UOW Global Challenges Program 2014 Brochure

WE ARE INVESTING IN WORLD-CLASS RESEARCH TO TRANSFORM LIVES AND REGIONS

GLOBAL CHALLENGES PROGRAM CONNECT: UOW

UOW GLOBAL CHALLENGES

PROGRAM

A MESSAGE FROM THE VICE-CHANCELLOR The University of Wollongong is proud to be in the vanguard of a small but growing movement among the world’s universities to focus our research efforts on solving complex, realworld problems. Our GLOBAL CHALLENGES PROGRAM focuses on three areas that have impact and implications locally, nationally and globally – transforming our manufacturing base from the traditional industries of the past to innovative manufacturing of the future, providing strategies to assist our ageing population and developing ways to better sustain our coastal and marine zones.

Here we showcase some of the important work our researchers are doing to solve challenges that are universal.

Professor Paul Wellings CBE A MESSAGE FROM THE DEPUTY VICE-CHANCELLOR (RESEARCH) The best research is not done in isolation.

For university research to make a real impact and benefit future generations, opportunities must be created to cross research boundaries through multidisciplinary collaboration, while ideas need to be shared and developed through local, national and international research partnerships.

Our GLOBAL CHALLENGES PROGRAM harnesses UOW’s best disciplinary expertise and experience in working with government agencies, industry partners and other institutions in Australia and overseas to do multidisciplinary research that will achieve the best possible outcomes.

Professor Judy Raper

BY GLOBAL CHALLENGES DIRECTOR PROFESSOR CHRIS GIBSON

MAGIC ONLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU TAKE RISKS

TRANSFORMING LIVES AND REGIONS

IMAGINE what your city or town will look like in 25 or 50 years’ time. What kinds of lives will we and our descendants lead?

Our world is one of transformation and uncertainty, with rapidly changing social, environmental, technological, economic, employment and political landscapes.

Many of the things that previous generations, and even our own, took for granted are disappearing, while new technologies are transforming many aspects of our lives, sometimes with bewildering speed.

This change is creating all kinds of challenges for societies and governments all around the world.

The University of Wollongong has developed the Global Challenges Program to respond to some of the challenges facing the world in the 21st century and help communities adapt. We have taken an innovative approach to our research, creating three themes and then marshalling interdisciplinary resources and expertise from across the University to work on research projects for each.

LIVING WELL, LONGER looking at all aspects of life so that longevity is not only medically possible, but enjoyable, including health, housing, medical care, transport, sustainability and finances.

MANUFACTURING INNOVATION centred on developing new manufacturing opportunities from innovative technologies – what should we make and how should we make it?

SUSTAINING COASTAL AND MARINE ZONES with 85 per cent of Australians living on our coastal fringe, and oceans covering 72 per cent of the earth’s surface, better coastal and marine zone management is of fundamental importance here and around the globe.

A NEW RESEARCH PARADIGM TRADITIONALLY, research funding has rewarded disciplinary excellence. This focus is perfectly understandable, and has led to many outstanding discoveries that have had a huge impact on our world.

However, it has also effectively deprived us of the kind of research that we need to change the world and solve global problems – for example research that may need engineers, economists, social scientists and environmental scientists to come together and apply their collective expertise to look at all the issues, instead of one in isolation.

Research funding in Australia has been risk-averse, but magic only happens when you take risks.

Global Challenges is redefining research strategy to help make magic happen. We won’t invest unwisely, but we will look for projects that might not otherwise be funded. After all, what risk can there be in getting a number of high quality researchers from different backgrounds together to work on solving problems?

The University of Wollongong has long been an innovator and leader in multidisciplinary research and industry partnerships.

It is one of the reasons the Federal Government funded our SMART Infrastructure Facility – Australia’s first research and training centre that takes a multidisciplinary approach to infrastructure analysis.

Global Challenges is a new way for an Australian university to seed research, and we are backing ourselves to make it a success. We have committed a significant proportion of the University’s strategic research funding to get Global Challenges research programs up and running. We are investing strategically in core areas where we have strength and critical mass, helping our excellent researchers work on projects that they have long wanted to tackle but, until now, have been unable to.

We also know that our home region of the Illawarra is ideal for meaningful social and economic research. In many ways it is a microcosm of Australia – a region of 300,000-plus people living in a well-defined coastal area, grappling with the reality of an economy in transition from heavy industry and manufacturing to service, knowledge and technology-based industries.

As a social geographer interested in the social, environmental and economic transformation of regions, I feel passionate about what Global Challenges aims to achieve.

It is unashamedly ambitious, but I know our research will transform lives and regions. How far we can go on this road will depend largely on how much support we receive from funding bodies, governments and industry.

I urge you to read the case studies in this brochure for a taste of our Global Challenges Program.

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TRANSFORMING LIVES AND REGIONS

NICHE MANUFACTURING POWERS A NEW WAVE Manufacturing is in a state of transformation. Both in Australia and around the globe, industry is grappling with the fundamental shifts impacting what we make and how we make it – from mass production lines and low-cost labour to the introduction of automation at the expense of the workforce.

In the industrial revolution of the 19th century, manufacturing changed the fabric of regions and cities throughout the world. But in the industrialised West manufacturing faces an uncertain future.

However, opportunities to make things, and to make them well, are still out there. In fact, manufacturing still has the power and potential to transform lives and regions.

At the heart of this is niche manufacturing. There are huge opportunities at the high-tech end of the spectrum.

Australian manufacturers are mostly small companies working within specific niches. And yet they are world leaders in a wide range of products, from compost bins to the Cochlear Implant, musical instruments to polymer bank notes and Wi-Fi. Niche manufacturing is about specialist services, product design, prototype and testing – not just assembly lines.

Niche manufacturing also relies on the importance of human skills, integrating high quality and design to craft a product that is unique, able to be customised and exceptional in its field.

The surfboard industry is a great example of niche manufacturing in action. High quality production relies on hand-shaping boards, customised to individual surfers and local waves. It happens in small workshops that maintain strong connections with local surfing communities, which means designs can evolve as surfers and boardmakers experiment with more radical designs. Upon this basis, Australia has become the world leader in new surfboard design.

Niche manufacturing has a positive impact on communities, regions and nations, which have a strong sense of pride in the things they make, particularly products that are high quality, innovative and beautiful. Making things elicits a sense of wonder, an appreciation of the skills of the craftsperson and the ingenuity of the designer and inventor. That is why the city of Cleveland in the United States, which was once at the forefront of the burgeoning automotive industry, is still fiercely proud of its car-making heritage, some 80 years after the industry shifted to Detroit. It is why Wollongong, once Australia’s heavy industry heartland with a rich steelmaking history, maintains these ties as part of its cultural identity, even as it transforms into a university city.

Multidisciplinary research is essential to this transformation.

We need diverse expertise and knowledge to design and build our next great niche products. Could it be 3D-printed medical devices? Or high-end, customised products such as cricket bats and musical instruments, crafted from unique Australian timbers? Or does the answer lie in the latest biomedical breakthrough, with the capacity to save lives or change them for the better?

The future for Australian manufacturing may mean many small niches rather than single large industries. It will certainly involve new technologies, but also asking broader questions of Australia’s natural, cultural and creative assets: how we build on what we’re already good at; how we use social media to market high-quality goods, or to personally connect consumers with regional producers and industries.

Innovation comes in many forms, but it all starts with an idea and the ability to grow. The future of manufacturing is in our sights and niche does not have to mean small.

Wollongong surfboard shaper John Skipp in his workshop, which has been in business for more than 50 years. Mr Skipp’s longevity is an example of the power of the relationship between manufacturer and consumer.

TRANSFORMING LIVES AND REGIONS

LIVING WELL, LONGER

BY PROFESSOR LORNA MOXHAM

Professor Lorna Moxham is the Living Well, Longer leader in the Global Challenges Program. She is a Professor of Mental Health Nursing in UOW’s School of Nursing and Midwifery.

T

he desire to live longer is deeply ingrained in human beings, but it comes with a catch known as the ageing process.

We all want to live well while living as long as possible.

The Living Well, Longer theme in the University of Wollongong’s Global Challenges Program isn’t about finding the mythical fountain of youth. It’s about managing the ageing process to give people the best possible chance to continue to live full and productive lives well into their senior years.

It could mean helping people avoid common health traps associated with growing older. Or it could mean helping people to cope better with the degenerative neurological or mental health issues life throws at them.

Global Challenges is a program committed to developing solutions to universal problems by investing in world-class research. Our quest is to transform lives and regions, so while much of our research is sharply focused on our home region, it is designed to produce results that can be applied globally.

Research to support the Living Well, Longer theme is multidisciplinary and multi-faceted, but it has one key objective – to make a difference to the quality of people’s lives.

Living Well, Longer applies to every aspect of a person’s life, from the cradle to the grave, so it could be about health, relationships, housing, transport, social services, sustainability and finances – or a combination of some or all.

Our projects are broad, ranging from developing preventative health measures which can help side-step so many of the health problems that affect older Australians (such as diabetes, hypertension and musculor-skeletal problems) to working with partner organisations like Alzheimer’s Australia on a pioneering program to develop dementia-friendly communities that make it easier for people with dementia to interact with their social, cultural and physical environments.

As a mental health care nurse and researcher I am passionate about the importance of embracing a range of research paradigms to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Our Living Well, Longer research traverse the hard sciences such as laboratory investigations to social science where who talk to people who share their experiences about where they live, what they do and how they do it.

Wollongong and the Illawarra region, with its defined borders, multi-cultural population and demographic spread, is an ideal living environment in which to conduct research that addresses global challenges.

Importantly, UOW has a long history of successful engagement with its community in social research. Global Challenges builds on the confidence that has been built up over many years.

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LIVING WELL, LONGER

TOWARDS A DEMENTIAFRIENDLY WORLD

we will all need to rise to the challenge of being dementiafriendly, whether that be in the way we build homes, transport systems or hospitals, or in the way we deliver services in shops and banks.”

As the age of our population rises, so too does the prevalence of illness and disease. Nowhere is this more apparent than in dementia, a disease that is set to balloon as we move further into the 21st century.

Dementia-Friendly Communities and Organisations brings together multidisciplinary researchers across a range of fields, including medicine, social science and engineering, ensuring that the project presents a holistic and comprehensive approach to this global problem.

While much of the public discussion has focused on the debilitating and despairing features of living with dementia, one Global Challenges project is set to pave the way for communities to respond positively to the challenges.

The project will focus on the implementation and evaluation of two pilot dementia-friendly communities and organisations in Australia. Researchers will collect data throughout 2014.

Research and Action to Pioneer Dementia-Friendly Communities and Organisations, conducted in partnership with Alzheimer’s Australia and local councils, will change the way people with dementia interact within their social, cultural, and physical environments.

“If we can improve public awareness and experience an understanding about people with dementia, and promote the positive stories about their capacities rather than their limitations, we can reduce the stigma associated with dementia,” Dr Phillipson said. “It really is a global challenge that we have to come to terms with in Australia as well as around the world.”

With rates of dementia poised to escalate in the years to come, rising from approximately 320,000 people now to one million by the year 2050, it is an illness that we can no longer ignore.

Dr Lyn Phillipson (centre) is leading the dementia research project.

Researchers in UOW’s Global Challenges Program are helping develop dementiafriendly communities and organisations.

Researcher Dr Lyn Phillipson said the Dementia Friendly project is about challenging the notion that people with dementia cannot lead lives where they can feel included and be supported to live with a good quality of life. It is also about changing the perception that it is only doctors and nurses or aged care homes that have a role to play.

“Creating a dementia-friendly community is everyone’s business – whether you work in a bank or a shop or café, whether you’re a town planner or just a good neighbour. We can all benefit from understanding how to better support people living with dementia,” Dr Phillipson said.

“As awareness grows about the needs of an ageing population, and especially the needs of those with dementia,

TRANSFORMING LIVES AND REGIONS

Volunteers take part in the 2014 University of Wollongong Global Challenges Recovery Camp at YMCA Camp Yarramundi.

LIVING WELL, LONGER

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN MENTAL HEALTH So much of society’s focus is placed on physical health, from our weight and exercise capacity to our alcohol consumption and what foods we eat. But little focus is placed on our mental health.

Yet living well does not just encompass our physical being, but also our mental state.

What do we need to ensure people are mentally healthy?

The University of Wollongong Global Challenges Recovery Camp is a step in the right direction.

Held annually in Richmond, north west of Sydney, the Recovery Camp brings together people with mental health issues and mental health professionals for a week with the aim of breaking down communication barriers and challenging social stigma.

It is a level playing field, a chance for people with mental health issues to challenge themselves and prove their capabilities in a welcoming environment.

Living Well, Longer leader Professor Lorna Moxham, who runs the Recovery Camp, said the participants relished the chance to simply be seen as people, rather than a collection of symptoms.

“Everybody has an active, integral and valued role within the camp, regardless of gender, age or size,” Professor Moxham said.

In 2014, there was a mix of male and female participants, aged between 20 and 70, and all came away from the camp with a newfound sense of self and empowerment.

The participants’ mental health conditions included eating disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction and depression. The camp also allows UOW students to spend time with those with a lived experience of mental health away from a clinical environment.

In 2013, the Recovery Camp won the national Partnerships in Wellbeing award from the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses.

The camp helps Professor Moxham to understand and provide support to those with mental illness as part of the Living Well, Longer challenge. Mental health issues do not discriminate, but affect every sector of society and should be treated in the same vein as a physical illness – with respect and compassion, she said.

“It is imperative that, globally and nationally, we make our mental health system the best it can be. We need to appreciate each other and ensure that our programs contribute to and support the recovery journey of those with mental health conditions,” Professor Moxham said.

“Australians deserve and expect good care and treatment when they have a physical illness or an accident. People with mental health issues are no less deserving.”

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LIVING WELL, LONGER

VOLUNTEERS TOO VALUABLE TO WASTE Volunteers make the world go round. They are always valued, but it is in times of crisis or natural disaster that they really shine. From floods to bushfires, earthquakes to extreme storms, volunteer organisations and their workforces are essential for restoring calm in local communities, providing information and updates, and assisting with the aftermath or clean-up.

Without volunteers, including firefighters, surf life savers and emergency workers, our capacity for resilience in times of trouble would be severely diminished and the impact on governments, which would be forced to bear the brunt of the work, would be immense.

A Global Challenges-supported project, Redesigning Leadership to Improve Retention of Volunteers in the NSW SES, focuses on the importance of volunteers to the NSW State Emergency Service and how it can retain these highly skilled members within the organisation.

The NSW SES has an annual turnover of volunteers of around 20 per cent, and each year it loses as many recruits as it gains, resulting in a war of attrition in which valuable time and training resources are constantly wasted.

The project will examine how leadership capacity impacts the recruitment and retention of volunteers. Researchers will work with current members of the organisation in data collection and training intervention with an emphasis on creating more optimistic and healthier working environments.

Lead investigator Dr Michael Jones said storms are growing in frequency and intensity, which, combined with a decrease in volunteers, created a precarious situation for organisations that rely heavily on volunteers.

“State emergency services are well equipped to deal with storms and natural events,” Dr Jones said. “However, they rely on a well-trained and highly skilled workforce. But volunteer turnover could present a major obstacle to an effective SES. “There is so much competition for volunteers and leadership is essential to anchoring the volunteers, making them feel appreciated, and ensuring they stay within an organisation.”

Volunteers provide assistance in times of natural disaster, such as bushfires. Picture: ThinkStock.

While the project initially focuses on the NSW SES, the findings could be translated to other volunteer organisations in Australia, such as the Country Fire Association in Victoria and the Rural Fire Service in NSW, as well as similar emergency services in the United Kingdom and the United States.

The project could also prove effective in the health care and ageing sectors, where volunteers are essential to providing services and support for those in need.

“We’re aiming to use the research findings gathered to halve the turnover rate in the NSW SES in the next three to five years,” said Dr Jones, who is joined by a multidisciplinary team of researchers.

For many volunteers, an ability to play a role in the community is vital to the challenge of Living Well, Longer.

A healthy and engaged volunteer, who feels respected for their work and contribution, holds many of the keys to a productive, fulfilling life.

TRANSFORMING LIVES AND REGIONS

MANUFACTURING INNOVATION

BY PROFESSOR GEOFFREY SPINKS

A

ustralia can forge an exciting future as a manufacturing nation in the 21st century, if we are prepared to embrace innovation and technology.

The highly-publicised demise of the automotive industry in Australia, the latest in a long line of traditional manufacturing industries that have fallen by the wayside, seems to suggest that we have a limited future as a manufacturing nation.

However, nothing could be further from the truth – provided we act now.

Manufacturing Innovation leader Professor Geoffrey Spinks is an Australian Research Council Fellow based at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science. Professor Spinks has a background in both Engineering and Chemistry, and extensive experience in manufacturingrelated research and industry collaboration.

The assumption that manufacturing is dying because we have seen traditional industries like clothing, footwear, white goods, furniture, electronics and now cars succumb to a combination of high labour costs, small domestic markets and a high Australian dollar, overlooks Australia’s track record for innovation, diversity, specialisation and human skills. It also ignores the fact that Australian manufacturing output has quadrupled since the 1950s.

Australia has the skills and capacity to be a global leader in highly specialised niche manufacturing, delivering high quality products and providing high quality jobs. We have done it before, and we can do it again.

Look at Cochlear, whose brilliant and life-changing implants for people suffering acute hearing loss account for 70 per cent of the global market. Or Australia’s polymer bank note technology, which is another world leader.

The truth is that the face of Australian manufacturing is changing. It is no longer simply about production lines, low-cost labour and cheap, throwaway products. We can’t expect to develop new large-scale manufacturing plants that employ thousands of people. But we can aim to develop new businesses through researching innovative products and ways to make them. A vibrant innovation system can deliver new jobs and new industries and help rejuvenate regional economies.

For example, 3D printing technology is opening up all kinds of opportunities. It is hugely advantageous to develop in tandem the materials and the machines that produce them.

Here at UOW we are already developing biomedical devices that replicate organs and other body parts, and we can also design and manufacture machines to make them.

Those countries that are able to best harness and focus their research capacity and convert ideas into industries will gain a huge advantage. Those countries that fail to act now will be swept aside by a virtual tsunami of technological innovation from nations with greater imagination and commitment to invest.

The question is simple. Does Australia want to be a global supplier or an importer of high tech, high value products?

The answer must be that we want to be a supplier.

Manufacturing does matter. Making things goes to the heart of a nation’s psyche. And we can’t simply rely on being the world’s quarry.

Here at UOW our research efforts in next generation manufacturing span high strength alloys, better battery materials, bionic implants and nanomaterials. Researchers are also developing innovative machinery like high productivity welding systems, 3D printers, metal forming systems and autonomous robots. We are also active in business management and ICT research that enable efficient business processes.

UOW is well positioned to help Australia meet the challenge of competing in a global race for next generation manufacturing. That’s why Manufacturing Innovation is one of the three themes in UOW’s Global Challenges program.

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Researcher Dr Stephen Beirne, who is involved in the project to create 3D printed flutes, demonstrates this growing technology.

Researcher Chantel Carr said the contained nature of cultural and sociological framework of the Illawarra, a region that was built on traditional manufacturing industries but has diversified in recent decades, provided the ideal background to examine the value and potential of this emerging technology.

“Wollongong is a regional city so there is ease in operating in a smaller environment,” Ms Carr said.

“We have the infrastructure, the port, the space and the knowledge base at the University.”

On a micro level, 3D printing could lead to the creation of niche industries and products, providing an outlet for creativity and specialist skills.

MANUFACTURING INNOVATION

MANUFACTURING TO A NEW TUNE For those who have not experienced the wonders of 3D printing, it can be a difficult concept to grasp. The act of creating tangible, physical objects using a machine not unlike our own household printers seems surreal to those outside the fields of science and academia.

However, 3D printing represents a new era for manufacturing and exciting business opportunities. Will 3D printing change the world? This oft-debated question lies at the heart of the Manufacturing Innovation challenge.

Our answer is yes, it will. The ability to produce an object quickly, efficiently and in most cases cheaply is at our fingertips, opening up a world of opportunity.

Global Challenges has invested in a number of projects that examine the possibilities of 3D printing and its impact on our daily lives.

The potential of 3D printing to change the fabric of Australia’s manufacturing identity and mitigate industrial decline is explored in the Global Challenges project Re-energising the Illawarra through Additive Manufacturing.

The project is inspired by initiatives in Ohio in the United States and in north-west England, where additive manufacturing is helping change the shape and future of regions heavily affected by decades of decline in traditional manufacturing.

The Global Challenges project, 3D Modelling, Printing and Testing of Custom-Designed Microtonal Flutes, is one such example of how new technology can revitalize manufacturing and give birth to a new industry – custom, 3D printed musical instruments.

Lead Researcher Dr Terumi Narushima, from UOW’s Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts, said the project combines the field of microtonal music, which is a relatively young field of study, with the new technology of 3D printing to create instruments that are not feasible within standard manufacturing.

The project will focus on designing and creating 3D flutes that can be played across a range of tones and which will be tested in UOW’s Anechoic Chamber. However, the research can be expanded outside flutes with the potential to recreate rare and customised instruments and help musicians achieve unique sounds.

“The project takes a different attitude to music-making,” Dr Narushima said. “It’s about not taking the status quo for granted. What kind of new music and new instruments can we create?”

Today’s mass-produced manufacturing stifles creativity and innovation. The flutes are just one example of how 3D printing enables new ideas to grow. In years to come, manufacturing will be highly flexible with new products brought to the market quickly. The future of manufacturing will be defined by creativity, not conformity.

TRANSFORMING LIVES AND REGIONS

MANUFACTURING INNOVATION

OUR WORLD IS GETTING SMARTER Imagine a world where everyday items like the clothes we wear and the buildings we inhabit have in-built “intelligence”.

Our clothes will constantly monitor our comfort and adjust its warmth accordingly. Our buildings, too, will have selftinting windows, adjustable insulation and will be able to harvest energy from waste heat and vibrations.

This is the future of smart products enabled by smart materials and providing enormous opportunities for the future of modern manufacturing.

All products are made from something and the choice of material is dictated by cost, availability, available production methods and properties like strength and colour.

Conventional product design is based on static material properties with product quality and longevity reliant on the stability of the materials. Now, however, new generations of smart materials are opening a world of possibility for product designers: products that can change their characteristics on demand.

Smart materials alter their properties in response to external stimulus, such as heat, light, electricity, and chemicals. There are an enormous range of material responses, such as changes in colour, size, conductivity, and mechanical properties like stiffness that can be used in smart ways.

A Global Challenges-supported project that could revolutionise the way we make condoms highlights the immense possibilities inherent in smart materials. The project, a partnership between Global Challenges and the ARC Centre for Electromaterials, reimagines the condom from a contraception that men have to use to one they want to use by increasing sensation while maintaining the same level of protection. The new condom would be crafted from tough hydrogels, rather than traditional latex rubber. Hydrogels are smart materials that enhance tactile sensitivity – defined as the body’s ability to sense changes in texture and shape through touch.

University of Wollongong researchers have been at the forefront of developing smart materials for decades.

The reimagined condom, which has been funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, demonstrates the researchers’ expertise and capacity for creativity in this field.

Professor Geoffrey Spinks in his smart materials laboratory at the Australian Institute for Innovative Materials at the University of Wollongong.

Hydrogel condoms would be a safe alternative to the traditional condom, with the benefit of greater sensitivity and increased pleasure, and eliminating the risks posed by latex allergies. Imagine a world where safe sex was not only a necessity, but also a pleasure, for both men and women.

The multidisciplinary project brings together researchers in the fields of medicine, health, social marketing and materials science.

Researcher Dr Robert Gorkin III said the hydrogel condom could revolutionise attitudes to safe sex throughout the developing world.

“Condoms crafted from tough hydrogels with enhanced sensation could provide an alternative to latex condoms in third-world countries, encouraging greater practice of safe sex and, therefore, reducing rates of unwanted pregnancy and infections,” Dr Gorkin said. “The implications for the world around us are enormous.”

Professor Spinks said demand for smart materials would rise as product designers begin to recognise the immense possibilities inherent in these new technologies.

“Products are no longer confined by the availability and capacity of conventional materials. We can create smart materials that are intuitive and built to respond to the world around them.”

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Professor Julie Steele, one of the chief investigators of the Lymph Sleeve project, believes the device could provide improved quality of life for breast cancerrelated lymphedema.

MANUFACTURING INNOVATION

MEDICAL DEVICES TRANSFORM LIVES In the field of medicine, innovative manufacturing has the potential to transform people’s lives. The Cochlear Implant, for example, exemplifies the positive impact of groundbreaking medical devices, both for individuals and society as a whole.

Bionic ear pioneer Professor Graeme Clarke helped establish the biomedics research program at the University of Wollongong’s Intelligent Polymer Research Institute, and its researchers are continuing to refine the cellular-electrode interface for new generation implants including the Cochlear ear.

A new medical device, supported by the Global Challenges Program and developed by a team of multidisciplinary researchers at UOW, will transform the lives of women who suffer from breast cancer-related lymphedema.

The Lymph Sleeve uses artificial muscles to relieve the symptoms associated with lymphedema, an abnormal swelling in the arm, breast, hand or torso that can occur after lymph nodes are removed in breast cancer surgery.

Professor Geoffrey Spinks, Global Challenges’ Manufacturing Innovation leader, collaborated with Professor Julie Steele and Dr Bridget Munro from the Biomechanics Research Laboratory and Professor Gordon Wallace from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science on the project.

Professor Spinks said the artificial muscles in the Lymph Sleeve, which was developed following a Novel Concepts grant from the National Breast Cancer Foundation, would help to ease such symptoms as swelling, fluid retention, heaviness and pain.

“We started with the question, how do we apply artificial materials to treat lymphedema?” Professor Spinks said.

“Artificial muscles gently massage the affected area, mimicking normal lymphatic massage techniques. The sleeve is made from a lightweight fabric that detects swelling and then uses the artificial muscles to gently massage the affected area and enhance lymphatic flow.

“It is often difficult for women with lymphedema to access regular massage services and it can be very expensive.”

If the Lymph Sleeve enters the public domain, one of the greatest benefits for the patient would be the inexpensive nature of the product, with the artificial muscles constructed from everyday items such as fishing line.

Professor Steele said the emotional and physical benefits for women with incurable breast cancer-related lymphedema would be immeasurable.

“They have already suffered the trauma of breast cancer and then, when they’re in the clear, they have to deal with the pain of lymphedema, sometimes 10 years later,” Professor Steele said. “Haven’t they been through enough? The Lymph Sleeve would improve their quality of life enormously.”

The impact of pioneering medical devices, such as the Lymph Sleeve and the Cochlear Implant, is twofold. These devices make a huge difference in the lives of people suffering from illness and have the ability to spark niche, high-value manufacturing industries.

TRANSFORMING LIVES AND REGIONS

SUSTAINING COASTAL AND MARINE ZONES

BY PROFESSOR CLIVE SCHOFIELD

Political geographer and international legal expert Professor Clive Schofield is the Sustaining Coastal and Marine Zones leader.

He is also Director of Research at UOW’s Australian Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS).

S

cience fiction author Arthur C. Clarke once observed “How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean.” Good point, well made. Oceans encompass around 72 per cent of the surface of the planet.

The vast extent of the oceans only tells part of the story, however.

Oceans are critical to the global environment and human survival in numerous ways. They are vital to the global nutrient cycle, represent a key repository and supporter of biological diversity and play a fundamental role in driving the global atmospheric system.

Coastal and marine environments support and sustain key habitats and living resources, notably fisheries and aquaculture that provides food for hundreds of millions of people. Fishing supports an estimated 540 million people worldwide and fisheries supply over 15 per cent of the animal protein consumed by 4.2 billion people globally.

Oceans also are an increasing source of energy resources and underpin the global economy through sea-borne trade.

Overall, it has been estimated that 61 per cent of global GNP is sourced from the oceans and coastal areas within 100km of the sea. At the same time the oceans also remain largely (95 per cent) unexplored, so we have much to learn.

Coastal and marine issues have particular resonance for Australia, which boasts the world’s third-largest coastline (almost 60,000km in length), and third-largest maritime zone. It takes seven days steaming time for a vessel to travel from one end of Australia’s maritime jurisdiction to the other. Australia also has responsibility for multiple, farflung island territories.

Moreover, approximately 85 per cent of the population lives within the coastal zone and Australians have a longstanding strong cultural affinity to their coasts and oceans.

Coastal and maritime zones are, however, under threat from increasingly intense and diverse uses of these spaces and incompatible developments. Pollution and dumping, overfishing, destruction of valuable habitats, the sustained trend towards urbanisation in the coastal zone and the growth of coastal mega-cities, frequently located on lowelevation coasts, add to the pressure on coastal and marine environments.

Further, climate change is having a profound impact on coasts and marine zones. This is of particular significance given that the oceans serve as the primary sink for excess heat and carbon present in the global climate system.

These problems are compounded by shortcomings in monitoring and limitations in terms of control, enforcement and compliance with respect to national and international regulations.

The UOW Global Challenge on Sustaining Coastal and Marine Zones is therefore a particularly urgent as well as exciting one. This challenge brings together experts from a diverse range of fields including science, marine conservation, law, geography and biology.

Sustaining coastal and marine environments represents an enormous challenge and one that is global in scope yet also directly relevant to us all.

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SUSTAINING COASTAL AND MARINE ZONES

SUSTAINABLE FISHING KEY TO FOOD SECURITY Food security is one of the major issues affecting island nations around the world. Overfishing, in particular, poses a threat to developing nations, many of which rely upon the ocean as their main source of income and protein.

Unsustainable fishing practices in many developing nations have created a precarious situation. Resources are shrinking at a time when climate change looks set to have a profound affect on our coastal and marine zones.

that promote economic development, limit fishing effort to sustainable levels and protect important habitats.

A major research initiative, which brings together the Global Challenges Program, World Fish and the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at UOW, aims to avert this catastrophic scenario by improving coastal fisheries management in the Pacific and provide a safeguard against declining food security. World Fish is an international, non-profit research organisation that focuses on fisheries and aquaculture in developing nations.

The four-year project will target priority communities in the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Vanuatu and will work with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community to scale out the

Left: Dr Quentin Hanich, who is a member of the ANCORS research team. Right: Overfishing is a major issue throughout island nations in the Pacific. Photo credit: ThinkStock.

The Pacific islands are at the forefront of this global challenge. They are heavily dependent on fisheries for food security, as well as livelihoods and development, while simultaneously 75 per cent of coastal fisheries are expected to fall short of food needs by 2030. In particular, coastal and lagoon fisheries are largely unmanaged in practice, with significant declines in productivity in many islands caused by overfishing.

Inshore fisheries play an essential role in these island nations, providing cash and nutrition for villagers and coastal residents. They hold the key to mitigating the shortfall in fish supply.

“It is no exaggeration to conclude that the blunt viability of states such as Kiribati and Tuvalu is directly linked to the sustainability of their marine resources,” said University of Wollongong researcher Dr Quentin Hanich.

In order to avert this catastrophic scenario and ensure the long-term viability of these nations, Dr Hanich said it is critical that communities, industry and government collaborate to implement conservation and management mechanisms

research findings to other countries in the region.

The researchers will create a new framework for identifying food security threats in the Pacific, empowering local communities, and implementing a practical response to sustaining fishing practices and the impact of climate change.

Dr Hanich said food security was a truly global challenge and one that requires a coordinated response to achieve a realistic solution for islands in the Pacific.

“It is critical that coastal communities can effectively manage and sustainably develop their fisheries in a region where fish provide 40 to 90 per cent of animal protein for coastal communities and are a key resource for food security, livelihoods, revenue and development,” he said.

As the world’s population increases, and our reliance on coastal and marine environments show no sign of abating, overfishing and food security will place greater pressure on our oceans. While smaller island nations are the first line of defence, the potential impact on countries around the globe cannot be underestimated. It is a challenge that requires an international solution.

TRANSFORMING LIVES AND REGIONS

SUSTAINING COASTAL AND MARINE ZONES

TWEETING FROM THE FLOOD FRONTLINE Social media is the frontline in disaster response – a way for affected residents to provide and receive information and keep up to date on the situation unfolding around them at a time when traditional communication channels may be limited.

At the same time, cities throughout the world are becoming increasingly complex and under stress. Intense population growth has placed greater pressure on the infrastructure and resources of sprawling urban centres.

The threat posed by climate change and natural disasters on modern cities, where thousands of people can inhabit a single city block, cannot be underestimated. This issue is particularly acute for the mega cities of the developing world, many of which are located in low-lying coastal areas.

PetaJakarta, a new project from a team of University of Wollongong researchers, is harnessing the power of citizen engagement and the ubiquity of social media to provide updates on flooding affecting the mega-city of Jakarta.

PetaJakarta, the brainchild of geosocial researchers Dr Etienne Turpin and Dr Tomas Holderness, will help the researchers to examine the capacity for resilience in cities affected by extreme weather events and cities on the frontline of climate change.

Dr Turpin said environmental risks and economic concerns have created the perfect storm in Jakarta.

“Of all the global challenges that are faced in the 21st century, coastal mega-cities in South and South-East Asia are under the greatest pressure,” said Dr Turpin. “(They face) land subsidence, extreme pollution, changing weather patterns, intensity of precipitation and storm systems, rising populations and the incredible trajectory of urbanization in the region. All of these things combine to produce a single question – how do we allow the coastal mega-cities of SouthEast Asia to survive the 21st century?”

PetaJakarta is a collaboration between UOW’s Global Challenges Program and SMART Infrastructure Facility, and the social media platform Twitter. UOW was one of only six research institutions in the world awarded an inaugural Twitter Data Grant, which grants access to the microblogging site’s historical and public data.

Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, has the fastest rate of urbanisation in the world and is South-East Asia’s most densely-populated conurbation. The mega-city, which is intersected by the vast Ciliwung River, has a population of more than 28 million people and is at a constant risk of inundation.

PetaJakarta harnesses the power of social media to provide information about flooding in the Indonesian capital. Photo credit: Etienne Turpin.

PetaJakarta uses the open source software known as CogniCity to collect, analyse and display information on Twitter. The project is exclusive to Jakarta, however the researchers aim to translate the software to other Asian cities including Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh, Manila and Bangkok which are also at risk from intense weather systems exacerbated by climate change.

Dr Holderness said PetaJakarta demonstrates the ability of social media to effect change and break down communication barriers in dense urban centres.

“It will radically change real-time data collection and feedback for flood monitoring in one of the most precarious delta cities of South-East Asia.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON UOW’S GLOBAL CHALLENGES PROGRAM CONTACT:

DR TAMANTHA STUTCHBURY Research Strategy Leader Global Challenges Program University of Wollongong E: tamantha@uow.edu.au http://globalchallenges.uow.edu.au E: globalchallenges@uow.edu.au Tweet us: @UOWGC P: (02) 4221 4261