CONNECT: RESEARCH & INNOVATION NEWS
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2012- ISSUE #1 RESEARCH WITHOUT BORDERS
International collaborations helping to advance medical technology and create a greener future AUSTRALIA’S FORGOTTEN VOICES Dr Siobhan McHugh gives Harvard lecture
CLIMATE CHANGE IN ANTARCTICA Researchers uncover new evidence
The University of Wollongong ranks in the top 2% of research universities worldwide Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2011.
Research & Innovation News is the research magazine of the University of Wollongong and is published six times per year. Contact: Research Services Office Building 20, Level 1 University of Wollongong Northfields Ave, Wollongong NSW, Australia, 2522 Publication manager: Sharon Martin Editor: Vicky Wallace vwallace@uow.edu.au +61 2 4221 4126 Writer and designer: Elise Pitt epitt@uow.edu.au +61 2 4221 3761 Subscriptions: Visit www.uow.edu.au/research to subscribe to electronic versions of Research & Innovation News.
Cover image: Amaviael | Dreamstime.com
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Contents
04 04 NEWS
Researchers find new climate change evidence in Antarctica & world wide interest in iPhone app
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UOW’s international research collaborations helping to advance medical technology and create a green energy future
RESEARCHER UPDATE
Student profile on PM’s Australia Asia Endeavour
Award winner & Travel Tale by Dr Siobhan McHugh
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NEW STAFF
Highly cited author, Professor Noel Cressie to join UOW & Andrew McCusker joins SMART
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GRANTS NEWS
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RESEARCH STUDENT CENTRE NEWS 2012 Three Minute Thesis Competition
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LIBRARY NEWS
Digital access to the world’s oldest and most prestigious medical journal, The Lancet
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ETHICS NEWS Upcoming meeting dates
26 PUBLICATIONS
Outstanding new books from our top researchers
27 EVENTS
The ultimate challenge for functional materials symposium & The Leon Kane-Maguire address
Grants outcomes & upcoming funding opportunities
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Researchers find new climate change evidence in Antarctica
“Climate change has made the driest continent on Earth an even harsher environment” A paper which appeared in the January 2012 issue of Global Change Biology shows how the dominant plants in Antarctica have been affected by modern climate change. In a handful of coastal Antarctic “oases” void of permanent ice cover, lush moss beds grow during the short summer season from December to February using melt water from streams and lakes. Up until now, measuring the seasonal growth rate of these plants has been extremely difficult and hence it was impossible to assess the impact of our changing climate. This research, conducted by a team of environmental scientists from UOW and nuclear physicists from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), shows how the increased concentration of radiocarbon in the atmosphere resulting from nuclear weapons testing (mostly in the late 1950s and early 1960s, called the ‘the bomb spike’) can be used to accurately date the age of the moss shoots along their stems in a similar way to tree-rings. Professor Sharon Robinson from UOW’s Institute for Conservation Biology and Environmental Management (School of Biological Sciences) said the team found that most of the plants were growing 50 years ago when nuclear testing was at its peak. In some species the peak of the radiocarbon bomb spike was found just 15 mm from the top of the 50 mm shoot suggesting that these plants may be more than 100 years old. “Accurate dating along the moss stem allows us to determine the very slow growth rates of these mosses (ranging from 0.2 to 3.5 mm per year). Remarkably, these plants were already growing during the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. In terms of age these mosses are effectively the old growth forests of Antarctica -- in miniature,” Professor Robinson said. Although increased temperature and precipitation in the polar regions due to climate change are predicted to increase growth rates, the scientists found that at some sites growth rates have
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declined since the 1980s. They suggest that this is likely due to moss beds drying out, which appears to be caused by increased wind speeds around Antarctica that are linked to the Antarctic ozone hole. In the 100 years since the start of scientific research in Antarctica, contamination of Earth’s atmosphere with increased radioactivity due to nuclear weapons testing has led to radiocarbon labelling of Antarctic plants. “This has allowed scientists to show that climate change has made the driest continent on Earth an even harsher environment for plant life,” Professor Robinson said. Professor Robinson ventured south again in December last year with Associate Professor Paul Keller, UOW PhD student Jess BramleyAlves and colleagues from Monash and Adelaide Universities. This season, Professor Robinson says they are setting up two experiments in Antarctica. “One will look at the effects of the ozone hole induced, elevated UV-B especially in relation to how fast the mosses can make sunscreen pigments and which ones are specific UV sunscreens. The other experiment follows on from the paper in Global Change Biology and is to experimentally confirm that the mosses retain a chemical signature (stable isotopes) of the water availability while they are growing (this is Jess’ PhD project work). We will also collect more long shoots to trace past climate along with our colleagues at the British Antarctic Survey, University of Cambridge and University of Vienna”, Professor Robinson said. Checking in with us just before Christmas, Professor Robinson gave an update of the team’s research. “So far we have spent 2 weeks travelling down on the ship and since we came ashore we have had 2 days of blizzard so we are stuck inside with the wind gusting to 202km/hour and we can’t even get to the science building because it is so windy. Meanwhile the moss is out there toughing it out!”.
Photos: Jose Tejo, Brandon Smith | Dreamstime
Women come together for sustainability UOW has hosted a seminar to encourage female scholars to conduct research on environmental sustainability and climate change. Dr Gillian Bowser, main initiator of the new Global Research Network on Women and Sustainability, which has been funded by the US National Science Foundation for the next five years, visited UOW to present the seminar, which was hosted by IIBSOR in November. IIBSoR’s Ulrike Gretzel is on the steering committee of the network, working to engage other UOW women scholars who research within the areas of sustainability and climate change, or scholars who study issues related to sustainability and women, to foster research in these areas. Dr Bowser, who is a Foreign Affairs
Officer and Science and Policy fellow at the U.S. Department of State in the Office of Marine Conservation, believes the science providing sustainable strategies for a healthy planet should have representation from the full spectrum of human societies and include gender, racial, and ethnic balance. Dr Bowser spoke about how those global voices can be brought together by creating an interdisciplinary international network of women scholars to address vulnerability of women and socioeconomic impacts of climate change. By doing this, new understanding and models of sustainability that strengthens connections and collaborations of scientists can be developed, while also addressing the global shortage of women scientists.
Breakthrough ink for spinal cord repair Researchers at UOW’s Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) have developed a new ink formulation that can be used to print surfaces that facilitate nerve cell regeneration. The effective interfacing of nerve cells to electronic systems is important in developing the next generation bionic ear, the bionic eye and conduits that facilitate nerve repair. Organic conductors provide several advantages over conventional metals in this regard, however novel fabrication methods are required if the full potential of these new materials is to be realised. Now, IPRI researchers are paving the way for regenerative resprouting of nerve cells with the first ever printed platform for bionics. Their findings have been featured as the core article in the prestigious scientific journal, SMALL.
amenable to ink jet printing and capable of providing pattered surfaces (with micron resolution) is capable of supporting nerve cell growth and controlling the direction of growth through electrical stimulation.
IPRI researchers are paving the way for regenerative resprouting of nerve cells with the first ever printed platform for bionics.
IPRI Director and Executive Research Director of ACES, Professor Gordon Wallace (pictured right), said these sorts of bionic devices enable researchers to interface the world of biology with the world of electronics. “Developments in this area to date have resulted in the cochlear implant (the bionic ear), nerve stimulators for control of Parkinson’s disease and deep brain stimulators for epilepsy. “Ongoing advances in materials (especially in the area of organic conductors) and fabrication methods are bringing the pursuit of regenerative bionic devices for nerve and muscle repair closer to realisation. “In terms of fabrication the development of 2D and 3D printing technologies is a revolutionary new approach to the development of bionic devices,” Professor Wallace said. SMALL journal is reporting development of the ink formulation,
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AIIM helps address major challenges facing Australia
The new breed of vehicle the electric car. Holden is set to release the world’s first long range electric car in late 2012. Equipped with both electric and petrol capabilities, The Volt, is a step in the right direction towards ensuring a cleaner energy future. UOW researchers are working on green technology to ensure even more reliable and efficient electronic vehicles for the future.
UOW, through its Australian Institute for Innovative Materials (AIIM) will play an important role in two Co-operative Research Centres announced by the Federal Government – the $26 million Automotive Australia 2020 CRC and the $14.5 million CRC for Polymers. AIIM, located on the University of Wollongong’s Innovation Campus, houses UOW’s flagship research centres - the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Electromaterials Science. Automotive Australia 2020 CRC The research team at UOW’s Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials (ISEM) will be driving the advancement of electrification technologies for use in electric and hybrid electric vehicles. The ISEM team, in fact, will be the program leader for vehicle electrification within the Automotive CRC. With its strengths in research and niche manufacturing, Australia is well placed to engage with the rapidly-growing Asian automotive market by providing technology for low emission cars and sustainable manufacturing. The new CRC will tackle the complex issues that are currently impeding the uptake of low-carbon vehicles worldwide; with innovation specifically in the areas of vehicle electrification, gaseous fuels and clean manufacturing. ISEM Director Professor Shi Xue Dou said that over the coming years research conducted by the Institute will be critical to producing more affordable and more reliable electric vehicle batteries and supercapacitor as well as thermoelectric modules. “This research is critical to improving electric vehicle driving range so as to encourage the widespread adoption of electric vehicles in public and private transportation system. UOW-developed technologies could eventually be used globally. “The new state-of-the-art facilities at AIIM are helping us set a world-class capabilities for processing and fabrication of high performance electrode and electrolyte materials as well as thermoelectric modules for waste heat recovery. New testing equipment will also raise the bar in effectively testing battery safety and performance. “Hopefully in the coming years we will see electric vehicles on the streets of Wollongong that are powered by technology that researchers at UOW have helped develop”, Professor Dou said.
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CRC for Polymers Meanwhile, the CRC for Polymers will establish Australian manufacturing as a leading provider and exporter of products that meet emerging global needs in three areas — health therapies, water and food security, and low-cost solar energy — by developing enabling and sustainable advanced polymer technology. The products developed will improve productivity, grow the manufacturing sector, create high-skill high-value manufacturing jobs, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Professor David Officer of the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) will lead the solar energy program to fabricate inexpensive polymer-based dye sensitised solar cells and develop advanced polymer films for encapsulating and protecting solar cells. Professor Officer said he was delighted with the outcome, which will see a more than doubling in size of the IPRI solar energy research program as well as commercial development of results from the program. “This research will not only lead to low cost solar cells that can be put on a wide variety of indoor and outdoor surfaces, but also provide the materials to ensure that those solar cells last for 20 years or more,” Professor Officer said. Both projects will ultimately benefit manufacturing in the Illawarra since a spin-off company based in Wollongong will be incubated by the Centre to more widely commercialise the polymer solar cell technology. “The new funding provides an excellent opportunity to build on previous successes at UOW. This is a consequence of CRC researchers having worked alongside other IPRI researchers in an integrated and effective way for many years, with the Centre providing an obvious conduit for exploitation of the more fundamental discoveries.” “In that regard, these projects will be ideally suited to the outstanding new AIIM Processing and Devices Facility at the Innovation Campus,” Professor Officer said. The solar energy program also involves researchers at the University of Newcastle, the University of Queensland, the Queensland University of Technology, the University of New South Wales, Monash University and ANSTO. Senator Carr announced six successful CRCs worth a total of $148 million. For more information about all the successful centres visit www.crc.gov.au
Researchers tackle our aging population A group of UOW researchers have come together to address Australia’s aging population issues. In a seminar organised by UOW’s Social Innovation Network (SInet) in December, five researchers showcased the work they are undertaking on the topic. Dr Judy Mullan from the Graduate School of Medicine discussed the impact of poor health literacy on aged
Dr Francesca Fernandez is investigating the mix of genes involved in Alzheimer’s disease. Her research aims to develop a reliable genetic diagnostic method. adults, while Dr Peter McLean from the School of Management and Marketing presented on a new project “Transitioning people with intellectual disabilities into aged care”. Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute’s Dr Francesca Fernandez is investigating the mix of genes involved in Alzheimer’s disease and her research aims to produce a reliable genetic diagnostic method and obtain a better understanding of the causes and risk factors of this devastating disease. Dr Lois Burgess from the Marketing Research Innovation Centre talked about the benefits of how senior citizens may use new information technologies to
build online communities and reduce isolation. And Lyn Phillipson from the Centre of Health Initiatives presented on the wide variety of research work that the Centre is carrying out on ageing issues such as Dementia Online Illawarra, Promoting Healthy Lifestyles in Illawarra Retirement Trust (IRT) Communities and Blood Pressure Checking Stations. PowerPoint slides of these presentations can be found on SInet website.
World wide interest in PhD student’s iPhone app PhD student Jenna Tregarthen (pictured right) has received global interest in her iPhone application which helps young women manage eating disorders. Less than three months after she came up with the idea, Recovery Record, it is downloadable on iPhone, iPod Touch, the iTunes app¬ store and Android. There is so much interest in the concept at recoveryrecord.com that Jenna has suspended her PhD in Clinical Psychology and moved to California to continue her work. She accepted an opportunity to become a Design for Health Service Innovation Fellow at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business after previously being accepted into the Summer Institute for Entrepreneurship at Stanford where she put her idea forward. It was chosen as one of 12 new ventures to develop. Jenna moved back to Stanford last month to work with the Stanford Eating Disorder Clinic to document the app’s results and pilot it in a clinical setting. ‘‘I would like to see Recovery Record in the tool kit of every eating disorder therapist in America, and in the hands of the countless women who are toughing it alone,’’ she has said. ‘‘There is also enormous potential for it to be utilised as a tool for prevention and incorporated into the continuous care plan for eating disorder patients coming out of therapy.’’ According to a 2006 Flinders University study, one in 12 Australian women will develop a serious eating disorder at some point in their lives, which kill 20 per cent of current sufferers if left untreated.
That number falls to 3 per cent with treatment and Jenna is determined to make it easier for suffers to seek help. More than 20 girls have approached Jenna recently and told her that they had started seeing a therapist after Recovery Record helped them admit they had an eating disorder.
In Australia, one in 12 women are expected to develop a serious eating disorder at some point in their lives. R E S E A R CH & INN O VAT I O N NE W S
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Vietnam War research earns researcher DECRA
ARC Future Fellowships and DECRAs announcement in November 2011 in Canberra. Left to right: Sharon Martin, Dr Nadia Solowij, Senator Kim Carr, Prof. Margaret Sheil and A/Prof Peter Siminski). Photo courtesy of Norman Plant Photography.
Decades after the war, the effects of Vietnam-era military service remain an active area of academic and policy debate. Associate Professor Peter Siminski from the School of Economics is one of seven recipients from UOW to receive a 2012 ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) to conduct his research into the complex long-run effects of Australia’s conscription ballots on the lives of conscripts and their families. “Despite much research progress, questions on the health effects of service in Vietnam are far from settled. These health effects influence the design of the veterans’ compensation system, which in turn has implications for veterans’ employment”, says A/Prof. Siminski, who is also the Director of UOW’s Centre for Human and Social Capital Research. “The Australian National Service
conscription ballots are the primary focus of my recent research, supported by an ARC Linkage grant and now an ARC DECRA. These lotteries are an incredibly powerful research tool. They are almost identical to a set of 16 cluster-randomised controlled trials (involving around 800,000 men) with imperfect compliance (which can be addressed using instrumental variable techniques)”. With the aid of the conscription lotteries, Peter aims to ascertain the causal effects of army service and reduced employment incentives on important life outcomes in the realms of health, personal economic outcomes and social outcomes. His DECRA project will not only contribute to identifying the full costs to society of army service and of entering into combat and help to inform the design of contemporary compensation systems, but it will also contribute to understanding the human consequences of
conflict as well as the value of preserving employment incentives for men approaching retirement age. Peter’s work in this area has already been published in top tier economic journals, including the American Economic Review and the Review of Economics and Statistics. His strongest finding to date is a huge negative employment effect (in the order of 37 percentage points at 2006) for conscripts who served in Vietnam. “The employment effect is relatively recent, and is much larger than found in the United States in a similar context. It seems likely that the substantial employment disincentives in the veterans’ disability compensation system have ‘pushed’ these men out of the labour market into early retirement. This appears to be a significant public policy failure, which I’m investigating further, including possibilities for reform”.
Marketing measurement revolution article in top journal Professor John Rossiter from the Institute for Innovation in Business and Social Research (IIBSoR) has had his article “Marketing measurement revolution: The C-OAR-SE method and why it must replace psychometrics” published as the lead article in the European Journal of Marketing. His work introduces a revolutionary new approach to measurement.
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New measures in marketing are created by using a psychometric approach based on Churchill’s “scale development” procedure, and Prof Rossiter’s paper aims to compare and contrast Churchill’s procedure with his own content-validity approach to measurement, called C-OAR-SE.
Biophyschem conference attracts Nobel Laureate Photos: Baurzhan Moldabekov, Paolo Toscani | Dreamstime
UOW hosted the joint meeting of the Australian Society for Biophysics and the RACI’s Physical Chemistry Division from 3-6 December 2011. Over 200 delegates from Australian and international universities attended the conference which was chaired by Chemistry’s Dr Adam Trevitt. Highlights include the plenary lecture by 2008 Chemistry Nobel Laureate Martin Chalfie, vibrant poster sessions and strong participation by student and young researchers. Topics spanned fundamentals including laser and quantum chemistry, through to biological processes including protein structure and ion channels. It was an excellent meeting well-supported by UOW, Faculty of Science and School of Chemistry in addition to generous sponsorship provided by two of UOW’s ARC Centres of Excellence (COE), namely COE for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology and the COE for Electromaterials Science.
Most cited article honour A Senior Lecturer from the School of Information Systems and Technology, Dr Samuel Fosso-Wamba has gained a place on the ‘Most Cited Article list-International Journal of Production Economics’. Dr Fosso-Wamba, a member of the Institute for Innovation in Business and Social Research (IIBSoR), gained the place for his journal article ‘Exploring the impact of RFID technology and the EPC network on mobile B2B eCommerce: A case study in the retail industry’. It was authored in collaboration with his colleagues from Polytechnique Montréal, Canada. The same article was also on the
journal’s ‘Top 25 Hottest Articles for April to June 2008’ list. The article provides insights into Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and the electronic product code (EPC) network, investigating their impact on mobile B2B eCommerce. Findings show that these technologies can help retail companies enhance product availability, which represent billions of dollars in opportunities each year in terms of cost reduction related to inventory shrinkage. In addition, Dr Fosso-Wamba said it can lead to business process optimisation, reducing information handling by employees, contributing to cost savings.
Bluescope Researcher of the Year
From left: Associate Professor Stephen Blanksby and Dr Phil Barker
Dr Phil Barker from the School of Chemistry has won the Bluescope Steel “Researcher of the Year” for his outstanding work on developing a new understanding of the chemical processes which underpin the durability of the paints employed in the COLORBOND®steel range of products. For the past eight years, Phil, along with Associate Professor Stephen Blanksby and his team at the Wollongong node of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology, have developed new technologies based on state-of-the-art mass spectrometry (a technique for identifying molecules by their individual masses) to monitor chemical processes within the paint at a molecular level. Phil was presented with his award at a ceremony in November.
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Minister predicts SMART to have major impact on Australia
The SMART Infrastructure Facility will play a vital role in Australia’s future, Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said at the official opening of the Facility on 11 November 2011. The Minister together with the University of Wollongong Chancellor, Jillian Broadbent and former Vice-Chancellor Gerard Sutton officially opened the $62 million SMART building, one of the largest infrastructure research facilities in the world. The Minister highlighted the collaborative approach of SMART and that the government and SMART had agreed to
exchange information freely “so that good research can become good policy.” Mr Albanese predicted research carried out at SMART would have a major impact on Australia’s future, by analysing how the nation can embrace and harness new technologies to improve Australia’s liveability and sustainability. “I am excited at what is coming out of the SMART Infrastructure Facility, full of creative minds and energy, which is finding solutions to our real-life transport infrastructure challenges,” said the Minister. The recently appointed SMART Advisory
Council and former Australian Treasury head Dr Ken Henry officially welcomed guests. Dr Henry acknowledged the work of the Vice-Chancellor and former Advisory Council Chairman Nick Greiner in championing the vision and concept of SMART to gain funding and support. “Australia’s future prosperity depends on our infrastructure systems,” Dr Henry said, adding that research already underway at SMART was being supported by government agencies, corporate entities and fellow research organisations around the globe.
Success for research students Congratulations to masters by research student, GangRou (Danny) Peng, supervised by A/Prof Weihua Li, who received the best paper award in the field of “Mechatronic sensing, Actuation and Control” at the 15th International Conference in Mechatronics Technology held in Melbourne in November. His paper is entitled “Design and simulation of a selfsensing MR damper”. Another Postgraduate student, Phil Drain,
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supervised by A/Prof Brian Monaghan and A/Prof Sharon Nightingale, has won the prestigious AusIMM National Award, G B O’Malley Medal. Phil received the award for his outstanding undergraduate work on Blast Furnace Refractories and Coke Ash Reactions. His current Masters work is a continuation of his undergraduate thesis and his supervisor A/ Prof. Brian Monaghan says the results so far are just as promising.
Ana Heitor, PhD student in Geotechnical Engineering, was honoured with the Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Geotechnique, Construction Materials & Environment held in Tsu City, Japan, in November, where over 100 papers were presented from all over the world. Ana’s paper was based on varying the ground water level to minimise liquefaction of soils.
FIVE MINUTES WITH Dr Haibo Yu 2011 ARC Future Fellow, Dr Yu, reveals his latest research on how biological molecules function using computer simulations.
Dr Haibo Yu (pictured right) is a Lecturer in the School of Chemistry and a member of UOW Research Strength - Centre for Medical Bioscience (CMB). He attended the University of Science and Technology of China for undergraduate and his PhD study was carried out at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich. He then did postdoctoral research at the University of WisconsinMadison and the University of Chicago in the United States. To escape the windy and freezing Chicago winter, he moved to sunny Wollongong in July 2010. Since arriving, he has striven to develop a research group in computational biophysics and enzymology, aligning with the newly established UOW eResearch initiative. This is a new direction within the School of Chemistry and benefits tremendously from the close interactions with CMB members. In October 2011, together with his collaborators in the United States, he published a high-profile paper in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. In November 2011, he was awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship. “My research focuses on examining how biological molecules – e.g. proteins - function with computer simulations. Trained as a biologist during undergraduate studies while a chemist during my PhD, I naturally developed interests in studying biological systems with chemical tools, particularly, computer simulations. As seeing is believing, the main goal in biophysics is to watch and
ultimately understand the biomolecular processes that underlie life. Understanding how biomolecules work is not only fundamentally important, but also can provide ample opportunities for developing new therapeutics targeting malfunctioning biomolecules. Such systems are very complex, and sometimes it is very challenging to study with experimental techniques only. Joining the forces of computer simulations with experimental studies can be more powerful in revealing the fundamental principles in biology as illustrated in our recent paper in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. Since arriving at UOW, I have been enjoying the supportive and collaborative environment within the School of Chemistry (one of the best Chemistry schools in Australia!) and CMB. A number of collaborative projects are currently under development with my colleagues. I feel extremely honoured to be awarded an ARC Future Fellowship last November and this will provide a strong basis for me to develop an academic career in Australia. In the coming months, I will recruit both PhD and Hons students to join the group. The future fellowship project focuses on applying computational models to study enzymes – the natural catalysts involved in almost every chemical reaction in the body. This is a highly interdisciplinary project, which will be appropriate for students in chemistry, physics, nanotechnology and biology!”
IPRI comes of age UOW’s Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) toasted to its 21st birthday in style with a fun filled celebration in December. Former Vice-Chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton did the honours cutting the cake, before Professor Gordon Wallace (pictured right) whipped out his guitar. Gordon Wallace founded IPRI in 1990 and under his leadership it has grown from a small group of researchers to an internationally recognised research group. The group pioneered the concept of intelligent polymers demonstrating that the design and synthesis of polymer structures capable of recognising specific stimuli and responding in a way that improved performance was possible.
Their advances are finding application in everything from artificial muscles to new solar cell technologies. “And there are new materials for an advanced cochlear implant electrode and for nerve/muscle regeneration for controlled drug delivery into the brain for epilepsy”, Professor Wallace said. As the lead node in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, IPRI has produced more than 60 PhD graduates who have gone on to make significant contributions to science, business, teaching and science communication. “We have established a scientific platform, facilities and a research culture that will enable us to continue to push back the scientific boundaries for the next 21 years,” Professor Wallace said. R E S E A R CH & INN O VAT I O N NE W S
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Alcohol research at the Centre for Health Initiatives CHI Director, Prof. Sandra Jones, writes about how her team’s research is attracting the attention of policy makers.
Photos: Nataliya Evmenenko, Gina Smith | Dreamstime
The Centre for Health Initiatives (CHI) is a multidisciplinary Research Strength located in the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences. CHI undertakes a range of research initiatives across three key streams: Initiatives in social marketing & community engagement; Initiatives in critical marketing & media analysis; and Initiatives in health education, leadership and practice development. Alcohol research is a key focus area of CHI, and crosses all of our research streams. We have completed a number of major projects in 2011, all of which have important implications for research, practice and policy. In 2011, we completed the final phases of a three-year ARC Linkage project examining the nature and effects of alcohol point-of-sale marketing in the Perth and Sydney metropolitan areas. We found that with all stores offered a range of promotions, with an average of 33 promotions per outlet. Concerningly, the average number of standard drinks required to participate in the promotions ranged from 12 for RTDs to 22 for beer. Our exit interviews conducted with patrons identified that those who had purchased items with associated promotions spent significantly more on average than those who purchased items without promotions; and our follow-up telephone interviews confirmed that the majority of people consumed all of the alcohol they purchased, with many also consuming additional alcohol from other sources. This research has already attracted the attention of policy makers and advocates in NSW, WA and VIC. Our research into alcohol consumption and unwanted sexual experiences among university women identified that, on average, these young women engage in heavy episodic consumption (‘binge drinking’) more than twice a month, with one-quarter doing so weekly or more. Almost half indicated that they never, rarely or sometimes use a condom; and one-quarter that they had experienced one or more adverse consequence(s) associated with alcohol consumption in the previous 12 months. Importantly, analysis determined that heavy episodic consumption on four or more days a month was associated with nearly a five-fold increased likelihood of risky sex behaviours. The results of this research will be published in Youth Studies Australia in early 2012. In November 2010 CHI researchers surveyed over 500 NSW school leavers at the ‘Schoolies Week’ on the Gold Coast. This research, which examined alcohol-related expectancies and outcomes, was analysed and reported in late 2011.
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In 2011, CHI’s alcohol research resulted in more than 80 stories in local, state, national and international media – including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and ABC Radio National – and NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione visited researchers to discuss collaboration opportunities with NSW Police.
Schoolies get what they want: booze and risky sex An article published in The Age on Nov 13, 2011, reported on the concerning results Prof. Sandra Jones and her team of researchers found regarding schoolies week celebrations. Almost two-thirds of schoolies will have more than 10 drinks a night and ‘’hook up’’ with a stranger, but most do so because they think it’s the social norm. ‘’The teenagers told us that it was part of going to schoolies, you’re going to get drunk, you’re going to get into a fight, you’re probably going to have sex and those things are not necessarily positives but they say you need the rite of passage to celebrate the fact that school has finished and that’s the way that everybody does it”, Prof. Jones said.
Continued success for Chemistry Postgraduate Students Postgraduate students from the UOW Centre for Medicinal Chemistry continue to shine on the international stage with the recent success of Dr Steven Wales in obtaining an Australian American Postdoctoral award to work with Prof Jeffery Johnson in the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. In North Carolina, Steven will be working on the organic chemical synthesis of the medically important indole-terpene class of compounds, towards potential potent anti-microbial therapeutics. This followed on from the success of Dr Allan Gamble who was awarded a Sir Keith Murdoch Fellowship (20102011), also through the American Australian Association, providing the opportunity to perform postdoctoral research at Stanford University under the guidance of Prof. Paul Wender. His current research is investigating a new approach to overcome efflux-based multidrug resistance in cancer, one of the major causes of chemotherapy failure. Through an innovative drug-transporter conjugate, a drug rendered ineffective by cancer cells has the potential to recover its anti-cancer activity. This innovative technique for the treatment of MDR cancer could extend to other MDR efflux pump pathogens including malaria and tuberculosis.
International Endeavour Award winners bound for UOW UOW’s Interdisciplinary Educational Research Institute (IERI) will host four international students in 2012 as part of the Australian Government’s internationally competitive, merit-based scholarship program, the Endeavour Awards. The four students will leave their native countries of Canada, Indonesia and England behind to embark on a life and career changing journey to Australia. Here at UOW, they will work along side some of our best researchers; studying, researching and expanding their skills base. We caught up with Endeavour Executive Award recipient Rachel Moll (pictured right), who will be in Australia for two and a half months between mid June until the end of August. What is your research focus? At Vancouver Island University I am currently employed as a University-College Professor in the Faculty of Education. I teach prospective teachers Principle of Teaching and Learning and I also teach Research Methods in Education in the Masters of Educational Leadership program. I also hold a research grant to explore the impact of social media on science teaching and learning. Why did you decide on UOW as your preferred host institution? Australian schools and post secondary institutions are on the forefront of integrating technologies into Education. Dr. Wendy Nielsen (Faculty of Education) and I completed our PhDs together at the University of British Columbia. Thus I approached Dr. Nielsen about the possibility of hosting me for an Endeavour Award. What do you hope to gain out of the experience? I hope to visit schools and classes at UOW in order to become familiar with some new ways to help students learn science using technologies such as social networking sites and pedagogies
such as Slomation (a technique that the Faculty of Education at Wollongong has developed). I would like to develop research networks in Australia and to identify some case studies of teachers and classrooms who are effectively using technology. What do you hope to achieve in your research/field in the future? I hope to be able to make recommendations about how science teachers can design learning experiences that appeal to today’s technology savvy and connected learner and which can help students to develop the critical thinking and analysis skills that they will need to succeed in the 21st century. What do you think are the key issues in education today? A key issue that is emerging in education today is the wide array of knowledge that students have access to via digital and social media technologies. Thus the challenge for education in the 21st century is that it must shift from providing knowledge to learners but to enabling learners to find and use appropriate knowledge to solve real world problems.
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UOW researchers to feature in new documentary shot by award-winning French film maker
“We know more about the moon’s surface than we do about the ocean floor” The collaborative research project involving UOW marine scientists and the North West Shelf oil and gas industry in Western Australia (via the SERPENT project) will be filmed by award-winning French, documentary film maker, Charles Antoine de Rouvre next month. The research, led by School of Chemistry’s Dr Danielle Skropeta and School of Biological Sciences’ A/Prof. Andy Davis is leading to a deeper understanding of our ocean floor, and the type of creatures living there. Back in the lab, new natural compounds are being isolated from these virtually unknown creatures and tested for a range of activities, including anticancer activity for use as leads in drug development. Dr Skropeta and two of her collaborators, Prof. Dave Booth (UTS) and Dr Will Figueira (USyd), have been invited to be part of the next SERPENT deep sea mission to an oil and gas rig in Western Australia in February. Underwater robotics or Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) will be made available to the UOW team of researchers through a partnership with Chevron Australia to search, to identify and collect deep sea fauna as well as deploying some deep-sea experiments such as light traps and settlement panels. The organisms will then be assessed for their anticancer activity, with voucher samples also sent to various Australian museums. “The ROV access is provided by the oil and gas industry as a gesture of good will and to support University science. The deep-sea is impossible to access otherwise in the Southern Hemisphere so it provides us with access to an environment that we know essentially nothing about. It is well accepted in the field that we know more 14
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about the moon’s surface then we do about the ocean floor.” Says Danielle. Documentary film maker, Charles Antoine de Rouvre will be accompanying the UOW research team to record the preparation and process of identifying and collecting samples from the ocean floor. Dr Skropeta will continue to focus on marine sponges while others in the group such as A/Prof. Andy Davis investigates molluscs and other deep-sea invertebrates. Back in the lab with her PhD student Wei Liangqian “ We do a solvent extraction of the samples and then purify the compounds with high performance liquid chromatography and liquidchromatography-mass spectrometry, and then use nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify the new compounds. We do both purified enzyme inhibition assays against specific enzymes we wish to target and also whole cell screens against various cancer cell lines. We previously also screened for antiviral activity but currently focus on anticancer activity. “We are expecting to find a lot of novel structures that have not been found before either in shallow marine samples or from terrestrial species. This would give us a good chance to find a new drug that is active against resistant strains of bacteria or cancer cells.” Says Danielle The international film crew arrived in Wollongong on January 28 to meet the Danielle and her team. The cast and crew then left together on Monday January 30 for the North West Shelf in WA to begin the SERPENT mission of discovery.
recognising outstanding contributions to the university connect: vice chancellor’s awards 2012 MARIE LEWIS AWARD
EXCELLENCE IN
RESEARCH
Recognising outstanding achievement and research excellence from academic staff and research partners. Awards include:
OUTSTANDING
SERVICE GENERAL STAFF
ROSEMARY COOPER AWARD
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
TEACHING & LEARNING
Research Supervision nominate by 9 March 2012 Senior Researcher nominate by 30 March 2012 Interdisciplinary Team nominate by 30 March 2012 Emerging Researcher nominate by 30 March 2012 Research Partnerships nominate by 30 March 2012
Recognising exceptional and outstanding achievements of individual staff members and groups of staff (UOW general staff, URAC, ITC, Unicentre staff). Nominations are welcome from students, clients and all staff until 30 March 2012.
Recognising general staff who have overcome significant barriers across the spectrum of diversity or who have had a significant role in supporting staff or students within this spectrum of diversity. Nominations are welcome from students, clients and staff until 30 March 2012.
EXCELLENCE IN
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO
Recognising general staff who are also completing a degree. Selection is based on academic performance and service to the University. Nominations from eligible general staff open until 30 March 2012.
Recognising exceptional community engagement of individual staff members and groups of staff (URAC, ITC, Unicentre staff). Nominations are welcome from staff, community members and students until 30 March 2012.
These awards recognise academic and general staff doing excellent work to enhance UOW’s high standards of teaching and learning. Nominations for this round have closed.
25 YEARS SERVICE
Recognising employees with 25 years continuous service at the University.
AWARD
TO NOMINATE OR FIND OUT MORE VISIT: uow.edu.au/about/vcawards R E S E A R CH & INN O VAT I O N NE W S
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Research without borders UOW’s International collaborations are helping to advance medical technology and create a greener future, while simultaneously propelling us forward as a world class research institution. Developing clean energy, advancing medical technology, raising the living standards of the developing world- these are some of the most important issues the world faces in 2012 and researchers from the University of Wollongong (UOW) are actively on a mission to solve them with the help of experts from all over the globe. UOW is truly an international institution. We have formal agreements with more than 250 institutions in over 40 countries, have had an international branch campus in Dubai since 1993 and have plans to establish another in central India in the near future. Our researchers are leaders in their fields and we house several world class institutes, including the Australian Institute for Innovative Materials (AIIM) and Australia’s leading infrastructure teaching and research facility, SMART. It’s no wonder we have been consistently ranked in the top 2 per cent of research universities world wide (Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings, 2011). GROUND BREAKING RESEARCH Imagine a paint with special properties that could convert sunlight into electricity for your home, or clothing woven with plastic solar cells that could turn a person into a walking, talking power-generating source. In the world of intelligent polymers, these and many other things are not just possible; they are in the development phase. Researchers at the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) are
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currently developing more flexible alternatives to the traditional silicon cells which are currently used to convert solar energy into electricity. IPRI Director Professor Gordon Wallace says plastic solar cells could be integrated into energy-generating paint or woven into textiles that could then be made into garments that convert sunlight into electricity. The US Army is only one of the international partners interested in garments that generate electricity. They would allow someone in a remote area to generate their own electricity to run a laptop computer or cook food. IPRI researchers are currently working with the CRC for Polymers as well as commercial entities such as US solar energy company, Konarka Technologies, in an effort to increase the versatility and efficiency of plastic-based solar cells. Cancer is rapidly becoming the largest cause of mortality this century. To address this problem and save more lives, better technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer are required. One of the UOW’s research strengths, the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP) within the School of Engineering Physics, was established in 2002 to address this important task by utilising their expertise in solid state detectors to advance radiation medicine. To date, CMRP has collaborated with leading radiation oncology institutions around the world, including the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC) in New York, the Loma Linda University Medical Centre in California and the University College London. CMRP
FEATURE
researchers are currently involved in the development of a new cancer treatment modality, known as Microbeam Radiation Therapy (MRT) for the treatment of formerly untreatable paediatric brain tumours. The collaboration with the Biomedical beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France specifically involves the development of a unique, ultra-high spatial resolution, real-time treatment dosimetry system for MRT. This research was selected as a highlight of Australia-French collaboration and recently presented at the “Showcasing Excellence in Biomedical Research: Australia-France Symposium” held in Canberra, and convened by the Australian Academy of Science. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER UOW researchers have a long history of providing cutting edge research and business solutions to international partners. In the past, our research has been used as practical solutions to problems faced by China’s largest steel manufacturer Baosteel and the US Army. Most recently, researchers at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) have partnered with international organisations in Ireland and Korea to advance medical bionics technology. In 2011, ACES collaborated with The Korean Institute of Machinery and Materials in the development of revolutionary bio-printing equipment. This new technology fed directly into the ACES bionics program, resulting in a groundbreaking new ink which allows nerve cell repair and gives hope to spinal cord patients (full details: page 5). ACES has also recently partnered with Irish wearable senor company, Shimmer Research, to convert their research into practical, commercial products. They are currently developing wearable bionic devices which will be used post operatively to improve patient recovery times, thereby reducing hospital stays. BUILDING LINKS IN INDIA & CHINA China is one of UOW’s longest standing and strongest alliances, with over 33 formal agreements spanning high quality academic institutions, government and industry partnerships. The Schizophrenia Research Institute Wollongong Centre is currently collaborating with researchers at the Psychiatric Research Center at Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, China, to understand the genetics of schizophrenia. “It is hoped that the project will not only help us understand the causes of schizophrenia, but also help in the development of key therapeutic targets for the treatment of schizophrenia”, Director of the Institute, Professor Xu Feng Huang, said.
Sharing knowledge is paramount to raising the living standards of developing nations. Each year over one million people in China fall victim to workplace and road-related injuries such as brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and amputations, which require rehabilitation. In addition, 83 million people live with other permanent life-impacting disability requiring ongoing rehabilitation services. But the facilities and experts that care for this vast quantity of people struggle to cope. In August 2011, UOW played host to a party of 20 top Chinese rehabilitation physicians, clinicians and managers as part of AusAID’s Australian Leadership Award Fellowship Program to help establish best practice rehabilitation services in China. The ongoing program is spearheaded by UOW’s Frances Simmonds, Director of the Australasian Rehabilitation Outcomes Centre. In the mission to further nanobionics and clean energy technologies, UOW
During the past year, UOW has signed new agreements to facilitate research collaboration in China, France, India, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey and the USA. representatives embarked on a trip to India in December 2011. UOW’s international medical bionics and nanotechnology expert Professor Gordon Wallace and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Judy Raper, along with UOW ambassador and former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist, had several positive meetings with leading Indian corporations and research institutions to discuss future collaborations in a range of high-tech research areas ranging from medical bionics, including nanobionics and artificial muscle development, to batteries for electric vehicles and clean energy technologies. UOW’s Dr Bill Damachis, Director of Transnational Education & Alliances, says our researchers are already working with India’s top tier academic institutions, including the world acclaimed Indian Institute of Sciences in Bangalore, and he expects our partnerships to grow in the near future. “ Indian research article output is already within the global top ten and continues to grow dramatically particularly in disciplines like physics, chemistry, engineering,
earth science, biology, biotechnology and infectious diseases, which align nicely with a number of UOW’s research strengths. Therefore enormous potential exists for UOW to develop multi-dimensional applied research collaboration with high quality Indian institutions and related industry partners”. FUNDING FOR INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS Helping to support our rising tally of international collaborations, The University Internationalisation Committee (UIC) offers an annual International Links Grants Scheme which supports collaboration with international partners. The 2011/2012 funding round saw more than $100,000 in funding allocated to collaborations, with a focus on Thai and Indian collaborations. Dr Charles Harvie was awarded funding to partner with Thailand’s Khon Kaen University to investigate small firm performance and development in Thailand. Partnerships with Swedish, Chinese and British institutions were also encouraged, with Dr Justin Yerbury receiving funding to collaborate with the University of Cambridge on motor neurone disease research. 2012/2013 funding will further focus on links with India and introduce a new focus area- Brazil. Guidelines for 2012/2013 applications will be released mid year (June/ July) online. PHD GRADUATES SETTING UP RESEARCH NETWORKS JianFeng Mao was one of the 231 Higher Degree Research students to graduate from UOW in 2011. He has recently taken up a Postdoc position with the Germany’s most successful scientific research organisation, the Max Planck Institute, to continue his research on green energy alternatives by way of hydrogen storage materials. With plans to return to UOW in a few years time, JianFeng is uilising the opportunity to setup an international research network, which can be captialised on when he returns. Director of the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials (ISEM), Prof. Shi-Xu Dou, says three of this recent PhD graduates are also starting new positions abroad in 2012. Drs Muhamad Ismail, Nurul Idris and Mohd Hassan will be senior lecturers at the Department of Physical Sciences at the University Malaysia Teregganu. “It will also be an opportunity for them to begin research projects and establish important research links between UOW and Malaysia. The contacts they make in the next 3 – 5 years may very well be international collaborators in the future”, says Prof. Dou.
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RESEARCHER UPDATE
STUDENT PROFILE Bronwyn Lang The 2012 Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Endeavour Award winner talks about her impending trip to India this year to conduct research into Australian writer and poet Vicki Viidikas.
What are you studying? A PhD in Creative Arts – Poetry. What does your research focus on? The Australian writer Vicki Viidikas (19481998) and the influences that shaped her writing. How did you come to study at UOW? I completed an undergraduate degree at UOW (1996 to 1998) in the Faculty of Creative Arts majoring in Creative Writing and after a decade of extraneous activities and travel I returned to pursue my Postgraduate studies purely to work with Australian poet Mr. Alan Wearne in the UOW School of Journalism and Creative Writing. What’s been the highlight of your career so far? My career as a writer is both hopeful and very much in its early stages. However, becoming a successful recipient of the Prime Minister’s Asia Australia Award and having the opportunity to pursue research in India related to my field of study has been a significant highlight of my academic career to date. The physical and metaphysical, or spiritual, landscapes of India offer rich opportunity for the writer exploring themes and states of consciousness. My study involves the completion of both a theoretical component as well as a collection of poems. These can be seen as essentially separate projects sharing some thematic links. My theoretical research examines the life and work of the Australian poet Vicki Viidikas (1948 – 1998) who travelled
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and wrote throughout India between the 1970s and 1990s. India was a geographical and spiritual landscape which provided inspiration for her work and several of her published and unpublished texts reflect this, in particular India Ink (1984) and her unfinished novel Kali and the Dung Beetle. In 2012, as part of my Endeavour Award I will be working to gather primary and secondary resources as well as engage in study activities which will facilitate the completion of the research component of my Ph.D. and concurrently draft a collection of my own poems. Have you always had an interest in creative arts and writing? Perhaps going beyond interest to an obsession – my fascination with literature began early. I have been reading and writing since age 3. My parents raised me on poets such as Coleridge, Gyo Fujikawa, A.A Milne and Khalil Gibran, and perhaps writing can be seen as one of the major constancies in my life. I have always felt a compulsion toward words on the page and have a fascination for writers who lived lives as interesting as their works. The writer Vicki Viidikas taps this vein of a tradition of authors for whom life and literary achievements interrelate. What do you think are the key issues relating to your industry today? Disregarding notions of “industry” and its relationship to both literature and academic research, key issues surrounding my field include reconciling Apollonian and Dionysian impulses, dealing with what can be quite a
private way of writing in both content and form; and of course, obtaining and keeping readers. There are a lot of talented Australian poets who aren’t as well known as they should be, a number of whom are deceased and who still have to have that lucky break and Viidikas is one of them. These writers need to be acknowledged and looked after. There are very talented poets out there who haven’t yet had their day. Vicki Viidikas wasn’t a self promoter or a careerist and as such, it is research completed on her posthumously which sees her potentially receiving her due. Viidikas is comparable both with many other Australian poets who should receive far more attention and with a number of Australian poets who have received more attention. Such “industry” involves maintaining the knowledge of Australian poets especially those who are not well known or as well known as they should be. What do you plan on doing after the completion of your study? I hope to pursue post-doctoral studies and employment within Universities as well as write for publication. What do you hope to achieve in your research/field in the future? At this stage completion of my PhD is foremost on my mind and planning for the travel opportunities of the coming year - I guess in this sense I hope to do a good job, as well as justice to Viidikas’ poetry and prose.
TRAVEL TALE
Award-winning author, oral historian and Journalism lecturer, Dr Siobhan McHugh, writes about her recent trip to North America; from Harvard and the Brooklyn Historical Society to Montreal and Chicago, championing the power of voice. From the elegant brownstones of Brooklyn to the chilly pavements of Montreal, my study tour of North America was an illuminating insight into how oral history and radio connect us through the sharing of personal stories. At the Brooklyn Historical Society, on the twentieth anniversary of the Crown Street riots between Hasidic Jews and West Indian and African-American communities, curator Sady Sullivan was developing the Crossing Borders, Bridging Generations project, which explores ‘mixed-heritage families, race, ethnicity, culture, and identity’. Although the demographics and history of Brooklyn are very different from here, she found resonances with my research into mixed marriage and sectarianism between Catholics and Protestants in Australia, published as an ABC radio documentary, Marrying Out. It was a thrill to learn that my experiences of interviewing were part of a training course in cross-cultural research at BHS. At Harvard, while students lounged about the famous square and a boisterous group sang Happy (375th) Birthday to its founder, more synergies became apparent. At a seminar hosted by the Harvard University Native American Program and chaired by Professor Mick Dodson, the visiting co-Chair of Australian Studies, I played the voices of Indigenous Australians I had recorded in the West Kimberley. Native Americans listened sympathetically as they described being taken from their mothers as toddlers to be reared by Catholic nuns, losing not only their family but their language and culture. The suffering of the Stolen Generations is well documented in the Bringing Them Home Report (1997) co-authored by Mick Dodson. But even he was shocked by the conditions endured by Native Americans. In the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, we read about the Chiricahua Apache nation, several hundred of whom – men, women and children – were removed from their lands by the US military in 1886. Some remained official ‘prisoners of war’ for 28 years. In Washington, I visited the sombre Vietnam War memorial wall, and the memorial to the military nurses, discussed in my book Minefields and Miniskirts, an oral history of Australian women’s roles in the Vietnam war. That book was reviewed in the US by Donald A Ritchie, a prominent oral historian. Don’s day job is as US Senate Historian. So it was an extraordinary privilege to be escorted round the Capitol by Don, who has worked there since 1976, and recently edited the transcripts of the infamous Senator Joe McCarthy trials. Amidst the splendid statues of former US presidents, he pointed out a bronze sculpture of Helen Keller, unveiled in 2009 by then Governor of Alabama, Bob Riley. Don wondered if the very conservative Riley knew, as he praised the deaf and blind woman’s resourcefulness, that Keller had gone on to
Photo: Jazzmatazz | Dreamstime
North America
The Brooklyn bridge
become a radical activist who championed the causes of women’s suffrage and workers’ rights. The crafting of oral history for radio documentary so as to harness the affective power of voice, was a major theme of presentations I gave at places as diverse as Boston University, Concordia University’s Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling in Montreal, and the impressive Centre for Documentary Studies at Duke University, set in a classic Southern Mansion complete with white rocking chairs on the porch. My favourite was my talk to rookie radio makers at Woods Hole on Cape Cod, the small and charming town that is the unlikely site of the oceanographic institute that discovered the wreck of the Titanic. It is also home to Transom, a visionary public radio showcase established by the indefatigable Jay Allison, who invited me (and luminaries like This American Life’s Ira Glass) to share their passion for the medium. Jay is a True Believer in the importance of radio to serve and connect the community; over four decades, he has pioneered numerous broadcasting initiatives, from the airing of early documentaries on child sexual abuse to his current public storytelling event, The Moth, lauded in the Wall Street Journal. It was a delight to engage with such a kindred spirit – my interview with Jay and others will feature in a forthcoming book (2013). The trip ended, fittingly, in Chicago, with a homage to Studs Terkel, whose 9,000 oral history interviews are being digitised at the Smithsonian. There I met Studs’s son Dan, at the home where Studs crafted his mesmerising tomes of American life, which revealed the ‘precious metal’ he sought to divine in everyone he met. A burglar broke into this very living-room late one night, Dan told me, and was surprised to find the sofa occupied by Studs’s ailing wife, Ida. Studs was sleeping in a chair alongside, to watch over her. He readily handed over his wallet and the burglar made to go. Then Studs politely asked the intruder if he could lend him $20 from the wallet, to buy Ida’s medicine next day. Taken aback, the burglar handed over the money. As he headed for the window, Studs intervened and cordially escorted him out the front door. Studs’s interviews were driven by sheer fascination with the human condition. His gravestone, he once remarked, should be inscribed ‘curiosity never killed THIS cat’. In the end, Studs dispensed with any gravestone, preferring to have his ashes co-mingled with those of his beloved Ida and buried at the Chicago equivalent of Speakers’ Corner, known as Bughouse Square. After Studs’s death in 2008 at the age of 96, Dan placed his parents’ ashes in an unmarked spot in the park. It seemed an entirely appropriate place to end a trip that celebrated the politics of connection and the democratising power of voice. R E S E A R CH & INN O VAT I O N NE W S
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NEW STAFF
Professor Noel Cressie is set to join UOW’s Centre for Statistical and Survey Methodology (CSSM) based in the School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics. Professor Cressie is a world-leading researcher in statistical modelling and analysis of spatial and spatio-temporal data, in Bayesian and empirical-Bayesian methods, and in environmental sciences. The methodology has been applied in areas of “big science,” such as remote sensing of the earth on a global scale, regional climate modelling in space and time, and Bayesian statistical exposure modeling from sources to biomarkers. Other research areas include spatial command and control, disease mapping, medical imaging, and ice-stream dynamics. Born in Fremantle, Western Australia, Noel received a Bachelor of Science degree with first class honours in Mathematics from the University of Western Australia and MA and PhD degrees in Statistics from Princeton University. Noel is currently Professor of Statistics, Distinguished Professor of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Director of the Program in Spatial Statistics and Environmental Statistics at The Ohio State University. He is the author of around 250 refereed articles and of three books. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and the Spatial Econometrics Association. He is also an Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute. Other honours include: being awarded the Distinguished Achievement Medal of ASA’s Section on Statistics and the Environment; the Twentieth Century Distinguished Service Award in Environmental Statistics; the Distinguished Scholar Award of The Ohio State University; and the 2009 Fisher Award and Lectureship from the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies. He is on the Institute for Scientific Information’s (ISI) elite list of highly cited researchers. Professor Cressie said that he is very excited about joining UOW and working with members of the Centre for Statistical and Survey Methodology (CSSM), including Professors Ray Chambers, Brian Cullis, David Griffiths, and David Steel, in establishing an Institute for Applied Statistics Research. UOW’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), Professor Judy Raper, said that the university is extremely pleased that an international researcher of Professor Cressie’s stature had joined the University. “This appointment will continue the development of our research in Applied Statistics, which involves developing and applying innovative statistical methods to important problems in areas as diverse as health, environment, climate change, food security, social statistics, survey methods, experimental design, infrastructure development, and finance.”
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Andrew McCusker, the recently retired director of operations for the globally respected Hong Kong Mass Transit Railways Corporation has been appointed to establish a new railway research initiative at UOW’s SMART Infrastructure Facility. Andrew has more than forty years of senior industry experiences within Defence, Water, Gas, Power and Railway. Over the last 24 years he has worked at MTR Corporation Hong Kong, recognised as one of the world’s leading railway companies, and for the last five years has been their Operations Director. At MTR he held a number of key positions including as Executive Director of MTR Hong Kong, Chairman of NP360 Cable Car, Chairman of Telecoms provider TraxComm HK and a Board member of Octopus Ltd HK. Andrew remains a board member of Metro Trains Melbourne. Mr McCusker is a globally recognised, leading exponent of customer focus for railway operations and his expertise will be very appealing to government and industry. Under his leadership he achieved high levels of customer satisfaction and profitable urban rail operations. This is a unique mix that will draw respect and attention from across the industry. Mr McCusker stated, “Rail is undergoing a renaissance – road congestion, the focus on sustainability and the desire to get freight moving more efficiently into intermodal hubs – are all pushing the demand for rail.” “SMART is ideally placed to complement the University’s already world class rail engineering strengths with its simulation, modelling and analysis abilities.” “I want to listen to government and rail operators and hear their priorities. I am looking forward to working with the team to further build on the impressive achievements of SMART and UOW to be a high quality research partner with the rail and infrastructure sector generally. It is going to be an exciting time.”
Bruce Thomson has joined the ‘Innovation and Commercial Research team as the new Business Development Manager. Bruce has a strong background in regional economic development and comes to the role with a background in consulting to businesses in a range of industries including manufacturing, engineering, agriculture and tourism. Most recently, he was AusIndustry’s Regional Manager for the Illawarra and South Coast, where he was responsible for marketing programs managed by AusIndustry and other Commonwealth Government agencies to businesses in the region. Over time Bruce will be running a number of workshops and other activities to engage our researchers, government and industry. Over the upcoming weeks Bruce will be in contact with you and your teams, his contact details are brucet@uow.edu.au.
Reshika Fernando recently joined the Research Services Office as a Research Systems Analyst. Reshika comes to us from UOW Planning Services where she worked as a contract Analyst/ Programmer, primarily on the Survey Triangulation project for the collation and reporting of student survey data. Reshika has worked extensively as an Analyst/Programmer and Systems Analyst in the Banking and Finance Industry and in HR, in both the private and public sectors. Reshika holds an Honours degree in Pure Mathematics and Computer Science from London University, a Diploma in Business Analysis and a Graduate Diploma in Internet Technology from UOW. Reshika’s emphasis in her system roles is the development of comprehensive and user friendly computer systems to help provide data integrity and efficiency. She is looking forward to applying this approach to her new role as part of the Research Information Systems Team.
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GRANTS NEWS
Funding success Heart Foundation
Cancer Australia and National Breast Cancer Foundation
Congratulations to A/Prof Tony Okely and Dr Dylan Cliff from the Faculty of Education who have again been successful with funding from the Heart Foundation.
Dr Lois Holloway, who is affiliated with the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP) and employed at Liverpool Hospital, was awarded funding under the Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme. Dr Holloway received $391,596 for a 3 year project: ‘Quantifying the impact of imaging choice for breast cancer radiotherapy.’ Co-investigators include Prof Geoff Delaney (Liverpool Hospital), Prof Peter Metcalfe (CMRP), Dr Eng-Siew Koh (Liverpool Hospital) and Dr Philip Vial (Liverpool Hospital).
A/Prof Okely has received funding for a Grant-in-Aid as well as a Career Development Fellowship. The Grant-in-Aid will fund a two year project: ‘Validity of activity monitors for measuring physical activity, sedentary behaviour and energy expenditure in children: A whole body calorimeter study.” Co-investigators include Dr Dylan Cliff, Dr Rachel Jones (both from Education), Dr Marijka Batterham (Informatics), Prof John Reilly (University of Strathclyde UK) and Drs Soren Brage and Ulf Ekelund, both from the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, UK. Funding of $130,000 was awarded. A/Prof Okely’s four year Fellowship will focus on ‘Understanding and promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents.’ Funding of $462,568 was awarded. Dr Dylan Cliff has received funding for a Post Doctoral Fellowship from the Foundation for the second time. During this three year award Dr Cliff will be researching ‘Sedentary behaviour in children: measurement, patterns and determinants.’ Funding received was $150,016.
Department of Justice, Victoria A/Prof Craig Gonsalvez and Prof Robert Barry from the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Science received $87,000 in funding over 1 year for the project: ‘Using event-related brain potential (brain waves) and autonomic measures to differentiate problem from nonproblem gamblers’. URC Research Partnerships Rd 2 2011 Round 2 of the 2011 Research Partnerships Scheme has now closed, with 3 applications awarded funding totalling $38,000. Details of successful applications can be viewed online. Vice-Chancellor’s Fellowships 2012 The 2012 Vice-Chancellor’s Fellowship scheme has now closed, with nine three-year fellowships and five one-year bridging fellowships being awarded. Information on the successful applicants will soon be available online.
Changes to the ARC Linkage Program Industrial Transformation Research Program
Linkage Projects
In December 2011, the Industrial Transformation Research Program was announced. This is a new component in the ARC Linkage Program, and consists of Industrial Transformation Research Hubs and Industrial Transformation Training Centres.
The Linkage Projects scheme will have one round for funding to commence in 2013. The ARC expects that this round will open for proposals in September 2012 for funding commencing in July 2013.
The ARC anticipates that the first round of the Industrial Transformation Research Hubs will open for proposals in March 2012 for funding commencing in July 2012, and the first round of the Industrial Transformation Training Centres will open for proposals in March 2012 for funding commencing in January 2013.
The RSO will provide further information when the Funding Rules for the above mentioned schemes become available.
Upcoming funding opportunities Due date
Grant
1 March 2012
ARC Discovery Project applications due to the ARC
14 March 2012
NHMRC Project Grant applications due to the NHMRC
21 March 2012
ARC Discovery Early Career Researchers Award (DECRA) applications due to the ARC
28 March 2012
NHMRC Career Development Fellowship applications due to the NHMRC
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RESEARCH STUDENT CENTRE NEWS
Three Minute Thesis 2012 The finals of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition will be held on Wednesday, 27 June 2012. Faculties will run heats prior to this date. The 3MT is an exercise in developing academic and research communication skills in our Higher Degree Research Students (PhD and Masters Research). The HDR students will have three minutes to present a compelling oration on their thesis topic and its significance in language appropriate to an intelligent but non-specialist audience. It will not be an exercise in trivialising research, but should engage the audience without reducing research to entertainment value alone. Anyone who is active in a PhD or Masters Research program (including thesis under submission) is eligible to enter. The UOW winner will receive $1,500, runner-up $750 and peoples choice prize $750.
Photo: Yuri Arcurs | Dreamstime
The UOW Winner will automatically be entered into the National/ Trans-Tasman competition at the University of Queensland (date to be announced), Travel and Accommodation costs will be covered by the Research Student Centre. Note: It is a condition of entering this competition that the winner will compete in the National-Tasman Competition at the University of Queensland. See RSC’s website to find out more information on this great competition and watch the 2011 UOW Finalists’ presentations. Any questions? Contact Michelle Kendall. P: 02 4221 5453. Contact your relevant Faculty for details about Faculty 3MT heats.
Seminar Series for HDR students Are you a new or re-enrolling research student who would like to get some extra training in different aspects of research and thesis preparation? The Higher Degree Research (HDR) Student Seminar Series is a free of charge program specifically designed for HDR Students. Seminars are separated into modules so that you can easily identify the seminars that will suit you. Some of the Seminars to be presented this session include: Endnote, Thesis Writing, Your Gateway to Research at UOW, IP and Your PhD,
Life Issues, Thesis Submission and Examination. Seminars will commence in the week of 5 March 2012. An email will be sent to all HDR students once the 2012 Program has been finalised. The program will also be available from RSC’s website. Enquires: Michelle Kendall. P: 02 4221 5453.
HDR Orientation- Autumn 2012 HDR (Higher Degree Research) Autumn Session Compulsory Orientation will be taking place:
of screen where you will find links to the Orientation Program and Online Registration.
Date: Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Orientation will be held during the O-Week Festival.
Location: Building 20, Lecture Theatre 2
Enquires: Michelle Kendall. P: 02 4221 5453.
RSVP: by 15 February online- click on ‘HDR Orientation’ box right
W: www.uow.edu.au/research/rsc/news/orientation
2012 parking ballot Each year a parking ballot is open to all HDR students who wish to apply for a limited number of UOW parking permit. To be eligible to apply for a parking permit you must be on campus more than 4 days a week and this must be confirmed by your supervisor. If successful you must agree to the Terms and Conditions for parking and pay
the yearly fee of $300. Note a permit does not always guarantee a space. Applications Close: 31 January. Download the application form online or visit www.uow.edu.au/parking/ for more information about parking on campus.
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LIBRARY NEWS
New browser plug-in provides Direct Access to all UOW-subscribed resources Jumping between your work, Google, publisher websites and the Library’s website to get fulltext can be frustrating. A new plug-in for your internet browser can solve this problem. The UOW LibX plug-in provides a one-click solution. On a publisher’s page: Force access to UOW-subscribed content by using the plug-in to acknowledge your UOW membership. On any website or document: Highlight any phrase and use the right-click menu to quickly search Google Scholar, Summon or the catalogue. If you are viewing the digital version of this newsletter, download here.
New ebooks, journals and journal archives Ebook collections
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY:
All of our ebooks can be found using Summon.
Cambridge University Press Journals Archive
Over 1,800 ebooks will be added to our ebook collection during 2012 following the purchase of collections from publishers Elsevier, Emerald and Palgrave Macmillan in the areas of business, management and economics; humanities, social sciences and science and technology.
Access archival issues of 183 Cambridge University Press Journals. Journal titles included are Behavioral and Brain Science, British Journal of Nutrition, Bulletin of the Australian Mathematical Society, Cambridge Law Journal, China Quarterly, Epidemiology and Infection, Geological Magazine, Journal of Fluid Mechanics and Psychological Medicine. Access to these journals is through the Cambridge Journals Online database.
Journal backfiles HEALTH: Informa Healthcare Archive Access these journals through Summon or Informa Healthcare. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins Journal Archive Access through Summon.
Wiley Blackwell Journal Backfiles Access to over 300 journal backfiles in the fields of biology, business & management, communications technology, electrical & systems engineering, education, general medicine, materials science, nursing and psychology. Access through Summon or the Wiley Online Library database.
SCIENCE: Nature (now 1950 - current) We have been able to further extend archival access to the journal, Nature, with the purchase of the 1950-1985 archive. Access all Nature issues through the Nature Journal Archive. ScienceDirect Backfile Journals Access archival issues of over 240 journal backfile collections in the Earth & Planetary Sciences, Energy and Power, Inorganic Chemistry and Neuroscience disciplines. Accessthrough ScienceDirect database or direct from A-Z Journal List.
MEDICINE: The Lancet The Lancet is one of the world’s best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals. You can now access issues from Vol 1 (1823) through to the present, including articles that have influenced the practice and science of medicine, including seminal papers from Joseph Lister, Elliott Joslin, Harvey Cushing, Howard Florey, William McBride, Christian Barnard and Jonas Salk. Search for The Lancet in the A-Z Journal List.
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New service: Article Reach Article Reach allows you to request full text articles from a consortium of universities around the world, with 75% of the content unique to each library collection: • Australian National University • Center for Research Libraries
• University of Liverpool • University of Sydney • Washington University in St. Louis Whenever you see the “FIND@UOW” button, click it and choose to Place a Request with Article Reach. Your article, if available, will be delivered within a few days via email.
• California State University, Long Beach • Georgetown University • Michigan State University Libraries • University of Glasgow
Optimise your research efforts for 2012 The Library can provide a customised Research Consultation to assist you with: > Setting a context for your research question > Reviewing the discourse of your discipline > Selecting appropriate research outlets for future publication
Photo: Steve Selby
A research consultation is an opportunity for UOW academics and research higher degree students to explore their research specific information needs with a library professional at a one-on-one meeting. Your consultation will be tailored to your needs. When you book online a specialist librarian will contact you to arrange an appointment; in your space or ours.
ETHICS NEWS
Upcoming meeting dates Agenda deadline
Meeting date
Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) Health and Medical
14 March
3 April
Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) Social Sciences
29 February 11 April
15 March 26 April
Animal Ethics Committee
15 March 10 May
5 April 31 May
15 February 16 May
29 February 23 May
Gene Technology Review Committee
More information at: www.uow.edu.au/research/ethics
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PUBLICATIONS
Outstanding new publications Congratulations to the following UOW researchers who have recently had their work published. Associate Professor Ulrike Gretzel from the Institute for Innovation in Business and Social Research has recently had her book, Social Media in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality, published. Social media is fundamentally changing the way travellers and tourists search, find, read and trust, as well as collaboratively produce information about tourism suppliers and tourism destinations. Presenting cutting-edge theory, research and case studies investigating Web 2.0 applications and tools that transform the role and behaviour of the new generation of travellers, this book also examines the ways in which tourism organisations re-engineer and implement their business models and operations, such as new service development, marketing, networking and knowledge management. Associate Professor Gaetano Rando from the School of English Literatures & Philosophy has written a book on Australian cinema great Giorgio Mangiamele. The first in-depth study of his work, Celluloid Immigrant is the first in depth study of Mangiamele’s film, among them Clay (1965), the third Australian film to be invited to screen in competition at Cannes. It discusses his contribution to the development of local cinema and provides new insights into Australia’s screen culture. The book was launched at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne in November. For a number of years UOW Theatre Studies lecturer, Dr Margaret Hamilton (pictured bottom right), has developed and managed a major program of Australian arts in Berlin, and a subsidiary European touring program for the Australia Council for the Arts and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as publishing works on contemporary performance. Her latest book, Transfigured Stages: Major Practitioners and Theatre Aesthetics in Australia captures the excitement of a key period in the emergence of postdramatic theatre in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s. It is the first book to discuss work by The Sydney Front (1986 – 1993) and Open City (1987 – ), and engages contemporary cultural and aesthetic theory to analyse performances by these artists, as well as theatre productions by Jenny Kemp and others. These performance practitioners are considered as part of an international paradigm attesting to forms of theatre that no longer operate according to the established principles of drama. This book also highlights the complexity of Indigenous theatre through its analysis of the Mudrooroo-Müller project staged in 1996.
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EVENTS
Processing and fabrication symposium For twenty years, materials scientists have worked tirelessly to incorporate different levels of functionality into materials. We are now set to witness the emergence of the next generation of devices for energy harvesting and medical bionic applications, as long as we can figure out how to make them. For next generation devices, we require next generation manufacturing. It is important that we continue to develop materials chemistries and formulations that enhance the capabilities of emerging fabrication systems. Revolutions in fabrication can only occur in the right environment. Those with the driving need, in our case users of advances in energy and medical bionics, must work hand in hand with materials scientists and device fabrication engineers to bring the dream to life. Program coming soon: Day one will have an emphasis on Energy Day two will have an emphasis on Biofabrication Keynote speakers: Prof Ray Baughman, University of Texas at Dallas, USA Prof Lei Jiang, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Dr H Kumakura, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan Dr Ganpati Ramanath, Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, USA Dr Greg Smith, SciVentures Investments Pty Ltd, Australia
What: The ultimate challenge for functional materials symposium When: 20-22 February Where: AIIM Theatre, Innovation Campus More info: www.electromaterials.edu.au/events
The Leon Kane-Maguire address Leon Kane-Maguire (pictured right) was one of Australia’s leading research scientists in the specialist field of conducting organic polymers and their properties. His work led to many international awards and the development of several new fields of science. His pioneering research in nanomaterials was balanced by his down-to-earth attitude and a wicked sense of humour. He was made an emeritus professor of the University of Wollongong when he retired in 2010, celebrating a lifelong commitment to science and education. This annual address will commemorate and celebrate Leon’s contribution to research, the building of research teams, the communication of science and to the mentoring of the next generations of scientists. This inaugural address will be given by Professor Noel Kane-Maguire (Leon’s brother). The inaugural address will also involved the opening of the Leon Kane-Maguire Theatre in the link building that joins our materials research efforts and the Processing and Device Fabrication facility.
UOW research events Uni in the Brewery and the Research Showcase Series, free events which showcase the brilliant work our top researchers are undertaking, will be back for 2012. Program to be announced shortly.
When: 10 February Where: Innovation Campus BY INVITATION ONLY
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Research Services Office, Building 20, Level 1, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW, Australia, 2522 research@uow.edu.au | +61 2 4221 3386 | www.uow.edu.au/research
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