain and the first penicillin to be used in a war zone - in Cairo - was administered in 1942. The next year, in belated recognition of the significance of his work, the British Government finally gave Florey's team full funding. His wife Ethel was a vital member of the team during this time, working long hours with Florey on experiments and testing the drug and publishing the results jointly with him. His laboratory now became a makeshift penicillin factory with teams of workers tending hundreds of jars of mould. By October that year, the first supplies went to the British Army. With better extraction and greater production came increasing success in human use, with most war wounds now being cured of infection. By 1945, enough penicillin was being produced, including by drug companies in the United States and Australia, notably the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories in Melbourne, to take penicillin to the wider community. In 1944, Australia was the first country to offer it for civilian use. INCREASING RESISTANCE

Within a few years, in a foretaste of today's global problem with antibiotic resistance, several strains of bacteria started to become resistant to natural penicillin and the pharmacological spotlight soon turned

Assaying penicillin in ttle 1940s

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Howard Walter Florey Australia's Nobel Laureates

Often forgotten behind the drama of the penicillin story is that Florey's other scientific contributions were significant, including important research into immune responses that helped pave the way for vaccination.

Installation of the penicillin seed tanks, 1946, at Com monw ealth Serum Laboratories

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Penicillin autoc lave unloading, 1942

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to making synthetic forms which were developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Florey's remarkable achievement was quickly recognised. He was knighted by Britain in 1944 and honoured as well by France, the US and Australia for having such an unforeseen but undeniable influence on the course of the war and on medicine. In December 1945, Florey, Chain and Fleming were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for "the discovery of penicillin and its curative effects in various infectious diseases". In 1966, Lady Ethel Florey died at home. In London on June 6 1967, Lord Florey married again, to Dr M~uÂ garet Jennings, a member of his team and his special assistant for more than three decades. Just eight months later, on February 21 1968, he died in Oxford of a heart attack, aged 69 (Lady Margaret Florey died in 1994). In the eulogy at Westminster Abbey, Lord Adrian said of him: "Florey inspired the research and made it succeed. We have still to adjust our ideas to the extent of the revolution in medical treatment that Florey brought to success." Norman Heatley, a key worker in the Oxford tearp, wrote of Florey's "genius in leading his colleagues and providing at the right times the encouragement, advice, inspiration and realism which kept the team working constructively throughout" .

Perhaps the last word should go to one of his friends, Sir Alan Drury, who recalled Florey coming to Britain: "His drive and ambition were manifest almost from the day he arrived. A great fire seemed to burn within him, and his many-sided character was never concealed. We could all see the power in him and wondered whether he would ever find the right outlets for this greatness." Florey recognised that his success was due to a team effort and for this reason he always acknowledged the team in his publications, usually listing them in alphabetical order. He disliked the public spotlight and, unlike Fleming, shunned media attention to the extent that Fleming's name is still far better known for the discovery of penicillin than is Florey's. In his oration speech, Fleming acknowledged the role of luck in his discovery. He said: "My only merit is that I did not neglect that chance observation and pursued it as a bacteriologist. The first practical use was to sort out bacteria that were sensitive from those that were not. We tried to concentrate it but found, as others did later, that it was easily destroyed - and, to all intents and purposes, we failed." In his own oration, Florey lauded his team and its scientific approach, and looked forward to the revolution that penicillin and other probiotics promised to bring. Other scientists followed in his path, discovering new moulds and other types of antibiotics, some of them with the help of Florey's team. In his Nobel Prize presentation speech, professor Goran Liljestrand, of the Royal Caroline Institute, saw Florey's work in stark contrast to the bloody war that had just ended. "To overcome the numerous obstacles, all this work demanded not only assistance from many different quarters but also an unusual amount of scientific enthusiasm and a firm belief in an idea. In a time when annihilation and destruction through the inventions of man have been greater than ever before in history, the introduction of penicillin is a brilliant demonstration that human genius is just as well able to save life and combat disease." Bob Beale is a writer specialising in science and the environment. 39

Howard Walter Florey

By Brad Collis

FRANK MACFARLANE BURNET 1899-1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1960 Shared with Peter Brian Medawar

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Frank Macfarlane Burnet

Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet's study of viruses formed our concept. of understanding of iinmunity that has becoine vital in today's field of organ transplants. Scientists catching mosquitoes, carriers of the myxoma virus, just after the disease outbreak

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In was Christmas 1950, when an unusually warm, wet weather front moved across the Murray Valley in northern Victoria and created ideal conditions for an explosion in mosquito numbers. Within days, the surrounding farmland was strewn with dying rabbits. Scientists, by luck, had discovered the carrier needed to spread the myxoma virus they had developed and had been trying for years to use on the country's devastating rabbit plague. Until now it had been assumed the virus could only spread very slowly by direct contact among rabbits. However, the humid conditions combined with the mosquitoes revealed there was a highly effective natural carrier after all. Farmers, whose landscapes and livelihoods were being destroyed, were ecstatic. But their jubilation quickly turned to horror. People also began to fall ill and die from a deadly new brain disease. The media quickly blamed the new rabbit virus and the scientists who had unleashed it. Virologists knew that myxoma, which causes myxomatosis in rabbits, had no effect on humans, but were struggling to be heard or seen in the outcry and hubbub of "Death Valley" headlines. Something or someone was needed to calm a

panicking population - someone who was not only eminent in medicine but who was also respected and trusted by the community. The man the government turned to was noted virologist Dr Frank Macfarlane Burnet, director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne. Burnet, known to friends and colleagues by his childhood nickname "Mac", decided the best way to calm everyone was to simply inject himself with a large dose of the myxoma virus and show people, in the most dramatic way possible, that the deadly new human disease - Murray Valley encephalitis - was not myxomatosis. After some discussion it was decided that both Burnet and an associate, Frank Fenner (who would later achieve world renown for his part in eradicating smallpox from the planet), would inject each other. Fenner had just been appointed as a professor of microbiology at the John Curtin School of Medicine at the Australian National University in Canberra and was working at the Institute until his new laboratories were built. By chance, he and Burnet were working side by side. Fenner was filling in time by studying the myxoma virus and Burnet on the mystery virus that was killing people.

HUMAN GUINEA PIGS

Burnet prepared a compound contammg the myxoma virus - a dose 100 times greater than a rabbit or human would receive from a mosquito: "He injected me and I injected him," recalled Fenner, who, with scientist Francis Ratcliffe of the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), later wrote the definitive textbook Myxomatosis. Just after the pair had finished injecting themselves, CSIRO head, Ian Clunies Ross, walked in demanding that since myxomatosis was a CSIRO project, he should also be injected. This was done and after three weeks when all tests showed the scientists were free of any myxoma antibodies (as they knew would be the case), the myxomatosis scare faded into history. What did not fade, however, was the lasting impression in the public's mind of the scientists' perceived bravery. In becoming human guinea pigs, Burnet, Fenner and Clunies Ross had perpetuated an important, although fading tradition, in which scientists take the unknown risks as the first volunteers in their experiments. Meanwhile, the mystery human virus was identi-

ABOVE TOP Burnet, under rug, fied as a new strain of encephalitis, trigwith his mother and sister gered by the same warm, wet weather Doris, 1903 that got myxomatosis off to a flying start. ABOVE MIDDLE Burnet Murray Valley encephalitis, in which Burdemonstrates his net became the world authority, remains technique with an egg shell to this day. and needle, 1944 The approach to the myxomatosis scare ABOVE BOTIOM Melbourne typified Burnet's practical, sleeves-up Hospital (Burnet, front row, attitude. In much the same manner as second from left), 1924 Pasteur, Burnet was committed to tackling practical problems. He displayed that same practical attitude in his momentous decision, a few years after the myxoma episode, to move away from virology and concentrate on immunology - the decision that culminated in him winning the Nobel Prize in 1960. By the mid-1950s, Burnet had realised that the nature of virology research was changing: modern laboratories were turning to the new fields of molecular biology and DNA coding. Against this, Burnet's main research tools- a chicken egg (literally) and a microscope - looked old-fashioned. Throughout his career, Burnet favoured an experimental technique developed while working at the National Institute of Medical Research in London in the 1930s.

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Frank Macfarlane Burnet

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HUMAN GUINEA PIGS

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Frank Macfarlane Bu rnet

An opening was made in the shell of an egg' and a virus sample was injected into the membrane that surrounded the chick embryo. In these conditions most viruses multiplied, allowing closer study. Yet rather than learn new methods - such as the use of tissue culture - in virology, in which he had already achieved acclaim, Burnet decided to move on. He had always been interested in immunology and he now directed his own and the Institute's work into this area. While the radical change in direction was later justified with the awarding of the Nobel Prize, others felt Burnet's move was dictatorial. Gustav Nossal, who would eventually succeed Burnet as director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, arrived at the Institute in 1957 expecting to work on viruses. He was reportedly taken aback when told of the change in direction. For a man regarded as one of the great scientific thinkers of the 20th century, Burnet's propensity for gloomy - often wrong - predictions about science, especially after his formal retirement in 1965, often puzzled associates. Professor Jim Goding of Monash University's Department of Pathology and Immunology recalls: "On the occasions that I got to know Burnet socially, I challenged him concerning his predictions. When confronted with the spectacular progress since his predictions, he would say, 'I stand corrected', but then immediately reiterate his belief that most of the really important work had been done and our generation was just tidying up loose ends." Nossal believed Burnet's stance simply reflected "the real pain that he felt in having to leave the scene of discovery" . It showed one of Australia 's greatest heroes as being very human. Innumerable records and memoirs tell the story of Frank Macfarlane Burnet. He was born in the Gippsland town of Traralgon on September 3 1899, the second of seven children. His father, also Frank, was the branch manager of the Colonial Bank and had emigrated from Langholm, Scotland, in 1880. In 1893, he married Hadassah Pollock Mackay, the daughter of a local school teacher, George Mackay, who had also emigrated from Scotland. From the time he was old enough to run around the district, which was still lush with bushland, the young Burnet revealed a fascination for biology, assiduously compiling the usual boyhood collections of butterflies, birds' eggs, rocks and beetles. His interest in the natural world became even more marked at 10, when his family moved to Terang in western Victoria, where the wildlife around Lake Terang was a source of unlimited discovery. Those who have written monologues and memoirs on Burnet's life, including his friend and colleague Frank Fenner, discovered the adolescent Burnet fitted a familiar profile of boys who were later drawn to

an academic career. They were shy, socially latematuring and had a strong devotion t o their hobbies.

BEETLE MANIA

In Burnet's case, his passion from childhood was beetles, which he began to record and draw. He read all the biological sections of an old Chambers Encyclopaedia published in the 1860s, which introduced him to Charles Darwin. H e wrote to Melbourne for a book about beetles, and was sent a translation of Fabre's Souvenirs Entomologique. Later he acquired Froggatt's Australian Insects, and covered its pages with his own entries on beetle collecting. His keen interest prompted the local Presbyterian minister to encourage his parents to send Burnet to university. He was sent to Geelong College for four years - an experience he later revealed w as not a particularly happy one - but in his final year he gained a

Burnet decided to simply inject himself with a large dose of the myxoma virus and show everyone that the new deadly disease was not myxomatosis.

scholarship to Ormond College, at the University of Melbourne. There he pursued medicine, mainly because it appealed to him more than what seemed to be his only other career options - law or the church. Fenner wrote that Burnet's early years at university were accompanied by wide reading and a broadening of horizons, and an evaluation of his ideas on religion. Despite growing up in a Presbyterian household in which church every Sunday was an unbending ritual, he soon became agnostic. Darwin's writings on evolution strongly influenced his early scientific work, while the incisive work of writer HG Well~ helped form his views on society. At the end of a medical course that was shortened to five years because of World War I and the perceived need to produce graduates quickly, Burnet graduated MB, BS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) in April 1922, coming second in a class that contained four others who later achieved fame in science and medicine: Sir Roy Cameron (pathology), professor RA Willis (medical research), Dame Jean Macnamara (poliomyelitis research and campaigner for the introduction of myxomatosis) and Dame Kate Campbell (paediatrics). After graduating, Burnet spent tw o years gaining his Doctor of Medicine, and then spent a year as resident medical officer in the Royal Melbourne Hospital. In the surgical wards, he came to know two eminent surgeons, Sir Alan Newton and Sir Victor Hurley, each of whom later served as a chairman on the board of WEHI while he was director.

Frank Macfarlane Bu rnet

an academic career. They were shy, socially latematuring and had a strong devotion t o their hobbies.

BEETLE MANIA

Burnet decided to simply inject himself with a large dose of the myxoma virus and show everyone that the new deadly disease was not myxomatosis.

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Burnet and his second wife, Hazel, on their wedding day in 1976

The young Burnet revealed a fascination for biology, assiduously compiling the usual boyhood collections of butterflies, birds' eggs, rocks and beetles.

However, it was while serving as house physician to Melbourne's leading physician at the time, the neu -

rologist Dr RR {later Sir Richard) Stawell , that Burnet became convinced his future lay in clinical neurology. He applied for the post of medical registrar at Melbourne Hospital, intending it as a stepping stone, yet the medical superintendent had other ideas. Convinced t hat Burnet's introverted and awkward personality was more compatible with a career in a laboratory, the superintendent steered him into the job of pathology registrar and a few months later, senior resident pathologist. This became the start of his brilliant scientific career and his long association with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (the pathology laboratories of the hospital operated as parr of the Institute). In 1924, the Institute was given a fresh intellectual stimulus with the arrival from University College, London of Dr Charles Kellaway (later Sir Charles) who, as the Institute director, transformed it into a

research facility specialising in physiology, biochemistry and bacteriology. Kellaway saw Burnet as the potential leader of the small bacteriology section bur decided he should first have overseas training. In 1925, Burnet left for England as a ship's surgeon. He took a paid position at the Lister Institute in London that still gave him time for research. Under the supervision of professor JG Ledingham, he gained a PhD from the University of London in 1928. Burnet's time in London was not all work and staring through a microscope. He returned to Australia in 1928 with his fiancee Linda Druce, an Australian who had been living in London. They married later that year on july 10 1928, and spent their honeymoon skiing at M t Buffalo in northern Victoria . Yet it was another posting to London, this time to the National Institute of Medical Research at Hampstead in London in 1932-33, that changed the course of Burnet's scientific life. The post placed him in the thick of research that was opening up science's understanding of animal virology. During his visit, Burnet developed his work on the use of the chick embryo to study animal viruses. He also acquired a powerful friend in Sir Henry Dale, a pharmacologist and winner of the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, who offered him a permanent position at the National Institute. However, Burnet decided to return to Melbourne, where he became assistant director of WEHI, in charge of the virus section. Back in Melbourne, Burnet continued to study the behaviour of a variety of viruses in the developing chick embryo. Seizing opportunities as they arose, he worked on psittacosis (parrot fever), carried out studies on poliovirus, and recognised a rickettsia (a micro-organism that resembled bacteria but can be as small as a virus and reproduces only inside a living cell) to be the cause of Q fever. Q fever, characterised by fever, chills, headache and weakness, is often mistaken for flu and is a zoonotic disease that spreads from animals, such as sheep, cattle and ticks, to people. The causative organism of Q fever was later named Coxiella burneti in Burnet's honour.

INFLUENZA INTEREST However, his major interest from 1939 was the influenza virus, prompted by the discovery of methods of growing the virus in chick embryos. With the onset of World War II, his attention was focused on methods of immunising against influenza in case there was ever another pandemic like that of 1918-19, which killed more people than the whole of World War I. In 1942, he was offered a professorship at Harvard University in the United States and was strongly tempted, but he later explained that he felt a deep sense of loyalty towards the Institute and Australian science.

Australia's Nobel Laureates Frank Macfarlane Burnet Burnet and his second wife, Hazel, on their wedding day in 1976

The young Burnet revealed a fascination for biology, assiduously compiling the usual boyhood collections of butterflies, birds' eggs, rocks and beetles.

However, it was while serving as house physician to Melbourne's leading physician at the time, the neurologist Dr RR (later Sir Richard) Stawell, that Burnet became convinced his future lay in clinical neurology. He applied for the post of medical registrar at Melbourne Hospital, intending it as a stepping stone, yet the medical superintendent had other ideas. Convinced that Burnet's introverted and awkward personality was more compatible with a career in a laboratory, the superintendent steered him into the job of pathology registrar and a few months later, senior resident pathologist. This became the start of his brilliant scientific career and his long association with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (the pathology laboratories of the hospital operated as part of the Institute). In 1924, the Institute was given a fresh intellectual stimulus with the arrival from University College, London of Dr Charles Kellaway (later Sir Charles) who, as the Institute director, transformed it into a

research facility specialising in physiology, biochemistry and bacteriology. Ke11away saw Burnet as the potential leader of the small bacteriology section but decided he should first have overseas training. In 1925, Burnet left for England as a ship's surgeon. He took a paid position at the Lister Institute in London that still gave him time for research. Under the supervision of professor ]G Ledingham, he gained a PhD from the University of London in 1928. Burnet's time in London was not all work and staring through a microscope. He returned to Australia in 1928 with his fiancee Linda Druce, an Australian who had been living in London. They married later that year on July 10 1928, and spent their honeymoon skiing at Mt Buffalo in northern Victoria. Yet it was another posting to London, this time to the National Institute of Medical Research at Hampstead in London in 1932-33, that changed the course of Burnet's scientific life. The post placed him in the thick of research that was opening up science's understanding of animal virology. During his visit, Burnet developed his work on the use of the chick embryo to study animal viruses. He also acquired a powerful friend in Sir Henry Dale, a pharmacologist and winner of the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, who offered him a permanent position at the National Institute. However, Burnet decided to return to Melbourne, where he became assistant director of WEHI, in charge of the virus section. Back in Melbourne, Burnet continued to study the behaviour of a variety of viruses in the developing chick embryo. Seizing opportunities as they arose, he worked on psittacosis (parrot fever), carried out studies on poliovirus, and recognised a rickettsia (a micro-organism that resembled bacteria but can be as small as a virus and reproduces only inside a living cell) to be the cause of Q fever. Q fever, characterised by fever, chills, headache and weakness, is often mistaken for flu and is a zoonotic disease that spreads from animals, such as sheep, cattle and ticks, to people. The causative organism of Q fever was later named Coxiella burneti in Burnet's honour.

Ormond College, 191 7. Burnet, front ro w, second f rom left, lived there as a m ed ical student and, later, after t he death of his f irst wif e Linda

The patriotism he felt towards his country was reflected in the fact that many of his papers were first published in Australian scientific and medical journals. He even felt that it was an advantage for scientists to be relatively isolated in Australia, since it protected them from being too influenced by fashions in scientific thinking. In 1944, Burnet succeeded Kellaway as director of WEHI - even though Kellaway and Burnet himself had reservations about the appointment. Kellaway was worried that Burnet lacked the necessary leadership skills, and that the post might hinder Burnet's research work. The Institute's board overruled Kellaway, and Burnet immediately showed he was capable of making big decisions. He determined that the Institute should concentrate on animal virology, especially the influenza virus. His team was to eventually unravel the nature of the influenza viral enzyme (neuraminidase), which became the starting point for four decades of Australian research that culminated in 1999 with the release of the world's first anti-influenza drug, Relenza. During that time, because Burnet kept the Institute at the forefront of influenza research, it attracted numerous overseas scientists. Those who worked at the Institute had no doubt that they were privileged to be working with a man of genius. Burnet also had a reputation as a hands-on director. Until 1955, when he started travelling overseas more often and had to juggle increasing demands on his time, Burnet spent more than half of each day at the laboratory bench. He usually worked alone, sometimes joined by one or two graduate assistants and a couple of technicians. Few of Burnet's research papers list a co-author other than his graduate assistant of the day. Fenner says that Burnet was careful in selecting his graduate assistants - and the rollcall of highly competent women assistants (including his daughter Deborah)

repaid him with many years of service. One, Patricia Lind, worked in the lab with Burnet from 1944 until his retirement in 1965. When Burnet and Medawar travelled to Sweden in 1960 to receive their Laureates, professor Bertil Lindblad, the president of the Royal Academy of Sciences, articulated their achievement during the award ceremony: "In your discovery of immunity produced in the embryonic stage and of actively acquired tolerance you have found a new biological law, opening up new vistas in experimental biology. The phenomenon of immunological tolerance which you have discovered will most certainly be of direct practical importance for the treatment of various kinds of injuries and diseases." During his time in Sweden to receive his Laureate, Burnet was clearly conscious of the historical significance of his achievement, and was keen to place it into a wider educational context. "I think that this occasion has a rather special significance for my own country, a middling small country a little bigger than Sweden but only now beginning to create an image of its own in the eyes of the world," he said. "Some day I hope that we will take our place along with Sweden as one of the centres where knowledge can do along with social progress to the good life we all seek." He then had a message for all students, not just those who might embark on scientific careers. "To advance science is highly honourable but other things are equally honourable. Perhaps when you are 20 to 30 years older, research as we know it may be less important than it is today but there will always be an obligation to pass on to the new generation the tradition of liberal scholarship. I hope that when you are as old as I am, skill and success in education will be as highly rewarded as success in scientific discovery is today. But whether your career is in research, in education, or in seeing that some of the wheels of our complex civilisation turn as they should, I wish you luck."

Frank Macfarlane Burnet

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Even though Burnet was still an introverted and withdrawn character, those who worked at the Institute had no doubt that they were privileged to be worl{ing with a man of genius.

Although Burnet won the Nobel Prize for his work on acquired immunological tolerance, he was dismissive of its wider implications (one of his comments was quoted under the headline, "No great value in transplants, says top scientist"). Burnet considered his greatest contribution to biology to be his clonal selection theory. This theory, which sought to explain how animals could produce such a wide variety of antibodies, opened up vast new areas of research. However, it would take nearly another 20 years for the actual mechanism of clonal diversification to be discovered by Japanese immunologists Nobumichi Hozumi and Susumu Tonegawa, in 1976. Burnet had an unforgettable impact on the stream of scientists who came to The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, especially between 1944 and 1965. Although his management style could seem like a benign dictatorship, the Institute's scientists were granted many freedoms. Unlike others, Burnet did not put his name on papers to which he had not contributed. Highly animated discussions over morning and afternoon tea were a feature of Institute life. He read every paper from staff, scribbled clarifications over any points he felt were unclear, and returned the manuscript the following day.

RELUCTANT SPOKESPERSON Burnet never courted interviews but he recognised the importance of talking to the media if the public were to understand the role of science and scientists. He would interrupt his precious time at the laboratory bench to take inquiries from the press and occasionally appear on television. After Burnet notionally retired in 1965 he broadened his interests even further, becoming a public commentator on issues as disparate as cigarette smoking and uranium exports. In 1966, he returned to the University of Melbourne where, over the next 12 years, he wrote

13 books on subjects ranging from immunology and human biology to ageing and cancer. He also produced a fourth edition of his first book, Biological Aspects of Infectious Disease. Most of Burnet's writings were not technical monographs, but written for the doctor or biologist who was not a specialist in virology, immunology or gerontology. Many of his popular books are highly readable. In 1973, Burnet's life was turned upside down when his wife Linda died of lymphoid leukaemia. She had been his companion on many of his overseas trips and when separated by distance, they had corresponded devotedly. Many of their letters are held at the University of Melbourne Archives, along with Burnet's photographs, diaries, notes, press clippings and early watercolours and sketches. After his wife's death, Burnet lived for a while at Ormond College at the University of Melbourne, which had been his home as a medical student. In was here that he renewed his friendship with the Master, Dr Davis McCaughey {later appointed Governor of Victoria). While devastated by his wife's death, Burnet was to find love again. In 1976 he married Hazel Jenkin, a widow who had endowed the library in the School of Microbiology to commemorate her only daughter Heather, who had died while a graduate student. In November 1984, Burnet was operated on for cancer and initially seemed to have made a good recovery, but secondary lesions were discovered in August 1985. As a biologist, Burnet accepted the inevitability of death and was impatient with proposals designed to prolong the life span. He had earlier recognised the scope for research "on the best means of minimising the depression and misery of pre-death", so it is perhaps fitting that he was spared those things. He remained mentally acute until he lost consciousness shortly after his last illness took hold. He died on August 31 1985, aged 86, at his son Ian's home at Port Fairy in Victoria, near where he had spent his early years. He was given a State funeral by the Federal Government, and was buried at Tower Hill Cemetery, near Port Fairy. His wife Lady Burnet survived him, along with his children from his first marriage, Ian, Elizabeth and Deborah, and eight grandchildren. Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet remains one of Australia's most acclaimed scientists; a man who made an extraordinary contribution to human medicine and wellbeing, and who also stood up as a proud Australian. Greatness became a mantel that he appeared to wear quite comfortably, yet at heart he did not move that far from the shy, curious child who used to wander through the bush, hunting down butterflies and drawing beetles in a sketch pad. Brad Collis is a Melbourne-based editor, writer and photojournalist. 49

Frank Macfarlane Burnet

John Carew Eccles

Australia's Nobel Laureates

The rneaning of life is a question vve have all pondered at sollle time. John Eccles' research provided some deep insights into the workings of the mind.

Are you made up of your brain or your mind? Is the essence of who you are controlled by the brain - an organ - or the mind, which has no known physical dimension? Is your mind mysterious, an ethereal controller of your brain, or a complex but wholly explicable product of the brain's chemical, electrical and neurological processes? Indeed, is the mind real or imagined? Start exploring questions like these and you plunge into a maelstrom of conflicting philosophies and sciences; the same ferment of human thought that has pitted atheists and spiritualists against each other throughout the ages. Ponder the existence and function of the mind and you enter into the world of Sir John Carew Eccles, whose obsession with the brain and central nervous system reshaped science's understanding of neurological processes. His research and insights into these complex and controversial mechanisms that define humanity culminated in him being awarded science's highest honour, the Nobel Prize, in 1963. The honour was shared with two British neurology specialists, Sir Alan Lloyd Hodgkin and Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley. Their citation read: "For their discoveries concerning the ionic mechanisms involved in excitation and inhibition in the peripheral and central portions of the nerve cell membrane".

In plain English, the three scientists, individually and together, significantly expanded medical researchers' understanding of the central nervous system, including how it works and controls the body. For Eccles, winning the Nobel Prize was the culmination of his search for the mechanisms by which the mind controls the body. He always said that his quest began as an 18-yearold medical student, when he was struck by an awesome feeling of his own uniqueness; he marvelled at his brain's capacity for thoughts and emotions. Yet perhaps his obsession with the brain started at a much younger age. A memoir entitled Hello Eccles, written by his family, states: "He was born with an uncommonly large head and the doctor told his parents bluntly that this indicated the child would either be an idiot or be brilliant. Anxiously they awaited his development." One of Eccles' daughters, Mary Mennis, said her father once confessed that he had done an IQ test and was off the top of the scale, that his IQ could not actually be tested. Before Eccles' groundbreaking neurological studies that greatly increased knowledge of the mammalian nervous system, the brain was regarded by many neuroscientists as a powerful, albeit poorly understood, biological machine - a haphazard collection

Young Eccles, fourth from left, with his family

of circuits that wire bodily functions via the central nervous system. When processed by the brain, the combined action of all this circuitry, feeding information into and out of the brain, was thought to somehow create the sense of personal control and individual identity. Eccles, also a neuroscientist, considered such conventional views as ridiculously simplistic. In fact, he described many of the more popular theories of the day as "impoverished and empty". While every bit a disciplined scientist with an obsession for rigidly objective experimentation, Eccles nonetheless believed that if the science was going to be credible it couldn't simply dismiss what he called "the mystery of human creativity and uniqueness". He wrote: "Extensive experimental studies have shown that mental acts of attention and intention activate appropriate regions of the cerebral cortex. An intention to move, for example, initiates the firing of a set of neurons of the supplementary motor area about 200 milliseconds before the intended movement takes place. If the mind is the brain, this would mean either that one part of the brain activates another part, which then activates another part, or that a particular region of the brain is activated spontaneously, without any cause, and it is hard to see how either alternative would provide a basis for free will."

He was born with an uncommonly

large head and the doctor told his parents bluntly that this indicated the child would either be an idiot or be brilliant. FREE WILL OR MIND MACHINE

Eccles believed that the notion of the brain as nothing more than a virtual machine could not stand up to even basic scrutiny as soon as a scientist acknowledged the mysteries that the machine theory could not explain. For example, to sidestep the mystery of that uniquely human capacity to wonder as if it were something that would be learned in the course of time as the brain became better understood was, to Eccles, shoddy science. "I maintain that the human mystery is incredibly demeaned by scientific reductionism, with its claim in promissory materialism to account eventually for all of the spiritual world in terms of patterns of neuronal activity," he wrote.

53 52

John Carew Eccles

Young Eccles, fourth from left, with his family

He was born with an uncommonly large head and the doctor told his parents bluntly that this indicated the child would either be an idiot or b.e brilliant. FREE WILL OR MIND MACHINE

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Eccles' passion for his research led beyond science to philosophy

TOP

Eccles (far left) with 1945 Nobel Prize winner, Howard Florey, next to him

ABOVE

John Carew Eccles

"This belief must be classed as a superstition and we have to recognise that we are spiritual beings with souls existing in a spiritual world as well as material beings with bodies and brains existing in a material world." Eccles was never shy about including both the philosophical and the anatomical in the course of his research, which went further than anyone had previously gone into whether, or how, both physical and mental states might exist or interact in the nervous system. This was largely due to him being- at that time in his life- a practising Catholic with a strong belief in God, which he took to his research without any sense of contradiction as he peeled away at the mechanics of the human brain and its neurological processes, processes that other scientists believed to be the inner and wholly human origin of spiritual awareness. In an undated interview with ABC Radio he once

explained his scientific obsession this way: "How we come to be and how we are what we are is beyond any understanding. I have been obsessed by this; trying to understand the very nature of my existence. Somehow or other, what is going on in your brain turns into a perception. This is a tremendously important problem beyond any solution, but it is a real problem." John Eccles, the scientist who defined some of science's most imponder'able questions during the 20th century was born on January 27 1903 at Norrhcote, a suburb north-east of Melbourne's central business district. His father, William James Eccles, and his mother, Mary (nee Carew), were both school teachers, born in Victoria. At the age of 12, Eccles began his secondary schooling at Warrnambool High School. Before entering the University of Melbourne, he spent a year at Melbourne High School studying science and mathematics. He headed the school at the final state-wide exam, shared the state geometry prize and gained a senior scholarship to the University. Although interested in mathematics, Eccles chose to study medicine and started his five-year course in 1920 at the age of 17. He was active in various university societies and sport, gaining a full blue in athletics after setting an Australian universities' record in pole vaulting. Like many students whose courses included the biological sciences, he was strongly influenced by Darwin's Origin of Species. It encouraged Eccles to read widely on both physiology and philosophy and it was when he could not find a satisfactory explanation of the interaction between the mind and the brain that he decided, while still a student, to become a neuroscientist. After reading Sir Charles Sherrington's 1906 book, The Integrative Action of the Nervous System, Eccles applied himself to achieving a Rhodes Scholarship just to be able to work with the pioneering neurophysiologist at Oxford University. "1, at the age of 17 or 18 as a medical student, suddenly came up against a problem. What am I? What is the meaning of my existence as I experience it? And I proceeded to read quite a lot about what the philosophers had said and the psychologists and was profoundly dissatisfied with it. So I decided that they didn't know enough about the brain and the brain was the essence of all my consciousness and everything that I knew myself to be. I decided that I would learn something myself about it." Eccles completed his medical course in February 1925, gaining first class honours, first place and several clinical prizes. He graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, and had already been awarded the Rhodes Scholarship for Victoria. After six months as a resident medical officer at St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne, he left Australia in August 1925 and arrived in Oxford in October. Eccles then worked closely with Sherrington until 1931 in the Oxford Neurophysiology School, which produced major advances in neural understanding. Sherrington, also a published poet, was 74 and his

experiments with Eccles were the last in which he actively participated. However, the pair formed a deep friendship that would last until Sherrington's death. Later in 1952, when Eccles was in England to deliver the eight Waynflete Lectures (dealing with neurophysiology and mind-brain problems) at Magdalen College, Oxford University, he visited Sherrington at his Eastbourne nursing home on England's south coast just days before his great mentor died. In 1932, Eccles became a Staines Medical Research Fellow and two years later, lecturer in physiology at the same college in Oxford. In the 1920s, the Oxford Neurophysiology School, under Sherrington, led the world in the field of mammalian central nervous system physiology. It was also a time of controversy between the exponents of rival chemical and electrical theories on the nature of the process of transmission at the terminal junctions (synapses) of nerve cells (neurons). Although there was strong evidence of chemical transmission at excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the peripheral nervous system, synaptic transmission in the central nervous system was widely considered to be an electrical process. CHEMICAL RESISTANCE

Eccles resisted many aspects of the chemical transmitter theory. The techniques then available for studying central synapses were simply inadequate for determining the nature of the transmission process, but the debate was important in defining problems and stimulating considerable experimental work. The eventual victory of the chemical theory was another 20 years away. For a while Eccles looked like he would stay at Oxford for the duration of his academic career, but in 1937 he was drawn back to Australia by a position at the Kanematsu Memorial Institute of Pathology at Sydney Hospital. His mentor, Sherrington, had retired from his post in 1936 and Eccles was disappointed at the direction that research was taking at Oxford. He was also increasingly worried about the political uncertainty in Europe. "There was the ominous rise of Hitler against the unprepared Western Alliance, so I decided, perhaps unwisely, to return to what seemed the security of Australia. There was the opportunity to create in Sydney a research institute matching the Hall Institute at Melbourne Hospital with Kellaway and Burnet. I accepted the directorship of the Kanematsu Institute at Sydney Hospital." (Dr Charles Kellaway, later Sir Charles, was director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, transforming it into a research facility specialising in physiology, biochemistry and bacteriology; see (In the name of science). Eccles said that in retrospect, he felt he should have stayed in England and weathered the storm but instead, "I embarked on my odyssean journeying, never to return to my beloved England. It was a fate-

lievably, it was completely locked up by guards at Spm. Even the professors had to scurry out to avoid imprisonment for the night! " At the Kanematsu Institute he led a team studying the actions of chemical substances on the transmission of nerve impulses to muscles. One of the team members was Bernard Katz, a refugee from Nazi Germany, and a key member of the research team that eventually proved the chemical theory in nerve transmission. It was Katz who was able to show how chemical transmitters released from nerve endings produce electrical currents, and that the chemical alters the configuration of molecules in the cell membrane. This allows ions to flow into muscle fibres and generate electrical currents. Katz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1970. (see Keeping your nerve). However, Katz's collaboration with Eccles was interrupted by Japan entering the war- Katz joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 and Eccles found himself working on the problems of communication in the noisy environment of aircraft and tanks. The last straw, however, came when the hospital board decided to add two floors to the Kanematsu Institute to accommodate BELow Eccles with his family: resident medical staff, effectively curtailing had five daughters and four sons with his first wife future expansion of the research laboratories.

Proving a propositi on to be valid was not good enough -just as much effort had to go into deliberately trying to disprove it.

ful choice." He found the academic isolation severe. "The Sydney University Medical School was a very dim place, being little more than a teaching institution. Unbe55

Australia's Nobel Laureates John Carew Eccles

Eccles' passion for his research led beyond science to philosophy TOP

Eccles (far left) with 1945 Nobel Prize winner, Howard Florey, next to him

ABOVE

Proving a proposition to be valid was not good enough -just as much effort had to go into deliberately trying to disprove it.

Australia's Nobel Laureates

John Carew Eccles

It was when he could not find a satisfactory explanation of the interaction between the mind and the brain that he decided, while still a student, to become a neuroscientist.

He regarded his "14 golden years" there as the most productive and enjoyable period of his career. Colleagues remember him as honest and occasionally terse. However, Eccles would unreservedly heap praise upon anyone who had made significant discoveries or progress. In Canberra, Eccles made significant contributions to the understanding of the ionic basis of central nervous system excitation and inhibition, and the nature of chemical transmitters involved in this. It was for this work that he received the Nobel Prize in 1963. His daughter, Rose Mason, was working with him as a researcher in Canberra when he received the Nobel Prize news. She recalled the momentous occasion, which Eccles downplayed in his own writings: "We had a wonderful celebration in the lab and we presented him with a candlestick," she said. FORCED RETIREMENT

Eccles resigned in late 1943 and moved to Dunedin, New Zealand as professor of physiology at the Otago Medical School. His new job required him to take on a heavy teaching load, so Eccles, who would be called "Prof" and eventually "Jack" by younger colleagues, conducted many of his experiments late at night and in the early morning. Many people, when describing Eccles, mentioned his enormous energy, along with a powerful personality. It was in New Zealand that Eccles met science philosopher Karl Popper, who became a pivotal influence on Eccles and his research. "The year 1944 was important in my scientific life above all my post-Sherrington years, because my intimate association with Karl Popper dates from that time," Eccles said. "Many people, including myself, had our scientific lives changed by the inspiring new vision of science that Popper gave us." Popper was a vigorous proponent of the "falsifiability" of hypotheses as the only true test of validity for a scientific theory. In other words, he argues that proving a proposition to be valid was not good enough - just as much effort had to go into deliberately trying to disprove it as well. Eccles found this a liberating way to approach experiments. It meant he could be absolutely daring in developing any hypothesis, and rejoice even when he proved it wrong because this in itself was a scientific success. Eccles would later say this greatly lifted his conceptual power because in many ways the shackles were off. It removed any hesitation about proposing a theory that might later be proved flawed. Eccles and Popper eventually collaborated on the influential 1977 book The Self and Its Brain, a fascinating probe into the body-mind, self and soul puzzle. It remains the most cited of all of Eccles' philosophical writings. Concerned that his heavy teaching load in Dunedin was limiting his competitive edge, Eccles returned to Australia in 1952 to take up the foundation chair of physiology in the John Curtin School of Medical Research at the recently established Australian National University in Canberra .

In 1966, despite a brilliant career and international acclaim, Eccles crashed head-on into the cultural apathy that dogged academic achievement in Australia. Despite his knowledge, experience and zest for science and life, he found absolute disinterest within the nation's bureaucracy and university hierarchies in finding a way around retirement at the compulsory age. Reluctantly, he left Australia again and was welcomed with open arms by the American Medical Association's Institute for Biomedical Research in Chicago. It was not a happy or successful period for Eccles, and he moved three years later, this time to be distinguished professor of Physiology and Biophysics at the State University of New York. His departure from his home country had also been coloured, in the eyes of some, by his divorce from his wife Irene, with whom he had nine children, and his marriage shortly afterwards to Dr Helena Taborikova, a Czechoslovakian neurophysiologist whom he had met at a scientific congress in Prague in 1963. Eccles' daughter felt her father's decision to leave Australia again had more to do with personal than professional circumstances. When interviewed for a Radio National program celebrating her father's centenary, she said her parents had "drifted miles apart" . "My mother had become very religious and she went to religious meetings. She got up and went to daily mass and this used to irritate him because he'd get to bed at two or three and the alarm would go at six and, you know, wake him up. Both were incompatible in many ways, their characters, and he was much more open - he loved meeting people." Despite the incompatibilities, daughter Mary Mennis said her mother was shocked to hear - via a friend who heard it on the evening news - that Eccles, who was in Chicago, was filing for divorce. Eccles ceased to be a practising Catholic. When his second wife, Taborikova, was interviewed on Radio National, she said he could no longer accept many of the dogmas of the church. When Eccles did finally retire in 1975 at the age of 72, he moved to the "idyllic mountain surroundings" 57

Australia's Nobel Laureates

\I I

Eccles, seated in the middle, with colleagues at Oxford ABOVE

ABOVE RIGHT Eccles and friend in Lindau, Germany

of Contra in Switzerland. Both he and Helena, who outlived him, were sad that Australia had not accommodated his willingness to keep experimenting and writing well beyond retirement age. He travelled widely throughout Europe and the United States and played a prominent role in the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War organisation. ' Eccles also continued to wrestle intellectually with a new generation of researchers. In Frankfurt, in 1993, during a celebration of his 90th birthday, he was still pushing advanced ideas on cerebral function and the nature of consciousness and the self-psychemind-body conundrum. MENTAL INTERACTIONS

Eccles came to believe that humans have a non-material mind or self that acts upon, and is influenced by, our material brains - a mental world in addition to the physical world, and that the two interact. As for what the mind actually is, Eccles conceded that it could not be pure nothingness, otherwise it could not exist, in which case he reasoned it to be composed of finer grades of energy-substance. Indeed, he suggested our inner constitution might comprise several non-physical levels. Eccles always had plenty of opponents, however. In his last book in 1994, How the Self Controls Its Brain, he was buoyed by advances in quantum physics and the latest discoveries about the microstructure of the neocortex, which he felt were on the way to supporting his proposition. Eccles called the fundamental neural units of the cerebral cortex dendrons, and he proposed that each of the 40 million dendrons is linked with a mental unit, or psychon, representing a unitary conscious experience. In willed actions and thought, he proposed that psychons act on dendrons and momentarily increase the probability of the firing of selected neurons. Eccles remained in basic agreement with the neo-

Darwinian theory that evolution is driven by random genetic mutations followed by the weeding out of unfavourable variations by natural selection. However, he added to this his belief in a divine providence operating over and above the biological evolution. As for what happens after death, Eccles had little option but to fall back onto his personal perspective: "We did come to be by something we do not understand at all, and therefore in our apparent ceasing to be, with death, it is the same problem. So I should say we have hope because we know nothing, and we should not dogmatise it. This is part of the message I have for humanity, that there is such tremendous mystery, so little is known, and the wonder is so enormous that we must have hope. " Eccles took the scientific exploration of the mind and brain as far as anyone had been able to push, but even he was forced to concede that perhaps the meaning of life might always be a mystery. He said: "For me the one great question that has dominated my life is: what am I?" After suffering ill health from 1994, John Eccles died on May 2, 1997 at Locarno, Switzerland. At Eccles request, he was buried in Contra near his last home.

REFERENCES :

Australian Academy of Science, Biographical Memoirs, John Carew Eccles 1903-97, www.science.org.au/fellows/ memoirs/eccles.html Pratt, David, John Eccles on Mind and Brain , http://www.theosophy-nw.org/ theosnw/ science/ prat-bra.htm. Original article published in Sunrise, June/ July 1995 Royal Society of New Zealand 1999 Academy Yearbook, Sir John Scott, Sir John Carew Eccles, http://www. royalsociety. org .nz/publications/ reports/ yearbooks/ 1999/ obituaries/john-eccles/ Web/ing A D'a. and D D'a, Nobel Prize Laureate and Australia to 2000, private monograph

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov

Laser applications, which range from supermarke t checkouts to global communica tions and broadcasting networks, can be traced back to the work carried out by Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov. His work provided the first practical demonstrat ion of quantum electronics, and the origin of today's vast industry for lasers. Other applications include high fidelity recording on compact discs, surgery, printing and astronomy and space research. Prokhorov was born in 1916 at the family farm in Russell Road, Peeramon in the Atherton Tablelands, Queensland . His Russian emigre parents, Mikhail Ivanovich Prokhorov and Mariya Ivanovna Mikhaelovn a (Prokhorov) had fled from Siberia to Australia in 1911 because of Mikhail's involvement in revolutiona ry activities. As an opponent of the Tsarist regime, he had been sent to Siberia following the abortive 1905 revolution. After the hoarfrost, howling wolves, frozen mountains, salt mines and human chain gangs of Siberia, the young couple's new home in Australia's tropical far north was literally a world away. Early last century, the Cairns district was actively attracting migrants from all over Europe to develop tin and gold

mines, cut timber and work on the railways. Among the new arrivals looking for a fresh start were a small group of Russian families, many highly educated and, like the Prokhorovs , escaping the serious social upheavals taking place in their homeland. Looking for some sense of community, many took up new land selections in the same area of lush rainforest country characteristic of the Atherton Tablelands. This part of the world is still known as Little Russia. As for Peeramon, little remains of its pioneering past. Today the town's main attraction is Peeramon Hotel, the oldest pub in Queensland. Prokhorov was the third and youngest child. His parents also had two daughters, Jane and Lila. When he was seven years old, Lila - the eldest sister - died unexpectedly. That same year, 1923, the family decided to return to Mother Russia, a move probably influenced by the propaganda filtering out of the country following the October Revolution of 1917. When the Communists took power in the country, they promised a worker's paradise, raising the hopes of many that the horrors visited on Europe by the World War I would be expunged by a new utopian world order.

Logging at Peeramon, Prokhorov's birthplace

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov

AlP Emilio Segre Archives

Prokhorov {left) and Basov (right) showing their lab to Charles Townes

For the first 10 years of its existence, the laser was regarded as a genius invention but with little practical use.

LIFE UNDER STALIN

Life in Russia as a teenager was not easy for the young Prokhorov. The civil war had been a disaster for the country's economy, culminating in the enormous famine of 1920-21. The following year, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was established and when Vladimir Lenin died soon after, his successor Joseph Stalin began his reign of terror. It was during this period that Stalin introduced farm collectivisation, effectively wiping out the peasantry both as a class and as a way of life. He also oversaw the execution or exile of millions to Siberian concentration camps. Against this bloody and turbulent background, Prokhorov grew into adolescence. In 1934, he was accepted into the Leningrad State University and graduated four years later with an honours degree in physics. This led to postgraduate work at the PN Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. There he studied the propagation of radio waves over the earth's surface and with one of his research directors, the physicist VV Migulin, proposed a novel technique for using radio interference to explore the ionosphere, one of the layers of the upper atmosphere. In June 1941, the German invasion of Russia interrupted Prokhorov's studies and he entered military service, despite eligibility for exemption because of

his academic research. In the same year, he married Galina Alekseyevna Shelepina, a geographer with whom he later had one son, Krill. However, instead of a life of simple domesticity with his new bride, Prokhorov went on to serve with the Red Army in a period of warfare that would eventually kill one-sixth of the population. The battles for Leningrad (Prokhorov's old stomping ground) and Stalingrad were particularly protracted and obscene. While defending his country, Prokhorov was wounded twice. After his second injury in 1944, he was demobilised. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class, and the Medal for Valour for his bravery. After taking off his uniform, Prokhorov wasted no time in resuming his studies as a senior research associate in the Oscillations Laboratory of the PN Lebedev Physical Institute. His main passion by this time was nonlinear oscillations about which he devised a theory that became the subject of his thesis. This earned him his candidate's degree (equivalent to a master's degree) in 1946. For this work, he and two other physicists were awarded the Leonid I Mandelshtam prize named in honour of a Soviet radio physicist of considerable repute. From 1947, he studied the radiation from electrons produced in a synchrotron (a device that accelerates charged particles such as protons and electrons in widening circles to very high energies). He demonstrated that the electrons radiate at wavelengths of the order of centimetres in the microwave region. As a result of these investigations, he wrote 65

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov

AlP Emilio Segre Archives

Prokhorov {left) and Basov (right) showing their lab to Charles Townes

For the first 10 years of its existence, the laser was regarded as a genius invention but with little practical use.

LIFE UNDER STALIN

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov

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his PhD thesis Coherent Radiation of Electrons in the Synchrotron Accelerator in 1951. The year before, Prokhorov was appointed assistant director of the Oscillations Laboratory at the PN Lebedev Physical Institute. In 1954, he was appointed head of the Institute, a post he held until his retirement. The Department of Oscillations soon became a research nursery. In 1959, the laboratory of radio astronomy was organised from one of the groups in the department, and in 1962 another specialist laboratory was dedicated to quantum physics. These days, the laser is taken for granted as a common component in domestic, industrial and scientific equipment. Yet for the first 10 years of its existence, it was regarded as a genius invention with little practical use. Its potential only began to emerge in 1964, when three scientists shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for its discovery. After completing his doctorate, Prokhorov began to investigate the question of radio spectroscopy on a wide scale. Somewhat later, he explored quantum electronics. To assist in this field of inquiry, he organised around him a team of young research scientists. Together they applied radar and radio broadcasting techniques, developed primarily in the United States and England during and after World War II, to study the vibrational and rotational spectra of molecules. Prokhorov focused his research on a class of molecules called asymmetric tops, which have three different rotational axes of symmetry and are the most

difficult to analyse in terms of their rotational spectra. In addition to purely spectroscopic research, he carried out a theoretical analysis of the application of microwave absorption spectra to improving frequency and time standards. This latter work led to his collaboration with Nikolay Basov. While the pair was searching for a technique to amplify microwave signals in spectroscopic experiments, they hit upon the idea of using a gas-filled cavity with reflectors at either end, in which the microwave beam would be intensified. They then discovered that this method produced microwaves with an extremely narrow range of frequencies. This laid the theoretical groundwork for the eventual construction of a molecular oscillator (or maser) operating on ammonia. This is a device emitting microwave radiation of a single wavelength, and was a precursor to the laser. In 1955, Prokhorov studied the electronic paramagnetic resonance spectra of ruby with AA Manenkov, which actually made it possible to suggest it as a material for lasers in 1957. The two announced the discovery of their molecular generator in a paper read before the All-Union Conference on Radio Spectroscopy held by the USSR Academy of Sciences in May 1952. However, they held off publishing their results for more than two years, by which time the American physicist Charles H Townes had built a working maser and published his conclusions in the journal, Physical Review. Prokhorov's research came from a combined under-

standing of the science of optics and radio engineering. In 1964, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries leading to the development of the laser. He shared this with compatriot Basov, also at the PN Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow, and Townes whose discoveries were made independently at Columbia University and Bell Telephone laboratories. "Many believed that we had gone crazy, that it was impossible," Prokhorov said in a television interview in 2001. "It was a brave step, because before that no-one had said it was possible to create a generator of optical range. Then it became a new, independent science - optics." The inventions were the first practical demonstration of quantum electronics. TAKING A STAND

Prokhorov was regarded as a politically controversial figure by the West. In the 1950s, he established the Radio Spectroscopic Laboratory at the Nuclear Physics Research Institute of the Moscow State University, of which he became a full professor in 1957. The research institute was also a key contributor to the Soviet program to build a counter system to thenUnited States president Ronald Reagan's plans for a Star Wars defence system- so-called beca use it would destroy ballistic missiles in space. But Prokhorov, who became a lifelong member of the Communist Party in 1950, was anything but a conformist in an era when expressing views that did not align with the Party's was both rare and dangerous. Even under strict

His fame grew even more when he refused a government invitation to become a deputy in the Soviet Parliament, famously declaring, l'I am not a politician. I am a scientist."

government controls, he was known for his independent streak and outspokenness. As the editor-in-chief of the multi-volume reference book, the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia, a position he held from 1969 until 1978, Prokhorov ignored orders to have the dissident physicist Andrei Sakharov excluded from the encyclopaedia. Father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, Sakharov later turned anti-war activist, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. He was also one of the regime's most courageous critics, a defender of human rights and democracy. This act of defiance by Prokhorov might have sent him to exile in Siberia like his father before him, had he not been so highly respected. But ironically, in 1983, he was one of four Soviet scientists to criticise Sakharov, who argued that the US might have to match the Soviet Union in nuclear

The town of Peeramon has the dual honour of being Prokhorov's birthplace and home of the oldest pub in Queensland

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67 66

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov

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His fame grew even more when he refused a government invitation to become a deputy in the Soviet Parliament, famously declaring, l'I am not a politician. I am a scientist."

The town of Peeramon has the dual honour of being Prokhorov's birthplace and home of the oldest pub in Queensland

ABOVE

67 66

Australia's Nobel Laureates

and served as its director until 1988. He also served as editor-in-chief of Laser Physics, a bi-monthly international journal. END OF AN ERA

A plaque commemorating the birthplace of Prokhorov in the CSIRO grounds, Atherton, Queensland

weapons before effective arms reduction negotiations could begin. In the previous year Prokhorov had been one of 97 Nobel Prize winners who called for a freeze on his country's development and deployment of nuclear weapons. Yet in 1984, he lent his name to what was seen as a Soviet propaganda campaign. Prokhorov was one of four Soviet Nobel Laureates to sign a letter to President Reagan on behalf of an imprisoned Native American political activist, Leonard Peltier. The letter, however, was perceived to be part of a Soviet ploy to deflect attention from Sakharov's hunger strike, staged on behalf of his wife who had been refused permission to travel to the West for treatment of a heart condition. In the political sphere, his fame grew even more when he refused a government invitation to become a deputy in the Soviet parliament, famously declaring, "I am not a politician. I am a scientist". Prokhorov continued to use his position to engage world leaders throughout his life. In 1999, he was one of several scientists to sign a letter to the presidents of the US and Russia urging them to work together to help Russia make the transition to a democratic country. That same year he was the chair of the Russian Committee for the Observance of the United Nations International Year of the Elder Person. Although Prokhorov could have easily rested on his laurels after he won the Nobel Prize, he went on to create various types of laser. In later years, his work focused on fibre and integrated optics and the creation of optical communication systems. He also supervised research in microelectronics, plasma physics, controlled thermonuclear fusion and laser medicine. Between 1973 and 1981, he was chief of the Department of General Physics and Astronomy of the Institute of General Physics in Moscow. In 1981, he became director of the Natural Sciences Centre of the PN Lebedev Physical Institute and in 1983 he founded the General Physics Institute in Moscow, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences,

Prokhorov was 85 when he died of pneumonia on January 8 2002 in his home in Moscow. Scientists and politicians worldwide mourned his death, saying it marked the end of an era for Russian science. Then Russian president Vladimir Putin said in an issued statement: "His name is linked to outstanding discoveries that in many ways defined 20th century civilisation". Yevgeny Dianov, head of the Fibre Optics Scientific Centre, told Russian television: "His independence allowed him to speak freely to the Soviet authorities." Meanwhile, the Russian winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics, Dr Zhores Alferov, said that his death was "a bitter loss for world scientists" . Outside of Russia, Art Guenther of the University of New Mexico's Centre for High Technology Materials in Albuquerque, New Mexico, spoke glowing of Prokhorov as "a lifelong committed scientist, a consummate gentleman, a Russian patriot, and a global opticist. His contributions to quantum optics have formed the basis for much of today's photonics evolution and applications." He added he was always impressed with the "respect and adoration of the Russian scientific community for his leadership, contributions, and friendship. He will be sorely missed." After his death, television footage showed Prokhorov's desk stacked high with files and paperwork. His glasses lay on top of one of the piles, as if he had only just taken them off. The scientist did not own a computer, which he half-joked would "interfere with his thinking". Instead he preferred to laboriously handwrite all his notes on hundreds of scraps of paper which could still be seen littering his office. Prokhorov is buried in Moscow's Novodyevichy Cemetery, the final resting place of many prominent Soviet and Russian scientists, writers and composers. And lest we forget, on the other side of the world in Atherton, Queensland, there is a memorial plaque celebrating the achievements of Peeramon's most famous son. Kathy Graham is a science writer.

REFERENCES:

BBC New s, obituary, January 8, 2002 OE Magazine, obituary, Rich Donnelly, February 2002 Johnson 's Ru ssia List, Clara Ferreira-Marques Nobel Prize W inners Biographical Dictionary obituary, January 9 , 2002 The Nobel Museum Notable Twentieth Century Scientists AD 'a and DD'a Webling , Nobel Prize Laureates and Australia to 2000, private monograph OSA's News, obituary, January 8, 2002 obituary, January 11 , 2002 The Nobel Scientists: A Biographical Encyclopedia Guardian Unlimited , Pearce Wright

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

and served as its director until 1988. He also served as editor-in-chief of Laser Physics, a bi-monthly international journal. END OF AN ERA

A plaque commemorating the birthplace of Prokhorov in the CSIRO grounds, Atherton, Queensland

REFERENCES:

69 68

Bernard Katz

I did not foresee I was going to remain

stateless and without a passport for the first 30 years of my life until I finally acquired this much coveted possession in Sydney, Australia.

The plan was that the Jewish population of Leipzig should be invited to assemble in the underground fair hall and, after closing the doors, should be killed off by filling the hall with poison gas." Despite all of this, Katz prospered at school. He interspersed his studies with chess - for which he developed a lifelong passion reading, walking and swimming. The normal German high school curriculum took nine years. Katz forged ahead so strongly in his studies that he was encouraged to skip a year, and thus spent only eight years (1921-29) at the Gymnasium. His school reports were excellent, save for subjects such as gymnastics and singing, in which he freely admits his performance was deplorable. He often tried to avoid those classes. Katz was a quiet, bookish and solitary child. He said: "I was never what one would call a loner but I kept away from gatherings. I did have good friends, but usually only one at a time. " Among these was a young Jewish scholar Heinz Wydra, with whom Katz shared a desk and who introduced him to a way of thinking that later held significance for his approach to science. It was Wydra who taught Katz the game of chess. In Katz's later years, his addiction to chess was replaced by a similar obsession with physiological experiments. "The excitement produced by the oc-

casional successful experiment was similar to the enjoyment of a good performance at chess," he said. "In both cases, the sudden flash of insight after a long struggle in the dark and the intuitive vision of a solution to a seemingly intractable problem are exhilarating experiences which one encounters in both kinds of activity." During his last three school years, Katz had to choose between continuing his Latin and Greek and a more mathematical and scientific curriculum. Against his character, he opted for the classics because they left him more time to pursue his love of chess. He then "tended to drift off to one of the cafes in Leipzig which had been invaded by chess players", spending long hours over the chequered board nursing a single cup of coffee. Katz later regretted this youthful indulgence, not so much because he missed out on the natural sciences, which he quickly caught up with when he undertook pre-university courses, but because he did not pursue his maths. Katz embarked on his medical studies at the Uni-

(LtoR) Kuffler, Eccles and Katz striding into the future, 1942

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Kuffler, Katz and Eccles 30 years on

ABOVE

Bernard Katz

I did not foresee I was going to remain

stateless and without a passport for the first 30 years of my life until I finally acquired this much coveted possession in Sydney, Australia.

(LtoR) Kuffler, Eccles and Katz striding into the future, 1942

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Kuffler, Katz and Eccles 30 years on

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Bernard Katz

versity of Leipzig in April 1929. A lecture by physician and physiologist Viktor Freiherr von Weizsacker on the social impact of medicine left a huge impression on Katz, as he realised that there could be great intellectual satisfaction in being a doctor. CONFRONTING PREJUDICE

Throughout school, Katz had encountered occasional- and to him inexplicable- examples of prejudice on account of his racial background as a Russian Jew. As an Ost Juden, or Jew from Eastern Europe, he was surprised to find that even Jews of Germany and Western Europe, as well as non-Jews, looked down on him. The World War I Marshal von Hindenburg, Weimar Germany's second president and the appointee of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor in 1933, was already clearly favouring the Nazi Party and Hitler. "I finally decided there was little future for the decent people and none at all for me in Germany of those days," Katz said. "It was at that time, in the summer of 1932, that I began to make plans to emigrate as soon as I had completed my medical course." Meanwhile, the challenges of university study were fuelling in Katz the prodigious focus and ap-

Weizmann promised to try to get some funds to help the young scientist. It turned out to be no more than £50 a year for two years, but the elated Katz hastened home to complete his degree and plan his escape. petite for understanding that characterised his life's work. Katz had the benefit of an outstanding physics teacher in Dr Peter Debye, who a few years later gained the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The young student also spent time in the Institute for Medical History in Leipzig, gaining a broader understanding of the social context of his studies. Here he shared an enthusiasm for ideas with like-minded students and eminent philosophers, historians, and writers on medicine. Katz was by now an active Zionist, running public appeals to raise funds to buy land for the new settlers in Palestine. He was also working part-time for two earnose-and-throat specialists, learning the basics of the medical trade and supporting himself financially. As his studies progressed, he homed in on what was to become his life's work -the study of how nerves function. "I was attracted to the subject of neurophysiology at quite an early stage, from about 1930 onwards. In

those days, the establishment of the laws of electric excitation of nerves and their precise mathematical formulation were regarded as a great thing. In retrospect it seems a somewhat naive approach." He said that the exact fitting of so-called "strengthduration" curves to electric stimuli of various shapes and intensities was considered a wonderful achievement, even though it was only a formal exercise which shed little light on the physical mechanism of excitation. "Nevertheless, I felt it was fascinating that one could made accurate and repeatable measurements of electric excitability on living tissues and express the results by a simple mathematical equation." According to Katz, all one needed to do the experiments were some calibrated boxes of simple electrical gear, resistances, condensers and an isolated nerve-muscle preparation of a frog. ESCAPE

As he approached his final exams, Katz found the political atmosphere around him thickening. "I felt increasingly revolted by the behaviour of the majority of my fellow students who no longer bothered to conceal their Nazi sympathies and anti-Semitic vulgarities," he said. "I made use of every opportunity I could find to withdraw into the solitary atmosphere of my laboratory." Many of Katz's most respected tutors were also starting to display support for Hitler. His isolation was further evidenced when, in order to win an academic prize, he had to submit an essay under a pseudonym. Katz chose that of Johannes Muller, the father of German physiology. He won the prize but was not officially allowed to receive it- although his professor later slipped him the money under the counter. While still a student, he also had two research papers published. One of them caught the eye of one of AV Hill's colleagues, physiologist Ulf von Euler (with whom Katz was later to share the Nobel Prize). "When the Nazis took over early in 1933, I still had some 20 months to go before completing my medical course," Katz recalls. "It was not at all clear whether I would be able to do so. For me, the only practical alternative was to join the exodus to Palestine and try to make myself useful in a kibbutz." At the urging of his tutor, however, Katz decided to stick it out. In 1934, he read in the English journal Nature of AV Hill's stinging critique of the policies of Nazi Germany towards scientists. Katz decided that, if it was possible, he would emigrate and go to work with Hill. His friends put him in touch with the famous Zionist leader Dr Chaim Weizmann. Meanwhile, British relatives promised to try to get him a visa no easy task for a stateless person. To meet Weizmann, Katz had to slip across the border into Czechoslovakia to Karlsbad. Weizmann promised to try to get some funds to help the young scientist. It turned out to be no more than £50 a year for two years, but the elated Katz hastened home to complete his degree and plan his escape. "At the beginning of February 1935, I packed my

bags and, equipped with travel tickets, a Nansen certificate (for stateless persons) with a temporary British visa, and the princely sum of £4, I took the train to Holland, " Katz said. "I transferred to the Channel ferry at Flushing and arrived at Harwich the next day." The following day he reported to Hill in London to begin what he later called "the most inspiring period of my life". Under Hill, whom Katz would later acknowledge as "the person from whom I have learned more than anyone else, about science and about human conduct", he studied the fundamental properties of synapses, the junctions across which nerve cells signal to each other and to other types of cells. Researchers had known since Italian physiologist Galvani (1737-98) that nerves were sensitive to electric discharges and then found that nerves actually generated minute amounts of electricity themselves. But much remained to be discovered. Katz was accepted as a PhD student by Hill at Uni-

versity College, London (UCL), working in his laboratory until August 1939. He liked to joke that Hill only took him on "as an experiment". Although Katz had arrived at UCL speaking little English, his writing style was simple, precise and unpretentious, something that he attributed to excellent teachers at the Konig Albert Gymnasium. Although the scientific papers that Katz wrote decades ago would have to be added to today, not one of his beautifully constructed sentences would need to be corrected. He completed his doctoral studies in 1938, and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science (London University). He also won a Beit Fellowship, then regarded as the premier award in the biophysical sciences. In 1939, as a Carnegie Research Fellow, Katz was invited to study with John Carew Eccles, who was to win the Nobel Prize in 1963 at his laboratory at Sydney Hospital (see Finding the essence of what we are). Katz arrived in Australia a month before World War II broke out.

75 74

Bernard Katz

bags and, equipped with travel tickets, a Na nsen certificate (for stateless persons) with a temporary British visa, and the princely sum of ÂŁ4, I took the train to Holland," Katz said. "l transferred to the Channel ferr y at Flushing and arrived at H arwich th e next day." The fo llowing day he reported to H ill in London to begin what he later called "the most inspiring period of my life". Under Hill, whom Katz would later acknow ledge as "the person from whom I have learned more than anyone else, about science and about human conduct", he studied the fundam ental properties of synapses, the junctions across which nerve cel ls signal to each other and to other types of cells. Researchers had known since Italian physiologist Galvani {1737-98) that nerves were sensiti ve to electric discharges and then found that nerves actuall y generated minute amo unts of electricity themselves . But much remained to be discovered. Katz was accepted as a PhD student by Hill at Uni-

versity College, London (UCL), working in his laboratory until August 1939. He liked to joke th at Hill only took him on "as an experiment" . Although Katz had arri ved at UCL speaking linle English, his writing style was simple, precise and unpretentious, something that he anributed to excellent teachers at the Konig Albert Gymnasium. Although the scientific papers that Katz wrote decades ago would have to be added to today, not one of his beautifully constructed sentences would need to be corrected. He completed his doctoral studies in 1938, and was awarded th e degree of Doctor of Science (London University). He also won a Beit Fellowship, then regarded as the premier award in the biophysical sciences. In 1939, as a Carnegie Research Fellow, Katz was invited to study with John Carew Eccles, who was to win the obel Prize in 1963 at his laboratory at Sydney Hospital (see Finding the essence of what we are). Katz arrived in Australia a month before World War II broke out.

Bernard Katz

His department became a Mecca for postdoctoral students from all over the world. His influence on the training of a large number of the world's greatest scientists was huge.

In Sydney, Katz teamed up with Hungarian-American neurophysiologist, Stephen Kuffler, who had recently arrived from Vienna. For the next two years, Eccles, Katz, and Kuffler worked together on transmission at the neuromuscular junction - the point where the nerves communicate with the muscles - producing landmark papers and forming lifetime friendships. This work laid the ground for the modern understanding of how one cell communicates with another. At the time, a fierce dispute was raging among researchers about how the nerves communicated with the muscles - whether the electrical nerve impulse leapt across the nerve-muscle junction or whether synaptic transmission was mediated by the release of a chemical messenger (acetylcholine) as had been proposed by English pharmacologist Henry Dale in the 1930s. Although Dale's ideas were gaining acceptance, Eccles continued to argue strenuously in favour of purely electrical transmission. Katz admitted that he and Kuffler would have "the occasional stand-up fight" with Eccles over the question. Katz later liked to recall an incident in which he was helping Eccles mow his lawn, only to shear through the power lead to the electric mower, narrowly escaping a lethal shock. To avoid further accidents, Eccles hastily swapped the electric mower for a petrol-driven one. Katz wou ld say that this was the precise moment he converted Eccles from "electrica l" to "chemical" transmission between nerves and muscles. Katz was naturalised as an Australian citizen in 1941. With war clouds spreading, he felt a strong obligation to serve his adopted country and he joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942. He spent the remainder of the war in New Guinea and the Pacific as a radar officer. In Australia Katz met a young, non-Jewish Sydney woman, Marguerite (Rita) Penly, who would OPPOSITE A muscle meets a nerve. Katz's experiments become his life compandemonstrated that pores ion. They married shortly in the muscle cells were after World War II ended the means by which the in 1945, and had two nerves signal

sons, David and Jonathan. For Katz, his jaunts with Rita to meet up with friends in Europe, Israel and America, were among his happiest times. The newly married couple returned to England in 1946; there, Katz rejoined AV Hill's team at UCL and helped set up the Biophysics Department. There he embarked on some of his most important work. The new electrophysiologicallaboratory was soon in operation, using war-surplus electronic apparatus that the team had scrounged, rebuilt and recalibrated. In 1952, when Hill decided to retire, Katz succeeded him as professor and head of department, leading it to become what colleagues later regarded as "one of the shining pinnacles of British biomedical science, attracting talented postdoctoral workers from around the world". In the same period, he also began a key collaboration with the Marine Biological Labs at Plymouth on England's south coast, studying the nerve currents in squid. Much of Katz's work in these days focused on the biochemistry and action of acetylcholine, the transmitter molecule (or neurotransmitter) with which nerves activate muscles. GROUNDBREAKING DISCOVERY

In 1950, Katz and his colleague Paul Fatt, made an accidental but ground breaking discovery. Even when it was supposed to be at rest, the end region of the muscle was fizzing with spontaneous electrical activity caused by the discharge of packets of molecules of acetylcholine from the nearby nerve ending. They revealed that the acetylcholine opens minute aqueous (watery) pores in the muscle cells which allow the electrical current to flow through, causing the muscle to contract. Their experiments demonstrated these pores were the basis of chemical synaptic transmission- the means by which the nerves signal. The pores later came to be known as ion channels and are the basis for-all nerve activity as well as many other cell functions. The team then turned its attention to the second step in the transmission process, the mechanism by which acetylcholine activates its receptors.

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Bernard Katz

In 1957, del Castillo and Katz proposed a two-step model by which the receptor of the nerve signal was activated. This model still forms a starting point for discussion of receptor mechanisms. During the 1960s, Katz and Mexican neuroscientist Ricardo Miledi returned to the issue of transmitter release, undertaking a series of studies. Their work not only provided some of the first definitive evidence for the idea that calcium entry was essential to transmitter release but also allowed the inputoutput of a single synapse to be studied. Further groundbreaking work followed in the early 1970s and their studies were so original that their first two Nature papers cited only four references to other scientific papers. In 1967, Katz gained the Royal Society's prestigious Copley Medal and, in 1970, recognition of his achievements was crowned with the award of the Nobel Prize, which he shared with Ulf von Euler of Sweden and biochemist and pharmacologist Julius Axelrod of the United States. The Prize was for "their discoveries concerning the humoral transmitters in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release, and inactivation". Katz's work had immediate influence on the study of organophosphates and organochlorines, the basis of new post-war study for nerve agents and pesticides, as he determined that the complex enzyme cycle was easily disrupted. While Katz's research into nerve processes was of the most fundamental kind, it also came to have im~ediate significance amid the rising public concern about the effect of toxic chemicals. It was clear that the delicate electrochemical processes involved in nerve signalling could be easily disrupted. This provided other researchers with a powerful means for exploring the effects of the chemical on the human nervous system - including why they caused lethal paralysis - as well as opening new possibilities for the treatment of brain and nerve disorders. Although Katz trained only five PhD students (including Liam Burke, an emeritus professor of physiology at Sydney University), his influence on his science was prodigious. A colleague recalls: "His department became a Mecca for postdoctoral students from all over the world. His influence on the training of a large number of the world's greatest scientists was huge." And while BK, as he was known to colleagues, could seem forbidding (there are some who recall traumatic experiences in presenting the first draft of a paper to him), there are stories of his jokes and light-hearted asides that cut through the pomposity of boring committee meetings. In the latter part of his research career, Katz became interested in the biochemistry of the pineal gland, in particular, its production of melatonin in response to light. Although generally viewed as an Australian or British scientist, Katz's German origins and Zionist beliefs were recalled and celebrated in 1993 with the creation of the Bernard Katz Minerva Center for Cell Biophysics. This was a German-Israeli joint venture embracing the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the

Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. After retiring as head of biophysics at UCL in 1978, Katz, who had never entirely lost his German accent, remained active in research administration, working with the research council of the Royal Society as one of its two secretaries. UCL colleague, pharmacologist David Colquhoun, remembers that even' in retirement, Katz "continued to referee papers with an astonishing speed, often within a day or two, and he took a direct and lively interest in new developments for many more years. In the 1980s I remember him coming, almost running, down the stairs, asking to see David Ogden- at that time a post-doc in my lab- because he'd seen an abstract that David had submitted for a Physiological Society meeting and wanted to discuss it." Katz was devastated in retirement when his wife Rita developed a prolonged illness. Even though he was in his late 80s and frail, Katz made the long journey to visit her twice a day. Katz, who shared his wife's love of literature, was widowed in 1999. In April 2003, the stateless alien who had the nerve to change the world died at the age of 92. Of his life, The Times newspaper reported: "The work of Sir Bernard Katz constitutes an extraordinary contribution to our understanding of the nervous system. In his research he combined an uncanny instinct for separating the important from the trivial. "Characteristically, he would approach a fundamental problem ... and by tackling the question in a new manner, opened up fields that had never been dreamt of." Julian Cribb is a science writer and communicator and is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

REFERENCES

Bennett, Max, obituary April 2003 Cull-Candy, Stuart & Jenkinson, Donald, 2003 Carmody, John, obituary May 7, 2003 Encyclopaedia Britannica

International Brain Research Organisation Katz, Bernard, An Autobiographical Sketch, Deutsches Museum Bonn Les Prix Nobel , 1970 The Scientist, Mayor, Susan, obituary, April 30, 2003 Nature Neuroscience 6, obituary The Guardian, obituary April 24 , 2003 The Independent, Colquoun, David, obituary, April 26, 2003

The Nobel Museum 2003 The Sydney Morning Herald The Times, obituary April 28, 2003 Brain & M ind magazine, April-July 2003

79 78

Bernard Katz

0 S, D· CONSCIENCE IT,

By Helen Verity Hewitt

PATRICK WHITE

1912-1990 Nobel Prize in Literature 1973

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Self-doubt, staunch loyalty and violent rages are just some of the qualities that characterised Australia's only N abel Laureate in Literature.

One of Patrick \\'hire's duties as a Royal Air Force (RAFi inrclligence officer during World \X'ar 11 was to rifle through the pockets of the dead enemy for map'>, lerrers, diaries, or all scraps of information. German pi lots, ltali,m soldiers, Âˇ'rhe yellow flesh melting like butter into the sand and saltbush the corpses washed up by the sea were the worst'', he wrote in hi' autobiography. ,. Another of \Vhire\ durie' 1\as to censor the letters the airmen wrore. He became oh~essed with the role. He was a young writer plunged into the most extreme human circurn.,tances, death at his elbow, pri\-)' to the most private longings and despairs of his fellows in their communicatiom to their loved ones. Literature and art were '>tays to him. During rhc inevitable periods of tedium and waiting, he read the Rihlc from cmÂˇer to cover and all of Charles Dickens' novels. Of Dickens, he said: "As blood flowed, and coagulated in suppur<lling wounds, as aircraft were

brought down in flames and corpses tipped into the lime-pits of Europe, l saw Dickens as the pulse, the intact jugular vein of a life which must continue, regardless of rhc destructive forces which Dickens himself recognised ." Goya, one of \Vhire\ favourite artists, h,Hl recorded in his sertes, Fhe Dis<~stcrs o/ W'i1r, all the scenes \X'hite was now witnessing. Cova \ passion, in which the cruellest human behaviour is depicted together with the most sublime, was also to he White's passion. At the same time, the ultra-sensitive White was noting: "The background of trivialities, nntrurm, adulteries, scrl'icc feuds and wrangling for pmring and perquisites, ag.1insr which a great war is fought." His acute car for the colloquialm<lkes him a master of dialogue. As a novelist, \Vhirc tried to capture the whole huge web of hunun life in irs complexity, contradictions and confusion.

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Patrick White

Self-doubt, staunch loyalty and violent rages are just son1e of the qualities that characterised Australia's only Nobel Laureate in Literature.

One of Patrick White's duties as a Royal Air Force (RAF) intelligence officer during World \X'ar ll was to rifle through the pockets of the dead enemy for maps, letters, diaries, or all scraps of information. German pilots, Italian soldiers, "the yellow flesh melting like butter into the sand and saltbush the corpses washed up by the sea were the worst", he wrote in his autobiography. >:Âˇ Another of \X1hite's duties \Vas to censor the letters the airmen wrote. He became obsessed with the role. He was a young writer plunged into the most extreme human circumstances, death at his elbow, privy to the most private longings and despairs of his fellows in their communications to their loved ones. Literature and art were stays to him. During the inevitable periods of tedium and \IYaiting, he read the Bible from cover to cover and all of Charles Dickens' novels. Of Dickens, he said: "As blood flowed, and coagulated in suppurating wounds, as aircraft were

brought down in flames and corpses tipped into the lime-pits of Europe, I saw Dickens as the pulse, the intact jugular vein of a life which must continue, regardless of the destructive forces which Dickens himself recognised." Goya, one of \Vhite's favourite artists, had recorded in his series, The Disasters of Wlar, all the scenes \Vbite was now witnessing. Goya 's passion, in which the cruellest human behaviour is depicted together with the most sublime, was also to be \\'bite's passion. At the same time, the ultra-sensitive \X'hite \.Vas noting: "The background of trivialities, tantrums, adulteries, service feuds and wrangling for posting and perquisites, against which a great vvÂˇar is fought." His acute ear for the colloquial makes him a master of dialogue. As a novelist, \X'hite tried to capture the whole huge web of human life in its complexity, contradictions and confusion.

friendships were forged at this time with the artists Roy de M aistre and Francis Bacon, among others. Echoes of war sound through most of White's work. White's first novel, Happy Valley, was published His first post-war novel, The Aunt's Story, is a turbulent portrait of Europe on the eve of war. The in 1939 and his second, The Living and the Dead, megalomaniac protagonist of his novel Voss had his was in the offing when Hitler invaded Poland. White source in Hitler, and had come into White's imagina- felt he had to enlist: "A sense of duty always sounds tion while he was stationed in the Egyptian desert. priggish when put into words". In Flaws in th e Glass During a year's posting in Palestine, White absorbed he repeatedly plays down his war service, but about "something of the Hebrew archetype" which fed into one third of the autobiography is devoted to those his portrait of Himmelfarb, the refugee rabbi who is five years: years in which he wrote nothing. White accepted a commission in Air Force Intelcrucified in Riders in the Chariot. At the end of The Twyborn Affair, White's flamboyant alter ego, Edith ligence and while waiting for a posting experienced Wharton, is killed in London by a bomb during the the beginning of the Blitz. "The incredible bombs had Blitz. His two pre-war novels, while accomplished, begun falling," he later wrote. His reality was being are of their time; White's post-war novels exist on blown up. White's first posting was to the frontier another level, for all time. What he called "Hitler's War" changed everything. "In a green pork-pie hat and a black polo sweater", the young White had blossomed and revelled in 1930s London, entranced by the theatre, the art, and the deep cultural history of the great city. London meant intellectual, artistic, emotional and sexual liberation. He had escaped from an extremely privileged but conservative world in Australia. The large White family had made a pastoral fortune during the 19th century. A saying in the rich Hunter Valley region used to go: "The Whites and the Wrights and the not-quites". (The Wrights were the family of the poet Judith Wright.) White, born in 1912, was expected to go on the land after completing his upper class education at English boarding school, Cheltenham College, and at Cambridge, where he read German and French. He did spend a year jackarooing in the Monaro between school and Cambridge, but felt like a stranger in Australia. In his autobiography, Flaws in the Glass, White repeatedly described himself as a "cuckoo" in his family, a "changeling"; his mother accused him of being a "freak". White later said he and his mother could not live in the same hemisphere, although he wrote dutifully every week. Explosive family tensions are a major theme in all of White's novels. White never saw either of his parents working. His father had retired from the land at the age of 42 and agreed to fund White's ambition to be a writer in London. It was probably a relief to everyone. "An artist in the family was almost like a sodomite; if you had one you kept him in the dark." London also meant escape from his mother's persistent attempts to match him up with some suitable girl. White had known from an early age that he was homosexual. In 1936, White established himself in London, found marvellous mentors (and lovers), immersed himself in modernist art, tried his hand at writing for the stage and enjoyed the company and White (right) with stimulation of committed actors, Manoly and their dogs artists, critics and collectors. Lifelong at Castle Hill

THE EFFECTS OF WAR

Explosive family tensions and misunderstandings are a major theme in all of White's novels. l

Australia's Nobel Laureates

between Eritrea and Sudan, then to Egypt, where he fell in love with the Mediterranean and Levantine melting pot of Alexandria. He was involved with the campaign that culminated in the relief of Tobruk. The Corps headquarters to which White was attached was cut off by German snipers. White, a very poor driver, had to steer a Dodge truck through the night, zigzagging through minefields reaching the ruins of Tobruk at dawn . In 1941, in Alexandria, White met Manoly Lascaris, a Greek Alexandrian who was to become "the central mandala" in his life. Their loving partnership was to last until White's death in 1990, despite White's self-confessed jealousy and violent rages. Lascaris' unshakeable Greek Orthodox faith was a stable point which attracted White, himself, always a restless spiritual seeker. White spent a year on duty in Athens following its liberation and became a lifelong Grecophile. The country's mix of mythology, history and physical beauty and the fatalistic, complex psychology of its people spoke to his own intense temperament. By 1948, White and Lascaris were living at Castle Hill, then seen as being outside Sydney. White's mother was now living in London. At a time when so many Australian artists and writers were becoming expatriates, White's decision to live and work in Australia was of vital importance to the development of Australian culture. Lascaris had wanted to leave Greece, and post-war London seemed like a graveyard to White. The Australian landscape drew him back, along with the flourishing art world that he discovered in Sydney and the plentiful food, in contrast with rationed London. "Anyone who has experienced hunger will remember a destroyer of the spirit even greater than lust," he recalls. Members of Lascaris' family had starved to death during the German occupation of Greece. Several years of despair following World War II gave way to a revived faith in a creative divinity. White's epic narrative, The Tree of Man, in which a lifetime of struggle ends with an affirmation of faith, was published in 1955. Deeply romantic by nature, White was a romantic modernist like many artists and writers whose work retained the mystic or transcendental strain of northern European romanticism, while fully absorbing the devastation of the two World Wars. Romantic modernism recognises the upheavals and horrors of the 20th century but clings to spiritual hope. Voss was published in 1957 to great acclaim; Riders in the Chariot, which coincided with, and contributed to, the high tide of visionary romantic modernism in Australia followed. This huge metaphysical novel envisages an Australia in which Aboriginal, Christian and Jewish mysticism meet and recognise one another.

Published in 1961, Riders in the Chariot shows remarkable insight into the experience of Aboriginal children who were taken from their mothers. In the boyhood of his Aboriginal painter character Alf Dubbo, White evokes the double standard which turned a blind eye to white men fathering unacknowledged children with Aboriginal women. White outlines the assumptions that those children would be better off in white society; the children's vulnerability to abuse in their foster homes; and the passive powerlessness of the children, with no-one to trust or turn to. Dubbo's adulthood is an account of homelessness, alienation, loss of cultural identity, mental anguish, repeated betrayals by white society, alcohol abuse and early death through disease. White, in this novel, also expresses his contempt for the corrupting, contaminating effect of commercialism on Aboriginal creativity. White and Lascaris moved to Centennial Park in Sydney's exclusive eastern suburbs in 1964. In the big white house at Martin Road, White completed The Solid Mandala, and wrote The Vivisector, his portrait of a visual artist based on a number of artists he knew including Francis Bacon, Roy de Maistre and Sidney Nolan. Published in 1970, the novel was thought to be in the running for a Nobel Prize but it was apparently judged to be too bleak. White succeeded in winning the 1973 Nobel Prize for his next novel, The Eye of the Storm, about old age and revelation. A Fringe of Leaves, based on the historical events of a 19th century shipwreck off the Queensland coast, followed. White's last novels were The Twyborn Affair and Memoirs of Many in One. During the decades at Martin Road, White became one of Sydney's legendary figures with his looming, charismatic presence, his unmistakable voice unlike any other, his piercing gaze, his uncompromising forthrightness, his rages and the obvious intensity of his being. Only a strictly disciplined work regime allowed White to satisfy his need for solitude and silence, and his equally strong need for frequent trips back to Europe and for the creative stimulation and refreshing amusement to be found in the company of his fellow artists in any medium. FALLING OUT

Many of his friends still missed his tart wit, his love of gossip and his generosity. Everyone wanted to know White but psychological vivisection by that scalpel eye was a danger. Victims included such old friends as comedian Barry Humphries, writer Geoffrey Dutton and Sidney Nolan. Nolan and White shared a dynamic friendship for more than 20 years. They were both passionate about Rimbaud, French modern painting and Greece. Both reinterpreted the history and mythology of the European explorers of Australia,

Patrick White

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sharing a feeling for their vulnerability, courage and arrogance . Nolan's paintings provide the landscape for Voss, the armature of A Fringe of Leaves, and significantly influenced The Vivisector and The Eye of the Storm. It was highly appropriate that Nolan accepted White's Nobel Prize on his behalf in Sweden in 1973. But White's beloved friend Cynthia, Nolan's wife, committed suicide in 1976 and the friendship between White and Nolan ran aground. White attacked the painter in Flaws in the Glass; Nolan responded with a savage homophobic painting of White and Lascaris. The ability to enter imaginatively into the psyches of his characters is White's forte. He himself felt fragmented, made up of many in one, able "to range through every variation of the human mind, to play so many roles in so many contradictory envelopes of flesh". Stage-struck from youth and his days as a "stagedoor Johnny" in London, White wrote plays as well as novels for the characters that inhabited his head. The best known include: The Ham Funeral; The Season at Sarsaparilla; A Cheery Soul; and Big Toys. Lascaris was always apprehensive about the writer's forays into the world of the theatre. White's temperament became particularly volatile in that exciting hothouse environment. He developed close working relationships and friendships with the theatre director Jim Sharman and popular actors including Kerry Walker and Kate Fitzpatrick.

Everything was grist to White's mill. His own childhood reappears in many guises in his novels, in all its asthmatic, solitary angst and aspiration. The family drama is played over and over, with variations. The same four basic "sets" (two childhood homes, and the houses at Castle Hill and at Centennial Park) are rearranged to accommodate a multitude of scenarios. Overseas haunts, such as London and Greece, are also used. White asserted the characters in his books arose from his unconscious, all aspects of himself but also borrowed from neighbours, friend and foe, and whomever crossed his path. For example, many of the supporting cast in The Vivisector are recognisable characters in the Sydney art world. Characters belonging to Lascaris' extended, complicated family add to the throng. White's huge imaginative life never ceased; every night he dreamt vividly, and those dreams flowed into his writing. In addition to the plays and novels, White also wrote a number of short stories, most of which are collected in The Burnt Ones and The Cockatoos. He said he hated writing, but had no choice, that the novels forced their way out of him. In 1974, he opened the Henry Lawson Festival of Arts, held in Lawson's birthplace, Grenfell, New South Wales (NSW ), and took the opportunity to reiterate his romantic understanding of the creative spirit. Lawson, he said of the famous writer and poet, was "a tortured manic depressive soul like many other artists.

Artist Sidney Nolan shared a dynamic friendship with Whit e before t hey fell out ABOVE LEFT

White was an active participant {sixth from left) in anti-nuclear m arches in t he early 1980s

ABOVE

Australia's Nobel Laureates

White and poet Judith Wright attend a nuclear arms meeting at the University of Melbourne

He said he hated writing, but had no choice, that the novels forced their way out of him.

I know this is an unfashionably romantic view of the creative artist, but I think the fashionable option has been developed largely by intellectuals with little of the artist in them. " White once described himself as "a skeleton at the Australian feast". He raged against what he saw as Australian complacency, insularity, hypocrisy and materialism. "A pragmatic nation, we tend to confuse reality with surfaces. Perhaps this dedication to surface is why we are constantly fooled by the crooks who mostly govern us. " PASSIONATE CRUSADER

White devoted more and more time to political and environmental issues, although it took him away from his work. He was deeply involved with the battle to save Fraser Island, in south Queensland and the largest sand island in the world. He supported the Green Bans of Jack Mundey, the leader of the NSW Builders' Labourers Federation who led industrial actions to help protect some prominent Sydney buildings from over-development. He gave the keynote address at the inaugural meeting of People for Nuclear Disarmament and continued to be a frequent marcher and speaker at their rallies. _White also gave much practical support to the Aboriginal Treaty Committee and to the Aboriginal Dance Theatre. In White's vision , there can be no true culture or "home" in Australia for non-indigenous

Australians without reconciliation with the Aboriginal "spirit of the land" and th e original inhabitants. He profoundly desired an Australian culture free of overwhelming British influence, in which there would be room for the voices of all comers - an expanding fusion and profusion of every-growing complexity and richness. White did everything he could to foster this development. He was a generous patron to young artists, and he gave some 250 works to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Having won a number of literary prizes, he decided in 1967 to accept no more (in order to give other writers a go) and turned down the Miles Franklin and the $10,000 Britannica Award in that year. Suspicious of honours, he turned down a knighthood and, later, an Order of Australia. He did accept the Nobel Prize in 1973 but then used all the money to establish an annual literary award for older Australian writers who had not received their due recognition. White died in 1990 after a bronchial collapse fol lowing a lifetime of chronic asthma. In an epigraph to Patrick White Speaks, a 1989 collection of articles and public addresses by White, the poet and critic Dorothy Green expressed the feelings of many when she wrote: "What interests me most about this book is its consistency with the novels - the moral stance is firm from the beginning. "As novelist and citizen, Patrick White is the voice of our country's conscience. He begs us to search our hearts." Helen Verity Hewitt's book, Patrick White: Painter Manque, was published by Melbourne University Press in 2002.

ED ITOR'S NO T E

The State Library of New South purchased a collection of 11 letters and three postcards from Patrick White to Ragnar Christophersen, an old school friend from Cheltenham College. The correspondence, covering the years from January 7 1973 to February 15 1981, was opened to the library in August 2010. Christophersen is professor of English at Oslo University. Th e letters, says the state library's head of manuscripts, Tracy Bradford, in The Sydney Morning Herald, reveal White as "a glass halfempty" kind of correspondent. To support this description, the library's own magazine mentions White calling the Nobel Prize in Literature "a farc e", his hatred of England's spa town, Cheltenham, and his despair of Australian politics. He does, however, write about London as the place "where I really belong". 'All quotations. unless otherwise indicated, from White's 1981 autobiography Flaws in the Glass.

Patrick White

Australia's Nobel Laureates

A crippling ear disease

that left him deprived of hearing did not stop John Cornforth in his quest to uncover the wonders of science. Known to his friends as "Kappa", John Warcup Cornforth was born September 7 1917, in Sydney. His father was a British-born school teacher of English and classics and an Oxford graduate; his mother was a hospital nurse and descended from a German minister who had settled in New South Wales (NSW) in 1832. John was the second of fo ur children. He started suffering the first signs of deafness, cause by the progressive disease otosclerosis, at age 10. By the time he was 20 the bone growth near his middle ear meant Cornforth was unable to hear and had permanent tinnitus, or a ringing in his ears. However, he developed a profound insight into aspects of both nature and human nature that would eventually lead him to the pinnacle of scientific attainment: the Nobel Prize. Cornforth's childhood was spent in Sydney and in the rural surrounds of Armidale, in the New England region of NSW, where his later fascination for understanding the natural world was gradually awakening. "Looking back at the time some 70 years ago when the love of science took hold of me, I think of no big event but of many small things that influenced me," he once recalled. He says as a child he read books and learned lessons but did not have much curiosity about the natural world. This began to change when he looked at the stars- in fact, he became known for his ability to tell time by the stars - and he says he entered science through astronomy.

At Sydney Boys High School, a young chemistry teacher, Leonard Basser, captured and inspired Cornforth's eager mind, encouraging him both to think and to experiment. His deafness was encroaching and chemistry appeared to be a profession he could pursue in spite of it. A LAUNDRY LABORATORY At 14, Cornforth constructed a small chemistry laboratory at home in his mother's laundry and was conducting his own experiments with a sense of growing absorption and fascination that never deserted him. "At the time one could buy small amounts of many common chemicals and I made a little laboratory at home, with improvised equipment to study chemical reactions," he said. "I soon discovered that the organic chemicals were the most interesting. With the help of a textbook on practical organic chemistry I made many preparations using cheap chemicals to prepare those that were too expensive to buy. "This was more satisfying than astronomy: you could change things by your own effort. At that time I was rapidly losing my hearing so I suppose the work attracted me also for its impact on the other senses: the beauty of crystals and distilled liquids, the colours of dyes and smells - both good and bad." Cornforth saw himself as a craftsman of the fundamental components of nature. "As a carpenter or carver learns to work with the grain of wood or bone, I learned that each substance has its own nature and

John Warcup Cornforth

can be easy or difficult to handle according to the procedure chosen," he said. "I began to see experiments as I see them now, not only as procedures to answer questions or to make compounds but as opportunities to observe wha t happens and to learn from mistakes." John Cornforth was well ahead of his years at school and entered Sydney University at the age of 16. By this time he was unable to hear any lectures and became an accomplished lip reader. He was also blessed with an extraordinary visua l memory and learned a great deal from handbooks and journals. Many of them were in German, which he did not know, but he found a German dictionary and looked up each word until he understood them all. Cornforth says that reading the original scientific literature helped him to become a scientist because it showed the evidence behind the things that he was being taught - and some of this evidence was wrong. "The most liberating thing was the realisation that the literature wasn't entirely correct," he said . "It gave me q uite a shock at first and then a thrill, because I can set this right. Always, and ever since, I've relied upon the primary literature exclusively. I don't believe a word I ever read in any textbook. I began to see science as a continuous process of discovery and correction and myself as a part of this process." During his life at un iversity there came a second moment of revelation, this time on a bush walk in the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney with friends. "One morning we were resting beside a river," he

said. "I turned over so that my face was close to the grass and I began to count all the d ifferent kinds of plants that I could see. There were more than 20, all different, each beautiful in its own way. For me this was a kind of conversion because I had never looked at things in that way before. This was really the beginning of my curiosity about living things." Cornforth says he brought back from this walk some fruits including wild grapes and some berries with a bitter taste. He took them into the laboratory and extracted pure compounds from them. "This was not a very good way to study the chemistry of life but I began to be interested in the life sciences and to read biological text books," he said. "At that time they mostly described and classified things that nobody understood. But later, when I started to work with life scientists, I could understand their viewpoints and could use my chemistry to solve problems that interested us all. After that experience I started to look at what constituents of plants I could extract."

ABOVE LEFT Armidale in 1924 where Cornforth spent his early childhood ABOVE

John Cornforth

I began to see science as a

continuous process of discovery and correction and myself as a part of this process. 91

Australia's Nobel Laureates

John Warcup Cornforth

Cornforth continued to be enthralled by the breadth and complexity of chemistry. "What you can do is to form in your mind a pattern of what is possible and what is not possible in chemistry," he said. "This helps you to make new compounds and to understand new reactions and structures. When the literature or one of your own experiments presents you with a new fact, you compare it with the pattern in your mind. Often the new fact fits into the pattern easily and reinforces it but sometimes the fact does not fit." Cornforth says that when this happens, you check and sometimes you find that a mistake had been made. But if there is no mistake you must change your pattern to fit the new fact and you learn more about science on these occasions than at any other time. BURNING QUESTIONS

Science for Cornforth begins with curiosity. "You ask questions, you read what other people have written and then you begin to find ways of answering your own questions," he said. "You never stop learning." For Cornforth, knowing the fundamentals of how something was made or worked never detracted from, but rather magnified its wonder. "Keats once said that Newton's explanation of the rainbow killed the beauty of it for him. But for me, what I know about nature simply enhances the beauty of it. I am sorry for the people who look at a flower and don't understand anything at all about what is going on." It is not unusual for Cornforth to quote poets or poetry. He says: "I use poetry as a substitute for music. I have no particular vocabulary of music in my head, but I have thousands of lines of poetry that I can recall as I like. The curious thing is that some pieces I have known for 65 years or more. And when I recall them, I find that I have sometimes improved them!" The young Cornforth was also well known for his ability to produce limericks on demand. In 1937, Cornforth graduated with first-class honours and the Sydney University medal. Along the way, he had also acquired his nickname "Kappa", which came from a habit of scratching the Greek let-

ter into his laboratory glassware to stop ABOVE LEFT The young Cornforth at Sydney Boys High School fellow students from "borrowing" it, as he said. ABOVE Cornforth (second from left} with teachers and fellow After a year of postgraduate research students at Sydney Boys High he was awarded an 1851 Exhibition School Scholarship to work at Oxford with Robert MAIN IMAGE The Blue Mountains Robinson (who was later to nominate his near Sydney where Cornforth colleague for the Nobel Prize). had a revelation that led to his Only two of these prized scholarships curiosity about living things were given in Australia each year. The other went to fellow student Rita Harradence, also of Sydney and also an organic chemist. In Sydney, both Cornforth and Harradence had been working in a laboratory designed by Robinson, who had become Sydney University's first professor of pure and applied organic chemistry after he arrived there from England in 1912. Cornforth and Harradence met for the first time after she had a small accident with a valuable piece of laboratory equipment - a Claisen flask - which was difficult to come by in those days. As a keen improviser of equipment, Cornforth had adapted an old Bunsen burner tube and taught himself to blow glass. By this stage he had earned a reputation as a glass blower and equipped himself with a proper blowpipe for the job. One of Rita's friends suggested she get him to perform the repair, which he duly did. It was the beginning of a lifetime partnership in which Harradance became his co-researcher in the chemistry lab, his ears and often his interpreter in communicating with others. Both also belonged to the Sydney University Bushwalkers Club, and walking remains one of Cornforth's abiding passions. In a reminiscence for the club's archives, Cornforth recalls: "The longest day's march I ever did was when (another keen member) Dick Welch and I arrived early one Sunday morning at Jenolan and found that

John Warcup Cornforth

Australia's Nobel Laureates

we couldn't get transport that day. We wanted to be in Sydney by Monday and we knew that a train to Sydney left Mt Victoria around midnight and we decided to catch it; the walk was around 70 kilometres if I remember right. We made it, and fell asleep in our seats on the way back while out leg muscles stiffened. It was agony to get going again ... I remember saying to Dick around the middle of the walk: 'Tomorrow, we'll be laughing like hell at ourselves' and this was true. And I've never lost the taste for walking acquired in those days, and still walk around eight kilometres a day." In 1941, Cornforth and Harradence married. They have three children and several grandchildren. It was through Cornforth's grandchildren that he discovered he had an unusual talent, given his profound deafness. "Sometimes my grandchildren have asked me to sing, and although I've explained to them that I can't sing they made me try," he said. "Apparently I can produce a melody quite accurately from something that I heard when I could hear. How that happens I don't know." Everything for Cornforth always came back to Rita. The husband-and-wife team ended up collaborating on 41 scientific papers. "Throughout my scientific career, my wife has been my most constant collaborator," Cornforth said. "Her experimental skill made major contributions to the work. She has eased for me beyond measure the difficulties of communication that accompany deafness; her encouragement and fortitude have been my strongest supports." War broke out as Cornforth and Rita journeyed to Oxford, his father's alma mater, and after completing their work on steroid synthesis for doctorates, they became part of the chemical effort on penicillin, which was the major chemical project in Robinson's laboratory during the war. "We made contributions and I helped to write The Chemistry of Penicillin (Princeton University Press, 1949), the record of a great international effort," Cornforth said. Among his most satisfying personal contributions to the chemistry of penicillin, Cornforth recalls the penicillamine story. At the time the research team was getting a pure penicillin preparation to be able to break up the molecule in various ways and penicillamine was an important fragment. Penicillamine is a chelating agent, that is, it attaches to other chemicals in the body and aids in their removal. Penicillamine is now used to remove excess copper associated with the genetic disorder, Wilson's disease. It is also used to treat severe rheumatoid arthritis. "Analysis indicated the penicillin preparation only had five carbon atoms and Robinson immediately wrote a comprehensive table of the structures that it could be," Cornforth said. "But he was misled by one piece of analytical evidence, which was what

used to be called the C-methyl determination. Using the Kuhn-Roth oxidation method you boil the substance you are analysing with chromic and sulphuric (sic) acid and then you distil over any acetic acid that has been formed from that oxidation. "The amount of acetic acid was supposed to represent the number of methyl groups attached to a carbon atom. Because penicillamine gave hardly any acetic acid in that assay, they didn't like any formulae that had a methyl group. But that made it very difficult to think of a formula at all. "Robinson saw what he thought was the least improbable formula and he asked Rita and me to synthesise it," Cornforth said. "I had to visit Manchester at about this time and on the way up, it occurred to me that penicillamine might have too many methyl groups, not too few." Subsequent experiments proved he was right. After the war ended Cornforth returned to his earlier work on the synthesis of the organic molecules, sterols. His close collaboration with Robinson continued after he and Rita joined the scientific staff of the Medical Research Council and worked at its National Institute, first at Hampstead in north London and then at Mill Hill on the outskirts. By 1951 , Cornforth and Robinson were able to complete, simultaneously with Woodward at Harvard, the first total synthesis of the non-aromatic steroids. Steroids are a class of naturally occurring organic substances and their derivatives that are of great importance in biology, medicine and chemistry. However, Cornforth and Robinson were always more than mere collaborators in the laboratory; they shared a close friendship that lasted until Robinson's death in 1975. "The nature of our friendship was a continuous sequence of differences of opinion," Cornforth said in 1985. "He was an argumentative person and I have known the same thing to be said of myself." At the National Institute for Medical Research, Cornforth came into contact with biological scientists and formed collaborative projects with several of them. In particular, he shared an interest in cholesterol with George Popjak. They began to collaborate in studies of its synthesis in living organisms. This was the beginning of what Cornforth recalls as the richest and most fulfilling period of his career. "I spent 16 of the best years of my life in an extraordinary place, the National Institute for Medical Research, and I know to what extent scientific advances are the product of an ambience created by many people, not just the few who tend to have the best ideas. "At this time Konrad Bloch was beginning his work on the biosynthesis of the sterols and Popjak and I began to conduct experiments in which the disciplines of chemistry and biochemistry could be applied." In 1962, Cornforth and Popjak left the Medical Research Council and became co-directors of the Milstead Laboratory of Chemical Enzymology set

Analysing chemical properties led to Cornforth's Nobel Prize. His special interest was enzyme-catalysed reactions

up by Shell Research. Lord Rothschild helped establish the laboratory and Cornforth worked under him until Rothschild left Shell in 1970. At Milstead, a project was developed that looked at the study of the stereochemistry of enzymic reactions. Stereochemistry is the study of how the properties of a chemical compound are affected by the spatial arrangement of atoms in molecules and complexes. Not only can a compound have more than one geometric form, but chemical reactions can also have specificity in their stereochemistry, thereby forming a product with a particular three-dimensional arrangement of the atoms. This is especially true of reactions in living organisms. Cornforth mainly studied enzyme-catalysed reactions. Stereocheinically-specific reactions have great practical importance, as many drugs, for example, are active only in one particular geometric form. Cornforth's stereochemistry work continued after 1968 when Popjak left Milstead to go to the University of California in Los Angeles. In 1975, the same year that Rita chose to retire, Cornforth left Shell to take up a position as Royal Society research professor at the University of Sussex. Cornforth's work at Milstead led directly to the 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for clarifying the

stereochemical control of enzymic relations. Some substrates for enzymes contain carbon atoms that become chiral - left- or right-handed in structure when one of the attached hydrogen atoms is replaced by deuterium (an isotope of hydrogen that has twice the mass of ordinary hydrogen). This labels the compound, and examination of the label in the product can throw important light on the reaction mechanism. One problem was how to measure the tiny optical activity generated by replacing one hydrogen with deuterium in otherwise symmetrical molecules. (Later it became possible to make methyl groups chiral by using all three hydrogen isotopes and to measure the chirality without using optical rotation.) OPTICAL ASSISTANCE

"It was necessary to measure the optical activity and looking at all the methods that were available, I could see that it was going to be nearly impossible," Cornforth said. "I wrote to a friend in Australia who was an expert in optics and I asked him whether there was anything in the pipeline for measuring very small optical activity. "He told me to go to the National Physical Laboratory as they were evolving a prototype. It was a

John Warcup Cornforth

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Analysing chemical properties led to Cornforth's Nobel Prize. His special interest was enzyme-catalysed reactions

Australi a's Nobel Laureates

Cornforth at

Sydney University.

As for the ceremony, I couldn't hear a word of what was said. I amused myself by looking around at the audience.

marvellous instrument but it was a las h-up of all kinds of components. We did our bio-chemistry and chemistry and got two specimens of mono-deuterio succinic acid in which the molecules are mirror images of each others. We had a few milligrams of each of these and we also had a third specimen which we had much more of, which was made from a prod uct in which we were sure of the stereochemistry. "We took these three specimens to the N ational Physical Laboratory at Teddington (on London's edge) and they did the optical rotations. They came out bea utifully. The two dispersion curves of the two compounds were mirror images of each other, one going up Like this, the other going down like that, a perfect dispersion. I think that's the day I remember with the most pleasure in my experimental life." There came another memorable day when, sho rtly after Cornforth had moved from Shell to the Un iversity of Sussex in 1975, his wife Rita telephoned to tell him she had just heard it announced on the BBC news that he had been awarded a No bel Prize for his work.

"I was quite surprised," he said. "I had estimated my chances at about one in three. As for the ceremony, I couldn't hear a word of what was said. I amused myself by looking around at the audience. It was in this sports sta dium, an enormous place, because the town hall was being refurbished but I could see in the darkness of the auditorium these flashes of bright light. They kept on like this and I couldn't make out what they were . And finall y I realised all the women were wearing jewels, and that was what was causing the flashes of light. That was the thing I remember most of all from the ceremony." As well as a gold medal and prize money, obel Prize recipients receive a personal diploma depicting their achievement. Cornforth's diploma had a drawing of two molecules, which were supposed to be the mirror-image forms of acetic acid . Associate professor Damon Ridley, who spent study leave in 1978-79 with Cornforth, said: "But the cartoonist drew two identical structures, so the certificate has a scientific flaw. This appeals to Kappa's sense of humour. " In 1977, Cornforth's Nobel Prize was followed by a British knighthood, which came after wide professional recognition of his skills as a scientist. Memorable for others was Cornforth's brief yet powerful speech of acknowledgement on behalf of himself, Vladimir Prelog, and their colleagues: "That our work has been considered worthy of such distinction is a great satisfaction to us both but I think that we derive equal satisfaction from the sense of being nvo in the great company of those who approach the truth. " In a world where it is so easy to neglect, deny, corrupt and suppress the truth, the scientist may find his discipline severe. For him, truth is so seldom the sudden light that shows new order or beauty; more often, truth is the tmcharted rock that sinks his ship in the dark. He respects all the more those who can accept that condition; and in returning thanks tonight we are saluting all those who made out load lighter by sharing it. "

EDITOR'S NOTE

John Cornforth still lives in East Sussex in the south of England, where he pursues his recreational joys of chess, tennis and gardening (Who's Who in Australia 201 0}.

REFERENCES

Cornforth .NY, Autobiographical notes Cornforth JW, Becoming a Scientist Cornforth JW, Scientists as Citizens, address to the Royal Australian Chemical Insti tute, 1992 Nobel Museum, biography and Nobel Encyclopaedia Britannica speech Royal Swecish Academy of Sciences, press release, October 17 1975 Thomas R, Interview with Sir John Cornforth, Vega Science Trust 2001 WW>N.usyd.ecu.au/abouVpublication/ gazette/ featureslnobel.shtm (used for first volume only; no longer available)

John Warcup Cornforth

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Research into certain diseases was heading down the wrong track until Peter Doherty's work on immune responses was released.

Peter Doherty has always regarded himself as somewhat of a misfit; invariably out-of-sync with his circumstances. He has always loved the icons of Australian outdoor life, the sun and surf, yet as a boy he was invariably forced indoors by an Irish-inherited complexion that rapidly turned him lobster red in the sun . On leaving university he was a veterinarian when he wanted to be a researcher and, 40 years later, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist with no time to be the novelist that he had aspired to become. His academic interests at school had been literature and history, but he also excelled in physics and chemistry and he felt these were more likely to find him a good job. He was tempted by marine biology, but a visit to an open day at the University of Queensland's Veterinary School settled the matter. From an early age, this tendency to walk adjacent to, rather than on, the routine path occupied by his peers shaped him into an avid, liberal reader and observer to which was added a dash of Irish rebel- all handy ingredients for someone drawn to the allure of bold ideas and scientific discovery. .Peter Doherty is quite willing to use the clout that a Nobel Prize bestows to push the cause of science and education in the political arena and in the community generally.

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Doherty's story still has some distance to run. However, in the meantime, he is an intriguing living history; a person whose experiences are still touchable by aspiring young scientists looking for a role model. He did not follow the ordered career paths of predecessors like John Eccles and Frank Macfarlane Burnet, but he has triumphed as an individual who refused to be subdued by the jealousies of university politics. Peter Doherty was born on October 15 1940 in Brisbane as the eldest son of Eric Doherty, a telephone mechanic and administrator, and Linda Byford, a piano teacher. The family lived in a tough outer suburb of Brisbane where he went to the Indooroopilly State School. Near his home a cement works caked everyone and everything in grey dust, providing a reason to stay inside to read and soak up the sounds of his mother's passion for classical piano. EARLY INFLUENCES

He recalls: "There was always music in the house including Chopin, Debussy and Beethoven, and books, so my early influences were classical composers, reading and the wireless. When I look back, the ABC had a very strong influence on me. I still remember being absolutely moved, listening to a program one day on Icelandic sagas. I think that's the key to education- being able to reach and intrigue a child."

Peter Charles Doherty

At school Doherty says he was good at science, bored by maths, and passionate about history and ideas. These ideas came from books, people and exploring art galleries. His interest in artistic expression saw him buy a second-hand Leica camera and even build his own darkroom and enlarger. "I was interested in learning and creativity because I think I realised even then that education was a way up, and a way out." Even so, school life was tough. It was authoritarian and Doherty, then and still, had never been one to acquiesce to authority or dogma, which made his entry into university absolutely liberating. He says: "It was a transformation for me, a real freedom to learn and explore like never before." He was influenced by authors as diverse as Aldous Huxley, Jean Paul Sartre and Ernest Hemingway and it was reading Hemingway that resolved him to be "the man of action rather than the philosopher", which is why he decided to study veterinary science. "I was also going through a religious phase and captivated by the whole 'feeding the world' ideal, and veterinary science seemed one way to play a part. Of course, I was just 17 years old and would probably have made a very different decision had I been more mature." Doherty graduated with his BVSc in 1962 from the

University of Queensland and because he had been supported by a bonded government scholarship, he was required to spend several years working as a rural veterinary officer. He was keen to do laboratorybased research and made the mistake of saying so. His employer, the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock, promptly sent him to the country as a rural veterinary officer. It was reading Hemingway that resolved him to be "the man of action rather than the philosopher. "I spent some months driving large distances to perform post-mortems on cattle and pigs that had died of unknown causes and to survey cattle for various venereal diseases. This resulted in the diagnosis of Trichomoniasis in an area where it was thought that complete eradication had been achieved. Realising that I was a danger to their regulatory effort, the Department quickly brought me back to the state veterinary laboratory, the Animal Research Institute (ARI) at Yeerongpilly." At the ARI he undertook an epidemiological study of the bacterial infection of livestock, bovine leptospirosis, and a thesis on this was later the basis for his masters degree. At the ARI was a young microbiologist-- Penelope Stephens -who had been contracted to develop a viral diagnostic service. They graduated about the same time and she was his first real girlfriend. They married in 1965.

Rolf Zinkernagel, who shared the Nobel Prize with Doherty, gets tongue tied

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Peter Charles Doherty

A LUCKY SIDETRACK

Their findings demonstrated conclusively the need for the cellular immune system to recognise simultaneously both llforeign" molecules and self' molecules. II

ABOVE Immunology experiments at the John Curtin School of Medical Research

Still determined to be a research experimentalist, Doherty responded one day to an advertisement in Nature magazine for a training post in experimental pathology at the Moredun Research Institute in Edinburgh. He got the job, which also allowed him to enrol as a part-time PhD student with the University of Edinburgh. While there, he helped to run a diagnostic neuropathology program for the Scottish Veterinary Investigation Service and undertook a research project on the tickborne, encephalomyelitis virus. The thesis earned him his Edinburgh PhD in 1970 - just three years before his historic work back in Australia that would lead to the Nobel Prize. While in Scotland, Penny worked at the Institute of Animal Genetics until they decided to start a family and, in a few years, they were the parents of two boys. Doherty and his family thoroughly enjoyed the life in Scotland. Doherty recalls: "For the first time, I could spend the whole day outside without the penalty of sunburn. Our long vacations were used for camping holidays in Europe, including our first trip to Scandinavia and Stockholm with a young child in the back of a Volkswagen van."

The family considered staying in Britain permanently but Doherty was keen to learn more about the developing field of immunology and the John Curtin School of Medical Research (]CSMR) in Canberra was the place to do it. "I was actually supposed to come back to work with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) at Geelong (Australian Animal Health Laboratory) but decided to go to Canberra first to learn more about immunology, and then join the CSIRO. Well, of course, we made our great discovery and got stuck, otherwise I probably would have spent the rest of my career happily in Geelong." Instead, Doherty was awarded the Nobel Prize when in 1996 he and a former colleague, Rolf M Zinkernagel, were recognised in the category of Physiology or Medicine. The Prize was awarded for groundbreaking research, carried out in 1973-74, that fundamentally changed medical science's understanding of immune response. "It was a classic science story," Doherty says. "Both Rolf and I were interested in trying to see exactly how an infected micro-organism actually causes damage and disease, which meant finding out a way to quantitate the cellular invasion. "By chance, an American researcher, Richard Carp, was visiting as part of his research into scrapie (a sheep disease) and we got chatting. He explained how he collected cerebral spinal fluid (from mice) where it accumulated at the back of the brain. This provided us with a source of cells in which a viral invasion could be quantitated." Doherty and Zinkernagel discovered that white blood cells (lymphocytes) must recognise both an invading virus and certain "self" molecules - the so-called major histocompatibility (MHC) antigens - in order to kill the virus-infected cells. This concept of simultaneous recognition of both "self" and "foreign" molecules now forms the basis for a new understanding of the cellular immune system. At the time they began their research, it had already been discerned how antibodies, the circulating defence molecules, recognise and kill targets such as bacteria. It was far less well understood, however, how the white blood cells recognise and kill virusinfected cells without destroying the normal uninfected cells. Another mystery was the reason behind nature's creation of immunological uniqueness, the small, but important differences that exist between molecules called transplantation antigens, which white blood cells recognise as "self" or "foreign". These differences were a major obstacle to organ transplants. In their research, the two scientists were able to use the mice to study how the immune system, and particularly T-lymphocytes (a sub-set of white blood cells), could protect animals against infection from a virus able to cause meningitis. Doherty calls T-lymphocytes the "hit men" of the immune system. The infected mice developed these killer T-lymphocytes, which in a test-tube could kill virus-infected cells.

But there was an unexpected discovery: the T-lymphocytes, even though they were reactive against that particular virus, were not able to kill virus-infected cells from another strain of mice. What decided whether or not a cell was eliminated by these killer lymphocytes was not only if they were infected with the virus but also if they carried the "correct" variant of histocompatibility antigens those of the infected mouse itself. Zinkernagel's and Doherty's findings, which were published in Nature in 1974, demonstrated conclusively the need for the cellular immune system to recognise simultaneously both "foreign" molecules and "self" molecules. It became possible for the first time to understand that the true function of transplantation antigens was not to provide an obstacle to transplantation. Instead, their function is to bind and present molecules from viruses and other micro-organisms to white blood cells in such a way that the white blood cells understand whether they should become aggressive or stay calm. As a consequence it became obvious how each individual, thanks to his or her unique set of transplantation antigens, also carries his or her unique immune system. It also became possible to understand why evolution had created these large immunological differences between individuals within a species. Immunological diversity is advantageous for the individual and the species. Thus, there will always be some individuals who survive even the most severe epidemics. In return, individuals carrying a certain variant of transplantation antigens have an increased susceptibility to autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis and this is possibly the

Julie Macklin, JCSMR, ANU

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price they pay for their forefathers having survived a severe epidemic. Doherty and Zinkernagel's explanation of the self and not-self selectivity of the immune system advanced research in many clinical areas. It led to advances in therapeutic efforts to strengthen the immune response against invading micro-organisms and certain forms of cancer, and to efforts to diminish the effects of auto-immune reactions in inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatic conditions, multiple sclerosis and diabetes. It has also proved to be a great advance in the field of organ transplants. In an interview with science writer Roger Beckmann for the Australian Academy of Science, Doherty provided his own explanation of his research: "It shows us that the immune system can recognise a third state - an altered self - as well as self and non-self. When a virus had infected a cell and the cell is displaying viral antigens in addition to its own, it has become altered self. That's what's recognised and dealt with rather than the viral antigens per se. The point is that the body treats altered self in much the same way as non-self. A virally modified cell is destroyed in the same way that a transplanted cell from another individual would be. "People were wondering why the body should have a system for combating transplanted tissue when this state clearly never BELOW LEFT Then prime arises in nature. minister of Australia "We suggested that the recognition of alJohn Howard, with Doherty loantigens, that is MHC antigens differing BELow With professor from your own, was there not to frustrate Suzanne Cory of The Walter transplant surgeons but to help the body and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research 'see' altered self." The essential importance

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Peter Charles Doherty

A LUCKY SIDETRACK

Their findings demonstrated conclusively the need for the cellular immune system to recognise simultaneously both llforeign" molecules and self' molecules. II

ABOVE Immunology experiments at the John Curtin School of Medical Research

Julie Macklin, JCSMR, ANU

102

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute

103

Australia's Nobel Laureates

of the work is that it changed the entire direction of research into diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and even AIDS - research that was going down the wrong path. It opened up crucial new fields of study that now occupy thousands of medical scientists around the world who are consequently getting much closer to understanding and combating some of humanity's most devastating diseases. The research gave medicine a crucial step forward, although it is not just the scientific advance that has made Doherty and Zinkernagel's collaboration folkloric in the annals of Australian science. The real reason they are said to have teamed up in the beginning was that Zinkernagelliked to sing arias from The Marriage of Figaro and Doherty, an aficionado of classical music, was said to be the only other person happy to share such an operatic workspace. Then, despite the significance of their research being quickly recognised around the world, the two scientists, Doherty in particular, found themselves unwanted in Australia.

We never set out to make our discovery- we weren't aiming in that direction at all. But when we found so:rllething unexpected we followed it.

NO VACANCIES

Doherty's position at the university was only temporary and when he applied for a permanent job he was told quite bluntly that there was not one. Both men subsequently went to the United States- Zinkernagel because he had intended to move there anyway, but Doherty because he needed a job. For him, it was a move forced by institutional bloody mindedness and jealously. In a 2002 interview with journalist Luke Slattery for The Australian Magazine, Doherty recalled: "We made this big discovery. It was very exciting. And of course with a lot of very bright people who were a bit prima donna-ish really, there was a lot of resentment too. The difference between that institution and an American institution is that if you'd made a really big discovery like that they would have done everything possible to keep you. These guys were really glad to see us walk out the door." Doherty was 34 with a young family, and so he accepted an offer to work in Philadelphia as associate professor at the medical research and training Wistar Institute in Philadelphia. He quickly became involved with the highly regarded Immunology Graduate Group that worked closely with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. After the disappointment of his rejection at home, the time in Philadelphia was fulfilling and rewarding. "The Wistar/Penn axis was a highly interactive, and very open, intellectual environment," he remembers. "I collaborated extensively ... and was part of a large, campus-wide multiple sclerosis research effort. Penny went back to school, and developed a new career in the area of drug information. I wrote grants, was a member of the immunology circuit, worked with outstanding graduate students and became an established ascientist and academic. OSTRACISED

Receiving an honorary doctorate from the chancellor of the University of Technology, Sydney, Sir Gerard Brennan, 2003

Buoyed by the direction his career had now taken, Doherty's confidence was up again, so much so that, "I made the major mistake of accepting an offer to return to the JCSMR as head of the Department of Experimental Pathology. However, my decision was made on emotional grounds rather than on the basis of what was actually being offered." Basically there was not enough money to go around and what funding there was, according to Doherty, was not distributed according to the quality of people's work, as it would have been in an American university, but to "local heroes" and favourites. Surprisingly, he was invited to join a group that was asked to review funding arrangements and the group recommended scrapping the existing tenure and funding system. The recommendation (which some time later was eventually adopted) was rejected

Australia's Nobel Laureates

We never set out to make our discovery- we weren't aiming in that direction at all. But when we found so:rllething unexpected we followed it.

NO VACANCIES

Receiving an honorary doctorate from the chancellor of the University of Technology, Sydney, Sir Gerard Brennan, 2003

Australia's Nobel Laureates

.. .it changed the entire direction of research into diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and even AIDS - research that was going down the wrong path.

vehemently by the university's hierarchy and Doherty and his associates were quickly ostracised. For the second time, he decided he was wasting his time in Australia and left. It was an emotionally tough period with Doherty, one of the most brilliant researchers in his field in the world, unable to work in the country he loved with a passion. "I was very angry for a long time, vowing never to return to Australia or go anywhere near a university. I was only interested from then on in working at a specialist research institution." The opportunity to rebuild his research career came with the resources offered to him by the St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. He was appointed as a professor of Biomedical Research and chair of the Immunology Department where he devoted himself to studying cancer-causing viruses, in particular the Epstein-Barr (EBV) thought to be responsible for a number of diseases including nasopharyngeal carcinoma- a tumour of the nasal passages and throat. EBV has also been cited as a possible link to Hodgkin's disease, a cancer affecting cells of lymph nodes. Doherty remained at StJude's (where Penny worked as a hospital volunteer) until their final return to Australia more than a decade later in 2001. By this time Doherty was an acclaimed Nobel Laureate and had been named Australian of the Year in 1997. "I had gradually reconciled myself because I did come into contact with Australians who were working hard to try and make a difference; to make the country work. Also Australia is small enough to be able to do things differently if it chooses, and it occasionally does this very well. " There were also family ties. His youngest son was by now a Melbourne barrister, although the eldest had settled in Seattle as a neurologist. In reflecting on his career, Doherty felt his characteristics as a scientist stemmed from a non-conformist upbringing, a sense of being something of an outsider, and looking for different perceptions in everything from novels, art and experimental results. . In his Australian Academy of Science interview with Beckmann, he said he loved immunology because he loved puzzling out complex, intricate systems. He also made the case for scientists to be free to be able to

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pursue conceptually driven research, rather than be locked solely into end-use driven research. This is an issue that has been dividing scientists and science policy-makers in Australia in recent years. KEEPING CURIOUS

"Conceptually driven research is what is likely to yield some of the biggest benefits," Doherty says. "But with this stuff you can't be sure where it will end up. Real curiosity led work cannot be confined by a short-time horizon and it doesn't guarantee an outcome. Plenty of research leads up blind alleys. Bur you have to know that those blind alleys are there in order to find the right pathway. "Of course, that doesn't mean you don't need applied research - it's essential- but you need to get the balance right between the two. Many governments, with their short time horizons, tend to favour the applied side too much." When asked about the qualities needed to be a successful researcher, Doherty listed persistence and the need to be totally absorbed in what you do. "You also need to have an open mind, and be prepared to drop one line of inquiry and follow another if it looks interesting." He adds: "We never set out to make our discovery -we weren't aiming in that direction at all. Bur when we found something unexpected we followed it." In summarising his own approach he said he liked complexity, and was always delighted by the unexpected. "Ideas interest me. Intellectually, I march to the beat of my own drum and have little interest in competing in races. There are too few people working in the area of viral pathogenesis and immunity, too little funding, too many problems and too little time."

EDITOR'S NOTE

Peter Doherty is professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne, the position he has held since 2002. He co-organised a Keystone biomedical and life sciences meeting on Viral Immunity in 2006; was adjunct professor with the Departments of Pathology and Pediatrics at the College of Medicine, the University of Tennessee until 2007; and continues to enjoy reading and walking (Who's Who in Australia 2010). Most recently, the University of Melbourne is building the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, due to open in mid-2014. REFERENCES

Henahan, Sean, Access Excellence, Science Updates. www.accessexcellence.org/VVN/SUA08/nobmed1 O.html Klareskog . Professor Lars, presentation speech, The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1996, http://nobelprize.org/ nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1996/presentationÂˇspeech.html The Nobel Foundation, Press Release: The 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, October 7 1996 Webling, A.D'A and D.D'A, Nobel Prize Laureates and Au stralia to 2000, private monograph

Peter Charles Doherty

AustraHa's Nobel Laureat es

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J Robin Warren and Barry J Marshall

Warren as a boy and later sketch of him as a younger man

GAINING FORMAL ACCEPTANCE So why did it take so long for helicobacter pylori to gain formal acceptance? This question is often asked of Robin Warren, now retired except for the multitude of Nobel-related speaking engagements he commands every year. "One of the difficulties when I started was that the standard medical teaching for a century was that the stomach was sterile. Bacteria didn 't grow there," says Warren. "It was just like the earth being flat. It was a fact. The medical establishment is conservative and doesn't like sudden changes." While the duo is credited with the discovery of the helix-shaped bacterium in 1982, it was Warren's first observations as a young pathologist in the Royal Perth Hospital in Western Australia (WA) that gave rise to their partnership. "I found them in one case in 1979 a couple of years before I met Barry," he says. "I'm a pathologist. I look at pieces of tissue, trying to work out what's wrong with them for the surgeons who send them down (to the lab). One of the pieces of tissue was a piece of gastric mucosa from the stomach and I thought I could see a lot of bacteria on the surface, so I stained it with a special stain that shows the bacteria very nicely. I hadn't seen bacteria before in the stomach and no-one knew of any reports of them. So I kept looking and I kept

finding more and more and eventually I was finding them in a third of the biopsies." In 1983, in a letter to The Lancet medical journal, Warren summarised his initial findings. In a separate letter Marshall detailed the work they were beginning together. The following year the journal published a co-authored article with detailed proof of their discovery. That is the one Warren believes won them the Nobel Prize two decades later. "Barry first suggested sometime after we published our article (that we may win). I told him not to be so bloody silly," Warren laughs. "When I heard I got a bit of a shock actually," he said after news of the prize. Although the first step in scientific recognition had taken place with the published articles, the young medicos experienced great difficulty convincing their peers. Warren later told a gathering of doctors in Stockholm, Sweden: "I was unable to convince the commissioning (doctors ) of the importance of the organisms. While histology suggested the opposite to me, it was hard to prove. I worked in a laboratory without patient contact. I couldn't obtain the biopsies I wanted and the idea of taking biopsies to culture was not considered to be in the patient's interest." Things changed when Marshall, then a young registrar in gastroenterology at the same hospital, took an interest. "Someone suggested he come down

Ill

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Barry Marshall (left) and John Warren in the lab

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J Robin Warren and Barry J Marshall

and see that crazy pathologist who was trying to suggest bacteria cause gastroenteritis. He burst into my office one day without knocking and demanded to see my work. He was quite a wild young man," remembers Warren who is 14 years Marshall's senior. "He was the first person to actually show an interest so I was quite happy to show it to him." Marshall's curiosity was unusual among doctors at the time, but natural for him as it stemmed from his blissful ignorance of specialist doctrine. "Clearly this was an interesting thing to study ... but I may have had other advantages compared with colleagues Robin had approached previously," he wrote in an autobiographical article for the Karolinska Instituter. "I wasn't coming from a background in gastroenterology, so my knowledge and ideas were founded in general medical basic science rather than the dogma one was required to learn in specialist medicine." Marshall was indeed required by the hospital to perform a different clinical research project each year as part of his medical training. This pleased him greatly as since childhood he had maintained an open mind towards scientific experiments - from homemade explosives and a hydrogen generator for balloons, to making a diagnostic of poisoning while attempting to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation at the age of 12 on his 18-month-old sister who had ingested kerosene but was, he admits, still breathing. (The feat earned him his first newspaper mention the next day.) At Royal Perth Hospital he was interested in ' various projects, including being "engrossed in a study of heat stroke in fun runners". This could have led him to a sports or environment medicine specialisation, but instead his boss suggested the gastroenterology project. He was told about Warren's suspicions about a bacterial cause of stomach inflammation and about

his list of hospital patients with bacteria present in their stomach biopsies. Lab-bound Warren needed a doctor who could move through the hospital following up those patients. "I was especially interested because one of the patients on Robin's list was a woman I had seen in my ward, who had severe stomach pain but no diagnosis. In desperation we had referred her to a psychiatrist and commenced antidepressant medication for want of a better treatment," Marshall wrote. He agreed to send Warren a number of biopsies to see if the findings could be replicated. "They were. So he became more enthusiastic and we became collaborators. Barry was the only person who believed me at all for about five years," Warren says, although he credits his late wife, Winifred, a general practitioner and psychiatrist, with supporting and encouraging his research until her death in 1997. Together, Marshall and Warren studied a further 100 patients as well as Marshall himself who drank a glass of helicobacter pylori and consequently suffered from a two-week bout of gastritis. While being a volunteer guinea pig is used intermittently by scientists today despite being frowned upon, at the time there were compelling reasons for the experiment. Not the least, the need for proof. "In retrospect my experiment could've gone wrong," says Marshall, professor of microbiology and immunology at the School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences at the University of Western Australia since 1999. But the excitement of the discovery and the possibility - however remote - of a Nobel Prize were good incentives. "The Nobel Prize helps innovation because it helps create a parallel scenario. Someone young on a low salary, slaving away on weekends trying something new, everyone says he's a fool, but he says 'just wait till I get the Nobel Prize'. I can't say I was really like that, but it helps. It's like the Olympics for science," says Marshall. The pair received a number of prestigious prizes on the way to the Nobel, each with its own benefits and small monetary reward. From their first joint recognition - the Warren Alpert Prize from the Harvard Medical School in 1994- to the medal of the University of Hiroshima for Warren and the Benjamin Franklin Medal for Life Sciences for Marshall, their lives have been peppered with accolades. In 2007 they were appointed Companion of the Order of Australia. But it was the Nobel Prize that finally engraved their names in the world's hall of fame and gave them license to spend a little. They each received a slice of the 2005 Nobel total prize pool of 10 million Swedish kronos or approximately 1 million euros at the time. "It's good I can share with the family,

take them to Sweden. It's much better value to know that I can temporarily afford to board the dog for $30 a day while we're away," Marshall laughs. Seriously speaking, Marshall is pleased the prize did not come earlier in his career as he feels better prepared now for the notoriety that followed such an honour. He is often asked if he has any regrets, especially with regards to not having patented an antibiotic treatment for ulcer treatment - pharmaceutical companies today earn a steady income from such drugs. Despite not having a crystal ball, he quips, "it turned out alright in the end". "If I had had a good patent lawyer, I could've done it. But I could've made a lot of money," he says only half-jokingly. "Life would've been pretty strange (with money). I've had a very interesting life, I wouldn't change that." SEMINAL INFLUENCES

Barry Marshall was the oldest of four siblings, born into a mining community in the WA town of Kalgoorlie, on September 30 1951. His early childhood memories are peppered with enterprising boys' adventures made possible by the world around him. He played on the beach near their first Babbage Island home, across from the whaling station at Carnavon where his father Bob worked in the mining trades. Later, alongside his brothers, Barry concocted homemade engines and electromagnets from scrap metal, and experimented with explosives made with pharmacy chemicals. His interests always involved scientific pursuits - be they of medicine, physics, chemistry or mathematics. His mother, Marjory, was a nurse and it was with her that as a young medical student Marshall had his first medical arguments. His earliest source of medicine information was her copy of the Modern Medical Counsellor- A Practical Guide to Health (1955). He later purchased his own copy at a second-hand bookshop. It sits proudly on his office shelf. "We used to have a lot of arguments about what was really true in medicine. She would know things because they were folklore and I would say, 'That's old-fashioned. There's no basis for it, in fact.' - 'Yes, but people have been doing it for hundreds of years, Barry, therefore there must be some use in it. That can be true," he recounted in an interview to the Australian Academy of Science. It was Marjory's higher education aspirations that took the family away from the mining environs to the state's capital, Perth. Marshall believes she did not want her children following the locals down the mine shaft, as well-paid as the trade was. She wished for them to study and enter a profession instead. His rational choice to study medicine had less to do with medicine itself and more with not pursuing mathematics, which he loved but found the daily calculus boring.

Robin Warren also pursued medicine after being influenced in part by his family. His mother, Helen, was also a nurse and her father, Sydney Verco, one of a long line of prominent Verco doctors - a family name that still adorns many a surgery door and hospital ward in South Australia (SA). Warren was born on June 11 1937, in North Adelaide, SA - a member of a fifth generation of free Scottish settlers who commanded vast tracks of outback land for cattle and wheat production. His father, John Roger Warren, later became a leading Australian winemaker co-producing Hardy's Cabinet Claret, a top selling drop credited with changing Australia's wine drinking habits. After his grandfather's death and the difficult financial situation that followed, his mother was unable to pursue her aim of becoming a doctor like her father and her brother, Luke. She trained as a nurse instead. "I cannot remember my mother ever pressuring me to study medicine, but somehow this always seemed to be my aim," he said in his autobiographical article. He defied earlier doctor recommendations to avoid medicine - he had suffered from grand mal epilepsy at 16 and was considered not fit enough to pursue medical school - to follow his calling. His main inspiration was Luke Verco who became a captain in the Army Medical Corps during World War II and later a country general practitioner. Coincidences between Marshall and Warren do not stop at both their mothers being nurses, or their early passion for mathematics and for varied medical disciplines (Warren enjoyed botany and zoology, while Marshall liked biology and biochemistry). Both married women in related fields (Warren's wife Wini was a psychiatrist, Marshall's wife Adrienne a psychologist) and fathered girls who, after earlier career choices in law and design, respectively, changed course to follow in their fathers' footsteps, pursuing medicine.

Warren (left) and Marshall in 2008

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Barry Marshall (left) and John Warren in the lab

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J Robin Warren and Barry J Marshall

Warren (left) and Marshall in 2008

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A LEAP IN FIVE YEARS

Marshall does not believe things should be named after people until th ey are dead- "in case they become less reputable" - but he has made an exception for the institution that now bears his name. The Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Researc h and Training housed in the University of WA's Faculty of Life Sciences was funded to the tune of $4 million by the Federal Government at its inception. Ever the entrepreneur, he quickly recognised the publicity value of the obel acco lade and of hi s own newly found fame. "It's a way to create extra value and some free publicity for the university. I was hapPY to do it because the people who now spend time in the lab, the postgraduate students, they a lso get the Nobel Prize prestige on their CV. o matter how dis-reputed I get, they can't take the obel Prize off me," he jokes. It is but one of the many consequences arising from professor Marshall and now emeritus professor Robin Warren's receipt of the Nobel Prize. The Marshall centre is the focal point for postgraduate studies into infectious diseases, a laboratory for innovative thinking in biotechnology and a poster-child for scientific advancement in WA and the country as a whole. Marshall is also thankful for the doors the prize of prizes has opened - "we now go straight to the top of government or academia" - particularly as he

Someone young on a low salary, slaving away on weekends trying something new, everyone says he's a fool, but he says just wait till I get the Nobel Prize'. I [Marshall] can't say I was really like that, but it helps. 1

has spent years working to attract funding for other helicobacter projects. The Laureates also count with full-time help of dedicated staff members at the Office of the Nobel Laureates who manage their prize-related engagements including guest-speaking appearances, overseas travel and those endless requests for autographed photographs, which Warren finds obsequious, from every corner of the world. "I still get a lot of requests for autographed pictures," Warren says, "from places like India and Poland. Some are so deferential, it's like they are bowing. It's quite strange. [Their req uests] sound like they've got me up further than God. I'm sure I'm nor anything like that. " Perhaps the biggest progress since the awards night on December 10 2005 , has been the private and government funding that Ondek has attracted .

The company, set up by Marshall, won raising capital for the development and possible commercialisation of an ulcer vaccine before the prize. Marshall was once frustrated at the lack of Australian investors who understood the high-risk-highreturn nature of science subsidy. He says the mining sector seemed to be able to test the ground anywhere and immediately attract funding, whereas biotechnology research was met with suspicion by private and public in vestors. Thanks to the prize, however, that is no longer the case. Ondek chairman Peter Hammond says there was a leap in confidence among investors after the announcement. In the subsequent two years, the company attracted AUD2.6 million Australian dollars in private funding and another matching $2.38 million from the now defunct Federal Commercial Ready grant. " The prize has been a great help in attracting investment. Investors now realise there are top scientists like Barry in Austra lia and that we need to support them to keep them here," says Hammond. "We're even turning around the brain drain," Hammond says of Alma Fulurija, an Australian scientist who returned from Switzerland to join th e company. Interestingl y, it was the mining industry, which had lost Marshall to medicine, that put up the first fist-full of cash for Ondek along with Swedish investors. Hammond says it is a perfect fit. "These in vestors understand the risk profi les. Mining is not that different to science, they 'roo have to go through a long research phase before commercialisation. Also, they know they have to bui ld alternative industries in WA. We won't be able to mine iron ore forever. They see biotechnology as an industry where Australia has a competitive edge, not dissimilar to the edge they have in mining." Although Hammond says the company was a lways going to be able to raise some funds, the Nobel Prize fast-tracked the process considerably. It has also helped attract the right people to the team. "We're not having trouble at all attracting the right people because we're not doing it on the cheap with remuneration," says Marshall. The money is used to fund Ondek and its team of 15 renowned scientists from Australia, Korea, China, Sweden, the United States and Switzerland. New rounds of funding begin every January to guarantee the group's future. In 2010 the company raised $10 million to continue human trials of a vaccine made using helicobacter as irs vector. The first experiment, involving 36 patients in Perth, concluded in June 2011 and proved a safety profile for the bacteria which survives stomach acids to live in its host long enough to inocul ate them against illnesses. Ondek will now move to see approval to conduct another trial, this time with a flu virus antigen attached to the bacteria. The company's initial ai m is to find an oral form of vaccine (in food, drink or capsule) for the common flu and later, possibly, hepatitis. The company says the approach could help fight other diseases and even be used in hormone therapy.

A LEAP IN FIVE YEARS

Marshall does not believe things should be named after people until they are dead- "in case they become less reputable" - but he has made an exception for the institution that now bears his name. The Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training housed in the University of WNs Faculty of Life Sciences was funded to the tune of $4 million by the Federal Government at its inception. Ever the entrepreneur, he quickly recognised the publicity value of the Nobel accolade and of his own newly found fame. "It's a way to create extra value and some free publicity for the university. I was happy to do it because the people who now spend time in the lab, the postgraduate students, they also get the Nobel Prize prestige on their CV. No matter how dis-reputed I get, they can't take the Nobel Prize off me," he jokes. It is but one of the many consequences arising from professor Marshall and now emeritus professor Robin Warren's receipt of the Nobel Prize. The Marshall centre is the focal point for postgraduate studies into infectious diseases, a laboratory for innovative thinking in biotechnology and a poster-child for scientific advancement in WA and the country as a whole. Marshall is also thankful for the doors the prize of prizes has opened - "we now go straight to the top of government or academia" - particularly as he

Someone young on a low salary, slaving away on weel{ends trying something new, everyone says Âˇhe's a fool, but he says 'just wait till I get the Nobel Prize'. I [Marshall] can't say I was really like that, but it helps. has spent years working to attract funding for other helicobacter projects. The Laureates also count with full-time help of dedicated staff members at the Office of the Nobel Laureates who manage their prize-related engagements including guest-speaking appearances, overseas travel and those endless requests for autographed photographs, which Warren finds obsequious, from every corner of the world. "I still get a lot of requests for autographed pictures," Warren says, "from places like India and Poland. Some are so deferential, it's like they are bowing. It's quite strange. [Their requests] sound like they've got me up further than God. I'm sure I'm not anything like that." Perhaps the biggest progress since the awards night on December 10 2005, has been the private and government funding that Ondek has attracted.

The company, set up by Marshall, won raising capital for the development and possible commercialisation of an ulcer vaccine before the prize. Marshall was once frustrated at the lack of Australian investors who understood the high-risk-highreturn nature of science subsidy. He says the mining sector seemed to be able to test the ground anywhere and immediately attract funding, whereas biotechnology research was met with suspicion by private and public investors. Thanks to the prize, however, that is no longer the case. Ondek chairman Peter Hammond says there was a leap in confidence among investors after the announcement. In the subsequent two years, the company attracted AUD2.6 million Australian dollars in private funding and another matching $2.38 million from the now defunct Federal Commercial Ready grant. "The prize has been a great help in attracting investment. Investors now realise there are top scientists like Barry in Australia and that we need to support them to keep them here," says Hammond. "We're even turning around the brain drain," Hammond says of Alma Fulurija, an Australian scientist who returned from Switzerland to join the company. Interestingly, it was the mining industry, which had lost Marshall to medicine, that put up the first fist-full of cash for Ondek along with Swedish investors. Hammond says it is a perfect fit. "These investors understand the risk profiles. Mining is not that different to science, they too have to go through a long research phase before commercialisation. Also, they know they have to build alternative industries in WA. We won't be able to mine iron ore forever. They see biotechnology as an industry where Australia has a competitive edge, not dissimilar to the edge they have in mining." Although Hammond says the company was always going to be able to raise some funds, the Nobel Prize fast-tracked the process considerably. It has also helped attract the right people to the team. "We're not having trouble at all attracting the right people because we're not doing it on the cheap with remuneration," says Marshall. The money is used to fund Ondek and its team of 15 renowned scientists from Australia, Korea, China, Sweden, the United States and Switzerland. New rounds of funding begin every January to guarantee the group's future. In 2010 the company raised $10 million to continue human trials of a vaccine made using helicobacter as its vector. The first experiment, involving 36 patients in Perth, concluded in June 2011 and proved a safety profile for the bacteria which survives stomach acids to live in its host long enough to inoculate them against illnesses. Ondek will now move to see approval to conduct another trial, this time with a flu virus antigen attached to the bacteria. The company's initial aim is to find an oral form of vaccine (in food, drink or capsule) for the common flu and later, possibly, hepatitis. The company says the approach could help fight other diseases and even be used in hormone therapy.

Australia 's Nobel Laureates

THREE DECADES BRING CONFIDENCE

It has been 30 years since Marshall and Warren embarked on their helicobacter journey. Marshall is still the world authority on the subject. He continues to work on expanding his knowledge of the bacterium and to practise as a gastroenterologist for rare, difficult-to-manage helicobacter infection cases at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth. In a fast-paced world where young people constantly change jobs and career directions citing boredom or slow upwards progress as reasons, I asked Marshall what it is like to dedicate your life to the pursuit of one subject. "It does give you confidence," he laughs. "Some things need time and resources to develop. It would be wasteful to do something on a small scale and stop half-way through it." If Marshall and his team succeed in massproducing vaccines using Hp as vector and helping treat debilitating diseases in developing countries, his one-track career will have paid off. "The fact that we haven't changed direction at all is a plus," he concludes while still seeing the world through an Hp-laden Petri dish. His latest co-authored paper is titled 'The Peopling of the Pacific from a Bacterial Perspective'. It is a colla bora rive study of the different strains of helicobacter present in the DNA of Islander peoples and their ability to suggest patterns in early indigenous migration. The three-decade life's work has also made him less stressed and too busy to sweat the small stuff. "A few years ago I lost my licence, so I don't speed anymore. I just arrive late now," he says. Marshall continues to maintain a broad range of interests outside the lab. He fiddles with computer programming (something he used in the early days to harness stomach ulcer data from doctors around the world), is an iPad devotee and a fan of social networking. He is on Twitter, maintains a casual blog, is on Facebook with Robin Warren and is permanently curious about the world and digital technologies around us. He is a fan of Apple, the company, and even expressed regret at not contacting its former chief executive, Steve Jobs, before he died. "I wish I had sent Steve a card. Next time I think of something kind to do I won't delay. let's cure pancreatic cancer. #thankyousteve," he tweeted on October 6 2011. He even doubts the privacy-zealous when it comes to the internet, saying he does not care about others finding out about him online. "If everybody just says what they are doing, the amalgamation of information can let us see what's happening. I'm less and less concerned about security. In fact I'm running a mini campaign against it." THE FUTURE

Dr Marshall will remain at the helm of both the Marshall Centre and Ondek's plans while also lecturing at the University of Western Australia and travelling around the world to further the vaccine cause.

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He wants to realise his dream of an unobtrusive, painless vaccine that can be self-administered. "People don't like to have injections. If we had an edible product available in the supermarket, no one would prefer an injection, " says Marshall. "But the really exciting part of this project is to be able to vaccinate easily and cheaply millions of people, say, against malaria with live bacteria. " A collaborative agreement with the Japanese giant laboratory that produces and sells the fermented lactobacillus drink Yakult was signed in 2008 but has not progressed to Marshall's aim of a liquid h. pylori drink available at the check-out. However, he has not abandoned the thought of an ingestible vaccme. "It's not a fancy concept. We know we can make it work on mice with helicobacter diluted in water. So ideally it will be a freeze-dried version put in a capsule and available on the pharmacy shelf." Robin Warren, although only a happy external observer, is fully aware of the repercussions his initial discovery can still have on the state of the world's health. "I think [the ingestible vaccine] is a very clever idea. I hope it comes off. h. pylori is the perfect bacteria to do it with because it sits in the stomach. If you infect the stomach with a harmless variety of these bacteria, they will keep on producing antibodies, " says Warren. The septuagenarian is happy to have been pulled out of retirement by the numerous Nobel Laureate speaking engagements that now see him globetrotting from Taiwan and Thailand to Rome and Greece, but he is trying to keep the overseas trips to a manageable few a year and he is not tempted- not even a little bit- to don his lab coat again. "I've avoided doing as much as Barry has. His work is ongoing. He needs the constant publicity to get the finance to help run the centre. I have plenty of other things to do and the work they are doing now is way beyond the stuff I used to do," he says. He likes to dedicate time to photography - a hobby pursued since his teenage years - and to his growing brood- at time of writing Warren had seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren whom he loves to photograph. While he has no regrets, widowed Warren would have liked to replace his beloved 18-year-old canine companion who died in 2007. But like the work in the lab, a puppy, too, is out of the question. "I would like to get another one, but all this travelling has kept me out of getting a dog. I couldn't leave a puppy behind, " he says. "Actually, that's the one thing about the Nobel Prize I don't like. "

Lia Timson, a technology and innovation journalist, is editor of IT Pro, a business technology site of Fairfax Media, appearing in smh. com.au, theage.com.au, brisbanetimes.com.au and watoday.com.au.

J Robin Warren and Barry J Marshall

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Australia's Nobel Laureates Elizabeth Helen Blackburn

of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase revealed that a unique DNA sequence repeated several times in the telomeres protected the chromosomes from degradation. In effect, the long, thread-like DNA molecules that carry our genes became protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. This DNA sequence varies between species. Blackburn had long been fascinated with "small living creatures", which she loved to hold and even sing to, leading her toward biochemistry "as a doorway into the mystery of how life worked" and, more specifically, to a single cell organism called Tetrahymena that lives in water. This "odd-ball creature" she told assembled dignitaries in her Nobel banquet speech, has seven sexes. "Who knows what is going on under the dark surface of the pond?" she surmised mischieviously. Blackburn also acknowledged the prize-winners' journeys, both professional and geographic. She has lived in the United States for well over 30 years and has dual Australian-~merican citizenship. She lived in England as a student for several years, too. Szostack and Greider have mixed Canadian, US and United Kingdom credentials. They also have science in their blood, Greider being the daughter of two scientists with doctorates from the University of California, Berkeley, and Szostak, the son of an engineer-father. Theirs was also a long partnership - no fly-bynighters here. Blackburn had known Szostack and Greider for decades and conducted experiments with them after her early study of telomeres as a postdoctoral fellow at the 1975 Yale University of the founder of telomeres research, Joseph Gall. The groundbreaking work on telomeres and telomerase is recounted in academic, Nobel, medical and popular media. The term telomere was coined in the 1930s by researchers Barbara McClintock (Nobel Prize 1983) and Hermann Muller (Nobel Prize 1946), who noticed that the ends of chromosomes appeared to have a protective role. Without these ends, the chromosomes became sticky, fusing together and breaking down. The Greek telos (end) was joined by meros (part). Telomere experiments in single-cell Tetrahymena contained relatively short linear DNA sequences (minichromosomes) which meant that large amounts of this type of genetic material could be isolated. On analysing the ends of the minichromosomes, the telomeres, Blackburn found a shortened sequence, CCCCAA, which was repeated 20 to 70 times. The DNA sequence was replicated in an unusual way, but was later added to the end of the chromosomes. EXPERIMENTING ACROSS SPECIES

How did this happen? Blackburn described her findings about Tetrahymena at a scientific conference in 1980 and Szostak, who was trying to find out how minichromosomes functioned in yeast, suggested that he and Blackburn try an experiment crossing both species. The research asked whether the telomere sequences from Tetrahymena protect minichromosomes from being broken down in yeast. Their results have had profound implications. Blackburn determined that this sequence could be

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added to chromosomes, and with Szostak began the experiment that they thought would probably fail. Although the Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baking and brewers yeast) they worked with was unrelated to telomere, they found they could use the Tetrahymena sequence to stabilise a long strand of DNA. Szostak's group identified yeast cells with mutations that gradually shortened the telomeres, and eventually stopped dividing. Blackburn's team made mutations in the RNA of the telomerase and noted similar effects in the Tetrahymena, again leading to premature cellular ageing - known as senescence. Functional telomeres, on the other hand, prevent damage to chromosomes and delay cell ageing. Greider's group later showed that telomerase delays the ageing of human cells. The telomere DNA sequence attracts the proteins that form a protective cap around the fragile ends of the DNA strands telomeres prevent the loss of essential genetic information from the chromosome. Blackburn describes them as being like the plastic ends of a shoelace. Over time, the telomere's stability diminishes to a shortened state where it cannot protect an organism from disease. As a result, cells age and shut down. Their chromosomes may fuse or rearrange mutations that can lead to cancer. These ends (called telomeres) get shorter each time a cell divides. They must possess a special enzyme that added these repeat units to the end of chromosomes so as to compensate for the incomplete job done by the copying enzyme. Working in Dr Blackburn's lab as a graduate student, Dr Greider tracked down this enzyme, now known as telomerase, in a central experiment that finished on Christmas Day, 1984. Going into the lab that morning, Greider saw from the six-unit repeat that she had captured telomerase. "That was a really exciting day," she said. "We tracked the enzyme over time and saw it going up and down at the right time, and the pattern was right, so we knew the enzyme was influencing telomere production," Blackburn added. Yet, another 15 years passed before the highest level of international recognition- the Nobel Prize. Greider and Blackburn later found that as well as containing protein to do the building work, telomerase has a special piece of RNA that it uses as a template to elongate the chromosome with the six-unit repeats (the CCCCAA sequence). Telomerase extends telomere DNA, and enables DNA polymerasers to copy the length of the chromosome right to the end. Telomerase is usually active only at the beginning of life; thereafter the telomeres get shorter each time a cell divides. If they get too short, a cell is thrown into senescence (premature ageing), meaning that it cannot divide again. Short telomeres are known to have a role in certain diseases of ageing, like aplastic anemia, where bone marrow does not produce sufficient new cells to replenish blood cells. Telomeres are also important in cancer, a disease in which control of cell proliferation is lost. Telomerase elongates telomeres in cancerous cells of advanced tumours making it a target within these cells.

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

NICE GIRLS DO SCIENCE

JII adhere to basic science but then you have to branch out into arcane avenues, to experiment where you may not be sure of the outcome but you have to give it a go. Now I'm old enough to say, dammit, I really did have the smarts to take advantage when I saw certain things." Cancer cells need to reactivate the telomerase gene, or their telomeres will get steadily shorter, forcing them into senescence. In some 80 to 90 per cent of human cancer cells, the telomerase gene has been switched back on, Blackburn said, this activity preventing them from losing their telomeres. Telomere length may not yet be as well known as monitoring cholesterol or blood pressure bur it is entering the vernacular. SBS documentary maker, Sonia Pemberton, made Secrets of the Human Body: Immortal (December 5 2010), showing the viewing public how telomeres and telomerase held the balance between, as SBS described it, the "power to extend life, and the ability to destroy it" . She had her telomere measured and it was the length of someone five years her senior. She vowed to do more exercise, which research, discussed later, has shown can counteract the impact of stress, for instance, on telomere length. An article on ageing gracefully by Sydney Morn ing Herald health contributor, Paula Goodyer, mentioned " intriguing research into the impact of exercise on things called telomeres" (without mentioning the Nobel Prize winner).

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Blackburn was discouraged by people who said nice girls do not do science bur, knowing her destiny, she persevered and gained Bachelors and Masters degrees in science at the University of Melbourne. Like her mother, Marcia, she was a resident of Janet Clarke Hall, Australia's first university college to admit women. "Those in college at the time describe her as balanced, fun and adventurous," the university says in an official statement. "She played the piano, enjoyed camping, was keenly interested in people, and was not necessaril y one to study late into the night- she was too organised for that. " A mentor at Melbourne, Frank Hurd, urged her to go to Cambridge University where she worked as a postgraduate student with English biochemist, Fred Sanger (he won his second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980). In Sanger's lab Blackburn met her future husband, John Sedat, who was then a postdoctoral student. Sedat took a job at Yale University in 1975 and Blackburn found the lab work there - and the species- which were to change her life. "I did a postdoc at Yale with Joe Gall, who had discovered a class of very tiny linear chromosomes in a type of singlecelled protozoa . These creatures (the Tetrahymena)they are pond scum, literally- had lovely, accessible chromosomes. And I thought, ' Oh, wonderful. I'll sequence these.' And right away, I found these strange molecular features a bout their ends: telomeres." She and Sedat moved again in 1977, when he got a job at University of California (UC), San Francisco (he is professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF). She soon was hired as an assistant professor in the department of mo lecular biology at UC Berkeley. For the first time, she had her own lab. Scientists in the Netherlands had observed that the telomeric DNA fragment would get longer and longer. Blackburn suspected there must be an enzyme. "When I got tenure at the University of California at Berkeley in 1983, I got brave and starred thinking about entering a whole new era of research, and so began the hunt for that enzyme activity." She had noted that other scientists with a molecular focus were also intrigued by the ends of chromosomes which went against more common und erstanding about how DNA strands could be copied without losing parts of their ends. And it was there on Christmas Day in 1984 th at Greider made that fateful discovery of telomerase. "The huge luck of being in academic research is that you can let yourself learn from the results you get," Blackburn says. "If you're on a freewheeling ride like I am, there are no dead ends, because there's always something new to investigate. I don't have dead ends. Isn't it wonderful? "I adhere to basic science but then you have to branch out into arcane avenues, to experiment where you may not be sure of the outcome but you have to give it a go. Now I'm old enough to say, dammit, I really did have the smarts to take advantage when I saw certain things." She has been the Morris Herzstein professor of biology and physiology at UC's San Francisco campus

Elizabeth Helen Blackburn

since 1990, as well as a non-resident fellow of the Salk Institute. As well as being attracted to the university by the promise of the latest equipment and a top team, it fitted in with her need to rest after going into premature labour with her son, Ben. She ran the Berkeley lab long distance, juggling roles as a parent and lab scientist. The "constant tussle " and commuting to Berkeley tired her out, hence her move to UCSF in 1990, allowing her to spend more time with her fami ly. Blackburn has had periods of self-doubt and fear, she says, and "was very much daunted and overcome by the challenges of finding jobs. You have to kind of be tough," she said of weathering those disappointments. In reflecting with UCSF chancellor, Sue DesmondHellmann, on her career, in front of students from the university and local high schools, Blackburn said that while work-life balance was a worthy long-term goal, it was not something that can be accomplished and maintained all the time. "I understand family and career balance ... and I think it can be over the years that the balance can be achieved, but not every single da y necessa rily," she said. The study of telomeres is notab le as a field of research in which fema le scientists are particularly prominent. Greider ascribes this to a "founder effect" (namely Gall of Yale University who trained Blackburn and other women, who, in turn , recruited others to the field). "There is a slight tendency for women to work with other women," she says. Blackburn also feels "women bring in more women and they feel comfortable ". Her own achievements help people visualise themsel ves in science, she says, but she recognises that something akin to the "aggressive" anti-smoking campaigns might be necessary for real progress for women in science. In her own life, she and Sedat have prioritised different things at different times. When Ben was growing up, for example, the couple "just focused on science and family " and waited until he had left the fami ly ho me before resuming visits to the movies, restaurants and such like, she said . She is a grea t believer in raking breaks and unwinding - to "work hard, play hard". "Having intense relaxation is very important, such as traveling or something where you turn your mind off, " she says. In May 2007, when Time magazine named Elizabeth Blackburn as one of the year's "100 Most Influential People in the World, " it listed her age as 44, much younger than she was. "Don't think I'm going to ask for a correction on that one," Blackburn said, " If they want to turn back the clock, that's lovely." HEALTH IMPLICATIONS

Stress can have effects similar to ageing in reducing telomerase. Blackburn and colleag ues have found telomere erosion in people who suffer chronic stress. They are working on longer-term studies to see if lifestyle interven tions - diet, exercise and stress reduction -will promote telomere repa ir, perhaps staving of dam age and illness from coronary artery disease or di abetes, for example. "The idea is that wow, inside your cells, your

molecular machinery is wearing down and this is not good," Blackburn says. "If you can get a kind of science that is easier for people to grasp, a concrete measurement aspect, maybe this is the way to change policy." Spurred on by evidence that physiology can help to make people hea lthier, she has teamed up with psychologists a nd doctors to investigate how such interventions mi ght make yo u feel better and ha ve longer term genetic implications. "We have this huge problem, which is a ll this morbidity and disease in the middle part of life", she warns. Telomere length ma y decline overall, but it varies between indi vid uals. Long or relati ve ly long telomeres is the goal. Blackburn, who reportedly only complains about an "achy back ", applies what she considers good science to her own life. She ea rs a low fat diet and takes time to re lax, exe rci se and walk with Sedat. She is a lso collaborating with Elissa Epel, an associate professor in the UCSF Department of Psyc hi atry. They are studying two gro ups of mothers - one with normal heal th y chi ldren, the other with chi ld ren with chronic illness - and have found the longer caring for the chronically ill children the less the moth ers' telomerase and the shorter their telomeres. "Most basic biologists like her stay very focused," Epel said, adding th at it was unusual for biologists like Blackburn to branch into "translational research. "It's risky to branch into fields you know little about." A study of men with prostate cancer, run by " lifestyle guru" Dr Dea n Ornish at the Pre ventive Medicine /Research Institute, was monitoring th e effectiveness of interventions in protecting against the growth of prostate cancer. "What we eat and how we respond to stress and whether we smoke and level of intimacy makes a difference, even on a genetic level," Ornish says. Blackburn frequently cautions that so-called "magic pills" have a habit of " biting back" with unexpected and unwanted side effects. "We'll want a drug therapy. But in a way it's sort of stupid not to use millions of years of your body's physiology. If you ca n persuade yo ur body physiology to do this for yo u, do it. It's free." A Good Weekend article on Women of Influence listed "the Australian-born American biological researcher Blackburn" as an Innovator (as was the Australian Academy of Science's Suzanne Cory, one of this book's Women in Science). If her visit to Australia after winning th e Nobel Prize is anything to go by, she is in constant demand from organisations and academic institutions. H er visit to Questacon in Canberra was organised by the office of th e chief scientist, who at the time was professor Penny Sackett, and the Prime Minister's Office. Ensuring no-one will forget Blackburn's ac hie vement, Questacon director Graham Durant said they named "o ur new boardroom in her honour as the Blackburn Room". She also gave lectures at Melbourne University and a public lecture on telomerase and telomere biology at the University of Sydney, March 12 2009, at the invitati on of leading professional bodies - the

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Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists, the Human Genetics Society of Australasia and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. More recently, professor Blackburn's busy timetable resulted in an email for the book: "I regret to have to tell you that I am overwhelmed and no t doing any further interviews- by email or otherwise -right now". However, there are consistent portrayals of her by others, showing a straightforward approach, rapport with students and passion for science. Says Sackett: "If the focused intensity in the eyes of the younger children and the rapt attention and razor sharp questions posed by the older students were any indication, professor Blackburn's interaction with them will be a formative experience for them as they continue to think about science. It certainly would have been for me at their age.

The research asked whether the telomere sequences from Tetrahymena protect minichromosomes from being broken down in yeast. ' "Professor Blackburn has an easy mann er and is able to describe her science and its significance at any level. But perhaps more importantly, she is able to convey why she is so passionate about doing science and thinking about science. She spoke about her own journey of curiosity from a small age, and described science as a creative activity, one that benefits from daydreaming as well as from discipline. " We all can learn to see science in the world around us, understand how science alters our lives, and thus appreciate the world (and science) just a litde bit more in the process. Those who study science in depth, however, or take it up as a profession, have an even greater opportunity: the chance to embark on a life-long journey of discovery with nature. The destination is not always clear, but the trip is fun, challenging, and often makes you forget entirely that you can actually be paid to make discoveries and make a difference at the same time. " Speaker of the United States House of Representatives at the Nobel Prize time, Nancy Pelosi, called Blackburn a "champion of innovation" and "an inspiration to all women pursuing careers in the fields of technology, engineering and mathematics". Then California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, said, "You are fantastic, and you are one of those immigrants that is making great contributions to the State of California." University of Melbourne went from 75 to 62 after Blackburn's award, recording the biggest increase of any university in the top 100, in the Shanghai Jiao Tong rankings. The Governor-General Quentin Bryce, when presenting professor Blackburn with her AC

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(Companion of the Order of Australia) during the post-Nobel Prize visit, was particularly moved. "I just had tears going down my cheeks as I was putting it around her neck because I was telling her about my memories about the girl from the little town I came from who was the first in the town to do science. It was in the 1940s and her name was Sanna Shannon and we all spoke of it as if she was going to the moon. " "She's scary in the right way," says Kerry Hegarty, managing director and chief executive of Sienna Cancer Diagnostics, a small Melbourne-based biotech company that has the global intellectual property rights to telomerase. Intellectually uncompromising, Blackburn is very supportive of those whose work is strong. "She's a fantastic mentor and her enthusiasm for this field of science is contagious," says H egarty. She is also prepared to fight for her scientific beliefs, such as the advancement of embryonic stem cell research. In 2001, President Bush appointed Blackburn to the Bioethics Advisory Council. Three years later, to the consternation of many fellow scientists, she was kicked off because she disagreed with a ban on therapeutic cloning. Reports at the time praised her for not avoiding the controversy, on the one hand, but also, on the other, keeping away from the limelight. She was said to me more comfortable in the lab. Another forthright commentator, immunologist and 1996 Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty (see Survival of the cells) agrees. "She's direct. She doesn 't beat about the bush, " and she is "all around an admirable person ... and identifiably Australian. She was always a star. She's won all the prizes and hit all the marks since she was quite young." Her husband, Sedat, affirms that life with her is well-rounded. "There is no question that one of the nice features of Liz is that she's shown young women scientists that you can make it and also have a family, that it's not one or the other, and that it's fun, " he said. "You go home at night and feel like there are some interesting new ideas, even after yo u've been doing it for 30 years." As with all discoveries, what ultimately matters is long-term impact. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Instituter concluded that the work of Blackburn, Greider and Szostak "added a new dimension to our understanding of the cell, shed light on disease mechanisms, and stimulated the development of potential new therapies". Keeping telomeres intact and protecting the ends of the chromosomes that brim with our DNA carrying genes is still a beautiful dance for this eminent scientist. Deborah Singerman is managing editor of Australia's Nobel Laureates and writer/editor/consulting editor of urban environment, architecture, design, sustainability, infrastructure and health publications.

Research for this chapter is based on material from Nobelprize.org; the Karolinska lnstitutet; the University of California, San Francisco in particular the biochemistry department; interviews with professor Elizabeth Blackburn in The New York Times, Discover Magazine, Time and the San Francisco Chronicle; and other information about the professor from sources such as The Australian, the Sydney Morning Herald and SBS.

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Darl{ forces and exploding stars measure distance and time in space to reveal • • a universe moving at a profoundly unexpected pace.

The Universe is expanding, and it is doing so at

Two team~ of astronomers have been competing

an accelerating rate. Gravity can no longer slow it

\Vith each other to find the e,·idence for the accelerat-

down, let alone bring it together. Eventually, all hut the nearest stars will disappear from our vinv, and

ing Universe. One, lead by Perlmutter of the Supernova Cosmology Project, began work in ]l)~~- The

the Universe will cool and turn

other, headed by Schmidt and assisted by Rie'>s, set

ice.

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up their operations at the Australian National University (ANU) in 1994. And the competition paid off.

In what has been described as a "milestone for cos-

By 199X, the two research teams were ready to

mology", the work of astronomers on opposite sides of the world, including Australian Brian Schmidt

present their findings, with some trepidation. "When Adam and I were talking about the first

based in Canberra, succeeded in overturning what

results that he was coming our with," Schmidt says,

had been the accepted (or at least hoped for) picture

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of the Universe as a gradual deceleration after the

admit that, at that point, I just figured that a mis-

initial impetus of the Big Bang, followed by a pulling

take had been made. But that mistake never really

together of the cosmos once more into a small body

went away. And so, after about six \Vecks, I think

of matter. Just like a rubber hand, stretched by initial

the surprise of vvhat was in the data h;ld worn off,

forces and then pulling back to its original shape. Except the Nobel Laureates have shmvn that the rub-

but then I think we had to face the realitic'> that we were going to ha\T to tell the world about it. And I

ber hand could no longer contain the tension, and the

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band has gone on expanding, faster and faster, until ...

in response to our findings, as it just seemed crazy. "

The Nobel Prize is shared between Brian Schmidt

128

of Australia, his American colleague Adam Riess

SEARCHING FOR STARS

who has worked with him, and an American scientist Saul Perlmutter from the University of Califor-

The goal of Schmidt, his team and his competitor'>, was to map the Univer'>e hy finding the mo'it di'>tant super-

nia, Berkley.

novae - star explosions in space. By e'>tahlishing the

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Brian Paul Schmidt

distance to the supernovae and the speed at which they are moving away from us, the scientists hoped to reveal our cosmic fate. They expected to find signs that the expansion of the Universe was slowing down, which would lead to equilibrium between fire and ice. What they found was the opposite - the expansion was accelerating. Only a hundred years ago, the Universe was considered to be a calm and peaceful place, no larger than our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The cosmological clock was ticking reliably and steadily and the Universe was eternal. That picture was about to change. At the beginning of the 20th century the American astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt found a way of measuring distances to faraway stars. At the time, women astronomers were denied access to the large telescopes, and they were frequently employed for the cumbersome task of analysing photographic plates. Leavitt studied thousands of pulsating stars, called Cepheids, and found that the brighter ones had longer pulses. U~ing this information, she could calculate the intrinsic brightness of Cepheids. If the distance of just one of the Cepheid stars is known, the distances to others can be established- the dimmer its light, the farther away the star. In the 1920s, astronomers were able to show that almost all galaxies are moving away from us. They were studying the "redshift" that occurs when a source of light is receding from us. The light's wavelength gets stretched, and the longer the wave, the redder its colour. The conclusion was that the galaxies are rushing away from us and each other, and the farther away they are, the faster they move- this is known as Hubble's law. The Universe is growing. What was observed in space had already been suggested by theoretical calculations. In 1915, Albert Einstein published his General Theory of Relativity, which has been the foundation of our understanding of the Universe ever since. The theory describes a Universe that has to either shrink or expand. This conclusion was reached about a decade before the discovery of the ever-fleeing galaxies. Not even Einstein could reconcile the fact that the Universe was not static, so he proposed a "cosmological constant", a modification of his original theory of general relativity to achieve a stationary universe. Later, after the redshift observations, Einstein would consider the insertion of the cosmological constant a big mistake. However, with the observations made in the late 1990s by the teams awarded this year's Nobel Prize, there has been renewed interest in Einstein's "constant". The task of proving Einstein right or wrong is a major challenge, especially in an area which has just undergone a massive change of view. "We're trying to test the model [of the accelerating Universe] as hard as we can," Schmidt says. "We're trying to push the model to see if we can break it, to see whether or not Einstein's cosmological constant -that's the explanation of the acceleration- whether or not we can show that that's wrong. At this point we haven't been able to do that, but if we were able to show that it was wrong, then I think we would get some insight into what was going on. But if it

really does look like Einstein's cosmological constant [is correct], then I think we really need to have some brilliant mind, an Einstein-like figure, come along, and from a theoretical point-of-view, shine some light on what's going on." In their observations, the two teams expected to measure the cosmic deceleration, or how the expansion of the Universe is slowing. Their method was, in principle, the same as the one used by astronomers more than six decades earlier: to locate distant stars and to measure how they move. But at the distances that astronomers need to see, billions of light years away, the previous yardsticks, the Cepheids, are no longer visible. The cosmic yardstick needed to be extended. NEW MEASURE OF BRIGHTNESS

Supernovae - star explosions - became the new standard measure of brightness. More sophisticated telescopes on the ground and in space, as well as more powerful computers, opened the possibility in the 1990s to add more pieces to the cosmological puzzle. Crucial were light-sensitive digital imaging sensors - charged-coupled devices or CCDs. The invention of these devices gave Willard Boyle and George Smith the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009. The newest tool in the astronomer's toolbox is a special kind of star explosion, the type Ia supernova. During a few weeks, a single such supernova can emit as much light as an entire galaxy. This type of supernova is the explosion of an extremely compact old star that is as heavy as the sun but as small as the earth - a white dwarf. The explosion is the final step in the white dwarf's life cycle. White dwarfs form when a star has no more energy at its core, as all hydrogen and helium have been burned in nuclear reactions. Only carbon and oxygen remain. Our sun will eventually follow the same path. A far more exciting end awaits a white dwarf that is part of a binary star system, which is fairly common. In this case, the white dwarf's strong gravity robs the companion star of its gas. When the white dwarf has grown to 1.4 solar masses, it no longer manages to hold together. When this happens, the interior of the dwarf becomes sufficiently hot for runaway fusion reactions to start, and the star gets ripped apart in seconds. The nuclear fusion products emit strong radiation that increases rapidly during the first weeks after the explosion, only to decrease over the following months, so there is a rush to find supernovae - their violent explosions are brief. Across the visible Universe, about ten type-la supernovae occur every minute. But in a typical single galaxy, only one or two supernova explosions occur in a thousand years. So the two competing teams knew they had to comb the heavens for distant supernovae. The trick was to compare two images of the same small piece of the sky, corresponding to a thumbnail at arm's length. The first image has to be taken just after the new moon and the second three weeks later, before the moonlight swamps out starlight. Then the two images can be compared in the hope of discovering a small dot of light - a pixel among others in the

129 128

Australia's Nobel Laureates

after about six weeks, I think the surprise of what was in the data had worn off, but then I think we had to face the realities that we were going to have to tell the world about it".

CCD image - that could be a sign of a supernova in a galaxy far away. Only supernovae farther than a third of the way across the visible Universe were used, in order to eliminate local distortions. Chasing supernovae challenged not only the limits of science and technology but also those of logistics. First, the right kind of supernova had to be found. Second, its redshift and brightness had to be measured. The light curve had to be analysed over time in order to be able to compare it to other supernovae of the same type at known distances. This required a network of scientists that could decide quickly whether a particular star was a worthy candidate for observation. They needed to be able to switch between telescopes and have observation time at a telescope granted without delay, a procedure that usually takes months. They needed to act quickly because a supernova fades quickly. At times, the two competing research teams discreetly crossed each other's paths.

130

The potential pitfalls had been numerous, and the scientists actually were reassured by the fact that they had reached the same amazing results: all in all, they found some 50 distant supernovae whose light seemed weaker than expected. This was contrary to what they had envisioned. If cosmic expansion had been losing speed, the supernovae should appear brighter. However, the supernovae were fading as they were carried faster and faster away, embedded in their galaxies. The surprising conclusion was that the expansion of the Universe is not slowing down - quite to th e contrary, it is accelerating. GOING AGAIN ST EXPECTATIONS

So what is it that is speeding up the Universe? It is something called dark energy and is a challenge for physics, a riddle that no-one has managed to solve. Several ideas have been proposed. The simplest is to reintroduce Einstein's cosmological constant. At the

Brian Paul Schmidt

time, Einstein inserted the cosmological constant as an anti-gravitational force to counter the gravitational force of matter and thus create a static universe. Today, the cosmological constant instead appears to make th e expansion of the Universe accelera te. The cosmological constant is, of course, constant, and as such does not change over time. So dark energy becomes dominant when matter, and thus its gravity, is diluted due to the expansion of the Universe over billions of years. According to scientists, that would account for why the cosmological constant entered the scene so late in the history of the Universe, only five to six billion years ago. At about that tim e, the gravitational force of matter had weakened enough in relation to the cosmological constant. Until then, the expansion of the Universe had been decelerating. The simplest estimation for the amount of dark energy does not correspond at all to the amount that has been measured in space. This constitutes a still unexplained gap between theory and observation. It may be that the dark energy is not constant after all. But, as Schmidt says, " I think that the idea that there was some other big thing in the universe, other than things that have normal gravity, meant that a lot of the problems that existed in cosmology back in 1998 were suddenly solved. So there were a lot of people, and especially theorists, who wanted the universe to be geometrically flat, which means it had to have a lot of stuff in it that we just didn't know was there. And this stuff solved that problem. It gave the extra matter in a universe that needed to be flat." Whatever dark energy is, it seems to be here to stay. It fits very well in the cosmological puzzle that physicists and astronomers have been working on for a long time. According to current consensus, abo ut three quarters of the Universe consists of dark energy. The regular matter, the stuff that galaxies, stars, humans and flowers are made of, is o nly 5 per cent of the Universe. The remaining 20 per cent is called dark matter and is so far hidden from us . Like dark energy, dark matter is invisible. So we know both only by their effects - one is pushing, the other one is pulling. "But the model of dark energy, dark matter, normal atoms, really explains in exquisite detail the o bservations we make of the Universe," Schmidt says . "So, on one side we have a very precise model of the universe now, that we can test, and every time we test it we keep on getting the same answers. But the fundamental understanding of 'What is this dark matter?' and 'What is this dark energy?' remains. And so I think that's the more fundamental question." Therefore, the findings of the 2011 Nobe l Laureates in Physics have helped to unveil a universe that is up to 95 per cent unknown to science. As Schmidt says, "It seems that cosmologists are comfortable with a large degree of uncertainty." TOWARDS THE AWARD And while there is uncertainty in all aspects of life, Schmidt has had a history of determined and considered action.

OUT OF THE ASHES In 2002, members of ANU's Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) successfully applied for a grant from the Australian Research Council to do a modest survey of the Southern Sky using the Great Melbourne Telescope at the Mt Stromlo Observatory, in the hills outside of Canberra. This was to provide the first digital map of the Southern Sky, and to allow the team to tackle "many of the big questions in astronomy that we couldn't previously for lack of an accurate census of the Southern Skies", as Brian Schmidt puts it. But, as fate would have it, on January 18 2003, 18 days after the grant came into effect, the Great Melbourne Telescope and much of the Mt Stromlo Observatory was destroyed by fire, and with it, the Southern Sky Survey. But all was not lost. In fact, the outcome may have been a better result, at least as far as the RSSA's project is concerned, if not for the Mt Stromlo Observatory. The project evolved into Sky Mapper, an international undertaking centred on a major telescope that came online in the middle of 2009. SkyMapper is located at ANU's Siding Spring Observatory in central New South Wales. It will initially be used for the most detailed study of the Southern Sky region of space ever completed. "It is a fully automated operation," Schmidt says, "which means that it looks at the weather and decides if it is okay to open the observatory. Once open, it has a scheduler that does its best to observe the things that astronomers want it to look at. It makes sensible decisions on what should be looked at, at any given time, based on the position of the object, the weather, and factors like how much moonlight there is . The data are transported to Canberra via a gigabit link to be processed, with care, at RSAA [on ANU's supercomputing facility]." That data comprises images of 4,000 fields to form a mosaic of the sky, using six specially designed optical filters to isolate particular colours of light. It will probe the Universe to a depth a million times fainter than accessible with the human eye, providing information on the shape, position and colours of all the stars and galaxies in the images. And the information collected is huge: 400 terabytes or equivalent approximately to 100,000 DVDs of data. In total, the survey will take five years to complete.

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Australia's Nobel Laureates Brian Paul Schmidt

Born in 1967 in Montana, United States, and moving with his family to Alaska, he set in train a distinguished career, both abroad and in Australia, which would lead him to the Nobel Prize. As a youngster, he showed an interest in meteorology, and for a short time after graduating from high school he worked at the US National Weather Service in Anchorage. That was not quite what he was after - it was less scientific and not as exciting as he had hoped it would be. Instead, he moved into the field of astronomy, something that had previously only been a minor interest. He earned his BS (Physics) and BS (Astronomy) from the University of Arizona, where he was named Most Outstanding Student in Physics in 1989. He initially taught astronomy at Arizona and then moved on to complete his Masters and PhD at Harvard. At that university he was awarded the Danforth Award for excellence in teaching, and his

The surprising conclusion was that the expansion of the Universe is not slowing down- quite to the contrary, it is accelerating. time there included a stint as a postdoctoral fellow 'at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. It was at Harvard that he met his wife, Jennifer M Gordon, an Australian who was a PhD student in economics. In 1994, they moved to Australia. He now holds dual citizenship for the US and Australia. Picking up his teaching career at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, he launched himself into the study of supernovae that led to the Physics award. In the same year as he arrived in Australia, he formed the High-z Supernova Search Team, a group of 20 astronomers on five continents who used distant exploding stars to trace the expansion of the Universe back in time. The research by this team was named the 1998 Science Magazine's Breakthrough of the Year. But Schmidt has additional interests of a lot more earthy nature than the cosmos. He owns Maipenrai, a small vineyard and winery in the Canberra region. This is dedicated to making "fine Pinot Noir without compromise". The wine is sourced from Maipenrai's close-planted 1.1 hectare vineyard atop the Yass River Valley. Situated at an altitude of 760 metres, the vineyard's rocky soil and cold climate "make our six clones of Pinot Noir struggle, but provide an intensity to our wines that can only be achieved in such harsh conditions". He also prides himself on his cooking. In fact, it was while preparing the evening's meal that he had the call to let him know he had won the Nobel Prize -a meal that he happily admits he never got to eat, such was the immediate rush of congratulations and media interest.

So what was it like to win the award? Just after the announcement, he told Nobel Media: "I feel like when my first child was born. I'm kind of weak in the knees and a little, you know ... hard to describe - almost speechless at this point. It's pretty unexpected and so very big news, and I guess I'm still just trying to get my head around it." He says he had no idea that the award was coming his way, even though he was in Stockholm in August, only weeks before the announcement. "I have several friends who are members of the Swedish Academy and had no inkling whatsoever." Back at the observatory, Schmidt says that "astronomy is really going through a heyday right now. That is, it's very well supported compared to what it was 30 or 40 years ago. But I think one thing to remind ourselves is that great ideas don't need billions of dollars, they need moderate support, and you need to have a lot of people with moderate support to get the good ideas. There are also needs for great big experiments and those are expensive, but they tend not to be so imaginative. They're sort of the brute force way of solving problems. And so, I'm a very strong believer that you want to try both things, but you want to make sure you keep a bunch of smaller groups with innovative ideas, at the same time as maybe a couple of brute force big experiments." So will the award encourage others to enter the astronomical fray? "I certainly hope so. I hope that it will remind people of how exciting astronomy is, and how trying to understand the universe is something that really helps us understand our place in the universe. And it's certainly my hope that children in Australia, but also around the world, will go through and say 'Ah, I'd kind of like to figure out how to do that myself'." But even with the latest technology at their disposal, enabling that next generation of enthusiasts to do better and better experiments, the technology is still the tool. It is those "great ideas" that keep the experimenters, observers and theorists moving forward. "Astronomy is not like a physics lab. You can't design an experiment. You need to go through and look up into the heavens, and sort of figure out what the cosmos has given you, and make an experiment out of that. So it's a very different process. And there's always the chance of having a really good idea of how to put together things in space to do the experiment that you want to do." And, occasionally, receive the accolade of the world's foremost scientific award.

Tim Mendham is editor of Fast Thinking magazine, and a freelance journalist with a range of publications, including the Australian Financial Review. Note: This profile draws on material from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and Brian Schmidt interviews with Nobel Media, ANU Reporter and ABC-Radio AM. 133

132

Australia's Nobel Laureates Brian Paul Schmidt

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If innovation is the lifeblood of growth, then occasionally we need a bit of a transfusion to keep those hormones pumping. Certainly Australia has had its share of innovative people - this book relates the stories of ~ll of Australia's Nobel Laureates from 1915 to the latest winner, just a month or so ago. The efforts of these individuals primarily fall into the 'basic science' category, but being smart is one thing; applying that skill is something altogether different. On this theme, there is an extensive list of Australian developments, with many surprises of the "was that invented in Australia?" kind. Kicking off in the 19th century, we have the combine harvester (1882), stump jump plough (1876) and the electric drill (1889). Through the 20th century, the list goes: a precursor of Xerox photocopying (1907), the record changer ('25), the electronic pacemaker ('26), the two-stroke lawn mower (1930), the humidicrib (late '30s), atomic absorption spectrophotometer ('52), the roller door ('56), black box flight recorder ('58), inflatable aircraft escape slide ('65), the bionic ear ('78), spray-on skin (following the 2002 Bali bombings) and, of course, the ubiquitous Hills hoist ('45). Even the dual flush toilet is an Australian invention. And do we dare mention that the first feature film (The-Story of the Kelly Gang, 1906) was made in and around Melbourne? Henry Sutton of the Ballarat School of Mines deserves a book of his own. He invented an experimental ornithopter in 1870 when he was only 14-years-old. He worked on incandescent lamps at the same time as Edison, unaware of his American counterpart. He designed Australia's first hydraulic elevator and developed more than 20 different types of telephones within months of Alexander Graeme Bell's announcement of the first such device. He even co-founded the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria. Perhaps Sutton's greatest work is the Telephane, the forerunner to television demonstrated three years before John Logie Baird was even born. In 1885, images of the Melbourne 'Cup race were transmitted to Ballarat using his invention- it apparently "worked quite well". Sutton did not patent the Telephane, but Baird did use his principles to invent television some 43 years later.

134

This is a theme running through all of Sutton's work. Sixteen of his 20+ versions of the telephone were patented by others. In fact, Sutton rarely applied for patents, partly because he spurned material gain and wanted to "benefit fellow workers in science". You would not see a lot of that attitude today, except in some of our more naive or altruistic research institutions, but it is an issue which has plagued Australia since Sutton's time. This country has often been accused of being good at 'R' but not very good at D. It is not always the case, of course, and this book relates the stories of organisations large and small who have successfully made that alphabetic journey. In the following pages, these cover medical research and health, biotechnology, mining, energy, sustainability, communications, financial services, environmental science, logistics, education and social innovation. Nonetheless, despite a diverse heritage and the current rollcall, the transition from R to D is still an issue. Recognising innovation, capturing innovation, applying innovation and realising innovation requires careful thought, formal processes and a creative approach and attitude. If you could bottle innovation - and innovators - you would make a fortune. But you can not. Innovation is as much an attitude as an activity, a preference as much as a profession. In its ephemeral nature, it does not repeat, as every instance is different- travelling through the list of Nobel Laureates in this book, from the Braggs to Schmidt by way of White covers a range of applications of innovation as broad as the country these individuals blessed with their presence. Travelling through the organisations mentioned alongside them is also an eye-opener, and indicative of the potential we have for breakthrough science, technology, processes and social services. Innovate we must. It is what growth is all about. And wherever we may find innovation, whether it is at work or at home, we need to grab it and push it just that much further. There is always the need for another transfusion. Read on ...

Balancing the numbers After decades of programs aimed at encouraging young women to follow careers in science there is still a noticeable shortage of women in key leadership roles. So why aren't there more women at the top? asks Rachel Sullivan. The glass ceiling has been shattered by women like professor Suzanne Cory who led the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute between 1996 and 2009, Mary O'Kane, NSW's inaugural chief Scientist and scientific engineer, professor Penny Sackett, until recently Australia's Chief Scientist, and, of course 2009 Nobel Laureate, professor Elizabeth Blackburn. Professor Daine Alcorn has been deputy vice-chancellor Research and Innovation and vice-president at RMIT (the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) University since 2008. Following a career in biomedical research she joined RMIT as dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences in July 2002, and was appointed to the position of pro vice-chancellor Science, Engineering and Technology in 2003. "There has always been a strong focus on getting more women involved in research and leadership, and lots of equal employment opportunity policies put in place," she says, "but while there have been improvements, they're never enough. "We just haven't seen the increases in numbers at key leadership levels that we wanted in the early days, so we obviously need to work harder." MENTORING IS CRUCIAL

The disparity in numbers is not from lack of interest: In terms of people studying science at university, the numbers of female undergraduates equal, or even exceed numbers of males, especially in the biological sciences. And women do not necessarily face more barriers on the job than men in similar roles, professor Alcorn says, arguing that working with very strong mentors is valuable in developing anyone's career. "To achieve you need a network of mentors, and to work with good people and good teams," she comments, citing her own positive journey and lack of impediments to success. "You also need a tremendously supportive family, because of the hours demanded by working at senior levels." It is women's role in raising families that is at the heart of the

issue, she says, but even losing women with science degrees to a different role in the family and the community is no bad thing. "Certainly we're not where we want to aim for and the two principal grant administration bodies, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Australian Research Council (ARC) are looking at funding evaluation methods that take into account women taking time off for family reasons," she comments. ACCUMULATING INFORMATION AND SKILLS

"Women and the community are very closely tied, and those with a university-level science education are very important both for raising scientifically literate families and to the community in general," she says. "We need to train people to have a better understanding of the issues that face us, to raise awareness of science in the community, and encourage understanding about the accumulation of information that gradually adds to scientific knowledge. "This will help people better understand complex issues [like climate change], make sense of the information they're fed and clear up misunderstandings about scientific process." COMMUNITY AND SOCIETAL BENEFITS

Women are also drawn to using their skills in areas that have a wider benefit to the community. "Take the case of Engineers without Borders (EWB), a not-for-profit group that connects volunteer engineers with communities in need of engineering expertise," says professor Alcorn. "Women represent something less than 20 per cent of total engineers, but at times have made up 50 per cent of EWB's youthful membership. "Clearly they are drawn to projects where there is a sustainable benefit to society. Perhaps what is on offer after graduation is too technically focused, rather than taking into account the triple bottom line." Similarly in academia, she believes that women might be encouraged to follow a path towards leading positions in academia, if a career in science was placed in its broader context and values of society, sustainability and community became integral to research pathways. JOB-READY GRADUATES

RMIT's creative, multidisciplinary approach and focus on producing job-ready graduates is very characteristic. "The great synergy achieved by disparate groups working together is leading to exciting breakthoughs such as those made through the interface between health and engineering, for example, where nanotechnology has lead to a lab-on-the-chip platform being used to understand blood clotting. And a collaboration between people working in textiles and sports has resulted in the development of innovative athlete's cooling jackets to enhance performance. "Research is a broad continuum from molecular discovery to making a difference in context," says professor Alcorn. Perhaps widening the context of science from an early stage will see an enlightened new generation of women who choose to remain in academia, or equally importantly, take their scientific understanding and lead change from within the community, or through their chosen industry and policy roles.

Women in science

Women in science: two perspectives The success of Australia's leading female scientists is especially remarkable given the under-representation of women in the field of scientific research. Many Australian women have overcome the barriers posed by gender bias and fierce competition, to become global leaders in scientific research. Anecdotally, one motivation for women scientists to overcome these barriers (other than of course a fundamental interest in science) is the inspiration they draw from other scientists and high achieving women in society. For example, Australia's very own Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn and prominent researcher Fiona Stanley AC (Companion of the Order of Australia) both report being inspired by the biography of early Nobel Laureate Marie Curie. Research Australia Board member, Professor Maree Gleeson also drew her inspiration from .influential scientists in Australia and internationally. She chose medical research as her career pathway following the loss of her closest friend to leukaemia. I have met many successful Australian women who have dedicated their lives to medical research. These scientists bring unique personal qualities to medical research: a generosity of spirit; willingness to work with others jointly to solve problems; a capacity to bring colleagues along on the journey of discovery; recognition to the contributions of others; and a shared pride in success. These qualities have helped Australian women scientists successfully combine their research with raising families, supporting partners, raising research funds, and undertaking various community responsibilities. Successful scientists inspire all of us in some way, whether in our professional or personal lives. My introduction to medical research was in the mid-1990s when policymakers were starting to recognise the important role of government in unlocking the enormous potential of Australian health and medical research. This was driven by a group of visionary and influential scientists who understood the importance of working in conjunction with industry, government and the community. As chief executive officer of Research Australia, it has been a privilege to support Australian health researchers and bring them closer to the community, the ultimate beneficiary of their dedication and commitment. Rebecca James, chief executive officer, Research Australia 2006-2011

There are many examples of extraordinary individual achievement and leadership by women in science. Women are among the leaders of large Australian research organisations and funding agencies, we can boast female chief scientists, and an Australian woman is now among the Nobel Laureates. No small feat. With women outnumbering men in university enrolments and bringing home better end-of-school results you could not be blamed for thinking there is cause for optimism. However, these achievements mask a serious and largely unaddressed issue: women are seriously under-represented at senior levels in science. The plain fact is that at mid-career level, women fall by the wayside. And Australia is poorer for it. When women leave the workforce, hundreds of thousands of dollars of investment in their education and training go with them. As a nation we are losing some of our best and brightest who have the skills to improve our social and economic prosperity through delivery of better healthcare, hi-tech gadgets and improvements to our mining and defence capabilities, to name just a few. We train them up then fail to keep them in the business because practical and equitable career pathways are not available when it counts. This problem is not unique to Australia. The international research system is generally not geared to support career breaks as a successful scientific career relies on continuous research output. In theory the system discriminates against both sexes, but in practice it is women who face the biggest hurdles. The good news is that Australian research organisations are realising this is not only a gender equity issue. They are waking up to the cost of lost skills and productivity and have started to change their ways by putting scientific careers in the reach of women who have taken time out of the workforce. And they are reaping the rewards with improvements in participation, productivity, innovation, competitiveness and gender equity. The next step is to ensure that some of these smart solutions are implemented across the entire Australian science sector because we all agree that it costs more to lose our best and brightest than to make changes to keep them. Anna-Maria Arabia, chief executive officer, Science & Technology Australia

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

First and foremost, it is a calling

Having more role models is certainly helpful- senior women can give lots of good advice from their own experience about how to develop and manage a successfulcareeL 138

Professor Suzanne Cory AC (Companion of the Order of Australia) is president of the Australian Academy of Science. She was director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute from 1998 to 2009 and still works there, continuing her research into the genetics of cancer. She is also a vice chancellor's professorial fellow at the University of Melbourne. Cory has won numerous national and international awards, including being appointed as a Knight of the Legion of Honour by France. Deborah Singerman talks with professor Cory about achievements in science and women's position within this exciting, international field - and vocation. Australia's Nobel Laureates: Why do you think it has taken so long for a woman to be elected as president of the Australian Academy of Science and do you think this is a sign of long-lasting change for women in science? Professor Suzanne Cory: Given the relatively few women in the Academy of Science historically, the odds of a woman being elected as president previously were not high. The number of women being elected as Fellows is now on the increase, as is appropriate given their many outstanding contributions. You will note that women are now in leadership roles all around this country, in many fields. A quiet revolution has taken place, a revolution that started with the birth of the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s I early 1970s when many of these women were at university. Books published at this time such as Simone de Beauvoir's Second Sex, Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique and Germaine Greer's Female Eunuch inspired us. Why should women not aspire to do anything they choose to do? Why should they be limited by gender rather than ability? Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Kim Carr said, "Great science requires great courage -willingness to take risks, challenge orthodoxies and venture into the unknown. It is not the job of government to increase the degree of difficulty by denigrating scientists." Do you think science generally is being promoted more and that, as a by-product, it is easier for organisations to get investment? I think Minister Carr's statement is great. Science is a vocation, not just a job. It's a very demanding profession, something you dedicate your life to. It takes all of the energy and effort you can muster. You have to have passion. I'm not an historian of science but since the end of World War II there has been a huge increase in investment in science by governments all around the world as they realised they needed science and technology

Australia's Nobel Laureates Women in scien ce

First and foremost, it is a calling

Having more role models is certainly helpful - senior women can give lots of good advice from their own experience about how to develop and manage a successfulcareeL 138

Professor Suzanne Cory AC (Companion of the Order of Australia) is president of the Australian Academy of Science. She was director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute from 1998 to 2009 and still works there, continuing her research into the genetics of cancer. She is also a vice chancellor's professorial fellow at the University of Melbourne. Cory has won numerous national and international awards, including being appointed as a Knight of the Legion of Honour by France. Deborah Singerman talks with professor Cory about achievements in science and women's position within this exciting, international field - and vocation. Australia's Nobel Laureates: Why do you think it has taken so long for a woman to be elected as president of the Australian Academy of Science and do you think this is a sign of long-lasting change for women in science? Professor Suzanne Cory: Given the relatively few women in the Academy of Science historically, the odds of a woman being elected as president previously were not high. The number of women being elected as Fellows is now on the increase, as is appropriate given their many outstanding contributions. You will note that women are now in leadership roles all around this country, in many fields. A quiet revolution has taken place, a revolution that started with the birth of the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s I early 1970s when many of these women were at university. Books published at this time such as Simone de Beauvoir's Second Sex, Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique and Germaine Greer's Female Eunuch inspired us. Why should women not aspire to do anything they choose to do? Why should they be limited by gender rather than ability? Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Kim Carr said, "Great science requires great courage - willingness to take risks, challenge orthodoxies and venture into the unknown. It is not the job of government to increase the degree of difficulty by denigrating scientists." Do you think science generally is being promoted more and that, as a by-product, it is easier for organisations to get investment? I think Minister Carr's statement is great. Science is a vocation, not just a job. It's a very demanding profession, something you dedicate your life to . It takes all of the energy and effort you can muster. You have to have passion. I'm not an historian of science but since the end of World War II there has been a huge increase in investment in science by governments all around the world as they realised they needed science and technology

to re-build society and help it prosper. Early on, investment in Australia was not as generous as overseas but the last decade has seen sub stantial improvement and job opportunities for trained scientists, technologists and engineers have increased. But we must remain vigilant and ensure that Australia continues to increase its investment. We have a huge need for innovative scientists and engineers to tackle the many big issues facing this nation, such as energy, water, climate change, sustainable population growth, food security, agriculture and preservation of the environment. Australia currently spends less than 2.2 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on research and development, ranking only 13th among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations in investment. Certain smaller nations, such as Sweden, Switzerland and Finland, already spend 3 to 4 per cent of GDP on science. Australia ranks 20th out of 30 OECD countries producing university graduates with science or engineering degrees. How can Australia instill in women and men the "heady excitement of scientific discovery", the sense of going on "an intellectual adventure, walking down a track that nobody has walked down before"? Part of this is a cultural challenge. It would be great if Australia valued its scientists as much as it values its sportsmen. I can imagine a tele vision series on the great Australian scientific discoveries and how they happened, the personalities involved . It would be a great way of promoting science and the science community. I always tell aspiring scientists to train in the best possible place they can. In science, excellence is all. There are many excellent universities and research organisations in Australia and our degrees open up exciting opportunities not only around Australia but also overseas. We should always encourage our best young scientific minds to train overseas for a period, to expand their horizons and be challenged by new environments. Most will eventually come back to Australia and bring back that richness to deepen Australian science.

Science is a very international activity a nd has international standards. Scientists move around and aspire to the best in the w orld w herever it is. They try to w ork at a frontier in their own field and they don't think about it as Australian or US or European science. Thus, if Australia continues to increase its investment in science, it can expect to attract talented scientists from many other countries, many of whom will elect to stay here. What do you believe is important for helping women stay in- and achieve within- science? Australia certainly cannot afford to waste 50 per cent of its talent. We need to encourage girls from an early age to consider becoming scientists and engineers . And we need to empower those who do so to have a life-long engagement. The number of women doing PhDs in Australia is roughly equal to that of men, certainly in the life sciences. The same is true at the post-doctoral level, the next period of training. It's only after this that the numbers drop precipitously, coinciding with that difficult period in life when women are trying to balance a career and have a family. This is the point at which we can make a difference . How can we encourage such women to stay in science for the long haul? The most critical factor of course is having a supportive partner who genuinely shares the family load - again an educational and cultural challenge for Australia. Having more role models is certainly helpful - senior women can give lots of good advice from their own experience about how to develop and manage a successful career. Workplaces need to be more flexible in regard to working hours and innovative in ensuring access to childcare facilities . Funding agencies need to be more conscious of carer responsibilities when judging scientific output. [In an era when traditional role models are breaking down, these are issues that can be important for men as well as women]. The single most important way in which governments can help is, of course, to ensure the availability of many more high quality affo rdable day care facilities.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PRIORITIES FROM THE AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 2010 FEDERAL ELECTION STATEMENT: EMPOWER SCIENCE, POWER THE FUTURE: • Commit to increasing Australia's R&D to 3 per cent of gross domestic product by 2020.

• Safeguard investment in basic research and foster int erdisciplinary approach es and cross-sect or collaboration. • Provide full research costs. • Enable effective engagement with the international scientific community. • Strengthen research career paths and increase flexibility- including ensuring equ al opportunities for women in science. • Use scientific research to inform national strategy and underpin government policies including appointin g senior scientific advisers within all government departments. • Enhance science teaching. • Foster a scientifically literate and engaged Australia.

13 9

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Needing more diversity Back in the 1980s, I had the privilege of holding leadership positions at the CSIRO and, at the same time, working in Germany. The gender balance differences in the workforce between Australia and Germany made me realise yet again that in research and development in Australia, we were then, and to a large extent still are, wasting an incredible resource by not fostering and encouraging a more equal gender balance. Australia is not a quarry. We are world leaders in resources because of the knowhow we bring to the resources sector. Longterm competitive positioning simply means that we must bring more, and ever better, intellectual efforts to our world-class industries to keep them competitive - let alone inventing new industries. We are seeing a most welcome shift in thinking that accepts that women have much to offer: that they often think differently, behave differently and demonstrate leadership in different ways. Diversity is so important when it comes to innovation and it is innovation that drives our ability to have choices in life, in business and in how we live sustainably. It is extraordinary that the success rate for turning new ideas into practical reality has hardly changed over the last 50 years (100 plus ideas yielding but one realised in practice). Yet studies have shown that the rate improves when the team responsible for development and implementation is more, rather than less, diverse. Again, we see a strong pointer for gender balance. However, having what is in effect a notional female on a board or panel or committee is not enough. There does need to be a balance, as has been legislated in Norway. The Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering has indicated that in future, of the numerous nominations that could be elected to membership, the gender balance will shift from its present 6 per cent to a target of 30 per cent. I look forward to the time when the target will be 50 per cent. Robin Batterham, president of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and Kemot professor of Engineering at the University of Melbourne

140

Interacting molecules Dr Robyn Russell is a molecular biologist and research program leader of environmental biotechnology and genomics, in Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Ecosystem Sciences. Her research interests centre on the molecular basis for evolutionary change, focusing on sequence-structurefunction relationships among enzyme multigene families and the evolution of new enzyme activities. Robyn's interest in science began at primary school while learning about the achievements of Koch and Pasteur in discovering that micro-organisms caused disease. This led her to study microbiology and biochemistry as an undergraduate and pursue a PhD in viral immunology. She was first introduced to molecular biology while a post-doctoral fellow at the Hershey Medical Centre in Pennsylvania in the late 1970s, when recombinant DNA technology was just emerging. Robyn has been a molecular biologist ever since. She loves exploring the inner workings of the cell to see how molecules interact to make the cells do what they do, and how proteins can evolve to take on new functions. The rewards of a career in science have been many. Seeing a spark ignite in young PhD students as their projects progress and their confidence grows has been a highlight, as has witnessing her students and postdocs develop and eventually build labs and teams of their own. The thrill and satisfaction of discovering something new remains as strong as ever. Major research highlights include working out the molecular basis of resistance to organophosphate (OP) insecticides in sheep blowflies. Not only did this show how a single amino acid change could convert an enzyme from one function to another, but it also opened up a whole new area of applied research. Specifically, the team realised that enzymes, like the new blowfly OP-degrading enzyme, could be used as bioremediants to degrade pesticide residues that contaminate the environment. Products from this research are now being sold on three continents. The most difficult period for Robyn was while trying to keep her career afloat while raising a young family. She never underestimates how difficult that is for young scientists and is grateful to CSIRO for the support given to both her and her husband (CSIRO fellow, Dr John Oakeshott) at that time. Needless to say, she remains very supportive of CSIRO's family-first policy to this day. She has published 91 papers in internationally refereed lSI (Institute for Scientific Information) journals, five refereed book chapters, seven papers in citable conference proceedings, and two invited popular articles. She has been an inventor on 16 patents. Her work has attracted more than 2,000 lifetime citations, over 400 of which were in 2009-10. Dr Robyn Russell, research program leader of Environmental Biotechnology & Genomics, Ecosystem Sciences, CSIR 0

Australia's Nobel Laureates Women in science

Needing more diversity Back in the 1980s, I had the privilege of holding leadership positions at the CSIRO and, at the same time, working in Germany. The gender balance differences in the workforce between Australia and Germany made me realise yet again that in research and development in Australia, we were then, and to a large extent still are, wasting an incredible resource by not fostering and encouraging a more equal gender balance. Australia is not a quarry. We are world leaders in resources because of the knowhow we bring to the resources sector. Longterm competitive positioning simply means that we must bring more, and ever better, intellectual efforts to our world-class industries to keep them competitive - let alone inventing new industries. We are seeing a most welcome shift in thinking that accepts that women have much to offer: that they often think differently, behave differently and demonstrate leadership in different ways. Diversity is so important when it comes to innovation and it is innovation that drives our ability to have choices in life, in business and in how we live sustainably. It is extraordinary that the success rate for turning new ideas into practical reality has hardly changed over the last 50 years (100 plus ideas yielding but one realised in practice). Yet studies have shown that the rate improves when the team responsible for development and implementation is more, rather than less, diverse. Again, we see a strong pointer for gender balance. However, having what is in effect a notional female on a board or panel or committee is not enough. There does need to be a balance, as has been legislated in Norway. The Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering has indicated that in future, of the numerous nominations that could be elected to membership, the gender balance will shift from its present 6 per cent to a target of 30 per cent. I look forward to the time when the target will be 50 per cent. Robin Batterham, president of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and Kernot professor of Engineering at the University of Melbourne

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Education key to opportunities in science

Interacting molecules Dr Robyn Russell is a molecular biologist and research program leader of environmental biotechnology and genomics, in Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Ecosystem Sciences. Her research interests centre on the molecular basis for evolutionary change, focusing on sequence-structurefunction relationships among enzyme multigene families and the evolution of new enzyme activities. Robyn's interest in science began at primary school while learning about the achievements of Koch and Pasteur in discovering that micro-organisms caused disease. This led her to study microbiology and biochemistry as an undergraduate and pursue a PhD in viral immunology. She was first introduced to molecular biology while a post-doctoral fellow at the Hershey Medical Centre in Pennsylvania in the late 1970s, when recombinant DNA technology was just emerging. Robyn has been a molecular biologist ever since. She loves exploring the inner workings of the cell to see how molecules interact to make the cells do what they do, and how proteins can evolve to take on new functions. The rewards of a career in science have been many. Seeing a spark ignite in young PhD students as their projects progress and their confidence grows has been a highlight, as has witnessing her students and postdocs develop and eventually build labs and teams of their own. The thrill and satisfaction of discovering something new remains as strong as ever. Major research highlights include working out the molecular basis of resistance to organophosphate (OP) insecticides in sheep blowflies. Not only did this show how a single amino acid change could convert an enzyme from one function to another, but it also opened up a whole new area of applied research. Specifically, the team realised that enzymes, like the new blowfly OF-degrading enzyme, could be used as bioremediants to degrade pesticide residues that contaminate the environment. Products from this research are now being sold on three continents. The most difficult period for Robyn was while trying to keep her career afloat while raising a young family. She never underestimates how difficult that is for young scientists and is grateful to CSIRO for the support given to both her and her husband (CSIRO fellow, Dr John Oakeshott) at that time. Needless to say, she remains very supportive of CSIRO's family-first policy to this day. She has published 91 papers in internationally refereed lSI (Institute for Scientific Information) journals, five refereed book chapters, seven papers in citable conference proceedings, and two invited popular articles. She has been an inventor on 16 patents. Her work has attracted more than 2,000 lifetime citations, over 400 of which were in 2009-10. Dr Robyn Russell, research program leader of Environmental Biotechnology & Genomics, Ecosystem Sciences, CSIR 0

Born in 1962 in Canberra, I benefitted from the excellent public schools provided for those arriving to build the new capital. Our schools were run by Canberra (rather than Sydney) from 1970, and from the outset aimed for student education and retention beyond Year 10, which was not then the norm, especially for girls. Some teachers, products of the bonded teaching scholarships available to fund studies at Australian universities, came to Canberra with postgraduate study at the Australian National University in mind. I had several exceptional teachers, mostly women, who did not exemplify any notion of gender-based opportunity, although this was pr~valent and they convinced my mother that I was destined for university study. It was a relief then for my family, when in the Whitlam era university fees were abolished .. Deferring university to travel to the United States as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student, I returned determined to study a sciencebased discipline rather than law (as planned by my mother). At the University of Melbourne I promptly disregarded prerequisites and included chemistry in my first year studies. It was not until considering options for honours and beyond that I understood the high standing of the then Department of Inorganic Chemistry outside Australia. Arriving at the University of Oxford in 1988 as a visiting PhD student to do experiments in the Chemical Crystallography Laboratory, it was evident to me that my degree, a Melbourne First, was accepted at face value by academic staff, although soon afterwards (in response to queries by these same academics) I found myself having to explain the Dawkins reforms and their effect in a greatly expanded university sector. (Editor: reforms introduced by John Dawkins as Minister for Employment, Education and Training, 1987-91, and included mergers of universities and colleges of advanced education, and re-introduction of university fees.) On completing my PhD in Melbourne, I was actively recruited to a post-doctoral appointment in Chemical Crystallography in Oxford and spent five academically and personally rewarding years there before returning to Australia. Having chanced into the field of crystallography, my research training in Melbourne and Oxford was grounded in the contributions of the early eminent practitioners of chemical crystallography including Kathleen Lonsdale and Dorothy Hodgkin. Although not equal in number, women were well represented and highly respected at crystallography conferences and meetings which students were actively encouraged and supported to attend. In crystallography, we have perhaps seen a branch of science develop in a context where the leading men were not averse to the notion of women's full participation in the scientific endeavour. Certainly, the early 20th century physicists had not failed to capitalise on the discoveries of Marie Curie and Lise Meitner. WH Bragg is reported to have been so impressed with Kathleen Lonsdale in her finals viva voce exam that he actively recruited her to his research group. (Kathleen was one of the two women admitted to the Fellowship of the Royal Society in 1948, which was the first time that women were admitted.) By contrast, when Dorothy Hodgkin approached her professor, observing that all her male contemporaries continuing in chemistry in Oxford had progressed tram demonstrator to lecturer he rebuffed

her, indicating that if she needed additional income she should consider marking A-level exams. (Among her many accolades, Dorothy was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1964.) Returning to Australia with a young family in 1994, the university sector had changed beyond recognition with financial driving forces pushing mass education. My experience is that researchers face significant challenges in obtaining secure employment and research funding is largely limited to grant and fellowship programs which seem to be in a constant state of flux. The effort required for creative researchers to Âˇsecure a niche where their creativity can then be properly directed to science is considerable. The decision to build a new research reactor at ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) was informed by an analysis of the scientific literature generated across decades at HIFAR (the High Flux Australian Reactor) -this revealed that the research produced had been outstanding. I am indeed fortunate to have secured employment at the Bragg Institute where I again have the opportunity to contribute at the highest level to ch~mical crystallography and progress in chemistry- without having to move overseas again. Alison Edwards, BSc (hans) PhD, is a senior research scientist and instrument scientist at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). The opinions expressed in this article are her own.

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Women in science

What can and should be done Australia is home to many outstanding women scientists. The achievements of many other young, mid-career and senior women in science reinforce tnis statement. We have an abundance of talented women scientists. I want to join in the celebra rion of this fact, and convey my own congratulations and respects to all of them. Yet, despite this genuinely rosy picture, all is not well. Here, I want to challenge you with two assertions. First, many women with the talent for, and interest in, a career in Australian science do not manage to achieve that goal. And second, there is a lot more all of us can - and should - be doing about that. There is plenty of evidence of the waste of talent. Perhaps you ha ve not seen or heard about any of the reports over the last few decades on gender balance written by, about, or on behalÂŁ of then science and tecnn ology federations, vice-chancellors committees and research organisations such as the National Hea lth and Medical Research Council and Australian Research Council and other Australian scientific bodies. If not, I co111111end to you the request from the inscription on Sir Christopher Wren's tomb: ci1Âˇcumspice. The facts are indisputable. Women outnumber men when they begin their scientific careers but - if they persist - they are invariably alone or part of a very small minority at the end. What can and should be done? In my own instinne, we now confine meeting times to 9:15-4:30; we have a generous child-care subsidy for selected individuals; there is a private room where mothers can breast-feed, or express and store milk; a family room for emergency child care is under construction; and we are trying to make it easier to work from home. The capacity exists to hire temporary tecllnical assistance for continuity of effort during maternity leave. We have a Women in Science lecture series. We send women on leadership-training courses. We fund a familyfriendly viewing room at a series of annual national conferences. These types of changes are the easiest to bring about. The ideas might come from the grassroots, but their implementation is from the top. And note that they tend to be aimed at women in the first 10-15 years of their careers, and specifically address the issue of children. Different policies and practices are needed to affect the middle and later years of a woman's career, and to include women who do nor have children. How can we bring abom changes ro institutional and broader professional cultures, ro ensure that all women realise their potential? There are no quick fixes here. Committees addressing hiring, prizes, conference programs, and other decisions must consciously look for women as fellow co111111ittee members, candidates or speakers, si nce qualified fema les are overlooked on all fronts. Effective and uniform policies for mentoring junior colleagues are needed. Women may require more support as they approach key career transition points, by encouragement to apply, and by havi ng senior colleagues as champions in the system ro promote their interests. There must be equitable distribution of rewards, resources and responsibilities - salaries, fellowships, awards, space, teaching and committee assignments - and effective monitoring mechanisms ro address inequ ities when they arise. I believe gender equity in science is achievable, but getting there will require imaginative and sustained effort by all of us. Professor Terry Speed, head Bioinformatics Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

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energy technologies for Australia As group executive energy, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), I have responsibilities across the energy, oceans and mineral resources domains supported by an annual research budget of $220 million. I am very fortunate to be able to work with other research groups, governments, industry and the community in addressing the triple goals of clean energy, energy security and wealth creation from energy for Australia. Our particular focus is to help accelerate large-scale greenhouse gas emissions cuts. CSIRO's energy work is guided by modelling to help visualise economic and sustainable pathways to a sustainable, low-carbon future. One topic we are exploring is what might be the best future land-use across different parts of Australia, balancing diverse drivers like global food security, bio-sequestration of carbon dioixide, biodiversity preservation, bio-energy opportunities, and

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community development, in the context of ongoing climate and water variability. We believe public opinion is very important in the carbon debate. Our community-based discussion groups encourage individuals to be better informed and empowered about carbon options. The main focus of CSIRO's energy's research is developing a suite of new energy technologies tailored to Australia's special challenges and advantages. Globally, we need to trial new modes of production, distribution and use at scale to reduce their cost and risks over time. We have recently built a 30-metre high solar tower at our Newcastle, New South Wales (NSW) laboratory. An array of mirrors focuses the sun's rays onto a receiver on the tower, which will heat compressed air to run a turbine and generate electricity. We are also involved in a new Solar Flagship project to be built in NSW, using photovoltaic cells (special materials that convert sunlight into electricity). CSIRO will conduct research at the facility using Smart Grid techniques to manage the smooth integration of intermittent renewable generation into the electrical network. A promising way to reduce emissions from fossil energy at a large scale is carbon capture and storage (CCS). Carbon dioxide is captured at the power station and injected one to two kilometres into suitable geology for long-term storage. CSIRO has three pilot capture plants attached to existing power stations across Australia to facilitate learning by doing. We are also participating in a major new CCS Flagship in Western Australia (WA) where the first step is to ensure the suitability of the reservoir where the carbon dioxide might be injected. Also in WA, we are planning a first-of-a-kind demonstration of geothermal energy from the hot aquifer that underlies Perth. We will drill a three kilometre deep well to test the resource and, if successful, then complete a second well. The hot water circuit will help heat and cool our Perth laboratory, including a new supercomputer facility. I believe that over the next generation we need to reinvent our energy infrastructure to deliver secure and affordable low-emissions energy. It is a privilege to be able to play a small part in this energy revolution and cap off my engineering career in such a personally stimulating and satisfying way. Professor Beverley F R onalds, group executive energy, CSIRO

Women in science

Passionate about science and illllllune systems I am an immuno-geneticist, which means I study the genetics of immune response. I absolutely love my career in science, but I initially entered science simply because I was not sure of what else to do. My Âˇ mother is a research scientist and my father was an engineer, so I guess i! was in my genes. But, even after finishing my biology degree, I was not sure that science was the right career path for me. It seemed so hard- constant pressure to publish or perish, limited funds, little pay. But I was very fortunate- I had fantastic mentors. I began to establish myself as an independent researcher and learn the ropes of academia. I realised that when you enjoy what you do it is not as hard as it first seems. First came the publications, then the research grants. Now I have a fantastic team of 19 people who are working with me in the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney to advance our understanding of health and disease in platypuses, Tasmanian devils, wallabies, koalas and many other species. Some of my career highlights include working on the first marsupial and monotreme genome projects, where we identified similarities and differences in the immune systems of humans, mice, wallabies and platypuses. The similarities taught us more about our own immune system, while the differences offer hopes for new drugs. We have discovered potent antimicrobial peptides in the genomes of wallabies and platypuses which protect joeys and puggles during their jelly-bean stage as their immune system develops. We hope that these peptides may one day be used to combat the multi-drug resistant bacteria that are rapidly emerging. By identifying new platypus venom genes, we hope to understand the pain pathways that lead to the excruciating pain caused by platypus envenomation. So intense is the pain that it cannot be relieved by traditional painkillers. By understanding how these new molecules affect pain pathways we hope to develop novel painkillers. One of the most exciting and important projects that I work on is a new disease that has killed 80 per cent of our Tasmanian devils (see Reaching for the sky). Devil Facial Tumour Disease is a horrible contagious cancer that can pass from animal to animal without being detected by their immune system. Understanding this bizarre cancer is important, so too is finding a way to stop the spread of the disease before it wipes out the devils. I would say that the best thing about working in science is the fantastic people you get to work with.

Everyone is passionate about what they do. They have a natural curiosity and a genuine desire to make the world a better place. The devil project is the perfect example of that. I work with geneticists, vets, immunologists, field ecologists, conservation biologists and managers, zookeepers and field teams. We have constant support from the public who want to see this species saved from extinction and that spurs us on to work harder. The rewards of a career in science far outweigh the tribulations. Yes, it is hard and the slog to make a discovery is not for everyone. But scientists have the opportunity to satisfy their natural curiosity and the rush of exhilaration when you realise that you have discovered something new is well worth it. Associate professor Kathy Belov, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney

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Fighting battles for fairer access to funding Carola Vinuesa was born in Cadiz, Spain in 1969. Her mother was a remarkable and intellectually progressive woman, who went back to academia after having her fourth child to complete a PhD in English Literature and become a professor specialising in women's studies. It never crossed Carola's mind that there was a limit to what a woman could achieve. Her highschool physics teacher also made her believe she would be capable of anyth ing. Tossing up between engineering, physics, chemistry and medicine - and after passing an entry exam for the top economics and law school of the country to satisfy her father, medicine was her choice. As a medical student, she became interested in developing countries. Work as a volunteer in Ghana and street leprosy clinics in Calcutta made her want to pursue clinical training that would prepare her to work in Africa. After intense and stressful clinical training in the United Kingdom and the realisation that more lives would be saved in Africa if better vaccines were developed, she ventured into research. Upon completing a PhD she moved to Australia in 2000 to work with world-known immunologist, Chris Goodnow. Science turned out to be intellectually challenging and amazingly rewarding for Carola. Dedicating long hours to scientific experiments was never an is-

sue: there was something always ready to be discovered about how the immune system worked. Our own body could make powerful antibodies that would fight any microbe or foreign particle in the universe but not one's own tissues, except when the system went awry in people suffering from autoimmune diseases. There was nothing quite like the exhilarating moment of discovery, and the thought that many lives could one day improve as a consequence. It was not until the birth of her first child that Carola realised the struggle women faced to keep up with their male colleagues. What many women enjoy as their most cherished life experience - maternity was arguably the most stressful time in her life: within weeks of her first daughter's birth she had to desperately find time to write long fellowship applications that would secure her salary for the next five years. A greater shock came during her second pregnancy: she had contested for an international science cash prize with the hope of dedicating it to domestic help that would enable her to maintain her academic output while on maternity leave. Despite being declared the winner unofficially, she was denied the prize because her pregnancy prevented her from making the international flight to present her work. These and other battles were fought and eventually won. Her high achieving nature together with exceptional mentorship and a team of talented and motivated people brought her success in many forms. These included exciting scientific discoveries into how top quality antibodies are made and novel causes of autoimmunity, publications in the top biomedical journals, prestigious awards including the 2008 Science Minister's Prize and the 2009 Australian Academy of Science Gottschalk Medal; and an accelerated promotion to professor at the Australian National University before the age of 40. Outspoken, she has frequently engaged with the media discussing the factors that contribute to women being under-represented at higher academic levels. Her voice, together with that of others at the 2011 Women in Science and Engineering Summit, was heard by the main science funding institutions in Australia- the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council - who committed to changing the grant application process for fairer evaluation of scientists taking parental leave. Professor Vinuesa hopes that increased and more targeted funding to women scientists will mean her two daughters may one day consider combining a science career with a fulfilling motherhood experience. Carola Vinuesa, professor of Immunology, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University

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Women in s cience

Different cultures, different values, same discipline Science opened for me a world of exploration and discovery for which I feel extraordinarily fortunate and I would recommend it to those who have the requisite passion and energy. My Australian education equipped me well as I set out for a post doc at Yale before landing in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1984, at one of the most famous scientific laboratories of the 20th century. There I would use my knowledge of physics and chemistry to develop new ways to study protein structures. I was seeking to understand how their actions were controlled so that they would work in concert to sustain healthy function. The laboratory was established in 1943 when the world was in crisis; the values of collaboration and science in public service to deliver on a mission were deeply rooted. Since then, it has attracted scientists who enjoyed living and working in the relative isolation of the mesas that rise from the Rio Grande valley and butt up against the Jemez mountains. As recent immigrants, we shared this beautiful place with the Pueblo Indian Nations and descendants of the Conquistadors. It was a compelling mixture of big science in service to larger goals, such as sequencing the human genome or solving all the protein structures coded by the genome of the killer bacterium that causes tuberculosis, in a diverse cultural setting surrounded by natural beauty. A confluence of events, most particularly the opportunity to take up an Australian Federation Fellowship, brought me home to Sydney in 2005. Australia was making major research infrastructure investments (the OPAL reactor and the Australian Synchrotron) and my expertise was in high demand. Returning to my Sydney, I found a university and a city that had diversified and grown dramatically. I have since been getting to know a university culture in which education within a discipline and access based on merit are core values. As the first university in the world to grant access based on ability without reference to religion or rank, Sydney put a particular stamp on Australian higher education. My pursuit of science as a career not only gave me views into dramatically different cultures with distinct yet equally noble values, but I also was able to move berween roles focused on leadership within my discipline and those involving larger, organisational leadership. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to zig-zag berween these rwo spheres. Each time I returned to my discipline, I felt I was a better scientist; I had broadened my perspective and gained important skills for leading a research team. Each time I took on a larger role I felt better equipped, my break in research providing the space for reflection and renewal. I have had great fun in this life of learning and ever-changing challenges and my hope for the young aspiring scientists I have mentored has always been that they too might have as much fun. It seems these days to be a brave choice to pursue a career as a research scientist, with shrinking budgets, greater competition than ever and increasing regulation and accountability. But it is hard for me to imagine a more fun life than that of scientist explorer. When you discover that idea that is entirely new or find yourself in a new world with different potential for discovery, it can be quite special. Jill Trewhela, University of Sydney

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Understanding how to combat drug resistance The world is perched precariously on the brink of a post-antibiotic era, an age when the drugs we currently take for granted will no longer cure diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites. The World Health Organization recently underscored the urgency of the situation by naming World Health Day "Combat drug resistance: no action today means no cure tomorrow", and warned that drug resistance could lead to the next global crisis. It is perhaps not surprising then that I feel very motivated each morning (well actually, each afternoon, since I am a night owl) to continue my work on understanding drug resistance in the malaria parasite. The most effective antimalarial drug that we have ever had is chloroquine, but the emergence and spread of chloroquine-resistant parasites has rendered this former wonder drug relatively use-

less. This has been a disaster for world health. The disease continues to impose horrendous economic burdens on afflicted countries and causes around 250 million clinical cases and almost one million deaths per year. A vaccine remains elusive and the parasite has developed, or is developing, resistance to the antimalarial drugs deployed to replace chloroquine. It has been known for over 10 years that resistance to chloroquine arises from small changes in a parasite protein, but it was only recently that my research group revealed how this mutant protein allows the parasite to dodge the drug. Importantly, we have also uncovered potential avenues for overcoming the resistance mechanism. Chloroquine kills malaria parasites by accumulating within an internal digestive compartment, where it blocks an essential detoxification process. In resistant strains, the drug does not accumulate in this compartment and hence fails to poison the parasite. There has been a lot of heated debate over how the mutant protein achieves this, but no conclusive evidence one way or the other. I devised a strategy for producing the protein at the surface of unfertilised frog eggs, where it could be studied away from the complexities of its natural surroundings. This enabled us to show that the mutant protein confers resistance by allowing chloroquine to escape from the digestive compartment. The normal protein does not posses this ability. The night I watched the data from this experiment appear bit-bybit on a computer screen was a memorable one - I was so elated by the breakthrough that I could not sleep properly for days. But the initial discoveries are the fun and intellectually engrossing aspects of science. Although the euphoria persists, seeing your discoveries through to the final manuscript, then peer-review, and ultimately publication, takes stamina, resilience, and resolve. I should also add that my foray into the field of chloroquine resistance was somewhat unexpected- I was working on a different malaria project when I made an interesting finding on the mutant protein. It pays to explore unusual leads. Intriguingly, our studies of the mutant protein have revealed that its ability to move the drug out of the digestive compartment is limited. This finding has significant clinical implications as it suggests that an increase in the chloroquine dose would overload the protein, allowing lethal levels of the drug to again accumulate at its site of action. Could resistance be overcome simply by changing the dose of chloroquine? There is reason to be hopeful; data emerging from the west African country of Guinea-Bissau indicates that double-dose chloroquine is highly effective against resistant malaria and is also well-tolerated by patients. This is perhaps an example of why it is important to understand the mechanism of drug resistance and how such knowledge may help breathe new life into existing drugs, thereby affording us more time to devise new ones. Dr Rowena Martin, lab leader and National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Biomedical Fellow, Research School of Biology, Australian National University

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Women in science

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Natural ecosysteins on a nanoscale Dr Amanda Barnard is an Australian Research Council Queen Elizabeth II Fellow and the leader of the Virtual Nanoscience Laboratory at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) . She received her BSc in Applied Physics (2001) and PhD (Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics) in 2003 (in a record 16 months) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University. After this she proceeded to a two-year position as a distinguished postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory in the United States. This was followed by three years in the prestigious senior research position as Violette and Samuel Glasstone Fellow at the University of Oxford in the

United Kingdom, with an extraordinary research fellowship at Queen's College. Dr Barnard was also an inaugural future generation fellow at the University of Melbourne, before joining CSIRO in 2009. Using theory, phenomenology and first principles computer simulations, her current research develops a detailed understanding of nanomorphology (the size, shape and phase of nanostructures), and the role it plays in determining fundamental properties at the nanoscale. She is a recognised world leader in the area of nanocarbon research, and a pioneer in the mapping of the environmental stability of nanomaterials (a field known as thermodynamic cartography). This work is the basis for the development of robust structure and property relationships for predicting the reliability of a variety of nanoparticles in high performance applications, in areas such as biotechnology, medicine and energy. She also has a keen interest in linking the environmental stability of nanoparticles to their interactions with natural ecosystems, with the aim of identifying potential nanohazards and their environmental impacts. Given her background as a physicist, her unique perspective on this topic has earned her invitations to write numerous chapters and reviews, and commentaries in both Nature Materials (2006) and Nature Nanotechnology (2010). In the past eight years, Amanda has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal publications, two books and 12 book chapters, 80 per cent of which are as first author. As an active member of the scientific community, she also accepts invitations to speak at numerous conferences, and sits on the organising and program committees for conferences and symposia in Australia, Europe, the US and Asia. For her work she has been awarded a 2008 L'Oreal Australia For Women in Science prize, the 2008 RMIT University Alumnus of the Year, a 2009 J G Russel Award from the Australian Academy of Science, the 2009 Young Scientist Prize in Computational Physics from the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, the 2009 Malcolm Mcintosh Award from the Prime Minister of Australia for the Physical Scientist of the Year, the 2009 Chief's Science Research Award from CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering, the 2010 Frederick White Prize from the Australian Academy of Sciences, other leadership lecturer and research awards and the 2010 UNSW Eureka Prize for Scientific Research. Amanda Barnard, leader, Virtual Nanoscience Laboratory, CSIR 0

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Women in science

Froin performing arts to treating vvater "Many say my life reads like something straight out of a novel: a successful Russian performer falls in love and moves to a foreign country, unable to speak a word of English, and with no career on the horizon. Within eight years, I found myself the head of a manufacturing company with a string of prestigious business awards." Elena Gosse is executive director of Australian Innovative Systems Ltd, (AIS ), a world leader in the disinfection of water through electro-chlorination. Over 15 years, owners Elena and Kerry Gosse have invested in research and development, building an internationally acclaimed -busines~ recognised for its innovative, environmentallyfriendly products now exported to 59 countries. Far from science and engineering, Elena began her career as an actress. Graduating from the Arts College majoring in theatre in 1984, in 1989 she teamed with two colleagues to stage a show called Family Express, which became a hit on Russian television. This led to further projects and after the collapse of the USSR, Elena set up a company organising tours of Russian musicians and singers. "As the middle of three children in a middle-class Russian family I was never content being a follower- I wanted to exceed and lead. I was convinced that one day I would be famous; I even told my math teacher that my aspirations did not include excelling in math, as my ambition to be an actress did not require such skills. I can see the naivety of a young child in that statement because as an accountant and executive director, I now know the importance of financial management!" After an unsuccessful marriage and two children, in 1992 Elena met Australian businessman Kerry Gosse. It was love at first sight. She and her two daughters migrated to Australia in 1994 and she and Kerry were married. Soon after, Kerry was diagnosed with lung cancer and Elena wanted to help in his business. Kerry had bought AIS in 1992, determined to improve the products and become an industry leader. "When I joined the company we were focused on the swimming pool market, our sales were declining and our products had quality issues. The industry faced huge seasonal fluctuation with sales declining in Australia's winter. We took advantage of the northern hemisphere summer to expand globally, ensuring strong sales year round. "These changes helped our business, but our real growth has been based on our willingness to find answers to customers' problems through research and development. We have developed environmentally friendly products that are leading us into whole new markets for treating drinking, waste and recycled water." As well as awards for AIS, Elena herself has been recognised with awards including 2010 Australian Technology Showcase Business Pitch Winner; 2009 QBR Women in Business Awards Woman of the Year, and manufacturing Category Winner; 2005 National Winner of Australian Businesswomen Network Member Award; 2009 International Stevie Awards for Women in Business - finalist in categories for lifetime achievement and most innovative company; regional finalist in the Australian Institute of Management 2007 and 2009 management excellence awards and 2011 Lord Mayor Multicultural Awards Winner. It has been a long and challenging road since arriving in Australia. Elena says "I had no support network, just my kids and husband. I had to master the technical speak as well as English if

I was going to succeed. Not an easy task for a woman who never enjoyed science or mathematics. Building my professional status has been a long road, but a crucial investment." Perhaps because of this long road, Elena is passionate about helping others. She is involved in a number of mentoring programs including internal mentoring at AIS, the Queensland University of Technology Mentoring Scheme, and many public speaking engagements. She is also a strong participant in the Rotary Club and in the Queensland Russian Community Centre, having been elected as president of the Centre in 2010. She is also an avid supporter of women's organisations. "I am dedicated to teaching women to value their own identity and to not let their circumstances hold them back, but rather work to change them for the better," says Elena. "My biggest inspiration is my younger daughter Julia who has cerebral palsy. At 24, she is proving everyone wrong by living her life to the full. I have learned from Julia that life with special needs doesn't limit us achieving what we set out to achieve." Elena Gosse, executive director, AIS

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WOMEN LEADERS PROFESSOR ZEE UPTON HEALING AND REGENERATION

Mentoring is l{ey I've always liked science but I didn't always want to be a scientist. I grew up in Canberra and I left for France in 1998 at age 17 to study physics because university was essentially free there, even for foreign students, and I had learnt French at school. I found biology fascinating, but chose physics because it didn't seem to involve remembering things by heart. Studying overseas was a great experience for me, one I would certainly recommend to anyone. The idea of becoming a scientist didn't really develop until late in my undergraduate degree when I realised physics could be used to look at biological problems. I stayed on to do a PhD in France, where I used neutron scattering to study protein dynamics. Proteins are complex machines, and to know how any machine functions you need to know what it looks like (its structure) and how it moves (its dynamics). Most of my work has been in the field of protein structure and dynamics. Almost everything in our bodies is either a protein or made of a protein, so knowing how they work gives us an understanding of how life works. The great thing about being a scientist is you're never bored. It can also be competitive and you have to be mentally tough sometimes and learn to deal with criticism. Often there is no-one to tell you ~hat to do, you have to work that out for yourself, and learning to be independent and drive my own research is what I currently find most difficult.

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About half the PhD students where I studied were women, but many seem to have chosen different career paths afterwards. I think there is still a fair way to go before seeing equality between men and women in science. It is changing for the better though, and I would say at least one key to success is finding the right mentors. Currently at ANSTO, I'm happy to find many supportive colleagues and quite a number of strong fellow women scientists. In the earlier stages of my career, I was extremely lucky to have three very strong mentors in Joe Zaccai (Institute Laue Langevin, Grenoble, France), Martin Weik (Institute of Structural Biology, Grenoble, France) and Frans Mulder (University of Groningen, the Netherlands). Aside from being excellent scientists, they are decent, friendly and supportive people who ensure men and women are treated fairly and I try to emulate their approach. Mentoring other young scientists and seeing them achieve is a very rewarding part of the job. After 10 years working in Europe, I was happy to come home to Australia to work at ANSTO. People come from all over Australia and overseas to use the instrument I jointly run so that they can look at the structure of all different sorts of materials: steel, cement, plastics, proteins and food. Dr Kathleen Wood, instrument scientist at the Bragg Institute, ANSTO

Zee Upton, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) professor in Life Sciences and leader of the Tissue Repair and Regeneration Program at the University's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, describes chronic wounds as a huge crisis in the community. "They cause vast numbers of unnecessary amputations and diminish the quality of life of thousands of Australians, particularly older people and those from indigenous communities", she says. However, the award-winning biochemist, inventor and tissue engineer and her team have provided an innovative solution to wound healing and tissue regeneration with VitroGro, which helps "cells stick and grow at the wound site", Upton says. Essentially, VitroGro mimics what happens in the body normally and has been shown to be highly effective in low doses. "It's a liquid solution that looks like water with an adhesive protein that binds to a wound and speeds up the rate at which certain skin cells grow," she says. She is also technical founder and consulting chief scientific officer of Tissue Therapies Limited (Ltd), a biotechnology company that is commercialising cell growth technology developed at QUT. She explains that at this stage the product is applied in liquid form to the wound before it is dressed, although at a later stage it may be available as a gel or in another format. This world-first wound healing invention is attracting global interest and excitement among those working in wound care and tissue repair. Tissue Therapies Ltd has exclusive rights to VitroGro, which has been successfully clinically trialled, and the company is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. With the relief it is set to bring chronic wounds and burns patients it is no surprise that professor Upton describes VitroGro as "my proudest achievement". And with chronic wounds costing the Australian healthcare system up to $2.6 billion a year, it will not only alleviate suffering but also promises to reduce the cost to Australia's health services. Acceptance of women in science and the numbers working within science have improved though progress is still too slow, professor Upton says. "The biggest issues relate to maintaining momentum

if you take time out for children. The uncertainty of ongoing employment also means that many women opt out and explore alternative, more child-friendly careers." "Gender is less of an issue in the biological I biomedical sciences, but is still a problem in other areas. Even so, there are very few women in the top positions in the entire field. For example, only a handful of women are executive directors of research institutes, deans and so on. Similarly not many women are chief executive officers or members of boards of biotech companies. So we still need to get through the glass ceiling. "The main reason I have been able to do what I have done is because I had a husband who allowed me to pursue my own career over and above his (he is also an academic/scientist). He has taken on far more than most men in terms of covering for my absences with our two children (now 15 and 9) and has accepted that I earn more."

Australia's Nobel Laureates

WOMEN LEADERS PROFESSOR ZEE UPTON HEALING AND REGENERATION

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PROFESSOR LIDIA MORAWSKA ULTRAFINE PARTICLES In the brave new world of ultrafine particle research Lidia Morawska, professor of Physics at Queensland University of Technology (QUT)'s Faculty of Science and Technology, is a global expert. This scientific niche focuses on investigating ultrafine particles, which are also known as nanoparticles as they measure less than 0.1 micrometre, and their impact on air pollution. A grain of sand is "a rock in comparison", says professor Morawska, an adviser to the World Health Organization and author of more than 250 papers. A large fraction of ultrafine particles are formed in the air rather than being emitted directly by a source and are liquid, she explains, which makes them different from their primary particle cousins. She and her team have shown that laser printers contribute to the ultrafine particles circulating in the atmosphere of the indoor environment. "When the toner melts, the semi-volatile organic compounds evaporate to later condense in the cooler air surrounding the printer and form these secondary particles." Morawska's research also points to the fact that ultrafine particles, being so miniscule, can penetrate deep into the lungs and lodge there, which is partly why manufacturers are paying a great deal more attention to product emissions and new regulations are on the horizon. But research into the formation, transport and deposition of ultrafine particles also has implications for fields as diverse and vital as climate change. "The other beauty of this science is that it is so interdisciplinary," says professor Morawska, director of the International La boratory for Air Quality a'nd Health at QUT and current president of the International Healthy Buildings Conference to be held in Brisbane in 2012. "It brings together people from the fields of physics, chemistry, microbiology, toxicology and epidemiology. And if, for example, we examine vehicle emissions we would work closely with transport engineers." Ultrafine particle research is breaking new ground at an astonishing rate so it is no surprise that those working in a field that is "not so much in its infancy as its teenage years" are widely tipped to be among the Nobel Prize winners of the future. Professor Morawska says that it has never occurred to her that gender has been an issue in her achievements although she says that while some areas such as biosciences and chemistry have "traditionally good numbers of female students this has not necessarily been the case with physics. "I have believed through my whole life that hard work, talent and interest and passion for your work and profession are the key factors for success."

PROFESSOR JUDITH CLEMENTS RESISTANCE TO CHEMOTHERAPY Professor Judith Clements is an international, award-winning biomedical scientist and leader of Queensland University of Technology (QUT)'s Cancer Research Program. She and her colleagues are providing crucial insights into chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer cells and prostate cancer bone metastasis. Professor Clements is the first Australian ever to win the Munichbased Frey-Werle Foundation Commemorative Gold Medal, an accolade she shares with Nobel Prize winners. The 2007 award acknowledged her outstanding contribution to understanding the role of the kallikrein (KLK)-kinin enzyme family in hormone-dependent cancers such as prostate and ovarian cancer. Four years later the work of professor Clements and her colleagues at QUT continues to excite international interest in these two cancers. "Something which is well known about ovarian cancer is that chemotherapy often doesn't work well," says professor Clements who has spent 20 years studying hormone-related cancers. She and her colleagues have discovered that kallikrein proteases (KLKs) induces chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer cells and that it is the likely cause of poor outcomes and/or shorter survival times for women with high (KLK) levels. Using a gel-like substance, the team of scientists is developing threedimensional models that replicate the tumour microenvironment and improve the clinical relevance of their laboratory experiments. "We are developing similar bone metastasis models to better interrogate the role of the KLK proteases in prostate bone cancer metastasis," says professor Clements. In the not too distant future she hopes that "we will have some strong preclinical evidence for the potential of the KLKs as prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets, most likely as an adjunct therapy with chemotherapy in both ovarian and prostate cancer". Professor Clements believes that "science is pretty egalitarian" but that although there are equal numbers of women doing science and PhDs, they struggle to stay in the field during their child-bearing years, which may explain why there are "fewer at the top end". "You do have to work extraordinarily hard, and perhaps harder than most men, to balance your parental responsibilities to still achieve at an equivalent rate to men in science."

PROFESSOR KERRIE MENGERSEN STATISTICS AND STATISTICAL MODELS

PROFESSOR COLL~EN NELSON PROSTATE CANCER RESEARCH After more than 20 years working in the field of prostate cancer, professor Colleen Nelson's passion for the subject is greater than ever. As one of the world's leading experts in prostate cancer these are exciting times for professor Nelson, executive director of Queensland's Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre. Professor Nelson's work and reputation have helped prompt multimillion-dollar State and Federal funding for Queensland University of Technology research into a disease responsible for the death of 3,000 Australian men each year. Currently professor Nelson and colleagues are engaged in groundbreaking work looking at links between insulin levels in men with prostate cancer, specifically those whose cancer returns after they undergo castration or androgen deprivation therapy. "What we have found is that high levels of insulin drive the progression of the disease. We know prostate cancer has a mechanism to produce its own androgens when the disease returns after androgen deprivation therapy. "For men who have had androgen deprivation therapy we find high levels of insulin which we think are acting directly on prostate tumour cells to help their survival and also increase the ability of the cells to produce steroids." "Insulin is the driving factor for these tumours to make steroids and evade therapies for prostate cancer." Professor Nelson says that the use of anti-insulin inhibitors and steroid inhibitors could be key to treating prostate cancer. "The results are so far extremely positive and the use of steroid inhibitors has also shown amazing results," says professor Nelson. She believes the key to making progress in the understanding and treatment of prostate cancer is global collaboration. She is the director of the Australian-Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Alliance and chair of scientific committee that is overseeing Movember's Global Action Plan for a large scale transnational research programme in prostate cancer. As for being a leader in science and a woman Professor Nelson says that glass ceilings still exist. "I have bumped my head on a few. However, because prostate cancer is a relatively small field researchers are blessed with a fantastic sense of camerarderie. "I work in a male dominated world but there is a great deal of respect for women's contribution to science. I always say to my women students don't let anyone else set your limitations."

The notion that statisticians occupy a rarefied world of indecipherable algorithms could not be further from the truth. So much is immediately clear talking to professor Kerrie Mengersen, research professor in Statistics at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Work at QUT spans a breathtaking range of research feeding into the investigation of chemotherapy's side effects among women with breast cancer and the survival of orangutans in the Indonesian states of Borneo and Sumatra. These are two of a multitude of projects professor Mengersen, the author of more than 100 papers, is working on with members of her research team. "Statistics," she explains, "help researchers gather and analyse information." Professor Mengersen and her colleagues are looking into how chemotherapy affects the cognitive function of women with breast cancer - sometimes called "chemo brain". For these women their long-term memory, short-term memory or executive function can be affected for years after treatment. "Based on data from cognitive tests we can develop statistical and mathematical models to identify latent or hidden sub-groups of women who have different responses to chemotherapy and may suffer from diminished cognitive function." With animal conservation, professor Mengersen and colleagues are using statistical models to identify demographic trends in the killing of orangutans. A survey of 7,000 villagers living in orangutans' natural environment has allowed QUT statisticians to "use powerful statistical models to learn from the wealth of knowledge vested in these eyes and ears of the forest and learn how to work more effectively towards goals for the conservation of orang-utans," she says. "We are working in a two-way process with colleagues such as oncologists, ecologists and other researchers, who are doing very important work. It is extremely rewarding. I have the best job in the world."

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On your marks Committed to science and research, New South Wales has a knowledge-intensive economy backed by a skilled and educated workforce and go-getting research sector, writes Bob Lawrence. The New South Wales (NSW) gross domestic product (GDP) of $400 billion is onethird of Australia's GDP. It has the largest research and development (R&D) sector, investing $8.26 billion, which is about 30 per cent of national ~&D expenditure. NSW has established itself as a knowledgeintensive economy, characterised by a highly educated and skilled workforce and a vibrant, high-impact, innovative research sector. Deputy Premier and Trade and Investment Minister, Andrew Stoner, believes NSW is developing an economy that is globally recognised for its innovation capabilities and ability to support emerging challenges in science, research and technology.

R&D remains very strong in manufacturing, professional, scientific and technical services, mining and wholesale trade. EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

NSW has 11 Australian universities, which attract 30 per cent of Australia's R&D funding allocated to higher education. The Shanghai ]iao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities places the University of Sydney 92"d. The 2011 Times International Rankings places the University of Sydney 71 sr and the University of New South Wales 152"d. Deputy premier Stoner said the education and research sectors were pivotal for unlocking NSW intellectual capital, while strengthening ~~Productivity growth can only occur State competitiveness, producwhen the elements of creativity, tivity and innovative capacity. education and a strong sense of Within the Australian research system, the Australian enquiry successfully combine. Research Council Centres of That is why NSW is making strong Excellence Program represents progress in achieving education and the highest calibre of publicly funded research. Thirteen such research systems that rate among Centres of Excellence are headthe best in the world." quartered in NSW, producing world-class economy-boosting The Department of Trade & Investment act1v1t1es in areas as diverse as photonics, seeks to enhance the research capacity autonomous systems, solar-photovoltaics, within NSW and ensure that the research biotechnology, astrophysics, quantum comsector plays a key support role in imple- putation and geotechnical science. The NSW education and research secmenting major policy objectives of the State tors value-added $18 billion to the State Government. The Department includes the Office of Science and Research, which economy in 2009-10; over 7 per cent of total State employment. This should grow works with the scientific, engineering and 17.5 per cent to $21.3 billion by 2020. research communities, the higher education The NSW Government supports high sector and business to promote growth and quality research consortia and collaborainnovation to improve NSW. tions in key areas, as well as undertaking its NSW has a varied, broad-based economy. own research in primary industries, health, Its capital, Sydney, is Australia's centre for financial services. Over 80 per cent of all water and environment portfolios. The Office of the NSW chief scientist and foreign and domestic banks are based there, engineer, professor Mary O'Kane, encourhelping generate 46 per cent of national ages innovation and engagement by all secfinancial services income. R&D expenditure in 2008-09 put NSW tors and ensures NSW's research capacity in first position for financial services with keeps pace with national and international $1.5 billion or 72 per cent nationally. NSW developments.

The NSW Government supports 45 Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) in areas as diverse as energy pipelines, capital markets, environmental biotechnology, mental health and spatial information. Many federal agencies have a presence in NSW, complementing the research strengths of its universities, including: • Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation; • Defence Science and Technology Organisation; • Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation; and • National Measurement Institute. ENERGY, MEDICINE, FINANCE

The NSW Government encourages joint ventures between industry, universities and government agencies. Newcastle is fast becoming Australia's energy capital, housing key infrastructure and diverse high-level research centres covering renewable energy research and infrastructure. NSW has seven dedicated university medical schools, 14 major teaching hospitals, and 18 major medical research institutes performing world-class research in cardiovascular disease, cancer, stem cells, HIV, organ-transplant, diabetes and more . Finance industry R&D is a growing field too. NSW already hosts the Capital Markets CRC and the Securities Industry Research Centre of Asia-Pacific. In July 2011, NSW successfully bid for the Commonwealth's $12 million Centre for International Finance and Regulation to promote Australia as an Asian financial hub. NSW is committed to an ongoing, robust R&D policy to ensure it remains the preeminent Australian state underpinned by a knowledge-intensive economy. "Productivity growth can only occur when the elements of creativity, education and a strong sense of enquiry successfully combine. That is why NSW is making strong progress in achieving education and research systems that rate among the best in the world," says Stoner.

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Discovering vvho we are and vvho wewanttobe

This organisation collects and delivers data that experts and the general public alike trust to help make decisions reflecting on our society and values, writes Kylie Evans. The number of households in Australia is projected to increase by up to four million over the next 25 years, according to projections released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This is an increase from 7.8 million households in 2006 to up to 11.8 million in 2031. (ABS MEDIA RELEASE 8 JUNE 2010). The Australian unemployment rate remained steady at 5.3 per cent in March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced today. (ABS MEDIA RELEASE 8 APRIL 2010). The proportion of Australian deaths by heart disease has decreased over the last 1 0 years, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In 1999, 22 per cent of all deaths in Australia were due to heart disease, compared to 16 per cent of all deaths in 2008. Over the same period, deaths due to dementia and Alzheimer's disease more than doubled. (ABS PRESS RELEASE 31 MARCH 2010 ).

Over the last 10 years, the number of students in non-government schools rose eightfold compared to the number of students in government schools, according to findings released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. (ABS MEDIA RELEASE 16 MARCH 2010) . Every day, our newspapers have stories that tell us about our world. In Australia, these stories often spring from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

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"ABS tells Australia about itself," says Dr Siu-Ming Tam, first assistant statistician, ABS Integrated Collection and Dissemination Services Division. "Our people, our economy, our education, our health, our environment - our statistics describe who we are. "But more importantly, our statistics help to show what we want to be in the future. Statistics can tell us what we need, how our needs will change, and how government actions and policies might affect us." ABOUT THE ABS

" . . . Australia is blessed with one of the world's leading statistical services- not only in conducting an exemplary Census every five years, with results published in record time, but field surveys and statistical projections that hold up a revealing mirror to our society. " ... In fact, ever since it was established in 1905 as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, it has generated nothing but goodwill and trust. "But the main thing about the ABS is that its material is endlessly fascinating to anyone trying to make sense of this society. Its publications offer brilliant illuminations of the state of the nation, and the ABS remains the one indispensable source of information about the kind of society we are becoming.

Know thyself is as good advice for societies as for individuals, and no-one helps us do that better than the ABS." So wrote social researcher and writer, Hugh Mackay, in the Sydney Morning Herald, 22 June 2002. ABS is an organisation of around 2, 700 staff, as well as around 800 survey collectors who conduct phone and field interviews. The Bureau operates in nine offices across Australia - the central office in Canberra, and one in each of the state and territory capital cities. Its mission statement on the wall of ABS house is there for all to see. THE FIVE-YEAR CHECKUP

The Census of Population and Housing is the largest operation undertaken by ABS. The Census is conducted every five years and aims to accurately measure the number of people in Australia and their key characteristics. The last Census was on the night

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of August 9th 2011, marking a hundred years of national censuses in Australia. The Census surveys all people in Australia, even in the Australian Antarctic Territory- Census forms have been shipped to Antarctica since at least 1954. For the 2011 Census over 40,000 Census collectors distributed and collected census forms from every Australian household. The first Australian population counts were known as musters. Conducted as early as 1788, musters gathered all members of the community at specified locations to be counted. These were important as a means of matching food and supplies to the number of people needing them. The Census now provides a basis for our democratic system - population estimates from the Census are used to determine the number of seats allocated to each state and territory in the House of Representatives and where electoral boundaries are drawn.

Here, rather than debating the numbers, we can trust the numbers and get down to debating the issues. This is hugely important for our democratic process and for the strength of government policies."

Population estimates are also used in the allocation of Goods and Services Tax revenue by the Australian Government to the states and territories. Census data also supports the planning, administration, policy development and evaluation activities of government and many other organisations. "Completing the Census is therefore vitally important," says Tam. "Every five years we need to check up on Australia's position so we can make plans on where we want to be in the future." TAKING A SURVEY

While many see the Census as the main work of ABS, it collects, compiles and disseminates data on all major fields of interest to the Australian economy and community. The Bureau has a long history of commitment to research and methodology,

and developments in sampling and survey methodologies since the 1930s have allowed ABS to conduct smaller scale surveys to investigate a wide range of questions. "Probability-based sample surveys were an important innovation for ABS, allowing us to undertake statistically valid surveys at a much lower cost than a full Census," says Tam. "We can therefore target our research at particular questions important to the government or Australia's strategic direction. On the economic side, the national accounts provide the framework to determine the economic statistics work program. But on the social side, we have a long list of issues of interest to Australia, such as education, labour, the environment and health, and we want to know

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"Completing the Census is therefore vitally important ... Every five years we need to check up on Australia's position so we can make plans on where we want to be in the future."

how these issues affect various groups such as the young, the elderly and migrants." ABS determines its research interests with the help of the Australian Statistics Advisory Council and user reference groups. OPEN TO ALL

Providing access to its statiStiCS IS an important part of the role of ABS and recent advances have changed the way ABS does business. In 2005, ABS decided to offer free access to information, and in 2008 it established an open licensing system for data. The ABS website is one of the most popular government sites in Australia . Specific and more detailed information is a lso available from the ABS consultancy service. "It is important that people make decisions based on evidence," he says. "By opening our information to the public we unlock the data for others to use and make a real contribution to the national good."

Some of the ways in which ABS data have been used include: • selecting the best areas to establish breast cancer screening clinics based on population data and access routes; • allocating funding for existing child care centres based on the number of children in each centre's catchment area; and • selecting the best area in which to locate a new outlet for a restaurant company based on concentrations of the target age group. OUR HIP POCKET

MAKING INFORMATION WORK

"In Australia, the increasing demand for quality statistics, greater engagement and more practical applications has come from all sectors: the community, business, academia and government." (Brian Pink, NatStats2010 Conference Sydney). "ABS data is used by a wide variety of people and organisations. Governments and politicians use ABS data to make and evaluate policy. The wellbeing of Australians is a primary consideration of policies, and statistical data help us to decide what we mean by wellbeing and how changes in policy affect our wellbeing," says Dr Tam. "At the same time, businesses use ABS data to make commercia l decisions, and community organisations use it to plan the use of their resources."

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A major way in which ABS affects all of us is through irs economic work. ABS statistics on unemployment, together with the consumer price index (CPI), are used by the Reserve Bank and Treasury to set interest rates and make economic policy decisions. The CPI provides a measure of changes in prices of consumer goods and services purchased by Australian households. Studies of family expenditure in the early 1900s brought about an index of standard items of food and groceries to be used as indicators of consumption. From the first publication of the index in 1912, it was used in determining relative basic wages throughout Australia. The method of calculating the index has varied over time and, more recently, ABS introduced the new Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI), which reflects

changes in the living costs of pensioners and other households receiving income support from the government. In the 2009-10 Budget, the Federal Government indicated that it will use the PBLCI to index base pension rates where it is higher than the CPl. FROM NUMBERS TO PICTURES

ABS disseminates information in a range of publications, and issues at least 10 media releases every month. However, ABS believes that data should not just be collated and released. As the provider of official statistics, ABS has a duty to explain and clarify the information. ABS has recently invested a lor of time and effort in making statistical information clear through the use of graphics. "Graphs and charts allow people to see the relationships between the information clearly," says Dr Tam. "Particularly when various datasets are integrated, graphs can be a powerful way of telling a story." He likens the work of a statistician to a musical composer. "The composer uses musical notation to write a song. While other composers and musicians can read the notation, for others to hear and appreciate the song requires instruments to translate it into sound. "In the same way, statisticians produce statistics tables and data cubes that can be

Adventures in Innovation

read by other statisticians, but understanding the story of the statistics requires graphics to translate the numbers into a visual form everyone can understand." One of the first and most famous uses of graphics in statistics was by Florence Nightingale, who was a nurse during the Crimean War (1854-56). After the war, Nightingale created a number of spectacular graphics designed to show how improvements in hygiene could save many lives, both in the army and in civilian life. Dr Tam says Nightingale understood that numbers are powerful, but that pictures tell a story. "ABS website visitors are miners, harvesters or tourists. Miners are researchers who are happy to delve into the statistics to find what they need. Harvesters are usually governments or other organisations looking for an answer to a specific question, and tourists are the general public. "Our statistical data used to just talk to the miners, but we now need to make sure that our graphics are letting the harvesters and tourists understand as well." INFORMATION TO EMPOWER

Another emerging priority for ABS has been the integration of data. Combining datasets provides more information than is available from the datasets taken separately- by using different datasets together, more insights can

be gained into relationships between data, ABS STANDING cause and effect, and changes over time. ABS is very highly regarded both nationally "For example, the combination of health and internationally, and leads the way in insurveys and census population data can ternational best practice. Surveys show that 92 allow us to draw conclusions about health per cent of Australians have a high degree of questions such us cancer rates for people trust in ABS. By comparison, European surliving near electricity poles," says Dr Tam. veys of trust in statistical organisations peak at The health and social sciences sectors make 80 per cent in the Netherlands, and trust in the particular use of ABS statistics and data inte- United Kingdom is only 30 per cent. gration. Indeed, historically, ABS was the baDr Tam believes that a number of factors sis of a breakthrough in medical knowledge. have contributed to the success and "trustThe results of the 1911 census found a worthiness" of ABS. curious pattern in the data on deaf-mutism: "Firstly and most importantly, we are the incidence was found to be particularly completely independent. The Australian high in 10-14-year-olds in that year. In Statistician has complete independence as to 1921, the pattern still existed for the same what data is collected by ABS. Furthermore, cohort, now 20-24-year-olds. The author the data that we collect must be published. of the Statistician's Report recognised that "This means that we are impartial and there was likely to be a medical reason for open in our collections and analysis. Austhis pattern, although he was unable to pintralian politicians have recognised the need point the cause: " ... There is some evidence for authenticated statistics to support policy, to indicate that the increase in incidence of and ABS enjoys strong bipartisan support. deaf-mutism at certain ages synchronises "The independence of ABS and the with the occurrence of epidemic diseases strength of its statistics is also recognised by such as scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, the media. Many media stories feature our and whooping cough .. . It is a reasonable work or use ABS statistics as background assumption, therefore, that the abnormal information, furthering the public trust." number of deaf-mutes registered at the cenWhile trust from the public, government sus of 1911 in the age group 10-14, and in and media is gratifying to ABS, it is not the 1921, in group 20-24, was the result of the only part of the story. extensive epidemic of infectious diseases which occurred "... statisticians produce statistics soon after many in those age tables and data cubes that can be groups were born." (Comread by other statisticians, but monwealth Bureau of Census understanding the story of the and Statistics, Census of the Commonwealth of Australia, statistics requires graphics to April 4th 1921, Statistician's translate the numbers into a visual Report). form everyone can understand." The last time deaf-mutism data was collected in the "In many parts of the world, political decensus was in 1933, and the Statistician's bates centre on the numbers- people will arReport repeated the conclusions reached in 1921. During World War II, an Australian gue about how many people need a particular service, or how many people are affected by ophthalmologist, Sir Norman McAllister a particular change in policy," says Dr Tam. Gregg, discovered that a sizeable number "Here, rather than debating the numbers, of children around the same age appeared to have congenital cataracts. He overheard we can trust the numbers and get down to debating the issues. two mothers in his surgery discussing "This is hugely important for our demohow they had both had rubella during their pregnancies, and began to look into cratic process and for the strength of governwhether rubella in a pregnant woman had ment policies." an impact on the unborn child. His work inspired Australian statistician Oliver Lan- FINALLY ... Reliable, validated information is essential caster to investigate the census results from 1911, 1921 and 1933. Lancaster found that to planning and decision-making in all areas of Australian life. ABS plays a vital role in there was a peak in the incidence of deafgathering and providing that information, mutism in the age cohort born in 1898 and and will continue to guard its independence 1899, and that this matched with a known and develop its processes to ensure all its outbreak of rubella in those years. This was information is accurate and useful. the first time in the world that the link beDr Tam believes, "ABS empowers the tween rubella and congenital problems was country to make better decisions." firmly established.

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Minin g, Energy and Sustainability

Innovating underground and overground Looking ahead, Rio Tinto is working with national and internation al research centres to explore, understand, create and automate mining for the future , writes Dan Stojanovich.

"We'll need more copper in the next 25 years than we've produced in the whole history of humankind," says Chris Goodes, general manager - Recovery, Technology and Innovation at Rio Tinto. "And that is what some forecasters see as the demand for just one metal," he adds. That is a lot of copper, considering that humans have been using this metal for some 10,000 years. But it is just one example of the scale of challenges facing the global mining industry. Effective innovation is paramount to servicing such demand. Ri~ Tinto's Mine of the FutureTMprogram is a global initiative to apply the best innovation fr om around the world right across the complex processes that comprise today's mining industry. And it is already working ... what may have been thought of as science fiction a few years ago is a reality in Western Australia where from a large central control room full of computer screens, huge iron ore mines in the Pilbara region hundreds of kilometres away, are controlled and optimised by operators in Perth. But driverless trucks and other complex equipment without human operators on board are just part of a much bigger picture. One of the world's largest mining companies, Rio Tinto has operations on six continents, so its perspective is very much a global one- as is the competition. Innovation in technology as well as business and social practice is vital to being at the forefront of the industry. "Our underlying philosophy," says Goodes, "is to find the best thought leaders in the world to work with on the big challenges. We provide long-term funding and support for them as idea generators." The leaders are university research centres and Rio Tinto works with five of them around the world. Rio Tinto also has strategic alliances with various suppliers with whom it works

on the practical application of this innovative thinking. As far as Rio Tinto is concerned, technology has no national boundaries and the company approaches the mining business from a very global perspective. There are always opportunities to develop better ways of finding and accessing deposits in safer and more sustainable ways. Rio Tinto knows only too well that it must dig ever deeper to find the deposits the world needs, and that these are increasingly more challenging to extract safely and in a sustainable manner. Rio Tinto is also well aware that important technological breakthroughs may sometimes be sourced from other than mining and related industries - so staying flexible and open minded is essential. For example, some of the mineral sorting technologies have come from the food industry where product has to be sorted at high volume on the basis of often minor colour differences. Wherever the ideas and technologies are sourced, the aim is to turn the inherently risky process of exploration and mining into something that is more predictable and controllable - "more like a manufacturing process", says Goodes. DIVERSE INITIATIVES The range of initiatives being undertaken by Rio Tinto and its partners to achieve this is extremely diverse and includes: • The development of a highly sensitive airborne gravity measurement system to detect subtle density differences in the earth's crust - a significant competitive advantage in exploration. • Combining depth mapping technology currently used in oil-and gas discovery with the latest in wavefield tomography to map deep mineral deposits in 3D and predict fragmentation behaviour and improve mining

methods - research that will fundamentally change the world of underground mining. • Developing automated tunnelling machines in cooperation with alliance partners, in order to increase the rate of mining many times over. Similar machines are used worldwide in major civil engineering projects for transportation and sewerage tunnels for example. • Automation of remote mining locations, supported by highly trained staff. Driverless trucks that haul their own loads, drilling rigs with sophisticated automated robotics systems that are remotely operated. Autonomous sensing equipment that fine-tunes the ever varying stream of ore to maximise recovery, and saves energy, water and time. • Remotely operated trains, train load-outs, remote rock breakers, and remote service assistance operated by highly trained staff thousands of kilometres away at control centres in major capital cities. • Advanced sorting machines capable of upgrading low grade ores and significantly extending mine life. • Computer modelling the physics of flotation - to better understand how foams behave, and so achieve maximum mineral recovery with less wastage. There are five research centres around the world working in concert with Rio Tinto as part of its Mine of the FutureTMprogram. The first centre was established at Sydney University, which has focused on automation. Robotics is transforming mining around the world and Australian research and development is a global leader in this new vision of highly efficient mines with intelligent remote supervision from an office many thousands of kilometres from site. Robotics (machines which can both sense and reason about their environment) is the logical continuation of automation. Advances such as increased computing power; new algorithms for signal processing, perception and control; new sensing technology including global positioning systems, radar and laser systems; and automation and robotics are transforming the safety, predictability, precision and efficiency of mining. Separating people from potentially hazardous environments is also a vital consideration.

Being able to accurately locate, control and coordinate robotic machines also delivers much better predictability. With sensors able to provide real-time estimates of material geometry and geology, such machines can be controlled in a near optimal manner, and working in concert, they can vastly increase utilisation, precision and overall efficiency. Substantial research achievements in areas such as sensing, data fusion, navigation and control, have helped establish Australian researchers as leading players on the world stage. The Mine of the FutureTM program looks to fully automate the entire mining process and make it much more precise and predicable. At last, some miners say, we can move from planning to mine to actually mining to a plan! Robotics will decrease human operators on site, especially in repetitive and potentially hazardous activities such as truck driving and drilling. Skilled operators, geologists and mine planners will increasingly be located remote from the site itself. New highly skilled roles will be created that would not have been imagined 20 years ago. It will become possible to mine otherwise unviable areas, to mine much more selectively with lower environmental in1pacts, and to mine at much greater depths with much greater selectivity. THE CENTRES The Sydney University centre is the largest university-based group working in

"Wherever the ideas and technologies are sourced, the aim is to turn the inherently risky process of exploration and mining into something that is more predictable and controllable- more like a manufacturing process."

the mining automation field worldwide. Another Rio Tinto centre 1s at Imperial College in London where work on the fundamentals of rock fracture is a particular focus. The phenomenon is researched atom-by-atom as well as at a much larger scale, including the practical application of block caving, which is a relatively new mining technique that drives mine shafts below the ore body to create a void into which the fractured ore body is collapsed for removal. So rather than conventional open-cut mining, where everything is removed above the ore body in order to access it, this technique precisely targets the ore body and accesses it in the most costeffective manner. As newer ore bodies are found at greater depths, the cost of removing the overburden can dramatically reduce profitability. But this new approach demands an advanced understanding of rock mechanics with very advanced mathematical modelling, as well as great precision and upto-date equipment. Imperial College also does processing work on how to improve efficiencies of mineral extraction, which once again requires very advanced mathematical modelling, and Imperial College is one of the best universities in the world in this area. The research centre at the University of Queensland is located at the ]KMRC, the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre.

This, one of the oldest groups at the University, specialises in minerals-sorting technologies. With deeper mines and lower concentrations, Rio Tinto sees advanced minerals sorting as one of the most important frontiers . Breakthroughs in the food processing industry and advanced computing power provides a workable platform for the sorting of bulk commodities. The fourth centre is at Curtin University in Western Australia where the focus is on advanced materials and advanced sensing techniques again linked back to understanding what is under the surface and the characteristics of the ore body so it can be more efficiently processed. The recently announced fifth centre is at the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation , CEMI, in Sudbury in Canada. Here the focus is on underground mining operations, addressing aspects such as how to more rapidly undertake mine development by getting to the ore body more quickly and once there, how to go about the mining operation more efficiently, quickly and safely. These five centres underpin the Rio Tinto global approach to mining innovation, and then the company partners with other organisations to bring these ideas to practical fruition.

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Being able to accurately locate, control and coordinate robotic machines also delivers much better predictability. With sensors able to provide real-time estimates of material geometry and geology, such machines can be controlled in a near optimal manner, and working in concert, they can vastly increase utilisation, precision and overall efficiency. Substantial research achievements in areas such as sensing, data fusion, navigation and control, have helped establish Australian researchers as leading players on the world stage. The Mine of the Future"' program looks to fully automate the entire mining process and make it much more precise and predicable. At last, some miners say, we can move from planning to mine to actually mining to a plan! Robotics will decrease human operators on site, especially in repetitive and potentially hazardous activities such as truck driving and drilling. Skilled operators, geologists and mine planners will increasingly be located remote from the site itself. New highly skilled roles will be created that would not have been imagined 20 years ago. It will become possible to mine otherwise unviable areas, to mine much more selectively with lower environmental impacts, and to mine at much greater depths with much greater selectivity. THE CENTRES The Sydney University centre is the largest university-based group working in

the mmmg automation field worldwide. Another Rio Tinto centre is at Imperial College in London where work on the fundamentals of rock fracture is a particular focus. The phenomenon is researched atom-by-atom as well as at a much larger scale, including the practical application of block caving, which is a relatively new mining technique that drives mine shafts below the ore body to create a void into which the fractured ore body is collapsed for removal. So rather than conventional open-cut mining, where everything is removed above the ore body in order to access it, this technique precisely targets the ore body and accesses it in the most costeffective manner. As newer ore bodies are found at greater depths, the cost of removing the overburden can dramatically reduce profitability. But this new approach demands an advanced understanding of rock mechanics with very advanced mathematical modelling, as well as great precision and upto-date equipment. Imperial College also does processing work on how to improve efficiencies of mineral extraction, which once again requires very advanced mathematical modelling, and Imperial College is one of the best universities in the world in this area. The research centre at the University of Queensland is located at the ]KMRC, the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre.

This, one of the oldest groups at the University, specialises in minerals-sorting technologies. With deeper mines and lower concentrations, Rio Tinto sees advanced minerals sorting as one of the most important frontiers. Breakthroughs in the food processing industry and advanced computing power provides a workable platform for the sorting of bulk commodities. The fourth centre is at Curtin University in Western Australia where the focus is on advanced materials and advanced sensing techniques again linked back to understanding what is under the surface and the characteristics of the ore body so it can be more efficiently processed. The recently announced fifth centre is at the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation, CEMI, in Sudbury in Canada. Here the focus is on underground mining operations, addressing aspects such as how to more rapidly undertake mine development by getting to the ore body more quickly and once there, how to go about the mining operation more efficiently, quickly and safely. These five centres underpin the Rio Tinto global approach to mining innovation, and then the company partners with other organisations to bring these ideas to practical fruition.

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THE THEMES

of advanced civil engineering equipment flotation, which is particularly important in like tunnel boring machines to be applied copper mining. Rio Tinto is trying to turn to the mining industry. Rio Tinto has comwhat in many ways has been looked upon mitted to the building of one of these maas an art form into a science by developchines with leading heavy drilling manufac- ing an in-depth understanding of the procturer Aker Wirth, with the machine to go ess. The company is working with Impeinto the Northparkes Mine in central New rial College in this area, and some of the South Wales where full-scale testing is to be ,_. work entails very advanced modelling at an undertaken. atomic level, including being able to chemiThe third theme is increasing recovery cally tag small particles in a large system so once the material has been mined and and then see what happens. brought to the surface the question of "how do we go about more efficiently extracting UNDER THE MICROSCOPE the mineral and coping with the environ- So mining is under the microscope - from mental consequences?" can be addressed. exploration, extraction and processing to There are several aspects to this theme, eventual closedown and site rehabilitawith one of the most important being the tion when all is done. It is important, says energy efficiency of the process, because Goodes, to get a clear picture of this entire the grades of material these days can be so process before even starting operations. low - perhaps 1 per cent - 100 tonnes of To a company such as Rio Tinto, scale material needs to be processed to achieve is fundamental and an integrated planning one tonne (at best) of desired product. This approach is essential. As part of its Mine makes advanced sorting crucial. of the Future'M program, Rio Tinto is lookAnother area that is being actively ading for not only scale, but opportunities dressed is advanced modelling work around to apply step change advances in enabling technologies, to develop operations with very high precision and accuracy based on At last, some miners say, we can a comprehensive understanding of the oremove from planning to mine to body. Then the objective is to find the best, safest and most efficient way of mining the actually mining to a plan! resource as quickly as possible while doing it all in an environmentally responsible and sustainable fashion. "It really is all about innovation," says Goodes. "Science, technology and engineering are the absolute underpinning, and we will source the best from wherever we find it around the world. Our Mine of the Futureâ&#x201E;˘ program is not an option for us - it is an imperative and a company-wide commitment- something we have to do for ongoing competitive advantage. It is a key strategic driver for Rio Tinto." These new technologies also change the ways people work together. In the new Perth operations centre there are many people in the same room from many functions, so the transfer of information is quick and effective. The interchanges are much richer and the resulting system works across a diversity of sites and challenges. In the Pilbara, Rio Tinto's current production is over 200 million tonnes per year, which should increase to more than 300 million tonnes per year across multiple sites, all controlled and optimised by the one system run from Perth. There is an ever-growing demand for more and more minerals, and the Mine of the Future"' program is driving new ways of working that are creating new skill sets more appropriate to the new ways. "And that is also pretty exciting," says Goodes. In overview, says Goodes, "there are three major themes. Theme one is automation, that is all about efficiency and safety of our operations." The operations centre in Perth is now functional and in full swing, and it really comes into its own when there are more than just one or two sites to manage, as is the case in the Pilbara, where there are 13 mines (with plans for more) that can be controlled remotely from Perth. They are all geographically spread out, but need to be managed as part of a large and integrated production system. The Perth facility is the centre of the automation initiative, managing full scale trials of autonomous trucks, autonomous drills, ship loading and train loading. The second theme, says Goodes, is about "addressing head-on the future of deeper mines, and asking how do we develop those underground mines rapidly and then undertake the underground mining safely and effectively." One of the initiatives is assessing the use

Metals research stretches the boundaries This longstanding Cooperative Research Centre generates ideas and technologies for the manufacturing and export of metals, writes Sarah Marinos. People have been making things out of metal since at least 8,000 BC but there is still much to learn ~bout metals manufacturing. Advances in modern processing and analytical techniques have led to innovations in the way metals are melted, alloyed and made into useful components. Many innovations in metals technology are from high-quality research in alloy design; microstructure- the way materials are arranged at a microscopic scale; solidification- when molten metal freezes; mechanical properties; and heat treatment. Thanks to a strong focus on commercialisation, this research is regularly turned into technologies that are being implemented by industry at an ever-increasing rate. With its wealth of natural resources and manufacturing infrastructure, Australia's metals manufacturing sector is motivated to apply new research ideas to business practices. For the past 17 years, CAST Cooperative Research Centre ( CRC) has helped keep the ideas flowing from research organisations to industry. CAST chief executive officer, Dr George Collins, describes the CRC as "a hub for innovation". "CAST has created a pipeline of technologies for the metals manufacturing sector that are making a difference in the marketplace," Collins says. CAST was established as part of the Australian government's CRC program. The centre conducts industry-driven research in metals technology, assisting industry to maintain competitiveness and improving processes and product quality.

"The work by Chris Gourlay and Arne Dahle showed that molten metal behaves like wet sand as it solidifies. This is an insight that could enable manufacturers to cheaply and efficiently produce better quality metal parts." Converting research ideas like this into viable technologies is CAST's primary goal. "In May 2010 CAST won a national innovation prize for casting technology - the Cooperative Research Centres Association Award for Excellence in Innovation. It involved improving the quality and productivity of ingots produced from molten aluminium," Collins says. "That sounds pedestrian but we improved the quality of those ingots and sped up their production. That project involved aluminium smelters, the company that makes the casting equipment and our researchers

working together to produce a technology that is now being used in a number of Australian smelters and is being exported." One CAST industry partner estimates that CAST technology has helped them achieve direct cost savings of over $1 million per annum due to increased productivity and profitability, and has significantly reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions. NEW METALS AND RECYCLED METALS

Looking ahead, Collins would like to see the metals industry build strength in new areas, such as titanium, and increase the quality of recycled metal so more metal can be re-used with obvious environmental and financial benefits. CAST is also moving into supporting other supply chains, such as defence, medical device manufacture and the mining industry. "We want to see more Australian companies dominate their global niche and we want to help those companies distinguish themselves and develop a product or technology that helps them stand apart," he says. "CAST is focused on ensuring Australia has a vibrant and sustainable metals manufacturing industry."

STRONG POSTGRADUATE PROGRAM

An important source of research ideas 1s CAST's strong postgraduate research program, hosting 24 students as at the last quarter of 2010. "One of our recent graduates published a new theory on molten metal behaviour that was published in the journal Nature," says Collins.

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STRONG POSTGRADUATE PROGRAM

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Ore-inspiring Xstrata Mount Isa Mines, in Queensland's north-west heartland, has galvanised the economy alongside meeting its environmental obligations- and more, writes Alethea Mouhtouris. Mining in north-west Queensland has progressed greatly since the discovery of zinc-lead ore by John Campbell Miles on the surface of a stony ridge named Mount Isa in 1923. This discovery saw the birth of a company that has contributed significantly to the development of the region, and has since grown to become a driving force in the state and national economies. From its origin in 1924, Mount Isa Mines has become a globally competitive operation, employing about 4,500 people and directly injecting around $2 billion into the Queensland economy each year. The operation also adds another $4 billion Âˇ in value to Queensland. In 2003, the assets accumulated by Mount Isa M ines drew the attention of global mining company Xstrata who acquired the operation. Xstrata set about reinvigorating Mount Isa Mines with the instigation of a core sustainability statement that further aligned the balance of social, environmental and econom ic considerations in managing the business. Today, Xstrata Mount Isa Mines has two separate mining and processing streams operated by two of its commodity businesses: copper managed by Xstrata Copper and zinc-lead-silver managed by Xstrata Zinc. Xstrata Mount Isa Mines has received

North Queensland, Steve de Kruijff, says the company is proud of its achievements and is working hard to maintain its record of continuous improvement. "Xstrata Mount Isa Mines has come a long way in many areas of its operations since the business began and the recent awards are a reflection of our commitment," he says. " It really says a lot about the success of our continual strive for excellence when you think about where the company has come from, an d the changes there have been along the way." While some organisations have been reluctant to change, Xstrata Mount Isa Mines has adopted a hands-on approach to social, environmental and economic responsibility. "We live and breathe our commitment to sustainable development and fol low through with consistent review and improvement of our processes," says de Kruijff. CHANGING MARKET REQUIREMENTS

Throughout the decades Xstrata Mount Isa Mines has evolved to meet changing market requirements, including a switch from leadonly production to copper-only production in the early 1940s to support market needs during World War II. In the 1950s dual copper/lead production followed with international diversification in the 1970s and 1980s and financial struggles While some organisations in the 1990s. have been reluctant to change, Notably, the most significant Xstrata Mount Isa Mines has achievements are the environmental improvements from the 1920s adopted a hands-on approach when environmental considerato social, environmental and tions were virtually non-existent, economic responsibility. to today's age of heightened awareness and standards. numerous accolades recognising its achieveAs early as the 1970s, when awareness ments. In 2010 alone, it was inducted into was growing but was not yet widespread, the Queensland Business _Leader's Hall Mount Isa Mines adopted a proactive apof Fame, and awarded both the state and proach to environmental initiatives. "In 1975, we introduced an air quality national export awards. Chief operating officer at Xstrata Copper control system which included 15 air

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quality monitors across the Mount Isa community, " says de Kruijff. "Today, this is the most intensive air quality control system of any city in Australia. "It includes wind and weather monitors that feed information back to the air quality control centre, situated on a hill looking out across the town. "With access to the Bureau of Meteorology, our centre can predict and respond to a shift in wind or weather patterns and limit impacts from our operations. "With the guidance of this system we have succeeded in continuously adhering to regulatory standards at all of our air monitors in the Mount Isa community since Xstrata acquired the operations in 2003." REMEDIATING PAST IMPACTS

In addition to these comprehensive environmental measures, Xstrata Mount !sa M ines has also acted to remediate impacts from historical practices. "In the 1990s we commenced remediation works in the Leichhardt River to remove mine-related sediments left over from historical mining practices of the 1940s and 1950s," de Kruijff says. A report from an independent Lead Pathways Study in 2009 into the effectiveness of the remediation found the works undertaken in the 1990s were successful by identifying a low risk to human health. Despite this finding, an additional 160,000 tonnes of soil containing historical mine sediment was removed and contained on the lease to furt her improve the local environment. In 2000, the company partnered with the Western Mining Corporation to introduce a sulfur dioxide plant to manage its emissions from the copper processing operations. Now operated by Incitec Pivot, the plant converts emissions into sulfuric acid, which is then used to create fertiliser. Since acquiring the operations in 2003, Xstrata Mount Isa Mines has invested in excess of $275 million on over 220

Mining, Energy and Sustainability

"... committed to continuing our focus on sustainably managing our operations and supporting our communities."

initiatives to not only meet environmental obligations, but exceed the expectations of environmental compliance. "There have been changes to research and regulations over time and we have worked hard to ensure we comply," de Kruijff says. SUPPORTING COMMUNITIE S

The comm itment of managing its operations in an environmenta ll y responsib le manner is mirrored by a commitment to social responsibil ity.

"We are proud of our ach ievements over the decades and remain committed to continuing our focus on sustainably managing our operations and supporting our communities," de Kruijff says. Xstrata's commitment to corporate social involvement extends to local support and broader partnerships across Queensland. "Over six years, and in collaboration with our partners from Xstrata Zinc and Coal, we have contributed almost $50 million to support Queensland communities," he says.

"In 2011, our Xstrata Community Program Queensland (XCPQ ) has partnered with organisations such as The Salvation Army, the Roya l Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Cerebral Palsy League, The Smith Family, The Pyjama Foundation, Flying Arts, The University of Queensland and the Department of Environment and Resource Management. The Xstrata Community Program North Queensland (XCPNQ) provi des direct support to the community in which Xstrata Mount Isa Mines operates. To date, XCPNQ has supported important social infrastructure including $2 million for a local dental health building, $1 million for the Mount Isa Family Fun Park and $1 million for the Xstrata Entertainment Centre. "With the community quite litera ll y growing up around o ur mining operations, we are firmly comm itted to community health in Mount Isa. "We are a found ing member of the Living with Lead Alliance - a committee with representatives from Xstrata, Mo unt Isa City Council, the Queensland Department of Environment and Reso urce Management, and Queens land Hea lth - chaired by the state member of parliament. " We strongly support the alliance, both wit h our time and our fun ding, to ens ure our communities are we ll aware of how to live safely in an environment where lead occurs from natura l and industria l sources. "We have also committed $2 million to the Royal Flying Doctor Service towards a redevelopment of their Mount Isa Base that will support the delivery of increased health services in the north-west region," de Kruijff says. As a world-leadi ng mining company, community partner and supporter of the state and national economies, Xstrata Mount Isa Mines will continue to grow from strength to strength.

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Mining, Energy and Sustainability

The draina unfolds As the earth's natural resources are developed, companies have to be smarter andcdrill deeper to find remaining oil or gas pools, according to a consultancy looking at seismic data to help identify useable underground or undersea energy, water and mineral resources, writes Rach el Sullivan. 3D-GEO, a small team of Melbourne-based geoscience consultants has taken decades of business, research and on-the-ground expertise to develop new ways of interpreting seismic data to deliver innovative solutions to the oil and gas, minerals and geothermal industries and for the new industries related to carbon dioxide capture and storage. "In theory, it's easy to learn about rocks and the things they might be hiding, but the theories don't always fit with what the rocks are doing," says Dr Nick Hoffman, a geophysicist and principal at 3D-GEO. The other principals are structur~l geologist Dr Jeff Keetley, who has particular expertise in folding and faulting structures, and petroleum geologist Keven Asquith, who has worked in the oil industry for 30 years. The two doctors met as researchers at university where, because of funding shortfalls, they had to pay their way through external consulting work. It proved so successful that they soon left academia and went into the business full-time. Later joined by long-time professionals like Asquith, they are now regarded as punching well above their weight in the industry. INTERPRETING BURIED TREASURES

3D-GEO was awarded the tender to create a geological skeleton of the Gippsland Basin in south-east Victoria that can be fleshed out as a sophisticated 3D model for

expensive; Hoffman says that the easy way to interpret data may not always be correct. "We work worldwide, particularly in Asia and Australia, and follow a multistep process. First we map an area with standard instruments. Although this is normal practice across the industry, the technique cannot see in perfect detail what's happening underground, so we perform a quality check by trying to identify how a fault line, for example, came to be." Fault lines indicate where plates under the earth's surface have rubbed up against each other. Over millennia they may move a great distance in all directions taking layers of economically-important rock with them. To ensure that drilling is done in the best spot, 3D-GEO's team of experts check their interpretation by undoing the faults and folds in 2D or 3D to see if the horizons match up precisely across the fault lines.

companies to explore for valuable resources and store carbon dioxide underground. It also undertook a major 3D study that will enable the onshore and offshore exploration for oil, gas and geothermal energy of the vast Otway Basin straddling Victoria and South Australia. In addition, the company has produced a map identifying the likely location of aquifers in the south-eastern corner of Australia. ... we re-examine the "We use a combination of technologies including satellite underground picture to see that imagery above ground and it fits not just with what we see, seismic reflectivity underwater or but also with what should work. underground to form images of what lies beneath the surface," "Then we re-examine the underground Hoffman says. "While the company primarily picture to see that it fits not just with what focuses on the search for oil and gas, we also we see, but also with what should work," use geological and geophysical modelling Dr Hoffman says. "It's still not 100 per cent techniques to search for fractured and porous rocks underground that hold potential as accurate, but interpreting the results this way gives us better data to work with." deep geothermal energy systems or shallow A similar cross-checking method is used drinking water aquifers." "There are a number of different ways when searching for water reserves held in underground aquifers. "The standard approach of interpreting or analysing data," he says. is to drill a series of shallow water wells, "We believe we have met with considerable then join the dots to form a picture of where success in this field because of our deep water might be stored," says Hoffman. "This understanding of basin analysis and seismic method is inefficient and not always reliable. horizons - that is what the rock layers are However, by combining available data from the doing deep underground." petroleum industry, we have been able to more This is significant because some fold belts accurately predict the water storages based on hold pockets of oil or gas, but sampling those the presence of faults and folds." pockets to test out theories can be prohibitively And in the well-established gas province off Australia's north-west shelf, a fresh look at the evolutionary history of the deep water basin by adapting a technique normally associated with shallow water environments, 3D-GEO has identified a number of potential oil and gas reservoirs that were previously overlooked. With so much at stake commercially, Dr Hoffman says 3D-GEO's principals are sharing their experiences and selling their services wherever they are most needed around the world - academia is now no longer an option.

What lies ahead for coal? As a company heavily invested in the coal industry, Peabody also has a lot to gain from the development of clean coal technologies and it is working harder than most to turn coal into a climate-friendly energy source, writes Kayt Davies.

The five-point plan involves: • working to eliminate energy poverty by ensuring that at least half of new generation is fuelled by coal; • replacing older traditional coal plants with advanced coal technologies; • developing at least 100 major carbon capture and storage projects around the world within 10 years; • deploying significant coal-to-gas, coalto-chemicals and coal-to-liquids projects globally in the next decade; and • commercialising next generation clean coal ; -!r ·> · technologies to achieve near-zero emissions. Further promoting the plan, he claimed 6 million jobs would be created during the construction phase and that it would prevent the emission of some 440 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Technology has addressed every challenge Peabody Energy is the world's largest we've ever encountered, and we continue to private-sector coal company. In 2010 it sold advance with low-cost, low-carbon energy 246 million tons of c;oal and raised nearly solutions from coal and other fuels. "The world does not face a choice between $US7 billion ($6.65 billion) in revenues. Its coal products fuellO per cent of all electric- more drilling or more wind. We do not face ity generation in the United States and 2 per a choice between clean coal or natural gas. The world in 2030 will need it all. The good cent of worldwide electricity generation. Its subsidiary, Peabody Energy Australia, is news is that there are solutions to 11 The world does not face a choice one of Australia's largest mining companies meet environmental objectives and with nine mining operations at eight sites in energy needs and those solutions are between more drilling or more technology-based. Queensland and New South Wales (NSW). wind. We do not face a choice "There are many potential options, In March 2011, Peabody Energy chairman between clean coal or natural gas. and chief executive officer Gregory H Boyce and we should explore them all." He arg ued that - if it can be The world in 2030 will need it all." predicted long-term growth in coal demand driven by soaring energy needs. He promoted the role of coal in solving the recently coined problem of energy poverty among populations in the developing world, who have previously lived with little or no access to electricity. He said the growth was being driven by nations such as China, India and Indonesia, industrialising and urbanising. He called energy access "a human right and a rapidly rising need", and said expanding coal use had the ability to "lift billions from energy poverty". According to the United Nations' 2010 figures, the current world population of close to 7 billion is projected to reach 10.1 billion in the next 90 years, reaching 9.3 billion by 2050. By then more than 6 billion are expected to be living in cities. Boyce said these figures underpin the The company is also working on reducneed for growth in the energy sector. While successfully developed and implemented ing the damage that coal mining does to "clean coal technology provides the lowest he recognised the growing importance of local environments by investing in environcost, low-carbon path". alternative energy sources, he claimed that mental projects. He also believes that with the ongoing coal still had a role to play. In 2008 efforts in this direction yielded development of supercritical and ultrasupercritical technologies, which are already mark- Peabody Australia accolades, winning an TECHNOLOGY TO THE FORE While coal use is heavily criticised for its edly improving carbon emissions, we do not Environmental Excellence award from the contribution to the build-up of greenhouse have to wait for action to begin- the process NSW Minerals Council for successful remediation of a stream rock bar. Cracks in gases in the atmosphere and the exacerba- can start right now. the rock formation had reduced the water tion of climate change, Boyce is confident flow down a rivulet and Peabody found PLANNING FOR CHANGE that technology will save the day. He told a 2010 Global Energy Future Boyce recognised the need for serious that an innovative process of pumping polyurethane resin into the damaged rock Symposium in St Louis that, "Our energy change in the coal industry and has outlined restored the water flow. systems took more than a century to build. a strategy he calls The Peabody Plan. 171

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Mining, Energy and Sustainability

3D-GEO was awarded the tender to create a geological skeleton of the Gippsland Basin in south-east Victoria that can be fleshed out as a sophisticated 3D model for

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Svveet povver Scientists at 0"\.leensland University of Technology (OUT) are working on a project that has the potential to boost the Australian economy and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the country's growing number of motor vehicles, writes Rael Martell. Led by professor James Dale, director of QUT's Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities, scientists are processing the waste of sugarcane - a fibre known as bagasse- into ethanol. QUT scientists hope that eventually ethanol will be produced from bagasse in quantities that may allow cars to run on a mix of 85 per cent sugarcane-produced ethanol and 15 per cent petrol. And with a 2010 survey suggesting that the number of registered vehicles, including motorcycles, having already reached more than 16 million, this is clearly a challenge worth accepting. The use of the sugarcane crop to make ethanol is not new. Brazil is a world leader in creating vast amounts of ethanol fuel from sugarcane juice, producing almost 40 per cent of the world's ethanol used in fuel. But professor Dale explains that there are elements of the cutting-edge QUT initiative that make the project unique.

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Crucially, he and his colleagues are producing a genetically modified sugarcane that expresses cellulase enzymes. These are the enzymes that break down cellulose into glucose, which can then be converted into ethanol. "We want to convert the residue from the processing of sugarcane - not the sugar - into ethanol. In Australia sugar is used as a food so by using the bagasse, which is usually wasted, the food versus fuel debate isn't relevant. We are using material that is usually burnt." Bagasse is being processed into ethanol at the Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant, which became fully operational in 2010 and has been funded by QUT, the Queensland Government's Smart State Innovation Building Fund and the Commonwealth Government's National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and Super Science Fund. The plant will produce biofuels for

Australia's Nobel Laureates Mining, Energy and Sustainability

vehicles and other products, such as building materials, paints, waxes and resins, out of bagasse and other sugarcane by-products as well as utilising other crops and the waste from them. "The primary early projects involve the pretreatment of bagasse and the subsequent disaggregation into its component parts of cellulose, hemi-cellulose and lignin. The cellulose and hemi-cellulose are primarily destined for conversion to fermentable sugars," explains professor Dale. (Hemi-cellulose is a polysaccharide [complex sugar] like cellulose but with a different make-up). "These fermentable sugars can be used to feed yeast and make ethanol or feed algae to make bio-oil, or as substrates to make more sophisticated and higher-value chemicals. The lignin will be used for conversion into a range of products, but particularly resins, that are used in the manufacture of composite materials such as particle board and biodegradable coatings." These coatings, says professor Dale, are both water-repellent and biodegradable so they are an "excellent replacement" for the wax coatings on cardboard boxes. "Bagasse can be used directly as a fibre to make particle board, either alone or in mixtures with other fibres using lignin-derived resins. Bagasse can also be de-lignified and used for paper manufacture." The team behind the project is also investigating using it to produce toilet paper. "The pilot plant is allowing us to process a maximum capacity of about 150 kilograms of bagasse a day," says professor Dale. "Moving from there to the demonstration plant is the goal. The pilot plant has huge flexibility for different feedstocks and processes. Once we have the data to jusLed by professor James Dale, director of Crucially, he and his colleagues are tify commercial application of a particular QUT's Centre for Tropical Crops and Bioproducing a genetically modified sugarcane process or feedstock, then a demonstration commodities, scientists are processing the that expresses cellulase enzymes. These are plant is the next step. This would require a waste of sugarcane - a fibre known as ba- the enzymes that break down cellulose into fully committed commercial partner workgasse- into ethanol. QUT scientists hope that glucose, which can then be converted into ing at, or very close to, a sugar mill. " eventually ethanol will be produced from baethanol. "We want to convert the residue Low greenhouse gas biomass technolgasse in quantities that may allow cars to run from the processing of sugarcane - not the ogy has "the potential to future-proof on a mix of 85 per cent sugarcane-produced sugar - into ethanol. In Australia sugar is Australia from what is becoming a carbonethanol and 15 per cent petrol. used as a food so by using the bagasse, which constrained world by using the plant-based And with a 2010 survey suggesting that is usually wasted, the food versus fuel debate waste that does not take from food prothe number of registered vehicles, including isn't relevant. We are using material that is duction," says professor Dale, but other motorcycles, having already reached more usually burnt." benefits will also boost Australia, its people than 16 million, this is clearly a challenge Bagasse is being processed into ethanol and its environment. "There will be huge worth accepting. at the Mackay Renewable Biocommodities savings in greenhouse gas production and, The use of the sugarcane crop to make Pilot Plant, which became fully operational from a self-sufficiency perspective, there ethanol is not new. Brazil is a world leader in 2010 and has been funded by QUT, the will be a reduction in the amount of fuel in creating vast amounts of ethanol fuel Queensland Government's Smart State Australia needs to import. Ethanol producfrom sugarcane juice, producing almost 40 Innovation Building Fund and the Com- tion from bagasse will also lead to more per cent of the world's ethanol used in fuel. monwealth Government's National Col- employment in regional areas. But professor Dale explains that there are laborative Research Infrastructure Strategy "Queensland's largest agricultural crop elements of the cutting-edge QUT initiative and Super Science Fund. is sugarcane and it has the potential to that make the project unique. The plant will produce biofuels for replace up to 35 per cent of the state's un-

Sweet povver

Scientists at Queensland University of Technology (OUT) are working on a project that has the potential to boost the Australian economy and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the country's growing number of motor vehicles, writes Rael Martell.

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leaded petrol requirements, which reduces our need to import oil, reduces greenhouse gases and revitalises North Queensland's sugar industry," says Dale. "Bio-based products require less energy to manufacture and produce less greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants than do fuels and chemicals made from petroleum products. "We believe the Mackay plant is bridging the gap between laboratory research and commercial reality. It could potentially reduce commercialisation costs for new technologies by more than $10 million and reduce the commercial time frame by five years." He says that once everything is proven to work, scientists will take the project to the development stage. "This is when we will be processing hundreds o_f tonnes of bagasse a day." If only 50 per cent of the bagasse produced in the sugarcane industry were converted to ethanol this could cover as much as 5 per cent of Australia's current petrol consumption. The genesis of the cellulase expression project lies in discussions professor Dale and colleagues had about a decade ago on the development of technologies for expressing transgenes in plants. "This was, if you like, the concept stage - when we started talking about using transgene technology to produce cellulase so that we could convert bagasse to glucose, which could be used to make ethanol." These discussions did indeed lead to the use of genetic engineering to allow the sugarcane to express cellulase, a significant factor in making the team's initiative cost-effective. "Australia has a significant opportunity to be a world leader in this rapidly growing industry, given our large biomass resource, high-quality science and technologically advanced agricultural industry." "While alternative energy sources like solar and wind have been widely publicised, biomass technology offers greater opportunities for large-scale production of energy and bio-products."

~~Queensland's

largest agricultural crop is sugarcane and it has the potential to replace up to 35 per cent of the state's unleaded petrol requirements."

commercialisation arm, works with the university's researchers and students to identify and develop projects that will benefit the community, helping them to access funding and achieve commercial realisation through links with big business. Where QUT generates and owns the intellectual property, a proportion of any commercial return is reinvested in research. The Syngenta Centre for Sugarcane Biofuels Development was established at QUT as part of a landmark deal between QUT, the world's largest integrated agribusiness company Syngenta and local biotech startup Farmacule Bioindustries. The intention is to develop technologies that will provide an economical, green fuel alternative for cars. The collaboration is supported by the Queensland Government and the multimillion-dollar deal, brokered by bluebox in 2007, underscores QUT's commitment to research in sustainable resources. In 2010 Farmacule, which holds global exploitation rights to the patented Inplant Activation (INPACT) technology developed by professor Dale, merged with Australian Securities Exchange-listed microalgae cultivation specialists, Aquacarotene, to create a leading biotechnology company, Leaf Energy. The INPACT technology is designed to provide a sophisticated proprietary gene-switching and amplification method to increase the expression and yield of

novel proteins, enzymes and molecules in selected plants. Leaf Energy will focus on delivering plant-based systems for the production of bioethanol from sugarcane and plant-made compounds for use in medical research, nutraceutical and industrial markets. Michael Finney, chief executive officer of bluebox and a director of Farmacule, says: "Nine years ago when the decision was made to create a start-up company based on QUT-developed intellectual property, none of the parties involved could have conceived that that company, Farmacule, would come this far in such a short time, as demonstrated firstly through the research partnership with Syngenta, and now with Aquacarotene." But it is not only in Australia that professor Dale is involved in sustainable production. He has been in Uganda working on a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) project on the biofortification of bananas. In a country where there are high levels of vitamin deficiency but a population that largely depends on home-grown produce and cannot afford vitamin supplements, an attractive solution is to increase the level of pro-vitamin A and iron in the population's staple diet of bananas. Using genetic modification the BMGF project is already producing bananas with more than a five-fold increase in pro-vitamin A.

COMMERCIALISING BIOFUELS

Research on biofuels, and its capacity to result in the development of plant-based production systems, also has business implications for QUT, allowing it to expand its research facilities and opening up commercial opportunities. Bluebox, QUT's

'1n Australia sugar is used as a food so by using the bagasse, which is usually wasted, the food versus fuel debate isn't relevant'/. 173

Mining, Energy and Sus tainability

Monitoring stability of Inines An Australian invention supplies measurement systems and services to mining and infrastructure organisations to manage risk and improve the safety and efficiency of mines, writes John Mcilwraith. GroundProbe is a world leader in its field. With its revolutionary Slope Stability Radar (SSR) and the Work Area Monitor (WAM), GroundProbe provides the most suitable systems to measur~ short- and long-term mine wall movements, constantly monitoring ground conditions in the mines. Multiple alarms can be set over a number of areas and warn of accelerated slope movement well before a mine wall collapses. These unique measurement systems also save mining companies millions of dollars when expanding production, carrying out drilling, or planning an exploration program. GroundProbe's systems have observed hundreds of slope failures, providing sufficient warning for the safe evacuation of people and equipment. Personal alert devices are provided to miners and equipment, which will vibrate, beep, flash and display an SMS text message. It can be mounted on a windscreen, or worn on a hardhat, a belt or a sleeve and enables operators to monitor any movement of rock formations, in real time, providing information to help make decisions about ongoing and immediate operations. Both SSR and WAM use radar to measure the movement of wall surfaces remotely and uses visual images (mostly photography) to confirm and display the result. These measurements enable geotechnical engineers and miners to confidently track slope movements and set alarms to improve safety and productivity. NEW JYIINING TECHNOLOGIES

Africa and the United States. Chile followed a year later and the company is now represented in Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. In the six years to 2010, GroundProbe's sales increased sevenfold. "Our core business is in the provision of high value information that allows our customers to reduce risk and maximise profit," says GroundProbe's chief executive officer, Lyle Bruce. "We do this through our unique measurement technologies and comprehensive services across our customers' mining, infrastructure and environmental sectors." GroundProbe holds internationally valid patents in slope stability monitoring technology and was the first company to introduce SSR to the mining industry. It continues to shape safety innovation in the mining industry by developing groundbreaking products, including WAM which is also a first for the mining industry. WAM is a highly mobile system that is quick to setup and easy to use by mine production to protect their work area.

GroundProbe began with lengthy research at the University of Queensland, funded by loans and grants, including strong support from the mining industry, the Australian Government, the Queensland Government and local companies. JJOur core business is in The University formed a company and commercial development of the the provision of high value technology began a decade ago, with the information that allows our first sales two years later. customers to reduce risk and Soon after it began producing the SSR maximise profit." equipment; it established offices in South

Having deployed hundreds of systems around the globe, with millions of hours of operation, GroundProbe achieves world-class standards in reliability and has a considerable understanding of slope stability in open-pit mining. The systems are operated in the most extreme global conditions and diverse applications of such mining. SERVICES TO OTHER INDUSTRIES

GroundProbe also provides many services to industries other than mining. For example, in the increasingly important search for water resources, it can quickly provide data on groundwater, reducing drilling costs and saving time. The data it retrieves can delineate reserves and measure hydraulic properties. The company can also gather information on areas where infrastructure is to be built, especially on soils, which speeds up planning. It has also helped in maintaining railways, saving millions of dollars in the planning and repair .of track, preventing or reducing speed restrictions in some areas and improving safety. Finally, GroundProbe has provided data on the seabed at ports, potentially holding off cost increases. It also helps estimate the volumes of material that have to be moved in dredging, the methods that should be used, the foundation design for berths and how to save money on drilling.

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Mining, Energy and Sustainability

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Unbridled curiosity If the key to a university's research strength is its intellectual property, then the University of Newcastle is remarkably well served by the combined brains trust of two of its longest serving and most highly regarded academics, engineering luminaries laureate professor Graeme Jameson and emeritus professor Alan Roberts. The esteemed professors have for over 30 years led by example, encouraging a culture of excellence and innovation that has inspired generations of young researchers to aspire to a level of world-class achievement that defies the University's size and regional location. It is a legacy of leadership that has been passed on to their successors, professor Mark Jones and professor Kevin Galvin, who continue to build on the outstanding record of academic and commercial achievement forged by these two pioneers. The University of , Newcastle stands shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the biggest and best educational institutions in the world in its record of research in energy and engineering. That lofty station is due in no small measure to the achievements of professors Jameson and Roberts in building a body of unparalleled expertise in minerals processing and materials handling. Professor James on is the unsung hero of this country's lucrative mining industry. Every year his revolutionary Jameson Cell mineral separator allows Australia to add $4 billion to the value of the minerals export industry. Professor Roberts is held in equally high regard in the field of bulk materials handling, a vast and vital area of manufacturing that deals with the conveyance of industrial materials in powdered, granular or mineral form. With so many products in the modern world going through a powder stage - including plastics, pharmaceuticals, paints, paper, agricultural

grains and fertilisers- bulk materials handling is a fundamental part of the manufacturing chain. It was an obscure and little-explored discipline when professor Roberts arrived at the University as dean of Industrial Engineering in 1974 but the research group and commercial consultancy he set up the following year, TUNRA Bulk Solids Handling, has gone 0!1 to complete more than 4,000 projects for clients across more than 40 countries and made an invaluable contribution to research in the field.

REDUCING MINERAL WASTE Both professor Jameson and professor Roberts have played leading roles in building the global reputation of the University's Priority Research Centre (PRC) for Advanced Particle Processing and Transport and remain principal researchers within the group. The Centre addresses the problems of the minerals industry, the largest single contributor to national exports, developing innovative processes that maximise the separation of products thereby reducing waste material. New projects have an increasing environmental focus on methods that reduce water and energy use. The Jameson Cell is one of the great success stories of modern industrial research. Professor Jameson took a century-old Australian innovation, the froth flotation process for mineral and ore separation, and improved it by devising a machine that was smaller than existing technology and could do the job faster and with more precision. In froth flotation, mine tailings are ''As a researcher you plug away ground down to a very fine consistand get failure 99 per cent of ency then added to a chemical bath. The chemical attaches to the ore, the time but now and then you then air bubbles are injected that see something happen that you adhere to the minerals and form never expected and the lights go froth. The froth rises to the top, takon in your mind." ing the valuable particles with it.

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The Jameson Cell hastens this process, is more compact than its predecessors and can recover a higher percentage of minerals. With no motor or moving parts, it requires less maintenance and is more energy efficient than conventional cells. "It was one of those Eureka moments when all the work you have done beforehand comes together in one realisation," professor Jameson says of the moment he conceived the cell. "I was with some students at a mine in Mount Isa and I looked at the equipment they were using and thought, 'I could build something better than that.' " The first ] ames on Cells were built from second-hand parts in a pilot plant in 1986. Twenty-five years later more than 300 of them are operating in over 20 countries around the world and the device has been hailed the most financially successful Australian invention in the country in the past two decades due to the returns it has provided to the mining industry. Far from resting on his laurels, professor Jameson has continued to refine his invention and even now, in his early 70s, is leading research into a new device called the Fluidised Bed Flotation Cell, which he hopes will make _the flotation procedure suitable for coarse particles of up to half a millimetre in diameter. "Particles that big can't be recovered using flotation at the moment, so the tailings have to be ground down, a process that is costly and energy-intense," he says. "It is estimated that up to 14 per cent of Australia's electrical energy consumption is used on grinding minerals, so there are clear environmental benefits in developing a process to separate these coarse particles without the need for grinding." Professor Galvin, now head of the PRC, argues that professor Jameson may in fact be doing some of his best work now. It is high praise from a man also well re-

spected in engineering circles for his innovative research, in partiq.l lar the development of the .Reflux Classifier, an industrial machine used in mining that has revolutionised the process of separating fine particles on the basis of density or size. Like professor Jameson, 81-year-old professor Roberts remains active in research and student rrientoring, still working from his office at the University's Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER) every day despite officially retiring from academia in 1993. HANDLING BULK SOLIDS Professor Roberts is the founding director of TUNRA Bulk Solids, which is now an international leader in bulk solids handling with a $3.5 million annual turnover and a highly regarded reputation for providing solutions to challenging bulk materials transportation issues. "TUNRA Bulk Solids has become one of the flagships of the University and has certainly validated our decision many years ago to go down that path," professor Roberts says. "Our work has spanned everything from fine pharmaceutical powders to coal, from dealing with stockpiling issues for iron ore mining in the Pilbara, long distance overland belt conveying of mineral ores, designing reactor vessels and conveying systems for processing dome'stic waste, to balancing the way po~ders are conveyed pneumatically and ha~dled such as in the plastics industries. M,ost of our work, however, is at the heavy end, in the mineral industries, and in view of Australia's standing and dependence on the mining sector it seemed to me quite logical to pursue it. "I am still here today because I have more problems to solve than I have time to solve them, but I can take more of a back seat now because we have good people who have come on board and who have cultivated our research and consultancy activities

awards in recognition of their extraordinary achievements. Each has received an Order of Australia and the prestigious Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal from the Institution of Engineers Australia for outstanding service to their profession. Both are Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and in 1996, professor Jameson was inducted as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. As humbled and honoured as they are by such accolades, both say it is the thrill of discovery and the satisfaction of success, however elusive that may sometimes be, that has always driven their passion for research. "As a researcher you plug away and get failure 99 per cent of the time," professor Jameson says, "but now and then you see something happen that you never expected and the lights go on in your mind. "Unbridled curiosity is a very human characteristic. Most children have this sense of wonder about the natural world- then they lose it as they get older. I never did."

into a very successful operation." One of those proteges is professor Jones, now head of the School of Engineering and Director of TUNRA Bulk Solids. Handpicked by his predecessor, professor Jones says he was strongly influenced by the reputation of professor Roberts to move from England to take up a position as professor of Bulk Solids Handling at Newcastle in 1999. ENERGY RESEARCH HUB "The University of NewcasA unique centre in Newcastle brings together the tle research group is considered strengths of academia and industry to facilitate the premier group in the field of world-leading research in energy and resources. bulk solids handling and Alan The Newcastle Institute for Energy and Roberts is regarded worldwide as the grandfather of the subResources was established on the grounds of the University of Newcastle in 2011 with significant ject," professor Jones says. support from the Australian Government, Professor Jones believes acknowledging the Hunter region's international professor Roberts' pioneering reputation as a hub for energy ideas and solutions. role in establishing a research Known by its acronym NIER, the new Institute specialty in bulk materials hanis unrivalled in Australia in terms of its scale dling in the 1970s has not only allowed the University to prosand the quality of its research infrastructure. A per financially and academiprincipal objective is producing new technologies cally but has been of critical for sustainable production, in line with Australian importance to the manufacturGovernment priorities including the Clean Energy ing industry internationally. Initiative, the National Strategy on Energy "It may not be a .glamorous Efficiency and the National Framework for Climate research area but it is vitally Change Science. important in industry," he says. Its focuses include reducing water consumption "The down time in industry and energy use, decreasing carbon emissions and costs of inefficient materiand developing viable alternative energy sources, als handling are huge so the with the ultimate goal of driving long-term social progress we have made in betchange. ter designing these systems has Established on the former BHP-Billiton an enormous economic impact. Newcastle Technology Centre site, NIER will "But our remit is education eventually support 300 research staff and will and research as well and our significantly increase research training activities, commercial activity generates attracting additional research students and postsignificant research funding. It doctoral fellows. allows us to put back close to NIER further enhances the strong tradition of $1 million a year into fundacollaboration between the University's engineering mental research." and energy experts and industry. Newcastle ranks Both professor Roberts and among Australia's top 10 universities and is the professor Jameson have been most research-intensive university outside any decorated with a myriad of Australian capital city.

177

Mining, Energy and Sustainability

Laureate prof essor

spected in engineering circles for his innovative research, in partic_!.llar the development of the .Reflux Classifier, an industrial machine used in mining that has revolutionised the process of separating fine particles on the basis of density or size. Like professor Jameson, 81-year-old professor Roberts remains active in research and student nientoring, still working from his office at the University's Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER) every day despite officially retiring from academia in 1993. HANDLING BULK SOLIDS Professor Roberts is the founding director of TUNRA Bulk Solids, which is now an international leader in bulk solids handling with a $3.5 million annual turnover and a highly regarded reputation for providing solutions to challenging bulk materials transportation issues. "TUNRA Bulk Solids has become one of the flagships of the University and has certainly validated our decision many years ago to go down that path," professor Roberts says. "Our work has spanned everything from fine pharmaceutical powders to coal, from dealing with stockpiling issues for iron ore mining in the Pilbara, long distance overland belt conveying of mineral ores, designing reactor vessels and conveying systems for processing domestic waste, to balancing the way powders are conveyed pneumatically and ha~dled such as in the plastics industries. Most of our work, however, is at the heavy end, in the mineral industries, and in view of Australia's standing and dependence on the mining sector it seemed to me quite logical to pursue it. "I am still here today because I have more problems to solve than I have time to solve them, but I can take more of a back seat now because we have good people who have come on board and who have cultivated our research and consultancy activities

into a very successful operation." One of those proteges is professor Jones, now head of the School of Engineering and Director of TUNRA Bulk Solids. Handpicked by his predecessor, professor Jones says he was strongly influenced by the reputation of professor Roberts to move from England to take up a position as professor of Bulk Solids Handling at Newcastle in 1999. ENERGY RESEARCH HUB "The University of NewcasA unique centre in Newcastle brings together the tle research group is considered strengths of academia and industry to facilitate the premier group in the field of world-leading research in energy and resources. bulk solids handling and Alan The Newcastle Institute for Energy and Roberts is regarded worldwide Resources was established on the grounds of the as the grandfather of the subUniversity of Newcastle in 2011 with significant ject," professor Jones says. support from the Australian Government, Professor Jones believes acknowledging the Hunter region's international professor Roberts' pioneering role in establishing a research reputation as a hub for energy ideas and solutions. Known by its acronym NIER, the new Institute specialty in bulk materials hanis unrivalled in Australia in terms of its scale dling in the 1970s has not only allowed the University to prosand the quality of its research infrastructure. A principal objective is producing new technologies per financially and academically but has been of critical for sustainable production, in line with Australian importance to the manufacturGovernment priorities including the Clean Energy ing industry internationally. Initiative, the National Strategy on Energy "It may not be a .glamorous Efficiency and the National Framework for Climate research area but it is vitally Change Science. important in industry," he says. Its focuses include reducing water consumption "The down time in industry and energy use, decreasing carbon emissions and costs of inefficient materiand developing viable alternative energy sources, als handling are huge so the with the ultimate goal of driving long-term social progress we have made in betchange. ter designing these systems has Established on the former BHP-Billiton an enormous economic impact. Newcastle Technology Centre site, NIER will "But our remit is education eventually support 300 research staff and will and research as well and our significantly increase research training activities, commercial activity generates attracting additional research students and postsignificant research funding. It doctoral fellows. allows us to put back close to NIER further enhances the strong tradition of $1 million a year into fundacollaboration between the University's engineering mental research." and energy experts and industry. Newcastle ranks Both professor Roberts and among Australia's top 10 universities and is the professor Jameson have been most research-intensive university outside any decorated with a myriad of Australian capital city.

177

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Leadership from listening An international, yet close-knit, company pioneered a new type of water disinfection - and is still looking to improve fresh water quality and distribution, writes Kylie Evans.

Australian Innovative Systems Ltd (AIS) is an international company delivering water disinfection through electro-chlorination. Its commitment to sustainability and the development of environmentally friendly products has brought it awards from around the world and a successful business exporting to 59 countries. To what does the company attribute its success? "Listening to our customers," says ex~ ecutive director Elena Gosse. "AIS began life servicing the swimming pool market. Our Autochlor brand offered salt-water chlorine generators. While this is an excellent product where fresh water is at a premium and sea water is available- for example, resorts near the sea - most pool owners have to add salt to use this product. "Our customers wanted something to be able to disinfect fresh water without adding chemicals. We decided to invest in research and development to see if we could meet that need." The Ecoline system, released in 2009, is believed to be the world's first system to disinfect fresh water. Ecoline is an on-site chlorine generation plant capable of producing chlorine and other oxidants in fresh water from the small amount of natural salts and minerals already present in the water. Gosse reports that AIS customers also wanted to save electricity. "In 2000 we were the first company to develop a product using switch mode power supply rather than transformers to convert AC (alternating current) to low voltage DC (direct current), making the product lighter, smaller and more energy efficient. We also recently developed a new anode material, which both removed our reliance on imported anodes and proved far more effective at producing chlorine. The anode material

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is part of the electrolytic cell where water flows between positively (anode) and negatively (cathode) charged plates, and the anode plates are coated with a catalyst which converts minerals in the water into chlorine when an electrical current is applied." Ecoline is now able to produce up to three times more chlorine than other systems, with less than half the electricity consumption. Also, since the new system makes the chlorine for disinfecting fresh water, it does not need any chemicals to be added and eliminates the risks and costs involved with chemical handling, transport, storage and dosing. "It is a cleaner, greener and safer system to disinfect fresh water," says Gosse. THE COMPANY AND MARKET GROWTH

AIS was first established in 1974 and bought by Gosse's husband Kerry in 1992. His vision was to become a market leader by focusing on switch mode innovation, dominance of the commercial chlorine generator market and anode coating innovation. Gosse joined the team in 1995 with the aim of developing strategies to achieve these. With a commitment to quality and significant investment in research and development (R&D), AIS has achieved these goals and more. Some of the more recent awards the company has received for its groundbreaking products are the: • international Stevie Award for Most Innovative Company of the Year in Asia, (subcontinent, Australia and New Zealand); these awards are known as the Oscars of the international business world • Telstra Business Awards: Most Innovative Product- Ecoline (2009); • Gaia Environmental Awards 2009 Gold Winner- Ecoline (2009);

• Piscina Innovation Award BCN- Ecoline (2009); and • SPLASH! 2010 Environmental Awards: Most Environment-Friendly Sanitisation Product Award- Ecoline (2010). AIS expanded globally in 1995, realising that its swimming business suffered through the Australian winter. "We believed that our products were globally competitive, and that the European pool market would enable us to improve our year-round returns. This proved correct, and the Autochlor systems were very successful in that market," says Gosse. "We continued to develop these systems at the same time as developing Ecoline. Research on two key markets, the United States and the Middle East, showed that both required a product capable of surviving extreme environmental conditions and able to function with water of any salinity. We have now achieved this in both domestic and commercial Autochlor machines, which are able to deal automatically with a salinity concentration of 0.2-35.0 per cent compared with an industry standard of 0.4-0.6 per cent. "Now, the Ecoline system has answered another market need and is generating huge support from our customers in Australia and overseas." IMPROVING WATER DISINFECTION

Most excitingly, the Ecoline system has opened up a whole new business for AIS. The Ecoline product has proven to be not just for swimming pools, but for any application where you need to disinfect water, including drinking water, wastewater I sewerage, recycled water, grey water, irrigation, food processing plants, reverse osmosis, desalination, water features, cooling towers and other industries. "We have many city councils throughout Australia interested in using Ecoline for wastewater plants, including one large-scale testing site and one small-scale operational site with two major councils in south-east Queensland. We are rapidly moving into the cooling tower business for large buildings, especially for many of Australia's hospitals," Gosse says. "We even have a Canadian egg processing factory that is using Ecoline to improve the

Mining, Energy and Sustainability

It is a cleaner, greener and safer system to disinfect fresh water.

quality of their wastewater and dramatically reduce the costs for municipal sewer discharge." Customer insight not only drove the development of Ecoline, but even showed AIS that its proprietary technology could be applied to other water-related applications. While completing a project one of the AIS R&D team was visiting a testing site when a child swimming in the pool whispered, "the water is so good, I am drinking it". This sparked the interest of the researcher and back at the lab he tested the ability of Ecoline to p.roduce water good enough to drink. A positiye result led to further testing. An independent study by Simmonds and Bristow National Association of Testing Authorities accredited laboratory has now confirmed that Ecoline can effectively treat drinking water showing that the system is able to produce oxidants to kill bacteria in fresh water. Indeed, the study revealed unexpectedly high oxidant levels making Ecoline even better for wastewater disinfection than anticipated. The analysis showed that chlorine represented

44 per cent of the total oxidants produced. The remaining 56 per cent of oxidants are stronger than chlorine and achieved an even greater disinfection effect. The study also showed that unwanted by-products for the process are well within acceptable drinking standards, confirming Ecoline's applicability for drinking water. In Western Australia Ecoline is already being used to disinfect drinking water for 1,200 workers in mining sites. "AIS defines Ecoline as the water treatment system of the future. This environmentally friendly technology is tailored to fulfil the highest quality standards - it is simple, robust, economical and meets present and future demands. This technology sets the benchmark in the industry and has no comparison worldwide," Gosse says. VARIETY, PEOPLE AND TRAINING

AIS is now further expanding the Ecoline market by developing a smaller system. "While the large systems are great for ur-

ban areas, we also received a lot of interest from councils in rural and remote areas, wondering what was available for small communities," Gosse says. "So we are working on a smaller scale version that can be used for rural and remote communities. We have requests from local councils in south-east Queensland who may purchase up to 20,000 small Ecoline units for residential-scale non-centralised wastewater treatment. "It's also wonderful to think that a smaller system would be invaluable in developing countries. We hope that our work will help everyone to have the access to clean water that should be a basic human right. "At each step along the way, listening to our customers has been the key to driving change. It's nice to think that by helping meet our customers' needs, we might end up helping the world." Gosse believes another key to their success has been the AIS team. "We have owned this business for 19 years and many of our staff have been with us and grown as the company has grown," she says. "All our product managers started on the workbench and are also part of our R&D team, so they know the company and our products backwards, forwards and upsidedown. At the same time, since they are talking to customers any feedback goes directly to R&D, to help us improve our products. "We are particularly proud of our record with training women. When we started we had one female receptionist, now 20 per cent of our engineers are female and we are keen to offer more opportunities to female engineers just starting out." Growing from three employees in 1995 and an annual turnover of $100,000, AIS now has more than 60 staff and three manufacturing plants and a turnover of $8.7 million. AIS also plans to expand its production with a new building being set up to add to its existing plants. AIS holds around 30 per cent of residential and 80 per cent of commercial market share in Australia and these figures continue to rise. "We are . constantly moving forward. Over the last two years we have invested over $500,000 in research and development, and will continue to invest in our technology and our people."

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The right chemistry The global reach of toxic pollutants requires global research, recognition of how they contribute to the global environment and of the need for global solutions, writes Jane Riley.

Concerns over toxic pollutants emitted into the atmosphere from vehicles and power stations used to focus on their effects on the immediate environment and individual health. Now, with environmental health and sustainability worries, these pollutants are being looked at on a global scale. For more than 25 years professor Peter Nelson has been studying the emissions of pollutants and assessing their risks and, since 2001 at Macquarie University, has been doing innovative and world-leading research in this area. Nelson's work, he says, is about "addressing real issues in government, industry and the community and providing information to enable them to assess risk of environmental exposure and ways in which chemicals need to be handled in the environment and ways in which they must be reported." He says we need to look at the broader issues of carbon dioxide emissions and the greenhouse effect. "It's gone from the direct effects [of pollution] to the indirect and what they contribute to issues like global warming." In 2009, Nelson won a Macquarie University Innovation Award for his research work in environmental risk and sustainability in the energy and resource industries. This included: • assessing power station contribution to

products and is emitted as a by-product from the combustion of fuels," he says. "The United Nations is developing a convention - likely to be called the Minamata Convention after the scene of the worst case of mercury pollution in Minamata in Japan in the 1950s- which will be a legally binding agreement to manage the release of mercury in the environment." He believes that as the world is realising the global nature of many environmental issues, there will be more conventions in the future. "The mercury we emit in Australia gets transported through the atmosphere globally. It could end up in North America or the Antarctic." Nelson's research into mercury, which was the first comprehensive assessment of all the sources of mercury in Australia for the Commonwealth Government, now forms the basis of Australia's submission to the development of the convention. But debate in Australia over light bulbs highlights the complexity around such an issue. "The previous government suggested we phase out incandescent bulbs and replace them with compact fluorescent "... you can't look at things in isolation tubes (CFLs ) but they have mercury in them, " says Nelson. The or in a way that doesn't do the sums question was: would they be an of how something is going to make a improvement? In the end, research showed difference to the overall situation". that it all came down to a bit of give and take. While CFLs photochemical smog and fine particle contain mercury their use does not increase the amount of mercury being emitted into formation in urban areas; • improving techniques for reporting emisthe environment because as less electricity sions to the national pollutant inventory; is used to run them, less mercury is released • assessing human health impacts from gas from the power stations where coal is proand particulate emissions from motor duced to make electricity. "That shows how vehicles; you can't look at things in isolation or in a • and studying mercury sources, transport way that doesn't do the sums of how someand fate (i.e. where it ends up in the envithing is going to make a difference to the ronment). overall situation. " What sets Nelson and his team's work Nelson's mercury study also identified a apart is not only the best practice meth- major error in the reporting of Australian odology used, but also that their research mercury emissions. The previous estimates, outcomes and results can be used directly says Nelson, significantly over-estimated in the development of policy and practice. tenfold- the level of mercury being released into the environment by various industries. MANAGING RELEASE OF MERCURY While everyone agrees on the need to Nelson cites an example of how both their work reduce greenhouse gases, putting internaand worldwide concern about mercury emis- tional agreements in place is not easy. "It's sions has moved into the global arena. "There an enormous challenge because ... they're is an environmental view that we should elimi- also what drives the economy, transportanate all mercury released into the environment tion, energy and electricity. The challenge but that is hard to do because it has been used is coming up with an agreeable way and a historically in many industrial processes and way that's fair to all countries ."

Manufacturing is critical to any advanced economy because it generates wealth, makes up the biggest share of world trade and has the greatest multiplier effect of all industries. Each manufacruring job on average generates between 2 and 5 jobs in the rest of the economy. However, manufacruring is changing from products-only to integrated product and service solutions, from the physical to digital and from traditional technologies to new technologies. We in Australia need to harness our intellectual resources, our innovative capacity and our ideas to continue to develop a robust, advanced manufacturing base that creates higher value-add products. As a country that makes things we must realise that making things looks different today from how it looked yesterday and, indeed, from how it will look tomorrow. JIM WALKER, AM, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OMI SOLUTIONS

How do you transform an industry that is delivering the same essential service it did 100 years ago? Innovation is the key: introducing sustainable ways to produce and store electrical energy, creating an environment in which customers actively participate, and establishing a marketplace that leverages digital technology to stimulate, efficient and effective societal outcomes. Smart Grids are the foundation for this transformation. It is pleasing to see Australia continue to demonstrate its strong innovation ability through the development of world-class automation, analytics, and the effective management of distributed energy resources. CHARLES POPPLE, CHAIRMAN, SMART GRID AUSTRALIA

As a property developer, Lend Lease plays an impo,rtant role in creating places for people to live, learn and work that will leave a positive legacy. With increasing density in our cities and fewer sites on which to build new towns and suburbs, the regeneration of communities and spaces will become our only option, enforcing the need for well-planned urban environments. The challenge in creating and reinvigorating next generation places is to build on the human capital in our communities: a sense of belonging, pride and social equity in a place that is culturally sensitive and environmentally sustainable for future generations. The future of cities lies beyond the development of individual buildings and encompasses green infrastructure and precinct-scale solutions. Precinct development allows us to re-irnagine major cities and the way people use them. It provides the opportunity for design and engineering that looks to economies of scale, addressing sustainable storm water management; energy supply; water supply; wastewater treatment; and waste collection I treatment. And we must innovate to improve critical community services and review some of the most complex issues we face as a society, such as access to affordable housing, broadband, energy, water, childcare, education, health, retirement living services, food security and transport -to name a few. Parmerships have always been, and will continue to be, critical to our success in addressing these issues. Partnerships enhance our performance, spark innovation, sustain our communities and deliver lasting value. We have a proud history of successful partnerships based on mutual understanding, which has seen Lend Lease become a trusted guardian of public assets and investments, and we are committed to developing, sustaining and enhancing them so that they deliver sustainable solutions and mutual rewards for everyone. MARK MENHINNITr, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER -AUSTRALIA, LEND LEASE

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Out of the box CAT Projects' innovative and practical engineering services enhance the sustainability of remote and urban communities across Australia and the Asia Pacific, acknowledging the important relationship between people, technology and settlements, writes Samantha Schelling. CAT Projects grew out of the Centre for Appropriate Technology Incorporated (CAT Inc.), the national indigenous science and technology organisation. Founded in 1980 in Alice Springs, CAT began as a response to the lack of suitable technologies for small remote communities of indigenous people in Central Australia. The organisation works to secure sustainable livelihoods for indigenous communities through appropriate technology, providing products and services that are often unique globally. Dr Bruce Walker, founder of CAT Inc. and director of CAT Projects, says, "As CAT Projects is able to draw on a 30-year heritage of working with Aboriginal communities in northern Australia, we believe we have a unique appreciation of the importance of people and place, as well as the extent to which innovation underpins the ability for settlements to be viable and sustainable. It is this understanding of innovation that is a key element for providing our clients and partners the outcomes they desire - be they from the commercial or broader non-government organisation (NGO) sectors." Lyndon Frearson, general manager of CAT Projects, says "We provide a diverse range of services including project and program management, feasibility studies, infrastructure option assessments, community engagement and development and community planning and training. Specialising in renewable energy, the company has worked for all levels of government, as well as the private and non-profit sectors.

"CAT Projects believes in the value of sharing expertise, hence our staff are actively involved in several boards, taskforces and expert panels for government and industry, such as Green Energy Taskforce NT (Northern Territory) and the Australian Photovoltaics Association." CAT Projects' core approach to successful innovation is to ensure it reveals an understanding and blending of: â&#x20AC;˘ technical appropriateness; â&#x20AC;˘ commercial reality; and â&#x20AC;˘ human engagement. Three projects that demonstrate these principles are detailed below. SOLAR CENTRE

The Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre (DKASC) is a demonstration facility of commercialised solar technologies, open to the general public, educators and the renewable energy industry. An initiative of CAT Projects and Desert Knowledge Australia, the Solar Centre was supported with funding from the Australian government through the Regional Remote Power Generation Program. The Solar Centre was developed to incorporate on site education showing the science of a working solar power plant which is connected to the main electricity grid. The DKASC website {www.dkasolarcentre. com.au) is also an educational resource: live, online data shows the performance of different arrays through the extremes of Alice Springs' climate.

"As CAT Projects is able to draw on a 30-year heritage of working with Aboriginal communities in northern Australia, we believe we have a unique appreciation of the importance of people and place, as well as the extent to which innovation underpins the ability for settlements to be viable and sustainable." 182

The design and development of an automated data-monitoring system that meets the standards of utility companies and research organisations has consolidated the Solar Centre's value in education and research. Performance data from the installed technologies is distributed via the DKASC website to research institutions and players in Australia's solar energy industry and globally. In recognition of the centre's role as a unique facility, and its importance within the industry as an independent reference point, it received the Research, Development & Innovation Engineering Excellence Award in 2009. SOLAR HOTEL

Crowne Plaza Alice Springs (CPAS) is a luxurious, eco-friendly hotel nestled in the MacDonnell Ranges. Over the past few years the hotel has become well-known for its large-scale, roof-mounted solar system that supplies clean energy to the hotel. CAT Projects was responsible for the initial project concept; it later did a detailed design and ran a national public tender resulting in significant cost savings for the client. The company was then responsible for overseeing the system's installation, commissioning and final handover. Upon completion, the 304 kilowatt peak solar system was the Southern Hemisphere's largest building-mounted system. It broke new ground by both establishing the largescale system as an integrated retrofit that complemented the existing building structure, and presented clear and understandable information about it to hotel clients. The CPAS solar power system is a highprofile component of the hotel's gas, water and electricity efficiency program, which is in line with its aims to reduce consumption 40, 20 and 30 per cent, respectively. The installation shows the potential for large-scale solar plants to integrate seamlessly into the form and function of existing buildings. CAT Projects received the 2009 Northern Division Engineering Excellence Award and Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society Sustainability Award for the project. The project was funded by several sources, including the Federal Government's then Department of Environment Water Heritage and the Arts, through its Solar Cities program, as one of the Alice Solar City 'siconic projects.

Mining, Energy and Sustainability

SOLAR VILLAGE

More than 100,000 villages in India have no electricity. Of these, thousands are too remote for gtid electricity to ever be a technically or economically feasible option, so the only viable solution is stand -alone (distributed generation) power systems such as diesel generators. Renewable energy technologies offer remote communities the opportunity to generate their own energy without the prohibitive ongoing costs and access difficulties associated with fossil fuels. For such systems to be sustainable and effective in supporting local development, communities need to be active partners in planning and supplying energy that is reliable, affordable and of appropriate capacity. CAT Projects has worked with a network of Indian community organisations and renewable energy industry participants, as well as the Indian government, to collaboratively develop the Bushlight India Model - a widely replicable model to electrify remote villages using centralised solar photovoltaic energy systems. Comprehensively documented and resourced, the model is a structured and stagewise set of processes covering everything from initial village selection, through to village energy planning, system design, financial modelling, post-installation training and establishing suitable system support and maintenance networks. Developed through extensive consultation with project partners and stakeholders, the Bushlight India Model is adapted from the Community Energy Planning Model that was originally developed and implemented by the Bushlight project in Australia. To date, this has been successfully applied to deliver reliable energy services to more than 140 remote indigenous communities.

Completed demonstration systems in two villages means that up to 1,000 residents of rural India have access to reliable electricity for the first time. The Bushlight India Model differs from existing models by allowing communities with the resources, capacity and motivation to access electricity that is: • reliable: supply is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week; • equitable: each consumer is assured access to a fixed amount of energy every day; • of a known amount: residents determine their own daily energy budget through facilitated energy budgeting; and • of a known cost: tariff levels are set before energy budgeting. As part of engaging the community, the Bushlight India Model gives villagers the information they need to understand energy use in their households and communities, plus the costs and benefits of different supply options. It helps them to identify and prioritise the energy services they want and need, and, through energy-budgeting, determine their actual daily allocation (energy budget). Distribution of energy budgets is done through the Urja Bandhu, or Energy Friend, a small electrical metering device, designed and developed by CAT Projects specifically for India. It makes an individually programmable amount of electricity (up to 10,000 watt-hours/ day) available to each consumer every 24 hours.

Lack of reliable, affordable energy in rural areas is a major factor inhibiting the development of local economies. This model not only provides electricity, but does it in an empowering way (see also www.catprojects.com.au/bushlight-india/). "The challenge for scientists and engineers today, is to look at the world around us," Frearson says, "the pressing need of millions, the challenges of climate change, and the sustainability of our human settlements, and approach irmovation with the same level of urgency, ingeniousness and single-mindedness as those who went before us."

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

A leader in logistics Queensland Sugar Limited has carved out an international reputation for delivering high-quality Australian raw sugar due to a sophisticated end-to-end supply chain system, writes Sarah Marinos. Sugar is a product that, day-to-day, many of us take for granted. But it plays an important role in the Australian economy and the Australian sugar industry is one of the largest and most efficient in the world. The highly efficient industry produces more than 4.5 million tonnes of sugar annually and approximately 95 per cent of that national crop is grown and produced in Queensland. Australia exports around three million tonnes of raw sugar in a typical year, with revenues in excess of $2 billion. Due to our relatively small domestic market, Australia is one of the largest sugar exporters in the world, behind major producers Brazil and Thailand. Since it was established in 2000, Queensland Sugar Limited (QSL) has played a leading role in Australia's and Queensland's sugar industry and the organisation has worked hard to position itself as a global leader in bulk raw sugar marketing and logistics.

Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. In 2009-10 QSI.;s export program handled around 2.9 million tonnes of sugar, worth a total $1.69 billion. DELIVERY BENCHMARKS

One of QSI.;s main aims is delivering highquality raw sugar to customers on time, safely and securely. Ninety-seven per cent of sugar was delivered to clients "in full and on time"- a selfimposed benchmark QSL has established to continually monitor and enhance its global operation and the standards of service it provides to its international customer base. "We have a customer-focused approach that is all about understanding and delivering on individual customer quality preferences through our sugar shipping and logistics systems," says Greg Beashel, general manager operations. Beashel has extensive experience in supply chain management in the sugar industry and joined QSL in June 2000. He is responsible for the management and "We have a clear view of the entire operations of QSI.;s six process -from when sugar arrives terminals as well as loby rail or road at our terminals to gistics, storage and handling, quality assurance the unloading of that sugar at the and customer payments. customer's discharging port." "Essentially, we focus on ensuring our customers get sugar when they QSL replaced the former government- want it and that they get the weight they owned Queensland Sugar Corporation and pay for. We also ensure they get the quality today works on behalf of eight Queensland- they pay for and sugar that suits their facbased milling companies and more than tory or refinery environment," he says. 3,000 sugar cane growers. QSL operates six With this focus in mind, operational exstate-of-the-art bulk sugar terminals located cellence is paramount and a cornerstone of on the Queensland coast between Cairns QSI.;s approach to business. "We achieve and Bundaberg and is responsible for more that by controlling the supply chain from than 90 per cent of Australia's raw sugar end to end and managing and operating the exports. Much of the sugar is distributed to shipping, the port and the production of the key markets across Asia - predominantly sugar," he continues.

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"We measure ourselves with our on-time in-full delivery mechanism and we expend a lot of effort in making sure we optimise the offering for the customer and provide sugar that best suits their needs in the most efficient way." Most raw sugar around the world is sold through intermediaries. One of QSI.;s key points of difference - and perhaps its core strength- is that its sugar is sold directly to the end user and so the business has oversight and control of the entire supply chain, from mill to customer. "There are many efficiencies in how we operate but the biggest benefit is certainly the control we have from end to end. We have a clear and direct view of the entire process, from when sugar arrives by rail or road at our terminals to the unloading of that sugar at the customer's discharging port," says Beashel. The QSL system swings into action at the company's six terminals, located at Cairns, Mourilyan, Townsville, Lucinda, Mackay and Bundaberg. These six terminals manage a complex program of truck and rail deliveries of raw sugar each year. At these terminals, QSL can unload sugar at about 2,000 tonnes per hour with 2.6 million tonnes of warehousing available. This capacity enables QSL to supply customers on a year-round basis. WORKING WITH CLIENTS

Beashel runs through a typical customer scenario, illustrating how QSL works closely with its clients. Once an international customer tells QSL when they will require raw sugar product, QSL orders a ship to transport that product. Ships are typically ordered two to three weeks before the designated loading day in Queensland. In the interim, QSL stays in regular contact with the customer to keep abreast of any issues that arise and may impact on when the raw sugar delivery is required.

Infrastructure, Logisitcs and Manufacturing

QSL operates six state-of-the-art bulk sugar terminals between Cairns and Bundaberg, enabling the company to offer high quality logistics services to customers

"The customer may develop a maintenance problem at their factory, which will require a delay in the delivery. "For example, there may be situations where our client may use their existing sugar supply more quickly than expected, in which case we can try and make changes to allow for that and move the shipping time forward." CONTROL OVER SHIPPING

QSL's control over when it ships its raw sugar to customers is another key benefit of the business and how it operates. In a typical year, QSL employees load around 100 ships, retaining full control of that loading and shipping process. QSL makes its export sales on a coordinated cost and freight or cost, insurance and freight basis and organises the sea freight component, as well as storage and handling at ports. "We charter the ships we use and so we have a direct view of everything that happens during the shipping process. We know when a ship is coming into port, when we'll load it, how much sugar will be loaded on to it, where it's going to and when it will arrive at its destination," says Beashel. Most sugar around the world is sold with the exporter having the sugar available for

the customer at the exporter's port. The customer has to organise transport and deal with the issues of getting that ship loaded. QSL's sale contract price includes delivery of the sugar and so these potentially frustrating and time-consuming issues are managed by QSL for the customer. Shipping is a key link in the chain to ensure sugar reaches customers on time, particularly with many customers preferring to manage their raw sugar supplies on a justin-time delivery basis. This ensures they have a small buffer of sugar to allow for normal operational tolerances but they do not have to store vast quantities on site. Working this way provides cost savings for QSL's customers as they do not have to pay for extra storage and warehousing, nor do they have to pay for a product before it is actually needed. PRIORITY BERTHING

QSL ships sugar from berths the company controls. The company operates the ship's loading equipment at the port at the time of loading too, and has the capacity to load about 2,000 tonnes of sugar per hour. This has a dual benefit for QSL customers, it minimises delays in the loading and departure of the ships and allows for rigorous quality control.

For many customers, time is of the essence and unexpected loading and shipping delays and setbacks could hold up production and cost them money. The QSL model of chartering its own ships and retaining tight control of the loading and discharge at ports has removed much of that stress. "The ship arrives at the designated port, it loads and we let the customer know when to expect that ship at its destination port," says Beashel. "We also give the customer a full report on the sugar on board the ship- its quality and attributes so they can be prepared to process it when it arrives. We can load sugar and turn around a ship within a day, which is something our competitors can't do, because we have priority access to the berths we use and we operate the terminals." This priority berthing system allows QSL to bypass lengthy shipping queues, with other vessels waiting in line to load or unload their cargo at ports. For example, at peak sugar harvest time in key sugar exporting countries a 30-day wait to load sugar is not uncommon due to port congestion. An overseas refinery waiting for a delivery of raw sugar may discover their ship is somewhere in a long queue, but they will not know exactly when the ship will be loaded, or when the sugar will arrive at its destination.

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Infrastructure, Logisitcs and Manufacturing

Australia's Nobel Laureates

/IOSL has a reputation for a quality product, professionalism and leadership in the international raw sugar industry."

Ideas "Without boundaries Helping small and medium-sized companies become more distinctive has convinced a gogetting organisation that small innovations are big innovations, writes Rael Martell.

QSL invests in improving the infrastructure that is an integral part of its business - from warehousing to ship loading facilities

Sometimes the customer will not know whether there will even be enough sugar to fulfil their order by the time the ship reaches the top of the queue. If that customer needs that sugar urgently, the delays and uncertainty around sugar supply and delivery can potentially harm the business's bottom line. DISCHARGING OF SUGAR

QSL has weighing and sugar quality experts on the ground when sugar is loaded to carry out weight and quality checks on sugar to be shipped. Experts are able to travel to the discharging ports when needed so the sugar is discharged effectively to erisure it is not lost through unnecessary spillage, or to make sure quality is not compromised by sugar being discharged or unloaded when it is raining.

"We monitor the discharging process because delays are less likely to occur," says Beashel. "We also have technical experts available for our refinery customers when needed. Their focus is to make sure customers get the most out of the raw sugar we sell them. We work closely with the customers and have a solid understanding of their business and how we can help them." For example, customers might be interested in improving their processing rate and how many tonnes of white sugar they can produce per day, which is dependent on the raw sugar quality they have. Or they may want help to improve their yield - how much white sugar they get per tonne of raw sugar. QSL also closely monitors changes and new developments in the international sugar industry, something Beashel describes as

being essential to remain an effective and authoritative leader in the industry. A recent illustration of this - and of QSL's response - is the evolution of larger ships to transport raw sugar globally. QSL's response to this development has been to ensure its loading facilities can handle bigger ships. "We've also made sure our customers are aware of the cost benefits they might be able to gain from utilising bigger ships. We proactively get ahead of the game and make suggestions to customers and we do regular reviews of our business to see what we are doing well and what we can do even better," says Beashel. QSL invests in improving and maintaining the infrastructure that is an integral part of its business - from the warehouses and the receival facilities where trucks and trains unload the sugar, to the ship loading infrastructure and the conveyer system that carries the sugar around the port's facilities. RETAINING LEADERSHIP

With a reputation for a quality product, professionalism and leadership in the international raw sugar industry, Beashel says QSL has firm intentions to maintain these qualities and its leadership position. "One of our core strengths is our complete supply chain solution, that provides our international customers with direct access to Australia's world-class sugar growers and millers and provides security around their long-term supply needs," says Beashel. "QSL is simply about providing international refinery customers with the finest quality raw sugar on time, safely, securely and at a competitive price."

The notion that innovation is solely the province of companies with big budgets and research teams developing high-technology products ignores the contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as innovators and the engine rooms of economic growth and new employment. This is the view of QMI Solutions, an organisation established in 1993 to boost the skills, performance and capability of Queensland's manufacturing industry. It is supported by the state Government, the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology. Pooling together specialist knowledge and expertise, QMI Solutions helps manufacturers implement workforce development strategies and operational innovation and links industry with researchers and technological solutions. It has been instrumental in establishing technologies such as first generation waterjet-cutting machines and incremental sheet forming technology. It also champions sustainable manufacturing practices to help companies reduce waste and increase profitability. In financial year 2009-10, the organisation assisted more than 1,500 companies.

ing new ideas and enhancements to existing products and services. In other words, QMI defines innovation more broadly to include revolutionary and evolutionary activities. "QMI Solutions' definition of innovation releases the binds of innovation being tied solely to the development of new products and services and includes any idea that can be converted to commercially successful outcomes," says QMI Solutions innovation manager Rob Geddes. "By including both new ideas and enhancements to existing products within this definition, industry, especially manufacturers, can be seen to innovate daily." SMEs represent a high proportion of manufacturing businesses and offer strong and diverse capabilities across established sectors, such as engineering, machinery and equipment, and food processing, in addition to newer sectors with high growth potential, such as aerospace and electronics. COST-FOCUSED INNOVATION

One of the main categories QMI sees as crucial for SMEs is business model innovation. In 2010 , QMI launched the pilot of the European Union's IMP3 rove innovation benchmark tool, which provides an objective analysis of innovative processes DAILY INNOVATION and practices within a company compared QMI Solutions has been working with with others in the same sector. It has also SMEs for the past 17 years and its view is collaborated with the world-renowned that they are critical to innovation and, inFraunhofer Institute to finalise an SMEdeed, innovate on a daily basis by cultivat- focused program on cost-focused innovation. This provides SMEs with tools to help identify product features 1/QMI Solutions' definition of and options to reduce cost while innovation releases the binds of maintaining features that are innovation being tied solely to the important to the customer. QMI is working closely with development of new products and businesses to develop design-led services and includes any idea that innovation as a competitive can be converted to commercially advantage. As a partner with the Queensland Government's successful outcomes."

Ulysses program, QMI is assisting companies to identify and develop design capability to build wealth and increase international competitiveness. QMI has strong links with universities that help it generate collaborative working between Queensland's SMEs and research institutions and close working relationships with the Federal Government's Enterprise Connect initiative to deliver products to the state's manufacturers. One of QMI Solutions' ambitious goals is to increase by 50 per cent the number of Queensland businesses undertaking research and development or innovation. PRODUCT INNOVATION

Product innovation is a crucial category for SMEs. For example, QMI Solutions worked with trailer manufacturer, Trailers 2000, to identify issues affecting workflow in the production process, showing how lead time from order to delivery of a trailer could be reduced from 15.5 days to less than 5.5 days. As a result of consultation with QMI Solutions, PTE Hydraulics improved sales and growth by 25 per cent, and engineering business Austchrome boosted production volume by 50 per cent. QMI also worked closely with Varley Specialised Vehicles to change production flow and factory-floor layouts to help the company achieve demanding production cycle times set by clients, rolling out a new ambulance from the factory every three working days and completing a bus refurbishment every four working days. The company was also responsible for steering Blue Water Engineering (BWE) towards water-jet-cutting technology to manufacture card shufflers for casinos. So successful was the technology and so impressed was BWE's founder that he set up a company to educate clients in waterjet-cutting. That company has gone from strength to strength, and it is the same story for Queensland's innovative SMEs. As Geddes says: "SMEs need to increase their ability to create new sources of distinctive and competitive advantage, which go well beyond price competition. If this is achieved, significant sustained economic growth can be maintained."

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Infrastructure, Logisitcs and Manufacturing

Australia's Nobel Laureates

/IOSL has a reputation for a quality product, professionalism and leadership in the international raw sugar industry."

Ideas "Without boundaries Helping small and medium-sized companies become more distinctive has convinced a gogetting organisation that small innovations are big innovations, writes Rael Martell.

QSL invests in improving the infrastructure that is an integral part of its business - from warehousing to ship loading facilities

188 189

Science and Biotec olo_

DR Â·JULIAN CLARK, HEAD BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, THE WALTE

Understanding animal and plant diversity Australian research into genomics will have widereaching implications globally while also focusing on native flora and fauna, writes Tamara Jenkins. The Australian Genome Research Facility (AGRF), founded by researchers from the internationally recognised Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and University of Queensland, supports genome research and genetic discovery and mapping of organisms across the entire biological spectrum (from humans to bacteria). Many of its current focuses, however, are on Australia's native flora and fauna. "In Australia, we have such a rich biodiversity, and taking genomic approaches with this biodiversity can yield significant evolutionary information about how plants and animals evolved," says D ~ Kirby Siemering, business development manager at AGRF. "It allows us to gain an understanding of ecological systems here, how flora and fauna exist within those systems, and also track the changes of hea lth in our environment. " Dr Siemering says that it is also through bioprospecting of the genomes of our native flora and fauna that valuable compounds and genetic materials can be found, which could lead to the discovery of new drugs or bioactives. (A bioactive is a molecule with useful, life-giving properties that have an effect on living tissue.) "Many drugs are deri ved from natural compounds found within plants and animals, so there's a great interest globally in bioprospecting, which is looking through those resources to find such things." There are a number of examples where this has been demonstrated, such as th e discovery of bioactives in wallaby milk . It was found that a wallaby's milk has more than 30 potential bug-fighting compounds, and these bioactive compounds could potentially be used in the development of medication, and even some foods. MILESTONE PROJECT

Another project that capitalises on Australia's genomic assets and unique flora and fauna is the coral genome project. A collaboration between AGRF, Illumina (an American-

assembling genome sequences here, with the aim of producing the $1,000 genome in the next two to three years . Over time, as research and technology advances, researchers will be able to produce genomes in less time and for less money. Meanwhile, it is expected that this revolutionary new sequencing technology will have a profound impact on the future of genomics, as well as on broader society, both in Australia and globally.

based sequencing technology company) and various bioinformatics groups around Australia, the project represents a huge milestone for Australian genomics. Not only will it be the first animal genome to be fully sequenced and assembled in Australia (researchers here DIY SEQUENCING have sequenced less complex genomes or In fact, thanks to organisations like the AGRF, it is not too far-fetched to imagine microbes, but never an animal genome), it also represents one of the first times a world where we all know our own internationally that a genome sequence genetic code, and can have access to health will be und ertaken exclusively using nex t preventative measures before becoming ill. generation sequencing technology. "Evolutionarily, coral is very inter- "... it is not too far-fetched to esting because it is a primordial animal and shares many of the same sorts imagine a world where we alllmow of genes with that of a human," Dr our own genetic code, and can Siemering says. "Giving researchers a have access to health preventative genome sequence to work with will measures before becoming ill." help us understand how those genes have evolved, as well as the effects of According to Dr Siemering, once the things like climate change and coral bleaching. $1,000 genome is rea lised, it will be easy It also helps us to assess the health of our coral reefs, which underpin things like the Great for humans to have their own genome Barrier Reef, which is important to Australia sequenced, and, potentially, for babies to have their genome seq uenced at birth. both iconically and economically." "This area of whole genome sequencNext generation sequencing, used in the coral genome project, means that genome se- ing will cause a major paradigm shift in hea lthcare, from reactive to preventative. quencing can be undertaken on a massive scale compared with what has previously been posBased on an individual's genetic profile, if sible. The original human genome sequencing they do have a susceptibility to a particuproject was completed in 2003, and took lar disease, the treatment plan or therapy around 15 years at a cost of over $2.5 billion. will be tailored. This means that the focus of healthcare will shift to managing those Today, with the help of this new technology, a human genome sequence can be completed susceptibilities and preventing the disease, within one week for about $10,000. rather than trying to do something about "Next generation sequencing technolit once it happens," explains Dr Siemering. ogy has been a huge advance in genomic If you have a gene for susceptibility for research," says Dr Siemering. "It produces colon cancer, for example, you might go vast amounts of sequence very cheaply, and into a screening program from an early age, if we can lea rn and develop our capacity to with the aim of preventing it from occurring, use that sequence information to assemble rather than dealing with it once it does. genomes, it opens doors to unlocking some These types of research breakthroughs of Australia's biodiversity. " have the potenti a l to influence Australia's According to the Australian Genome Re- life expectancy rates and healthcare costs, search Facility, next generation sequencing and also help highlight Australian genomic also builds a national capacity to continue research globally.

Science and Biotechnology

Overflowing with ideas The Innovation Cup from biopharmaceutical company, Merck Serono, trains a selection of life science and biotechnology students to discover, develop and help market drugs aimed at unmet medical needs, writes Rael Martell. For the late American atomic physicist William Pollard, education and innovation were close cousins and, without the two working in tandem, progress was impossible. In his words: "Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what .you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow." Such an understanding appears to be one of the driving factors behind an initiative by Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of the global pharmaceutical and chemical company Merck KGaA of Germany. Merck Serono discovers, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines in more than 150 countries around the world, including Australia where it employs about 100 staff. Its main therapeutic fields of interest are oncology, neurodegenerative diseases, rheumatology, fertility and endocrinology. "We operate in niche areas in which we aim to be world class," says Merck Serono Australia's managing director since 2007, David Garmon-Janes. Garmon-Jones explains that in the high science world of biopharmacy constant innovation and product development is necessary both to a company's future and to Merck Serono's own aspiration to transform people's lives. SPECIAL TRAINING PROGRAM

It was a forward-looking approach such as this that prompted Merck Serono to launch its Innovation Cup program in 2011. The Innovation Cup offers the chance for 20 selected postgraduate students in life sciences and business administration programs from around the world to attend a one-week training program with the company's experienced staff in Frankfurt, Germany. "Building talent today for tomorrow's business is a strategic priority at Merck Serono. One way to achieve this is by contributing to the personal development of talented postgraduate students who have the potential to become the leaders of tomorrow," says Dietmar Eidens, head of global human resources at Merck Serono. The program offers students taking part

in a Summer Innovation Camp the opportunity to learn "the fundamentals of research and development within the pharmaceutical industry", he says. "Students will learn the implications of discovering and developing new drugs that address the unmet needs of patients, and the requirements to bring those drugs to the market." To achieve this goal, participants attend presentations by Merck Serono's management and outside experts, are coached by retired Merck Serono professionals, and they can also work in groups with their international peers. During seven busy days, the students are expected to transform the seed of a nove_l idea into a fully formed and convincing business plan in one of Merck Serono's core therapeutic areas. Each plan is presented to a grand jury comprising members of Merck Serono's senior management and external experts, and the team presenting the most convincing plan is presented with a prize of 10,000 euros (about $13,470). But the Innovation Cup is not only about the prize at the end of it, explains Susan Herbert, Merck Serono's head of portfolio development. "The program was also developed to provide a forum for exchanging ideas on medical innovation that can truly make a difference in people's lives. It's a unique opportunity for them to get first-hand experience in entrepreneurship in the pharmaceutical industry." INNOVATIVE THERAPIES

The importance Merck Serono attaches to nurturing up-and-coming young scientists and business leaders is just one sign of its commitment to leading on change and innovation. Merck Serono estimates that it devotes around 20 per cent of its revenues to pursuing innovative therapies through research and development. In March 2011, the company also launched a worldwide competition to find unique

and innovative ideas for adaptive physical products or online applications that will help people overcome the challenges of living with multiple sclerosis (MS), which affects the central nervous system. Two months later a round of funding was announced for projects that focused on central nervous neuroprotection and/or repair strategies in relation to MS.

"Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow."

In July of the same year, it also awarded grants of up to one million euros to five research projects to support the advancement of medical science in fertility. Merck Serono currently has 17,000 employees worldwide. A spokesman for the company describes it as an organisation that "prides itself on thinking in generations, research in one generation will impact upon the next". The Innovation Cup in which senior employees pass on their expertise and experience to potential recruits is, perhaps, a prime example of the twin workings of learning and innovation: the close cousins about which the physicist Pollard was so passionate.

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Food on the table Protecting crops, increasing varieties and developing sustainability programs are part of this international research company's work to reduce food shortages, writes Fran Molloy. Agriculture worldwide now faces its greatest challenge: to feed the planet's fast- growing population at a time of rapid urban development, environmental degradation, changing land use and climate uncertainty. Australia is the world's second largest exporter of canola, an important food crop that produces an oil well regarded for its health attributes. In fact, canola accounts for around 15 per cent of world oilseed crops, second only to soybeans. The Bayer CropScience sequencing project was an international collaboration with several parties including the University of Queensland, The Beijing Genomics Institute-Shenzhen, China and Keygene N.V. from the The Netherlands. This collaboration lead to the sequencing of a canola rapeseed genome. This will contribute to Bayer's breeding program, allowing Bayer to speed up research to bring new technology and better products to growers much

Rob Hall discusses wheat with Jeremy Burdon, Head of Plant Industry, CSIRO

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sooner, including improved agronomic traits and modified oil content and composition. Elsewhere, Bayer is contributing to the sequencing of the wheat genome, which is five times larger and far more complex than the human genome. Wheat is a critical food crop worldwide. "The first draft of the wheat genome was mapped in the UK in late August (2010)," says Rob Hall, head of BioScience at Bayer CropScience, Australia. RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS

Bayer's innovation culture is vibrant in Australia, prompting collaborations with some of Australia's best researchers. In March 2010, Bayer CropScience signed a two-year agreement with national science research agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), to model the system-wide global impacts of new generation cereals. The project will assess the long-

term environmental benefits of new crop varieties- and the impact these potentially have on global food security. The agreement is the latest in a long history of cooperative research partnership agreements between Bayer and CSIRO. For example, in 1998, the two organisations focused on developing crop varieties with improved yield, better use of nutrients and better tolerance of stresses such as drought. In future, it is envisaged that the outcomes of the alliance will contribute to sustainable food security which is shaping up to be one of this century's most critical dilemmas. For example, Australia's cereal exports are an important contributor to world food security - a trend likely to continue. INNOVATION AT THE CORE OF SUSTAINABILITY

"Bayer's three-pillar approach to sustainability considers economic, environmental and social aspects," says Richard Dickmann, Head of New Business Development and Sustainability. The Bayer Group has more than 5,000 products, and with a third of its revenue derived from products developed in the last decade, innovation forms the basis for Bayer's business success. In Australia, Bayer is launching nine new active ingredients for crop protection in Australia in the five years to 2013. "This sets Australian growers up to be world competitive and economically viable because they will have these modern compounds, which are much more targeted to specific pests, very safe for humans and much safer on the environment. "Economic success, however, must be balanced by social and environmental outcomes. Following many years of drought, agricultural communities in Australia are stressed and there's a severe shortage of both skilled and unskilled agricultural labour. As part of our commitment to the social dimension of sustainability in agriculture, we are a key partner in a rural-based program called Aussie Helpers."

Science and Biotechnology

Bayer is proud to support Aussie Helpers, a charity that assists farmers and rural communities across Australia who are severely affected by drought, flood and fire. Pictured here is Brian Egan (right) founder of Aussie Helpers and Daniel, one of the many whom Aussie Helpers has supported

Aussie Helpers is a nonprofit venture that provides counselling and material support and has established a training farm and subsidised employment placement program with host farms. The program will both improve employment prospects for disadvantaged rural youth, and provide much-needed subsidised labour for farmers. Longer term, skilled labour shortages can only be addressed by education. Bayer contributes financial support towards the CSIRO Plant Industry Summer Student Program which provides invaluable research experience for up to 30 plant and agricultural tertiary students each year. Long-term change must, however, start early. By sponsoring the rollout of the CarbonKids education program to schools throughout Australia, Bayer also helps raise awareness of climate change issues and sustainable farming to young Australians. Environmentally, Australia is the world's driest inhabited continent, with its interior suffering from some of the world's lowest rainfalls. But when it rains it often pours, with prolonged high rainfall often resulting in waterlogging and flooding. Bayer's patented Stress Shield and Turf shield technologies improve the ability for plants to handle drought, very hot conditions - and even waterlogging. "Turf shield will act like a sunscreen lotion that actually

reduces UV (ultraviolet) burning on Food security is shaping up turf, which is a real issue," Dickmann to be one of this century's says. Other developments include a most critical dilemmas. herbicide that supports minimum-tillage production systems. "Farmers are now using ultraminimum disturbance technology, where the soil is cut with a small tween 2008 and 2010 committed to develknife, the seed dropped in and then closed," oping new solutions for dealing with climate he says. "Through minimum-tillage, the soil is change. These projects include strategies to almost completely undisturbed, so you retain reduce carbon dioxide emissions from profar more moisture in the soil and you also conduction processes and reducing the comtain the carbon and organic matter in the soil." pany's own carbon emissions and its water This is part of the company's worldwide and electricity consumption - for example, commitment to climate-related research and through a new chlorine production technolprojects, with almost $2 billion a year beogy that reduces electricity consumption by a third. Dickmann says that sustainability in agriculture is a critical component of the company's philosophy, and since 1999, Bayer has held a continuous listing in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. Locally, the Australian arm of Bayer has also implemented an internal sustainability program (called B-Green) to attempt to reduce the company's environmental impact. This program encourages behavioural change of employees through awareness. B-Green has helped Bayer employees implement real change, both at work and at home. Strategies like site audits, an ecofriendly car fleet, even the use of communications technologies to reduce the need for air travel, are all helping Bayer develop a solid reputation in the global market for its highly innovative culture.

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Scien ce and Biotechnology

Ideas to icons Invetech is an outstanding example of how inspired creativity and innovation can work wonders around the world, writes Dan Stojanovich. Based in Melbourne with offices in California and Switzerland, Invetech is at the forefront of breakthrough product development and automation, helping a· diversity of companies get new products to market across the globe through more innovative design, engineering, development and manufacturing. With some 200 staff, Invetech may not be a large global organisation that is well known to the average consumer, however millions of consumers around the world have been touched by the breakthrough innovations that are the hallmark of the Invetech approach: creative thinking does make a difference ... and that unique and pragmatic creativity has been making a difference for some three decades. Invetech brings world's best-practice expertise in innovative design, engineering and manufacturing to an extensive variety of clients in many different industries and market sectors. The objective is always to deliver solutions that are as practical, competitive and marketable as they are innovative. The company's multi-award-winning portfolio has been at the forefront of advances across many industrial, medical and consumer markets. The creation of intellectual property with this unique practical and marketoriented focus has enabled clients to break new ground and penetrate markets with greater commercial certainty. It is this capacity to successfully keep bringing fresh ideas to market that most sets Invetech apart. In order for Invetech to keep achieving these kinds of successes for its clients, the company provides a range of development services that include product design, engineering and manufacturing. In so doing, Invetech applies a global perspective to each project, so that clients can be assured that each project is optimised through being enhanced by the best the world can offer. To remain at the forefront of innovative product design, Invetech has developed its own proprietary structured innovation process to create genuinely optimal product de-

PROJECT TRACK RECORD

Most importantly, Invetech has a proven track record of projects that have worked around the world. Many of these have been truly breakthrough, game-changing products that have not only achieved commercial success for Invetech's clients but have also been recognised in winning a diversity of awards. Just a few of these projects include: signs. This process involves designers, engi• The Coca-Cola Freestyle Fountain Disneers and manufacturing specialists working penser developed by lnvetech for the collaboratively to ensure design solutions are Coca-Cola Company. This product can not only market appropriate but can also be deliver more than 100 beverages from a manufactured reliably and cost-effectively. single touch screen and won the prestigIn terms of engineering, Invetech specialisious 2011 Gold Edison Award. es in projects that require complex develop• Development and replication of the ment processes. Such projects usually inworld's first 3D Bioprinter for human volve the collaboration of many engineering tissue repair and organ replacement for disciplines in the development and testing of Organovo. This landmark achievement prototypes, alpha models, beta models and production-ready instruments. was recognised by TIME magazine as a When it comes to manufacturing, InTop 50 invention in 2010. • The PREVI Isola, which was developed for bioMerieux in France. This project has revolutionised the operations of microbiology labs worldwide, and was awarded a 2010 Gold Medical Design Excellence Award. • Berocca's Twist 'N' Go was another firstof-kind project that was developed for Bayer Australia. It was awarded the 2011 Beverage Product of the Year. • The TearLab Osmolarity System has proven to be a revolutionary product which was awarded the 2009 Silver Medical Design Excellence Award. The Invetech approach is driven by a proven way of working that celebrates curiosity, discovery, creativity and real world results. Innovation The creation of intellectual property remains at the heart of what the with this unique practical and company does, so being bold and imaginative is essential to market-oriented focus has enabled solving complex problems and clients to break new ground and delivering those breakthrough penetrate markets with greater results. commercial certainty. Enthusiasm is also at the core. lnvetech people are passionate about what they do in order to vetech provides contract manufacture for achieve nothing less than excellence. This new and complex devices and instruments. enthusiasm also manifests in the Invetech This service is seamlessly integrated with the approach to collaboration, which is considcompany's design and engineering capabili- ered essential to applying the best knowlties, which can be particularly important in edge and experience the world has to offer reducing the risks associated with manufac- to the most complex challenges and sucturing first-of-a-kind products. cesses for clients.

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Taking stock Meat & Livestock Australia is active in much of the collaborative research that Australia does as a global leader in science related to livestock and red meat, writes Samantha Schelling. Australia is one of the world's largest and most efficient producers of commercial livestock, and a leader in exporting red meat, as well as live cattle and sheep. Just two of Australia's scientific successes are: • the world's first comprehensive paddockto-plate, meat-grading system for beef and sheep - called Meat Standards Australia (MSA); and • BREEDPLAN, a modern genetic-evaluation system for beef cattle breeders globally. MSA was developed from the combined efforts of the red-meat production industry and scientists, and is backed by robust, consumer research. In 2010, the science underpinning MSA won a prestigious Australian Museum Eureka Award in the "research by an interdisciplinary team" category. The MSA program's collaborative approach has been funded by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and the Cooperative Research Centre for Beef Genetic Technologies (Beef CRC). It involves scientists and staff from MLA, Marrinya Pty Ltd, University of New England (UNE), University of Melbourne, Murdoch University, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation - CSIRO, Victorian Department of Primary Industries, Industry and Investment NSW, Sensory Solutions Limited and Cosign Pty Ltd. Dr Robert Banks, manager program development & evaluation at MLA, says, "The internationally licensed BREEDPLAN, marketed by the Agricultural Business Research Institute (ABRI), was developed by the Animal Genetics & Breeding Unit (AGBU), which is a joint venture of the University of New England and Industry and Investment NSW (New South Wales), with support from MLA and considerable research undertaken also by the Beef CRC to introduce important new traits to the scheme. "BREEDPLAN is arguably the best beef geneticevaluation system now available worldwide, and has been designed and implemented

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through long-term industry funding and continued close collaboration between leading beef cattle breeders, scientists and ABRI staff." Research and development entities are as follows. MEAT & LIVESTOCK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

MLA is a producer-owned company, working in partnership with industry and government to achieve a profitable and sustainable red meat and livestock (cattle, sheep and goats) industry in Australia. MLA is responsible for providing marketing, plus research and development services, to more than 47,000 producer members and the broader red meat industry to help them meet community and consumer expectations. MLA is committed to fostering world leadership for the Australian red meat and livestock industries by creating opportunities for its stakeholders, the environment, red meat consumers and the community. With its mission to deliver world-class services and solutions, MLA's core activities include: • improving market access; • growing demand; • increasing productiviry across the supply chain; • promoting industry integrity and sustainability; and • increasing industry and people capability. CRC FOR BEEF GENETIC TECHNOLOGIES

The Beef CRC was established to identify the genetic and non-genetic factors affecting beef quality and other production traits of economic importance. It uses cutting-edge genomics technologies to improve the profitability and productivity of beef businesses in Australia and globally. One of 49 CRCs funded by the Commonwealth Government, it is among the longestestablished, having begun in 1993. It aims to maximise research benefits through utilisation, commercialisation and technology transfer.

The Beef CRC's focus is on gene discovery and gene expression technologies to: • improve the capacity to deliver high quality beef to Australia's 110 global markets without compromising animal welfare or the environment; • enhance beef yield and herd reproductive efficiency, improve efficiency of resource use, reduce production costs, minimise methane emissions and avoid chemical and antibiotic residues by precisely applying knowledge about the genes that control these attributes in cattle, their rumen micro-organisms and in parasites that affect cattle productivity; and • ensure Australia is the number one beef supplier to meet growing demand in neighbouring Asian countries to 2020. Dr Heather Burrow, chief executive officer of the Beef CRC, says, "Scientific outcomes from the CRC's research underpin both MSA and BREEDPLAN, and we are continuing to develop new technologies and applications that will enhance and valueadd both systems in future."

Science and Biotechnology

removes reliance on subjective observation only, which is fraught with guesswork around "how much is breeding, how much feeding?" in an animal's phenotype (appearance) and productivity. BREED PLAN •••

AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS RESEARCH INSTITUTE

The ABRI is part of UNE at Armidale, NSW. Dr Arthur Rickards, OAM (holder of a Medal of the Order of Australia), was managing director of ABRI for 41 years to July 2011. He says, "ABRI provides a wide range of agribusiness-information services, including comprehensive breed-register software for livestock producers. Its register is used by 143 breed associations globally, with more than 40 million animals recorded on the database, covering eight different species." Its technologies are used under license in 21 countries. ABRI: • has recording systems for all species of commercial livestock in Australia; • operates the national beef-recording systems in Austral ia, New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines, Zimbabwe and Namibia; • targets its supply-management systems at the Japanese and Korean meat markets; • is actively involved in providing beef-

recording systems in South America, Southern Africa , the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom; • supplies least-cost ration formulating software to intensive livestock industries in Australia and Asia; and • provides information technology solutions to 22 breed associations in North America The research and results from these organisations are significant globally. MEAT STANDARDSAUSTRALIA

MSA is the world's first comprehensive paddock-to-plate meat-grading system for beef and sheep. Taking into account all critical control points of beef production that impact on palatability, it effectively grades red meat for many values consumers seek: consistency, tenderness, juiciness and eating-quality predictability; it also factors in aesthetics, food safety and origin. All MSA-graded beef is labelled with a guaranteed grade and recommended cooking method to identify beef eating-quality according to consumer perceptions.

By the late 1980s, domestic beef sa les were declining against growing competition from white meat (dropping from 43 kilograms per capita in 1989 to 38 kilograms in the next few years). Unpredictably tough - and therefore un enjoyable - meat was turning Australian cons umers away. In simple terms, MSA considers what people really want to eat. By restoring consumer confidence through predictable eating, the technology has contributed to Australia being one of the few countries where, now, red meat consumption is no longer falling. According to a study carried out by independent economic consultants Access Economics, since its inception in 1999 through to June 2006, MSA has added more than $244 million to the Australian beef industry. This amounts to an extra 20 cents per kilogram for beef graded through MSA, along with helping to improve production processes plus consumer quality assurance. The annual net value of MSA for beef alone in 2009 was around $65 million per annum. Using the full range of meat science, genetics and growth plus nutrition results from MLA and CRC programs, the multidisciplinary MSA Pathways Team developed the MSA models to predict and guarantee beef eating-quality across Australia's vastl y different beef-production systems. (To date, more than 83,000 consumers have eaten 583,000 samples of beef with eight cooking methods tested, providing the world's largest database of consumer sensory analysis.) Underpinned by Beef CRC science, and commercialised by MLA, the MSA system was launched in 1999. While (as of mid-2011) not being publicly used to support export product, MSA has also helped maintain Australia's status as a premium beef exporter. All participants using the MSA trademark, are subject to license agreements, which include an approved Quality Management System. Licensees are audi ted annually. The MSA standards are backed by an independent audit to AS/NZS ISO 9001:2000 Quality management systemsRequirements. The MSA program is being used thus: • beef program- in 35 abattoirs; • sheep program- seven abattoirs; • producers -18 ,800 registered; • end users -1 ,600 licensees; and • brands - 54 companies use the program to underpin their brand. Since the MSA program began, some 8,294,141 beef carcasses have been graded. In the 2010-11 financial year (FY), 1,422,346 cattle were presented for grading - an 11 per cent increase on 2009-2010. The figures are

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

work around "how much is breeding, how much feeding?" in an animal's phenotype (appearance) and productivity. Importantly, BREEDPLAN can separate out genetics from the environment, allowing breeders to select for real genetic differences. However, some uncertainty in animal selection will still remain, because generally less than half of the observBREED PLAN able differences between animals are due to BREEDPLAN is a modem genetic evaluation system for beef cattle, developed in Australia and genetics and the accuracy of EBVs is therefore commonly much less than one. used globally. It gives breeders the potential to Since the late 1990s, ABRI has merged geaccelerate genetic progress in their herd, tighten netic databases for particular breeds to enable breeding operations, improve animal producinternational genetic evaluations. Improving tivity and increase prices received for livestock. beef-production competitiveness in all coopThe system has been developed by the AGBU with support from MLA. The ABRI erating countries has been the driver for this: the larger the populations being evaluated markets the technology, with 15 countries the better the chance of finding elite genetic now using BREEDPLAN for genetic evaluation. material that can then be quickly spread via Research into BREEDPLAN began in 1983, modern artificial breeding techniques. when it was only used within-herd. In 1986, To that end, BREEDPLAN is the national beefAGBU expanded it for use across herds, when four Hereford herds in Hamilton, Vic- recording scheme in Australia (used by some 34 breed societies), New Zealand, Namibia, toria, saw they were using the same sires and Zimbabwe, Thailand and the Philippines. Its wanted to pool data to measure traits across use is increasing in the US and Canada (17 beef their herds. (This version became known as breed societies across North America), UK, Group BREEDPLAN, although it is now comSouth Africa, South America (Chile, Argentina monly referred to just as BREEDPLAN.) and Uruguay), Malaysia and Hungary. In 1993, Beef CRC began the world's largResearch and further development into est beef cattle progeny testing program that allowed the introduction of entirely improving BREEDPLAN is ongoing at AGBU Taking into account all critical new carcass and beef quality, feed and Beef CRC. The latest technology is DNA genetic control points of beef production efficiency and reproduction traits into BREEDPLAN. As well, the research marker information. This research into identhat impact on palatability ... it was able to determine that Australia tifying the particular chromosomal regions also factors in aesthetics, food needed only one genetic evaluation, that impact on different traits is mainly being carried out by the Beef CRC. AGBU not separate schemes for grass-fed safety and origin. and grain-fed cattle or separate scientists have modified BREEDPLAN softRATING MEAT QUALITY evaluations for cattle bred in tropical versus ware according to the latest research results The key to MSA is the Meat Quality score temperate environments. and ABRI released updates to BREEDPLAN in (MQ4 ), a numeric measure of a consumer's Using Best Linear Unbiased Prediction March 2011, with Angus Australia being the acceptability of a piece of beef. The formula (BLUP) technology, BREEDPLAN produces Es- first breed society to incorporate high denis based on the four major characteristics timated Breeding Values (EBVs) for recorded sity marker information provided by Pfizer that consumers use to rate a satisfying beef- cattle across a range of important produc- Animal Genetics (PAG) into its genetic evaleating experience: tion traits, such as weight, carcass and fertiluation. However single marker DNA tests • tenderness; ity. These factors determine the profitability for meat tenderness, licensed to PAG by Beef • juiciness; of a beef enterprise; EBVs make them more CRC and international research groups, • flavour; and visible to breeders. were first used in BREEDPLAN in 2008. • overall liking. EBV calculations include an animal's own It is an important breakthrough for the However, by itself, this MQ4 score is performance, that of known relatives, the beef industry, with all sources of possible inmeaningless to consumers, so "stars" are al- heritability of each trait and the relationship formation on an animal - pedigree, its own located based on defined grade boundaries: between the different traits. All traits are then performance, that of its recorded relatives, • 3-star MQ4 (cut-off 46.5 points) is consid- combined in a single analysis. Using another and its own DNA test - combined into a ered "good every day"; program developed by AGBU called Breed Ob- single genomic EBV. These even more accu• 4-star MQ4 (cut-off 64 points) is consid- ject, the individual trait EBVs are then weight- rate EBVs give producers very effective geered "better than every day"; and ed by their economic importance and com- netic evaluation tools for herd improvement, • 5-star MQ4 (cut-off 77 points) is considbined into a single dollar value that reflects the which is vital for the Australian beef industry. ered "premium" estimated genetic differences in profitability Dr Rickards says, "MLA estimates that if (A 2-star rating or less is considered for differing market production systems. BREEDPLAN can drive genetic progress in Australunsatisfactory.) ia's beef industry to capacity, this will be equivaTo make the system even more consumer · ANIMAL SELECTION lent to a $5 billion boost to the Australian econfriendly beef cuts are presented at point of sale BREEDPLAN helps make animal selection more omy measured as Net Present Value. That's the with the appropriate cooking method that will objective. It removes reliance on subjective goal that has inspired ABRI's talented team to deliver the desired eating quality outcome. observation only, which is fraught with guessbe very innovative in the systems it develops." just as strong in lamb and sheep-meat. In FY 2010-11, 870,598 lambs were presented for grading - a 67.5 per cent increase on 2009-10. When carcasses are graded, the MSA model channels in information about 40 different muscles. These are aged for different periods and cooked by five different methods. Using researched knowledge about different pathways to meat quality, the MSA model predicts how satisfying a particular cut will be to consumers given the animal's history, meat-processing choices and the cut's intended use. MSA-certified graders collate information from the producer, supervise processing standards and collect individual carcass attributes using a uniform set of standards that include breed, meat colour, marbling, fat depth, maturity and pH. Dr Robert Banks, manager program development and evaluation at MLA, says, "One of the Beef CRC's major achievements has been the research that has allowed us to build the MSA meat-quality grading system. At MLA we then developed that into a commercial product, which is now widely applied in both our beef and sheep meat industries. MSA has set a new standard in beef eating quality and consistency for consumers, which is now being emulated in other countries."

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MSA continues to be developed, and Beef CRC science continues to strengthen it. Research underway includes broader ranges of cattle types, pathways to slaughter, more cut and cooking method combinations, and the impact of ageing.

Australia's Nobel Laureates

To sleep, perchance to dream Dr Peter Farrell is one of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs. As founder of ResMed in 1989, he has seen the company grow from a miniscule start-up with under a million turnover and losing $250k in 1990, to become the world leader in technology which aids millions of sufferers from sleep disordered breathing, of which sleep apnea is the major manifestation. The company now distributes in 70 countries, with about 50 per cent of its one billion plus revenue derived from the United States where Farrell has resided for some years. The company retains a major presence in Australia, engaged in both R&D and manufacturing. As an early contributor to Fast Thinking, and an active speaker at many conferences, Farrell has established himself as an inspiring speaker on business, leadership, medical technology and many other subjects. He is a man of powerful opinions. His fierce intelligence and straight talk peppered with occasional profanities has made him among the most popular presenters on the informal lecture circuit. John Keeney, Fast Thinking editor-inchief, and David John, publisher, had an intimate session during one of Farrell's frequent mile-a-minute visits to Sydney. JK What fundamentals should entrepreneurs think about in tackling the United States market from an overseas position? PF First, whatever you are doing the fundamentals count, and by that I mean a careful examination of the mix of people, ideas and the money needed. Is it really a viable proposition? Some are not asking hard enough questions about a proposition's viability. But the real ... the ultimate answer to a successful anything, is people quality. Listen, you can take a B grade technology and make it work with A grade people. You can't do the reverse. As far as the specifics of targeting the US market, one needs to understand, in depth, what's different about the US landscape, the culture. You can only do that by going there. We did it at first in a minimal way, but effectively. We made numerous contacts. We listened. We were doing 10 per cent of our business there from Australia in the first year, with no office in the US, at least initially. DJ What was your lowest point as an entrepreneur and what did you do about it?

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In 1990 we had six staff and we were losing money. That was about as low as you could go, but we were always executing against a plan. We were fighting like hell to makes sales. We had to fight price resistance especially. I was constantly looking at trying to improve the salability of the product and the sustainability of sales. It was about cash flow generation as soon as we knew the technology was good enough. JK At what stage did you do an IPO? What advice would you give other start-ups on this subject? We listed on Nasdaq in June 1995, and went to the New York Stock Exchange in 1999 for reasons of increased profile. Whether that was a good move, I don't really know, since our volatility didn't improve. But we went public at the right time in that we were turning over close to $14 million and profits were strong enough to justify a float. But the main lesson is this: going public is the beginning, not the end - a good business leader must appreciate that. We did not list in Australia because there was not then the right appreciation for technology and the estimate of our share price at the time was 50 per cent greater in the US. With respect to advice on listing, I would not do it on the basis of a dream or a hope. There must be a sound business plan and you need to have sustainable sales and be making money, and that means a positive cash flow. JK Is being public in the early stages a major new burden in terms of regulations, reporting, management distraction? Look, you just have to do it, and you must have the right people you can trust to do these vital things properly. It's a distraction but there's no choice. JK In smaller countries where there may be less capital, talent base, lower research budgets a more limited environment - do you believe

government has a role in supporting companies to expand geographically? Have you witnessed any programs in other countries that are worthwhile? Absolutely not. Tell me please when was the last time you saw a government create a major innovation of significance? No way. Innovation comes from the private sector! There are too many cases where companies, or government programs which support companies, are kept alive with your tax money until they eventually die. JK You have been on a Harvard medical supervisory board. What is the ideal role of the university today in commercialisation? Frankly, many of these boards generally are dysfunctional. And universities should not be involved in commercialisation. It is not their job. Their job is to turn out really bright young students and get them prepared for the real world. On this, I think that amongst the most valuable degree choices today are engineering of some kind, chemical, electrical, mechanical, whatever. There are other good choices, but I will say this: look at the top industrial companies, look at the leading companies in the US, Germany and Japan - they are generally not run by lawyers or accountants, they are run by highly-qualified graduates in engineering or applied science. I can give you a list a mile long around the world which proves this. Start with Andy Grove of Intel, who has a PhD in chemical engineering from Berkeley, or Jack Welch, formerly General Electric's chairman and Chief Executive Officer, who also has a PhD in chemical engineering from Illinois. JK You've made the amusing observation that your biggest competitor is ignorance - any advice for others? This is a constant job of getting information across, it's stressful, it's hard, you do it, you work at it. Look at what Barry Marshall,

Science and Biotechnology

a friend and an Australian Nobel Prize winner, went through, challenged for years on his theories, even vilified. He fought, he persisted, he prevailed. And this brings me to the attitude that one often hears about stress. Until Barry Marshall came along, it was believed by the medical profession that duodenal ulcers were caused by stress. Ever seen a stress meter? Barry showed that it was caused by a bacterium. But it took years and he finally, along with his colleague Dr Warren, got a Nobel Prize (see Turning things on their head). Business and scientific discovery are stressful. Stress is needed. Without stress you are not going to get anything done! You just need to avoid distress. DJ What other philosophical points in business do you think are vital? I talk a lot about people and leadership. But going further on this, look up Bertrand Russell's [the great mathematician and philosopher]10 commandments some time. One of them is: "Never be absolutely certain of anything". Another one is: "Don't be envious of those who live in a fool's paradise because only a fool would think it was paradise." To paraphrase another one, "Never try to win an argument by authority." You have to win arguments with logic. And in business, what you also need is a sense of urgency, and you really have to have a fetish to want make a contribution. And you can't have a great business if you do not have these attributes as well as "Stress is needed. Without persistence and determination and a stress you are not going to get high tolerance for bad news. JK What attributes in business anything done! You just need and entrepreneurship exist in the to avoid distress." US which other countries should emulate? All cultures are not created equal. Beneath the overlay of political cor- percent of your customers. The key markets rectness in the US, the fact remains that it is are the US, Germany and France in that orthe epitome of a country which encourages der. We are all over the world, but we know where to focus. We do about $100 million individuality, and this breeds innovation: the culture inculcates individuality and a in Asia, but in the US we have one customer competitive spirit. I don't know how you who does about $50 million. Asian bureauctransfer these qualities or even if it's pos- racy can be a challenge and it's a question sible, but it should be thought about. Mind of figuring out where things work best. But you, the current US administration is largely Asia is still a great opportunity. Marxist and thinks the government should JK As a passionate manager, your role has do everything. I predict that this will not be clearly grown and changed with the growth of the company. How do you self-define accepted and they will ultimately fail. your job as executive chairman? DJ What are your views on incentivisation One word - strategy. This is actually my aÂŁ staff? old and my new job. We have 3,500 emWe have unlimited bonuses. there is no cap. ployees doing a good job in many areas . We reward excellence, and keep rewarding it. We have a couple of thousand patents, exJK What about ResMed's market penetration in Asia? Has this been a non-priority tensive R&D and global manufacturing. A company like ours needs a chief strategist. or a failed effort? No way has it been a failed effort, but it's JK You are a founding contributor to Fast challenging. We follow the 80/20 rule but Thinking, you've followed it a bit, what should we do to maintain position as the leading innoin fact we're closer to the 90/10 rule, where 90 per cent of your business comes from 10 vation magazine? How do we improve?

Keep it simple. Make it practical. Keep it interesting, make it easy to understand, get people to want to come back to it. And be consistent in your messaging. Especially talk to people who have been there and done that. Look at Rupert Murdoch, he admits to overpaying a little bit for the Wall Street Journal, but he's right - the circulation is going up and it makes strategic sense in the long term. Meanwhile the NY Times in my opinion is going down the tubes; it is too subjective and advertorial. The WSJ is clear, factual, interesting, useful -I don't read the NY Times anymore. JK What do you do in your hectic schedule to stay fit and balanced? I try to keep fit and I am also an active art collector, it keeps the mind alive in another dimension. And I belong to several golf clubs and try to relieve some of my work stress with the stress of golf. JK What are your top picks of best business books you've read- innovation or otherwise? Managing for Results by Peter Drucker, from I think the mid-60s, and I have read much of his other work but this one in particular was very practical and logical. And Andy Grove's books, the one before Only the Paranoid Survive- also good - but especially the earlier one, High Output Management. A lot of management books are about management fads.

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Few people know it, hut M elbourn e, the most liveable city in the world, is becoming one of the great science cities of the world, too, albeit one of the youngest. And the jewe l in th e science crown is biotechnology. Biotech plays a vital role in generating bctrer health outcomes, a cleaner environment, fuel alternatives and improving th e quality and yield of food crops. The biotechnology industry translates the investment government and our citizens mak e to early stage resea rc h within our uni versities and resea rch institutes into quality products for kitch en, bat hroom and garage. The industry in Australia is growing quickly, with a broade r and deeper skills base, diversifying platforms, establishing new companies while others mature, and developing new, local products, many of th em dramatically shaping the way we live our lives and helping improve peo ple's li ves around the world. With a competitive ta x for resea rch and developm ent, legi s lation allowing scientific freedom within a well-regulated environment, an outstanding university sector and clinical trial framework, there is litrlc kee ping Australia from being one of the world's leading biotec hnology destinations. MICHELLE GALLAHER, CHIEF EXECUTNE OFFICER, BIOMELBOURNE NETWORK

I have always been proud of the rich herita ge of inno va tion in the Australian wool indu str)', from wool growing techniqu es and practices, through ro groundbreaking product marketing. The history of Australian wool, especially Australian Merino wool, mirrors that of Australia itself. It has played a major role in the developm e nt of the country and its character, both economically and culturally. Th e first Merino sheep were introduced ro the country in 1797. Originally from Spain, these sheep had ;1lrcady evolved a fin e fibre, hut innovative selective breeding by Australian woolgrmvers soon produced the unique Australian 1vlerino s heep with its even finer wool. Their lon g, fine fibres were ideal to meet the d emand s of new industrialised spinning and weaving 111;1chines, enabling th e production of lighter, softer wool fabrics. By I S70 Austr;1lia led the world in both the qu;1ntiry and quality of its wool production, as it does to thi s day. Australi a n woolgrowers h;1VC made gre;1t advancemenrs in M erino wool production over the p;1St 200 years, <llld today they arc ju stifiably proud of the tradition of excellence they hav e inherited . Au stralia now dominates glob;d wool production for apparel, <ll'Coutlting for approximately 70 per ccm of global consumer purchases of wool apparel. In th e lll<ll'kcting arcn;1, the \Voolm;1rk logo, owned by Australian woolgrnwcrs, is one of rhc most recogni sed tex tile symbols in the world. The logo has been applied to well over 2 billion g;Hnlt'nts since the Ct'L';Hion of the origin;1lmark in 1964. The \\loolmark logo is :1 unique certific:Hion 111ark providing consumLTS with guaranteed fibre comcnt <111ll an assurance of qu ;1lity. From g rowing wool to marketing wool, I believe there is no other industry rh;lt has made such <1 positive impact on t\nstr:1 li;1.

It is 2031. Australia is a global leader in clean energy and water technologies, and zero-emission tran sportation systems, all enabled by nanotechnology. Australians enjoy th e most efficient healthca re syste m thanks to nanodevicebased personalised medicin e. Nano is a Greek prefi x meaning one billionth, which is approximately 11100,000 the diameter of th e average human hair. Nanotechnology allows us to create, ma nipulate and use m;lterials constructed ar the molecular level. Research in nanotechnology is contributing to a new understanding of th e uniqu e properties and ph enomena that occur at th e nanoscale. It is nor new. Nanoparticles abound in nature, for example, in volcanic ash, ocean spray, fores t-fire s mok e, clouds and clays. Natural nanosrructures include sea -shells, butte rfl y wings, a Gecko's foot, and indeed much of th e machinery in our human bodies. Worldwide, over SOO products, mostly consum;1blcs, contain nanoparticles, or n:mostructurcd materials from longlife tenni s balls to super sunscreens. Some of nanotechnology's greatest a pplications will emerge in the next five to I0 years, for example, when cheapet; more efficient ways to capture solar energy become readily available. The University of Queensland (UQ) resea rchers ;He working on new types of solar materials that arc more efficient in harvesting sunlight and cost less to produce than existing panels. For example, a new class of photocatalyst- the world's first titanium oxide single crystals with high, visibl e light activity- was developed by scie ntists at UQ, which could lead to cost-effective solar energy conversion to electricity or even s plit w;1tcr to h yd rogc n. A nor her promising na noma tcria I, na noporous carbon, also developed at UQ, enables hi g h power density and energy d ensity for energy storage in super cap<K itors. Nanotcdmology-enablcd membrane tec hnology can mimic th e living cell's aquaporin, a unique protein that pumps warer, makin g super-efficient nanocompos ite membranes to produce clca n wa tc r from sa Iinc wa tcr. The applic·:nion of nanoparticlcs in diagnostics and tre;ltlllCIH of diseases promises to re vo lutionise the healthcarc industry. A promi sin g cx:1mplc is th e 1\ioCOM chip, under development ;lt the University of California at Berkeley. It combines both the n;uw- ;1!1d th e mi cro-scale, providing a new tool for rc;11-time sampling of blood for prostate-s pecific :unigen sc reenin g. Tr:111sfornt :1ti vc nanohiotcchnologics will he capable of targetL·d, combin ed dia gnostic and dru g delivery in a bloodcell sized pill form, and will b,· able to exrend life, for example by mimicking red blood cells a thou sand times more powerful than the hiolog iG11 version. This tran sformation :1l industry will require an intcrdisL·iplinary approach and I ;1n1 optimistic ;1bout a bright future provided that as :1 tl ;ltion we keep recognising the import:1nce of sciemilic resL'<1rc h and incre:tse our invesnm·nr in innov:ttive fronrin technologies.

STUART MCCULI.OUGII, CH IE F EXECUTIVE OFF ICE !\,

PHOFESSOR MI\X l.U, DEPUTY VIC I': CIII\NCI·:LI.OH IHI•:SI·:I\HCII).

1\USTH/\ 1.1 1\N WOOl. INNOVI\'I'ION LIMITED

TilE tiNIVEHS ITY O F OIJEENS I. /\ND

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Unlocking the secrets

to a nevv vvorld The University of Sydney is translating its research breakthroughs into innovative solutions to help society defeat devastating diseases, address out energy and environmental challenges and improve our standard of living, writes Jane Riley. For more than a century, University of Sydney researchers have been delivering new insights and cutting-edge breakthroughs across a wide spectrum of fields. Ranked among the top 1 per cent of research universities globally, Sydney attracts the most vibrant thinkers to form a community of scholars dedicated to the pursuit of outstanding fundamental and transformative research with real-world applications. Some of the most exciting work being done at Sydney is in specialised health research, where partnership with the University's commercial arm, Sydnovate, can transform groundbreaking discoveries into tangible benefits for society. Sydnovate supports the development of new technologies by protecting intellectual property rights and often brokering the linkages to translate research outcomes. This alliance, and an underpinning philosophy of collaboration, critically enables a bench-to-bedside model for health research. FIGHTING THE BIGGEST KILLERS

This model will be taken to an entirely new level in an exciting and ambitious new research centre which has been established by the University of Sydney, dedicated to preventing and reducing the personal and social burden of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and their complications.

The centre will create a collaborative environment where academics, researchers and students can combine their talents and passions across disciplines to bring a united force against this worldwide epidemic. It will greatly expand the University's capacity for basic, clinical and translational research, covering all aspects of the obesity epidemic - from the economics of grocery shopping to the physiology of metabolic disorders, from urban planning to policymaking- with the ultimate goal of creating healthier, more sustainable communities. The breadth of disciplines incorporated into the centre make it unique on Australia's research landscape; and the state-of-the-art complex in which it will be housed will incorporate design elements that inspire collaboration. The new centre builds on the University's longstanding track record of discipline breadth, depth and collaboration. The following case studies are just a small sample of the innovative work currently underway in the fields of individual health and sustainable lifestyles. INSECT BEHAVIOUR

Professor Stephen Simpson's work is remarkable. An Australian Research Council (ARC) Laureate Fellow, Simpson began studying the swarming behaviour of locusts. Initially, he did not realise the extraordinary and far-reaching implications of his research, 11 Locusts, obesity and ageing may which has fundamental appliseem like strange bedfellows. cations in disciplines as diverse as aquaculture, conservation Certainly, you would be met with biology and ageing. a blank stare if you were to go to a Having learned that a norfunding agency and ask for money mally solitary locust will swarm to study locusts because one day you to leverage their protein intake, Simpson applied this hypothmight provide a new understanding esis to humans in an effort to of obesity and ageing. But the reality understand human obesity and ageing (and even how animals is we've ended up doing just that."

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can use food selection to self-medicate). The powerful validation of the hypothesis has already led to the design of better feed formulations for domestic pets and support for the conservation of endangered species. "Locusts, obesity and ageing may seem like strange bedfellows," he admits . "Certainly, you would be met with a blank stare if you were to go to a funding agency and ask for money to study locusts because one day you might provide a new understanding of obesity and ageing, or discover fundamental features of the way nutritional interactions shape ecological systems. But the reality is we've ended up doing just that." EARLY METABOLIC ABNORMALITIES

Professor Louise Baur, director of the New South Wales Physical Activity, Nutrition and Obesity Research Group at the University's Westmead Campus, is studying the early onset of metabolic abnormalities in children and adolescents that predispose them to obesity and related diseases. By identifying these early indicators, medical science and health services can better target preventative therapies that include nutrition and exercise. Professor Baur, a specialist in paediatric obesity and pre-diabetes, says as a society we have created a toxic environment for our children where it is really hard for them to be active and difficult for them to make healthy food choices. "My work focuses on obesity and the metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents - the causes, the consequences, the management and the prevention," she says. "Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of disorders, including being overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and prediabetes." She believes by bringing together the big ideas of many different approaches to obesity,

Science and Biotechnology

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Unlocldng the secrets to a nevv vvorld The University of Sydney is translating its research breakthroughs into innovative solutions to help society defeat devastating diseases, address out energy and environmental challenges and improve our standard of living, writes Jane Riley. For more than a century, University of Sydney researchers have been delivering new insights and cutting-edge breakthroughs across a wide spectrum of fields. Ranked among the top 1 per cent of research universities globally, Sydney attracts the most vibrant thinkers to form a community of scholars dedicated to the pursuit of outstanding fundamental and transformative research with real-world applications. Some of the most exciting work being done at Sydney is in specialised health research, where partnership with the University's commercial arm, Sydnovate, can transform groundbreaking discoveries into tangible benefits for society. Sydnovate supports the development of new technologies by protecting intellectual property rights and often brokering the linkages to translate research outcomes. This alliance, and an underpinning philosophy of collaboration, critically enables a bench-to-bedside model for health research. FIGHTING THE BIGGEST KILLERS

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can use food selection to self-medicate). The powerful validation of the hypothesis has already led to the design of better feed formulations for domestic pets and support for the conservation of endangered species. "Locusts, obesity and ageing may seem like strange bedfellows," he admits. "Certainly, you would be met with a blank stare if you were to go to a funding agency and ask for money to study locusts because one day you might provide a new understanding of obesity and ageing, or discover fundamental features of the way nutritional interactions shape ecological systems. But the reality is we've ended up doing just that."

diabetes and cardiac disease, we can find a solution to a wicked problem that has crept up. "The problem is now at the core of our society. Unhealthy choices are basically default choices for children. This has led to childhood obesity becoming a common and significant disease." Professor Baur says we need to develop a coordinated response to the now-common health issues of obesity, cardiac disease and diabetes. IMPROVING CARE AND CUTTING COSTS

Another groundbreaking discovery has emerged from the hepatology section of the University's Sydney Medical School. Professor Jacob George and his team have discovered a genetic marker that can predict the treatment response in hepatitis C patients. At the moment, the standard treatment is a 48-week course of anti-viral drugs, which is not only harrowing for the patient but also extremely costly, and effective in only about 50 per cent of cases. "Our research should lead to the era of personalised medicine in the field of pharmacotherapy (drug therapy)," says professor George. "Personalised medicine is the Holy Grail of medical research - it allows treatments to be tailored to patients' individual characteristics in order to optimise response rates and avoid side-effects. Here

EARLY METABOLIC ABNORMALITIES

Professor Louise Baur, director of the New South Wales Physical Activity, Nutrition and Obesity Research Group at the University's Westmead Campus, is studying the early onset of metabolic abnormalities in children and adolescents that predispose them to obesity and related diseases. By identifying these early indicators, medical science and health services can better target preventative therapies that include nutrition and exercise. Professor Baur, a specialist in paediatric obesity and pre-diabetes, says as a society we have created a toxic environment for our children where it is really hard for them to be active and difficult for them to make healthy food choices. "My work focuses on obesity and the metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents- the causes, the consequences, the management and the prevention," she says. "Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of disorders, including being overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and prediabetes." She believes by bringing together the big ideas of many different approaches to obesity,

the partnership with Sydnovate is vital; we are seeking to protect this new intellectual property in order to work with companies to commercialise our discovery and produce a patient testing kit." From a sustainability perspective, these new-generation drugs will offer significant cost savings and a far better quality of treatment for patients. Breakthroughs are also being made in the field of neurodegenerative diseases, guided by professor Jurgen Gotz, director of the Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease Laboratory at the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Research Institute. He and his team have made several discoveries that bring them closer to achieving their ultimate aim of defeating Alzheimer's disease - a chronic condition placing a massive burden on individuals and the public healthcare system. "In 2009, 35.6 million cases of Alzheimer's disease were reported worldwide, and numbers are expected to more than double by 2050," says Gotz. "At present there is no cure for this debilitating disease and the current treatment is limited to symptomatic relief." TOWARD A SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT

Professor louise Baur, a

specialist in paediatric obesity and pre-diabetes. Professor Steve Simpson, a world expert in locusts whose cross-disciplinary work has shed new light on to the human obesity epidemic. Professor Jurgen Gotz, whose research has helped us come closer to finding a potential cure for Alzheimer's. Professor Ben Eggleton, who aims to keep Australia at the cutting edge of telecommunications through his research into photonics.

Two pioneering Sydney research projects are looking at photonics: the science of generating, transmitting, processing and detecting light. These studies have the potential to transform the energy landscape - providing major cost savings and a more sustainable way of living. Professor Benjamin Eggleton is the director of CUDOS- the University of Sydney's $20 million ARC-funded Centre for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems. Professor Eggleton and his team are developing an all-optical photonic chip that will revolutionise information systems and provide a more energy-efficient and faster

alternative to the existing electronic-based systems. "The key technology behind the internet is photonics," says Eggleton. "Reaching far beyond the optical fibres which merely transfer light, photonics has the capability to transform all areas of modern society that rely on information transfer." Meanwhile, the University's Astrophotonics group, led by professor Joss BlandHawthorn, has developed new photonic technologies that have enabled them to build a shoe-box-sized spectrograph - an instrument Bland-Hawthorn describes as "fundamental to analysing the content of light across many applied sciences and commercial fields". By using an optical device produced on a tiny chip, the group can improve conventional telescope designs that are weighty, costly and inefficient. While spectrographs have been used since 1604, the Astrophotonics group is currently designing machines for use in all aspects of astronomy, for clients including NASA, Goddard Space Flight Centre and the University of Maryland. This size of spectrograph also has applications in medicine and sustainable food production, by allowing remote sensing to track the atmosphere or crops on the ground. As astronomer, writer and scientist Dr Carl Sagan once said, "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known". The University of Sydney is driven by the creation of important new knowledge and to dramatically increase the chance that such incredible discoveries will occur. Academic passion and freedom, a view to innovation and excellence are nurtured and supported by world-class facilities, infrastructure and services. Of these services, it is through partnership with Sydnovate in particular that the University ensures scientific breakthroughs can be transformed into positive outcomes that will improve our quality of life in the long term.

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Science and Biotechnology

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Seeing clearly

A breed apart

For well over 50 years the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, known as ANSTO, and its predecessors have built a solid foundation from which a new, more sophisticated and agile nuclear science and technology organisation is emerging, writes its chief executive officer Dr Adi Paterson. ANSTO is able to undertake world-class research tackling some of the big health, climate, environment, water and security questions of our time. Developments in Australia's nuclear research capabilities are particularly opportune with advances in the application of nuclear science and technology expected to be unsurpassed in the coming decade as society increasingly realises the opportunities nuclear science can deliver. At the very heart of ANSTO 's new capabilities is OPAL, the Open Pool Australian Lightwater research reactor. One of only a handful of multi-purpose research reactors in its class globally, OPAL has elevated Australia's status in the international science community and now attracts scientists fro~ all over the world to use its facilities. OPAL has been recognised by the International Atomic Energy Agency as one of the world's leading research reactors and a centre of excellence in neutron beam science. OPAL is specifically designed and used for scientific research, the production of radioisotopes for medical and industrial applications, silicon irradiation and specialised analyses. ANSTO's Bragg Institute provides the interface for Australian and international researchers to use OPAL's neutron beams to solve complex research and industrial problems, from health to clean energy storage. The Bragg Institute builds on the principle of diffraction established by father and son Nobel Laureates, William and Lawrence Bragg (see The Crux of the Matter). Diffraction is the apparent bending of light or a beam of particles such as neutrons when they travel through materials. By recording the diffraction pattern produced when neutrons penetrate a crystalline material, the arrangement of individual atoms in a material can be determined. For example, the Bragg Institute uses neutron diffraction to see how the atomic structure of components in a lithium-ion battery change in real-time as the battery is charged and discharged to gain a better understanding of how energy is reversibly stored in these batteries. This information is being used to

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direct future research into more powerful and longer-lasting rechargeable batteries. Such is the importance of OPAL to Australian science that the federal government has funded the long-term development of an additional seven world-class neutron beam instruments. When construction of these instruments is completed in 2013, the Bragg Institute's Neutron Guide Hall will accommodate a suite of 13 neutron-beam instruments, each one capable of making what was previously unseen now clearly visible. Strong partnerships with the best minds from leading Australian universities, hospitals and industry, enable ANSTO's researchers to lead and collaborate in scientific endeavours. In July 2010, Senator the Hon. Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, announced the Australian Collaboration for Accelerator Science (ACAS) which will unite some of Australia's brightest research talents in physics and help train a new generation of young Australian scientists. Through this collaboration between ANSTO, the Australian Synchrotron, the University of Melbourne and Australian National University, Australia's leading scientists will have access to imaging techniques and powerful new tools that will reveal the structure of materials in unprecedented detail. Minister Kim Carr said, "By bringing together our best minds, the A CAS will increase our participation in visionary international projects, such as the world's largest physics

project, the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research." Australia's position as a global contributor to nuclear science and technology is more important than ever. Often the key driver for meaningful innovation is collaboration as it facilitates knowledge-sharing and an ability to ask the bigger questions that result in great advancements in science. In 2010-11, ANSTO signed collaborative agreements with the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the Paul Scherrer Institute in Swtizerland, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). The future looks bright with nuclear science and technology set to continue to improve our lives and unlock the many mysteries of science.

DEMAND FOR NUCLEAR DIAGNOSIS IN HEALTH IS CRYSTAL CLEAR ANSTO produces approximately 10,000 patient doses of life-saving nuclear medicines each week, which are distributed to hospitals, radiopharmacists and nuclear medicine practices around Australia. Targets are routinely irradiated in OPAL to produce molybdenum-99, which decays to form technetium-99m, the world's most widely used radiopharmaceutical; iodine-131 used in the treatment of thyroid cancer; chromium-51 used in studies of blood flow; and samarium-153 used in bone pain palliation and treatment of bone-marrow disease. Medical trials have commenced in the United States by global pharmaceutical company Bayer, using a new imaging technique developed by ANSTO, which is expected to broaden diagnostic options for patients with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions, now understood to be related to inflammation in the brain.

From heavy fleece to the finest of fibres, the Australian Merino is particularly resilient, versatile and integral to the nation, writes Samantha Schelling. The Australian Merino has its base in the first Merinos that arrived in Australia in 1797, along with those on June 6 1805 of John and Elizabeth Macarthur, who are seen as the founders of Australia's wool industry. Since the Macarthurs' five rams and one ewe were unloaded from the Argus, Merinos have spread to alrnost every non-desert area, south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Australia now dominates global Merino production in 2010 producing: • 22 per cent of the world's total supply of wool (of all types); and • 56 per cent of the world's total supply of Merino wool (less than 24.5 microns). The Australian Merino produces the highest quality grades of wool suitable for apparel, with some 70 per cent of global consumer purchases of wool apparel being Australian Merino fibre. As well as this fine fibre, the Australian Merino has been bred to produce a heavy fleece and wool of consistent colour and strength.

INNOVATION AND ADAPTATION The early breeding base came from Spain, England, France, Saxony and Silesia. Dr Paul Swan, manager of market intelligence and trade reporting with Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWl), says, "Merino breeding is complex and difficult, requiring skill and experience over a long time-span and often under demanding environmental conditions." AWl invests in the breeding tools to help Australian woolgrowers identify the best animals from which to breed. "Merino breeding in Australia has always been innovative and adaptive, with environmental suitability a major factor in developing the Australian Merino. Animal productivity has grown through farmers' and scientists' continuous and deliberate evolution of the breed, which has shown great resilience and versatility."

SUITING DIFFERENT CLIMATES Breeders have developed several types of the Australian Merino, each uniquely adapted to Australia's vast climatic variations. Peppin was the first major innovation in the 1860s, when Australia's vast, dry inland areas were being colonised for pastoral production. The Peppin family of Wanganella, in New South Wales (NSW)'s Riverina, successfully combined genetic infusions from French, German and New Zealand stock with the existing local Spanish-derived Merino blood. The result was a heavycutting, large-framed mediumwool Merino. Merryville: superfine Merinos, emerged in the 1920s, when Walter Merriman, of Merryville stud at Yass in southern NSW, developed a fine-wool Merino type, combining the RavenThe Australian Merino produces the sworth Saxon Merinos with highest quality grades of wool suitable Peppin genetics to produce a for apparel, with some 70 per cent of large-framed, long-stapled finewool type. These Merinos, which global consumer purchases of wool represented a large productivity

apparel being Australian Merino fibre.

leap for fine wools, still exert a major influence on breeding. "Merriman's contribution was not just through skilled breeding: he was a___pioneer in pasture improvement through phosphate fertilisers, and an innovator in advanced breeding technologies," Swan says. As early as 1939, Merriman was using artificial insemination to maximise the genetic influence of his top sires. He was later knighted for his services to the wool industry. Around the same time, AL (Art) Collins was similarly experimenting with genetic combinations -but in a very different environment: the semi-arid rangelands of South Australia. "Collins' challenge was to build on the Peppin strain's productivity, but adapt it to the harsh rangeland environments comprising much of inland Australia. His success was such that by the 1960s, Collinsville genetics influenced 30 per cent of the Australian national flock."

SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS In the late 1920s, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was established. Its research and that of its successor, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), has helped genetically improve Merinos. More recent significant investment in technological innovations includes: • On-farm, fleece-measurement technologies (in the late 1990s), which have allowed breeders to test individual fleeces for breeding or clip-preparation. • In 2001, Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), AWl and the Australian Government giving $55 million core funding for the Australian Sheep Industry Co-operative Research Centre (CRC), which includes genomic-based research. • In 2006, the Australian wool and sheep meat industries through MLA and AWl launching the national Merino genetic improvement database, MerinoSelect. Studs representing 40 per cent of Merino ram sales are engaged in the database, which has a new, objective, to standardise the description of genetic merit, called the Australian Sheep Breeding Value (ASBV), across meat, reproduction and wool traits. • Through the SheepGenomics program, MLA and AWl have contributed $30 million for exploring the potential application of genomic technology. In 2007 scientists completed the first detailed map of the sheep genome. • By 2013, the Sheep CRC is expected to put the industry in a position to commercialise sheep gene markers, linked to ASBVs.

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Seeing clearly

A breed apart

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apparel being Australian Merino fibre.

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Povvering a ead Australia's involvement in the global research community is critical to the country's economic, environmental and social success and is responsible for long-term research excellence, writes Peter Fuller. technologies for genome sequencing." The project's aim, according to Dr Bertram, "is to fast-track the next-generation sequencing technology". The BGI will provide genome sequencing expertise to the joint research centre, which together with mouse models mimicking human disease, allow the data from human genome sets to be validated. This collaboration exemplifies the importance of international research partnerships, considered of paramount importance to Australia. With a population of just over 21 million, in per capita terms, Australia has an outstanding Nobel Laureates record and in 2009 produced more than 3 per cent of the world's scientific publications with only 0.3 per cent of global population. However, access to the other 97 per cent of new scientific knowledge will keep Australia at the forefront of science and innovation. "We believe in the transformative power of science and research," the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, said when opening the EurAsiaPac Workshop in Parliament House, Canberra, in February 2011. "We are in the business of change. And we see the internationalisation of our research system as the key to success in a globalised world." He noted that Australia's contribution to international science had been made in partnership with research peers from 150 other nations, and that in 2009 Australians had written more than 26,000 papers jointly with international partners. "We want Australians to work with the world's best; and measure themselves against that very high standard," he said. The ever increasing complexity and cost of scientific discov~~we are in the business of change. ery and technological development, coupled with the effects And we see the internationalisation of globalisation, means that of our research system as the key to international science collaborasuccess in a globalised world". tion is vital to maintaining living - Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, standards and competitiveness. Science and Research Using collective strength and Dr Ed Bertram, Australian director of the Australia-China Centre for Phenomics Research, has no doubt about the value of international research collaboration. A conversation held with Dr Hong Tang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Biophysics during an international exchange program funded by the Australian and Chinese governments led to the establishment of a multi-million dollar collaboration and centre that could rapidly lead to new treatments to strengthen our ability to fight disease. This joint research centre brings together leading research institutes across Australia, China and the United St~tes to investigate the genetics of the immune system to understand what makes us more or less susceptible to disease. As it has evolved, membership has expanded to include additional institutions from each of the partner nations. Through this international collaboration, the centre aims to develop personally targeted drug treatments across a range of medical conditions. Mouse models of human disease produced by Australia are available to researchers in both countries, offering the potential for new therapies to enhance the immune system and fight disease. Building on this strong base, a new partnership announced in May 2011 with the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) will dramatically hasten the hunt for the next generation of personally targeted drug treatments. The BGI, with a staff of 5,000, is "one of the leading glbbal organisations in whole genome sequencing", said Dr Bertram, following the announcement. "They have really led the way in developing next-generation

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expertise, scientists provide a vital contribution to solving the global challenges of our times, including climate change, food and resource security, environmental sustainability and health needs. Australia's economic, social and environmental wellbeing depends on having a world-class science and research sector that is globally engaged. At the highest levels, Australia's international science engagement is led by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. The department promotes Australia's science interests in a variety of ways including investment in major research infrastructure, advising on science and technology matters and building and maintaining effective national and international relationships with stakeholders in the research, industry and community sectors. Support for Australian scientists to collaborate internationally is delivered at federal and state level and within the research and business sector. Australia's record in international research collaboration is strong. Its top 10 publication partners are leading scientific nations, renowned for the volume and quality of their work. The US remains Australia's largest research partner, with the United Kingdom a close second, and there are strong links with other science leaders including France, Germany and Japan. But with an eye to the future, it is China and India to which Australian researchers are increasingly being drawn. Indeed, ties with China are well established and expanding rapidly. This is evident in the number of joint research publications with Australian and Chinese authors, which has accelerated over the past decade, from 1.69 per cent of papers with a Chinese co-author in 2000 to 6.15 per cent in 2010, making China Australia's third-top publication partner in 2010, and Australia China's sixth-highest partner. The 30th anniversary of the AustraliaChina science cooperation agreement was

celebrated at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 with a week of science discussions between elite Australian and Chinese researchers at the Partners for a Better Future: Australia-China Science and Technology Week program. This celebration followed a decade of government funding for collaborative research through the Australia-China Special Fund for Scientific and Technological Cooperation. Over this period Australia provided more than $11 million, matched by China, to support 133 projects, leading to discoveries and improvements in areas as diverse as biodiversity, water conservation, mining efficiency and safety, food security, disaster management, wireless communications, medical research, new alloys for manufacturing and cleaner energy. And in April 2011, affirming the continuing importance of science and research in the broader relationship, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao witnessed the signing of a joint ministerial statement for an AustraliaChina Science and Research Fund, to support strategic science and research collaboration of mutual benefit to both countries. INDIAN COLLABORATION

There are rewards, too, in Australia's research engagement with India, a fact highlighted by the Australian Government's $65 million commitment to the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF). With the Government of India providing matching funding, the AISRF provides a major platform for building a long-term science and research partnership. "This funding enables Australian and Indian scientists to combine their unique strengths and tackle big issues facing both communities, such as growing healthy crops and protecting precious groundwater environments," Senator Carr said. Partnering with India, so far AISRF funding has been awarded to more than 90 collaborative projects, involving 28 different Australian universities and research organisations, and 50 Indian partner institutions. The range of projects is wide, encompassing n~otechnolÂ ogy, stem cell research, biomedical devices and implants, agriculture, and marine and earth sciences. One -:research team will work to develop a new class of anti-cancer agents targeting the immune system, others will examine ways to improve high-temperature tolerance

in crop plants, and improve our ability to predict plant distribution as climates change. "India is a strong research nation in its own right and a rising scientific power," Senator

Carr said. "Both countries have much to gain from collaboration in science and technology." If collaboration is the future, then we should note that it builds on a rich tradition of international engagement by Australian scientists. Howard Florey, awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1945, trained in Adelaide but did his

groundbreaking work on penicillin in Britain and the US. It is a similar story with more recent laureates in the same field. Peter Doherty (1996) divides his research time between the University of Melbourne and St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee; Barry Marshall (2005) conducts research at the University of Western Australia and has appointments at the University of Virginia and Pennsylvania State University; and Elizabeth Blackburn (2009) has held the Morris Herzstein chair in biology and physiology at the University of California, San Francisco, since 1990. Commitments like these underscore the point that Senator Carr made at the EurasiaPac Workshop. "Science, by definition, is a global business," he told participants. "We are partners, and some would say we are rivals, in the same quest for knowledge. For our part, Australia welcomes that global quest."

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in crop plants, and improve our ability to predict plant distribution as climates change. "India is a strong research nation in its own right and a rising scientific power," Senator

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Huinan and natural health Inatters

Queensland's Griffith University has diverse institutes researching anything from plant, pharmaceutical products and waterways to musculoskeletal injuries, and all making a difference to practice and results, writes Kayt Davies. Griffith University is just 35 years young, a spritely youth in university terms, but it is commanding attention and respect by being Australia's ninth-largest higher education provider and through the quality of its research. Griffith offers 300 degrees over five Queensland campuses to 45,000 students from 124 countries and it wins awards, such as the Best in the Education and Training Award category at the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Premier of Queensland's Export Awards. Each campus has a different teaching and research focus. At the Nathan Campus and the adjoining Brisbane Innovation Park, researchers based at Griffith's Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies are breaking new ground. SEARCHING THROUGH EXTRACTS

According to professor Ron Quinn, director of Eskitis, the point of difference in the Institute's approach to drug discovery is the way it uses its resources, including Nature Bank, a repository of over 200,000 extract fractions derived from over 45,000 different kinds of plants and marine invertebrates, and Neuro Bank, a collection of regenerating cells from the nasal cavities of nearly 200

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patients with neurological diseases. Naturally occurring compounds are usually selected for assessment of their therapeutic potential from hunches sparked by observations of their activity in nature or their history as herbal medicines, he says. Eskitis, on the other hand, is systematically working through its entire collection of over 200,000 fractions in search of answers to specific questions. In professor Quinn's words: "The approach could see the Institute making a major contribution in the global fight against malaria and African sleeping sickness, as Eskitis researchers scour Nature Bank for compounds that can interfere with these parasite pathogens." It is an approach that has their peers and industry paying attention. Professor Quinn was honoured with admission into the Order of Australia in 2009 for service to scientific research. He is also known in Australian biotech circles as the man who collaborated with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to explore natural products for potential new drug applications, sparking what turned into a deal involving $100 million of industry investment. The Institute's deputy director professor

Alan Mackay-Sim is also a lauded figure, having been named Queenslander of The Year in 2003 for research on neural development and regeneration. He and his team are using Neuro Bank to develop cellular models of diseases such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease and motor neurone disease. Neuro Bank cells can also be used as excellent disease models for testing new drugs, Quinn says, because the olfactory neural cells taken from the noses of patients with Parkinson's and schizophrenia behaved in the same way as the cells in their brains - meaning that much more can be learned about potential new drugs before human testing begins. IMPORTANCE OF CARBOHYDRATES

Meanwhile at Griffith's Gold Coast campus the Institute for Glycomics, headed by professor Mark von ltzstein, is studying carbohydrates (sugars) in biological systems, which is expected to impact as profoundly on the pharmaceutical industry as the emerging fields of genomics (genes) and proteomics (proteins) have over the past few decades. Professor von ltzstein established the In-

stitute in 2000, to continue his work that in 1989 (when he was based in Victoria), resulted in the discovery of neuraminidase inhibitors - now better known as Relenza, the world's first anti-influenza drug. "We continue our work in influenza and we have developed a new technique that allows us to study these deadly viruses, including bird flu, where we can take parts of the virus and put it in a harmless vehicle and interrogate the way it recognises carbohydrates," he says. The group is also exploring the role of carbohydrates in cancer, including ways that carbohydrates on the surface of cancer cells can be targeted by drugs that may be able to bind with them and ways that they could be disrupted to make cancer cells more vulnerable to other therapies. Deputy director professor Michael Jennings adds that the Institute is now ready to make a major contribution across viral, bacterial and parasitic infections, thanks to the appointment of professor Michael Good in July 2010. Professor Good was awarded as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2008 and a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Australia Fellowship in 2010.

He was also head of the A mutual commitment to its Queensland Institute of Medical over-arching theme of prevention Research and chair of the NHMRC of chronic disease through health of Australia, and has been promotion, early intervention investigating immune responses to malaria and rheumatic fever, and and innovative healthcare unites gaining insights relevant to the the Griffith Health Institute's development of all vaccines. many branches. The Griffith Health Institute (GHI), based on the Gold Coast campus, takes a broader look at musculoskeletal disease and injury, and inveshealth with research programs dedicated to tigations of the pathogenesis of diseases such the behavioural basis of health, population as cancer, HIV/AIDS and infections of the health, and clinical and community practice respiratory tract, ears and the urinary tract. innovation. These are in addition to its Heart Researchers study the molecular basis of Foundation Research Centre and a team disease processes and immune responses looking into the molecular basis of disease. working alongside others who are devel"This multidisciplinary approach delivers oping intervention strategies - such as vacresults and is fitting for an Institute whose mis- cines and new therapeutic agents. These sion is dedicated to building healthy communi- joint projects include extensive studies on ties," says pro vice chancellor of the Griffith the effect of environmental factors on imHealth Group professor Allan Cripps. mune development in children. A mutual commitment to its over-archMeanwhile, another GHI group is develing theme of prevention of chronic disease oping effective treatment strategies for mithrough health promotion, early interven- graine, based on an understanding of genetic tion and innovative healthcare unites the susceptibility, professor Cripps says. Yet anGHI's many branches. other is exploring factors that lead to carSpecific projects include studies of poten- diovascular disease and ways of reducing its tially preventable factors that contribute to incidence and improving treatments.

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He notes that the team looking into human behaviour, health promotion, and emotional and psychological wellbeing has also achieved significant outcomes with a number of at-risk patient groups in particular with interventions focused on families and children. HEALTH OF WATERWAYS

Away from human health, researchers from Griffith's Australian Rivers Institute are aiming to understand threats to the health of our waterways. The Institute brings together scientists from diverse fields: aquatic ecology, population genetics and phytogeography, hydrology, chemistry, biogeochemistry, ecotoxicology and soil physics to geomorphology, and contaminant modeling. This all underpins the sustainable management of catchment, river, estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Work published in Nature (September, 2010) highlights how difficult it is to balance the water needs of humans and nature, when much of the world's population lives in areas of high threat to water security and widespread threats to freshwater biodiversity. "Understanding the important relationships between freshwater biodiversity and the natural patterns of flow is essential to determining environmental water needs for rivers, wetlands and estuaries," says Australian Rivers Institute director, professor Stuart Bunn. "Our studies of the biophysical processes that influence the fluxes of sediments, nutrients and other pollutants inform the management of land degradation and erosion to reduce impacts on rivers and coastal ecosystems, and our reservoirs of drinking water." Other research areas include the impacts of urbanisation on coastal ecosystems and the

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consequences to aquatic biodiversity of increasing fragmentation of riverine and coastal floodplain habitats from human activities. With considerable expertise in tropical, subtropical and arid zone rivers and coastal systems, professor Bunn believes the Rivers Institute is uniquely placed to contribute to the science needed to underpin the sustainable management of waterways in the regions of the world that are at greatest risk from population pressure and climate change. They are developing guidelines for environmental flows and river health with the Chinese government and this is a good example of their research being put into practice. "Our goal is to do world-class science

and, at the same time, make a real difference," he says. The Institute likes to develop large, collaborative research projects that bring together Australia's leading scientists to tackle these complex natural resource issues. For instance, the successful Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge program aims to provide the science and knowledge that governments, communities and industries need for the sustainable management of Australia's tropical rivers and estuaries (see www.track. gov.au). One such is a partnership program with CSIRO (the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) and other universities on environmental flow issues in the Murray-Darling Basin. The Rivers Institute is a founding partner in the International Water Centre (www.watercentre.org) and contributes to its Masters of Integrated Water Management program. To support research and training at the Australian Rivers Institut0 he University maintains state-of-the-art laboratory facilities at the Gold Coast and Nathan campuses, including stable isotope mass spectrometry, sediment dating, and molecular ecology and DNA analysis, ecotoxicology and field sampling and camping equipment, several 4-wheel drive vehicles and boats. These institutes are contributing to the rapid growth of Griffith's national and international reputation for innovative and interdisciplinary research, says Griffith deputy vice chancellor research, professor Ned Pankhurst. "We have set ourselves ambitious targets in research and we are meeting these by investing in good people doing great and exciting things."

Australia's Nobel Laureates

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Re-shaping the philanthropic landscape

A trustee company that manages

charitable foundations is very serious about its responsibility to distribute the income to meet requests of the founders, writes Dan Stojanovich. One of today's most testing challenges is how best to connect the right parties to harvest the benefits most needed. How do you take the long-term view, field the risks, engage communities, and work on the cases where policy may have failed or people have been ignored? For over a hundred years ANZ Trustees has participated in charitable giving, distributing the income from its 239 charitable foundations in line with founders' directives. Currently the charitable foundations under its management generate income for distribution of almost $70 million per year. " Our management strives to add value to the giving," says managing director, Roberto Scenna, "both by managing the investments optimally at the front end, and by considering carefully how and to what we allocate income. "Our company has a proud history in trustee and charitable services. We have a full range of trustee services including estate planning, estate administration, trust administration and portfolio management services. However we specialise in managing charitable foundations." ANZ Trustees is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ANZ. It is a licenced trustee company with its own board of directors, including an

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independent chairman, Cheryl Bart, who was awarded the Order of Australia in 2009. The concept of trustee companies started in South Africa in the 1800s. The idea caught on and spread to other countries like the United States, New Zealand and others with a connection to the United Kingdom. In the UK itself trust businesses tend to be incorporated in banks and many of the larger banks in the UK have a trust business. The first trustee company in Australia was The Trustees Executors and Agency Company Limited (TEA), established by William Templeton in 1878 when he perceived a need for wealthy or moderately wealthy people to have a reliable and competent executor after their death. Trustee companies thus have quite a specific mandate. Outside of trustee companies only an individual can apply for probate of a will. A corporation is not eligible unless the corporation is a trustee company licensed under the Corporations Act, or a public trustee, which is licensed under its own Acts of Parliament. TEA's approval as a trustee company required a special act of parliament. TEA was wound up in 1983 and its trustee company operations were taken over by ANZ Trustees.

In Australia only a small group of banks have trustee companies. The remaining trustee companies are stand-alone, mostly entities listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Far from being a dowdy province of financial advisory and management practice, the area invites innovation, both in detailed business practice as well as the vision of what can be. ANZ Trustees continues to set new standards in areas such as: â&#x20AC;˘ innovative charitable investment management; â&#x20AC;˘ adding more value to giving programs; and â&#x20AC;˘ developing and promoting new models of philanthropy itself.

Banking and Finance

John and Janet Wicking. The JO and JR Wicking Trust was established in 2003

an asset class has undesirable features for perpetual investing. The results of ANZ Trustees' investment approach speak for themselves. For example, ANZ Trustees is the trustee of the JO & JR Wicking Trust which was established in 2004 with a corpus of $45 million. As at September 2010 this trust was valued at almost $70 million, having distributed or committed to give, some $23 million. "This example demonstrates the power of our approach, and also demonstrates the power of perpetual charitable foundations as a structure," says Scenna. MAXIMISING THE GIVING PROGRAMS

MANAGING CHARITABLE INVESTMENT

Focusing on income allows ANZ Trustees' charitable foundations to have the wherewithal to succeed. The investment philosophy understands that the needs of a perpetual foundation differ substantively from those of most superannuants and superannuation funds. Superannuants accumulate capital in a tax-effective, longterm savings strategy, with the ultimate aim of distributing that capital as a pension and/ or lump sum. Perpetual foundations, on the other hand, require a reliable and sustainable income stream with long-term growth, and their deed often prohibits access to the corpus for distribution.

This means that perpetual foundation investments need to be resilient. With a reliable and growing income stream, a charitable foundation can plan a multi-year granting program with confidence that funds will be available with minimal fluctuation from year to year. As a consequence, while often feeling counter-intuitive, short-term volatility of capital in a perpetual foundation's corpus can, and should, be well tolerated. A volatile income stream, however, is the great risk to a foundation's program. For example, when the interest rate on cash dropped from 7 per cent per annum to around 3 per cent, it highlighted this feature of charitable foundations and demonstrated that cash as

"Passivity has no role in distributing income from our charitable foundations," says Teresa Zolnierkiewicz, ANZ Trustees' head of philanthropy. "While the overall amount we have for distribution each year is large, we are well aware that it is insignificant in comparison with government spending power in the community. We continually challenge ourselves to find ways to leverage the funds we grant, to maximise the value that the grants we pay can deliver. We strive to make ever smarter choices." In administering its 239 charitable foundations ANZ Trustees has experience and expertise in assessing and delivering: • optimal structures for delivering the founder's wishes; • best practice governance processes; • strategic cohesion - ensuring that the whole of the foundation including its investments, governance and giving all work together to achieve desired results; • responses to the diversity of community needs and an understanding of how various foundations can meet these; • an understanding of what constitutes good management in the community

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sector, and more importantly, what constitutes great leadership; and • an appreciation of the perspective and time required to achieve desired results. "We understand how much time any innovation needs in order to succeed, and how long is required to properly demonstrate its results," says Zolnierkiewicz. "In general terms we believe that 10-year and 20-year reflections on a charitable foundation's gifts are optimal. Clearly we have a much longer time horizon than does any government.

NEW MODELS OF PHILANTHROPY

Philanthropy is not only a rapidly changing field, but one which can quickly become extremely complicated. ANZ Trustees has amassed the expertise that qualifies it to advise across a diversity of philanthropic endeavours. "In our approach with our clients," says Scenna, "philanthropy is proposed as an integral element of everyone's wealth and tax planning. However, we are aware that there are many different ways to express a philanthropic intention. While many people are generous to the community and may give to charity throughout their lifetime, it is typically only when they are contemplating a major step for~~we have scope through these ward, that help is sought to find trusts to work across a spectrum the optimal structure for doing of innovation - seeding the this. That's when we come in." Creating a charitable foundaexploration of new ideas ... " tion facilitates giving that is perpetual, flexible and tax effective, as well as offering participation "We have scope through these trusts to 1n, and control over, funds distributed . A work across a spectrum of innovation giving strategy can develop and vary over seeding the exploration of new ideas and time. The corpus is generally invested and approaches to difficult social issues; seed grown over time with the income earned funding the establishment of institutions to distributed to nominated charitable causes. address emerging needs; funding medical Where people do not wish to establish their research in ways that government is unable own foundations, or the level of funds they (e.g. taking risks on untried researchers or have to presently give is lower, they can on non-mainstream projects); and providalways make tax-deductible donations to ing the independence that comes with existing foundations. ANZ Trustees manmoney allocated, without a controlling or ages several charitable foundations that competing agenda, by private individuals accept tax deductible donations. for the public good." The types of structures available include:

Teresa Zolnierkiewicz, Head of Philanthropy, ANZ Trustees

• Private ancillary fund - for giving during a lifetime and through a will; for tax deductible contributions of $1 million or more; offers high level control and flexibility; distributions restricted to Deductible Gift Recipient organisations;. • Public ancillary fund - contribution during a lifetime and through a will to a fund for tax-deductible contributions of $50,000 or more; offers a simple option for those focusing on their personal giving program without the burden of administration or the responsibility of trusteeship; distributions restricted to Deductible Gift Recipient organisations;. • Testamentary charitable foundation established in people's wills and the most flexible. No tax deduction is received so the class of beneficiaries in not limited to Deductible Gift Recipient organisations and these foundations have the greatest scope in their giving programs. • Private charitable trust - for giving during one's lifetime when tax deductibility is not important, so it has a large class of beneficiary and scope of giving. In this complex area the right advice can make a critical difference. ANZ Trustees can provide innovative guidance on establishment, investment and governance of charitable foundations. PHILANTHROPY IN ACTION

ANZ Trustees has been a trustee of the Felton Bequest since inception in 1904. In an address at the National Gallery of Victoria, Roberto Scenna, reviewed this long-standing relationship. "We have observed and participated in the growth of this great gallery which ... acknowledged that Alfred Felton's · gift had transformed its collections ... In fact, the Bequest has transformed not just the collections but the very core of this institution. Eighty per cent of the works on these walls were donated by the Bequest, and these works have an estimated value today of $2 billion. It could be said that the Bequest transformed the entire institution." He then emphasised that although the Felton Bequest is indeed a landmark in Australian philanthropy, "The landscape in which philanthropy operates today has marked differences from the landscape of Felton's era ... today's crucial instruments are partnership and collaboration." TRANSFORMING OLDER FOUNDATIONS

The new style of partnership and collaborative approach has been evident in the transformation of the Alexander Miller Estate, which ANZ Trustees has managed since 1914. "About two years ago we looked at how we might better serve

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the needs of the vulnerable elderly people to whom we were providing housing at various sites in Victoria," says Teresa Zolnierkiewicz. "Our vision and timing could not have been better." The project required the approval of the Supreme Court and now has a 99-year tripartite partnership with the Victorian Government Office of Housing, and Wintringham, a registered housing association and provider of services to the elderly homeless. The partnership secured a state and federal government investment of $33 million, adding to the Estate's existing $23 million property portfolio. Redevelopment of the properties will deliver 160 revitalised units in eight regions of Victoria. Of these 160 units, 50 per cent will be newly constructed, with modern, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing facilities for the elderly. There will also be outreach services. CREATING A STRATEGIC IMPACT

"While our approach to giving spans a wide range of initiatives, we always invite charities to think beyond the conventional, to request from us the sort of funding they cannot achieve from other sources, " says Zolnierkiewicz. "Since 2000 we have been providing time limited, capacity-growing funding to charities." ANZ Trustees believes that by developing the capacity of charities to reflect, use evidence, be proactive and innovate, they can be strengthened to make greater contributions to those they serve. The Strategic Impact Program as it is called, is funded by the Truby and Florence Williams Charitable Trust and gives around $600,000 to $650,000 (over three years) to a charity looking to better serve its mission. Some organisations in receipt of this type of funding include: • Leadership Victoria - revitalising its model and mobilising leadership program alumni to work on areas of community need. • Swinburne University Asia Pacific Centre for Philanthropy and Social Investment -appointing a professor of Philanthropy and Social Investment to develop further research and increase the Centre's participation in teaching and research of philanthropy. • Post Placement Support Services - transforming a previously fully volunteer based group into the first professional centre of its kind in Victoria, to support carers of vulnerable children who are unable to live with their parents. The centre will focus on services and support for kinship carers and inter-country adoptive parents, neither of whom receives government supports.

Alexander Miller. ANZ Trustees has managed the Alexander M iller Est at e since 1914

RELATIONAL ENGAGEMENT

Roberto Scenna, Managing Director, ANZ Trustees

While our approach to giving

John Wicking's will stated that spans a wide range of initiatives, the organisation dearest to his we always invite charities to think heart, Vision Australia, should rece1ve special consideration beyond the conventional, to request from the monies he left. from us the sort of funding they When ANZ Trustees started cannot achieve from other sources. working with it in 2004, Vision Australia was looking to receive a parcel of grants for projects on its wish list. ANZ Trustees knew that the work with Vision Australia could, and should, be substantial and significant. "We also knew that John Wicking had been a tough taskmasbecome the seed £under for the i-access® ter, and an exacting man who demanded the program which is already delivering enorbest of those he worked with," Scenna states. mous benefits to people across Australia." "In helping them conceptualise our first This initiative has transformed the lives project together back in 2005 we encourof the vision impaired. Says Scenna, "They aged Vision Australia to think big about now have timely information through difwhat would be the next most important ferent media and hardware without having thing that the organisation could do in its to wait for cartons full of chunky old casmission to assist the vision impaired," he settes in the mail. Where once the vision says. "As John Wicking would have done, impaired could only read a limited range we tried to challenge the organisation. of newspapers three days after publication, They came up with the need to digitise they now have access to 140 newspapers the national library service for the vision before dawn each day- and the number is impaired. It was pressing and urgent! growing. That's an achievement of which Analogue systems were rapidly becoming John Wicking would have been proud." obsolete. We initially made a small grant ANZ Trustees as a professional trustee so they could research and scope their manages a charitable trust and honours idea. This work allowed Vision Australia the founder's wishes, while maximising the to understand the possibility as well as the value and benefit each trust can deliver. The means of achieving their objective. Once creation of this value in the community is that research was completed and the way the fundamental end purpose and drives forward was clear, we were able to make the creative innovation for which ANZ a grant of $5,700,000 over six years and Trustees is renowned.

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''A per son wh o nev er 1

Â·

ma de a mistal{e nev er trie d any thi ng new." ALBERT EINSTEIN

Banking and Finance

A person who never

made a mistal{e never tried anything new." ALBERT EINSTEIN

Banking for the people, by the people Local bankers owning and managing a branch is a winning formula for this Australian bank, writes Kristyn Maslog-Levis. In 2001, the Australian banking industry was facing a customer backlash following years of branch closures as banks pushed consumers out the door and to online channels. It was also the year David Liddy joined Bank of Queensland (BOQ}as managing director. Historically, BOQ had opened a number of private agencies, in addition to its usual corporate branch fleet. The private agencies were relatively successful, but overall BOQ was not setting the banking world on fire. When Liddy joined BOQ, he could see the potential in the agency model but knew that more would have to be done if the Bank was to achieve its dual objectives of opening more branches cost-effectively and offering customers a service experience that eclipsed the competition. The answer was the unique and highly effective Owner-Managed Branch (OMB) model the Bank operates today. Using the OMB model, BOQ began opening new franchised branches around the country while also converting existing corporate branches to OMBs. This step not only allowed the Bank to expand at a rate and cost - not otherwise possible, but also enabled BOQ to offer an unprecedented level of customer service to more communities around the country. "The OMB model is at the very heart of BOQ," says BOQ chief operating officer, Ram Kangatharan. " It is how we deliver on our promise of 'your own personal bank'. Each and every BOQ Owner-Manager is 100 per cent committed to delivering exceptional service to their customers and the results are plain to see. Our business continues to grow and a lqt of our customers are actually referred through friends or family who are existing customers of BOQ. "We have found that when the manager also owns the branch, they understand that the satisfaction of their customers is the driver of their branch's success and their income is dependent on the happiness of those customers. So they will absolutely make sure they exceed their customers' expectations."

Louise Gooding, Owner-Manager, Ballina NSW

~ -

,. --

Under the OMB model, Owner-Managers operate with the backing and support of the Ba nk, which provides expertise and advice across a number of disciplines, including credit and risk management, marketing and public relations. This model differentiates BOQ from its competitors and provides Australian consumers with a real alternative to the big banks. In fact, the majority of new BOQ customers join the Bank because they are disenchanted with the big banks and are looking for a change. When the model first started out, there were only 35 OMBs in Queensland. Now,

" ... when the manager also owns the branch, they understand that the satisfaction of their customers is the driver of their branch's success ."

there are around 190 Owner-Managed Branches nationwide. SERVICE SETS THEM APART

Most of the Bank's Owner-Managers are experienced bankers who have become frustrated working in larger organisations, as they do not have the freedom to operate and look after their customers in the way they want to. With the OMB model, they can develop their own service style and delivery. Since the model was introduced, BOQ has consistently outperformed its competitors in terms of growth in lending and deposits, which they believe is largely due to the success of their Owner-Managers. And in terms of service, the customers are the personal customers of their OwnerManager, so they have their direct phone number and can call them at any time. The OMB model remains at the core of BOQ's banking model and the Bank plans to continue to open new OMBs and convert corporate branches to the model.

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Banking on the software Rubik Financial was formed with a simple premise - to deliver ~~frictionless banking"- to open and check accounts, share information and bank on the spot without needing the usual infrastructure, writes John Mcilwraith. M any internationa l studies have shown that banking has the highest costs of information technology systems of any industry, says Rubi k chief executi ve officer Brent Jackson, and these result in more expensive products, more complexity between internal systems and challenging customer processes. It should be easy for a customer to open a new account, check their balances, share key information with their advisers, and transfer funds - between accounts, to others or internationally. Bank customers expect to be able to talk to a teller, call centre, relationship m anager or other staff m ember with their entire relationship known. They sho uld be able to complete activities on the spot, or by phone, web or mobile. The layer of costs that are incurred w hen these processes are difficult, when infonna rion is repeated or lost, and the rime required are what Rubik calls friction. CLOUD BANKING SPECIALIST

Following this philosophy, Rubik has built a range of capabilities that allow banks to rapidly deploy systems to serve customers better - with specia lties in cloud-based core banking, channel systems and collections systems. Brent Jackson says, "Rubik is becoming known as the cloud banking specialist, but by focusing on developing systems that help accomplish customer tasks quickl y and easily, we help a bank to extend its offerings, increase irs speed to market, and improve its customer satisfaction while lowering the cost to deliver services - a genuine win win" . Ru bik's main offering is call ed the Bankin-a-Box, a cloud- based core banking capability. This service includes the Temenos T24 core banking system - the world's leading core banking system (Temenos was also fo unded by two Australian technologists in the 1980s) - as well as several of Rubik's other offerings. This allows banks to gain access to a highly secure, cloud-based, pay-as-yougrow service by browser to run their entire banking operation.

224

"Rather than worry about infrastructure or network services, a bank can just use browser access to operate a wide range of retail, business and investment services for customers - it allows fast startup and they can focus on their offering and brand rather than technology." To reach out to customers anywhere, anytime on any device, banks need a wide range of channel products - allowing phone, internet, mobile an d SM S-based services to access accounts and move funds. MOBILE BANKING

"Often customers had to walk for days to reach a branch and possibly queue for hours - now they can just send a simple and cheap SMS to do the same things. This service has processed over a million payment requests in the last year, so is a great example of how mobile services can transform the customer's banking experience." Rubik's reach is extensive. "We have customers in 16 countries so far," Jackson says. "We have set up offices in Dubai and Singapore to accommodate the markets in the Middle East and South-East Asia, and hope to open an office in Indonesia, given demand there." Middle Eastern and Islamic banks performed very well during the global financial crisis, and are interested in using systems that have been proven to wo rk in the tough regulatory environment in A ustralia. R ubik aims to keep working with its existing customer base of over 200 banking and fin ancial institutions to enhance the services customers recei ve an d cut the costs of service. Perhaps one day all banking will be frictionless.

Rubik has a particular specialty in SMS and mobile banking - a research report by Berg Insight forecasts that worldwide users of mobile phones will grow from 55 million users in 2009 at a compound annual growth rate of 59.2 per cent to 894 million users in 20 15. As an example, a system Rubik has installed for a customer in Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands, has more than 100,000 customers who carry out their transactions via SMS. The bank is able to offer viewing acco unts, transaction The layer of costs that are incurred lists, paying bills when these processes are difficult, when and other custominformation is repeated or lost, and the time ers, and even cash deposits by SMS. required are what Rubik calls friction.

Australia's Nobel Laureates

224

Australia's Nobel Laureat es

Renewable energy from the ocean A company is working on a centuries-old challenge -how some of the ocean's energy might be harnessed to produce electricity to power our cities, writes Dr Timothy D Finnigan. The oceans cover over 70 per cent of the earth's surface. The interaction of the ocean surface with the atmosphere involves exchanges of matter and energy. The ocean absorbs and releases gases, thereby affecting the composition of the atmosphere. The ocean's upper layers absorb solar energy, and winds create ocean waves and currents, both of which transport energy over great distances. The moon and sun give rise to tides, which manifest in the rise and fall of the sea and, in some locations, cause strong local currents. In the form of waves and tides alone, the ocean both stores and distributes far !DOte energy than all the people on earth could use. Since the 1970s, private and In the form of waves and tides public organisations have tried alone, the ocean both stores and to develop ocean wave and tidal distributes far more energy than energy conversion systems that could one day deliver energy from all the people on earth could use. the ocean, in a commercially viable and environmentally acceptable way. Until now, the goal has not been real- must also be designed to resist the biggest ised, although several technologies are well storm that might occur in its lifetime, which might be 25 years. The capital cost of the along the development path. In 1999, I was working as a research asso- machine would be determined by engineerciate in the Department of Oceanography at ing structures that are designed to survive the University of H awai i, trying to work out an extremely rare event. This means the where all the tidal energy that is transported economics of everyday energy generation is around the oceans is eventually used up. dictated by a single rare storm. My work showed that most of this energy is used to stir the oceans, by mixing warm wa- LEARNING FROM NATURE ter from above with cold water from below. This seemed to prohibit the cost reductions This mixing has an effect on the climate and that would be required to enable comI wondered how some of the ocean's energy mercial energy production from the ocean. could be used for practical purposes. I decided to devote some effort to solving Worki ng with companies and universities this dilemma. In trying to conceive of a on various methods of ocean energy con- new concept - through invention - I had to version from both waves and tides showed systematica lly appl y my knowledge of ocean me (around 2005) that the prospect of hydrodynamics while narrowing in on a installing a machine in the ocean to extract design idea that could have both high efenergy was fraught with a fundamental di- ficiency and high survivability, but minimal lemma. Such a machine should be designed cost. The combination of design parameters to extract energy economically by moving continually reminded me of challenges faced in response to waves or tides, operating day by nature, wherein systems evolve to become in and day out, but ultimately the machine highly efficient in hostile environments.

228

Could we borrow some traits of these natural systems to solve the engineering dilemma? Of course we could, and the method of doing so is called biomimicry, or nature-inspired design, which is a technique now widely used in a number of fields. From this, came the fundamental ideas for the bioWAVPM ocean wave energy system and the bioSTREAMTM tidal current energy system. These innovations formed the basis for a series of patent applications, which I registered in 2005. Both innovations are now undergoing engineering development and are being commercialised by BioPower Systems Pry Ltd, where I am the chief executive officer. (I am also adjunct associate professor in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney.) We have two pi lot projects underway and are working with engineering and utility partners. Industry stakeholders, in Australia, Europe and North America, have shown interest. We are still a long way from realising the ultimate goal of deploying farms of biomimetic ocean energy convertors in the ocean, but by starting with sma ller pilot systems, we are slowly making progress.

Australia's Nobel Laureat es

228

Climate change and Environment

From depths to heights Tackling population growth, technological innovation and climate change is not for the faint-hearted, but a Queensland institute and its research team rises to the challenge, writes Rael Martell. The University of Queensland's Global Change Institute (GCJ) has brought together a team of keen, willing and exceptional researchers and within a year of its launch in 2010, is already attracting international acclaim for its work on global change. Crucial to the GCI's ethos is that its research will make a difference. As its director, professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, states: "The Global Change Institute is about helping the communities of a changing world find long-term sustainable solutions." The speed and magnitude of global change adds urgency to the work and requires innovative ways to" address associated problems. " One of the big signatures of our time is the ever-quickening pace and scale of change. In terms of global population growth alone, the numbers are breathtaking. Some major new thinking is in order," says professor Hoegh-Guldberg. AGENT O.F CHANGE

So what is the GCl and bow is it going about its business? Perhaps the best way to think about the GCI is as an agent for change. It operates as an agent for multidisciplinary collaborative research, it acts as a think tank and, crucially, it engages with government, industry and the community to find evidence-based solutions to today's global challenges. Take for example the changing nature of the world's oceans. These cover more than 70 per cent of the planet and are in danger, as never before, from global warming and increasing acidity. Researchers from the GCI Coral Reef Ecology Lab have set up a carbon dioxide enrichment experiment on Queensland's Heron Island - the world's first in situ climate change observatory on a living coral reef and which featured in Sir David Attenborough's BBC documentary, Horizon: Death of the Oceans?. The Free Ocean Carbon Enrichment

experiment simulates the pH levels that are predicted to occur on coral reefs in the next 50 to 100 years due to rising carbon dioxide levels. The study will also allow for the monitoring of the already changing water chemistry on coral reefs.

Our globa l understanding of coral reef ecosystem vulnerability and resilience to key stressors, such as climate change and localised human stress, is also being addressed in another world first program. The World Bank and Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded the Coral Reef Targeted Research (CRTR) and Capacity Building for Management Program, which commenced in 2005, to inform policies and management interventions for coral reefs and the global communities that depend upon them. VERSATILE RESEARCH

The work of the GCI, however, goes far beyond examining the world's changing oceanscape. Other research projects include: • food security issues; • renewable energy; • mapping of algal farming hotspots for the emerging algal synthetics and food industries; • investigating the promising new economics of blue carbon offsets; • modelling future socioeconomic impacts of climate change on land irrigators; • sustainably meeting the demands for oily fish from overexploited fisheries; and • assessing Pongamia pinnata (Indian beech) as an emerging bioenergy and bioremediation crop. The challenges are huge but far "One of the big signatures of our from daunting, says professor time is the ever-quickening pace Hoegh-Guldberg. "What is exciting is that many of the technoloand scale of change. In terms of gies and approaches already exist. global population growth alone, the All we need to do is to work out numbers are breathtaking. Some how to implement them," he said. major new thinking is in order." The GCI also plays a key role in UQ's new $7.75 million solar Another initiative hopes to identify the technology project that will save 1,750 ecological, economic, industry, legislative tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annuand planning responses needed to prepare al ly. The 1.22 megawatt solar field is Ausfor the challenges of rising sea levels. It is tralia's largest and most powerful flat panel predicted that by 2100 the global ocean will photovoltaic array covering the equivalent rise by a minimum of one metre, exposing of around one and a half rugby fields with not only natural ecosystems but also human state-of-the-art, high-efficiency panels, exinfrastructure to challenges that we are ill- plains professor Paul Meredith, chair of prepared to meet. The GCI is at the fore- UQ's Renewable Energy Technology Advifront of investigating the ramifications of sory Committee. "The UQ photovoltaic project is a glorising sea levels, looking at tropical islands along the north coast of Australia and Great bally significant solar research infrastrucBarrier Reef to find out, among other things, ture initiative and is among the largest arwhat may happen to coastal communities, rays at any university around the world," infrastructure and natural ecosystems. he says.

The business of risl{ Professor John McAneney and his team at the Risk Frontiers Natural Hazards Research Centre are ahead of the pack studying and pricing natural hazard risks in the Asia-Pacific region, writes Jane Riley. "We're unique," says professor John McAneney of the independent research centre based at Macquarie University in that the centre does not just concentrate on one aspect of natural hazard risk, but looks at the whole kit and caboodle. This involves: • undertaking research into the physics of natural perils; • developing databases of natural hazards and their impacts on communities and insured assets;

graphical distribution of insured assets and the vulnerability of buildings to various hazards, these models simulate long catalogues of plausible event losses that are used to determine the annual likelihood of large losses. These same models can help emergency management and governments prepare for big events such as the floods in Brisbane in early 2011. COST OF ASSET LOSS

• investigating underlying social, economic "We look at where the assets are and the intensity and frequency of the hazard and political vulnerabilities; • exploring policy options and strategies to water depths or maximum wind gusts, say - and then combine this information with manage natural hazard risks; and • developing models to help price catastro- functions that relate hazard intensity to the phe risk. It is an interesting mix of "When you adjust historical science, engineering, statistical losses for changes in population, evaluation and sociology, and, unlike many other research cen- wealth and inflation you quickly tres, Risk Frontiers successfully come to the conclusion that the applies a diverse set of skills to main reason disaster losses are solve real-world problems. "Our problems often require increasing is that more and more an interdisciplinary approach people are living in dangerous and our group is able to work places and have more to lose." closely together to achieve this," says McAneney. "Risk Frontiers started in 1994 and grew our of worldwide concerns following whar were then seen as almost inconceivably large losses in the United States from Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the Northridge earthquake in 1994. The insurance industry realised it didn't have very good approaches to assessing their risk," says McAneney. Sponsored by the insurance industry, Risk Frontiers has now spent almost two decades researching various manifestations of natural hazards - from hailstorms to earrhq uakes, tropical cyclones, bushfires, floods and volcanic eruptions - across the Asia-Pacific region. One outcome of this research has been a suite of what are called probabilistic loss models. Using historical records of natural hazards, information about the geo-

Risk Frontiers' team includes social scientists because it recognises the importance

of the various social, economic and political factors that help shape natural disasters. An important policy issue, for example, is how governments can use risk-informed land use planning and better building codes to reduce community vulnerability. According to professor McAneney, "If we can begin to address underlying vulnerabilities through improved policy making, we can slow the rate of growth of natura l disaster losses. "Natural disasters seem to be happening at a greater rate, but this is not because of an increase in natural hazard frequencies or intensities," he says. "When you adjust historical losses for changes in population, wealth and inflation you quickly come to the conclusion that the main reason disaster losses are increasing is that more and more people are living in dangerous places and have more to lose."

Bridge damage suffered in Christchurch earthquake, New Brighton

233

Climate change and Environment

The business of risk Professor John McAneney and his team at the Risk Frontiers Natural Hazards Research Centre are ahead of the pack studying and pricing natural hazard risks in the Asia-Pacific region, writes Jane Riley. "We're unique," says professor John graphical distribution of insured assets and McAneney of the independent research centhe vulnerability of buildings to various tre based at Macquarie University in that hazards, these models simulate long catathe centre does not just concentrate on one logues of plausible event losses that are aspect of natural hazard risk, but looks at used to determine the annual likelihood of the whole kit and caboodle. This involves: large losses. These same models can help • undertaking research into the physics of emergency management and governments prepare for big events such as the floods in natural perils; Brisbane in early 2011. • developing databases of natural hazards and their impacts on communities and insured assets; COST OF ASSET LOSS • investigating underlying social, economic "We look at where the assets are and the intensity and frequency of the hazard and political vulnerabilities; • exploring policy options and strategies to water depths or maximum wind gusts, say - and then combine this information with manage natural hazard risks; and • developing models to help price catastro- functions that relate hazard intensity to the phe risk. It is an interesting mix of "When you adjust historical science, engineering, statistical evaluation and sociology, and, losses for changes in population, unlike many other research cen- wealth and inflation you quickly tres, Risk Frontiers successfully come to the conclusion that the applies a diverse set of skills to main reason disaster losses are solve real-world problems. "Our problems often require increasing is that more and more an interdisciplinary approach people are living in dangerous and our group is able to work places and have more to lose." closely together to achieve this," says McAneney. "Risk Frontiers started in 1994 and grew out of worldwide concerns following what were then seen as almost inconceivably large losses in the United States from Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the Northridge earthquake in 1994. The insurance industry realised it didn't have very good approaches to assessing their risk," says McAneney. Sponsored by the insurance industry, Risk Frontiers has now spent almost two decades researching various manifestations of natural hazards - from hailstorms to earthquakes, tropical cyclones, bushfires, floods and volcanic eruptions - across the Asia-Pacific region. One outcome of this research has been a suite of what are called probabilistic loss models. Using historical records of natural hazards, information about the geo-

expected level of damage," he says. "This allows us to come up with a cost for each simulated loss scenario. The Risk Frontiers researchers then analyse statistics on the simulated losses to estimate the annual likelihood of a market loss of, say, a billion dollars or the company loss that might happen on average only once in every 250 years. This is something we can't do with the historical record." These modelled losses are used to price re-insurance contracts. As most catastrophic risk is transferred offshore to reinsurers such as Swiss and Munich Re- global companies who insure insurers - Risk Frontiers is helping the industry price the cost of this risk transfer. Risk Frontiers also has a rapid reconnaissance team that goes into natural disaster zones following large events. The team was on the ground within 24 hours for the Christchurch earthquakes of September 2010 and February 2011 and being there made them realise how, in their New Zealand model, they had underestimated the importance of liquefaction. "Being on the ground is a critical reality check; it also brings home just how important our work is." Risk Frontiers' team includes social scientists because it recognises the importance of the various social, economic and political factors that help shape natural disasters. An important policy issue, for example, is how governments can use risk-informed land use planning and better building codes to reduce community vulnerability. According to professor McAneney, "If we can begin to address underlying vulnerabilities through improved policy making, we can slow the rate of growth of natural disaster losses. "Natural disasters seem to be happening at a greater rate, but this is not because of an increase in natural hazard frequencies or intensities," he says. "When you adjust historical losses for changes in population, wealth and inflation you quickly come to the conclusion that the main reason disaster losses are increasing is that more and more people are living in dangerous places and have more to lose."

Bridge damage suffered in Christchurch earthquake, New Brighton

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Climate change and Environment

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Life's essential ingredient

.-~"'"''\_ Âˇ----

"Anyone who solves the problem of water deserves not one Nobel prize, but two- one for science and the other for peace." John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States. Covering over 70 per cent of the earth 's surface, water is essential to all life. It sustains us and the environment in which we live. We use it fo r drinking, washing, agriculture, industry, transport and recreation. Access to clean water has even been recognised by the United Nations as a fundamental human right. Living on the driest inhabited continent in the world, water is prized by Australians, with cities, towns and industries dotted along the country's water courses. In many ways water defines the Australian landscape itself- drought-ridden and seemingly desolate, land can be quickly transformed by flood waters into havens teeming with life. Nowhere is the importance of water to

Without healthy rivers, there cannot be a healthy population. Australian life more apparent than in the Murray-Darling Basin. One of the largest river systems in the world, the Murray-Darling Basin covers 1 million sq uare kilometres and is larger than the combined area of France and Germany. More than one-third of Australia's fo od is grown in the Basin and it is home to two million people. Wirh over 30,000 wetla nds and Australia's three long-

234

How do we equitably distribute water between upstream and downstream communities; across borders; between industry and agriculture; and between humans and the environment?

est rivers, the Murray-Darling Basin supports 60 species of fish, 98 species of waterbirds and some 300 species of plants.

SOURCE OF CONFLICT

Given the importance of water in our lives, it is no surpri se that it is a source of conflict across the globe. Protests have been held, crimes have been committed and wa rs have even been fought over access to water. As populations and industries grow, so too does competition over water, often to an extent that the level of water use becomes unsustainabl e. Resolvin g the competing water needs of communities, states and nations is a complex challenge. How do we equitably distribute water between upstream and downstream communities; across borders; between industry and agriculture; and between humans and the environment? Any solution requires an interdisciplinary approach that utilises the best scientific and economic knowledge. It requires coopera tion and compro mise from all affected parties. It requires an end result that, like Alfred Nobel's ideal, 'confers the greatest benefit on mankind'. The Murray-Darling Basin, as with many of the great rivers of the world including the Nile in Africa, the Mekong in Asia, the Danube in Europe and the Rio Grande in North America, has been the subject of conflict. The struggle over water resources

in the Murray-Darling Basin began with the first extractions of water from the River Murray fo r irrigation use in the 18 80s and has continued ever since. With the rivers of the Basin flowing through Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, it has seen fi ve different governments managing and competing for the Basin's waters. Each state developed the Basin's water resources for their own interests and the volume of water extracted from the Basin increased unabated for much of the 20th century. Irrigation schemes and private developments led to the emergence of cotton, rice, dairy, horticulture and viticulture indu stries in the Murray-Darling Basin, quickly establishing it as the food bowl of Australia. However, this development came at a cost. RETAINING HEALTHY RIVERS

Extracting water from the Murray-Darling Basin has caused a myriad of environmental problems. Salinity, blue-green algal blooms

and water quality degradation have all increased while wetlands, riverine forests and native fish and waterbird populations have all shrunk. In 2008 rhe River Murray was flowing through to the sea only 60 per cent of the time, as compared with 99 per cent of the time under natural conditions. A study released that same year found that only 1 of the 23 catchments in the Basin was in good ecological health. Such findings make it all too apparent rhat too much water has been- and continues to be- taken from the Basin's rivers and failure to address this over-extraction will only result in further degradation. Healthy rivers are no t only important to the environment, but also to the people who depend upon them. A community cannot drink water made toxic by blue-green algae, while a farmer cannot irriga te with highly sa line water. Without healthy rivers, there cannot be a healthy population. The governments of rhe Murray-Darling Basin responded to the immense challenge of addressing competing community water needs

while maintaining a healthy system through d1e introduction of the Water Act 2007 (Commonwealth). The Water Act, along wirh the accompanying 2008 Intergovernmental Agreement on the Murray-Darling Basin, sets out reforms rhat are the most far-reaching in the history of water management in Australia and in many ways represent world firsts. The Water Act establishes an independent, expert-based authority to develop a Basin Pl an for the sustainable management of water across the Murray-Darling Basin. With one entity responsible for the entire Basin , for the first time management and planning arrangements, like the rivers themselves, are nor constrained by state borders. Through the Basin Plan, limits on how much water can be removed from the Basin's rivers are to be identified and enforced, ensuring there is eno ugh water to support healthy rivers. These li mits are to be based on best-available science, with the aim of optimising environmental, social and economic outcon1es.

The development of the Basin Plan is one of the most ambitiou s, important and complex policy developments in Australia. It has never been successfully achieved on such a scale anywhere else in the world and builds on Australia's reputation as a world leader in water resource management. With no prior model or example to follow, the de velopment of the Basin Plan relies on inn ovati ve solutions, sophisticated model s and the latest science. Its development draws on leading experts in ecology, hydrology, economics and public policy, from Australia and aro und the world. The Basin Pl an also relies on the wisdom and depth of local knowledge that resides in the communities of the Basin, who have lived and worked by the rivers for generations. We are moving toward a Basin Plan that will seek balance, respect communities and allow for changes to be made over time. Implementation of the Basin Plan will be a journey in adapti ve management and a learning process in response to changes and challenges.

235

Climate change and Environment

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Life's essential ingredient

.-~"'"''\_ Âˇ----

234

How do we equitably distribute water between upstream and downstream communities; across borders; between industry and agriculture; and between humans and the environment?

est rivers, the Murray-Darling Basin supports 60 species of fish, 98 species of waterbirds and some 300 species of plants.

SOURCE OF CONFLICT

Extracting water from the Murray-Darling Basin has caused a myriad of environmental problems. Salinity, blue-green algal blooms

235

Austr alia's Nobel Laureates

Architecture for the people A new kind of humanitarian architect has

emerged from the natural and civil disasters over the last decade, helping to rebuild vulnerable communities through innovative design, writes Rachel Sullivan. The past few years have seen a roll call of disasters, both natural and human-induced, and as urbanised populations continue to grow in the next half century, the effects of disasters will become even more pronounced. After the emergency has passed, people start to rebuild, but while motivated by good intentions such as rebuilding the community and returning businesses to profitability, shrinkwrapped reconstruction initiatives can be flawed, and create as many problems as they solve. Fortunately, there are architects such as Dr Esther Charlesworth, expert in humanitarian design, sustainable urban design and remote Indigenous housing, and following a different path from the one expected of a traditional architect. Now an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow at RMIT (the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) University's School of Architecture and Design, Dr Charlesworth completed her postgraduate studies in architecture and urban design at Harvard University and the University of York. After her PhD, the normal architectural trajectory would have seen her working fo r a '"master" architect, but an invitation to join the Aga Khan Program in Mostar, Bosnia, to redress the destruction caused by years of conflict changed her life. "Architecture is a very award-focused discipline, with limited opportunities for architects to serve poor co1nmw1ities and see design concepts translated into good deeds," she says, adding that the Mostar experience helped her see the strong link between architecture and social justice in communities damaged by civil conflict, and natural disasters. "In a post-war setting there are endless legal treaties and contracts being drawn up, but little seems to happen on the ground," Dr Charlesworth adds. "International organisations like the UN (United Nations) and Red Cross have their own kit of parts that are supplied to communities. They

236

might include prefabricated structures that are shipped in and set up en masse. It's a one-size-fits-all approach that doesn't create sustainable livel ihoods and may be both culturally or climatically inappropriate." By talking to the community and discovering their needs and aspirations for the future, she says, architects can create physical models of urban rebuilding that draw the community together, bring a sense of visceral hope, and get people excited by their future. "With the support of aid organisations, the community can then translate those ideas into action." MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH DESIGN

Her experience in war zones led to the foundation of Architects without Frontiers (AWF), an Australian-based group of architects and designers that go where they are invited to assist in the sustainable reconstruction of communities, both within Australia and overseas, that have been afflicted by social, environmental or natural disasters. "AWF is a broker between architects, donors and communities," she says. AWF volunteers currently provide pro-bono design and construction services in Nepal, Australia, Malawi, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Fiji, India and Afghanistan, and collaborate with a global network of not-for-profit and development organisations to work on other projects as they arise. Closer to home, Dr Charlesworth is focusing on Indigenous housing in remote communities, and working with the governments of Western

Dr Esther Charlesworth, Galle, Sri Lanka post 2005 tsunami

was 'discovered' by Sir Isaac Newton in Australia and the Northern Territory to develop strategies that integrate training, employment, health and entrepreneurship so that housing projects can provide social and economic opportunities - more than a roof overhead, as her current ARC Linkage project is called. "Some Indigenous housing projects are literally like war zones," she says, "requiring an innovative planning approach and sustained effort to create viable communities." Dr Charlesworth was recently awarded a four-year ARC Future Fellowship t o design sustainable housing systems for vulnerable communities. As part of this proj ect, she will also examine how architects can be more involved in post-disaster reconstruction work. The project, known as Architecture on the Edge will involve collaboration with the Australian Institute of Architects; the universities of York and Westminster, in the United Kingdom; Design Corps, Habitat for Humanity, University of North Carolina, in the United States; the Vietnam Institute of Architects; the Sri Lankan Institute of Architects; and the American Institute of Architects. "This research will investigate the roles that architects can play in meeting the complex housing needs of vulnerable communities," she says. "Bringing together architects, designers, and reconstruction experts, it will look at four case studies of housing in Australia, the US, Sri Lanka and Vietnam in communities affected by social marginalisation, civil conflict, natural disaster and climate change. " In many institutions architectural education is still too celebrity-focused, but a new generation of architecture and design students want to work for more than just awards. Through design they want to make a real difference to the lives of people caught up in situations beyond their control. "

~Âˇ~rx:J:~IaitneÂˇd a scientific puzzle of those times-

Johannes Kepler's observation of elliptical of the planets. It also successfully predicted (in the existence of a 'new' planet, later named from the observed perturbations of the orbit Hf1â&#x20AC;˘UTP'""' gravitation was not a very satisfactory 'theory' - the inventor himself strongly disliked the 'action at a distance' he had to invoke to make it work. Gravitation made incorrect predictions - the most famous of which was the rate of precession of the perihelion of Mercury determined by French mathematician, Le Verrier, in 1859. Albert Einstein, of E=mc2 fame, improved this theory of gravitation in describing General Relativity (1915). Global (or greenhouse) warming emerged around 150 years later than gravitation: in 1838 when French physicist Claude Pouillet described how the Earth's atmosphere increases the surface temperature. This theory was also confirmed by observations - in 1859Irish physicist John Tyndall conducted a set of laboratory experiments demonstrating that water vapour and carbon dioxide absorb infrared radiation. Like gravitation, greenhouse was used to make predictions that were later observed- in the 1950s Harvard University's Richard Goody anticipated that the surface temperature of Venus would be very high, not verified until 1967 by Soviet probe Venera 4. In common with scientific endeavours both gravitati0n and greenhouse have stumbled more than once. Still, we would be astonished to see a polarised debate in our mass media about the reality of gravitation and would probably feel uncomfortable if our polil;icalleaders were expected to determine its 'truth'. Why do we find the idea that wide-ranging public opinions be sought about gravitation laughable, while, apparently, avidly consuming unskilled opinions about global warming?

PROFESSOR ANN HENDERSON-SELLERS, DSC, FRAS

SCitifui.fk research can be a competitive, cur-throat and lo;nely business. But sometimes an issue becomes so serious, so pressing, and so global in importance, that scientists come together to produce a collective product that is far greater than the sum of its parts, and far more significant in its impact than any individual discovery or advance. The Intergovernmenta l Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United National Environment Programme, two organisations under the United Nations umbrell~. It is tasked with reviewing and assessing the most recent scientific, socioeconomic and technical information relevant to the understanding of the risks of climate change. The IPCC produces a _major synthesis report approximately eveey five to seven years. The reports are the collective work of hundreds of scientists from more than 200 countries and are directly relevant to the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. These reports, based on the peerreviewed scientific literature, are regarded as comprehensive and authoritative by governments, arid form the basis of national and international climate change action. In 2007, the IPCC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for " ... efforts to build up and d:isseminate great~r knowledge about manmade climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change." The ptize was shared with former United States vice-president, AI Gore. Scientists involved in the assessment reports receive no payment, other than their normal salaries from their institutions. At times, the'' process is very intensive, requiring all other work to be put aside. The review process can be confronting and brutal. So why do it? All I can say is, speaking personally, as one of the lead authors of th: Fourth and Fifth Assessment reports, being involved in my small way in this extraordinary community of effort is easily the most satisfying and rewarding thing I have ever done as a scientist. PROFESSOR LESLEY HUGHES, DEPfffiTMENT OF BIOLOGI CAL SCIENCES, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY

Austr alia's Nobel Laureates

Architecture for the people A new kind of humanitarian architect has

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Dr Esther Charlesworth, Galle, Sri Lanka post 2005 tsunami

~Âˇ~rx:J:~IaitneÂˇd a scientific puzzle of those times-

PROFESSOR ANN HENDERSON-SELLERS, DSC, FRAS

Social innovation

to deliver better outcomes for our clients, stay with Lend Lease longer, and develop innovative ways of doing things. All of these benefits positively impact our financial performance and dri ve greater success for our company and its shareholders." The Lend Lease Foundation, established in 1983, also focused on the health, wellbeing and personal development of employees and their families. Today the spirit of the Lend Lease Foundation endures, giving employees opportunities to contribute to their communities while growing and developing their own skills. Subsidised exercise classes and team sports, preventative health checks, transition to retirement support and financial management workshops are part of the Lend Lease Foundation, while an annual Lend Lease Community Day strengthens community partnerships and provides Lend Lease labour and skills where they are most needed. In 2010, in Australia more than 1,700 employees volunteered across 80 proj ects on Community Day.

SUPPORTING EMPLOYEES

In 1981, then CEO of Lend Lease, Stuart Hornery, approached the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) as the country faced a bleak recession. Mass unemployment loomed, apprentices were being laid off en masse and Hornery realised the recession would create a skills vacuum for the future, with apprentices having nowhere to go to learn and hone a trade. Taking the lead once more, Lend Lease partnered with the ACTU to establish the ACTOLend Lease Foundation. "I became concerned that "When thousands of people live, work compa nies weren't recruiting and play at Queensland's RNA precinct, and training apprentices and the union movement was also the country spirit and ethos of the site concerned about this. So we will shine through, year round." put some money on the table and set up a nor-for-profit to encourage people to acquire skills, particu- ever we operate. We continue to promote and larly young people," recalls Hornery. deliver all of our core programs across our "Initially the unions were cynical. But businesses and right around the globe." over time they realised we were genuine in The Incident & Injury Free program comwhat we were doing. " menced in 2002, and shortly afterwards Lend Lease and the ACTU began sup- Lend Lease introduced Global Minimum porting struggling group apprenticeship Requirements (GMRs) for construction acschemes. Today those schemes employ ap- tivity. These act as a set of globally consistent proximately 20 per cent of Australian ap- minimum standards to ensure high-risk acprentices. In Cairns alone the ACTU-Lend tivities are appropriately managed. In 2007 Lease Foundation grew the number of the company reinvigorated its approach via group scheme apprenticeships from 300 to its Safety Operational Excellence program, 1,500 by year 2000. and updated its GMRs to be at the leading Initially the Foundation focused on build- edge of environmental health and safety pering industry apprenticeships bur later includ- formance standards. Daily pre-start safety ed the hospitality, retail and health industries. briefings were introduced by Lend Lease in "A group scheme recruits, trains and 2008 to help ensure employees on site go

BUILDING FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

People, places, partnerships, social responsibility and environmental restoration are as important as they ever were to the philosophy and success of this global property and infrastructure group, writes Sarah Marinos. On March 12, 1958, Lend Lease was founded in Sydney. At the helm was Dick Dusseldorp - a Dutch-born engineer and innovative leader with a vision to create a company that embraced property, financing, development and investment. Dusseldorp also had an unwavering belief that Lend Lease's success should be based on a commitment to, and respect for, the people and places the organisation worked with and touched. Building and sustaining respectful and honest partnerships - with employees, unions, shareholders, competitors, governments, landowners and residents - was another important element of how Lend Lease did business. Finally, Dusseldorp believed in a tangible commitment to social responsibility and environmental restoration. At the time, phrases such as social responsibility, social innovation and environmental restoration were not part of the routine vocabulary of major companies. Dusseldorp and Lend Lease changed that by adopting a forward-

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thinking approach to doing business, building communities, forging partnerships and giving back to society. STRONG AND VISIONARY LEADERSHIP

Today, social innovation and Dusseldorp's belief system are still critical elements of the Lend Lease DNA, says Lend Lease chief executive officer (CEO) - Australia, Mark Menhinnirt. "Strong and visionary leadership continues to drive us to make a significant contribution to the world around us. We are proud that our influence continues to extend way beyond the places we create," says Menhinnitt. "At Lend Lease, we remain committed to being a company that focuses not only on producing profit for our shareholders, but on a much broader agenda encompassing respect for our employees, engagement with the community and a sense of responsibility for the future health of the environment. We recognise that business is part of

the wider community, and that we need to engage in meaningful work that improves the quality of people's lives. "Dusseldorp's vision back then is as it continues to be today - a belief that successful companies should operate both profitably and ethically." AUSTRALIA SQUARE AND CITY DESIGN

One of Lend Lease's earliest examples of Dusseldorp's focus on social innovation is Australia Square, Sydney. Designed and built between 1962 and 1968, Dusseldorp and architect Harry Seidler decided the time was right to change the face of city design in Australia. The development of Australia Square was regarded as a modern masterpiece. It used new design and construction methods and new materials, such as reinforced lightweight concrete. The end result was Australia's tallest circular building with a public plaza that finally eroded the barriers between office

looks after apprentices and trainees. It also ensures training is of a high standard - so an apprentice doesn't spend the first year of their training picking up sandwiches for the other workers' lunches," says Hornery. "I think the fact we did this in partnership with the ACTU and made big inroads into the building, retail, hospitality and health industries was a significant achievement."

workers, tourists and passers-by. Instead Australia Square created a space where people from all walks of life could come together to meet, talk, eat and pass time. "Australia Square heralded a renaissance in the way we saw our cities and the way we interacted with them," explains Menhinnitt. "This was an era when, except for the occasional picnic, not many of us ventured outside to eat. Australia Square brought us out of the dark. For the first rime, Austra lians could interact in a new kind of space in the city centre- a privately constructed city plaza that developed the al fresco outdoor culture that the city now embraces." Tellingly, Australia Square, which is now heritage listed, has retained its popularity with Sydneysiders, visitors to the city and tourists. "The food court is packed every lunch time, the bars are crowded in the evening and the square buzzes with conversation day and night," says Menhinnitt. " ! think Australia Square has ma intained its aesthetic appeal and is still regarded as a landmark building in Sydney and an icon of Australian architecture."

When former Labor prime minister, Bob Hawke, was asked to comment on Dick Dusseldorp's philosophy towards his employees, Hawke had clear ideas on the Lend Lease founder 's special approach. "He thought that workers really were, in a sense, fundamental elements in the creation of wealth and were entitled to participate in it," says Hawke. In 1958, soon after the founding of Lend Lease, Dusseldorp contacted the Builders Workers Union in New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory and negotiated Australia's first productivity agreement. The agreement was periodically updated over the next 25 years, introducing more benefits for employees and also a death and disability allowance for Lend Lease subcontractors. In 1963 Lend Lease again led the way, introducing the first superannuation scheme for constructiou workers. The company was years ahead of its time. It was another 15 years before compulsory superannuation arrived in Australia. In 1973, Lend Lease continued its support of employees by introducing profit share for its Australian workers. Annual financial results are still presented to employees in broadcasts to Lend Lease offices and sites around the world. "At Lend Lease, one of our greatest sources of competitive advantage has always been our people," says Menhinnitt. "Highly engaged employees work harder

INNOVATION IN SAFETY

Working closely with partners, clients and contractors to create safe places to work, live and visit is at the centre of Lend Lease's vision to operate Incident & Injury Free (llF). This commitment to safety has been integral to Lend Lease since the company was founded. Since that rime the company has unflinchingly pushed the boundaries of workplace safety and regularly updated its approach to protecting lives in Australia, says Murray Coleman, managing director of Lend Lease's Australian project management and construction business. In the United States (US) Lend Lease has also worked with the BuildSafe program to enhance worker safety on US sites. "Lend Lease has always taken an active role in influencing the safety standards on building sites in Australia and has received industry recognition for its business systems and processes to drive best practice. Many of these best practices are evident on our sites today, resulting in less people being injured at work and a decrease in lost rime and injury frequency," says Coleman. "And Lend Lease demonstrates its commitment to health and safety on an international level with this drive to create a safer working environment wher-

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SUPPORTING EMPLOYEES

BUILDING FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

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thinking approach to doing business, building communities, forging partnerships and giving back to society. STRONG AND VISIONARY LEADERSHIP

INNOVATION IN SAFETY

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the local community with Lend Lease establishing the Millers Point Youth Employment Partnership (MPYEP). The initiative has since become a trusted template for the development of community partnerships. MPYEP is a vibrant partnership between residents, business and community groups in Sydney's Millers Point who work together to improve the lives of young people in the community by building confidence, skills, leadership, education and employment opportunities. "MPYEP was a turning point for the historic community of Miller's Point," says Menhinnitt. FROM CLASSROOM TO WORKFORCE

"Dusseldorp's vision back then is as it continues to be today- a belief that successful companies should operate both profitably and ethically." home safely every day, adds Coleman. " Our Incident & Injury Free vision touches every aspect of the Lend Lease business, from the buildings we design and construct to the way our assets are managed, " says Coleman. "Whether you're walking into our offices or sites, or talking to our people, you will see that we are passionate and committed to creating safe working environments where everyone goes home safely to their loved ones every night. Health and safety is understood, communicated, managed and is a primary and fundamental focus for our people and business. WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY

In May 2004, Lend Lease opened its global headquarters in one of Australia's first Five Star (Australian excellence) Green Star commercial office buildings - 30 The Bond. But The Bond has not only attracted acclaim for its design; 30 The Bond was also one of the first buildings in Sydney's central business district (CBD) to include on-

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site childcare facilities for employees. The initiative was aimed at helping employees who are a lso parents to smooth the transition back to work and better manage the demands of parenthood and their job. "This is an example of the importance Lend Lease places on the development andretention of its social capital," says Menhinnitt. The Bond's unusual design- stacked in a grid like a children's toy block set - contributes to a 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases and the ninth floor houses a rooftop garden. The building is flooded with natural light, has harbour views and features distinctive pods containing meeting rooms, a kitchen and dining areas that jut into the atri um -the building's communal hub. Taking on board employee feedback, the building seamlessly integrates senior management by ensuring they share the open-plan floor plan with the rest of the Lend Lease office staff and so are visible and accessible. T he ethos of 30 The Bond also encourages a relationship between employees and

Lend Lease's Woodlands community spreads over 13 7 hectares in the booming BrisbaneGold Coast corridor. Since its inception, Woodlands has been a showcase for a number of initiatives close to Lend Lease's heart such as working closely and consistently with the local community to improve lives. Just one of Woodland's success stories is the Lend Lease School to Work Program that has been running for more than four years. The Program aims to boost skilled labour numbers in Queensland by providing local high school students with the opportunity to experience different trades. Head of Lend Lease's communities business, Toni Milis, says the Program is continuing to evolve, providing benefits for students and the local trades industry. " It is important for students to gain a practical understanding of the construction industry and have the opportunity to experience a variety of different trades," says Milis. "In 2010, for the first t ime, the Lend Lease School ro Work Program at Woodlands allowed students to extend their learning into civil works including road construction, services and earthworks. We look forward to continuing the Program this year." Lend Lease has also established Woodlands Community Inc with local residents a not-for-profit group dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the community's growth and long-term prosperity. Members of the group have an opportunity to have a voice in the ongoing growth of the Woodlands community, to hold regular meetings to discuss issues affecting the area and to develop positive relationships with local businesses and other key community groups. "Part of Woodlands' success comes from our commitment to building a community, not just a development," says Milis. "We are committed to fostering a community spirit to create a strong, sustainable community, and that is what has made Woodlands a place that our residents love to call home."

"At Lend Lease, one of our greatest sources of competitive advantage has always been our people."

REINVIGORATING SYDNEY HARBOUR FORESHORE

Creating a new precinct in a major city is no mean feat. But from mid-2011, Lend Lease will complete its Darling Quarter development in partnership with the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority. Darling Quarter will reinvigorate links between the Sydney CBD and the Darling Harbour waterfront and showcase a number of design features. The site will include a 56,000-square metre, campus-style commercial development across two, six and eightstorey buildings that will accommodate over 5,500 Commonwealth Bank employees. Darling Quarter will also include a new Children's Theatre, cafes, restaurants, new parkland and a children's interactive playground. The playground is another first for Lend Lease and Australia and includes interactive waterplay features, an all-age children's playground and kiosk within a purpose-designed landscaped park. In addition, Darling Quarter has been designed with a number of sustainability initiatives and in late 2010, the site was recognised with a 6-Star (world leadership) Green Srar- Office Design v2 certified rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. This makes it the largest 6-Star Green Star rated building of its kind in Sydney. Precious water will also be saved at Darling Quarter with the site reducing its water use by 90 per cent after also receiving a water recycling licence from the NSW Min ister for Water. A recycled water plant and stormwater harvesting tank have been integrated into the cutting-edge development. "The world is changing, and particularly in Australia, sustainable building principles have been gaining momentum in the marketplace as we become more conscious of the benefits associated with green building design," says Menhinnitt. "Lend Lease will continue to play a fundamental role in shaping sustainable buildings and precincts of the future, to better manage our natural resources and minimise our environmental footp rint. "

what the Gold Coast development would offer to residents and the local community. Sitting alongside Bond University, Lend Lease wanted Varsity Lakes to offer residents the opportunity to enjoy lifelong learning and education through integration with the University - a vision dubbed the Town & Gown concept. Lend Lease has also worked closely with Education Queensland to deliver a new building model for Queensland Schools, says Toni Mil is. The building model for Queensland Schools has four schools on two campuses, says M ilis, referring to Varsity College, which caters for kinder to Year 12s. "We also have shared open space between school and the community and integration with Bond University students and academic courses." The Kids Campus facility at Varsity Lakes offers children as young as six weeks access to some of the finest early learning equipment and technology and Lend Lease is a major supporter of the local Hear & Say Centre. The centre is a state-of-the-art learning environment for deaf or hearingimpaired children. On completion, around 10,000 Australians will call Varsity Lakes home and around 6,000 full-time employees will be part of the community, says Milis. "A Community Bank, a world-class community sport and recreation hub, a full-time economic development manager to create a strategy that has been instrumental in us exceeding our jobs target, an active main street that's a destination in its own right, and di versity in housing all make Varsity Lakes something different," says Milis.

ENCOURAGING LIFELONG LEARNING

Back in Queensland, when Lend Lease took control of the Varsity Lakes Project in 1999, the company had clear ideas about

PUTTING ON A SHOW

In one of its latest innovative partnerships, Lend Lease has joined forces with the Royal

National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA) to redevelop the 22-hectare site of the annual Ekka- a major regional and agricultural show beloved by Queenslanders held at a site rich in tradition. Lend Lease is now working with the RNA to preserve the cherished Showgrounds precinct for future generations, while creating a masterplan that will enhance the Ekka experience and develop an integrated residential, retail and commercial community at the Showgrounds site. "The 15-year, $2.9 billion-plus project is a major catalyst for sustainable growth and will generate more than 2,000 jobs," says Paul Shaw, Lend Lease's project director for the RNA Showgrounds. "The primary purpose of the project is to facilitate the longevity of the Royal National Association and the Ekka - one of Australia's pre-eminent agricultural and livestock exhibitions - in its historical showgrounds," says Shaw. "In 2011, Lend Lease broke ground on a bold project to create Brisbane's best place to live, work and play - a showcase for mixed-use development in Australia. It would be a workplace for 12,000 people, home to 3,000 residents, and a convention, exhibition and festival destination for hundreds of thousands from all over the globe." A number of principles underlie this latest challenging, complex but hugely crea tive project for Lend Lease, says Shaw. "Urban and rura l connectivity, sustainability, safety, diversity, education, health and wellbeing, design excellence and innovation are all key," he says. "This project presents a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between city and country. When thousands of people live, work and p lay at the RNA precinct, the country spirit and ethos of the site will shine through, year round."

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"At Lend Lease, one of our greatest sources of competitive advantage has always been our people."

REINVIGORATING SYDNEY HARBOUR FORESHORE

ENCOURAGING LIFELONG LEARNING

Back in Queensland, when Lend Lease took control of the Varsity Lakes Project in 1999, the company had clear ideas about

PUTTING ON A SHOW

In one of its latest innovative partnerships, Lend Lease has joined forces with the Royal

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Social innovation

Happy, healthy and productive benchmarking Measuring indoor environmental quality can improve people's wellbeing, add to the economic bottom line and help retain staff, writes Alethea Mouhtouris. Improving the productivity of the workforce by just 1 to 5 per cent could boost the Australian economy by billions of dollars, according to one of the nation's foremost scientific risk management specialists. Dr Vyt Garnys, managing director of CETEC, believes this is achievable after spending more than 30 years conducting research into the Australian workplace - since the world shifted in focus from manufacturing to white collai; office-based service roles. Two decades ago with most people spending more time indoors, using new equipment such as computers, and sitting for longer periods, Dr Garnys spoke about the importance of understanding and measuring the wellbeing and efficiency of the workforce in this new environment. He established CETEC (Consulting Enterprises in Technology) in 1987 to embark on a mission to understand the indoor environment and identify what elements upset workers. "It had a snowball potential because computers were causing greater pressures on the workforce, such as stress and the rise of RSI (repetitive strain injury) with more keyboard work and chairs that weren't ergonomic," Garnys says. "Elements like lighting, noise control and ventilation weren't well understood

and there was little measurement. There was growing dissatisfaction and the incidence of Sick Building Syndrome. "

"Whatever you do with energy, water and resources, which have a great deal of attention from the government, the best they do is save about $20 a square metre on the cost of rental. Through productivity, you can improve the savings to about $170-180 a square metre. "This is a very significant difference and now is increasingly t he driver for making an economic case for sustainable green building initiatives."

INDOOR ENVIRONMENT GUIDELINES

ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF PRODUCTIVITY

As a result of his National Health and Medical Research Council-funded research into the impact of airborne lead on children's health, Dr Gamys understood how the human body reacted to low levels of contaminants. He also knew the value of creating knowledge and managing issues by measurement, so began work on developing techniques to measure the indoor environment. This was critical for the remediation of sick buildings so people then could return to work and be more productive. The Property Council of Australia (PCA) invited CETEC to help develop the first Australian guidelines for managing indoor environment quality, particularly for the office workplace. That guideline - which CETEC has since revised for the PCA advises building managers how to optimise parameters such as comfort, noise, contamination, ventilation and lighting. CETEC also assisted the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and the National Australian Built Environment Rating Scheme (NABERS) to develop national guidelines. From there, an organisation was able to measure the role of a building and how people are affected by what CETEC calls, Facility Ecology™ . "With our Facility Ecology model and data, we started to understand how to optimise people's health and wellbeing, and their productivity as well," he says. "For the first time in Australia and probably in the world, we have developed Facility Ecology tools and quantitative measures to measure the productivity of the workforce and financial impacts."

"With the Facility Management Association of Australia we have found that every 1 per cent productivity improvement in the Australian workforce is worth $1.1 billion per annum," Garnys says. He estimates that optimising the quality of Australian workplaces could potentially bring about an average productivity improvement of 5 per cent - worth more than $5.5 billion annually. "I ask architects two questions: first , what's the cost of refurbishing your building? It's usually about 40 to 50 per cent of the cost of the building, which is very substantial. So as an example, for a $20 million project, it's about $10 million. "My second question is: What value is this $10 million to the organisation? Noone knows. We are developing answers to those questions and assisting in options for design and management of buildings." Dr Garnys said that by optimising Facility Ecology, people were also healthier and happier, which, in turn, led to increased engagement and, ultimately, retention. The financial impact of turnover is highsome estimates place turnover at about half of an employee's annual salary- so retention has a positive impact on the bottom line. "We have developed - and are rolling out internationally - a healthy building index. This means organisations that can demonstrate that they are not only financially attractive but also have a healthy workforce, will attract a better quality of applicant, which again, ultimately, results in longer retention. Our healthy building index will also benchmark if the design intent of green buildings has been achieved and its impact on the financial, social and environmental triple bottom line."

Investing in the community Connecting and partnering with their community is integral to the success of this Australian bank's unique branch network, writes Kristyn Maslog-Levis. When you actually own and run your own bank branch, you very quickly develop a close connection with the community in which you operate. O r so it is at Bank of Queensland (BOQ), where their Owner-Managed Branch (OMB) model enables experienced bankers to both own and manage their own bank branches. But BOQ decided to look more broadly at community engagement and has developed a multi-pronged approach to this very important aspect of its business. BOQ believes in " the creation of community partnerships that become part of the organisational culture so that supporting the community becomes an attitude, not just isolated projects," according to BOQ chief operating officei; Ram Kangatharan. "BOQ is absolutely committed to supporting the communities that support us and our branches," says Kangatharan. The Bank supports Owner-Managed Branches to engage with the community at a local level, with sponsorships of local soccer clubs and charity organisations, for example. REBUILDING COMMUNITIES

Following the natural disasters in early 2011, this local community focus became even more important, with the Bank choosing to funnel more than $250,000 directly to the worst affected communities through its branch network. "Because our Owner-Managers have that real local connection to their communities they could identify which community groups needed the most help, and we were delighted to be able to help these groups get back to doing what they do best - bringing people together and supporting one anothei;" says Kangatharan. BANKING ON OUR KIDS

At a higher level, the Bank's driving community focus is to make a positive impact on current issues that affect Australia's youth. The Bank's flagship community program

is Banking on our Kids, an annual fundraising appeal that raises funds for Children's Hospital Foundations Australia (CH FA), a unique partnership with five of the major children's hospital foundations across Australia. It is the only such appeal in the country where one donation can help five separate children's hospital foundations in Australia so there is less duplication and better use of resources. These are: • Royal Children's Hospital Foundation (Queensland ); • Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation (New South Wales); • Royal Children's Hospital Foundation (Victoria); • Women and Children's Hospital Foundation (South Australia); and • Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation (Western Australia ). Every July, staff from BOQ's entire national network of branches and centres collect donations to help raise money for Banking on our Kids. They throw themselves into the cause and run raffles, race days, sausage sizzles, barefoot bowls days and more. BOQ also has a dollar-match program where the Bank will match an employee's fundraising for a charitable cause, up to a maximum of $1,000 each time. Winson Chang, Owner-Manager, World Square NSW

Banking on our Kids started in 2004 in Queensland and expanded on a national scale in 2005. Since the appeal's inception, the Bank has achieved significant increases in fundraising totals, from $9,000 in 2004 to $223,000 in 2010. In 2011, BOQ raised $274,000 bringing the total funds raised since the appeal launched to $1,000,000. INVESTING IN HOPE

The Bank engages with all of irs stakeholders, not just staff and customers, in its approach to community engagement . Investing in Hope is the first program of its kind in Australia, and offers shareholders the opportunity to donate all, or part, of their bi-annual dividend to charity. This simple method of tax-deductible donation allows BOQ shareholders to directly support CHFA. Since the program was launched in 2004, BOQ shareholders have raised over $177,000 and this continues to grow every year.

"... supporting the community becomes an attitude, not just isolated projects." SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY

The Bank believes in a partnership approach to business, with irs customers, with its Owner-M anagers, with its employees, with its shareholders and with the commun ities in which it operates. This flows through its community investment program, which has a strong focus on partnerships. Current partners include: • The Smith Fami ly's Learning for Life program, which helps disadvantaged kids through school; • the Financial Basics Foundation, which offers young people financial literacy education; • t he Red Cross's Centre for Young People, which is an innovative new centre being built in Brisbane for homeless youth; and • the Starlight Foundation through which BOQ has launched the BOQ Wish Bank where our staff can become wish granters. BOQ continues to review their community partnerships and look for new opportunities to invest in young Australians.

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and there was little measurement. There was growing dissatisfaction and the incidence of Sick Building Syndrome. "

INDOOR ENVIRONMENT GUIDELINES

ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF PRODUCTIVITY

At a higher level, the Bank's driving community focus is to make a positive impact on current issues that affect Australia's youth. The Bank's flagship community program

"... supporting the community becomes an attitude, not just isolated projects." SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY

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Difficulties mastered are opportunities won." WINSTON CHURCHILL

Social innovation

Marl{ of distinction Representing an assurance of quality, this logo stands the test of time and still retains a contemporary feel, writes Samantha Schelling. The Woolmark logo is one of the most recognised textile symbols in the world. Owned by Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI) and its affiliates, the brand is globally established in apparel, interior textile and apparel-care products. AWI invests in research, development, innovation and marketing along the global supply chain for Australian wool. The notfor-profit company - which is owned by more than 28,000 Australian woolgrowers - licenses companies globally to use the Woolmark logo; these licensees meet strict quality and performance criteria. AWI chief strategy and marketing adviser, Rob Langtry says, "Because products displaying the Woolmark logo have been produced by a Woolmark licensee, consumers know that product has been independently tested to contain a guaranteed fibre content as well as for a range of performance measures such as colour fastness. Products are also tested regarding any care claims specified on the label, such as being machine washable." Since the original mark was created in 1964, in the apparel sector alone the brand has been applied to more than two billion garments. There are now three main logos: • Woolmark®: for products containing 100 per cent pure new wool; • Woolmark Blend®: containing 50-99 per cent wool; and • Wool Blend®: containing 30-49 per cent wool. GLOBAL PROMOTION

In the early 1930s, growers in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa voted to levy every bale of wool they produced, and use the funds for research and promotion. In Australia in 1936, this was six pence (about one euro). The International Wool Secretariat (IWS) was formed on July 1 19 3 7 and by the mid1950s had offices in every major wool-importing country. But in the 1960s, wool lost its footing to synthetic fibres discovered during World War II. The IWS's general manager, an Australian, William Vines, proposed a unique

label that would guarantee wool content. After an international competition in 1964, Italian graphic artist Francesco Saroglia was chosen to design the new Woolmark logo. Langtry says Saroglia's five black bands, criss-crossing into a skein, depicted wool's "softness, elegance and modernity". The logo became one of the world's most recognisable commercial symbols and was used as a symbol of quality to counter synthetics and position Woolmark-certified product as containing "the best new wool in the world". Communication themes have evolved. In the 1970s, in France, for example, the Woolmark brand reflected the back-to-nature movement, with romantic imagery of rural settings. The 1980s more reflected urban, sophisticated themes, to appeal to Generation X. Rob Langtry says the Woolmark brand will keep evolving but will still "guarantee the product has been produced according to exact technical, social and environmental controls. It will also guarantee a product's authenticity."

NEW PRODUCTS

AWI is working to: • improve wool's declining use in women's wear and sportswear; and • strengthen its domination in men's suiting (it holds 85 per cent of this market), which is stable in the West, but with enormous potential in Asia. It is funding new technologies to improve performance including: • A versatile Merino TouchTM collection of super-soft Merino wool-knit fabrics and garments. • Innovative treatments and finishes for yarns and knitwear for Merino Casual wool garments for urban and street wear. • Production of fine, lightweight, yearround woven and knitted Merino Cool™ fabrics and soft, tailored garments. • New easy-care techniques to simplify wool maintenance, including a suit that can be washed in warm water under the shower, without soap or solvents, then hung up to dry, with no ironing needed. In early 2011, the Woolmark was selected as the number-one top logo of all time by the UK's Creative Review magazine, Langtry says. "Also, it's one of the very few symbols that still feels contemporary despite not having been altered since its creation."

COMPETING WITH SYNTHETICS

The logo had huge success in the 1970s and 1980s, but wool again faced competition from synthetics. Wool needed to reinvent itself, so IWS became a commercial entity in 1998 - The Woolmark Company - whose mission was to jointly promote wool fibre to consumers and develop new products and promote these to industry. In 2007, AWl acquired The Woolmark Company, becoming owner of the Woolmark brand. Langtry says a new Australian focus takes advantage of Australian Merino wool being one of the world's best natural fibres. "Consumers are more sensitive to a product's ecological impact. Wool is natural, renewable and biodegradable, so is the essence of responsible consumption. It is the perfect choice for those seeking products that have a minimal impact on the environment."

it's one of the very few symbols that still feels contemporary despite not having been altered since its creation." •••

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

large public forecourt to the Old Government House and a pedestrian link from Goodwill Bridge to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. QUT's vice chancellor, professor Peter Coaldrake, says: "The precinct will embrace not only all the scientific and learning spaces and the informal spaces, bur also really important communiry space which will be useful to the university's population and everyone who walks through." For QUT students there will be an emphasis on technology-enabled active learning. Rarher than being lectured to in a traditional, passive theatre setting, students will be offered forward-thinking modes of interactive learning. For example, flexible nodes of desks and tables that allow them to be easily combined will encourage and enable group projects, joint problem-solving, hands-on experiments and study teams. This kind of experiential learning will be enhanced hy visualisation tools such as networked laptops, file-sharing applications and multimedia screens. The research areas that the precinct will focus on could not be more viral: clean technolo-

Out of the corridors Interactive and accessible, a new science and technology precinct will have an indelible intellectual, physical and community presence, writes Rael Martell. Queensland University of Technology (QUT)'s vision of a dynamic community hub integrating world-class research, teaching and the study of the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is fast becoming a reality. The $230-million Science and Technology Precinct is the product of the redevelopment of the university's Garden Point campus in the heart of Brisbane's central business district. It promises to be the antithesis of an academic ivory tower. Underlying the precinct is a commitment to links with the local communiry, interdisciplinary working, technology-enabled learning and the need to meet contemporary global challenges. Due to open in 2012, the precinct will be used for key research priorities berween the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering. QUT will investigate and develop solutions in areas of national and global concern, including climate change, infrastructure, and sustainable food, water and energy security. The cross-faculty precinct model will be able to transform the way a traditional university works and the way QUT approaches teaching and learning. The redevelopment will also transform the inner-city landscape, with the demolition of five existing buildings to make way for two ultra-modern multi-storey towers adjacent to rhe 2009 renovation of Old Government House, which was the first building in Queensland to be heritage-listed and is one of the states' most significant architectural treasures. Professor Ian Mackinnon, of QUT's Division of Research and Commercialisation, describes his role within this initiative as to enhance STEM in research, teaching and learning by "providing the focal point for the intellectual and academic dimensions of the precinct development". He says: "The physical infrastructure of the precinct allows for it to become part of the broader communiry, including city commuters, visiting school students and locals. It

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is porous and amenable to the public and in a ciry location. We expect to have research outcomes, commentary and data from the precinct available 24 hours a day to the public on a routine basis and, if possible, 24/7. This is a relatively unique exercise and we want to showcase STEM to the broader community, not just our own students. "We want this precinct to be an accessible place where you come to learn about STEM and understand how it interacts wirh people's lives, and to introduce the next generation to professions that are critical to Australia's future." MORE RESEARCH ACROSS DISCIPLINES

Professor Mackinnon is setting up a research institute that will operate from the Science and Technology Precinct. "We will be focusing on increasing the research capacity within the STEM fields, " he says. "The rationale behind the institute is to be a focus fo r interdisciplinary research. In a lot of universities many disciplines are developing their strengths within different faculties. We hope to pull together different research groups' interests to help solve the glohal challenges of our time." These challenges, as he points out, include - and revolve around - rapidl y changing demographics, finite resources and climate change. "In less than 40 years there will be nine billion inhabitants of the earth. The increased population, finite limited resources and the health of the earth, including the oceans and the atmosphere all these global changes are interrelated and need to be addressed if we are to sustain viable human populations and biodiversiry. "How can we live in a world with a changing environment and how can we change the ways we use the earth's resources?" he says. QUT has a particularly strong group of people working in simulation systems, modelling, and applied mathematics and systems research, including transport systems, built infrastructure and ecosystems. Harnessing this expertise will help us look at the way communities respond to, and

address, issues of security and resilience in our infrastructure, as well as to study rhe complexity of modern-day, interacting and interdependent systems. "Combining and integrating the research directed into these areas and socioeconomic outcomes will provide an important road map into the future," says professor Mackinnon. " One of our other challenges, pertinent to the modern era, is that we have an abundance of information with rhe World Wide Weh but we need to be converting that into knowledge. "O ur information systems group, allied with applied maths and simulation and modelling expertise, can help us to convert information to useful models or simula-

gies, infrastructure, natural resource systems,

environmental monitoring and sustainable production. And the marhemarical, computation, simulation and enabling technologies that allow for meaningful analysis of rhese contemporary global issues will be central to the initiative.

tions and, using visualisation tools, to coln-

The $230-million Science and Technology Precinct ... promises to be the antithesis of an academic ivory tower.

municate these outcomes to a wide range of end users, including the general public. "Allied to that is our capaciry to maintain ecosystems and built environments. These environments are becoming more and more

interdependent. A change in one will affect the other." The emphasis on pressing issues, such as sustainabiliry, is reflected in the physical aspect of the precinct itself and a project sustainability group oversees the precinct's design to ensure it represents high quality sustainable architecture. The launch of the precinct goes hand-inhand wirh reforms in course design. The aim is to achieve more effective dissemination of research outcomes and increase QUT's capacity to train more socially aware STEM graduares as well as to attract and retain leading researchers from a national and global pool. These academic priorities are to be delivered as double degrees in engineering, applied science and information technology, and in related masters and doctoral programs. QUT identified the integration of STEM as the theme of the precinct in its blueprint document in 2008. The precinct will, therefore, house more than 1,000 research and teaching staff and 200 postgraduate research students, crea ting a centre of excellence in interdisciplinary teaching, learning

and research that will revolutionise QUT's contribution to the needs o f Australia's emerging green workforce. LINKING COMMUNITIES

However, the project is not focused only on academic excellence. The new precinct is also about the exchange of ideas and information across intellectual disciplines, both wirhin and beyond rhe parameters of QUT, so another important prioriry is to engage the local community in rhe universiry's work. The universiry's strategic planning blueprint emphasises the "application of scholarly excellence to real-world issues by bridging the academic disciplines in research and teaching and linking academic and external communities". QUT has already implemented this approach in creative industries and health and is now extending it to science and technology. QUT's associate director of red evelopment, Anthony Perrau, says the 45,000 square-metre precinct will provide modern, technology-rich social learning spaces as

well as world-class workspaces for highimpact research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "It will also become a social hub for the university and the wider community as it will be equipped with a modern gym, vibrant restaurants and cafes, and a 50-metre pool," he says. "The fact that the campus will itself be so integral to the broader sociery and broader community will be a huge advantage to QUT and one of irs powerful characteristics," adds project architect Brian Donovan of Brisbane-based Donovan Hill who worked on the project alongside Wilson Architects. New and upgraded facilities include multi-purpose laboratories, multimode lecture theatres, workshops and practical teaching areas, and colla bora rive student zones, in addition to the Olympic-length swimming pool, a fully equipped gymnasium, and retail and undercover parking spaces. Other new works that are intended to enhance and integrate the precinct include a

MONEY WELL SPENT

farming environments. "We can also expect to see innovative ways

of using robotics and sensor nerworks to monitor our environment in a cost-effective,

low-carbon way that relates ro the use of clean technologies in future energy systems." He is also optimistic that the precinct will help in providing a solution to the unfortunate conundrum facing universities in Australia and aro und the world - that is, a decrease in the number of young people entering the science and engineering disciplines in spite of a corresponding and ever more urgent increase in demand for these skills.

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Social innovation

large public forecourt to the Old Government House and a pedestrian link from Goodwill Bridge to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. QUT's vice chancellor, professor Peter Coaldrake, says: "The precinct will embrace not only all the scientific and learning spaces and the informal spaces, but also really important community space which will be useful to the university's population and everyone who walks through." For QUT students there will be an emphasis on technology-enabled active learning. Rather than being lectured to in a traditional, passive theatre setting, students will be offered forward -thinking modes of interactive learning. For example, flexible nodes of desks and tables that allow them to be easily combined will encourage and enable group projects, joint problem-solving, hands-on experiments and study teams. This kind of experiential learning will be enhanced by visualisation tools such as networked laptops, file-sharing applications and multimedia screens. The research areas that the precinct will focus on could not be more vital: clean technologies, infrastructure, natural resource systems, environmental monitoring and sustainable production. And the mathematical, computation, simulation and enabling technologies that allow for meaningful analysis of these contemporary global issues will be central to the initiative.

The $230-million Science and Technology Precinct ... promises to be the antithesis of an academic ivory tower. and research that will revolutionise QUT's contribution to the needs of Australia's emerging green workforce. LINKING COMMUNITIES

However, the project is not focused only on academic excellence. The new precinct is also about the exchange of ideas and information across intellectual disciplines, both within and beyond the parameters of QUT, so another important priority is to engage the local community in the university's work. The university's strategic planning blueprint emphasises the "application of scholarly excellence to real-world issues by bridging the academic disciplines in research and teaching and linking academic and external communities". QUT has already implemented this approach in creative industries and health and is now extending it to science and technology. QUT's associate director of redevelopment, Anthony Perrau, says the 45,000 square-metre precinct will provide modern, technology-rich social learning spaces as

well as world-class workspaces for highimpact research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "It will also become a social hub for the university and the wider community as it will be equipped with a modern gym, vibrant restaurants and cafes, and a 50-metre pool," he says. "The fact that the campus will itself be so integral to the broader society and broader community will be a huge advantage to QUT and one of its powerful characteristics," adds project architect Brian Donovan of Brisbane-based Donovan Hill who worked on the project alongside Wilson Architects. New and upgraded facilities include multi-purpose laboratories, multimode lecture theatres, workshops and practical teaching areas, and collaborative student zones, in addition to the Olympic-length swimming pool, a fully equipped gymnasium, and retail and undercover parking spaces. Other new works that are intended to enhance and integrate the precinct include a

MONEY WELL SPENT

With the future and the community in mind, the project is being backed by the Commonwealth Government, Queensland Government, Atlantic Philanthropies, Community Facilities Fund and QUT. Professor Mackinnon is confident that the precinct will be a canny investment and a resounding success. "I would certainly expect that in a few years we will have significantly contributed to global challenges, for example, the building of urban environments that can withstand extreme events and increasing sustainable population in farming environments. "We can also expect to see innovative ways of using robotics and sensor networks to monitor our environment in a cost-effective, low-carbon way that relates to the use of clean technologies in future energy systems." He is also optimistic that the precinct will help in providing a solution to the unfortunate conundrum facing universities in Australia and around the world - that is, a decrease in the number of young people entering the science and engineering disciplines in spite of a corresponding and ever more urgent increase in demand for these skills.

I:! I.

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Designed solutions Combining expertise from more than one discipline can be the quickest way to finding an effective solution to society's increasingly complex problems - and designers are some of the most experienced in this approach, writes Rachel Sullivan. From spreadsheets and explanations of networks to climate change and business problems, design can make understanding their implications much easier and help devise elegant solutions to complex issues. "Designers are more used to using a solution-driven approach to tackle challenges than many other disciplines, and can bring a fresh outlook to collaborative initiatives," says professor Mark Burry, who is director of the Design Research Institute at RMIT (the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) University. He is also an Australian Federation Fellow, and is professor of innovation (Spatial Information Architecture) and director of the Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory (SIAL). Perhaps more than any other group, he says, designers are adept at looking across many disciplines at once in a quest to come up with a solution. Business recognises this and Design Thinking has become a common business mantra. However, Burry has concerns about using the terminology without actually bringing designers on board. "Take an example of a government form that has produced bad feedback from its intended audience," he says. "You can give it to a designer who might cut it up into paragraphs and move them around, while using an eraser to rub out any offensive or aggressive expressions, and carefully selected fonts

and formatting to improve communication friendliness. "The end result is a much better produced form, but someone who doesn't understand the design process that went into the revamp sees only the scissors and eraser and thinks that anyone can do that." While most people have some innate design ability, he argues, it is only by studying and practicing that a designer's judgement is honed and their innate skill refined so that they become an expert at judging which is the best solution to a complex issue.

change conversation they will be at the head of the table then they're mistaken. In a transdisciplinary group, where everyone's an expert in their own field but takes on board and accommodates the viewpoints and experience of other members of what may be a constantly shifting group of experts, designers have a great deal to offer because of their deep knowledge and wide ability. "They do need to learn to work collaboratively from the outset as is done in a film production," he says. "It is a multidisciplinary setting where many different talented people work together efficiently to produce an expensive product. Credit is shared among all of the contributors; no one person has only their name up in lights." New collaborative research paradigms need to be developed for the next generation of solution-seekers to ensure that designers realise their full potential, he says. It is for this reason that in 2001 RMIT created the SIAL and later the Design Research Institute, in 2008.

SMART USE OF DESIGNERS

Smart organisations have begun employing designers as part of think tanks, while others call in consultant designers to help them innovate, define corporate directions or invent groundbreaking solutions to problems. For those that have done it, including groups like ebay, it has already proven to be a valuable experience. "Can you imagine what a designer might bring to a climate change group, by asking 'What if...?' Or 'Have you thought about ... ?' " asks professor Burry. The real impediment to this becoming the norm lies with the designers themselves, because designers tend to see themselves as the leaders on any project they are engaged in, he says. "If a designer assumes that in a climate

DIVERSE DISCIPLINES

"Universities are home to diverse groups of thinkers. To capitalise on this, each transdisciplinary design studio exploring an innovative outcome, such as a personal ornament that delivers doses of medication (a real project at RMIT), is home to more than one discipline, such as jewellery design, medicine, micro-engineering and metallurgy," Burry says. "This ensures that the university is fostering transdisciplinary research and creating an enriched dialogue between different groups within the university. It also allows designers to take a wider view of their role than is traditionally assumed. "Right from the start, RMIT students are aware of the bigger picture and how they can contribute to it. Thinking about design across varying dimensions is more rewarding than working in a single field, or on one problem. It gives designers of the future a real advantage to understand these opportunities for wider engagement in society from early in their career."

"Can you imagine what a designer might bring to a climate change group, by asking ~what if... ?' Or Have you thought about. .. ?' " 1

Social innovation

On for young and old Social sciences and behavioural sciences work within a framework of action-based research and knowledge at The University of Queensland, writes Rael Martell. Reducing crime and social disadvantage, helping new parents meet the challenge of caring for their new baby, measuring anxiety in older people and dealing with global security issues are the focus of just some of the diverse and innovative research projects of The University of Queensland's premier social science institutions. Diverse they may be, but they share the common philosophy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural (SBS) Sciences and the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR): that knowledge and research findings need to result in action and change. It is a sign of The University of Queensland's (UQ) success in achieving this that it believes its social scientists have been awarded more consultancy, licensing and commercialisation income than any other Australian university. Current pioneering UQ projects place the university at the cutting edge of collaborative working on a domestic and international level.

education and support to help meet the challenge of caring for a baby in the first year of its life. Project coordinator, Carmen Spry, says: "Baby Triple P offers practical ideas and ongoing support for that very daunting fourth trimester and beyond. It teaches a variety of skills such as settling babies, helping babies sleep, learning to read babies' cues and knowing what babies need, learning to promote babies' development and how to recognise developmental milestones.

CREATING STABLE FAMILIES

A joint project between UQ and the United Kingdom's Glasgow Caledonian University will offer prospective parents in Australia and Scotland an opportunity to take part in the program Baby Triple P, which is based on the Triple P - Positive Parenting Program, the brainchild of UQ's professor Matt Sanders. The existing Triple P program suggests routines and changes that can make a significant difference in creating a stable, supportive and harmonious family. It has helped more than six million families in 20 countries and it has been translated into 18 languages. Now researchers are keen to investigate the usefulness of a newly developed Baby Triple P program, designed to prepare couples for a successful transition to parenthood. Early trials took place at the end of 2010 in Brisbane, Glasgow and Manchester. While antenatal classes are commonplace and information about pregnancy and labour is widespread, there is less available

" In addition to these parenting skills we also aim to give new parents some survival skills for themselves, as well as tips to keep their relationship to each other strong and healthy. We anticipate that Baby Triple P will be just as successful as its predecessors (it is based on the positive parenting principles of the Triple P program)." MEASURES FOR OTHER AGES

At the other end of the generation spectrum, a UQ-developed assessment instrument to measure anxiety in older people is being trialed by the Visiting Nursing Service of New York. The Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAl) was developed by UQ associate professors, Nancy Pachana and Gerard Byrne. The New York nursing service's use of the GAl is a sign of its international appeal and the tool has

been translated into 13 languages and used in at least 20 countries around the world. UQ's emphasis on the importance of joining forces with international research partners is also evident in the area of criminology. What is believed to be the first international trial of a criminal justice intervention conducted simultaneously with different populations around the world is expected to commence in 2013, directed by professor Lorraine Mazerolle, of the ISSR. . Partners from the UK, the United States and Israel have begun to run randomised trials to test the effectiveness of third-party policing- where police work in conjunction with local communities, organisations and individuals use regulation and civil law to improve crime control. With funding from the Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship, the first of the trials directed by professor Mazerolle will target truant children in Queensland and be conducted in conjunction with the Queensland police. In another first, professor Mazerolle, as the foundation director of the Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security within the ISSR, has also been i~Â volved in the development of the world's first counterterrorism database. 11

1 think the public deserves to see if what they are paying for is working and keeping them safe." The Counter-Terrorism-i-Library is designed to assess the effectiveness of counterterrorism measures in disrupting terrorist incident patterns, terrorist networks and violent activities. "Billions of taxpayer dollars are being spent on counter-terrorism measures, with little thought being given to if they will work. Like any tax-funded issue, especially a security issue, I think the public deserves to see if what they are paying for is working and keeping them safe," says professor Mazerolle.

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Reaching for the sky Funding from this national research support body has led to 10 years of varied projects and findings - and the aim is to widen its scope and beneficiaries even further, writes Peter Fuller. NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

When the ARC celebrated a decade of work in July 2011, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, pointed to the many notable achievements that the Australian Government national research support and advisory body had chalked up since 2001. "Take the Cochlear Implant," he said, "made possi ble by ARC-administered funds, or the bionic eye, an extension of that research that offers new hope to the vision-impaired. Through the ARC, our researchers are building the foundations for a richer, fairer and greener future ."

If Tasmanian devils have a future outside protected communities and captive breeding programs, we will owe much to scientists like associate professor Kathy Belov, whose research, backed by the Australian Research Council (ARC), aims to counter the transmissible cancer that has devastated the marsupial's populations in the wild. It was the contagious characteristic of the cancer cell, passed on when devils bite one another, that first intrigued the Sydney University immunogeneticist. " I have been trying to understand how cells can be transplanted from one animal to another without that second animal's immune system recognising them as foreign cells and mounting an immune respOnse," she says.

What research associate professor Belov has done with the support of recurrent ARC funding over the past five years

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suggests that low levels of genetic diversity are an important contributory factor. Devil populations are genetically similar, and because the tumour cell was originally a devil cell, "they don't see it as foreign", she says. "It just looks like one of their own cells." The devils' wild populations have fallen by around 70 per cent since the cancer was first seen in 1996. Selected animals are being drawn into an insurance program to retain as much genetic diversity as possible. Perhaps some animals will prove resistant; perhaps the tumour is beginning to behave differently. And Belov's group now has the devil genome, recently mapped in the United States, to draw on for its continuing research - the kind of long-term pure research in the sciences and social sciences that ARC funding makes possible.

The ARC, he added, had launched thousands of Australian and international researchers on world-class careers. Associate professor Belov is a member of that distinguished company: she received her first ARC grant before she had submitted her PhD. "I've pretty much had continuous funding, which has meant that I've really been able to develop my career and be intemationally competitive. I'm not aware of any other scheme that I could have done that with, with the sort of research that I'm doing. " The ARC, she says, "is the biggest scheme in Australia that I can apply to for the sort of research that I do. The ARC funds basic pure research, and mine tends to be in that area. There are lots of little pots of money out there for the sort of work that I do, but if you get an ARC grant, you're able to carry out a project for three years and not constantly be chasing other funds. I think it's also hugely prestigious to hold ARC grants. It's very competitive, and certainly within the university, and your peers, respect the fact that you're able to gain ARC grants. I think a large proportion of the research in universities wouldn't happen if it wasn't for the ARC." The ARC confers funds through a range of schemes under the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP). The NCGP is set up to support researchers at different career stages, build national research capacity, create or extend research networks and collaboration, and develop centres of research excellence. There is also an Excellence in Research for Australia initiative.

"Our ambition is not only to recruit and promote our best senior women researchers, but also to use their experience to help foster the next generation." Some grant schemes specifically support early-career and indigenous researchers. Australian Laureate Fellowships are designed to attract world-class researchers to apply their expertise in Australia. Future Fellowships are designed for mid-career researchers working inÂˇnational priority areas. In 2009-10, the ARC funded 1,679 of the 6,388 research proposals that it assessed. SUPPORTING WIDER PROJECT GRANTS

Project grants are based on merit, and proposals are rigorously peer-assessed, but even the most talented researchers may find they are potentially limited by other factors. Factors such as the disadvantage faced by those - most often women - who rake a break from their professional careers. In the sciences, in particular, a researcher return-

ing to work after a year or two's absence will find that the discipline has moved on. Alert to the potential waste of talent, and true to its objectives to support excellence in inquiry and build research capacity, the ARC has taken steps to support women researchers seeking grams fundi ng. New research opportunity and performance evidence criteria allows assessors to take account of different career interruptions not limited to, but including, those caused by bearing and raising children. In the 2010 round of Discovery Projects grants designed to foster research that is fundamental to national innovation - the rate of success for men and women applicants was almost identical, at 24.3 and 24.0 per cent, respectively. The Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), established in 2010, has among its aims improved equity between the sexes at early career stage. In effect, its provisions give all DECRA candidates up to an additional three years of eligibility if they have had maternity, parental or carer responsibilities soon after gaining a doctorate. LAUREATE FELLOWSHIPS

Support for women in research has been further strengthened by two special Australian Laureate Fellowships announced by Prime

Georgina Sweet

Kathleen Fitzpatrick

Minister Julia Gillard when she presented the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science in Parli ament House in November 2010. The fellow ships are intended to ensure that Australia can enlist the full range of its potential, Gillard told her audience. "We can no longer afford to allow talent to languish because of the circumstances of birth, demography or gender," she said. The new fellowships bear the names of pioneer researchers, Kathleen Fitzpatrick and Georgina Sweet. The Kathleen Fitzpatrick award is available to a highl y ranked woman researcher in the humanities, arts or social sciences, while the Georgina Sweet award is for a researcher in science and technology disciplines.

is not only to recruit and promote our best senior women researchers, but also to use their experience to help foster the next gen-

PROMOTING WOMEN IN RESEARCH

Professor Margaret Sheil, the ARC's chief executi ve officer, says the fellowships differ from other Laureate awards by being aimed not only at enabling research but also at promoting women in research and increasing the number of women applying for research grants. Thus, the recipients will have a mentoring and ambassadorial role. The first recipients were announced in August 2011. "Our thinking about thi s is quite straightforward," professor Sheil says. "Experience has shown us that, when women apply, they can compete very effectively at this elite level. But the proportion of applications from women at this level is much lower than from women who are capable, accomplished senior researchers. "We have designed these fellowships to attract a larger number of applications from female research leaders of international repute. The fellowships include additional funding to support ambassadorial activities to promote women in research. Our ambition

eration. " OVERCOMING CAREER BREAKS

Associate professor Belov applauds the ARC's steps to draw more talented women into research, and identifies one problem as the loss of currency and, consequently, loss of confidence, that follows time spent away from a discipline. "People who have a break for any sort of reason, whether it be for having kids, or carer responsibilities or illness, find it's very hard to demonstrate a track record if you haven't been doing any research, " she says. "And it does concern me that we don't see many women even applying for the fellowship positions at the top level. I think perhaps when they've had a break, women lack the confidence to get in there and give it a shot. Maybe it's just a matter of changing women 's opinions."

Belov believes that women researchers will benefit from women being involved in the ARC's administration -people like professor Sheil, and professor Jenny Martin, a fellow of the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience, who chairs the biological sciences and biotechnology panel of the ARC's College of Experts. Associate professor Belov's own involvement on the panel owes something to a sense of obligation. She now finds herself spending a great deal of time reviewing grants - "but I think it's an important part of our service to the discipline and to the field ", she says. "I stepped up and volunteered to be on the College of Experts because l thought I'd been really well supported by the ARC through my career and I wanted to be able to give something back."

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What research associate professor Belov has done with the support of recurrent ARC funding over the past five years

252

Support for women in research has been further strengthened by two special Australian Laureate Fellowships announced by Prime

Georgina Sweet

Kathleen Fitzpatrick

is not only to recruit and promote our best senior women researchers, but also to use their experience to help foster the next gen-

PROMOTING WOMEN IN RESEARCH

eration. " OVERCOMING CAREER BREAKS

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Social innovation

"It is important for

Leaving a N abel legacy

Aboriginal people to have a voice in the debate on indigenous health and to contribute to the outcomes of that debate."

Remarkable achievements can spur others on to social innovation, indigenous initiatives and further education with their liberating power and opportunities as championed- and exemplified- by professor Marcia Langton of Melbourne University, writes Dan Stojanovich. Nobel Laureates can inspire us all. Their number includes an astonishing variety of people from aro und the globe who have all achieved remarkably across a diverse range of endeavours. Most may not stand out in a crowd o f ordinary people in a busy street , but that sort of distinctiveness is rarely the nature of their exceptio nality. Their val ue is deeper, greater, longer. Their journeys show what m ay be possible. As well as appreciating why they gained their awards, the uplifting narratives of so many Nobel Laureates can engage people from the farthest and most remote areas of the planet. Their stories can motivate many from all sons of backgrounds - to dream and to dare. W hen the right opportunities a re available, people from the most un likely places and circumstances can become parr of this great adventure and strive to achieve surprising things. How much more powerful though, to experience these stories at first ha nd, especially when such an individual can mentor others in person, and work with them on a day-to-day basis to help them go further - perhaps along a higher an d a brighter road.

The case of p rofessor Peter Doherty and Dr Misty Jenkins is such a journey. Jenkins' story has inspired many and will continue to do so. Professor Doherty shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996 with Swiss colleague Rolf Martin Zink~rÂ nagel, for their discovery of how the immune system recognises virus infected cells. Professor Doherry was also Australian of the Year in 1997. He grad uat ed from the University of Queensland in Veterinary Science and became a veterinary officer. Moving to Scotland, he received his PhD from the University of Edinburgh Medical School. H e is the first person with a veterinary qualification to win a N obel Pri ze. At Melbourne University Jenkins completed her PhD under rhe supervisio n of professor Do herty a nd Dr Stephen Turner. Dr Jenkins then became a research associate in immunology a t Cambridge University, where the focus of her research was, as she says, "to understa nd how cytotoxic T cells contribute to clearance of virally infected and cancerous cells by understanding the mechanisms of po larised secretion of cytotoxic lysosomes". Melbourne Universiry's professor M arcia Langton is a committed champion of the "I want to say out loud to young liberating power of education and the need to provide genuine Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander opportuniry for all, particularly people that they should never be Australia's indigenous people. afraid to think and to thoughtfully "Those who have taken the opportunities offered by our open express their point of view; they sociery," she says, "and have the should not allow themselves to be persistence to remain in school intimidated into not thinking and not and complete one or more uni versiry degrees is what unites expressing themselves."

254

our highest achievers - their contribution to innovation, creativiry and change ranks highly, both here at home and globally." Her own stor y is one of exceptional achievement. Graduating with a BA (Hons) from the Australian National University in 1984 (her thesis was to do with swearing a nd fighti ng in indigenous commu n ities), she earned a PhD from M acquarie University, and was awarded an AM (Member of the Order of Aust ralia). She has also gained many other awa rds a nd qualifications, and is now chair of Australian Indigenous Studies at the Centre for H ealth and Society in the Department of Pop ulation Health in the Faculty of M ed icine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the Un iversity of Melbourne. Pleasingly, she says there is an increasing number of inspiring stories of achievement that will now enthuse even more young indigenous people to reach for the stars. The trick is to engage that spark of curiosity, which , when given oxygen, can transform people's lives. It is the sort of inspiration that can leap all sorts of boundaries- gender, culture, age, race, socioeconomic background. 1t can be contagious, and when it truly fires up, it can cast a light which can illuminate not just o ur own backyards, but the world's. "There are now many more indigenous people who have a vailed themselves of a good education and the opportuni ties that come with it," says Langton. "These include an increasing n umber of Aboriginal doctors, such as professor Ian Anderson, Dr Sandra Eades - Australia's first indigenous su rgeon, University of N ew South Wales alumnus Kelvin Kong and Dr Alex Brow n - to name just a few in the m edical profession."

EXPERIENCES OF ACHIEVERS Some of these high achievers have even published in the world's m ost high ly reg arded journa ls, for example, pr ofessor Anderson in prestigious British medical journal The Lancet and Dr Jenkins in the internationally respected immunity. "M any people regard the Aboriginal people of Australia as resistant to change," says professor Langton, but she adds, "Objects never seen before, new ideas and new ways of doing things; the Aboriginal world has become inured to novelry, even though the standard perception of our world is one of unchanging tradition. This is especially the case with our

own Gen X and Gen Y population, who have availed themselves of education and the opportuniry to achieve remarkable things." M isty J enkins is a Gunditjmara woman from Western Victoria, who since childhood was fascinated by the workings of the human body. She was also well aware that the health statistics for indigenous Australians were totally unsatisfactory. During the course of her career, she became particularly intrigued by the effects of viruses. She completed both her undergraduate a nd PhD degrees at Melbourne University, before heading off to work outside of Australia. Perhaps a Nobel Prize also awaits her?

Foundation chair in indigenous health at the University of M elbourne, professor Ian Anderson is one of Australia's leading indigenous health experts, as well as the first Aboriginal Australian to ho ld a chair in indigenous health. A strong advocate of Aboriginal-led health initiatives for indigeno us people, his ancestors were Aboriginal Tasmanians. With a background in medicine and social sciences he has worked in A boriginal health for more than 25 years as a health worker, educator, general p ractitioner, policy maker and acad emic. H e is also the d irector of Murrup Barak, the M elbourne Institute for Indigenous Development, and was appointed Fellow for Indigenous Leadership in 2011. Chair of the working party that developed the first National Aborigina l a nd Torres Strait Islander Sexual H ealth Strategy in 1977, he also served as the m edical adviser on Aboriginal health to the Commonwealth Department of Health prio r to his appoin tment at the University. He was a member of the National Health and Medical Research Council for the triennium t hat ended in June 2006, and is a member of t he advisory group on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander statistics for t he Australian Bureau of Statistics. Professor Anderson has also written and presen ted widely on issues of indigenous identiry, representation, Aboriginal health policy and art practice. H e sees a key aspect of his role

255

Social innovation

"It is important for Aboriginal people to have a voice in the debate on indigenous health and to contribute to the outcomes of that debate."

EXPERIENCES OF ACHIEVERS

Some of these high achievers have even published in the world's most highly regarded journals, for example, professor Anderson in prestigious British medical journal The Lancet and Dr Jenkins in the internationally respected Immunity. "Many people regard the Aboriginal people of Australia as resistant to change," says professor Langton, but she adds, "Objects never seen before, new ideas and new ways of doing things; the Aboriginal world has become inured to novelty, even though the standard perception of our world is one of unchanging tradition. This is especially the case with our

own Gen X and Gen Y population, who have availed themselves of education and the opportunity to achieve remarkable things." Misty Jenkins is a Gunditjmara woman from Western Victoria, who since childhood was fascinated by the workings of the human body. She was also well aware that the health statistics for indigenous Australians were totally unsatisfactory. During the course of her career, she became particularly intrigued by the effects of viruses. She completed both her undergraduate and PhD degrees at Melbourne University, before heading off to work outside of Australia. Perhaps a Nobel Prize also awaits her?

Foundation chair in indigenous health at the University of Melbourne, professor Ian Anderson is one of Australia's leading indigenous health experts, as well as the first Aboriginal Australian to hold a chair in indigenous health. A strong advocate of Aboriginal-led health initiatives for indigenous people, his ancestors were Aboriginal Tasmanians. With a background in medicine and social sciences he has worked in Aboriginal health for more than 25 years as a health worker, educator, general practitioner, policy maker and academic. He is also the director of Murrup Barak, the Melbourne Institute for Indigenous Development, and was appointed Fellow for Indigenous Leadership in 2011. Chair of the working party that developed the first National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sexual Health Strategy in 1977, he also served as the medical adviser on Aboriginal health to the Commonwealth Department of Health prior to his appointment at the University. He was a member of the National Health and Medical Research Council for the triennium that ended in June 2006, and is a member of the advisory group on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander statistics for the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Professor Anderson has also written and presented widely on issues of indigenous identity, representation, Aboriginal health policy and art practice. He sees a key aspect of his role

255

Australia's Nobel Laureates

a] history since World War II, paying particular attention to intra-state migration and patterns of family formation. She concluded the indigenous population was splitting into two populations, which had kinship ties but were 'each operating on completely different, in fact antithetical, dynamics, ethics and paradigms'. "One group Lane called the 'welfareembedded population', which was risk- and But it is also important, he maintains, "to work-averse, and benefits, welfare and seshare the knowledge we have about how to curity-oriented. The other group she called improve the provision of health services the 'open society population', which was and policy". He emphasises that "this sort opportunity, effort and outcome-oriented." of approach is a valuable contribution Professor Marcia Langton is also quick to those working in indigenous health can point out that while many younger people make to Australian society" . can see the value of, and opportunities provided by, education and are taking up the challenges, there have always been individuals among "It was in this book I learned that the indigenous community who God made all nations of one blood have been possessed of that spark of curiosity and wonder and in the Christ Jesus colour and racial distinctions disappeared. This at the wider world. And when the opportunities have been achelped me many times when I was cessible, they too have achieved refused accommodation because of remarkable things. She holds up a $50 dollar my colour and race." note and indicates a portrait on one side of the note. "Most people have no idea who the POWER OF EDUCATION faces are on an Australian $50 note," she Noel Pearson is another indigenous leader says, "and especially this fellow." who champions the power of education to The name beside the illustration is David change lives for the better. Born in CookUnaipon. Few people know that among his town in 1965, he is an indigenous Austral- many talents, inventing mechanical devices ian lawyer, land rights activist and director and conducting scientific experiments were of the Cape York Institute for Policy and his favourite interests. Leadership. H aving studied hisrory and law David Unaipon (1872 ro 1967) was an at Sydney University he passionately argues endlessly curious and indefatigable inventor. that education and aspiration are the keys But like many people of that ilk, he had a ro membership of an open society. considerable diversity of interest and pasIn a piece in The Australian newspaper sions. He was also the first published Aboin April 2011, he promoted the approach riginal writer, as well as being a musician, of Maria Lane, an Aboriginal academic orator and preacher. In 1953 he was awardfrom South Australia, when he wrote: ed a Coronation medal for his achievements. "Lane's career was dedicated to increasing The David Unaipon College of Indigenous indigenous participation in secondary and Education and Research is now part of the higher education, working in tertiary sup- Division of Education, Arts and Sciences at port services in Adelaide. She also produced the University of South Australia. important research about the changes in inDavid Unaipon was a Ngarrindjeri man, digenous participation in higher education. and was born in Raukkan (Point McLeay "In a 2007 paper Lane unveiled evidence Mission) on the shores of Lake Alexandria of a surprising upsurge in education outin South Australia. His father was ] ames comes for indigenous students. Between Unaipon (1834 to 1908) or Ngunaitponi, 1998 to (sic) 2006, the number of indig- a Ngarrindjeri community leader and lay enous students completing Year 12 rose by preacher who taught himself to read and 60 per cent, the number enrolling in Year write English as a young man. In the 1860s 12 tripled, the number gaining their South the father allied himself with a Mr George Australian Certificate of Education more Taplin, who founded the Point McLeay than tripled, and the number gaining good Mission, and became a lay preacher in the Tertiary Entrance Rank scores quadrupled. church as well as preaching in indigenous "Lane examined the social and education- camps. at the University to develop ways in which he and his co-workers can tap its considerable teaching and research capacity of the in politics, health and other indigenous studies areas to advance Aboriginal community goals and aspirations. "It is important," he says, "for Aboriginal people to have a voice in the debate on indigenous health and to contribute to the outcomes of that debate."

256

Unaipon had many interests, including music, literature, science and religion. In 1909, he obtained a Commonwealth patent for a modification to the then currently state-of-the-art mechanical sheep shears. He applied his understanding of curvi linear motion to change the motion of the cutting shears from circular to straight, which apparently greatly improved the efficiency. From 1904 right through to 1944, Unaipon made a number of other patent applications for different inventions, including a centrifugal motor. As a writer and orator, he promoted the interests of his people- not often an easy task. He wrote in a 1951 account about the difficulties and how Christianity had touched his life. Referring to the Bible, he wrote: "It was in this book I learned that God made all nations of one blood and in the Christ Jesus colour and racial distinctions disappeared. This helped me many times when I was refused accommodation because of my colour and race." To celebrate his life's contribution the David Unaipon Award was established to promote Torres Strait and Aboriginal writers. His main passion, however, was the

search for perpetual motion. He conducted experiments and made models in an attempt to discover the secrets of perpetual motion. He wrote in his 19 51 Life Story: "Even if I never arrive I shall always recall with pleasure the hours I have spent and the experiments I have tried endeavouring to solve a scientific problem." STRIVE FOR PASSIONS

The spark of curiosity is one essential to help us all along the path to a more enquiring and hopefully more fulfilling life, as is the drive and commitment to strive for our passions and step out of the square and go beyond. All we need is the opportunity to be the best we can be. Social innovation too has a vital part to pia y. "I want to say out loud to young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, " says Marcia Langton, "that they should never be afraid to think and to thoughtfully express their point of view; they should not allow themselves to be intimidated into not thinking and not expressi ng themselves. lt is too easy to give into the rubric of ' respect for elders' when often that is a mask for deep conservatism and fear. Highly original Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander intellectuals conceptualised the rights and freedoms that the young enjoy now, people such as Charles Perkins, Koiki Mabo, Oodgeroo Noonuccal and many others. These are hard won achievements and it is important that we do not lose them through passivity and mediocrity."

Sowing the seeds of security Fostering a strong partnership between government and plant industry bodies has boosted Australia's ability to protect against and respond to plant pest incursions, writes Grant Arnott. With an economy so heavily reliant on agriculture, Australia places a high prioriry on biosecurity - protection of plant industries from dangers posed by diseases, insects and pathogens (collectively known as pests). To reduce the country's exposure to such hazards, industry and government must work efficiently and colla boratively, which is where Plant Health Australia (PHA) comes in. In 2000, the Canberra -based PHA, a notfor-profit public company, was formed to facilitate the government-industry parrnership for plant biosecuriry in Australia. With a small ream of specialist staff and a skills-based board of nine, PHA's objective is: "To ensure a strong biosecurity partnership with government and industry minimises pest impacts on Australia, enhances market access and contributes to industry, communiry and sustainabiliry." Australian plant biosecuriry operates as a partnership between government and industries. PHA facilitates this partnership and drives action to improve policy, practice and performance of Australia's plant biosecurity system and to build capability to respond to plant pests. As a result, the company plays a pivotal role in enhancing Australia's plant health status, assisting trade, safeguarding the livelihood of producers and supporting the future of Australia's plant industries and the communities that rely upon them - all of which satisfy the goals of PHA members. Members can be involved in, and contribute to, policymaking and direction-setting on major plant health issues, as well as having a direct say in the directions and priorities of the company. DIVERSE MEMBERS

Membership is made up of three main groups: the Australian government, state and territory governments and plant industries. There is also an associate member group comprising industry research and service organisations. For such a diverse group of stakeholders to have a healthy partnership PHA has

had to build a strong spirit of cooperation and goodwill among groups that do not always see eye-to-eye on other issues. The company model and approach to stakeholder relationships has enabled PHA to maintain an overarching independence and impartiality that has helped cement the partnership. Members can raise issues through PHA, have meaningful discussions and reach agreement. Actions can be directed at maintaining confidence in Australia's plant biosecurity system and in its arrangements for emergency pest responses, which are handled through the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD) . This legally binding agreement between government and industry signatories, including PHA, covers the management and funding arrangements of responses to emergency plant pest incidents. The ratification of the EPPRD in 2005 was one of the PHA's greatest achievements, and was a world first. The EPPRD commands particular attention as it is a cornerstone of Australia's plant biosecuriry system. The EPPRD has heen crucial in formalising the partnership philosophy that enables costs and responsibilities for plant pest incursions to be shared between govemments and industries. This approach in many ways helps to set Australia apart and has captured international interest. CHALLENGES TO MEET

Other key challenges that PHA constantly tackles include: capacity constraints across the plant health system; the continually shifting nature of exotic pest threats to Australia; supporting management of new and ongoing emergency responses; matching biosecurity priorities to research, development and investment plans; finding new ways to improve biosecuriry performance through national coordination and

cross-industry collaboration; and helping producers improve biosecurity on-farm. Members and other stakeholders look to the company to have a larger role in solving national biosecuriry issues and supporting ongoing reforms of the Australian biosecuriry system. A primary interest is in monitoring the integriry of the national plant health system, identifying weaknesses and promoting action to see that these are addressed. Development of the National Plant Biosecurity Strategy, facilitated by PHA, has provided a blueprint for how to address the most pressing needs out to 2020. Above all else, the goal is continual improvement ro prevent Australia's pre-eminent international biosecurity standing, and the related trade benefits, from being eroded. Members can feel confident that PHA wi ll continue to find innovative ways to overcome future challenges drawing on its technical expertise, strategic capability and partnership approach.

Plant Health Australia (PHA) plays a pivotal role in enhancing Australia's plant health status, assisting trade, safeguarding the livelihood of producers and supporting the future of Australia's plant industries and the communities that rely upon them.

Australia's Nobel Laureates

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Business as sustainability One of the world's first sustainability-driven chief executive officers, Ray Anderson, proved that not only is running a sustainable global company achievable, it makes smart business sense, writes Alethea Mouhtouris. The founder of InterfaceFlor, a United Statesbased carpet manufacturer, Ray Anderson drove enormous change in his own business to lower its environmental impact and in doing so, strongly influenced global business practices. It has been almost two decades since Anderson's epiphany after reading Paul Hawken's The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability when he realised the earth's natural systems were declining, and the way the business world was operating sat at the heart of the problem. He saw an opportunity to change the way of doing business in order to become more sympathetic to the natural environment. This was no easy task for an organisation with a significant environmental footprint. Producing carpets was petrochemical intensive most materials and the way factories were run originated from petrol sources - and the carpet they sold into offices, schools, hotels, hospitals and so on was material-dense, and a very high contributor to landfill. In 1994, Anderson threw down the gauntlet to his team to "Be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: people, process, product, place and profits - and in doing so, become restorative through the power of influence." REACHING ITS GOALS

InterfaceFlor's Asia Pacific president and chief executive, Rob Coombs, said the organisation was now halfway to achieving its goal of zero negative environmental impact. Internationally, since 1996, the company has reduced: â&#x20AC;˘ energy consumption by 43 per cent; â&#x20AC;˘ greenhouse gas emissions by 35 per cent; and â&#x20AC;˘ total waste to landfills from its carpet factories by 76 per cent. At the same time, the business has steadily

grown, with offices in 100 countries, and manufacturing sites in four continents, including Australia -proof that sustainability is not an enemy of business growth. "We have focused on three key areas: first is to reduce our footprint through reducing and eliminating waste, creating only benign emissions, using only renewable energy," Coombs says. "Second, we have focused on closing the loop on our product flows so our materials ultimately come from only one of two sources - either post-consumer recycled carpets (in other words, using end-of-life products to feed the next product cycle) or from biobased resources that can be renewed.

/lin nature no single element exists in isolation. It's the same with business, and in trying to address these sorts of challenges, the key learning is that, when nature is in balance, it's the best system there is." "Our third area of focus is to create an internal culture and external engagement with other stakeholders and partners to make those first two things happen." Through this 17-year journey, there have been some quick wins but Coombs acknowledges the need to remain focused and retain the commitment. "We've stayed the course. Along the way, we've faced some pretty significant technical challenges, and one by one we've knocked those down. "Our company's research and development (R&D), design and innovation philosophy is based around sustainability. We see this as a much better way to run a business. It's much more efficient, creates fantastic staff

engagement, it wins you more customers and ultimately leads to higher profits." WORKING WITH ALL

There is also an innate dependency on collaboration with external stakeholders. "You can't do this on your own- it's very important to work very openly and collaboratively with your suppliers upstream, with your customers downstream and with the community," Coombs says. "In nature no single element exists in isolation. It's the same with business, and in trying to address these sorts of challenges, the key learning is that, when nature is in balance, it's the best system there is. "It contains so many answers to the challenges that exist in a business, in an organisation, in the human spirit. We have sought to understand nature and how it operates in order to address some of these challenges. "By using the concept of biomimicry, that is, learning from nature, we've learnt how to design products that are much more efficient, have much less waste, that look better, that feel better, that have higher performance characteristics and are much easier to service. And our success in being able to translate those learnings into much better business is the area I am really proud of." Sadly, founder Ray Anderson passed away in rnid-2011. "He's left an amazing legacy in the sense that, after being a non-executive chairman over the past 10 years, he's focused on disseminating this message to the much wider community," Coombs says. "He has established for himself a position where he is regarded as the world's premier industrial ecologist and we're very proud of that and he's left a very firm commitment for us to continue along this path. "The reality is that Ray's vision will be achieved by the long-term leadership of the business and all those people who work within it, so it's now a self-fulfilling exercise, it has momentum and it's organic in the company in how we do business. "There are many companies, many CEOs, who talk about sustainability being a cost, as being simply another troublesome thing they have to worry about. In our view, this is simply a much better way to do business."

Business as sustainability One of the world's first sustainability-driven chief executive officers, Ray Anderson, proved that not only is running a sustainable global company achievable, it makes smart business sense, writes Alethea Mouhtouris. The foW1der of InterfaceFI01; a United Statesbased carpet manufactureJ; Ray Anderson drove enormous change in his own business to lower its envir01m1ental impact and in doing so, strongly influenced global business practices. It has been almost two decades since Anderson's epiphany after reading Paul Hawken's The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability when he realised the earth's natural systems were declining, and the way the business world was operating sat at the heart of the problem. He saw an opportunity to change the way of doing business in order to become more sympathetic to the natural environment. This was no easy task for an organisation with a significant environmental footprint. Producing carpets was petrochemical intensive most materials and the way factories were run originated from petrol sources - and the carpet they sold into offices, schools, hotels, hospitals and so on was material-dense, and a very high contributor to landfill. In 1994, Anderson threw down the gauntlet to his team to "Be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: people, process, product, place and profits- and in doing so, become restorative through the power of influence." REACHING ITS GOALS

InterfaceFlor's Asia Pacific president and chief executive, Rob Coombs, said the organisation was now half\vay to achieving its goal of zero negative environmental impact. Internationally, since 1996, the company has reduced: â&#x20AC;˘ energy consumption by 43 per cent; â&#x20AC;˘ greenhouse gas emissions by 35 per cent; and â&#x20AC;˘ total waste to landfills from its carpet factories by 76 per cent. At the same time, the business has steadily

grown, with offices in 100 countries, and manufacturing

sites

four

continents,

including Australia- proof that sustainability is not an enemy of business growth. "We have focused on three key areas: first is to reduce our footprint through reducing and eliminating waste, creating only benign emissions, using only renewable energy," Coombs says. "Second, we have focused on closing the loop on our product flows so our materials ultimately come from only one of two sources - either post-consumer recycled carpets (in other words, using end-of-life products to feed the next product cycle) or from biobased resources that can be renewed.

"In nature no single element

exists in isolation. It's the same with business, and in trying to address these sorts of challenges, the key learning is that, when nature is in balance, it's the best system there is." "Our third area of focus is to create an internal culture and external engagement with other stakeholders and parmers to make those first two things happen." Through this 17-year journey, there have been some quick wins but Coombs acknowledges the need to remain focused and retain the commitment. "We've stayed the course. Along the way, we've faced some pretry significant technical challenges, and one by one we've knocked those down. "Our company's research and development (R&D), design and innovation philosophy is based around sustainability. We see this as a much better way to rW1 a business. It's much more efficient, creates fantastic staff

engagement, it wins you more customers and ultimately leads to higher profits. " WORKING WITH ALL

There is also an innate dependency on collaboration with external stakeholders. "You can't do this on your own - it's very important to work very openly and collaboratively with your suppliers upstream, with your customers downstream and with the conununity," Coombs says. "In nature no single element exists in isolation. It's the same with business, and in trying to address these sorts of challenges, the key learning is that, when nature is in balance, it's the best system there is. "It contains so many answers to the challenges that exist in a business, in an organisation, in the human spirit. We have sought to understand nature and how it operates in order to address some of these challenges. "By using the concept of biomimicry, that is, learning from nature, we've learnt how to design products that are much more efficient, have much less waste, that look betteJ; that feel better, that have higher performance characteristics and are much easier to service. And our success in being able to translate those learnings into much better business is the area I am really proud of." Sadly, founder Ray Anderson passed away in mid-2011. "He's left an amazing legacy in the sense that, after being a non-executive chairman over the past 10 years, he's focused on disseminating this message to the much wider community," Coombs says. "He has established for himself a position where he is regarded as the world's premier industrial ecologist and we're very proud of that and he's left a very firm commitment for us to continue along this path. "The reality is that Ray's vision will be achieved by the long-term leadership of the business and all those people who work within it, so it's now a self-fulfilling exercise, it has momentum and it's organic in the company in how we do business. "There are many companies, many CEOs, who talk about sustainability being a cost, as being simply another troublesome thing they have to worry about. In our view, this is simply a much better way to do business."

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Education

Public figure, public policy, public institution A university's desire to stimulate innovative economic, social and cultural thinking as well as research into new solutions-driven technologies owes not a little to its namesake, writes Dan Stojanovich. As so many Nobel Laureates have evidenced, exceptional ideas change worlds. The legacy of such thinking lives on for lifetimes after the individuals responsible have dreamed their dreams. Their impacts remain. As the American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead wrote: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Fostering environments ~vhere individuals are encouraged to think innovatively is a core objective of Deakin University. It remains one of the legacies of Alfred Deakin (1856-1919), three-time prime minister of Australia and a formidable figure in the Federation movement that led to the creation of the nation of Australia in 1901. Now, Deakin University champions a diversity of big-thinking initiatives with bigpicture perspectives, two such initiatives being the Alfred Deakin Research Institute (ADRI), and the Institute for Technology Research and Innovation (ITRI). ADRI promotes research and public dialogue that will enhance Australia's future economic, social and cultural wellbeing, including development of regional communities and Australia's role in a changing world. ITRI, on the other hand, focuses on research into advanced materials, biosciences and intelligent systems as well as creation of new technologies to address real-world problems. Created in 2008 to play a key role in the University's research program, ITRI combines fundamental research with solutions-led research. A strong focus is

capacity building - training the next generation of students and researchers skilled at working between technology interfaces in growing and dynamic industries. DEAKIN'S PERSONAL INFLUENCE

Both of these institutes owe much to Deakin the man, a person who changed the world around him. Not that he won all of his battles - politics, like excellent research, is rarely as generous as rhar. Yet Affable Alfred, as he was often referred to by his contemporaries, was able to generate a profound influence on a nation-in-making at a time of profound change. The genial dreamer and believer was also very much an achiever. Barrister, journalist, intellectual, spiritualist, and political visionary, Alfred Deakin was a gifted orator as well as prime minister, an outstanding political figure and masterful negotiator and statesman. In his first term as prime minister (190304 ) parliament was dominated by protectionists, anti-protectionists and Labor. Deakin felt strongly that such a situation was incompatible with representative government and his first government passed no legislation, Deakin proposing to continue on. His government was brought down in 1904. The three years of his second term (190508) were among the most important for the new Commonwealth. Deakin formed a government with Labor support and dealt with issues such as welfare, the High Court and the ultimate location of the seat of government. It was during this term that vital aspects of Commonwealth administration were One of ADRI's key missions is realised. The Copyright Act of promoting research that informs 1905 and the Quarantine Act of public debate and public policy. 1908 were passed. The Bureau

262

of Census and Statistics and the Meteorology Bureau were also established during this time, as was the Commonwealth Literary Fund and old-age pensions. Deakin also took an independent line wi rh regard to defence and foreign policy. Rather than paying for protection from the Royal Navy, he argued strongly for the establishment of an Australian Navy. In his own portfolio of External Affairs, the Papua Act of 1905 established Australian administration and protection for New Guinea. Deakin somewhat reluctantly accepted a third term as Prime Minister (1909-10 ) and led what could be called a Fusion govern ment, which included Labor, the Protectionists and the Free Traders. This government of opposites was doomed to fail and indeed was defeated resoundingly at rhe general election in April 1910. REGIONAL LINKS

Deakin was a strong internationalist with particular interests in the Pacific region and India, which Deakin University maintains to this day with its links throughout these regions. Established as a major research initiative in 2009, ADRI has its headquarters at the Geelong Waterfront Campus and its members work across all of Deakin's four campuses. Founding director, professor David Lowe, sees considerable opportunities for the humanities and social sciences ro work alongside other disciplines, including technical disciplines such as science and engineering, to more fully address contemporary issues and make a difference to public policy formulation and the national debate. One of ADRT's key missions is promoting research that informs public debate and public policy. Fundamental to this research is a cross-disciplinary and problem-oriented approach based on collaborative relationships within Deakin University as well as with external partners. While founded in the humanities, social sciences, and education, ADRI promotes research that integrates knowledge from diverse disciplines so that issues of local, national and interna tional importance can be comprehensively addressed. Research themes include leadership, development and governance in Australia and internationally.

interdisciplinary sciences. BioDeakin works closely with the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Faculty of Health. Centre for Intelligent Systems Research (CISR) Its primary focus is exploring and developing the next generation of intelligent machines,

More specifically, research includes: • Regional communities and development: rural and regional development; education and opportunity in regional contexts; sustainable management of resources; and international development. • Global and national risk: security, culture and society: investigating sources of conflict and risk between and within nations; Australia's role in a changing world; migration and intercultural change; and youth in society. • Ideas and innovation in public life: engaging with political ideas and public policy; theories of social, economic, and political analysis; creative industries and the creative economy; and literary and media contributions to public culture. ADRI also forms part of a broader Deakin Strategic Research Centre, the Centre for Comparative Social Research. Also located within the Institute is the Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library, which houses Deakin's research collection and materials related to western Victoria. A full set of his personal papers is available on microfilm with online access to sections of the papers which have been digitised.

Deakin Geelong Waurn Ponds campus. The expanding Geelong technology precinct aspires to be the leading Australian regional hub for high-end training in science and engineering and has a suitably international makeup with more than 40 different nationalities represented among the researchers. ITRI works with industry, government and community partners in the unique cross-disciplinary way that Deakin has forged on all its campuses. Principal ITRI research centres include: Centre for Material and Fibre Innovation (CMFI) Research areas include metals and light metals, fibres and fibrous materials, composites and polymers, and bio- and nano-materials. Centre for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Sciences (BioDeakin) BioDeakin is an innovative, whole-ofuniversity approach to advancing research and education 111 biotechnology and

interfaces,

and

environments

for modelling, perceiving, recognising, and interacting with humans. Research areas include rapid industrial-scale simulation, sensor networks, control and industrial process control. ITRI is also involved in collaborative centres such as:

• ARC Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Design in Light Metals; • ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials; • CAST Cooperative Research Centre (CRC); • Auto CRC; and • Advanced Manufacturing CRC. ITRI is also building very strong partnerships with India through the Deakin India Research Initiative (DIRI). One of those partnerships with TERI, the prestigious energy research institute in India, has led to the creation of the new NanoBiotechnology Research Centre in New Delhi. As the French writer Victor Hugo observed, "Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come". The legacy of Affable Alfred lives on.

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE

Head of ITRI, professor Peter Hodgson, is one of the rare engineers to have been awarded an Australian Laureate Fellowship. This has encouraged him to push the envelope and "explore areas which are slightly riskier" and, "do a few new things which have been at the back of my brain for the last four or five years". The award acknowledges the work that the whole ream in Geelong has been doing and marks it as being of national and international significance. ITRI is housed on the 360 hectare

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capacity building - training the next generation of students and researchers skilled at working between technology interfaces in growing and dynamic industries. DEAKIN'S PERSONAL INFLUENCE

262

interfaces,

and

environments

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE

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All systems go Health, sustainability, creativity, business, communication and intelligent systems, and future services and industries- no area is left out of this university's contemporary research programs, writes Rachel Sullivan. The University of Technology, Sydney (UfS) Underlying all UTS's programs are its six is recognised around Australia and interna- major research themes. Each is recognised tionally as a modern, progressive university as cri t ical to national and global research with a strong and growing reputation for priorities and, within each, UTS has centres research quality and collaboration. Since its and institutes that are regarded as leaders foundation, urs has taken the lead in pro- in areas ranging from infectious diseases, to viding innovative, applied programs of study the creative industries and quantum comthat not only offer its students a solid founputation to nanotechnology. dation for successful careers, but also seek to address emerging technological, environmen- HEALTH FUTURES UTS has long worked on developing biotal and social problems as they arise. "We produce research tbat delivers real technology and medical devices, eval uatbenefits for society, industry and the environ- ing hea lth systems and services to improve ment and is underpinned by technology and practice, exploring legal and regulatory creativity," says professor At~ila Brungs, dep- . environments and generating meaningful uty vice-chancell01; research. "Central to this economic analyses to take health into the is our aim to lead and define new research future . Some of its latest research in cludes areas and develop tbe next generation of the Smart Wheelchair whose movement is graduates and researchers who can lead their controll ed by the user's brain signals, givprofessions and industries." ing greater mobility and quality of life to people with severe disabilities. SUSTAINABILITY AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

From climate and water to energy, health and the built environment, researchers are focusing on a holistic approach to environmental issues and policies. The Institute for Sustainable Futures developed Switch, Australia's first vehicle-to-grid plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, which can both be charged from a normal power point and feed power back into the electricity grid. At the forefront of low emissions transport research, Switch has attracted worldwide attention for its potential to transform the way we use energy. CREATIVE AND CIVIL SOCIETIES

Research in this area gives a unique perspective on cultures, creative practice, knowledge and learning and cultural change. It ranges from the impact of technology upon society and tbe characteristics that effect social cohesion and cultural change to the opportunities for creativity and creative industries. In recognition of its work, UTS was chosen by

the federal government to head up the Creative Industries Innovation Centre, one of six innovation centres in the Enterprise Connect initiative, bringing together a consortium of companies, universities and agencies to ensure Australia-wide participation. BUSINESS INNOVATION

UTS resea rchers are world-leading in fundamental discipline areas such as finance, economics, accounting, marketing and management, applying cross-disciplinary approaches to rhe role of bu siness and public policy in addressing key economic, social and environmental problems. The scope and structure of the stud y programs offered by UTS Business School attract leading thinkers including Xun Wang, a PhD student within UfS's Centre for Quantum Computation and Intelligent Systems, who was the onl y recipient in Australia of an IBM fellowship. He is examining using artificial intelligence to capture management information and model risk more effectively to ultimately help businesses make better decisions. COMMUNICATION AND INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS

Research in this tbeme ranges from how info rm ation can be better used, to understanding and leveraging new media and technologies and how regulation can promote the free and ethical flow of information. In 2010 UTS established the Communications Law Centre, a non-profit centre specialising in media, communications and online law and policy. This is Australia's only independent centre representing the public interest in the media and communications industries . FUTURE SERVICES AND INDUSTRIES

A multidisciplinary team from areas such as robotics, information technology and nano-materials is defining and supporting the next generation of Australian industry and services. They have developed a nanotechnology coating for surfaces that can capture heat and then redistribute it beyond the atmosphere and back into space. An environmentally friendly way to reduce building cooling costs, the coating provides a cooling effect of more tban 8 degrees below ambient temperatures when exposed to a clear sky.

Thriving amid the competition Internationally regarded as a competitive university town, Melbourne is home to an abundance of intellectual capacity and energy, in which relative newcomer, Victoria University, has more than held its own, writes Dan Stojanovich.

On joining this city's uni versities, research institutes and other research-related organisations, Victoria University has had to earn its stripes. And it has. Engaged research is a principal focus and in this, Victoria University acquits itself particularly well. "Creating optimistic futu res through cutting-edge, engaged research", says professor Warren Payne (Pro Vice-Chancellm; Research and Research Training), "is the underlying theme of all our research studies". RESEARCH THEMES

Sustainability, health, education and diversity are four key research themes of Victoria University, and as professor Payne says, "Research in these themes will create real and positive benefits for our community, and this primary goal fits in perfectly with our university's commitment to be accessible,

excellent and engaged." The University's research m education

in diverse contexts is being undertaken through the Institute for Diversity, Educationa l Access and Success (IDEAS). This research will be used to improve aspirations and educational outcomes for people from diverse, disadvantaged and underrep resented communities. Water management is another sign ifica nt area of research related to sustainability for Victoria Un iversity, and couples research into fundamental science and social sciences to improve water management techniques. Further, the University now has the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (lSEAL). !SEAL aims to be a global research leader in sport, exercise sciences and active living. The Institute's facilities include a new $68.5 million wo rld-class research and teaching facility, with custom-designed laboratories in sport and exercise science. "Our research will help understand and identify solutions to real-world problems.

Many of our research findings will be translated to, and evaluated in, relevant industry and community settings," says professor Payne. Victoria Uni versity works with universities, governments, industry and other organisations around the world to support the advancement and creation of new knowledge through research degrees, academic and researc h student exchange, researcher-level in ternational collaborations and cross-institutional international networks and partnerships. "Our international research collaborators include leading universities and research institutes in China, India, Brazil, Qatar, Malaysia, the United States and Europe," says professor Payne. NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL, VOCATIONAL AND ACADEMIC

Over 45,000 Higher Education and TAFE students, incl uding 800 research students, are enrolled at Victoria University's local campuses and international sites. Its principal campuses, howeve~; are in the western suburbs of Melbourne and in the Melbourne city centre. International locations are provided in association with the University 's partners

in Asia and Europe, and the University has some 15,000 international students as part of its student family. Victoria University also includes some 4,500 dedicated research, teaching and general staff. Today, Victoria University is one of the largest and most culturally diverse tertiary educatio n institutions in Australia, and one

of only five multi-sector universities offering TAFE and Higher Education courses. Victoria University learning pathways enable students to move from certificate courses through to advanced diplomas, degrees, or postgraduate qualification by coursework or research. The training and Âˇ support provided for research students and postdoctoral fellows at Victoria University is recognised in Australia and internationally as facilitating research excellence. As the primary university in Melbourne's western region, Victoria University is proud to make a significant contribution to the social, environmental and econom ic wellbeing of its constituency, delivering highquality courses, research opportunities and community activities that are both loca lly pertinent and globally relevant.

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excellent and engaged." The University's research m education

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• having professional learning and capacity buil ding fo r site participants; and • capturing and disseminating fi ndings from field trials. FINDING, USING AND SHARING IDEAS

Students in Victoria can discover more about the things that most interest them through far-reaching, interactive programs being offered by Victorian education, childhood development and innovation offices and divisions , writes Rachel Sullivan. Like many yo ung Australians, Victorian students have access to many technologies, and rat her than just replacing pencils and notebooks, these technologies are being used to extend learning opportun iti es, enrich student experiences and improve lea rn-

ing outcomes.

Digital devices from netbooks and PDAs, to robotics, video conferencing and virtual classrooms are all helping learners commnnicate, collabora te, create, solve problems, access new knowledge, and form learning communities. They are also able to link to experts, both from within the formal education system and with partners from cultural institutions, not-for-profit organisations and industry. Drawing on best practice from around the world, Victoria's cutting-edge reaching and learning programs are also helping to pave the way for the rest of Australian state education systems. They a re creating

266

opportunities for the vari ous jurisdictions to work together for better learning outcomes for all Australian children. LOOKING AHEAD

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) leads educational policy development, research and innovation. Through targeted research initiatives and pilot programs DEECD is responsible fo r supporting school and systemic improvement. It is also responsible for designing the next iterations of school system reform by contributing to, and learning from, the rapidly diffusing innova tive practice of school science throughout the system. DEECD identifies innovative approaches to reaching and learning from Anstralia and from aro und the world. As well as examining how those approaches might contribute to Victorian education policy, the Department

is responsible for ensuring they are rapidly assimila red into reaching and learning and that successful programs can be readil y scaled up across the system. "We support di sciplined innovation by fostering, testing and implementing creati ve ideas to improve current p ractice (and) to create new ways of operating .. . to move towards next practice. This is achieved through field trials, national and international partnerships, promotion of successful school and system level innovations and a kn owledge base which info rms the future of system reform," says deputy secretary Chris Wardlaw. "T his is an alternative approach to the traditional one of system-led change. Our field trials look at finding wha t works and wh y, linking experimentati on with rigorous evaluation to ensure teachers and schools are well positioned to make the best use of new resources and pedagogy. "We are working with our lea ding practitioners to design the next phase of reform in new learning spaces, with new technologi es for a new world, " he adds. Conducting field trials includes: • identifying leading practi tion ers; • establishing a research focus; • accessing experts beyond education; • stimulating futures thinking; • developing sire charters and action pl ans; • testing and evaluating innovative processes and practices;

One of the Department's most important projects has been Knowledge Bank: Next Generation, which grew our of a need to make rich media content ava ilable to children and yo ung learners. Although the project's objective was to make learning rewarding and exciting fo r chi ldren, for DEECD it was equally about the policy implications: exploring new technologies to deli ver learning conrent, and forming partnerships that extend traditi onal notions of who is involved in educati on and empowering them to contribute in a contemporary way. Departmental staff helped cultural organi sations presenr their content in ways th at would appeal to children and be equally accessible for students in rural or metropolitan locations and that would also meet the Department's strategic priorities. The result was FUSE (Find Use Share Educati on), a we b portal that gives children access to a va lu able store of internetbased content from organ isations. Th rough Melbourne Z oo, for instance, children ca n manipulate we b cams trained on animal exhibits, record observati ons fo r resea rch programs or as k keepers question s. Through the State Library they can view documents held in the Li brary archi ves relating to Burke and Wills' expeditions. Students can also view current exhibitions at th e Art Gall ery and pa rticipate in an interacti ve scriptwriting activity based on that experience or create an animated film with the help of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image . Th e inform ation has been designed so that it is relevant to students at different stages of their education. Looking at particular material they will gain age-appropriate insights, while learning more if that is where their interests lie. FUSE can be accessed by students from their schools thro ugh the Department's online learning platform, the Ulrranet, at home or anywhere with an internet connection.

" Web 2 .0 has moved lea rn ers fro m being consum ers of material to being producers of it and we want to take advantage of the increased engagement that comes with that, " says Wardlaw. "They are producers, collaborators and inventors of new ideas and kn owledge. We mu st listen to their voice when we design their learni ng . "When yo u combine the world's precious artefacts and cultural treas ures w ith ed ucators, curators, teachers and students you

Because children often grasp technol ogical change more quickl y than adu lts and readil y communicate that understanding with their peers, DEECD's researchers recognise that a strong focus on student voice ~AFETY FIRST The Department is implementing trials is important for spreading messages about and action research projects in several edu- IP, copyright and cybersafety. The Leading Responsibly in a Digital World Stucati onal settings to identify new techn olodent Summit, was convened to explore the gies that can be used to support best practice learning and teaching, through its Innovat- emerging iss ues around online safety and to ing with Technologies Program. Schools encourage stud ents to ask themselves what are trialling technologies such as streaming action they ca n take in th eir community to media, gaming and hand-held devices while spread the message. resea rch programs are measuring the impact Researchers are a lso looking at ways to of these technologies on student learning help children understand and respect inteland reacher practice, as well as considering lectual property: at ho w they publish and use - and allow others to use - their own cost, accessi bility and practicality. materials, as well as the potential implications of using others' ma"When you combine the world's terials, including those belonging precious artefacts and cultural to reachers and other students. treasures with educators, curators, Online resources have also been developed for reachers ro help teachers and students you get a them make the right ch oices in mash-up of ideas and fresh thinking a constantly changing environthat is bound to produce great ment; these are regularly updated to ensure they remain current. outcomes for everyone involved."

get a mash-up o f ideas and fresh thinking that is bound to prod uce great outcomes for everyone involved."

"Because the spaces and tools that schools can use are endless, appearing suddenly and presenting great opportunities and often some challenges, the Department is assessing whether some tools may be more appropriate than others for schools to use within the learning environment," Wardlaw says. "Many questions arise when deciding whether to use emerging technologies." A key foc us has been on the implications of using Web 2. 0 technologies in the cl assroom, particularly as it relates to online safety, intellectual property and copyright

Another summit, Listen to Learners, rook 13 groups of stude nts from across Australia and let them talk to decision-makers from the pub lic, private an d soci al sectors to help them better understand the contemporary learning wo rld. "This summit was about student voice - empowe rment and leadership, balancing threats and opportunities in the online place where most students live," Wardlaw says. " It is another example of how our relationships with pa rtn ers outside the formal education system will reap di vidends for

ISS UCS .

everyone in the futu re ."

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• having professional learning and capacity buil ding fo r site participants; and • capturing and disseminating fi ndings from field trials. FINDING, USING AND SHARING IDEAS

ing outcomes.

266

opportunities for the vari ous jurisdictions to work together for better learning outcomes for all Australian children. LOOKING AHEAD

get a mash-up o f ideas and fresh thinking that is bound to prod uce great outcomes for everyone involved."

ISS UCS .

everyone in the futu re ."

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Study pathways

THINKING AND DISCOVERY

Placing international students in Australian tertiary institutions is part of IDP Education's extensive worldwide placement services, writes Rachel Sullivan. International education activity was worth $19 billion to the Australian economy in 2009-10, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. During its 40-year-history, the International Development Program of Australian Universities and Colleges, now known as IDP Education, has placed 300,000 international students in Australian institutions and much of the presence of international students in Australia over the past 25 years has been thanks to the work of IDP. IDP is now the world's largest student placement provider and is co-owned by 38 Australian universities and SEEK Ltd, Australia's leading online employment service. IDP has a network of more than 80 international student placement centres in over 25 countries, including India, (hina, South-East Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. ID P ensures the transition to internationa! study is as smooth as possible by offering prospective students a range of services, from counselling and support to help them make the right choice of international education destination, to providing accurate information about the university experience, making it easier to apply for, and manage, visa applications.

"As those countries have begun to mature in terms of the quality of their own educational services, Australia's interna-

tional student population has been boosted by the tiger economies of India and China, followed by South Korea," Freeland says. "Growth in student numbers continues from those countries, especially China, which simply cannot meet the education demands from its large aspiring population. But more recently, Australian universities have also been looking to increase diversity by encouraging prospective students from South and Central America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East to apply for study."

"For a country with such a small population having seven (out of its 40) universities in the top 100 universities globally is impressive," he says, adding that in particular fields, Australian research and reaching programs are among the best, and indeed in some cases are leading the world, at least according to the Australian Research Council's January 2011 Excellence in Research for Australia report. RECRUITMENT APPEAL

The increasing strength of the Australian dollar over the past 18 months has begun to hamper the country's competitiveness and means that a United Kingdom-based Master of Business Administration may be cheaper than an Australian one. Australian universities are still recruit-

ing effecrively, however, says Freeland. "As well as the quality of education on offer, its proximi ry to Asia and family ties, and the attractiveness of the study experience will continue to ensure that it remains an attractive

268

Going places

SERVICE EXPORT

destination to students from

"Education is the biggest service export in Australia, and is a major driver of export revenue behind commodities such as iron ore and coal," says Warwick Freeland, chief strategy officer at IDP Education. "There are a number of ways that students contribute to Australia; financially through university fees and living costs and also through bringing in tourists for family visits. Because of its engagement with regional neighbours, IDP Education has also been instrumental in helping to arrange study programs for future leaders from neighbouring countries, which can have significant long-term benefits. "Twenty-five years ago, when Australia first started accepting fee-paying students, they mostly came from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, with whom we have close geographic and political ties.

the region."

IDP has also expanded its operations to reflect the growing demand from internationally-based students to study in the United States, Canada, the UK and New Zealand. It recently "... we are focused on our present commenced recruiting intergoal of becoming a global provider national students for select of student services." institutions in the USA and Canada and next will recruit For many students an Ivy League or students for the UK and New Zealand. Oxbridge education is seen as the gold "There is a real synergy between the idea standard, and while Australian universities of recruiting students for the classroom and may not feature widely in the top 20 glob- then continuing to help them on their jourally, Freeland says they are certainly box- ney to the boardroom, " comments Freeing above their weight in the international land. "For now, though, we are focused education field, and this has contributed to on our present goal of becoming a global their ongoing success. provider of student services."

South Australia has a proud history of vision, innovation and world-leading achievement in its 175 years- and there is no looking back, writes Dan Stojanovich. It was the first place in the world to grant women the right to stand for parliament. It was also where Australia's first climate change legislation was introduced. South Australia (SA) is transitioning irself into a knowledge-based economy, with mining, defence, agribusiness, bio-tech and cleantech industries set to underpin the state's prosperity for decades to come. Mining and defence, in particular, are two of the state economy's strong points. In the next few years, SA will enhance its global reputation as a resource state, home to numerous 1nines, including the world's biggest and richest resources operation at Olympic Dam. The defence-sector, with its dynamic submarine and ship-building industry, is transforming the state's manufacturing sector, with the support of an innovative and highly skilled workforce. As Australia's 'defence state', SA will deliver the $8 billion Air Warfare Destroyer project at the nation's premier naval industry hub, Techport Australia. SA is on track to double the defence sector's annual contribution to the economy to $2 billion and to increase the defence workforce from 16,000 to 28 ,000. South Australia is showing strong and decisive leadership in the development of its

clean-tech and renewable energy industries. The state now hosts more than half of Australia's installed wind power, with geothermal and wave energy also attracting significant investment.

This reputation for clean, green industries will be enhanced by the establishment of the Sustainable Industries Education Centre (SIEC) in Adelaide's southern suburbs. SIEC will bring together technical and further education, university and industry sectors, with a focus on training and job creation in the sustainable building and construetion sector.

The Thinkers in Residence program, which attracts the best global intellectuals, as well as home-grown thinkers, delivers innovative ways for the state to tackle its challenges. Among other developments, the program has led to the establishment of the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus), a national hub of science awareness, education and scientific debate. In its 10-year history, Bio Innovation SA (BioSA) has doubled the number of bioscience companies operating in the state, with the industry now employing more than 1,700 people. The State Government is building the nation's most advanced hospital, the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, which will work alongside the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). SAHMRI, in collaboration with government and SA's local universities, will work across disciplines and focus on translating research into health outcomes for the community. South Australia is also home to the Australian Centre of Social Innovation, a social itmovation laboratory, which aims to turn new and bold ideas into better lives for the community. The state's internationally renowned research organisations, such as the Ian Wark Research Institure, the Australian Wine Research Institute and the National Plant Accelerator, give its researchers cutting-edge infrastructure and facilities with which to conduct their research. And the South Australian Strategic Plan (SASP), which draws upon the feedback and collective vision of South Australians, helps deliver outcomes in the areas of Community, Prosperity and Environment. The 2011 update of the SASP has 100 specific and measurable targets, each aimed at making South Australia an even better place to live and do business.

"It is a 175-year-old story of a

Adelaide is a world-class university city, with a reputation for dynamic, confident, outward-looking educational excellence among state with strong links to the world, its growing list of local and inand an even stronger belief in where ternational, public and private learning institutions. With the it is going and on how to get there." rapid growth of student numbers in the state, international education is South Australia, home to four past Nobel now its second largest export industry. Laureates, enjoys a culture of innovation As a stare vulnerable to drought and water and collaboration, which builds upon irs shortages, SA's new desalination plant will history of skilled people achieving extraorreduce its reliance on the River Murray. Re- dinary things. nowned water research facilities, such as the It is a 175-year-old story of a dynamic, Goyder Institute for Water Research and the confident, outward-looking state with National Centre for Groundwater Research, strong links to the world, and an even will also enhance the state's reputation for in- stronger belief in where it is going and on novative approaches to water conservation. how to get there.

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Study pathways

THINKING AND DISCOVERY

"As those countries have begun to mature in terms of the quality of their own educational services, Australia's interna-

268

Going places

SERVICE EXPORT

destination to students from

the region."

clean-tech and renewable energy industries. The state now hosts more than half of Australia's installed wind power, with geothermal and wave energy also attracting significant investment.

"It is a 175-year-old story of a

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Education

Sparking human discovery Australia's National Science and Technology Centre provides an accessible and engaging portal to nurture curiosity and many fascinating explorations, writes Dan Stojanovich. As Australia's Nationa l Science and Technology Centre, Questacon showcases more than 200 interactive exhibits in an iconic building in the nation's parliamentary zone. One of the most popular national institutions, Questacon attracts over 430,000 people to the centre each year; with a fu rther 440,000 viewing its exh ibitions in other museums and centres across Austra lia and internationally. Questacon also runs several national outreach programs that deliver science and technology learning experiences to an additional 140,000 people in communities across regional and remote Austra lia. The Shell Questacon Science Circus was the first Questacon outreach program to tour to regional Australia. The Science Circus celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010 and is recognised as the most extensive and longest running touring science centre outreach program in the world. Through this multi-faceted approach Questacon's annual audience reach is over two million people per year. Questacon presents world-class creative, interactive science exhibitions and programs that include hands-on exhibits, science shows and demonstrations by yo ung scientists, trained science communicators and

actors. It takes an in for mal approach that also rewards curiosity and promotes a positive association with science and technology. Some of its main attractions include: • H20 - Soak up the Science: explores how water behaves, how it shapes our world and how we use this precious resource. • Mini Q- fun for 0 to 6 year olds: encourages yo unger visitors, along with their parents and carers, to explore science through play. • Awesome Earth- where visitors can experience lightning, an earthquake and a cyclone, as well as be amazed by the electricity producing Tesla Coil.

• Questacon Science Garden - externa l exhibits inspired by the natural elements of sun, wind, water and rock. • Q Lab -live demonstrations and interactions with scienti sts, hands-on activities and multimedia content. THE ORIGINS

HIGHLIGHTING INNOVATION

Questacon plays a vital role in the nation, helping Australi ans recognise that science, technology and innovation are essential to the future prosperity of the country. By offering in spirational and experiential learn ing, Questacon is addressing the sk ill shortage in science and technology by improving retention ra tes in science, maths, engineer-

ing, technology and innovation . "Questacon delights in engagi ng yo unger people especially in the never-ending adventure that is science, and we try to influence students to pursue careers in these areas,"

says professor Durant. As Australia's National Science and Technology Centre, the organ isation also administers some important nationa l initiatives. A division of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Questacon has a responsibility for encouragi ng all Australians to engage with scien ce and technology, for exa mple, by lead ing Inspiring Australia- a national science communication strategy that will help bring science to everyone, regardless of geography, ethnicity, age or socia l condition.

Questacon began in 1980 in a spare space in the Ainslie Public School in Canberra with 15 interactive exhibits and volunteer staff. In 1988, the Australian Bicentennial Authority proposed that a national science centre be estab li shed as an ongoing contribution to the Australian Bicentenary. The building cost some $20 million and half the cost of this was provided by the Japanese government and Japanese business community. On November 23 1988, Questacon officially opened as Australia's Nati onal Science and Technology Centre with Dr Mike Gore as the first director. Today, Questacon's director, professor Graham Durant, who joined in early March 200 3 after 10 years as senior curator and deputy director of Glasgow (Scotland)'s Humerian M useum; works with a team of over 200 staff members and an additional 90 volunteers. Innovation has always been a Questacon hallmark. The Questacon website was launched in 1995 and was one of the world's first science centre websites to fea ture virtual onl ine activities. Questacon's website now attracts over one million online visitors annually, offering a range of exhibition and program content as well as on line-on ly experiences. Questacon's world-class digit"Questacon delights in engaging al media facilities also enable students to enjoy interactive science younger people especially in the never workshops and even chat with -ending adventure that is science, and scientific experts from around we try to influence students to pursue the world from their classrooms via videoconferences. careers in these areas."

Education

HIGHLIGHTING INNOVATION

Medica l research and Health

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Innovation across the generations A family business for over 300 years, German pharmaceutical company, Merck KGaA acquired Swiss biotechnology company, Serono. Together they delve deep into their core practices of innovation and research, writes Rael Martell. The purchase four years ago was a landmark moment for the company that has its genesis in the 17th century. In 1668 Friedrich Jacob Merck bought the Engel Apotheke - or Angel Pharmacy - in Darmstadt, Germany which, following his death, was passed on to his nephew. Merck's genealogy has been characterised by being handed on - and run - through successive generations of the Merck famil y. Another notable consistency, more than 340 years since Friedrich Merck's purchase, is the company's unwa vering commitment to research and innovation. Both are key to the success of Merck Serono Australia, says managing director David Garmon-Jones. "Unless you are innovating you are not in the game." Significantly, Merck Serono's annual research and development expenditure is around 1 billion euros (more than $1.3 billion, approximately 20 per cent of revenues). For Merck Serono, this means focusing on the specialist areas of the treatment of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, infertility, and endocrine and metabolic disorders. "We strive not necessarily to be the biggest pharma company, but to be the best," says Garmon-Jones.

"We believe that easier and less painful drug delivery systems support patient compliance." The company's innovative approach is apparent in its ever-evolving pharmaceutical products and investigations into more patient-friendly forms of drug delivery. Among its most recognised products are Rebif, sometimes known as interferon beta1-alpha, a drug from the interferon family

that is used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS); and Erbitux, otherwise known as cetuximab, for colorectal, head and neck cancers. Merck Serono distinguishes between two areas of drug development and manufacturing: new chemical entities (NCEs) and new biological entities (NBEs). Traditional pharmaceuticals consist of molecules manufactured by chemical synthesis, generally come in tablet form and are directed at a single target. Biopharmaceuticals are larger molecules, such as proteins, which target the underlying mechanisms of a disease and are generally administered by injection. DELIVERING DRUGS

But it is not only products that Merck Serono is interested in creating and developing but also their delivery. Garmon-Jones explains that understanding and improving drug delivery is the key to fulfilling Merck Serono's core aim of transforming people's lives. "We are constantly trying to improve our drug delivery systems. Quite a lot of our products are injectables. We have devised systems where the depth and speed of an injection can be adjusted and the patient can have an electronic record of when the injection took place. We believe that easier and less painful drug delivery systems will support patient compliance." Garmon-Jones points out that the term innovation needs to be put into perspective. It need not always signal a dramatic scenario, such as the discovery of a life-changing drug. "Sometimes it is a word that people can find scary, thinking that it means something large scale that is revolutionary. This need not be the case at all. Seemingly small incremental changes and improvements can build into a very big thing. "

LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS

Such a perspective applies not only to products and drug delivery but is also evident in the partnerships Merck Serono has forged with local companies. In June this year (2011 ), Merck Serono struck up a partnership with South Australia-based biotechnology company, Bionomics. The deal brings together Merck Serono's expertise in MS pharmacology, clinical development and commercialisation with Bionomics' expertise in developing compounds for the treatment of people with MS and, potentially, other autoimmune conditions including arthritis.

"We strive not necessarily to be the biggest pharma company, but to be the best." A similar deal was announced at the same time with Germany's Affectis Pharmaceuticals AG and hailed by Dr Bernhard Kirschbaum, executive vice president for global research at Merck Serono, as "reflecting our long-term commitment to developing innovative treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, where unmet medical need still remains". Up to 1 million euros (more than $1.3 million) was also announced to boost innovation for fertility treatment, with five research projects awarded the money for the common purpose of "improving the chances for couples to conceive a baby". INVESTING IN BIOTECHNOLOGY

Merck Serono's launch two years ago (2009) of a corporate venture capital fund to invest in emerging biotechnology companies is further evidence of the company's ethos of collaborative working. Merck Serono Ventures will support biotech start-up companies that demonstrate potential in providing innovative products in Merck Serono's core therapeutic areas. Close to home, Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute is the beneficiary of a grant to accelerate early-stage research in MS. The grant will allow the institute to advance the development of molecules that target ion channels (see Painful killers kill pain), which contribute to abnormal nerve function.

Tropical and topical Driven by a passion for research that makes a difference in people's lives, this health research institute works closely with communities across the region to find better ways to combat disease and ill health and to put what has been learned into practice, writes Dan Stojanovich. The Menzies School of Health Research is Australia's leader in indigenous and tropical health research . It has been showing the way for over 25 years - in fact it celebrated its 25'' birthday in 2010. Based in Darwin in the Northern Territory (NT), Menzies also has offices in Alice Springs, Brisbane, Adelaide and Indonesia. As well as collaborating with leading health and research organisations from around the world, it works in almost 60 indigenous communities across Australia. Employing more than 300 staff, annual turnover is approximately $30 million, most of which comes through competitive research grants. It not only helps discover better ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating disease, but also addresses the socia l determinants of hea lth as wel l as delivering better health services. Established in 1985 as a body corporate of the Northern Terrirory Government, the School was established under the Menzies School of Health Research Act of 1985. The Act was amended in 2004 to formali se the School's relationship with Charles Darwin University (CDU ), and the Menzies School of Health Research is now a school within CDU's Institute of Advanced Studies. The School is accountable to its own Board, which oversees the Menzies Mission: • to promote improvement in the hea lth of all people in tropical and central Austra lia by establishing and developing a centre of scientific excell ence in health research and health education; • to advance knowledge in health research and health education, particularly in relation to human health, and to seek and discover the origins and causes of diseases and ill health; • to use the knowledge so gained ro improve methods of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease and ill health in both humans and animal s; • to serve as a centre for learning and training in health research and health education; and

• to promote and encourage postgraduate research into the functions of the School within CDU as a research school of that University or in cooperation with other medical or educational institutions. Excellence in research is a fundamental and the Menzies team is always working on yet more ways of reducing the impact of disease and improving the health and wellbeing of people living in Australia- and beyond. Just some of the areas investigated include low birth-weight, poor nutrition, substance abuse, ear infections and chest disease, rheumatic fever and heart disease, kidney disease, tropical diseases like malaria and many other health problems that pose particular challenges to people living in the region. The School has extensive networks both across Australia and internationally. In recognising the valuable contributions made by these partners, Menzies acknowledges them in a full list of collaborators published in its annual report each yea~; which also includes a full list of funding bodies and donors. EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Menzies sees education and training as vital components of its work and so provides a range of programs including short courses, specific public health courses, research degrees and special training initiatives. Menzies research has continued to directly influence policy and healthcare practice, for example: • su pporting the work of the NT Child Protection Inquiry and State Government response; • collaborating with senior NT Government staff to co-produce a draft early childhood plan; • prompting the introduction of a new tobacco licence condition by the NT Government, obligating licensees to monitor wholesale orders of tobacco; • publishing a study about the impact of income management on store sales in some remote communities, which sparked significa nt interest;

• driving the Strong Teeth for Little Kids research project, which has directly led to children in N T remote communities receiving fluoride varnish to improve their ora l hea lth. It is recognised as one of the 10 best National H ealth and Medical Research Council research proj ects in Australia; and • developing high-resoluti on genetic fin gerprinting methods for characterising bacteria; quick, effective, simple and low cost methods, which ha ve already been used to identify the nature of a clu ster of antibiotic-resistant infections at Roya l Darwin Hospital and have res uIted in a number of publications. These initi atives provide but a small window into the impact being delivered by the Menzies School of Health Research. A quarter of a century on, work in the area continues unabated.

Medica l research and Health

Australia's Nobel Laureates

LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS

Medical resear ch and Health

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Painful killers kill pain Australia's richly deserved reputation for the lethalness of its wildlife, is being turned to advantage by the Health Innovations Research Institute at RMIT University, writes Rachel Sullivan. From poisonous snakes and spiders to highly toxic sea creatures such as box jellyfish and cone snails, Australia's wi ldlife packs a lethal punch. Now because of the way they act on the human nervous system, some of these lethal toxins are opening new doors to the treatment of chronic pain. Professor David Adams spent 20 years working overseas (in the United States and United Kingdom) before returning to Australia to work in the rapidly growing field of biophannaceuticals in the mid-1990s. He became director of the Health Innovations Research Institute at RMIT (the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology ) University in 2009, where he has been working on ion channels in cells and how they can be used as the rapeutic targets. "Ion channels allow cells to communicate and are critical for cell function," he says. For example, if you touch a hotplate with your hand, then in a heartbeat the pain signal is propagated as an electrical signal via ion channels along the nerve cells

to the brain. A return message telling you to pull your hand away travels back again almost instantaneously. Understanding how ion channels work is pivotal for opening opportunities for new drug therapy. It turns out that some of the most useful tools for studying ion channels are found in marine life in Australian waters. The conotoxins found in marine cone snails act on cell communication systems in a very specific way: discovering new ones and understanding how they act on ion channels will not only lead to new tools to study the nervous system but wi ll also underpin future developments of new drugs for the treatment of neurological diseases including pain, anxiety, depression, epilepsy and drug addiction.

"From a cell physiology perspective the conopeptides are very useful becau se they are exquisitely selective for specific ion channels," says professor Adams. "With the help of radioactive labels, they are ab le to be used as probes to identify the types of ion channels expressed in various tissues of the body in health and disease. "[The conotoxins'] other, and, perhaps more interesting, application is in treating chronic pain: they block ion channels in pain pathways without blocking the ability to react to a stimulus." One peptide was approved for use as an analgesic in 2005 by the US Federal Drug Agency (for treatment of severe chronic pain ), and professor Adams and colleagues have discovered others that are likely to follow suit in the near future. "They are used for people who can't tolerate morphine, and have a number of advantages over traditional opiate-style analgesics, because they are not addictive and users don't develop a tolerance to them," he says. "They are relatively safe, and are administered directly into the spinal cord of terminal cancer and AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) patients who

Ion channels allow cells to

TARGETED RELIEF communicate and are critical for Two-thirds of the world's cone cell function ... It turns out that snails are found on the Great Barrier Reef, and there have been a some of the most useful tools for number of fatalities over the years studying ion channels are found in from people pocketing the pretty marine life in Australian waters. shells, una ware of the lethal dart poised to strike just inside. "Of course, their usual prey is fish, mol- can use a small implanted pump to control lu scs and worms, not people," laughs pro- the dose." There are limitations, but Adams fessor Adams. "Because they are such slow says that researchers are currently working moving anima ls they use their venom to on producing intravenous, intra-InuscuJar immobilise prey." But when Adams and his and oral treatment options. chemistry and structural biology colleagues While these toxins are being developed, broke this venom down into its compo- the Health Innovations Research Institute nen t parts, further identifying the lethal is also looking into herbs and treatments fractions, the conotoxins, they found that used in Chinese medicine over thousands of it contains between 100 and 200 unique years. The goal is to understand the specific peptides. compounds in plants that produce analgeThen, using synthetic peptides to avoid sic effects that have been used to treat conhaving to continually collect specimens from ditions such as diabetes. the wild, Adams and his team established Professor Adams is enthusiastic about the that these peptides work by targeting mem- therapeutic potential of the humble cone brane receptors and ion channels in cells. snail. "There are more than 700 species of They found that the snai ls immobilise their cone sn ail, " he says. "If each produces 100prey by blocking ion channels in nerve cells, 200 unique peptides each working on difwhich may lead to paralysis and death in hu- ferent targets, that gives us potentially more mans if the victim is not put on a ventilator. than 100,000 unique peptides to study."

Its remit includes studying diseases that can affect us all - and philanthropic collaborations have helped forward this crucial research, writes Jane Riley. If racehorse trainer Jack H olt (1879-1951) were still alive today he wou ld no doubt be suitably impressed with how much St Vincent's Institute (SVI) has achieved since it was established in 1958 as a result of his generous bequest. The Melbourne-based Institute conducts research into the cause, prevention and treatment of diseases that can affect all Australians, including cancer, leukaemia, heart disease, type 1 diabetes, obesity and type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's and bone diseases. "Philanthropy is important for us," says direcror professor Tom Kay, "because our main source of revenue is competitive peer review research grants, which does not cover the full cost of research." The purchase of equipment, supporting young researchers at different stages of tl1eir careers and new initiatives all require discretionary money. "SVI has always had a reputation for being involved in new technology. For example, researchers in our structural biology group were the first to use the Australian synchrotron to study the 3-dimensional shape of proteins. This area -understanding

the changes in protein structure that cause disease - was pioneered by our first director, Pehr Edman, more than 30 years ago, with his development of the world's first machine for determining the amino acid sequence of proteins. Our ongoing work continues torequire the most state-of-the-art equipment." MYSTERIES OF DISEASE

For 50 years now, scientists at SVI have been working to unravel the mysteries of disease. They have discovered proteins that control the balance between dissolving and renewing bone- an imbalance which can result in arthritis, osteoporosis and bone cancer- and they have pioneered studies into a protein called AMP kinase, which acts as the body's fuel gauge and is a major focus of efforts to combat type 2 diabetes and obesity.

SVT researchers have identified the threedimensional structure of proteins involved in many diseases, from cancer and Alzheimer's to swine flu and other infectious diseases. Many of these achievements would not have been possible without support from the Institute's donors. Being able to employ leading researchers helps keep the Institute at the top of its field and has been crucial to its successful growth. In 2008, SVI recruited Drs Louise Purton and Carl Walkley to head its new Stem Cell Regulation Unit. The husband and wife team have made major discoveries about the origin of some blood diseases, finding that pre-cancerous cells derive not from blood cells as had been thought, but from the bone marrow. Being part of collaboration, the Institute beli eves, is also crucial to their research. "Science is a team game and we're interested in increasing our critical mass through collaboration," says Kay. "We' re laboratorybased biologists and it's important to us to work with other disciplines such as maths, engineering, and statistics as well as hands-on clinicians - people dealing with patients - so we can better understand the problems." He says the establishment of the Aikenhead Centre (being developed) will help them do this by co-locating their researchers with clinicians, clinical researchers and engineers. Without collaboration, their achievements in type 1 diabetes - of which Australia has one of the highest rates -would not have been possible. Nor would Victoria's first successfu l islet transplant in 2007, which resulted in the patient becoming insulin-free for the first time in 25 years. By late 2009, four other patients had also been successfully transplanted. "Quite often people think of clinicians as bridging the gap between research and clinical practice but in this program scientists have played a major part in making the (transplant) program possible." And to bridge the gap between what could happen in the future, and what will, relies on the goodwill of people like Jack Holt.

"We're laboratory-based biologists and it's important to us to work with other disciplines such as maths, engineering, and statistics as well as hands-on clinicians -people dealing with patients -so we can better understand the problems." 275

Medical resear ch and Health

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Ion channels allow cells to

Australia's Nobel Laureates

People po'Wer supports research For a decade Research Australia has been a powerful industry and community leader in promoting investment in Australian health and medical research, writes the CEO Elizabeth Foley. Scientists rounded out 2010's top 10 of the Reader's Digest Australia's Most Trusted Professions. Unsurprisingly, nurses came in at number three (behind ambulance officers and firefighters), doctors at five and pharmacists at six. Since the earliest years, Australia's scientists in health and medical research have had to earn the trust of the community, the confidence of industry, the support of government and the inspiration of philanthropists, in order to receive the necessary funding to do their work. Australia's first Nobel Prize recipient for Physiology or Medicine, Howard Walter Florey in 1945, was the beneficiary of a Rhodes scholarship to study at Ox~ord University in England, and a Fellowship from the philanthropic Rockefeller Foundation to study in the United States. He and his colleagues (and co-recipients of the Nobel Prize) relied upon grants to fund their research into penicillin. Today, the Australian health and medical research sector continues to enjoy extraordinarily high levels of community support, both for their work, and for increased funding to enable them to continue (see table). Born out of the 1999 Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research, led by Peter Wills AC, Research Australia has created an unprecedented alliance of researchers, universities, businesses, community groups and other organisations to provide national leadership as a whole-of-community advocate to build better health through medical research. The Will's Review's vision was, among other things, "to make the most of our enormous potential to be a world leader, and to ensure we established an organisation that could provide a forum to mobilise a community-led outpouring of support that would drive public policy-making and, in turn, inspire and reward government investment in research." In 2011, 10 years on, the Research Australia alliance of university, consumer, research institute, hospitals, corporate and consumer groups is active in policy and opinion leadership, community outreach, school-based programs, linking philanthropic donors with

278

researchers, and extensive national marketing programs. In particular, Research Australia engages with government, the research sector, community and industry across a broad policy agenda that spans health, education, workforce development and innovation. NEW MEDICINES BETTER POLICIES

In 2011, Research Australia celebrates Australia's record of a decade of growth in health research. Today, Australians enjoy new and better treatments for illness and injury, new medicines, new medical devices and services and better public policies to make a very real difference to the health of thousands of Australians and millions of people around the world each day. Beyond the health benefits, growth in research and innovation has generated significant benefits to the Australian economy. Successive economic analyses have found that for every taxpayer dollar invested in Australian health and medical research, at least double is returned to the community through direct and indirect benefits. Looking to the future, Dr Christine Bennett, chair of Research Australia and former chair of the National Health and Hospitals Reform

Commission, notes, "there is more that we don't know than we do know about how to promote good health and how to prevent and treat disease. We can't just be late adopters of the work of others without fundamentally compromising the quality of our health system. That cost holds greater significance for us and our children than can be simply measured in dollar terms." For the Australian people, investment in health and medical research, whether from industry, the community or government, is fundamental to health. Australian researchers have earned their trust. It is Research Australia's task to convey the community's unshakeable support for continued research investment and to ensure that everyone hears this message loud and clear.

"There is more that we don't know than we do know about how to promote good health and how to prevent and treat disease."

Hospitals and the healthcare system are the issues that respondents would most like the Federal Government to focus on in the next few years Improving Australias hospitals and healthcare system

Protecting Australian jobs and industries

Improving education standalds and outcomes

8 21

• Moderately imponant

22 45

• Very important

Building infrastructure to make the Australian economy more productive

43 41

Managing the economy in the interests of working families

Reducing the number of refugees that enter Australia by boat

• Extremely important

Increasing funding for health and medical resea~ch

Reducing the level of Federal Government debt

36 ~

• Not very imponant

30 ~

100

Not imponant at all

Medical research and Health

Healthcare everywhere Sharing medical skills via high definition monitors, high-powered personal computers and fast internet connections is allowing visualisation of surgery and interpretation of data across the globe, writes Kristyn Maslog-Levis. The health sector in Australia is one of the main focuses for Australia's Academic and Research Network (AARNet). In September 2009, for example, AARNet streamed high-definition video footage of two laparoscopic distal gastrectomy surgeries being performed live by a team of doctors in Kyushu University Hospital in Japan and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in Korea to medical practitioners in Japan, Korea, China and Australia. The event highlighted the latest techniques through a live, guided step-by-step demonstration. Audiences, including medical representatives from Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital, could view the operations in real time and ask questions to the medical teams involved via videoconference. "The live demonstration has opened a new era for the medical community throughout Asia Pacific," says Shuji Shimizu, MD, chairman of the Asia Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) Medical Working Group. AARNet's support enables medical professionals to share their skills with a wide audience, ultimately providing patients with prompt and better healthcare." ARRAYS OF SCREENS

In 2008, AARNet rolled out OptiPortalsarrays of up to 25 screens running standard definition video at 30 megabits per second (Mbps) and high definition at up to 100 Mbps per screen. The University of Melbourne's OptiPortal, dubbed the OziPortal, encompassed a wall of 24 ultra high definition monitors and 13 high powered PCs (personal computers) connected to a similar wall at the University of California San Diego via a one gigabit per second internet link supplied by AARNet - allowing conversations and sharing of data in real time. The software that powers the OziPortal is

capable of magnifying images to a large size and still keep high clarity. Researchers across the globe will also be able to share unique instruments, such as magnetic resonance imaging devices, synchrotrons, supercomputers, square kilometre radio telescope arrays, and collaborate to interpret, on-the-spot, and complex data. "OptiPortal technology opens up many opportunities for collaboration across Australia and the rest of the world. Currently around eight Australian universities are using OptiPortal technology and we expect that figure to grow as this technology becomes more widely used. The OptiPortal is not just about high definition - it's about visualisation ensuring that researchers and students can interrelate like they never have before," says Chris Hancock, chief executive officer of AARNet. "In the not-too-distant future it won't be so unusual for doctors to take pulse and blood pressure from a room several kilometres away through video collaboration or for sick children to participate in classroom activities while still in bed. The OptiPortal has the potential to revolutionise the way in which members of the global community communicate, conduct research and carry out media treatments and consultations. Increased bandwidth for Australia is important and these concepts could become reality for every home once the National Broadband Network has been rolled out. During the next decade we will see the equivalent of the OptiPortal in the home - the walls of some of the rooms of our homes will be giant video screens enabling contact with anyone, anywhere at any time." INTERACTING NETWORKS

AARNet's e-Health initiative is a response to the increasing demand for interaction be-

tween the company's network and networks operated by various public and private

health jurisdictions across Australia. However, negotiating connectivity between AARNet and various health networks is problematic across all states and health jurisdictions. The establishment of new connections between AARNet members and health institutions are treated as new special arrangements involving complex timeconsuming negotiations with firewall policies that often result in less than satisfactory outcomes for AARNet members. Despite the challenges, successes at smoothing the problems of access to health campuses include: • the system-wide medical student access provided by the Hunter-New England Health Region in New South Wales; • the positive and active discussions between the Victorian Health Department and the Parkville Health Clinic, Research and Education precinct organising body in Melbourne; and • the release of Eduroam on the Mater Hospital precinct in Queensland as the first stage of a wider deployment across the state health jurisdiction. Eduroam is a locationindependent wireless network, allowing mobility between participants' wireless infrastructure with user authentication and enforcement of local security policy. AARNet is talking with the national health committee on network issues facing

the sectors. The company has also been active in promoting the pilot network known as the Australian Health Innovation and Training Network, which uses the Danish health system's connection agreement software to provide audited access to an AARNet hosted health innovation and training network accessible from health campuses across the country. "AARNet is committed to enabling research and collaboration opportunities within the Australian health sector and has dedicated development resources to the important area of health research infrastructure," Hancock says.

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Fear not Working with children on their anxiety disorders can benefit their emotional health for life- and society as a whole, writes Jane Riley. Professor Ron R a pee, director of The Centre for Emotional Health (CEH ) a t Macquarie University, estimates that more than 250,000 Australian children have an anxiety or depressive disorder. It is this statistic that the Centre and its team of researchers and clinicians aims to reduce with their world-leading innova ri ve treatment programs and studies. Fo unded by Rapee in 1993, the Centre is now one of th e few maj or specia list anxiety centres in Au stralia and the o nl y one that looks ar the issue at every age and stage from pregnant mothers to yo ung children, adolescents and the elderly. "Taking a broad life span perspective is important as anxiety is often an ongoing issue throughout a person 's life," says Rapee. The Centre's aims of fa ~ilita ting cuttingedge research into the understanding, treatment and prevention of anxiery, depression a nd other emotional disorders has led to the development of specia lised and successful treatment programs targeting different age groups that are being used not only around the cOLmtry but around the world.

The Centre is the first in the world to have developed a program for children who have both anxiety and Asperger's as well as an outreach program for children aged 7-12 which complements the Cool Teens program. Children can work through an active CD-ROM on their own and ha ve conversations with a therapist via phone or email. As well as developing trea tments, the Centre is renowned for its longitudinal investigations into the development of emotional disorders, randomised control trials of psy-

LIFELONG SKILLS

Cool Kids is on e such program rhat helps treat children and adolescents and teaches practical skills to both the children and parems. It is a cognitive behavioural treatmenr program that takes a step-by-step approach to reducing children's anxiety. "We focus very heavil y on including the family and teaching skills they are to keep using throughout their lives," explains Rapee. " Sixty to 70 per cent of the children (who do this program) are free of their a nx iety at the end of the ( 12-week ) treatment and for at least a year after. We've also got a sma ll study tha t's been running for eight yea rs where they're still m ostly free of their anxiety."

.. . emotionally healthy children are more likely to become emotionally healthy adults. 280

chological treatments and studying the links between emotional and physical problems. REASONS FOR ANXIETY

d eveloping anxiety, from maternal anxiety to the level of shyness. From this, they have begun a treatment stud y which aims to change the reasons why a child at age four may be anxious. "My research helps children avoid acquiring a nxiety disorders as well as developing new treatments and enhancing others for those who a lready ha ve anxiety problems," says Hudson. Perhaps some of her most significant work, in collaboration with a group of behavioural geneticists at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, has been the discovery of a specific genetic marker that predicts whether or not children will do well in trea tment or not. " Th is is the first real evidence of a gene that predicts a response to psychological therapy. It is likely that this gene marker represents en~ vironmental flexibility- that yo u're ~ more responsive to yo ur envuonli' ment which can be both negative a nd positive." For those w ho have the marker, they may be more likely to develop anxiety or depression from experiencing negative life events but will respond well to psychological treatment. For those who do not, we need to develop and evaluate en ha nced treatments as these children are not doing as well in our current treatments. For those who do not, it might, says Hudson, have a significant impact on how they are treated and whether children und ergo genetic testing first before trea tment begins.

"It is likely that this gene

marker represents environmental flexibility- that you're more responsive to your environment which can be both negative and positive."

Associate professor Jennifer Hudson, whose research area looks at why a child might develop an anxiety disorder, is one such research fellow w ho has several studies underway. One, a longitudinal study, has tracked two groups of children since they were four (they are now turning 12). There is a shy group who are at a higher risk of developing anxiety and a group that is not shy. This has revealed a number of factors that might place a child at greater risk of

Achieving such breakthroughs in the understanding and treatment of emotional disorders has - and will continue to ha ve a significant impact on not onl y the lives of those affected but society as a whole. For emotionally healthy children are more likely to beco me emotionally healthy adults.

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There is alWayS·· ~n easy solution to every human problem neat, plausible and wrong"

H.LMENCKEN

Australia's Nobel Laureates

LIFELONG SKILLS

.. . emotionally healthy children are more likely to become emotionally healthy adults. 280

chological treatments and studying the links between emotional and physical problems. REASONS FOR ANXIETY

"It is likely that this gene

marker represents environmental flexibility- that you're more responsive to your environment which can be both negative and positive."

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-·

There is alWayS·· ~n easy solution to every human problem neat, plausible and wrong"

H.LMENCKEN

Medical research and Health

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Content-rich life saver

A new online portal, Vaxiplace sponsored

by Sanofi Pasteur, allows health practitioners to keep up to date with news and views on vaccinations and immunisation, writes Rael Martell. In 1797 Edward Jenner, the son of a G loucestershire vicar in the UK, submitted a paper to the Ro yal Society descri bing an experiment he conducted the previous yea r in w hich he inoculated a young boy wi th cowpox. He was interested in investigatin g the phenomenon that milkmaids wh o had been infected with cowpox did not generally la ter contract the dea dl y disease sma llpox. Eight- year-old James Phipps subsequently became immune to smallpox but late 18th centur y scep tics demanded more proof from Jenner. Two years later, after experim enting on other children including his son, the results of Jenner's work were pu blished and the general practitioner, surgeon and medical researcher coined the word vaccine from the Latin root vacca for cow. More than 200 yea rs since, Jenner is sometimes referred to as the father of immLmology and hi s discoveries have been credited with having saved more lives than any other medical intervention. Vaccination has led to a decline in infectious diseases such as typhoid, measles, mumps, rubella and polio, In 1979, the World H ealth Organization (WHO) declared that smallpox had been erad icated du e to robust vaccination campaigns.

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Th e WHO describes vacci nation as " one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interve ntions ever" and esti mates that "between two a nd three million deaths are averted through immunization each year". In its Global Immunization Vision and Strategy 2006-15, the WHO says: " Immunization has lowered the globa l incidence of polio so far by 99 per cent and achieved dramatic reductions in illness, disability and death from diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and measles. Immunization will help to achieve the millennium development goa ls on reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating diseases eventua lly including malaria and HIV/AIDS." H owever, there is much more tha t needs to be done given that in some regions immunisation coverage has increased only marginally since the early 1990s, says the WHO. "There are stil l millions of people w ho do not benefit from the protectio n that vaccination provides. They are at risk of li fethreatening illness every day. An estimated 27 million infants and 40 million pregnant women were not immunised in 2003. Approximately 2.5 million children under five yea rs of age die every year as a result of dis-

eases that can be prevented by vaccination using currently avai lab le or new vaccines," warns the WHO. And, more than two centuries after Jenner's discovery, the brave new world of digital and information technology presents its own challenges in terms of access to information about vaccines and immunology. Keeping up to date abo ut the latest news, developments and protocols regarding vaccines within Austra li a and globall y is a priority but not always easy for busy general practitioners (CPs) and other healthcare professionals. Australia's GPs, for example, often operate in isolation without the reg ular dail y meetings or access to the academic forums more readily available to other medical colleagues. T hey do nor have, in all aspects of the ir working li ves, the privilege of immediate access to information, whether about heart failure, the latest a lgo rithms for a particular disease process or vaccines. ONLINE COMMUNITY To help health practitioners, a new online portal, Vaxiplace, has been launched , sponsored by Sanofi Pasteur but w it hout any promotion of, or product branding by ,the company. It provides a comprehensive range of resources and an online, interactive

community forum for health practitioners who need to keep up to date on vaccination news in Australia and across the globe, and have access to travel informa tion. Crucially, it also provides a forum for them to discuss vaccin ation is sues with colleagues, seek and provide advice, alert others to vaccine developments and news, and share professional experiences. A Test Your Knowledge section gives users an insight into their vaccination expertise and provides the site's operators wi th information on its value as an ed ucational tool. Health Minister N icola Roxon has drawn attention to Vaxiplace, describing it as an example of inn ovation. "The website encourages Australian healthcare professionals to engage in online discussion about immunisation issues as well as related information on epidemics, clinical data, vaccines and practice tools," Sanofi Pasteur says. "Vaxiplace is not for use by the general public, but rather, provides an exclusive forum among GPs who want to share information to assist clinical practice and discuss topical issues in real time. " A My News section includes vaccinerelated and general hea lth news from home and abroad, whether it is poliomyelitis in Pakistan, breast cancer in men, controversy

over weight reduction capsules or the benefits of vitami n D supplements for elderl y people: a ll contemporary issues that the site bas reported on . Dr Damian Flanagan is an independent Melbourne-based GP and medical ed ucator who has worked on educational projects for the Royal Australian College of Genera l Practitioners. H e is responsible for the content creation and management of Vaxip lace, as well as writing and commission ing articles and chasing Âˇup queries posed by the site's users. "If I can't answer a question I will try and find an appropriate person w ho ca n, " he says . TRAVEL ADVICE Vaxiplace, which is updated daily, includes an interactive world map, described by Dr Flanagan as "one of the most dynamic aspects of the site". By rolling the mouse over the map a nd choosing a country a portal user, at the click of a button, is able to access a page with information about recommended vacc ines and a link to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's website, Smarttraveller. This contains the most up-to-date adv ice for travellers, including the latest information on safety and security, loca l

laws, where to seek help and, of course, health issues. Another click takes the user to the content-rich Sanofi Pasteur travel portal, which contains details about a country's hea lthcare standards, outpatient care, availability of medication, emergency response services, payment of healthcare and recommended vaccinations. The information is regularly updated and is user friendly. Within seconds of looking up information on travel in Indonesia, for instance, one is able to discover that, in addition to hepatitis A and hepatitis B, the vaccine for Japanese encephalitis shou ld be considered if visiting the country's rural areas; rabies should be considered for some travellers; a typhoid vaccine is recommended; and travellers should discuss a yell ow fever vaccination with their healthcare practitioner. Weekly disease a lerts for individual co untr ies a re also available on the interactive map. Just as an example, in one week during April 2011 Vaxiplace provided details of a measles outbreak in ma inla nd Europe; a dengue fever epidemic in the Maldives; the ongoing cholera crisis in Haiti; an increase in the incidence of malaria in Zimbabwe; and, closer to home, melioidosis infections in the Northern Territory.

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Content-rich life saver

A new online portal, Vaxiplace sponsored

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... for busy health professionals every means of obtaining information and communicating with each other and with patients at the touch of a button is increasingly welcome.

the pipeline, practice nurses will be directed towards content tha t is of interest to them although they will still be able to access the GP-focused element of Vaxiplace." For GPs wanting to make things easier for their patients there is more good news. Extensive travel information will be immediately available for GPs to print out and distribute to patients if they have used the site during a consultation.

Dr Flanagan is responsible for ensuring that articles on the site have a focus that is pertinent for GPs. He emphasises that he has a free hand to put articles up which he believes are relevant. He says, "the interactive world map is rhe drawcard of the site. It enables GPs to get quick information for a particular country. It also includes very specific information about influenza around the world. This is a powerful tool for a GP who has a patient sitting next to them in a consultation. The up-to-date rolling information on this website is also valuable for anyone involved in travel medicine. "Vaxiplace relies on user-generated content and provides the first-of-its-kind connection among healthcare professionals whose insight and practical experience contribute to the richness of the content."

WHOOPING COUGH INFORMATION

In addition to Vaxiplace, Sanoti Pasteur has launched a site for consumers which contains information on whooping cough, for which immunisation is considered the best prevention.

OTHER VACCINES

However, travel information is just one aspect of the knowledge and resource focus of the Vaxiplace site. There are also subsections on: • paediatric vaccines;

• pneumococcal disease; • dengue fever; • influenza;

• pertussis (otherwise known as whooping cough); • world and Australian health topics; • immunisation schedules;

• product information; • an up-to-date travel news summary; and • information about consultations prior to travel. The site is not reticent about acknowledging and including news and opinion from sources that are willing to ask questions about healthcare professionals' practice. Genuine objectivity and a willingness to provide space for critical opinion gives the site added credibility. Vaxiplace includes a report from Australian consumer body CHOICE warning of GPs providing travel vaccines unnecessarily, along with a critical response to the report from the Australian Medical Association. The Vaxiplace portal has a sense of personal engagement with its users which is often absent on websites that operate strictly as information providers. For example, Dr Flanagan calls a series of five papers,

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collectively entitled A New Decade of Vaccines and appearing in prestigious medical journal The Lancet, a "must read" for Vaxiplace subscribers. Opinion, controversy and entertainment,

albeit of a serious nature, are also evident in Vaxiplace with links to articles such as The health risk of junk science, which appeared in The Australian. The opinion piece looks at how anxiety over debunked research suggesting a link between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism resulted in children not receiving the MMR vaccine. Another link takes the reader to science journal Nature containing a social scientist's analysis of what makes a vaccine scare take hold. In a digital world in which online competition sometimes turns ugly, Vaxiplace is keen to actively promote other sites with an interest in vaccination issues. It, for example, draws specific attention to Th e History of Vaccines website launched by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. FINGER ON THE PULSE

Vaxiplace has a clear sense of news values. General news from both aro und the world and within Australia is scrutinised for specifics of interest to an audience wanting in-

formation about vaccines and contemporary world health issues. A WHO podcast on the floods in Pakistan that is published on Vaxiplace provides a harrowing but fascinating insight into the health consequences of the Pakistan floods on the country's population. Viruses that rarely threaten humans are not neglected. The World Health Topics section discusses the Herpes B virus, which is endemic in Macaque monkey populations that exist in Asia, India and Northern Africa. Literature describes just 50 cases that have been reported in humans with 80 per cent mortality but the threat gets the attention it deserves on the website. For doctors and pharmacists seeking to provide exhaustive information to patients on their medication and vaccines, the product information section is indispensable. Consumer medicine information all appears with the caveat that it does not replace the advice and expertise that can be provided by a doctor or pharmacist. The means of delivery of vaccines and the composition of the vaccines is also included. National and state-by-state immunisation schedules let health practitioners know when patients should be receiving their vaccinations. Detailed information is provided when vaccine delivery is gender-specific

and, where necessary, where the immunisation schedules vary for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Award-winning journalist and ABC broadcaster, Dr Norman Swan, joined Dr Flanagan in a webcast in which they discussed Vaxiplace and the role of digital and other technologies in healthcare provision. "We need to be judged on whether we are providing the highest quality and the safest care to the patient at the best possi ble cost to the system," said Dr Swan. He suggested that digital media could have a role in boosting patient care in Australian locations that lie outside urban environments. "We need to be judged on whether we are providing t he best care not only to locations such as North Adelaide but outer metropolitan areas and rural communities."

" Doctors can't simply ignore the new media ," says Flanagan. "We have to find ways to embrace the digital age without compromising patient health, or the viability of our practices." He emphasises that while the site is targeted at GPs, others, such as practice nurses and vaccine project workers, would also find Vaxiplace useful and there are plans to provide content that will be of more specific interest to practice nurses. "Under plans in

be prevented through the active im munisation of children and adults. A Sanoti Pasteur spokeswoman says: "There is now an epidemic of whooping cough (in Australia), which has resulted in state-based adult immunisation programs. Therefore, as each state has differing eligible groups, immunisation providers and program dates, this can be very confusing for new parents."

The spokeswoman points out that the site for consumers offers information tailored by state, such as recent whooping cough notifications, details on free adult whooping cough programs and articles from the local press. Like Vaxiplace, rhe site includes an interactive quiz allowing consumers to test their knowledge, backed by easy-to-understand information on how whooping cough is spread, its treatment and its prevention. Speaking in relation to whooping cough, Health and Ageing Minister Nicola Roxon reminded parents in February 2011 to protect their children with vaccinations. "Parents of new babies should ask their GP about a whooping cough vaccination themselves to prevent passing on infection to their unprotected baby. Fathers can be immunised before the baby's birth, while mothers should be immunised soon after the baby is born.

It allows consumers to reflect on vaccination issues and make informed decisions regarding vaccinating adults to help protect vulnerable babies. It also gives them the opportunity to share and discuss the issues involved with their friends and family, in addition to their practice nurse and GP. The WHO describes whooping cough as "an important cause of infant death worldwide, which continues to be a public health concern". The organisation estimates that in 2008 about 16 million cases of the disease occurred worldwide, 95 per cent of which were in developing countries, and that 195,000 children died as a result. Closer to home, an epidemic of whooping cough in 2011 took hold "It enables GPs to get quick in Australia hitting New South Wales information for a particular (NSW) particularly hard. The number country.. ,. The up-to-date rolling of notifications of cases of the disease received from state and territory health auinformation on this website thorities in the month March 1 to March is also valuable for anyone 31 in NSW in 2011 was 1010, a quick involved in travel medicine." look at the interactive map reveals. An educational video broadcast on whoopingcough.com.au shows in moving "Vaccinations should also be considered detail how Toni and David McCaffery, an for siblings, parents and close fa mily memAustralian couple who lost their four-weekbers and their immunisation should be up old daughter to whooping cough, were left to date before a new baby arrives. devastated. "It has been a journey of shock "The Australian Government is working about what this disease can do. Whooping with states and territories to promote the cough seems to have come out of nowhere. uptake of vaccines." The most heartbreaking thing for us is Since the debunked research linking the that it is preventable and we never got the MMR vaccine and autism captured the chance to protect her," says Toni. popular imagination there has never been a "For us, being in that intensive care room

more important time for accurate vaccina-

seeing medical staff trying desperately to save our child but knowing that there was not very much they could do, that's when we started thinking why don't people know that this is what something called whooping cough can do? Why don't people know how vaccination works? Why don't adults know they need a booster?" The McCafferys have since gone on to learn all about the disease and how it can

tion information to be available in a timely fashion for the Australian population. With the government keen to alert patients of the need to vaccinate, it has found a key ally in the kind of high-tech information provider epitomised by Vaxiplace. And for busy health professionals every means of obtaining information and communicating with each other and with patients at the touch of a button is increasingly welcome.

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... for busy health professionals every means of obtaining information and communicating with each other and with patients at the touch of a button is increasingly welcome.

WHOOPING COUGH INFORMATION

In addition to Vaxiplace, Sanoti Pasteur has launched a site for consumers which contains information on whooping cough, for which immunisation is considered the best prevention.

OTHER VACCINES

However, travel information is just one aspect of the knowledge and resource focus of the Vaxiplace site. There are also subsections on: • paediatric vaccines;

• pneumococcal disease; • dengue fever; • influenza;

• pertussis (otherwise known as whooping cough); • world and Australian health topics; • immunisation schedules;

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collectively entitled A New Decade of Vaccines and appearing in prestigious medical journal The Lancet, a "must read" for Vaxiplace subscribers. Opinion, controversy and entertainment,

Vaxiplace has a clear sense of news values. General news from both aro und the world and within Australia is scrutinised for specifics of interest to an audience wanting in-

more important time for accurate vaccina-

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At the ready Improving communication between hospitals, paramedics and patients is Ambulance Victoria's way of better meeting the needs of emergency services, writes Susanna Nelson. With increased community expectation, natural disasters, an ageing population, traffic congestion and the challenge of distance combining to stretch the capacity of its emergency services, Ambulance Victoria (AV) has broadened the measures of success for ambulance services. Instead of simply the time taken to arrive at the patient, it considers a better and more complete measure of success to be how well patients are treated by paramedics and their subsequent discharge from hospital in good health. MOVING FLEET

Ambulance Victoria uses live information about ambulances approaching emergency departments' availability and then using its own data, can move its fleet around to ensure paramedics are placed ready to respond. It has developed the first clinical information system in the world, now used by ambulance services in Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and Victoria. The Victorian Ambulance Clinical Information System (VACIS) provides information that enables live data mapping that matches up paramedic qualifications with a patient's treatment and its success, and enables further research by ambulance and specialist hospitals. "We have a minute-tominute, live operating environment which is based around the patient's outcome and operational effectiveness," says chief executive officer, Greg Sassella. When people call 000 in Victoria the service prioritises the case using an over-thephone triaging application. This call referral system directs low priority cases, once identified, to more appropriate locum services that can attend the patient's home, freeing up ambulances for more critical cases. "We've been able to use an alternate service other than an ambulance response for 8 per cent of our cases, which means more ambulances are available for urgent cases. These patients receive more specific care in their home, which is better for them as well. The

same information has been used to reduce the lights-and-sirens responses from about 75 per cent to about 50 per cent, so we're more efficient," Sassella says. "This is reflected in significant improvements to our patients' clinical outcomes despite the challenges in meeting response time targets." TIMELY HOSPITAL DATA

Strong relationships with hospitals contribute towards Ambulance Victoria's improved information technology. Its Victorian Cardiac Arrest Register (VACAR), developed from ambulance and hospital data, enables the service to obtain comprehensive patient information and has informed improvements to the patient care approach, leading to increased survival rates. "In the 1990s we were getting around 5 per cent of people who were clinically deceased to the hospital alive and about 3 per cent survived," says Sassella. "And even those figures were rubbery because nobody collected the information accurately. Today, we're getting 60 per cent of those people to the hospital alive and 32 per cent are discharged." Ambulance Victoria has applied this principle to trauma patients. "We are running a trial at the Alfred Hospital Trauma Centre with patients who suffer severe traumatic brain injury," says Sassella. "We have changed our paramedic medical treatments for this type of patient and improved their medical recovery to non-supported living by 13 per cent compared to those who do not receive this paramedic intervention. This means that about 50 more people have gone home to non-supported living. Previously they would have gone into supported living at a high insurance cost for the Traffic Accident Commission in Victoria." REMOTE ACCESS

Equity of access to major specialty centres for those living in regional or remote areas is a guiding principle for Ambulance Victoria. In addition to the recruitment of 350 extra paramedics dedicated to these areas,

helicopters and fixed wing aircraft can be rapidly deployed. Smart use of IT systems enables the service to assess patient acuity, flight times, access to airports and, in coni unction with a medical retrieval system, monitor intensive care beds in the metropolitan region for availability. "Our medical retrieval system is such that if someone is in a very remote area we know we can dispatch an aeroplane quickly, and we know which hospital to bring them back to in Melbourne, because we're monitoring beds and we can access them quickly," says Sassella. "In the case of car accidents, helicopters placed around Victoria can land at the scene quickly and fly direct to the major centre in Melbourne while providing care from the scene to the hospital."

'Increased survival rates mean productive lives." Ambulance Victoria was reviewed as part of the Bushfire Royal Commission into the recent bushfires and passed scrutiny. Sassella attributes this to efficient real-time systems. "We have developed an emergency management unit - our software allows us to map every decision that is made against every piece of information about the emergency or disaster as it unfolds and have it recorded for audit and further learning. "We're determined to demonstrate our value to the Victorian Government and our community. Increased survival rates mean productive lives. This, combined with the associated reduction in insurance costs for both health and trauma insurers, tells us that Ambulance Victoria is providing great value to the community we serve."

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Overcoming disease In the lead up to its centenary in 2015, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute is continuing to make discoveries to prevent disease and mitigate suffering, writes Liz Williams. is still much to understand about how stem cells are controlled and maintained, and the properties and signals that allow them to develop into any cell type in the body. Hilton says the Institute's stem cell research program is extending understanding of how blood stem cells develop from birth, and exploring ways of efficiently reprogramming more mature cells to revert back to blood stem cells. "Blood stem cells represent one of only a few examples of the successful use of stem cells in medicine to regenerate tissue," Hilton says. "However, their low numbers limit more extensive use. We hope this research program will redress this problem." Stem cell biology also forms a large part of the Institute's breast cancer program. Its researchers have made headway in understanding the cells at the root of breast cancers. Their discovery that stem cell daughters, called luminal "Stem cells are often lauded for progenitor cells, are the likely their potential use in treating culprit was a great advance in the understanding of breast human disease. However, there is cancer. still much to understand about "The inventive approach how stem cells are controlled and professors Jane Visvader and Geoff Lindeman have taken maintained, and the properties and in identifying the cells at the signals that allow them to develop origin of breast cancers has into any cell type in the body." helped to take a giant step in our understanding of breast "There have been discoveries like that cancer and unravelled the link between susevery five or 10 years that I think have rained exposure to female hormones and meant a lot to the health and wellbeing of increased breast cancer risk," Hilton says. all humanity, and will continue to make a The lessons learnt from studying stem and difference in the lives of my children and progenitor cells in breast tissue will now be my grandchildren," he says. extended to ovarian and lung cancer. The Institute today is home to more than 800 scientists, students and support staff UNDERSTANDING IMMUNITY who are working to understand, prevent Immunology has been a major focus at and treat diseases, including blood and the Institute for more than 60 years, since breast cancers; chronic im1nune disorders, Nobel Laureate and former Institute direcsuch as rheumatoid arthritis, coeliac disease tor, Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, began an and type 1 diabetes; and infectious diseases, immunology research program that culmisuch as malaria and HIV. nated in a score of major discoveries about the immune system. STEM CELLS AND CANCER In 2011, the Institute celebrated the 50th Stem cells are often lauded for their potential anniversary of the discovery of the function use in treating human disease. However, there of the thymus by professor Jacques Miller. From its earliest beginnings, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute's scientists have made discoveries that will bring lasting benefits to humankind. The Institute's director, professor Doug Hilton, says one of the features that sets the Institute apart is a series of major discoveries that have made a tangible difference to human health. "Snakebite anti-venoms were discovered here in the 1920s and are still used, nearly 100 years later," he says. "The capacity to grow influenza in eggs and protect a community against the flu by generating vaccines every year was discovered here in the 1940s. In the 1960s, professor Don Metcalf discovered colony stimu lating factors (CSFs), which are used today to boost the immune system during chemotherapy and have benefited more than 10 million cancer patients.

Professor Miller discovered that the thymus, an organ that sits between the heart and rib cage, was critical for the development and function of the immune system. The discovery revolutionised understanding of the immune system, infection and disease, and led Miller to make several other key discoveries while at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, including identifying two critical components of the immune system T cells and B cells. Since then, researchers have continued to make inroads into understanding the function of the immune system, including autoimmune diseases in which the body's T cells attack its own tissues. The word autoimmune was coined at the Institute by professor Ian Mackay, who first proposed the idea that the immune system might react against its own tissues to cause disease. Institute researchers continue to work in the field, in the hope of developing new, more targeted treatments for these devastating diseases. One example is Dr Bob Anderson, who identified the three protein fragments that make gluten toxic to people with coeliac disease. Up to 1 per cent of the global population is affected by coeliac disease, in which immune cells react to gluten and trigger an immune response that damages the lining of the small intestine and inhibits its ability to absorb nutrients from food. Discovery of these three toxic proteins has paved the way for the world's first potential vaccine for coeliac disease, Nexvax2ÂŽ, which completed phase I clinical trials in 2011. Researchers at the Institute are also continuing to build on the discovery spearheaded by professor Don Metcalf in the 1960s, in which he identified blood hormones called colony stimulating factors. Now, professor Ian Wicks is examining the role of CSFs in rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease. "Understanding how CSFs can be manipulated to treat chronic autoimmune diseases is an exciting field which is already leading to new agents entering clinical trials, " he says.

ELIMINATING INFECTION

The Institute devotes a significant amount of effort to helping understand and combat diseases that affect the developing world, such as malaria and HIV. Professor Aian Cowman has had a major impact on infectious disease research into malaria , having spent the past 30 years studying the malaria parasite. His research has revealed extensive detail about how the malaria parasite invades and remodels human red blood cells to multiply and establish infection while escaping the immune responses deployed against it. Collectively, this knowledge is being used to identify vaccine and drug candidates against malaria, including the first potential malaria vaccine that uses a whole, genetically modified, malaria parasite to protect against infection, cnrrenrly in phase I clinical trials in the United States. Institute researchers are also working to understand how viruses such as HIV and hepatitis B and C can overwhelm the immune system, leading to the establishment of chronic infections that are lifelong and incurable. Dr Marc Pellegrini has shown that mice with an HIV-Iike virus infection can successfully clear the virus by boosting the function of cells vital to the immune response. The finding could lead to a cure for chronic viral infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, and bacterial infections such as tuberculosis, which are significant economic and global health burdens. Liz Williams is Communications Officer at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.

The apoptosome

(pictured) is a protein structure formed in the process of programmed

cell death (apoptosis)

KILLING CANCER

In 1988, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute PhD student David Vaux discovered that a gene called Bcl-2 stopped cancer cells from dying. The decades since have brought greater understanding of the programmed cell death mechanism that exists in all mammalian cells and can lead to the development of cancer, as well as the role of the Bcl-2 protein family in resistance to cancer treatment. Many of these discoveries were made at the Institute, and today a large, multidisciplinary team of scientists has explained much about how Bcl-2 and related molecules function to determine if a cell lives or dies. These discoveries have contributed to the development of a new class of drugs called BH3-mimetics that kill, and thereby rapidly remove, leukaemic cells by blocking Bcl-2. One such BH3-mimetic, navitoclax, is now in phase II clinical trials for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, and also in phase I clinical trials for other malignancies, including solid tumours such as lung cancer. The Institute's medicinal chemists have also, through an in house drug discovery program and in collaboration with healthcare companies Abbott and Genentech, identified a clinical candidate compound, ABT-199, which commenced phase I clinical trials in 2011.

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Medical research and Health

ELIMINATING INFECTION

The apoptosome

(pictured) is a protein structure formed in the process of programmed

cell death (apoptosis)

KILLING CANCER

Australia's Nobel Laureates

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~edicalresearch

Now you see it

comes alive A new institute, under construction, will allow the discovery, evaluation, clinical testing and manufacturing of biopharmaceutical products all in the same place, writes Rael Martell. For the University of Queensland's (UQ)professor Ian Frazer, the commencement of the construction of the $354 million Translational Research Institute (TRI) in Brisbane represents the fulfillment of a 25-year-old dream. The 2006 Australian of the Year was the director of the University of Queensland Diamantina Institute until April2011, one of four research partners collaborating on the TRI project, the others being Queensland University of Technology, Mater Medical Research Institute and the Princess Alexandra Hospital. A fellow of the Royal Society of London, he is also internationally known as coinventor of the technology for the world's first cervical cancer vaccine - sold globally under the brand names Gardasil and Cervarix. "Cervical cancer remains the secondmost common cancer in women globally and causes approximately 275,000 deaths worldwide each year," says professor Frazer. Now the TRI will augment the role of Queensland-based scientists in the delivery of biopharmaceutical manufacturing. "Critically, and uniquely within the Southern Hemisphere, the TRI will include the necessary facilities to manufacture and to evaluate the clinical benefit of the products of our medical research," professor Frazer says. With the capacity to eventually accommodate more than 700 researchers, the TRI is not only an Australian first but, when completed, will be one of the few places in the world where new biopharmaceuticals and treatments will be able to be discovered, produced, clinically tested and manufactured in one location. The TRI will also assist Australian medical scientists to retain greater control of breakthrough drugs such as professor Frazer's cervical cancer vaccine, instead of obliging them to sign away the global pharmaceutical rights in the early stages of the developmental process. TRI chairman Dr David Watson explains: "Until now, funding and facilities to commercialise medical treatments have largely been sourced

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from overseas, resulting in other countries benefiting economically from Australia's pioneering research and development, with professor Frazer's cervical cancer vaccine being a prime example." Professor Frazer describes two other components of the TRI that will be critical to researchers' work. "The first is the latest and best in research technology - the wherewithal, if you like, to explore more deeply into the science of health and disease. "The second is an environment that encourages team effort across disciplines. This will not merely allow, but will positively encourage, a focus on applying basic knowledge to achieve the practical outcomes of disease prevention and control." TRI funding partners include the Australian Government, the Queensland Goverrunent, The Atlantic . Philanthropies, Queensland University of Technology and UQ. The UQ Diamantina Institute has already forged ahead with vital research that could help to prevent cervical cancer in developing countries -this time in a study working alongside the Vanuatu Ministry of Health. VACCINE OF PROMISE

a viable screening alternative in developing countries by many global health experts. In the study of 1,000 apparently healthy women in Vanuatu aged between 30 and 50, professor Frazer and colleague, Dr Margaret McAdam, used standard methods to assess cervical cancer risk and an HPV test. Th ey concluded that for women aged over 30, a single locally conducted test for the human papilloma virus in combination with appropriate treatment for women with a positive test, could effectively reduce cervical cancer rates in developing countries. T he work of the UQ Diamantina Institute, and the TRI project, offers a glimpse of some of the groundbreaking work taking place in biosciences at UQ. Cutting-edge research is also under way at UQ's Queensland Brain Institute, the Institute for Molecular Biosciences, the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and the UQ Centre for Clinical Research. With the creation of the Centre for Advanced Imaging in 2010, a comprehensive bench-tobed biomedical imaging capability has been established that allows integrated progression from the laboratory bench, through animal models, to clinical applications. Professor Max Lu, deputy vice chancellor (Research), says: "UQ has built over the past decade a reputation for globa l excellence and significant capacity in biomedical sciences with several world-leading institutes and centres. UQ's reputation in the field of biomedical and related research is evidenced by our global rankings. "In 2011, The University of Queensland ranked in the top 74 institutions in the world for its biological and biomedical research. It was ranked as the number-one international academic institution outside the US in The Scientist magazine's annual Best Places to Work in Academia 2010 survey."

Nearly all cervical cancer is caused by persistent infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV) causing abnormal growth in the cells lining the cervix. In the developed world regular, large-scale Pap test screening detects disease progression but for developing or resource poor With the creation of the Centre countries, such programs are uufeasible. for Advanced Imaging in 2010, While the development a comprehensive bench-to-bed of the HPV vaccine shows biomedical imaging capability great promise in controlling cervical cancer, developing has been established that allows countries have little or no acintegrated progression from the cess to the vaccine, explains laboratory bench, through animal professor Frazer. However, HPV testing has been cited as models, to clinical applications.

A tribute to its inspiration, eye surgeon Fred Hollows, this independent international development organisation treats eye conditions in indigenous Australians -and beyond, writes Kristyn Maslog-Levis. Samuel loves the sound of his mother cent. For instance, between 2005 and 2010, singing to him. Her songs are important the Foundation increased the number of eye because this little boy was born blind. But operations we made possible from 56,508 to Samuel's blindness is treatable. 194,303 - thanks to the generous support Thanks to its supporters, the Fred Holof the Au stralian public and the Australian lows Foundation can treat conditions such Government," says Brian Doolan, Fred Holas cataracts in children like Samuel, born in lows Foundation chief executive officer. developing countries such as Rwanda. This commitment to international development is the very ground that the Fred Hollows Foundation stands on. The Foundation has a vision for "a world where no-one is needlessly blind, and indigenous Australians enjoy the same health and life expectancy as other Australians". The Foundation is an independent international development organisation inspired by the work of the late professor Fred Hollows -- an internationally renowned eye surgeon and social justice activist who championed the right of all people to high quality and affordable eye care and good health. The Foundation was established 111 Sydney, September 3 1992, five months before Hollows passed away, with the aim to continue his work. Hollows was committed to improving the health of indig- "An important role for us is enous Australians and reducing to convince governments and the cost of eye healthcare and treatment in developing countries. multilateral bodies that this great Before he died , he had already health challenge - avoidable started project work in Eritrea, Vi blindness - can be beaten just etnam and indigenous Australia.

like polio and smallpox were." RESTORING SIGHT

Since 1992, the Foundation has worked with local blindness prevention and health organisations in more than 38 countries throughout Africa, Asia (South and SouthEast), Australia and the Pacific, and has helped to restore the sight of over a million people worldwide. "Fred Hollows the man, and the Fred Hollows Foundation, continue tO inspire Australians from all walks of life. Over the past five years, the Foundation has increased its work by around 400 per

Hollows 's genuine commitment to indigenous Austra lia is emphasised through the Foundation's support for eye health in Central Australia, where it has worked to eliminate the cataract surgery backlog - part of its wider plan to bridge the gap in life expectancy between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. EYE TREATMENT

In 2006, the Foundation developed a fiveyear roadmap to achieve Hollows' goals of

in1proving indigenous health and ending avoidable blindness. Since then, the Foundation has performed eye operations and treatments on 784,3 78 people, supported training for 31,121 medical and support staff, looked into the eyes of 6,614,085 people, provided $10,131,837 of medical equipment, built or upgraded 119 eye health facilities, and expanded to work in more than 55 indigenous communities. "The Foundation works with national governments, other blindness prevention non-governn1ent organisations and international bodies as part of the Vision 20/20 initiative. The aim is to eliminate avoidable blindness by 2020. It's a matter of mobilising sufficient resources and commitment to ensure everyone has the right to sight - no matter where they live. An important role for us is to convince governments and multilateral bodies that this great health challenge - avoidable blindness - can be beaten just like smallpox was," Doolan says. In 1992, despite having cancer and knowing he did not have much longer to live, Hollows started raising money to build an intraocular lens (IOL) factory so IOLs could become more accessible to people who were cataract-blind . An lOL, which is used to replace the damaged lens of the eye in cataract surgery, costs up to $US97. Hollows wanted to lower the cost of IOLs for under $97 to make IOL implant surgery safe, affordable and more widely available for people in developing countries. This proved difficult as the multinational IOL manufacturers refused to drop their prices that low. Holl ows decided the Foundation would make its own . In 1994, the Foundation opened modern IOL manufacturing laboratories in both Kathmandu (Nepal) and As mara (Eritrea). Since opening, the laboratories have produced more than four million lenses for local and export use. Today, the Fred Hollows IOL laboratories are independently owned and continue to produce high quality, low-cost IOLs which are exported worldwide. As for its future plans, Doolan says the Foundation is " putting in place new projects in Indonesia and the Philippines while ramping up our work in existing countries such as China, Pakistan, Vietnam and Cambodia and parts of East Africa. Our work among indigenous Australians continues to expand with new eye care planned for far western New South Wales and remote areas of the Northern Territory. The Foundation also plans to play a greater role in tackling diabetic retinopathy and trachoma while still maintaining our focus on cataract."

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~edicalresearch

Now you see it

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like polio and smallpox were." RESTORING SIGHT

In 2006, the Foundation developed a fiveyear roadmap to achieve Hollows' goals of

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From little things big things grow MediHerb is an Australian success story, which after humble beginnings starting out of a converted goat's shed, has gone on to become this country's largest purchaser and manufacturer of herbal medicine products for the professional market, writes Tamara Jenkins. Founded in 1986 by Kerry Bone, the company was born out of his desire to produce quality herbal medicines, and this has remained the driving force behind every facet of the organisation, from herb sourcing to research. COMBINING MEDICAL INTERESTS

Originally a scientist, Bone was looking for a way to comhine his in teres\ in natural and rradirional medicine when the suggestion of a colleague would dictate his future. "I went to see a colleague and told him that I wanted to study medicine and naturopathy at the same time. He thought that was pretty ambitious, so suggested I find a course in natural medicine, but to not just limit myself to Australia." Upon his advice, Bone found a college in the United Kingdom that was linked to the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, and his lifelong dedication to herbs began. "The course chose my interest in herbs. Up until then, I'd been looking at acupuncture, naturopathy, and medical degrees with homeopathy, but with hindsight, it was the perfect course." After completing his studies, he returned to Australia with his wife, settling in Toowoomba. Opening up a practice and teaching at the Naturopathic College in Brisbane, Bone began experimenting with herbal dosages and manufacturing methods to make high quality, stronger extracts. Many of his colleagues liked what he was producing, and he began selling the herbs to them. He also formed a business, which would become known as MediHerb, with some fri ends in Warwick, one hour from Toowoomba, where he would concentrate on producing herbal products. Which brings us back to the converted goat's shed.

Brains trust The company has stringent standards for herb selection, and currently works with producers and growers from all over the world. Many of the herbs are still wild harvested traditionally from countries like China and Eastern Europe, and sophisticated laboratory testing means that only quality herbal products are selected. "Our herbs must contain a certain level of a compound, or a plant chemical, that seems to be a marker of quality. If that standard has been met, then we buy that herb , but if it hasn't, then we don't." MediHerb also has a strict policy in relation to endangered species. "We work with intermediaries when it comes to threatened species, so if an area is being cleared for a new dam or road, for example, our intermediary will get the rights to go in and wild harvest the herbs in that area. There is no additional impact on the environment because that area was going to be cleared anyway." RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

TIGHTENING LEGISLATION

The business started out supplying to the medical profession (a profession with which Bone was familiar ) and located on a farm, where they grew and produced all of their own herbs. In the late 1980s, the government changed the legislation, requiring herbal products to be manufactured at the same standard as pharmaceuticals. Australia was one of the first countries that required a pharmaceutical standard known as Pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practices, and Bone says that, as a small company, it placed pressure on them. "We had to get inspected by the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) and were expected to manufacture our herbal products to the same standards of drug companies. It placed huge demands on us, but it was an opportunity as well. Some of our competitors didn't make it because of the pressure, so once the legislation came through, our industry started to grow and we reaped the benefits," he says. After a couple of years, the company's focus shifted to manufacturing the herbs rather than growing them, and they relocated to an industrial estate, where the factory remains today.

One of the company's key focuses is research and development. For the past decade, MediHerb has been looking closely at Echinacea, specifically what makes the herb work, and which part of the plant works best. "We've determined that the alkylamides in &hinacea appear to be what make it work by interacting with certain immune receptors and they are richest in the root, so all of our work focuses on the root of Echinacea, whereas a lot of retail products are based around the aerial parts or leaves. 1n addition, there's a myth that you only take Echinacea when you're sick, but our research has shown the opposite - that if you take the root on a regular basis, it will prevent you from catching those winter infections." Kerry Bone's vision for MediHerb as a global influence in natural healthcare is best demonstrated today through its success in the United States. Here, MediHerb is now challenging for market leader status among practitioners in the world's most competitive and biggest market for natura l health products. The company also sells products in New Zealand, Europe, Asia, and throughout Australia, and from the simple seed -or herb -of an idea, has become an Australian success story in herbal medicine.

From linguistics to logical thought, Macquarie University has investigated the brain to study language ability and logical thought, to name but two, writes Jane Riley. When professor of Linguistics at Macquarie University, Stephen Crain, arrived in Australia in 2005 as a Federation Fellow his plan was to investigate children's linguistic competence using a new brain-imaging system - magnetoencephalography (MEG) - that he helped develop when he was at the University of Maryland in the United States. Little did he know it would lead him to establish the first- ever MEG brain-imaging facility in the Southern Hemisphere with systems for both adults and children - and that he would also soon be leading an international team in designing an MEG system for people with cochlear implants. AB part of the fellowship - which the Federal Government established in 2001 to attract and retain leading researchers- Crain says he "proposed to develop a brain-imaging system for studying cognitive processing in children, particularly the development of logic". Director at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Crain has worked for 12 years with a Japanese research institute, the Kanazawa lnstitute of Technology (KIT) and its engineering partners, the Yokogawa Electronic Company, in Japan. He had developed a brain-imaging system as part of the University of Maryland's cognitive neuroscience program, and understood the limitations of the adult MEG system for conducting research with children. DETECTING SIGNALS

A tool to measure and visualise an active human brain, MEG uses highly sensitive detectors to measure magnetic signals produced by the brain. MEG can be used to study cognitive processes - such as sensations, perceptions, language and emotions - and to provide an understanding of how these processes might be affected when the brain does not function normally. But the size of adult MEG systems makes it difficult to accurately detect brain signals in children because, says Crain, "the magnetic fields dissipate very quickly with distance". "We decided to make the system smaller,

to measure children's brain activity more accurately, and more open so children can look out, and we put it in a bigger room so a parent can be in the room with their child," he says. "The best thing about these brain-imaging systems is they're completely non-invasive no electrodes need to be placed on the child's head - and it is easy to set up, so children don't feel there is anything unusual happening to them. They put their heads in a helmet and watch videos or play our experimental games, or we present them with pictures and ask them questions."

INSTALLING MORE SYSTEMS

When the KIT-Macquarie Brain Research Laboratory was established in 2006 with an adult MEG system, it became the only MEG facility in d1e Southern Hemisphere. The world's first child version was installed in 2008. Now, Crain and his team are working on a new MEG system for people with cochlear implants. They plan to install this system in September 2012. This will be the first system of its type in the world, and it will overcome the difficulty of studying language development in children with cochlear implants. Crain is also continuing the investigation that was part of his original fellowship; this uses the children's MEG to study the development of logic in two groups of young children - those who speak English and those who speak Mandarin. "There's really not much known about how language develops in the brain between the ages of two and five and how children at these early ages make logical infer"The best thing about these brain-imaging ences, so I wanted to use systems is they're completely non-invasive MEG as a tool to enable us to fill in the gap in the -no electrodes need to be placed on the picture of the developing child's head- and it is easy to set up, mind. Studying two different languages that are hisso children don't feel there is anything torically unrelated enables unusual happening to them," us to see whether or not The beauty of the child-friendly version is language development is biologically given." And what of the future? While scientists that scientists can see exactly what is happening in a child's brain without the child having know a lot about the brain already, there is still much they do not know. "Whar I'd really like to perform complex psychological tests. "We are now able directly to investigate to do," he says, "is develop brain-imaging sysnormal children's auditory and language tems to study the deeper structures of the brain processing, and we are starting to find out -not just the shallow ones, not just the cortex. what goes wrong in dyslexia and in autism, 1n this way, we could look at different kinds of what might be different in the brains of chil- cognitive disorders to do with memory Joss in dren who are developing language late." ageing and Alzheimer's disease."

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TIGHTENING LEGISLATION

INSTALLING MORE SYSTEMS

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Honing in on the target

Starting with drugs rather than surgery can transform breast cancer outcomes, writes Amy De Lore. It would not be an overstatement to say that professor John Forbes, his team and international collaborators have helped to save the lives of thousands, if not millions, of women around the world over the past three decades. As a young clinician and researcher professor Forbes, now Professor of Surgical Oncology at the University of Newcastle, had the foresight to realise that the scourge of breast cancer could only be confronted by the best science to find effective prevention strategies and targ~ted drug treatments. He subsequently became one of the prime drivers for the establishment of the Australian New Zealand Breast Cancer Trials Group (ANZ BCTG) in 1978, the organisation in which he is still Director of Research. "Even as a student I was puzzled by breast cancer - I thought the outcomes were poor and needed to be improved," professor Forbes says of his career-long commitment to combating the disease that is the most common form of cancer among Australian women, accounting for more than one quarter of cancer diagnoses. "The only treatment then was local surgery and radiotherapy to the breast and the mortality rate hadn't changed for more than a century. "We knew that when women died of breast cancer, they didn't die of a lump in the breast. A local lump is not a fatal illness.

Women with breast cancer died because the disease had spread beyond the breast and grown in other places in the body. Local surgery alone was not going to change that. We needed to find a better way to treat the disease and destroy cancer cells beyond the breast." Inspired by work he did in the United Kingdom with innovative and influential breast cancer researcher professor Michael Baum in the 1970s, professor Forbes returned to Australia and teamed up with other forward-thinking colleagues, including professor Alan Coates and professor Martin Tattersall, to set up the ANZ BCTG as a vehicle for conducting large-scale drug trials nationally and collaborating with similar research groups internationally. The operations base of the trials group was initially in Melbourne but shifted to Newcastle in 1987 when professor Forbes moved to the University of Newcastle. Under his direction, the ANZ BCTG has become a major contributor to significant global trials that have validated the effectiveness of what are now commonly used breast cancer drugs including cytotoxics and oestrogen blocking drugs such as tamoxifen, anastrozole, letrozole and exemestane. More recently new targeted treatments such as trastuzumab (HerceptinÂŽ) have been shown in clinical trials to be life saving for many women. Through these and other trials the ANZ BCTG has been part of medical breakthroughs that have contributed to a 20 per cent fall in breast cancer deaths over the past 15 years. Today, the ANZ BCTG II Genetic research is helping us works with more than 500 predict what kind of treatment is researchers in 80 institutions throughout Australia and New most likely to be effective - if we Zealand, and collaborates with then expose the tuniour to that leading clinical trials groups in treatment before surgery, we can 15 countries. It has contributed to more than 50 current and confirm if it is working."

earlier trials involving prevention, treatment of early and advanced disease and a growing number of international translational research programs. Professor Forbes co-chaired the groundbreaking IBIS-I (International Breast Cancer Intervention Study) trial, which proved that tamoxifen could prevent close to 50 per cent of hormone-sensitive breast cancers developing in women with a moderate to high risk of getting the disease, and is co-chairing the worldwide follow-up IBIS-II trial, which is investigating whether anastrozole (ArimidexÂŽ) may have an even stronger preventative effect. "We have learned the enormous power of collaboration with excellent scientists" professor Forbes says. "There is no limit to what we can do. Our global collaboration means we can magnify the potential benefits for people in Australia, and can contribute and lead." For all that he has achieved, personally and through the research group he founded, professor Forbes is not content to rest on his laurels. A world without breast cancer is his aim and he believes it is a goal that is not only achievable but inevitable. "Unquestionably, the progress is real and sustainable. The statistical evidence shows that," he says. "It is simply a matter of having good people, reliable information, paying close attention to the quality of the science, interpreting data carefully and being receptive to new ideas. We also need support from women and I am pleased that we have had the largest per capita enrolments in the prevention trials in the world- a consequence of establishing one of the world's first consumer groups." PRE-SURGICAL DRUG TREATMENT

One of those new ideas, for which professor Forbes is a strong advocate, is using pre-surgical -or neoadjuvant- drug treatment, a

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Professor John Forbes

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paradigm shift that challenges the accepted approach to cancer treatment established over the past three decades. Neoadjuvant drug treatment has in the past been used infrequently, largely for the purpose of shrinking very large tumours before surgery. However, professor Forbes believes this treatment can in some cases also have the benefit of allowing doctors to ascertain whether a prescribed treatment is working before they remove a lump. "Today, there are thousands of women who do not know for many years that their drug treatment has failed- until they get a relapse," he says. "The paradigm, which hasn't changed in 30 years, is to diagnose breast cancer, remove the lump, then treat the patient with drugs. However, if we start with the drug therapy before surgery we can learn whether or not that treatment is working before the lump is removed and plan subsequent treatment. The new paradigm becomes detection, diagnosis, multidiscipline discussion, pre-

surgery drug treatment and then operation and long-term surveillance." Commencing drug treatment before surgery also greatly enhances scientific discovery through translational research, according to professor Forbes, as tumour biology before and after exposure to drug treatment can be related to outcomes in clinical trials. Combined with advances in genetic analysis, another field of biomedicine in which the University of Newcastle produces world-class research, professor Forbes believes neoadjuvant therapy will lead to exciting advances in the understanding and treatment of breast cancer and ultimately to better outcomes for women. "It is the next step. Over the past 30 years, we have been progressively refining the process of identifying sub-types of cancers and targeting treatments to these. Genetic research is helping us predict what kind of treatment is most likely to be effective for each tumour - if we then expose the tumour to that treatment before surgery, we can confirm if it is working.

"Increasingly we will be able to sample a tumour, do a whole genome analysis, find the abnormalities and deliver a targeted therapy." Working in Newcastle allows professor Forbes close collaboration with University colleagues professor Rodney Scott, an internationally renowned geneticist who specialises in cancer research, and professor Pablo Moscato, a leader in the rapidly emerging field of bioinformatics - the computer analysis of genomic data. "Professor Scott really is at the cutting edge of unravelling the genes that may drive breast cancer and be targets for treatment, and professor Moscato plays an important role in interpreting the data," he says. "So we have a pretty unique and high-powered group here in oncology borne out by the fact that the University was awarded the maximum score of five in the most recent Excellence in Research Australia rankings for Oncology." The University's strength in the field and progressive approach to treatment will be further enhanced by the recent appointments of globally recognised proteomics expert professor Hubert Hondermark and professor Carolyn Mountford, a pioneer in the application of magnetic resonance imaging for cancer diagnosis. "Today we have in Australia, based in Newcastle, one of the premier breast cancer research groups in the world and we have collaboration with all of the best researchers at regular intervals in planning new clinical trials and translational research. This will create even better outcomes in the future," professor Forbes says. "This is very good for women, it's good for Australia, it's a wonderful thing for the University of Newcastle, and I certainly value it personally."

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Medical research and Health

I-spywith my little eye Australian owned but with a global perspective Cellabs and its sister company SPS have the means to diagnose disease or combat drug resistance, writes Susanna Nelson.

Looking after us Practical and medical ties bind the Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) for hearing, vision and oral health. Their research meets end-user challenges with innovative solutions committed to healthcare prevention and treatment for vision and hearing impairment and oral health. Each Centre has its own research program and is funded by the Commonwealth Government Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, cash and in-kind contributions from CRC partners. These are a mix of research organisations, industry and other end-users with an aim to shorten the time it takes to commercialise and apply research.

Cellabs, still wholly Australian owned in an era of big pharma takeovers, is celebrating this and other success stories in irs 25th year. The company has a global network of distributors but retains the expertise and local knowledge to combat geographically-specific bugs should this ever become necessary. FIGHTING SUPER BUGS

The 20th century witnessed unprecedented technological advancement in human health. For the first time, the cause of many parasitic and bacterial diseases were discovered, controlled and in some cases eliminated, increasing quality of life and average life expectancies around the world. But in many developing countries, tropical mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria are still endemic and pose a huge threat to public health, despite b~ing relatively simple to treat if rapidly diagnosed. In the first world, too, there is growing concern about the rise of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria that threaten a return to the bad old days before penicillin was discovered.

people were able to use a test other than the hundred-year-old method that had simply involved looking down a microscope - not a very efficient or accurate test. Suddenly we had these more specific, sensitive and rapid tests which take three minutes and only cost a couple of dollars. " DIAGNOSING DISEASES

Smithyman, a biologist and inmmnologist who trained at the University of Glasgow, became interested in the treatment of disease after observing its devastating impact on what is now Malawi, where he was born and spent some of his formative years. His company started by producing diagnostic kits for Giardia and Cryptosporidium, parasites that "One thing was common to a lot of the contaminate water supplies. Cellabs kits for Cryptosporidimn diseases -the drugs that were being have been used for drinking waused were becoming less effective ter in the United Kingdom for 20 because of developing resistance". years and their use is widespread elsewhere in Europe too. "Water Australia's oldest privately-owned bio- companies, using our test kits, have been able technology company, Cellabs, founded by to pick up very low numbers of these parasites, Dr Anthony Smirhyman in 1986, has been which is important when you're dealing with producing accurate, low cost kits that pro- drinking water supplies," Smithyman says. vide the quick diagnosis so crucial to the By the late 1990s Cellabs had shifted its interception of parasitic diseases such as focus to classical tropical diseases. As well as malaria. "Malaria is a disease that, if diits diagnostic tests for malaria and Leishmaagnosed swiftly, can be treated quickly and niasis (spread by sandflies), the company has effectively," Smithyman says. developed kits to test for the eradication of Cellabs was the first company to introduce elephantiasis, a limb-swelling parasitic dissome of these new tropical disease tests into ease that affects 200 million people in over the market "When I started Cellabs mono80 countries. The kits test for antibodies for clonal antibody technology had just become the disease in children - an absence of amiavailable and this allowed us to make really bodies indicates there has been no exposure potent, sensitive diagnostic tests against these to the disease and proves the disease is no tropical diseases," says Smithyman. "We saw longer present in a population. The World it as an intensely practical application of a sciHealth Organisation ( WHO) is aiming for entific breakthrough." complete eradication by 2020, and is well "In the case of malaria, for the first rime on its way to achieving irs goal.

In the last few decades a new disea se threat has begun to emerge - bacterial resistance to antibiotics and the r ise of the "super bugs". The over-use of antibiotics, since their discovery in the 1940s, has resulted in new resistant strains of bacteria against which antibiotics can have limited effect. Of particular concern to organisations like the Infectious Disease Society of America is the widely reported rise of hospital infections like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). "What became evident through my work with Cellabs, and we work in 40 or 50 countries around the world, was that one thing was common to a lot of the diseases- the drugs that were being used were becoming less effective because of developing resistance," Smithyman says. "Now it didn 't matter whether it was a parasitic or bacterial disease- it was a constant theme. I became intrigued by this and further research led me to this potential solurion. " In 2004, to deal with this escalating problem, Smirhyman formed a new company, Special Phage Services (SPS ), to research and develop a new weapon in the arsenal to combat antibi otic-resistant bugs- the bacteriophage, or phage. Phages are naturally occurring predators of bacteria, long-used in former Soviet bloc countries, but forgotten about in the West since the advent of antibiotics. When the Iron Curtain fell in the 1990s, stories began to emerge about this potential alternative to an tibi otics, and Smirhyman trave lled to Georgia to investigate. As a result of Smithyman and his team's research, Special Phage Services has already produced successful treatments for MRSA and other superbugs. The research being conducted by this small Australian company is already providing solutions to what is arguably one of the biggest looming global health crises of the 21st century.

'.)

The HEARing CRC has made significant contributions ro the hearing field for almost two decades, including commercial successes such as the cochlear implants developed in association with Cochlear Ltd; the development of software used to fit over half of the world's hearing aids; and technology that underpin s devices limiting acoustic shock - to protect millions of call centre opera to rs internationally. THE ORAL HEALTH CRC

Oral diseases and disorders are a major public health problem, costing Australians over $6 billion per year. Unlike most disease gro ups, oral diseases are mostly preventable. Despite this, one in four Australian adults has untreated dental decay and one in three has a moderate or severe case of the inflammatory gum disease, periodontitis. There is increas ing evidence of the link between oral health and systemic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and

THE VISION CRC

THE HEARING CRC

cancer.

There is an explosion in the need fo r eye care. An esti mated 1.45 billion people have myopia (short-sightedness), 1.1 billion have presbyopia (difficulty focusing on near objects with age) and 590 million have hyperopia (far-sightedness). To understand the magnitude of these problems and find solutions and strategies, the Vision CRC is working with leading researchers such as professor Jean-Marie Pare! from the University of Miami and professor Earl Smith from University of Houston; the Commonwealth Govenunent; experts from ophthalmology, optometry, vision science and molecular science to biochemistry, statistical analysis, software development and engineering technology; and non-government organisations like the Centre for Eye Research Australia and the CRC for Aboriginal Health, to better understand eye health, innovative technologies and the delivery of vision care. The Vision CRC's multidisciplinary ream has expertise in scientific and clinical research and technology development. The CR C's successes over more than a decade include such landmark achievements as the first silicone hydrogel contact lenses; soft toric contact lenses; myopia control contact lens technology and control spectacles; a superior presbypopic multifocal contact lens; the prototype Corneal Implant (Inlay/Onlay) to correct refractive conditions; and the Dynamic Vision-Gel, a potential cure for presbyopia .

Hearing loss affects one in six people. With an ageing population and rising levels of everyday noise, this figure is projected to rise to one in four by 2050. Aside from significant financial burden to the individual and community, hearing loss can affect our ability to cmmnunicare, impacting on every thing from education and career to personal relationships. The HEARing CRC foc uses on finding more effective prevention and improved remediation of hearing loss. Toward these goals, the HEARing CRC and its 26 leading academic, clinical and commercial members propel innovati ve, end-user driven research through to tangible outcomes for the hearing impaired and those at risk. This consortium, benefitting from the CRC's research- and industry-driven approach to funding, is able to cover issues along the healthcare chain such as genetics, sound processing, bioengineering and clinical approaches.

The Oral Health CRC foc uses on the discovery and development of new preventive products and treatments for oral diseases including early diagnostic tools and a vaccine against periodontitis. The group includes research and manufacturing partners from Australia and overseas who are working on consumer and professional dental products to prevent and treat oral diseases. The Oral Health CRC builds on the successes of the previous CRC for Oral Health Science, which ran from 2003 -09. It continues to develop the anti-decay technology Tooth Mousse Plus, the first oral health product ro contain the CPP-ACP complex. This has been shown in scientific and clinical studies to remineralise decay-damaged teeth by replacing lost calcium and phosphate, and is already being used in food, drink and oral care products around th e world.

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Medical research and Health

I-spywith my little eye Australian owned but with a global perspective Cellabs and its sister company SPS have the means to diagnose disease or combat drug resistance, writes Susanna Nelson.

'.)

THE VISION CRC

THE HEARING CRC

cancer.

Australia's Nobel Laureates

On the road to success Testing kits and access to sampling and analytical tools have helped scientists make their breakthrough discoveries faster and more accurately, writes Rachel Sullivan. When Nobel Prizes are awarded each year, the attention tends to focus on the discovery that led the Laureate to victory, rather than the process that took them there. The reality is that the work of a number of Nobel Laureates and scientists in Australia and around the world would not have been possible without innovative technologies and high quality research tools. "QIAGEN creates sample and assay technologies that enable scientists in many disciplines to easily collect and analyse biological samples and genetic material," says managing director of QIAGEN Australia, Laurent Dapremonr. Before the development of QIAGEN's ground breaking products, , collecting genetic information was time-consuming, unreliable and required scientists to expose themselves to dangerous chemicals and unreliable home-brew procedures. In response, more than 20 years ago QIAGEN began developing standardised resting kits and has gone on to create technologies that have significantly speeded up and improved the accuracy of life science research and molecular diagnostics. QIAGEN's vision is to improve quality of life by providing faster, more accurate and sensitive technologies for a broad range of applications - whether it be in patient care, new academic research, drug development or public safety. In recognition of its work, QIAGEN is an International Organization for Standardization ISO 9001 quality management certified company and a long-time member of several peak Australian research and industry associations such as Science Industry Australia and InVitro Diagnostic Australia. EXTENSIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGIES

"Around the world our technologies are used extensively in leading biomedical research institutes and universities, govern-

ment institutions, international health organisations, hospitals, pathology labs and forensic science," Dapremont says. ln Australia, QIAGEN's technologies feature in the research activities of many lead-

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ing organisations such as the University of Melbourne, home of Nobel Laureate professor Peter Doherty who, with Swiss colleague, Rolf Zinkernagel, shared the 1996 Nobel Prize for their role in the discovery of how the immune system recognises virusinfected cells. QIAGEN products were also featured in the works of the 2006 and 2008 winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine. "Improving quality of life reaches a particular dimension in women's health where

QIAGEN's innovation is also at the fo refront of the personalised healthcare movement. "Studies have shown that drugs for certain ailn1ents, such as some cancers, are

only effective in a small percentage of the patient population. By studying how a person's generic make-up affects the body's response to drugs, personalised healthcare can help physicians to customise their treatments to achieve the best possible resu lts," he says. QIAGEN is focused on advancing personalised healthcare and is the market leader in developing molecular technologies for biomarker research and companion diagnostics. Pyrosequencing is a state-of-the-art sequencing technology from QIAGEN that uses a sequencing-by-synthesis approach to provide real-time and sensitive quantitative

QJAGEN's human papilloma- By studying how a person's genetic virus (HPV) test has contributed to saving the lives of many make-up affects the body's response women around the world . In to drugs, personalised healthcare Australia, we are proud to sup- can help physicians to customise port the work of professor Ian their treatments to achieve the best Frazer and his team regarding possible results. the development of effective cervical cancer screening methods in low resource settings such as in the sequencing data. The technology has been neighbouring Pacific Island of Vanuatu," widely adopted in somatic mutation and says Dapremont. cancer research as well as becoming a methAt present, many countries sti ll rely on od for identifying pathogens, among others. "At QIAGEN, we are proud to be a part visual screening tests, such as the Pap smear, as the first line of defence against cervical of such life-changing advances in healthcancer. However, QIAGEN offers the gold care," Dapremont says. "We will continue standard in testing for high -risk types of to invest great amounts of time and energy HPV that cause cervical cancer. Along with in developing products that best meet the the Pap test, this molecular-based test pro- needs of our customers. In doing so, our invides the best assurance of finding cervical novations can really make improvements in disease before it becomes cancer. life possible."

Australia's Nobel Laureates

"Around the world our technologies are used extensively in leading biomedical research institutes and universities, govern-

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QIAGEN's innovation is also at the fo refront of the personalised healthcare movement. "Studies have shown that drugs for certain ailn1ents, such as some cancers, are

Technol ogy and Communications

First past the post Outside the information and communication technology arena, few would be aware of who galvanised a breakthrough that changed ICT forever, writes Jane Riley. Two Macquarie University professors were behind what the world now takes for granted - high-speed Wi-Fi -that resulted in Australia's largest ever commercial IP (intellectual property ) sale. Australian engineer, Dr Neil Weste, is an expert in Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) design. In 1997 he joined forces with Dr David Skellern, a wireless networking expert who founded Macqua rie University's electronics department, to form a New South Wales-based ICT company called Radiata Communications. This focused on developing groundbreaking chip technology to enable very high speed communications over wireless local area networks (WLANs). While other companies around the world were attempting the same thing, Skellern and Weste were confident that - with their technological knowledge building upon WLAN research by the Macquarie Electronics team in collaboration with the Commonwealth Scientific and Indu strial Research Organisation (CSTRO) Division of Radiophysics, plus their industry contacts - they could do it and do it before everyone else. "We were a head of th e game in terms of what we had been able to try o ut and as a result we had working designs for many parts of a WLAN system," says Skellern. "But whether we could bring them all together in a complete working silicon chipset was the challenge." Inspired by short videos produced by some of the computer companies in the mid-80s which showed state-of-the-art communication as being wireless, Skellern and his team made it their goal not only to develop the capability t6 make wireless data fast but to make it small and affordable and therefore able to be used by the masses.

Not so softly

INTELLECTUAL, GLOBAL, COMMERCIAL

Not only had a small team from Australia won the world wireless LAN race and revolutionised the way the world uses that technology but they attracted the attention of United Stares electronics giant Cisco Systems who wanted to buy the company. The With the help and funding of other agen- sale in 2001 for $565 million became Auscies, including CSIRO and international tralia's largest-ever commercial IP sale. The Cisco sale enabled the technology research laboratories, Radiata was able to push forward in their research and develop- to go global, be developed further and stay ment and in September 2000 launched and ahead of the pack. "In Cisco, we found a demonstrated a revolutionary world-first company that shared our vision of a wireless fut ure and ha d a willingness to commit to ongoing ... Skellern and his team made it their

goal not only to develop the capability to make wireless data fast but to make it small and affordable and therefore able to be used by the masses.

wireless chipset- a modem chip and a radio chip - at a leading trade show in Atlanta, Georgia. The WLAN was compacted into inexpensive silicon CMOS chip technology that wo uld ultimately make it possibl e to run multiple channels of full-motion video and other media traffic wirelessly between personal computers, hand-held computers, phones, television and other devices.

investment in Australia."

That first chipset put into action an amendment, IEEE802.11a, to the international IEEE802 .11 WLAN standard, with high speeds of 54 Mbit/s (i. e. 54 million bits per second ) transmitting in the 5 gigahertz radio band. This was part of an evolving set of WLAN standards, more commonly known as WiFi, says Skellern, that are still evolving to this day. "The sale enabled us over time to add the older parts of the Wi-Fi standard s, for backward compatibility, as well as new performance features and new parts of the standards as they were completed, so that by 2004 the chipset included all of the Wi Fi standards," says Skellern. Radiata started operating in premises leased from CSIRO and in 2000 moved to offices and labs on campus in the Macquarie Research Park . "M acquarie strongl y supported the starring of the company," says Skellern. "And gave me the freedom to take time off to begin with and maintain connections. " While both Skellern and Weste went on to do other things after working in senior roles at Cisco - Skellern as chief executive officer at National ICT Australia (NICTA) (from 2005 to 2011 ) and Weste as director and founder of his own research and development company - their microelectronics work is still being recognised. In 2010 they were both awarded the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Clunies Ross Award for their innovative work in helpin g "bridge the gap between research and the marketplace" .

the global software market and deliver our ambitious goals," DiMarco says. "The business has grown quickly - we're doubling in size every four years - and attracting and retaining talent is important. We wanted to create a place where we can tap into the intellectual and creative capacity that exists in this country. "Having a state-of-the-art research and development centre in Brisbane was a logical next step for us and I believe Brisbane has the potential to become a Silicon Valley of the Asia Pacific region." Di Marco says an important element of TechnologyOne's success has been to develop strategies that deliver vertical market solutions for these specific customer sectors. The company holds major user conferences and regular smaller customer focus groups within these vertical markets to gain feedback on how its software solutions and services could be enhanced. "We are solution-focused and marketScreen COBOL to Windows Client Server to Internet Deployable Microsoft .NET. As focused," he says. "We have recognised that if we build our technology advancements continue to move at a staggering pace, our differentiator is clearly software for customers in a common group, we can give them a better solution. successful programs of platform refresh. " "We want to provide best practice, preTechnologyOne develops, markets, implements and supports software that automates configured sol utions so that customers can imand streamlines businesses, giving them a plement those solutions quickly and effectively, competitive advantage in the marketplace. rather than simply delivering a generic product The softwa re company caters to medium to ... and if a customer has a problem, r see that large organisations in local, state and federal as an opportunity to create something bettet:" The TechnologyOne success story began government, and in the ports, airports and water utilities, higher education, nor-for- 24 years ago in a hide processing plant in the profit, hospital, community care, financial outer industrial Brisbane suburb of Hemment. With no venture capital, the future then looked services, media and consttuction sectors. grim but Di Marco was determined to build software capable of competing with "I believe Brisbane has the the world's biggest software companies. potential to become a Silicon TechnologyOne now has revenue Valley of the Asia Pacific region." in excess of $135 million per year and has ga ined a foothold in international Last year, the publicly listed compan y markets, such as the United Kingdom. opened the doors of its new headquarters Along the way, DiMarco says the company in Fortitude Valley, unveiling the largest has constantly evolved to maintain creativity Australian-owned commercial research and and a competitive advantage. Early on the development facility for enterprise software. company decided not to use value-added reThe facility represents a $12 million sellers and implementation partners, instead investment by TechnologyOne and has been focusing on the power of one - creating one designed to enhance collaboration and in- company that builds, sells, markets and supnovation for the company's talented 350-plus ports its solutions. TechnologyOne was also a single product software developers. "Our facilities need to be at the cutting company initially, but responded to the needs edge to attract and retain the best IT talent and expectations of its growing customer in the country and to compete effectively in base to expand its portfolio and expertise.

A Brisbane-based software company is embracing the cloud, writes Sarah Marinos. Late last year, Brisbane-based business software company TechnologyOne announced a radical new direction that will see the organisation completely re-engineer its business around 'the cloud'. The dramatic change was the organisation's commitment to addressing the massive paradigm shift that is occurring in the IT landscape. During the next four to five years, TechnologyOne will continue to evolve and stay one step ahead of its competitors by re-engineering its business around cloud computing technology - the delivery of software applications over the internet. Known as TechnologyOne C2, the company's cloud offering will be built, hosted and delivered in the cloud- a markedly different approach from other vendors, which are building cloud strategies around existing architecture. "There is a fundamental shift occurring in the IT landscape. Cloud computing is the future and we knew we needed to stay at the forefront of innovation to ensure our customers stay ahead," says Adrian Di Marco, TechnologyOne's executive chairman. " We are now spending between $120 and $130 million to build our next generation cloud platform (C2), which will significantly streamline our custotners' business and give

them major operating and capital expenditure savings.

"We're in a good position. In the last 24 years TechnologyOne has successfully transitioned through several platforms from Green

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Technol ogy and Communications

Not so softly

INTELLECTUAL, GLOBAL, COMMERCIAL

goal not only to develop the capability to make wireless data fast but to make it small and affordable and therefore able to be used by the masses.

investment in Australia."

them major operating and capital expenditure savings.

"We're in a good position. In the last 24 years TechnologyOne has successfully transitioned through several platforms from Green

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Technology and Communications

In the eye of the beholder Whether it is tracking people through the London Underground or identifying potential pick-pocketing, Innovation Science shows novel, niche technologies count for more than the size of a company, writes Tim Mendham. Michael Haddy, chief executive officer, owner and founder of Adelaide-based Innovation Science, readily admits that the security and defence market is a challenging one - dominated by well-resourced, multinational corporations and augmented by a variety of small, innovative niche players. But it is the small end of town that often comes up with the most novel technologies. The challenge is ro commercialise them without going broke. This is where a market dominated by billion-dollar-companies can work to a niche player's advantage. Having spent almost a decade of his software engineering career exposed to submarine sonar systems, Haddy was well placed to offer expertise in naval research programs. Innovation Science was launched in 1999 funded by Haddy's own long service leave money and quickly grew from providing expertise to developing software to support the research and development of future submarine combat systems.

securiry domains. The company now employs a team of creative software engineers who share their time berween developing custom military and commercial sofrware, and Innovation Science's own Horizon Warrior"' and UPoint software products. NAVAL COMBAT SYSTEMS

Horizon Warrior is an application framework for rapidly building and deploying command and control (C2) software. In relatively plain English, it is a sofrware package that allows defence researchers to experiment with new concepts for naval combat systems. The software is capable of quickly and simply integrating numerous capabilities without complex programming, providing a base architecture that clients can use to construct custom applications. These custom applications comprise any numher of discrete plug-ins that can themselves come from a variery of sources, including other defence companies and government research organisations. The Horizon Warrior software focuses on Horizon Warrior applications managing the interaction berween dramatically reduce the cost of plug-ins, ensuring the integriry of the resulting application. development and experimentation. Configuring a new combination of plug-ins to form a custom These activities exposed the company application does not require programto the big end of town. EDS (now Hewlett ming knowledge. This gives researchers Packard Enterprise Services) saw promise enormous flexibility to explore ways for in Haddy's new company and awarded presenting information to operators; optitwo fully-funded scholarships for Haddy to mising tasks performed by different nodes study management and commercialisation or operators within a control room; or at the Australian National University and to simply construct a solution to solve an the University of Adelaide. The additional urgent need at short notice. knowledge gave the company confidence to The sofrware is primarily used for defence invest in the development and commerciali- simulation and experimentation, and has sation of products in both the defence and been deployed in aircraft and submarines

to support a range of research programs. Originally developed by Innovation Science in collaboration with the Australian Defence Science & Technology Organisation (DSTO) for use by DSTO, the technology has since been adopted by overseas defence clients in Canada and the United Kingdom. Haddy says that Horizon Warrior applications dramatically reduce the cost of development and experimentation- savings of up to 36 per cent having been achieved when developing applications using the framework compared with developing the same applications using traditional methods. TRACKING PASSENGERS

While the Horizon Warrior was the result of longer term development with a major customer on board, the Rapid Passenger Tracking software had a slightly different genesis - Haddy sitting on a plane flying berween London and New York, eschewing the usual airport novel in favour of tapping out elaborate graph theory algorithms on his laptop. Realising he had devised an approach that had real potential, he calls this his Eureka moment. The London Underground (the Tube) carries four million passengers a day. These passengers can arrive at any one of the nerwork's 2 70 stations, change to any of the 11 lines and other stations at will, and leave by another with complete autonomy. Tracking this number of passengers is a daunting task, to say the least. But it is an important issue when identifying, locating and responding to incidents such as terrorism, theft, violence and vandalism. Facial recognition systems by themselves have limited efficacy. The computing resources required to process raw video from 12,000 surveillance cameras is phenomenal. Then the systems have to consider widely varying lighting conditions and crowded platforms and be clever enough to identify someone with just a few pixels on a video image. Manually tracking someone through the masses of data is simply a lengthy and frustrating experience, let alone trying to manually track thousands of people. With so many stations and lines to consider, where to start and where to continue your search for protagonists or witnesses is almost impossible - and that assumes you know who you are looking for. This is where Innovation Science's tracking system, nicknamed UPoint, comes into play. Passengers on the Tube are largely a lawabiding bunch. Ticket fraud is extremely low, so the vast majoriry of people, even those planning a crime, carry a legitimate ticket. In fact, those planning a serious crime, such as terrorism, are much more

likely to buy a ticket than try to jump the barriers - they are thus less likely to bring unwanted attention to themselves. (It was the London Underground bombings in 2005 that initially inspired Haddy to work on the product.) ENTERING AND EXITING

Tickets passing through entry and exit turnstiles represent a largely untapped security infrastructure. Although they can be supplemented by other technologies to counter the less scrupulous traveller, ticket transactions provide an ideal indication of when and where most individuals enter or exit the rail nerwork. Ticket transactions, therefore, contribute basic intelligence that can support more complex analysis. UPoint then provides what it is impossible for a human analys( to do. Using a patented technique, the software can almost instantly determine which passengers can be at any given location (including on a train ) at any given point in time. On the surface, this may sound simple, but consider the billions of journey combinations that four million passengers could take when, as there are on the London Underground, with some 520 trains servicing a highly-interconnected network of 2 70 stations. If an incident happens, the software will provide a short-list of passengers that are relevant to that incident. Although the names and addresses of most passengers will nor be known, the software will identify where and when each relevant passenger enrered the network, how they got to the incident, and an image that can be used for facial recognition and, with very serious incidents, for police call-cenrre and casualty management. What comes next is even more clever. Low value crimes, such as pick-pocketing, are the rnost common crimes to occur on most rail networks. Limited police resources mean that they often do not get investigated. However, these kinds of crimes contribute significantly to the public's perception of safety on the nerwork. UPoint is able to identify potential repeat offenders by simply specifying where and when each pick-pocketing incident occurred. Similarities between incidents are automatically mapped against knowledge of who can be where and when. As soon as UPoint gathers sufficienr evidence, ir alerts security personnel so that resources can be efficiently directed to monitoring individuals that are considered likely offenders. Sophisticated questions can be asked of UPoint, such as "where and when could rwo given passengers have been in contact with each other during their journeys?"; or

"can multiple incidents be linked back to a group of passengers that were physically together somewhere else on the network?" lt is all about information, correlation and identification, which is the role that Innovation Science's technology plays in this important urban environment. The sofrware relies on a train nerwork being complex and, ideally, having a ticketing system that registers entry and exit movements through its turnstile infra structure. This makes it ideal for cities such as London, Seoul and Hong Kong. Admittedly, local rail systems may be less likely candidates for its use, either because they require significant additional security infrastructure, or because the nerworks themselves are not sufficiently interconnected.

But where the infrastructure is in place and the nerwork is complex, then such networks are likely candidates for a solution that helps detect and sometimes even solve or prevent incidents and crime. UPoint has been parented, and in 2009 won an Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) award for research and development, out gunning more than 150 other organisations from 16 countries across the Asia-Pacific region. This all goes to show the benefits of using a plane trip for more than reading rhe latest pulp novel. If Haddy can keep making those sorts of trips, then there is a strong likelihood of him and his company developing more cutting-edge software with significant global application.

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Technology and Communications

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Technology and Communications

R&D for a smarter planet

Ready steady go Women in Technology, a Queensland-based organisation, is proactive in the development and recognition of women in business, science and technology, with one of its advancement programs in the world's top 100, writes Fran Molloy.

Australia is home to the research and development laboratory of a technology-savvy company that focuses on creating new innovation through research, and rapidly accelerating it into the market by closely linking research scientists with development engineers from the concept phase through to delivery, writes Rachel Sullivan. The IBM Research & Development (R&D) Laboratory in Melbourne was established in October 2010 as a consequence of a desire to accelerate progress towards a smarter planet. The laboratory works closely with leading Australian scientists and engineers from academia, government and commercial entities to extend IBM's global R&D footprint. Australia was chosen for the IBM R&D Lab due to the availability of world-class talent, the innovation environment, continentscale opportunities and Australia's robust economy. Melbourne is one of - if not the -the world's most liveable cities with a wellestablished and advanced infrastructure that supports a highly educated workforce, an internationally-focused service industry and world-class research institutions. Intersecting with a number of key challenges facing Australia and aligned with the Australian Government's key research priorities, the IBM R&D Lab research focus areas span nÂˇa tural resource management (including minerals, energy and water), natural disaster management, healthcare and life sciences.

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can be applied to other issues such as disease "Common to each of these areas are large outbreaks and terrorist attacks. The capabilities that address disaster management volumes of data that need to be analysed in real-time and sophisticated models that are and smarter healthcare use the same deep required to predict the future state of these analytical, research and innovation skills systems," says Glemt Wightwick, director of that organisations need to solve their most the IBM R&D Lab and chief technologist for intractable problems. The IBM R&D Lab is a collaboration IBM Australia. This is most evident in disaster manage- with both the Federal and Victorian State Governments and with University of Melment. "As the world's population becomes bourne- that is made possible by a mutual increasingly urbanised, natural disasters like floods, bushfires, earthquakes and commitment to the higher goal of creating a bright future for ICT in Australia. tsunamis are having an increasing impact, " It is this type of collaboration that will Wightwick continues. The dynamics of natural systems are constantly changing, he create the innovation we need to fuel our nation's economy and find solutions to the says, adding that to mitigate the impact and minimise the threat to human lives, prop- great challenges of our time. erty - and business - we need to be able to integrate data from a multitude of sources The capabilities that address disaster and assist in critical decisionmanagement and smarter healthcare making. DATA ANALYSIS

REAL-TIME INTELLIGENCE

Technology, which integrates data from multiple sources to provide real-time intelligence

use the same deep analytical. research and innovation skills that organisations need to solve their most intractable problems.

Australian boardrooms are far more unbalanced, gender-wise, than their counterparts in North America, the United Kingdom and Europe, with just 10 per cent of the directors of ASX 100 companies female and 87 companies with no women at all. Claire Braund; who is co-founder of Women on Boards, says that in Australia women occupy fewer than 25 per cent of board roles on all but government boards, but companies in the technology and science industries have a particularly poor record of female board representation. She suggests that a higher proportion of start-up companies in these industries may partly explain the phenomenon. "Smaller companies tend to start with boards made up of the company founders and people they know. In larger organisations, hovvever, governance is more formally instituted and where governance is strong, there's a higher representation of women on the board," Braund says. It is a situation that the Women in Technology (WiT) industry association is tackling head-on, with training that has been internationally recognised as a top1 00 global best practice program by the European Union-funded project, Practising Gender Equality in Science. The WiT Board Readiness TM Program helps participants identify the skills they hold that equip them to he successful board members and coaches them in developing a strategic outlook, giving them tactical tips on how to target and achieve a position on the board of a suitable organisation. Jane Fitzpatrick chairs the Women in Technology Biotech Chapter and also coordinates their Board Readiness Program. "We've run the program in its present configuration three times so far, and each year about a third of candidates find a board place quite soon after the program," she says. For others, it is only a matter of time until the right board place appears, she says. "The quality of the candidates is very impressive." It is all about promoting diversity on boards, she adds. The program focuses on the need to pro-

mote board diversity, both in gender and in the inclusion of a technology capability within corporate governance structures. Both the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Women on Boards run sessions during the course, which concludes with an industry lunch where the graduates are showcased to industry representatives. For course graduate Judy Halliday, a scientist now active in biotechnology business operations, the WiT Board Readiness program

"Women are under-represented on technology and science boards, even though there are substantial numbers of very competent women available for these positions," Halliday says. "Research has shown that companies with women on their boards perform better. People like to work with people they know, and who are like them - but diversity improves performance and women tend to bring a different perspective to business issues."

,..

"Useful tips, including things like where to look, and who to talk to vvhen you are seeking a board position, made a real difference."

was just the ticket to help boost her boardroom presence. "I was already on one board when I started the program. My objective was to get skills and understanding and get a network together for the next round of boards I would be interested in," Dr Halliday says. "Useful tips including things like where to look, and who to talk to when you are seeking a board position, made a real difference." Dr Halliday is on the board of three small start-ups: Aussie Colours (native flowers), Dendrimed (early stage technology investigating methods for drug delivery) and GRW Industries (products for workplace heat stress).

As well as the Board Readiness program, WIT provides other professional development programs, memoring, recognition via the annual WIT Awards and networking opportunities. The benefits of Women in Technology are varied and far-reaching. "WiT has provided me with numerous opportunities to grow and develop, from starting a network in my adopted country to being recognised as a WiT Award winner and now serving the community as an active WiT volunteer. It is a valuable, relevant and important organisation," says Jane Fitzpatrick.

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R&D for a smarter planet

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REAL-TIME INTELLIGENCE

Technology, which integrates data from multiple sources to provide real-time intelligence

use the same deep analytical. research and innovation skills that organisations need to solve their most intractable problems.

,..

"Useful tips, including things like where to look, and who to talk to vvhen you are seeking a board position, made a real difference."

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

NICTA's ATP Research Laboratory and Headquarters

Research that packs a punch

Batteries that last and last, bionic eyes or audio systems set up digitally, and solving transport and logistics problems - all exemplify this Centre's collaborative and commercial approach, writes Simon Sharwood. Deep inside the central processing units (CPUs) that create everyday digital miracles in your computer, your phon e, your car and the myriad devices that run the modern world, a surprising number of decisions have to be made about whether or not to ask for a few mo re electrons. And some of those decisions are being made - or influenced- at NICTA. These decisions are made because designers of CPUs kn ow th at batteries are the laggards of the electronic age. While the rest of the digital family gets faster, sleeker and more capable every year, batteries stubbornly inch forward with only occasional stutter-steps of improvement. In recognition of this unfortunate fact, CPUs and the many other components that ma ke up modern devices contain routines designed to use as little precious power as is possible, to ensure that electrons are only used when it is absolutely necessary. Plenty of people are interested in those electrons: the International Telecommunications Union's data states that the world already has more than five billion mobile phone subscribers and therefore at least five billion mobile phones, all powered by battery.

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Every manufacturer in that field would surely love to squeeze extra life our of their batteries, or pack in more features without also adding the weight and bulk that comes with bigger batteries. And that is just the mobile phone market: even if you ass ume the planet's overall gadget count is only double its mobile phone population -and it is almost certainly larger - improvements in CPU power man agement will surely be extraordinarily welcome. NICTA has sported the size of the marker and is tryi ng to help industry with innovations to improve CPU performance. Established in 2002 by the federal government and with initial funding of $130 million, the organisation is also funded and supported by state governments and universities. NICTA boasts five laboratories in four cities: Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane. PhD student Etienne Le Sueur is one of more than 200 PhD students studying at NICTA labs . He is investigating what he describes as "the effect of power manageInent on modern con1puter processors", with special attention paid to " the trade-off between slowing the CPU versus consuming more energy".

Le Sueur's work is potentially valuable, as every electronics manufacturer is acutely aware of the need for better electricity consumption. Portable device makers want longer battery life. Others want more efficient devices, to lure customers with the promise of lower electricity bills. Neither, however, wants to deliver better efficiency if their devices slow to an experience-crimping crawl. But, according to Le Sueur, their efforts are not going well. "From my experiments it look s like current techniqu es are becoming m uc h less effect ive over the years," he says. "So I want to help to direct fu ture innovation in CPU power management." As noted above, rl1e colossal quantity of electronic devices in the world means that if Le Sueur's efforts bear fruit, considerable demand for any breakthroughs can be expected. INNOVATIVE BY DESIGN

Le Sueur's pursuit of this opportunity is not, however, solely a result of his own interests and prowess at spotting opportunities. "One of rhe things that makes NICTA unique compared to many other institutes

is that we focus on wealth creation and on research where it is needed," says Rob Fitzpatrick, NICTA's director Infrastructure, Transport and Logistics. "We encourage co mmercialisation of ideas in researchers by making sure they are aware of it. We try to have them consider three areas. One is the nature of the opportunity. We ask if this research will go into a paper or if it is something people will use. "The big question is: 'Who cares?' If I ask the question and a researcher can explain who cares and why they care, that's a great start to a project. "The second area is novel ty. Novelty mean s, is it new? [s th ere an inventi ve step? If we do it, is it patentable? Can we create a sustainable competitive advantage through this resea rch? "The third is capability. We as k researchers that if they want to crack this problem, what skills and capabilities will they need and if NICTA will have the right engineering capabilities at the rigbt time to show customers?" Not every researcher, Fitzpatrick says, finds these three steps obv ious. Some researchers, he says, "love it and do it intuitively. But for othe rs it is a journey."

Fitzpatrick says NICTA, therefore, has "a degree of self-selection going on" as researchers interested in pursuing commercial opportuni ties that lead to collaboration with industry find the organisation offers a stimulating environment.

The Living Lab focus on transport logistics has quickly seen several organisations decide co participate in the project alongside SAP, Fraunhofer and NICTA. The diversity of new participants - Casella Wines, Ericsson, Gamma Solutions, Google, GSl Australia, Hamburg Sud, Linfox, Tradegate, XAcr Solutions, Victoria University and UNSW speaks volumes for interest in solving transport problems and illustrates enthusiasm for it. Durrant-Whyte says the reason for th e establishment of the Lab is simple: transport is 14 per cent of the gross domestic product. Even making a small difference wo uld have a massive difference economically and socially," he says. Just where that difference will come fro m is yet to be determined, bur Durrant-Whyte illustrates the need for innovation with a simple example: distributing bread around Australia 's cities. "Distributing bread turns out to be a billion dollar industry," he explains, adding that little research has ever been conducted on how best to distribute a product on which so many people rely and which is transported to, and sold at, so many different outlets. '~There are many issues around how to do it efficiently, ro use resources well," he says. He explains that the result of relevant research may not onl y be beneficial to the bread industry, but also to societies as a whole if bread can be transported with fewer resources, be they fossil fuels or space on roads at busy times of day that could be better utilised by transport for other commodities. It could also mean fresher, tastier bread.

LIVING LABS

An example of the type of environment NICTA aims to create is the Future Logistics Living Lab, an initiative launched in March 2011. Established in partnership with enterprise software company SAP and Europe's largest application-oriented research organisation Fra unhofer, the Livi ng La b has industry an d researchers working alongside each other in a purpose-built facility that NICTA, says chief executive officer (CEO) Hugh Durrant-Whyte, will "investigate real-world problems and demonstra te innovative technology that will prov ide logistics solutions fo r the future". The shoulder-to-shoulder style of research is designed to ensure that the Lab is always working on actual scenarios that industry hopes can be improved, a further commitment to research that has clear commercial potential.

BUSINESS SUCCESS

Figuring out a better way to get the freshest of bread into shops may not have immediately apparent benefits. But NICTA's approach will nor, says Fitzpatrick, permit irs work to remain theoretical only. To illustrate how the organisation instead works to commercialise irs work, he retells the stories of two businesses spun out of the organisation. One, Open Kernel Labs, has developed a product called a microvisor that makes it possible to develop more secure and sophisticated software for mobile devices. The company's software is already found in over a billion devices, proof of N ICTA's goal of pursuing research with commercial potential. Open Kernel Labs also still works with NICTA to enhance its products, as some of the original research ream still works at the Centre.

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NICTA's ATP Research Laboratory and Headquarters

Research that packs a punch

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LIVING LABS

BUSINESS SUCCESS

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"When you talk about Australian !CT on the world stage yo u usuall y talk about polymer bank notes or aircraft black boxes," Fitzpatrick says . "Open Kernel Labs deserves to be mentioned in the same breath." Audinate is another business Fitzpatrick says typifies N1CTA's success and approach. The company's Dante products make it easy and swift to set up au dio systems for performances. In the past, rigging audio systems meant point-to-point connections between every microphone and speaker and a mixing desk. The complexity of wiring such systems makes them slow to assemble and hard to adapt if sudden changes are required. It also means that large events generally build separate audio rigs for each stage or sub-event. Dante digitises the process, removing reli-

hnp r.rt!lr D i$lribu!loo Ce 1 , 1 ,~ Singapore

ance on wiring each stage or event to its own

mixing desk and instead making it possible to run a single ethernet cable to control audio. Dante was used during World Youth Day, a six-da y gathering organised by the Ca tholie Church of more than 400,000 people, in Sydney during 2008 and Fitzpatrick says the system saved organisers $400,000. Audinate is patenting its technologies, has won numerous customers around the world and is regarded as a leader in the emerging field of digital audio. BOOSTING AUSTRALIA

Success stories such as Audinate and Open Kernel Labs, and collaborations like the Living Lab, are just the kind of outcomes N ICTA was designed to create. Durrant-Whyte believes more success will flow from NICTA's research and collaborations, and that by focusing on issues where local collaborators have compelling commercial reasons to join a research effort, the organisation will thrive and help Australia to do likewise. "! think it is fair for Australians to say that they can develop a new manufacturing solution, but that it is perhaps best to do that in Japan," he says. "But a transport solution is needed here and the bigger market for transport is here. "! can name you a whole series of issl!es where Australians con ducted research on loca l problems that have had a big impact. There are things like mineral processing where we have a competitive advantage. "There's also the whole infrastructure and logistics area. We have assembled one of the top teams in the world, the time is right and you can feel it in the air: we can have an economic and social impact."

II 3 10

The CEO also feel s that NICTA's work will be noted around the world. "Australia also has opportunities in health. There have been a lot of successes here in medical devices. People who have come out of that area and are at NICTA now are pushing the science and the technology to new levels." "We at N ICTA have programs in that sector. In the next five years I believe they will have international impact. "

The organisation is already making waves around the world. Etienne LeSueur's research saw him join a team that together entered a contest staged by networking components manufacturer, Lantronix. The team's project was an intelligent power meter that shared electricity consumption data over a network, and took home a $US6,000 ($5,589) prize. "That ca used a bit of publicity inside N ICTA," he says. And who knows what publicity might follow in future years?

Technology and Communications

Australia's Nobel Laureates

hnp r.rt!lr D i$lribu!loo Ce 1 , 1 ,~ Singapore

ance on wiring each stage or event to its own

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Australia's Nobel Laureates

Extreme engines of speed Technology that refers to a velocity the speed of sound lies behind special combustion engines taking flight into space, writes Rael Martell The hypersonic technology behind scramjets has captured the imagination of writers such as Dan Brown in mystery-thriller Angels and Demons and featured in the hi-tech detective television show Numb3rs. But scramjets - variants of air-breathing combustion jet engines with the name taken from the phrase, supersonic combustion ramjet - are very much part of the real world. They operate at speeds greater than Mach 5, where Mach 1 is the speed of sound and the fastest manned air-breathing aircraft has a maximum speed of Mach 3.2. The term Mach is often used to represent an object's speed when it is travelling close to or greater than the speed of sound. Researchers at The University of Queensland (UQ), at the vanguard of research into scramjet technology, know all about working in this type of environmer;J.t. They have been investigating scramjets for more than 25 years and attracting students from around the world to the Centre for Hypersonics, one of the world's largest space engineering groups. Scramjet-based launch systems promise safe, reliable and economical access to space for the launch of communication satellites. And while scramjet technology has been around since the 1950s, it continues to offer extreme technical challenges. The seeds of UQ's innovative research into scramjets can be traced back to 1982 when Australia's first professor of space engineering, Ray Stalker, began studying them. It was his research that led to the creation of the Centre for Hypersonics. With considerable support from both the Commonwealth and Queensland state governments, the centre's team has made internationally recognised breakthroughs in scramjet development, including firsts in thrust production and supersonic combustion in flight. ACCESS TO SPACE SYSTEMS

A $14M project, with major funding from the Commonwealth government's Australian Space Research Program, is under way to develop scramjet-based, access-to-space systems. The project will include a freeflying scramjet flight experiment in early 2013. The experiment, known as SCRAMS PACE I, will

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test a scramjet at the access to space speed range of Mach 8, or 8,600 km/hour. To put this into perspective, a conventional jet plane flies at around 800 kmlhour. Speeds of up to Mach 14 will be tested at the UQ's world-class hypersonic ground-test facilities. In the past, a lack of such facilities has hindered scramjet development. "No complete scramjet designs have been flight-tested at these extreme speeds before now," says the program director and Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DTSO) chair for Hypersonics at UQ, professor Russell Boyce. Partners in the program led by UQ include the University of Adelaide, the University of New South Wales, the University of Southern Queensland and, from the United States, the University of Minnesota. Also included are three aerospace organisations from Germany, Japan and Italy, along with industry partners from Australia. The design, layout and flowpath of SCRAMSPACE I is in an advanced stage of development, with five postdoctoral scientist and engineers and several PhD students involved in the research and development.

He says: "UQ is leading the SCRAMSPACE program with an ultimate aim to develop mature scramjets that can operate at higher Mach numbers than currently, to accelerate a vehicle to the speed required to leave the earth's atmosphere. "The main goal of the university's scram jet research is to develop more efficient launch vehicles. Scramjets could be useful for providing more economical access to space by replacing a rocket stage with a more efficient scram jet stage." Simultaneously, UQ is collaborating with the DTSO and the United States Air Force to advance research in hypersonic flight. A collaboration between UQ, the DSTO and Boeing will conduct three hypersonic flights to advance understanding in the field. One consequence of all this is that UQ is creating a generation of Australian-trained hypersonic specialists, whose expertise is valued and sought after internationally in higher education, commerce and industry. "And through these influential positions in industry and academia around the world, the Centre for Hypersonics is promoting the excellence of engineering research undertaken in Australia," says professor Mee.

SCIENTISTS OF THE FUTURE

The experts behind the project emphasise, however, that the research at UQ is about far more than testing the boundaries of hypersonic technology. They believe it also offers a fantastic opportunity to educate scientists of the future who have an interest in hypersonic aerothermodynamics and scramjet technology. "Most importantly, we will be training young scientists, engineers and students, and creating a talent pool for a future Australian space industry," says professor Boyce. Professor David Mee, head of UQ's School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, was one of a team from UQ who, in 1993, conducted the world's first successful ground tests to demonstrate net thrust from a scram jet at the university's T 4 ground test facility.

we will be training young scientists, engineers and students, and creating a talent pool for a future Australian space industry." II • ••

Australia's Nobel Laureates

Trailblazing the future of technology AARNet has pioneered groundbreaking technology in Australia, so much so that it is synonymous with the development of the internet in this country. Australia's Academic and Research Network (AARNet) is a not-for-profit company limited by shares, with shareholders from 38 Australian universities and the CSIRO. It provides high-capacity leading edge internet services for the tertiary education and research sector communities and their research partners. Today, AARNet serves more than one million end users who access the network through local area networks at member institutions. In 2009, the book 20 years of the Internet in Australia explored how Australia's commercial internet network, as we know it today, was originally developed by AARNet. The company made history with Australia's very first international internet connection through a 56 kilobit per second satellite link that connected the University of Melbourne and the University of Hawaii in June 1989. This was the first known direct live overseas link with Australia. Today, in 2011 the same connection to the United States is 200,000 times faster operating at 10 gigabits (Gbps) per second, and future-proofing potential applications for soon to be moving to hundreds of gigabits broadbanding the nation. Chris Hancock, CEO of AARNet, said per second within the next few years. In May 1994, AARNet opened its "A National Research and Education network up to value-added resellers that Network like AARNet will always be at the have been widely recognised as Australia's forefront of Australia's internet industry first retail Internet Service Providers (ISPs), because the demands of our researchers namely Internode, OzEmail and iiNet. In and educators chart the future capacities November 1999, CSIRO became the first required for science and innovation." "AARNet's job is to continually chalmajor organisation in Australia to implement a national Voice over IP (VoiP) service lenge the boundaries of networking and on AARNet's backbone. to develop cutting-edge applications and Glenda Korporaal, the book's author, services to help continually future-proof said, "For more than half a decade, AAR- our digital economy." Net's history was also the history of how "We want to make sure that we are in the the internet was established in Australia. position where the science doesn't overtake The individuals we have documented in us and that we remain well ahead of the the book were amongst the pioneers of the demand curve for the world of the future. internet in Australia. As Australians debate This will be highlighted by large data about the merits of the National Broadband transfers and new forms of visualisation Network, they should look at the history and collaboration," he said. of AARNet to gather deeper insights into AARNet has four pillars that drive its curwhat may happen in the future." rent and future strategy. First and foremost AARNet has showcased how innova- AARNet's primary charter is building and tion and collaboration is possible and is operating the network. However, it's also

314

vital that AARNet is constantly developing the network roadmap for the future, partnering to deliver leading-edge applications and services and ensuring it is growing the research and education user communities. "Traffic growth had been in the order of 50 percent per annum, but since the advent of greater collaborations between researchers and the growth in social networking and video apps, our growth rates are hitting 60 to 70 percent year on year," Hancock said. "AARNet had grown its international peering connections to over 200, allowing member universities unmetered access to major content providers, which is really important for our customers," he said. Over the next decade, AARNet will be providing capacity at Exabyte levels which have not before been witnessed around the world. AARNet continues to strive to shape the future broadband horizon that will drive large data transfers, collaborations across all areas of society and a plethora of mobile devices which will become commonplace as the decade unfolds.

Technology and Communications

315

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Australian Bureau of Statistics

Oaarnet Australian Academic & Research Network {AARNet) Building 9, Banks St Yarralumla, Canberra, ACT 2600 PH 02 6222 3530 FAX 02 6222 3535

Australian Academy of Science Jan Potter House, Gordon St, Acton , ACT 2601 PH 02 6201 944 7 FAX 02 6201 9494 EMAIL aas@science .org.au

Australian Innovative Systems {AIS) 51 Millennium Place, Tingalpa, OLD 4173 PH 07 3396 5222 FAX 07 3393 3441 EMAIL info@aiswater.com .au

Australian Bureau of Statistics ABS House , 45 Benjamin Way, Belconnen , ACT 2617 PH 02 6252 5000 FAX 02 6252 8002 SEE PAGE 158-161

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Ambulance Victoria 375 Manningham Road , Doncaster, VIC 31 08 PH 03 9840 3500 FAX 03 9840 3583

ANZ Trustees Ltd Level42 , 55 Collins St, Melbourne, VIC 3000 PH 1800 01 1 04 7 FAX 03 8685 6101 SEE PAGES 216-221

Bank of Queensland Ltd {BOQ) Level 17, 259 Queen St, Brisbane, OLD 4000 PH 07 3212 3333 FAX 07 3212 3409 SEE PAGE 223, 225, 245

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Bayer Australian Research Council {ARC) Level 2, 11 Lancaster Place, Majura Park, ACT 2609 PH 02 6287 6600 FAX 02 6287 6601 EMAIL info@arc.gov.au

Bayer Australia 875 Pacific Hwy, Pymble , NSW 2073 PH 02 9391 6000 FAX 02 9988 33 11 SEE PAGE 194-195

SEE PAGES 252-253

317

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Bio Power Systems 18 Beresford St , Mascot, NSW 2020 PH 02 9146 4420 FAX 02 8084 4528

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Department of Further Education, Employment, Science & Technology Leve14, 11 Waymouth St , Adelaide, SA PH 08 8226 3821 FAX 08 8226 9533 EMAIL dfeestreception@sa.gov.au SEE PAGE 269

Cooperative Research Centre for Beef Technologies (Beef CRC) CJ Hawkins Homestead, University of New England , Armidale, NSW 2351 PH 02 6773 3501 FAX 02 6773 3500 EMAIL beefcrc@une.edu .au SEE PAGE 198-200

The Fred Hollows Foundation

Fred Hollows Foundation Level 2, 61 Dunning Ave, Rosebery, NSW 2018 PH 02 87 41 1900 FAX 02 8741 1999 EMAIL fhf@hollows.org SEE PAGE 291

Cast CRC Level4, Building 43 Coopers Rd, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, OLD 4076 PH 07 3365 357 4 FAX 07 3346 9373 EMAIL cast@cast.org.au SEE PAGE 164, 174

Curtin University Curtin University Bentley Campus, Building 101, Level 2, Kent St, Bentley, Perth, WA 6102 PH 08 9266 9266 FAX 08 9266 3131 SEE PAGE 201

Griffith University 58 Parklands Drive, Gold Coast, OLD 4215 PH 0737357111 SEE PAGE 212-214

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Department of Innovation Industry, Science and Research

Department of Innovation, Industry, Science & Research Industry House, 10 Binara St, Canberra, ACT 2601 PH 02 6213 6000 FAX 02 6213 7000 EMAIL enquiries@innovation.gov.au SEE PAGE 210-211

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Hearing CRC 550 Swanston St, Audiology, Hearing & Speech Sciences , The University of Melbourne, VIC 301 0 PH 03 9035 534 7 FAX 03 9347 9736 EMAIL enquiry@hearingcrc .org SEE PAGE297

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development 33 St Andrews Place East, Melbourne, VIC 3002 PH 03 9637 2000 EMAIL innovation @edumail. vic.gov.au SEE PAGE 266-267

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IBM Australia Ltd Australian Head Office , Level 13, IBM Centre , 601 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, NSW 2065 PH 132 426 (within Australia) 02 9354 4000 (international) EMAIL askibm@au1.ibm .com SEE PAGE 300, 306

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Menzies Casuarina NT 08 11 Building 58, Royal Darwin Hospital TIWI NT 0810 PH 08 8922 8196 FAX 08 Phone: 08 8922 8196 Fax: 08 8927 5187 EMAIL info@menzies.edu.au

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319

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an accent on fine writing. We have over 300 top writers and commentators on our dat ab ases , mos t of whom have wor ked with us p reviously. The company's flagship i s the quarter ly magazine Fast Thinking, devoted to innovation across a ll w a lks of life. It is published quarterly an d is n ow available in over 20 countries. The magazin e w on the coveted Bell a w ard as best B2B publica t ion in its first year and uniquely won second place as the bes t consumer tit le. This is fitting: as w e have never defined Fast Thinking as a strictly business t itle, rather it is a unique hybri d . It owes considerable s t r ength to an audience i nit ially drawn to a website and forums set up by innova tionxchange, a subsidiary of the Aigroup Fastthin king.com.au con tinues in t hat t radition t o d raw an addition al large d omes t ic and in ternational a u d ience.

to eclipse the t itle's more traditional 25,000 quarterly print run.

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Leading Innovation >»

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SEE PAGE 143, 190, 288-289, 299

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of innovation , whatever it may be and wherever we find it .

lilt is essential that we keep our nerve. It is essential

that we keep the flame alive. That is why Fast Thinking magazine is so important. This is not the time to stop trying new things" Senator Kim Carr, Federal Minist er for Innovation, Industry, Science & R esearch

Fast Thinking Press produces books and magazines and, through its sister company ETN-COM, specialised marketing solutions with an accent on fine writing. We have over 300 top writers and commentators on our databases, most of whom have worked with us previously. The company's flagship is the quarterly magazine Fast Thinking, devoted to innovation across all

walks of life. It is published quarterly and is now available in over 20 countries. The magazine won the coveted Bell award as best B2B publication in its first year and uniquely won second place as the best consumer title. This is fitting: as we have never defined Fast Thinking as a strictly business title, rather it is a unique hybrid. It owes considerable strength to an audience initially drawn to a website and forums set up by innovationxchange, a subsidiary of the Algroup Fastthinking.com.au continues in that tradition to draw an additional large domestic and international audience. Fast Thinking was the first magazine in Australia

to establish a digital edition, which has grown to eclipse the title's more traditional 25,000 quarterly print run. Our audience maintains a singular devotion to the magazine in all its formats, rating it and associated publications high for credibility, interest, and an attribute that a Roy Morgan readership study defined as "refreshing compared with other magazines". Using the skill sets of ETN-COM, which specialises in custom publishing and marketing, Fast Thinking develops a number of campaigns each year for clients such as IBM, Telstra, Credit Suisse, NAB and many others. And across these various ventures, now and in the future, we will continue to reflect the broad scope of innovation, whatever it may be and wherever we find it.

It is essential that we keep our nerve. It is essential that we keep the flame alive. That is why Fast Thinking magazine is so important. This is not the time to stop trying new things" Senator Kim Carr, Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science & Research