Research & Innovation News - October-December 2014 by University of Wollongong - Research

CONNECT: RESEARCH & INNOVATION NEWS October - december 2014 issue ARC SUCCESS CAPS OFF BIG YEAR FOR UOW

UOW celebrates a total of $8.9 millon in Australian Research Council grants for projects to commence in 2015

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS

A prickly mission to combat male depression in Movember

fellowship marks 10 years of hobbit

UOW commemorates 10 years since the remarkable discovery of a new human species with the Michael J. Morwood Fellowship

The University of Wollongong ranks in the top 2% of research universities worldwide Source: QS World University & Times Higher Education World Universtiy Rankings 2013/2014

Research & Innovation News is the research magazine of the University of Wollongong. Contact: Research Services Office Building 20, Level 1 University of Wollongong Northfields Ave, Wollongong NSW, Australia, 2522 Subscriptions: Visit www.uow.edu.au/research to subscribe to electronic versions of Research & Innovation News. This Publication is produced by: Sharon Martin Vicky Wallace Laura Hawes Melissa Coade Email: research@uow.edu.au With thanks to our other UOW contributors.

For daily updates, follow uowresearch

Contents

04 message from Dean of research

Driving research citations and institutional reputation.

Australian research Council’s $8.9 million funding for UOW projects

Celebrating UOW’s ARC-funded research projects to commence in 2015; from a project that uses massive remote sensing datasets drawn from satellites and other data sources, to research which aims to understand the synthesis of two DNA strands simultaneously moving in different directions.

14 partnership with indonesia to dig deeper into mysteries of the past

The Michael J. Morwood Fellowship has been established to commemorate 10 years since the discovery of a new human species on the Indonesian island of Flores.

17 joint International masters with germany on the horizon A memorandum of understanding has been signed by

UOW’s Vice-Chancellor and the President of Germany’s Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU).

18 effects of solitary confinement

An extract from philosopher Professor Shaun Gallagher’s paper ‘The Cruel and Unusual Phenemonology of Solitary Confinement’.

28 awards

Rail expert Professor Buddhima Indraratna has been honoured in Japan with the Chandra S. Desai medal for his contribution to the geotechnical community.

R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

NEWS

Message from the Dean of Research

Dean of Research Professor Timothy Marchant In my article earlier this year ‘Publish and be Cited, or Perish’ I explained the importance of researchers establishing a strong online profile, to encourage the dissemination of their work and the accrual of citations, as these are very important in developing an individual’s research reputation. In this

article I will describe some examples of how citations are critical in driving UOW’s research reputation. This year Thomson Reuters updated their list of Highly Cited researchers (see highlycited.com). The Academic Ranking of World Universities uses the highly cited fellows as part of their ranking metric and UOW is fortunate to have six fellows, all from the Centre for Archaeological Science, on the new list. The list contains 70 highly cited fellows from Australia and four from New Zealand so six new fellows is an exceptional result for a single university, let alone one research group! In 2014 the Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked UOW at 330th. It’s very likely that this ranking will increase dramatically in 2015 as the impact of our fellows is fully recognised. UOW is currently preparing its submission for the Excellence of Research in Australia, ERA2015. The ERA team includes a discipline leader from each of the two digit FOR codes plus Professional Services staff from both RAID and PMCD. There are many challenges in preparing the submission and we are fortunate that we

have both a committed team and our online ERA management system (EMS) to help us manage the submission process. ERA measures relative research quality, so at the (sub-discipline) 4 digit FOR code level the quality of publications is critical, rather than the volume of publication. For most of the Humanities and Social Sciences quality is measured by peer review but for the STEM disciplines quality is measured by journal publication citations. Again high citations are vital in achieving a good ERA outcome and maintaining UOW’s research reputation. All researchers will know their H-index and that this is a measure of their citation profile. However not everyone will be aware that the Scopus H-index only includes citations from papers published post 1995. So researchers with a pre 1996 publication profile may have a lower H-index than they deserve. In good news for older researchers, Scopus have announced that they will back date citations to 1970, thus increasing H-indices. As someone who started publishing in the 1980s I’m looking forward to the citation boost. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

UOW’s new Visiting International Scholar Awards

As part of celebrations for the University of Wollongong’s 40 years of Independence in 2015 Vice-Chancellor Prof Paul Wellings CBE is introducing 40 Visiting International Scholar Awards (VISA) over the next four years for outstanding researchers to join UOW. The Awards provide funding to support internationally established, high achieving midcareer researchers to visit UOW (for a period of 2-6 months) to enhance the University’s research performance by collaborating on research projects, and 4

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

building new linkages and connections with international research institutions. Commencing in 2015, the funds may be used to cover the costs of travel, accommodation and living expenses for each visiting scholar, including their families (up to a total of $10,000 per VISA). Successful applicants will have a highly competitive track record relative to opportunity and propose an innovative, collaborative research program with the potential to make a significant contribution to the University’s research profile and

priority research areas. Projects must also align with the research strategies of the host Faculty or Australian Institute of Innovative Materials (AIIM). >> Learn more about UOW’s VISA Scheme http://bit.ly/1F66T4H >>Check out a retrospective celebrating UOW’s 40 years of Independence http://40years.uow.edu.au

NEWS

Report finds ozone-depleting hydrogen chloride on the up

A breath of fresh air: Prof David Griffith with Dr Nicholas Jones & Dr Clare Murphy, examining equipment to monitor air pollution.

Three atmospheric scientists from UOW are part of an international team to coauthor a paper published in Nature this month (6 November). The team reports findings of an unexpected increase in the amount of hydrogen chloride in the stratosphere fo the Northern hemisphere since 2007. Why hydrogen chloride releases chlorine in the starosphere, leading directly to ozone depletion. The findings are based on measurements by a network with ground-based remote sensing stations at a number of locations around the world, including one at UOW that has been in operation since 1996. Director of UOW’s Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry Professor David Griffith, said the increase was a result of a temporary but prolonged anomaly in atmospheric circulation. Prof Griffith and his colleagues at UOW, Dr Nicholas Jones and Dr Clare Murphy, analysed these measurements, combined with satellite observations and model simulations, to conclude that while the chlorine concentrations in the Northern hemisphere are on the rise, those in the Southern Hemisphere continue to decrease, as expected and in line with the Montreal Protocol.

Atmospheric variability and perhaps climate change can significantly modify the path towards full recovery. The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty for the protection of the ozone layer that banned the production of major ozone-depleting substances worldwide. Observations of a large ozone loss over Antarctica was the key issue that inspired its signing in 1987. Prof Griffith said the paper dismissed the possibility that rogue emissions of ozonedepleting substances were at play. “The study confirms that the Montreal Protocol remains a success and that the ozone layer is likely to fully recover during the second half of this century. However, our results show that atmospheric variability and perhaps climate change can significantly modify the path towards full recovery. It will be a bumpy ride rather than a smooth evolution,” he said.

The scientists also warned that recovery of ozone-depleting chemicals in the atmosphere was a slow process expected to take many decades.“During this time the ozone layer remains vulnerable,” Prof Griffith said. The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere (stratosphere) shields the biosphere from harmful UV radiation and is an essential part of the climate system. Solving the problem of ozone depletion depends on the success of the Montreal Protocol, which has essentially banned the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and similar compounds globally. See online >> ‘Recent Northern Hemisphere stratospheric HCI increase due to atmospheric circulation changes’

http://bit.ly/1EiPvZY

R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

NEWS

One night. Five brilliant ideas.

The second of UOW’s two-part research showcase, Budding Ideas, turned common ideas about how things are done and how the world works on their head. The live audience and those watching from home are now rethinking our everyday approach to policy, audio, energy and health. It was a research mashup of microeconomics, renewable energy, audio storytelling, health and neuroscience at the final of UOW’s two-part Budding Ideas showcase series on Wednesday 25th October. Five of the University’s emerging researchers shared their exciting work and academic endeavour in 10 minute talks that had their audience thinking on the wide-reaching subjects for much longer thereafter. Associate Professor Peter Siminski (pictured above) fired up the audience with a new way to evaluate social policy. The microeconomist presented his findings on a technique being used to evaluate UOW’s Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS), after having just returned from a conference in New Zealand, where he discussed its merits with academic colleagues.

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

“At its core, impact evaluation is essentially about evaluating or assessing whether a given program or treatment has worked. There are numerous impact evaluation techniques in the “toolkit” but one good and often under-used technique is that of Random Encouragement Design (RED),” A/Prof Siminksi said. Drawing on Australia’s $70 annual billion expenditure on education, Siminski highlighted the basis on which many decisions, big and small, are made for such important social policies. “In education most of the evaluations that are done are qualitative -- or they are quantitative evaluations that are observational in nature -- that is, they are not experimental in nature,” A/Prof Siminski said. “While these are informative, it is quite

useful to contrast the situation with the gold standard of evidence used in the medical sciences for the past 100 years. The gold standard for causal inference in the medical sciences is the Randomised Control Trial,” he said. A/Prof Siminski has established himself as one of Australia’s leading applied microeconomists with research primarily in health, labour and public economics. Also offering intriguing insights into their research on the evening were (pictured right), Dr Siobhán McHugh (left), Dr Shahriar Hossian (3rd from left), Dr Peter Kelly, (5th from left) and Dr Lezanne Ooi (7th from left).

>>Replay the talks on YouTube http://bit.ly/1t0oNjo

The research stars of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Budding Ideasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; with Deputy Vice Chancellor Research Prof Judy Raper (4th from left), Master of Ceremonies Prof Aidan Sims (3rd from right) and Vice-Chancellor Prof Paul Wellings CBE (right).

R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

NEWS

The Movember Foundation has put its money where its mo’ is with a $2M grant towards a mental health prevention project led by researchers at UOW >>HELP TEAM U-MO-W TODAY bit.ly/1uD7Yip ESRI Research Fellow Dr Stewart Vella intends to personally support his own research project by leading Team U-Mo-W in the Movember fundraising campaign. The project is a collaborative study, innovative in its approach to promote better mental health by engaging the medium of sport. The project will design, test and translate findings of an organised sports intervention. It will use some of Australia’s most popular sports such as cricket, AFL, football, basketball, tennis and swimming to promote wellbeing and reduce the risk of mental health problems, as well as adopt a grassroots-approach to provide clubs with tools to support young members grappling with depression and suicidal thoughts. “The unique partnership of government, peak sports bodies and mental health organisations (such as the Black Dog institute and the Australian Drug Foundation’s Good Sports Program), combined with academic research expertise will help achieve the project’s goal to reduce the risk of mental health problems among adolescent male sport participants by five percent,” Dr Vella said.

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

SPORTS AS A SPRINGBOARD FOR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE Dr Vella has become a leading authority in the development of social and emotional skills through organised youth sports, and was the first to identify that children who drop out of organised sports have a far greater risk of mental health problems, than those who continue to participate. “Intervention at an adolescent stage is critical as half of all psychological disorders occur before the age of 14, and according to the World Health Organisation young men and boys represent the group at highest risk of mental health problems and suicide in developed countries such as Australia,” Dr Vella said. “According to the National Survey of Mental Health and Well-being, 14 percent of all Australian children and adolescents have a current mental health problem. It is a worrying statistic, costing the Australian Government over $10 million each year. “We are pleased to have secured the involvement of a number of sporting and mental health organisations. It will give a significant and sustainable impact on the state of mental health of adolescent males

Mo-bros: Dr Stewart Vella (left) and Early Start Research Institute Director Prof Tony Okely (right) will both be sporting mo’s in an effort to raise funds and awareness for their UOW research project

by the end of the three year project,” Dr Vella said. A total of $1,986,778 will be funded from the 2014 Movember Campaign with an additional $170,000 cash and $91,000 in-kind support from UOW’s Global Challenges program, Faculty of Social Sciences and the Early Start Research Institute (ESRI) to assist the project. Associate Dean of Research A/Prof Linda Dawson described the project as an exciting new initiative in mental health research. “The Faculty of Social Sciences welcomes the opportunity to contribute new research knowledge,” she said. The Movember project also aligns with the Global Challenges research theme of Living Well Longer which encourages the development of mental health projects. Other UOW Chief Investigators include: Professors Tony Okely, Frank Deane and Simon Eckermann, as well as involvement from Victoria University, Australian Catholic University & Queensland University of Technology. >>Follow Dr Vella on Twitter: @stewartvella

NEWS

Audio liberates Creatives from the page

Fresh from presenting her Budding Idea on ‘Why Audio is The New Black’, Dr Siobhán McHugh (above) has continued her advocacy of sonic storytelling, leading a Creative Audio residential week at The Writer’s House in Katoomba, NSW (pictured). The week-long workshop, ‘Writing for Radio in a Digital Age’, has allowed four writers from different genres – a playwright, a novelist, and two poets – to develop works specifically for the audio medium. During the intensive week, Dr McHugh blended theory and practice. She also taught the participants how to record, edit and mix audio, encouraging them to “think through their ears”. “I explained the unique qualities of sound as a medium. It’s porous and temporal, and the act of attentive listening can develop a pact of intimacy unrivalled by other media,” Dr McHugh said. Playwright Peta Murray, whose play Salt

won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Drama, described the week as “mindbending”. “This focus week was a bit like stumbling upon a new theatre, in a parallel universe, where I want to see almost every show. It’s an airy auditorium and not only do I want to be in the audience, but I also have a chance to make things of my own that live in time and space, much as I did as a playwright, within what appears to be a more inclusive and democratic space, more accommodating of older or outsider voices,” Ms Murray said. Fiction writer Courtney Collins, author of the novella The Burial found the experience stimulating. “Thanks to the intoxicating enthusiasm and skill of Siobhán McHugh I am an audio convert.” Collins is working on a piece that will address changing attitudes towards “bastards”, children born out of wedlock, who used to be called “illegitimate”.

She is excited by the possibilities of writing for audio. “I feel like I have been liberated from the page. In terms of creating character, nothing really compares to the power of the voice.” Dr McHugh asserts that radio “has the best pictures” due to the subjectivity of sound. Its powers of dissemination and vivid transmission of story have recently been harnessed in Sierra Leone to combat the spread of ebola. A nonprofit group called Search for Common Ground (SCG) is writing health intervention procedures into popular radio soap operas in an attempt to curtail the spread of the disease, the New Yorker reports. Radio, SCG reasons, reaches people without electricity or television, and can promote the message without causing risks to visiting foreign health workers.

Nurturing dementia-friendly communities Projects to map dementia-friendly communities and trial an innovative respite plan for carers are among the research projects funded in the latest round of grants from the Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation (AADRF). UOW’s Dr Lyn Phillipson from the Centre for Health Initiatives (CHI) and Dr Brennan-Horley, a human geographer with the Australian Centre for Cultural Environmental Research (AUSCCER) have been named are among 25 other academics, sharing in $2.4 million of Alzheimer’s Australia grants announced this month (19 November). Dr Brennan-Horley is part of a project that aims to identify important places in a number of different communities which are used and enjoyed by people living with dementia, and also those places

that may present challenges. “Maps and spatial technologies are excellent tools for understanding how people use places around them,” Dr Brennan-Horely said. “This research program uses digital mapping technologies to enable us to map the places and spaces that matter for people living with dementia and their carers.” In addition, Dr Phillipson, along with fellow UOW researchers and academics from QUT and the University of Queensland, is part of a project to support family carers access and use respite services in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven. “In Australia, there have been numerous barriers identified which limit carers use of respite services,” Dr Phillipson said. “We are really excited to be the first team in Australian to conduct a comprehensive

research intervention aimed at addressing these barriers and supporting the use of respite.” Both research projects are part of an initiative to create dementia-friendly communities throughout Australia. It complements previous work by Professor Richard Fleming (Director of the Dementia Training Study Centre) who is investigating change in design and practice in care facilities, particularly in the built environment. The research will also build on the lessons learned by UOW researchers in the ‘Dementia Friendly Kiama’ project, which was funded by the UOW Global Challenges Living Well, Longer theme. >>Read more about the AADRF funded projects http://bit.ly/1qDUJPg R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

FEATURE AWATR feature

UOW is celebrating continued success with more big wins in the latest round of funding announced by the Australian Research Council (ARC). The University of Wollongong is celebrating continued success with more big wins in the latest round of funding announced by the Australian Research Council (ARC). UOW has been awarded a total of $8.9 million in ARC grants for projects to commence in 2015. The outstanding results follow on from over $5.39 million awarded to seven researchers at UOW who were named ARC Future Fellows in July earlier this year, bringing this year’s combined ARC funding for UOW research to $14.28 million. Minister for Education the Hon. Christopher Pyne today (5 November) announced 17 Discovery projects, five Discovery Early Career Researcher (DECRA) Awards, one Linkage Infrastructure Grant, and a Discovery Indigenous grant for UOW. Professor of Indigenous Health Kathleen Clapham, of the Australian Health Services Research Institute and Faculty of Business, has been awarded a $317,000 Discovery Indigenous grant (the second such grant for UOW) to determine cultural appropriateness of methods used in Aboriginal health services research. The project will examine the perspectives of health services researchers, Aboriginal consumers and policy-makers to develop a framework for appraising, designing and undertaking research in the context of Aboriginal health service delivery. The Australian Government’s ‘Closing the Gap Strategy’ has recognised the need to improve the evidence base to underpin more effective and efficient health services for Aboriginal Australians. This study closely supports Closing the Gap through its focus on the improved rigour of qualitative FGD 10

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

research in Aboriginal health contexts in order to produce high quality evidence. “Focus Group Discussions are a common way to gather qualitative data in this discipline but little research has been done to determine whether they are appropriate tools in these contexts,” Prof Clapham said. “The study will have a very practical outcome by developing guidelines for the planning and delivery of health services which are accessible, acceptable and appropriate to Aboriginal people,” she said. Enjoying the largest share of UOW’s Discovery grants funding is the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences (EIS) receiving funding for nine projects worth $2.98 million, with four of those projects awarded to the School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics (SMAS). Distinguished Professor Noel Cressie (pictured above) will lead a three-year project to develop new spatio-temporal statistical models, multivariate loss functions, and optimal spatio-temporal predictors. One application will be the estimation of near-surface fluxes of atmospheric carbon dioxide, using massive remote sensing datasets from satellites and other data sources. In Mathematics, one of the projects will aim to analyse equations as practical applications in physics and mathematical biology; with another two pure maths research projects to be headed by Professor Aidan Sims. The Director of UOW’s Mathematical Sciences research cluster will lead both threeyear projects, worth a combined total of $656,000. “These two projects continue our world-

leading research into operator algebras, the mathematics used to understand quantum physics,” Prof Sims said. “The latest funding for the mathematical sciences at UOW is the result of a real team effort. It is fundamental-level pure research of this sort that drives the technology of the future,” he said. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Judy Raper said she was delighted by the success shared among UOW’s 24 successful ARC projects commencing in 2015. “This year the ARC has invested in each one of our five faculties across the Schemes, and there is great satisfaction in knowing that UOW research has enjoyed successful performance overall. The Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences deserve special mention in claiming over 35 percent of our successful ARC projects for next year,” Prof Raper said. “I would like to congratulate all our researchers who have once again attracted funding for projects crucial to diverse sectors in the Australian community. From ethnographic analysis of community resilience in the face of devastating bushfires to the development of radar imaging techniques to allow us to ‘see’ objects behind walls, there is so much exciting work being done by passionate academics at UOW,” Prof Raper said. According to Minister Pyne, positive investment in research funding is crucial for building a strong nation. “The Australian Government has committed to building a world-class education and research sector as one of the five pillars of a stronger, more productive and prosperous Australia,” he said.

FEATURE DISCOVERY INDIGENOUS Re-Focusing Qualitative Research: Improving the efficacy, rigour and relevance of focus group discussions in Aboriginal health service contexts (Re-Focus) $317,000: Prof Kathleen Clapham (pictured) and Dr John Daniels DISCOVERY EARLY CAREER RESEARCHER AWARDS UOW researchers were awarded 5 DECRAs, totalling $1.75M. First-principles Design and Characterisation of Topological Materials - $355,801 Dr Zheng Liu Effects of Reducing Sitting on Toddlers’ Executive Functions: Cluster RCT $357,000 Dr Rute Santos Bio-inspired Multifunctional Inorganic Nanostructured Interfaces - $373,536 Dr Ziqi Sun Leakage-Resilient and Quantum-Secure Authenticated Key Exchange Protocol $315,000 Dr Guomin Yang Bushfires, Faith and Community Cohesion: building a resilient Australia $353,773 Dr Christine Eriksen (pictured) DISCOVERY PROJECTS: UOW researchers were awarded 17 Discovery Projects, totalling $6.4M. Enhanced Through-Wall Imaging Using Bayesian Compressive Sensing $495,000 Prof Abdesselam Bouzerdoum Spatio-Temporal Statistics and its Application to Remote Sensing - $402,500 Distinguished Prof Noel Cressie (opposite page) Amercan Literacy Celebrity and Contemporary Identity - $124,791 Dr Guy Davidson Modelling Active Play in Preschool Children Using Machine Learning - $286,424 A/Prof Markus Hagenbuchner, Dr Dylan Cliff and Dr Stewart Trost Micromanufacturing and the Mechanics of Novel Composite Micro Drills $368,200 Prof Zhengyi Jiang, Dr Dongbin Wei and Dr Jingwei Zhao IVF and Assisted Reproductive Technologies: The Global Experience - $518,953 Prof Vera Mackie (pictured), A/Prof Sarah Ferber and Dr Nicola Marks Alcohol Advertising to Women in Australia - $289,201 Prof Sandra Jones and Prof Rodney Croft Adaptive Base Isolation Using Innovative Magnetorheological Elastomers $266,300 Prof Weihua Li Higher Order Curvature Flow of Curves and Hypersurfaces- $450,800 A/Prof James McCoy, Dr Glen Wheeler and Dr Ben Andrews A New Theory of Aboriginal Art - $122,259 Prof Ian McLean, Dr Siobhán McHugh Developing Next Generation Technologies for Unmasking the Lipidome $434,700 A/Prof Todd Mitchell and Prof Stephen Blanksby A New Adaptive Composite Phosphate-Polymer Lubricant for Hot Metal Forming - $455,300 Prof Kiet Tieu and Dr Hongtao Zhu The Development of Chemopropulsion-based Fluidic Transport Systems $394,700 Prof David Officer, Dr Pawel Wagner and Dr Klaudia Wagner Equilibrium States and Fine Structure for Operator Algebras - $345,300 Prof Aidan Sims (pictured) Groupoids as Bridges Between Algebra and Analysis - $310,700 Prof Aidan Sims and A/Prof David Pask Function Dissection of the Bacterial Replisome - $778,791 Prof Antoine van Oijen and Prof Nicholas Dixon Sedimentary Processes on Sandy Coasts in Southern Australia - $384,700 Prof Colin Woodroffe and Prof Colin Murray-Wallace LINKAGE INFRASTRUCTURE EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES New Generation Cryogen-free Physical Property Measurement System $420,000 Distinguished Prof Shi Xue Dou, Dr Germanas Peleckis; Prof Xiaolin Wang; Dr Jiabao Yi; Prof Yiu-Wing Mai; Dr Luhua Li; Prof Roger A Lewis; Prof Ying I Chen and Prof Geoffrey Spinks >>Check out the list of all UOW’s successful ARC grants for 2015: http://bit.ly/1sB4AR3 R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

NEWS

Cancer treatment and Alzheimer’s research UOW’s health focus in 2015 The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has announced funding for two exciting research projects to be undertaken at UOW next year with Professor Brett Garner to continue efforts to identify the gene that causes Alzheimer’s and Dr Moeava Tehei working towards improving cancer radiation treatment therapies. LINKING THE APOE GENOTYPE TO ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE The APOE genotype is the single most important risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although there are several assumed pathways by which the apoE protein that is encoded by the APOE gene may affect neurobiology, the exact pathways by which different fragments of apoE protein influence AD remain unknown. NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, Professor Brett Garner (pictured right), and his team located at the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), are now poised to isolate and characterise the enzyme that cleaves apoE into short fragments within the human brain, with a new NHMRC funded research project at the UOW . “This has been difficult to do due to the complexity of brain tissue; however, as a result of a new collaboration with neuroscientist and stem cell expert Dr Lezanne Ooi (pictured left), also based at IHMRI, we have discovered a cell culture model that recapitulates key aspects apoE protein fragmentation that is relevant to human brain neurobiology,” Prof Garner said. The research team has recently discovered that cell culture medium from human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)derived neurons contains apoE protein fragments that appear to be identical to those previously detected in the brain. This is the first in vitro system shown to generate apoE fragments similar to those seen in the brain. Prof Garner and his team believe that apoE protein fragments may play a neuroprotective role in the brain and that this contributes to the association of APOE genotype with AD risk. In this NHMRC project he plans to characterise the apoE protein fragments derived from the iPSC neuron model and assess their potential neuroprotective properties. “AD is the leading cause of dementia and there is no curative treatment for this devastating disorder. Understanding how APOE genotype controls AD risk will resolve a major unsolved question in the field and could reveal a new therapeutic avenue,” Prof Garner said. 12

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

This builds on other NHMRC-funded brain disease research conducted at IHMRI where Prof Garner and his team have shown the role that a protein called Abca7 (ATPbinding cassette transporter A7) plays in controlling the level of a small protein or ‘peptide’ called amyloid-beta (Aβ), which is generated in the lipid membranes of cells and that accumulates in the AD brain, causing neuron death. The Garner Group is located in IHMRI in state-of-the-art laboratories that are

well equipped for cell and molecular biology, analytical biochemistry, advanced microscopy and animal studies. A major goal of the group is to understand the regulation of brain lipid homeostasis and how this contributes to neurodegeneration. A strong emphasis is placed on the identification of novel therapeutic targets that modulate lipid parameters and oxidative stress with an ultimate goal to treat neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

TARGETTING CANCER TREATMENT A new UOW research project funded by the NHMRC, is aiming to investigate the treatment of Radioresistant cancer tumours using intelligent pharmacological drugs that target and strategically place high atomic number particles in cancer cells to specifically interact with x-ray beam radiation. The unique combination is expected to increase efficiency of cancer treatment and decrease toxicity to the patient, by reducing radiation dosages and introducing a more targeted chemo-drug injection method to malignant cancer tissue. “We are proposing a unique new multimodal therapy to increase lethal damage specifically in tumour cells and ultimately improve cancer patient outcome,” head of UOW’s Targeted NanoTherapies (TNT) Group Dr Moeva Tehei said.

For the very first time, a sophisticated nano-theranostic assembly will be designed, explored and used to bring the therapeutic effect to another level thanks to the synergistic effects of the different components. Dr Tehei (pictured third from right) is a biophysicist expert in radiation and has investigated the enzymatic properties of dihydrofolate reductase (a DHFR enzyme target of the anti-cancer drug methotrexate (MTX) used in cancer therapy). He has also studied the interaction between the DHFR and the MTX allowing him to better understand the interaction between the two and, in so doing, optimise the chemo-radiation therapy approach. The strength of the TNT group is in its dynamic interaction between different disciplines from the clinical sciences to engineering, Monte-Carlo simulations, materials sciences, medical physics,

radiobiology, biochemistry and biophysics. “It is a very unique combination of expertise and thanks to the NHMRC grant, we’ll be able to offer good positions to young researchers who wish to make a significant impact in this area of drug-delivery and radiation therapy science,” Dr Tehei said. “It is a unique kind of treatment modality and at the cutting-edge of nanomedicine.” Dr Tehei is based in the School of Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences and is working with other researchers from the IHMRI, the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, the Centre for Medical and Molecular Bioscience and the Prince of Wales Hospital. The research investigators on this project include (L-R): Dr. Konstantin Konstantinov, Dr Susanna Guatelli, Prof Anatoly Rozenfeld, Dr Stéphanie Corde and A/Prof Michael Lerch.

ToughSkin scores $1M injection to develop steel mesh alternative BASF, the world’s leading chemical company has joined forces with the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) to extend work with the University of Wollongong, to develop a safer alternative to steel mesh in underground coal mines. The joint $1 million funding will support a project entitled ‘Polymer Based Alternative to Steel Mesh for Coal Mine Strata Reinforcement and Confinement (ToughSkin)’ that aims to develop an optimised ‘ToughSkin’ prototype. UOW Mining and Engineering experts A/Prof Ernest Baafi, A/Prof Ian Porter and Dr Jan Nemcik, together with UOW polymer chemists, Kel Mews and Noel Noe, as well as application specialists, Daniel

Industrial Chemist Kelvin Mews with UOW Research Assistant Noel Noe

Gailer and Michael Tibbs are involved in the project. ToughSkin is a polymeric alternative to steel mesh with enhanced strata confinement capabilities that can be remotely applied (as a spray), eliminating exposure of personnel to a range of safety

hazards. Currently, operators are required to manually lift and install mesh sheets into place against roof and sides, which function to capture any dislodged roof material. The polymeric skin is expected to generate significant improvements in safety, development productivity and effectiveness of strata support. Collaborators are working towards a prototype for certification and approval, and undergo trials in an underground mine and roadway development. Although initial trialling will be conducted in Australia, the potential market for this product is international. R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

PARTNERSHIP

Fellowship to take archaeologists further into ‘Hobbit’ cave and beyond

A discovery thousands of years in the making celebrates its 10th anniversary. Happy Birthday Hobbit!

Marking a milestone: Ten years after an archaeological dig revealed a new human species in an Indonesian island cave, a Postdoctoral Fellowship has been established to pave the way for future research into the ancestry of the mysterious ‘Hobbit’. The fossil find was dubbed the ‘Hobbit’ due to its tiny stature, and the unexpected news that another species of human had walked among us until relatively recently stunned the world. Ten years ago in October, leading international journal of science Nature published two controversial papers announcing the discovery of a new human species, Homo floresiensis, in Liang Bua cave in Flores, Indonesia. To honour the UOW researchers who, with colleagues in Indonesia, discovered the one metre-tall archaic human, the University of Wollongong has announced a new prestigious postdoctoral fellowship, named in memory of Professor Mike Morwood, the UOW archaeologist who co-led the Hobbit project team until his death last year.

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

INAUGURAL MICHAEL J. MORWOOD FELLOW - Mr Thomas Sutikna (pictured top right) has been named the inaugural Michael J. Morwood Fellow. He was a key Indonesian archaeologists involved in the original Hobbit discovery and has been named on a list of Highly Cited Researchers released by Thomson Reuters earlier this year. Mr Sutikna will further strengthen UOW’s partnership with the National Centre for Archaeology in Indonesia, and pave the way for further research into the ancestry of the Hobbit to try and determine when this experiment in human evolution ended. Revealing the history of archaic and modern humans in Indonesia has been central to the Centre for Archaeological Science (CAS), one of UOW’s research strengths, since excavations at Liang Bua began in 2001.

According to Centre Director Professor Richard ‘Bert’ Roberts, Prof Morwood was instrumental in building and nurturing relationships with Indonesian colleagues. “Thomas’s research will further strengthen our collaborative links with archaeologists in Indonesia, and I’m hoping that he might even discover another new species of human!” Prof Roberts said. Mr Sutikna, who is currently finishing his doctoral studies at UOW, will stay on to carry out postdoctoral research on Flores and other Indonesian islands. He plans to begin the Michael J. Morwood Fellowship next year, continuing research at Liang Bua and exploring limestone caves elsewhere in the Indonesian archipelago. “The discovery of Homo floresiensis has major implications for the understanding

Above: The Liang Bua cave where Homo floresiensis was discovered in 2003 Left (L-R): Distinguished Prof Bert Roberts and the inaugural Michael J. Morwood Fellow Mr Thomas Sutikna with a model skull of the ‘Hobbit’ Below: An illustration of the ‘Hobbit’ by Peter Schouten

of human evolution and dispersal across the globe and it is only a piece of the larger puzzle of past human activities in Liang Bua, which needs to be explored with subsequent excavations. Besides Liang Bua, the next step of research will be to focus on other potential sites throughout Flores and other islands in Indonesia that were identified while digging at the Liang Bua cave,” Mr Sutikna said. ORIGINS OF AN ABSTRACT MIND Mr Sutikna has also been part of another exciting development, the findings of which have been published in Nature (9 October) this year. A team of Indonesian and Australian scientists have dated cave art on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, with the earliest image (a hand stencil) dating as far back as 39,900 years, making it the oldest stencil found anywhere in the world.Historically, archaeologists thought that rock art first emerged in Europe, with a minimum age of 41,000 for the oldest dated paintin in the world - a red disk at El Castillo in Spain. “Rock art is one of the first indicators of an abstract mind - the onset of being human as we know it,” Mr Sutikna said.

Dr Anthony Dosseto from UOW’s Isotope Geochronology Laboratory said the discovery proved the people in Sulawesi were expressing themselves on cave walls at the same time that Europeans were.

The earliest image of a hand stencil in Sulawesia, Indonesia, dates as far back as 39,000 years. “Europeans can’t exclusively claim to be the first to develop an abstract mind anymore. They need to share this, at least, with the early inhabitants of Indonesia,” he said. The rock art was dated using a method based on the radioactive decay of minute amounts of uranium in the mineral crusts to form on top of some of the cave paintings. The dating was carried out at UOW’s Wollongong Isotope Geochronoloy Laboratory and in the Research

Hand stencils of a wild pig at Leang Pettakere. Photo by Dr Anthony Dosseto.

School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University. Other team members involved in the project include Dr Maxime Aubert and Dr Adam Brumm (both now based at Griffith University), Dr Ger van den Bergh and the late Prof Mike Morwood. >>Watch multimedia from Nature about the discovery http://bit.ly/1vREprR

R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

NEWS

Ocean depths promising home for hidden cures

A cure for cancer might be hidden in the deepest depths of the ocean, according to chemist Dr Danielle Skropeta, who leads a research team in marine natural products chemistry at UOW Access to the deep-sea has only come about with the advent of scuba and with only 50 years of research to its name, compared against the thousands of years of knowledge we have on terrestrial plants, there is still much to be learned about an environment, once thought to be completely barren. Dr Danielle Skropeta (pictured) from UOW’s School of Chemistry has dedicated her career to the discovery new drugs developed from unique marine organisms found in our oceans. “Considering the deep-sea is one of the most bio-diverse and species-rich habitats on the planet, rivalling coral reefs and rainforests, we are expecting to find many more new chemicals that could be used to treat cancer and other diseases,” Dr Skropeta said. Dr Skropeta has recently published a review reporting the discovery of 188 16

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

new chemicals in the deep-sea in the last five years alone. Of these new chemicals, more than 60 percent are cytotoxic, ie they can kill cancer cells in the dish. From multi-resistant, ovarian cancer-destroying sea cucumbers to microorganisms that work magic against breast cancer or a fungus that could be a potential match for leukaemia, the ‘twilight zone’, too deep for the sunlight to reach at 200 metres and below, contains boundless possibility for new medicines. “The common statement in the field is that we know far more about the moon than we know about the deep-sea, and that is certainly true,” Dr Skropeta said. In order to survive in the ‘twilight zone’, an environment with very high pressure, very low temperature, low oxygen and low nutrients, deep sea marine organisms have had to evolve different biological systems to their land counterparts.

Currently, there are six marine-derived drugs that have been approved for clinical use for cancer, pain, and HIV, with dozens more in different phases of clinical trials, hundreds in preclinical trials and thousands under development. “What most people don’t know is that natural product-derived drugs account for 50 percent of the drugs used for the treatment of cancer and more than 75 percent of the drugs used for treating infectious diseases,” Dr Skropeta said. Dr Skropeta, and her colleagues A/Prof Andy Davis and Ms Alison Broad, have made several trips offshore in the past few years exploring various areas of the deep-sea in the North West Shelf, off the coast of Western Australia. >> Watch a video of Dr Skropeta talking about her research http://bit. ly/11AlFmP

NEWS

UOW signs off International Masters with German university Over the past two years, UOW and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität ErlangenNürnberg (FAU) have together initiated a process for the establishment of a Double-Degree Program. The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Tuesday 7th October brought the institutions a step closer to being able to offer a Global Double-Degree Masters program, with an agreement that will boost UOW’s capabilities as an international education provider with strong links to international high-ranking institutions. “Students enrolled in the International Masters of Science degree will have the opportunity to obtain two degrees from two highly ranked international universities situated on two different continents,” Associate Dean (International) of the Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, A/Prof Marc in het Panhuis, said. This year, A/Prof in het Panhuis and his team applied to offer the International Master of Science program with FAU as a partner institution for the specialisation of Medicinal Chemistry/Chemistry from 2015. “FAU was a natural choice as the first partner for the double-degree program as we have strong and longstanding links from both the educational side and the research side,” A/Prof in het Panhuis said.

UOW’s Vice-Chancellor Prof Paul Wellings CBE with FAU President Professor Dr Karl-Dieter Gruske

The School of Chemistry has had an affiliation with the German institution for more than a decade, with academics regularly visiting FAU and vice versa. Prof Dirk Guldi of FAU is actively involved in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) and has

links with a number of UOW academics, including Distinguished Prof Gordon Wallace and Prof David Officer of the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI). >>View the International Masters of Science in UOW’s Course Finder: http://bit.ly/1vHuhq3

Strengthening research collaborations with China A delegation led by UOW’s Vice-Chancellor has recently travelled to China to strengthen research collaborations with prestigious higher education institutions as well as China’s largest steel manufacturer, Baosteel. The UOW delegation met representatives of Baosteel Research Institute - the second largest steel producer in the world - in Shanghai. Baosteel has been undertaking research and development work with UOW researchers since 2007. Delegates explored further research collaboration opportunities and the future plan for the Baosteel-Australia Joint Research and Development Centre (BAJC), a $25 million five-year venture, involving UOW and three other Australian universities (Queensland, Monash and UNSW). UOW has so far secured six research projects under the BAJC. The UOW delegates also visited BeiHang University in Beijing to establish a Joint Research Centre between the two

institutions. The Centre will bring together existing research collaborations between UOW’s Australian Institute of Innovative Materials (AIIM) and Beihang’s School of Chemistry and Environment. “This centre is critical for research exchange, joint research programs, PhD student training and joint application of research grants,” V-C Prof Wellings said. The Dean of Beihang University’s School of Chemistry and Environment Prof Lei Jiang, also an Academician of the China Academy of Science, was appointed as an Honorary Professor of UOW in 2012. In 2013, Prof Lei Jiang successfully secured funding from the 111 Project to invetigate the ‘Research Base of Intelligent Bionic Interface Science and Technology’. UOW’s Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials (ISEM) Director, Distinguished Professor Shi Xue Dou participated in the 111 program as an Overseas Academic Expert.

Last year a joint Symposium of Advanced Materials was developed between Beihang and UOW. The next symposium will be held at UOW in December 2014. A meeting was also held with representatives of the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), in Beijing, to discuss future collaborative projects, including a joint PhD program between UOW and the Academy. Delegates also renewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Science and Technology in Beijing (USTB). The collaboration with USTB dates back more than a decade, focusing on research from metallurgy to broader engineering areas. In 2010, a MOU was signed between the two universities for the Chinese government sponsored PhD students’ scheme, which further strengthened the partnership. The renewed MOU remains focused on research collaborations but also extends to teaching collaborations, including articulation arrangements.

R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

RESEARCH

A lonely life in the slammer For the past 15 years Shaun Gallagher, a Visiting Professorial Fellow in UOW’s Department of Philosophy, has been studying the nature of social interaction. In his most recent paper he examines the practice of solitary confinement in prison to understand the effects of lack of social contact, determining that there must be more to selfhood than individuality. The cruel and unusual phenomenology of solitary confinement Phenomenology is the philosophical term for the study of experience. Solitary confinement leads to phenomenological, physical, and behavioral changes in subjects who are isolated from fellow humans. One example that offers some guidance about the effects of social deprivation occurred during the Ceauşescu regime in Romania where young children were left in orphanages, often because of the extreme poverty of their parents. In the orphanages infants were basically ignored, confined to their cots, without toys or other playthings, fed by bottles that were left propped up. There was little sustained, interpersonal exchange and no opportunities to establish relationships with caregivers. Children who grew up in these orphanages tended to lack basic features of social interaction. They showed limited social awareness or empathy. A significant number of these children developed an induced form of early childhood autism involving severe problems with social relationships and communication, including poverty of eye-to-eye gaze and gestures in social exchanges, limited language and to-and-fro conversation, preoccupations with sensations and other sensory-motor patterns associated with autism. Prisoners who are subjected to solitary confinement show symptoms and describe a phenomenology that is not equivalent to either autism or induced autism, but reflect similar motor problems, and often times more extensive and serious disruptions of experience. There is a long list of experiences associated with solitary confinement, including: anxiety, fatigue, confusion, paranoia, depression, hallucinations, headaches, insomnia, trembling, apathy, stomach and muscle pains, oversensitivity to stimuli, feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, withdrawal, isolation, rage, anger, and aggression, difficulty in concentrating, dizziness, distortion of the sense of time, severe boredom, and impaired memory. Studies of 100 inmates in California’s Pelican Bay Supermax prison found 91 percent of the prisoners suffering from anxiety and

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

nervousness; 70 percent “felt themselves on the verge of an emotional breakdown”; 77 percent experience chronic depression. These effects have been long known. For example, the novelist Charles Dickens was a delegate who visited the United States from Europe to learn about the practice. He referred to solitary confinement as “slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain … immeasurably worse than any torture of the body”. A systematic review of the phenomenology of solitary confinement reveals symptoms that involve serious bodily and motor problems, derealization (a feeling that the world is not real), and selfdissolution (or depersonalisation). Dickens was curious about the trembling of the prisoners in solitary confinement. One of the prison guards explained. “Well it’s not so much a trembling, although they do quiver – as a complete derangement of the nervous system. They can’t sign their names to the book; sometimes they can’t even hold the pen … sometimes they get up and down again 20 times in a minute…. Sometimes they stagger as if they were drunk, and sometimes are forced to lean against the fence, they’re so bad.” One also finds prisoners in solitary confinement reporting a derealisation. For example, the experience of object boundaries becomes uncertain. “It becomes difficult to tell what is real and what is only my imagination playing tricks on me…. the wire mesh on [the] door begins to vibrate or the surface of the wall seems to bulge.” Importantly, prisoners who have lived through solitary confinement report a dissolution of the self. In an important recent book on Solitary Confinement, Lisa Guenther of Vanderbilt University asks: “How could I lose myself by being confined to myself?” Indeed, she points out that the original prison authorities who devised the practice of solitary confinement thought that it would be a help to the prisoner, a way for the prisoner to return into self, to turn his thoughts inward. That is, they expected a rehabilitation through isolation with oneself. But if one can lose oneself in solitary confinement, there must be more to selfhood than individuality. Studies of social interaction suggest that the self is

relational – constituted by its relations with others. Solitary confinement, by undermining social relationality, leads to a destruction of the self. This paper looks at reports from prisoners, medical personnel, psychologists, and psychiatrists to document the fact that all of the essential aspects of selfhood are negatively affected by solitary confinement. Solitary confinement leads to serious problems with, for example, minimal embodied aspects of self (e.g. physical health and motor problems), experiential aspects (e.g. sensory problems, derealization), affective aspects (e.g. depression, anxiety), relational aspects, psychological/cognitive aspects, and narrative aspects of self (due to e.g. memory problems and distortions in time sense). This paper looks to see if these effects amount to cruel and unusual punishment, as defined by law. This turned out to be a problem, since the concept of “cruelty” (or “degrading to human dignity”) remains obscure in the law. The words “cruel and unusual punishment” first appeared in the English Bill of Rights in 1689, and then in the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1791). For the British at that time, the term “cruel” was synonymous with “severe,” and generally signified punishments that were disproportionate to the crime. The American interpretation, in contrast, focused on identifying cruel methods (and specifically torturous methods) of punishment. Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN General Assembly states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. The wording still leaves us with the question of what constitutes cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, and it is difficult to find a clear definition of these terms in the legal domain. Prof Gallagher will be returning to UOW for a month from February 2015 and can be contacted via email: >> s.gallagher@memphis.edu >> Read the full text with references http://bit.ly/1vq64kG

“This paper argues that the phenomenology of solitary

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Confinement provides a clearer interpretation of the concept of cruelty or degrading of human dignity. Specifically, if we understand the self to be relational and to be degraded in all its aspects in contexts of solitary confinement, then this practice morally degrades human dignity by literally degrading (if not destroying) the human self in all of its aspects, starting with the deeply relational dimension.â&#x20AC;?

Photo credit: Herianus, Getty images

PARTNERSHIP

Tweets generate virtual flood map for Jakarta

A man fishes in the flood waters of Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo credit: Herianus, Getty images.

A big data project mapping instances of flooding in Southeast Asia’s most populous city was recently launched (29 October) at UOW. The overall aim of the project is to advance capacity to understand and promote the resilience of cities to both extreme weather events as a result of climate change and to long-term infrastructure transformation as a process of climate adaptation. Using a geosocial intelligence framework developed at UOW’s SMART Infrastructure Facility, lead researchers Dr Etienne Turpin and Dr Tomas Holderness are turning geotagged tweets into valuable data that can be analysed and used to map seasonal flooding across the city of Jakarta, Indonesia, with unprecedented detail. “Jakarta has the fastest rate of urbanisation of any city in the world and a population of about 28 million. River and coastal inundation, sea level rise and recent trends in weather intensification make Jakarta a key site for testing the effectiveness of crowdsourcing data to research 21st century challenges against urban resilience and adaptation,” Dr Holderness said. “Our research is further supported by the fact Indonesia has the greatest number of Twitter users of any country in the world.” The PETAJakarta (MapJakarta) pilot study, which commenced in May this year, is being conducted in conjunction with the Jakarta Disaster Management Agency (BPBD, DKI Jakarta). Incessant rain from November through January traditionally culminates with major floods across the CBD and outer city regions. In

Top right: The PETAjakarta app allows Jakarta, dubbed the ‘Twitter capital of the world’, to crowd-source tweets and disseminate the data through location-enabled deveices. Above: Dr Etienne Turpin (left) and Tomas Holderness (right) address an audience at the launch of PETAjakarta.

January last year, 250,000 people were affected by flood waters. In January 2014, 30,000 people were displaced. As the next monsoon season fast approaches, representatives of BPBD, DKI Jakarta have travelled to Wollongong for the project’s official launch and their first week of collaborative training and development to help ensure the success of the project. “By partnering with BPBD, DKI Jakarta for the one-year pilot study we’ve enabled the agency to work directly with SMART engineers and geographic information system experts to develop tools specifically designed to meet the needs of their day-to-day operations,” Dr Turpin said. Dr Turpin and Dr Holderness expect their product to be widely adopted in the future. ‘’As an open source publicly accessible platform, the software that runs PETAJakarta can be amended to address other urgent issues such as waste or sewage removal, transport and traffic congestion, weather emergencies, even elections and governance and then redeployed in other metropolitan areas with high concentrations of social media users,” he said.

SUSTAINING COASTAL & MARINE ZONES PETAJakarta is a key UOW Global Challenges project helping to address the challenge of Sustaining Coastal and Marine Zones and is further supported by Australian National Data Service. The project has also benefited from the first Twitter #DataGrant, awarded to the researchers in April 2014. UOW was only one of six other institutionsin the world to gain inaugural access to historical and current Twitter data. >>Follow PETAJakarta on Twitter https://twitter.com/PETAJakarta >>Read more about the project http://bit.ly/1rFKkRZ

R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Heavy lifting for Innovation Works! competition Between three engineers and a chemist, understanding and even building new robotic devices that have, almost, the strength, fluidity and dexterity of human limbs is within the realms of possibility. PhD candidates Danial Sangian, Shazed Md Aziz and Reece Gately, with Honours student Grant Barnsley will, in time, contribute to projects underpinning the development of these so called ‘artificial muscles’ at UOW’s Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI). “The term ‘artificial muscles’ gets thrown around a lot in science and the media,” chemist and self-confessed technology enthusiast Gately said. “But not many people know what they are. We wanted to deconstruct the science and present it in a simple way.” “We figured people would learn a lot more if they could play with something they recognised so we built a miniature crane that uses artificial muscles to lift objects rather than conventional robotics, which rely on rigid components and conventional materials like steel and aluminium,” Aziz said. Over 10 weeks and around their study commitments, the team built an artificial muscle crane prototype and entered it into the Global Challenge’s Innovation Works! Initiative competing for a $2,000 prize and a space in a program that helps students

Winners (L-R): Reece Gately, Shazed Aziz, Danial Sangian and Dr Sina Naficy

develop products and business ideas. The team took out joint first place in the competition alongside their IPRI colleagues who built a drone that could be used by Australian lifesavers to deliver a flotation device to troubled swimmers. Barnsley said the crane “successfully demonstrates how artificial muscles work”. “The basic premise of a human muscle is

that it is powered by a contraction,” he said. “In our hand, for example, the muscles that do the contracting are in our arms and they are connected to tendons which are connected to our fingers. This is similar to how our crane system operates in that when our artificial muscles contract, they pull the connecting line which moves the claw tips.”

Global Challenges Scholars see the world From Montreal to Miami, Sweden to Silicon Valley, it has been a big year of travel for the Global Challenges (GC) Program. During the past 12 months, GC PhD and Travel scholars could be found around the world, conducting research, forging partnerships, visiting universities, and addressing the major problems at the heart of the program. GC awarded 12 PhD scholarships, with travel allowances, and 10 $2,000 Travel Scholarships, helping students travel anywhere in the world – as long as it addressed one of its four challenges. The initiative was a success in its first year and has helped the next generation of researchers to conduct their work on a global scale. And lucky for the program, they were happy to blog about their experiences. Rachael Bartlett, a PhD candidate working 22

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

with the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), is using her GC scholarship to currently spend six months at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, undertaking her work into Motor Neuron Disease. PhD Scholar Thomas Doyle, from the School of spent a few weeks in Brazil, conducting research into the South American nation’s dunebeach environments. It was an amazing experience for Thomas, who was able to compare what he found in Brazil with beaches closer to home, and helped him to focus his thesis. Travel scholar Marie-Claire Demers, a PhD candidate in the Institute for Conservation Biology and Environmental Management, fell in love with the Catalonian region of Spain while researching sea grass off the coast of the European nation. There, she found herself “absorbed passionately in the

exceptional culture, language and food of Catalonia”. GC PhD and Travel Scholars have also explored the coast of Tasmania, the beauty of Perth’s Rottnest Island, conducted research in the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv, and presented a paper at a conference in Gothenburg, Sweden. For 2015, Global Challenges has decided to think outside the box when it comes to our Travel Scholarships. Applicants were asked to create a two-minute video, outlining their research and how it addressed one of the challenges. The Video Challenge received close to 40 applications. Stay tuned to see where in the world our successful applicants are headed and keep track of their adventures on the Global Challenges blog. >>www.uowblogs.com/globalchallenges/

STUDENT PROFILE

Massimo Fiorentini With the price of energy on the rise as the trend for energy consumption per person climbs, sustainability in the energy sector has become one of the world’s most critical strategic issues. Massimo Fiorentini is turning to buildings to reduce energy consumption. Left: Massimo Fiorentini is undertaking his PhD at SBRC. He was the Electrical Team Coordinator for UOW’s winning entry into the 2013 Solar Decathlon China competition, The Illawarra Flame.

Strengthening ties with Italy -Earlier this year I travelled to Italy and spent time with the IMT - Institute for Advanced Studies in Lucca as a Guest Scholar, which was very valuable for my research. I had meetings with international experts in the MPC field, IMT Director Prof Alberto Bemporad, and Dr Daniele Bernardini. Their work is focused on MPC applications in hybrid systems (systems that have continuous dynamics and discrete variables, e.g. working modes, selectors).

What are you studying? I am working on my PhD with the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre (SBRC), at the Innovation Campus, with Professor Paul Cooper and Dr Zhenjun Ma. I also collaborate with Dr Josh Wall, from the CSIRO Energy Centre.

thermal comfort, energy efficiency and minimising the running cost.

I always had an interest in sustainability, in particular renewable energy. During my Master’s Degree at Politecnico di Milano (Italy), I had a chance to come to UOW as an exchange student to work on my Master’s thesis. My thesis was focused on wave energy (a device that converts ocean wave’s energy in to electrical energy), and it is still a very active field of research here at UOW. My supervisors at that time were Prof Cooper and Dr Brad Stappenbelt.

The Illawarra Flame Solar Decathlon House - a case stduy After graduating from my Masters I worked a couple of years at ABB (a company specialising in robotics and the power and automation technology industries), when one day Prof Cooper informed me of the possibility of applying for a scholarship linked to a very interesting project. The project was the Solar Decathlon competition, requiring a group of students to build and operate an entirely solarpowered house and compete with other international teams. I thought that would be a great opportunity for me and that is how I joined the SBRC.

What does your research focus on? The scope of my research is the development of optimal control strategies for advanced buildings, in particular those that feature on site renewable electrical and thermal generation, thermal or electrical energy storage or natural ventilation. My objective is to implement a Model Predictive Control (MPC) strategy which can effectively use the knowledge of the physics of the building and its systems to optimise its performance, in terms of

My experience at the SBRC has been great. I have collaborated with the CSIRO energy centre from the beginning, which has been of great help. I have been part of the first Australian team to participate and win a Solar Decathlon, proposing a unique design – retrofitting a very common type of house in our region, a ‘fibro house’. I travelled around the world and have established links with international institutions and had the chance to present my work to large engineering groups in Australia.

What are your plans for the future? I am hoping to complete my PhD in July next year, if everything goes as planned. Since my research has very practical outcomes, I will need a good amount of data of reliable operation of my case studies to achieve my objective. I would like to stay in the energy field, either in industry or research. I think I will choose the most exciting opportunity that comes along, as I have always done in the past. What has been the highlight of your career so far? - The highlight of my career, at least here at UOW, is my input into the design, construction, commissioning and control of the Solar-Assisted Heating and Ventilation and Air conditioning (HVAC) system that won the AIRAH Denis Joseph Award for Innovative Use of Solar Energy in HVAC and Refrigeration in 2013. This is still a focus of my current research, but it was very exciting to see a successful practical implementation of the research we undertake every day at the SBRC. >>Read more about the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre http://sbrc.uow.edu.au/index.html

R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

OPINION

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

opinion

Economics hijackers hi-jackerscould coulddo dowith withaahistory historylesson lesson

Prof Ville has research collaborators from the USA, Norway, Britain and Japan. His edited Cambridge Economic History of Australia has just been published and was recently cited in Hansard.

Behind every economic policy initiative lies a narrative justifying that course of action: immigration increases unemployment; public debt is unsustainable; manufacturing is interminably declining; city growth is out of control. We have many ‘narrators’ driving these discussions of economics – the media, political parties, public sector bodies, business and indeed universities – each with their own set of interests and values. Unfortunately, among these claimants, the voice of economic history has remained largely silent or selectively galvanised to prosecute a triumphalist or doomsayer interpretation: “the clever country’s many successes in policy and business”; or “the lucky country’s history has been a series of fortuitous events now running out of steam”. According to the recent review of the national curriculum, our ignorance of economic history begins early. Three times the report chastises the lack of economic history in our schools. The teaching of economic history in universities has become the victim of organisational pressures pushing out small disciplines and intellectual trends on either edge towards econometrics and cultural history. The seriousness of the recent global financial crisis for many nations jolted economic history from its slumber. In its aftermath, The Economist asked a group of leading economists whether the crisis would affect the teaching of economics. Their overwhelming response was to reinstate economic history in the curriculum.

ENTERING A NEW PERIOD The financial crisis barely ruffled the secular boom Australia had been experiencing since the early 1990s. However, we are entering more uncertain times – less the sudden shock of a financial crisis, more the feeling of standing at a crossroads in our economic development. Casting forwards, Australia has set foot in the Asian century, when Asian nations, especially China, will dominate development. Given the geographic closeness and trade complementarity, yet cultural and political differences, Australia faces a specific set of challenges in coming decades. If the recent past resonates with resilience, the near future speaks of potential frailties LEARNING FROM THE PAST It is timely, therefore, that published earlier this October was the Cambridge Economic History of Australia (the third attempt). While more descriptive than proselytising, it seeks to capture the detail and debate of Australia’s economic past. The debates and descriptions still resonate today and several examples are indicative. What should we produce, who should make it and where should they live? Our contracting manufacturing sector creates angst among those who believe that a modern economy produces tangible goods. While this narrative fits many nations – Britain, USA, Germany, Japan, Korea and now China – it was never central to Australian economic history. Manufacturing’s share of economic activity has returned to its proportion at Federation. Its intervening expansion owed much to both tariffs and the rise of industries unsuited to international trading. In spite of recent setbacks, natural resource industries have always dominated exports. Contrary to the advocates of the

‘resource curse’, primary industries have continued to reinvent themselves through the application of waves of innovation. The elephant in the room, though, is the services sector – about 80 percent of our economy, yet largely neglected in the public discussion. Nothing new about this either. Should we believe that immigration will increase unemployment? Economic historians have shown that immigrants do not ‘rob jobs’. Each new arrival brings a demand for goods and services as well as taking up employment. Migrants respond to economic vicissitudes rather than create them – as history shows, they arrive in good times but rarely in downturns. Concerns about urban growth have a long history. In 1897, Timothy Coghlan, the New South Wales Statistician, bemoaned: “The abnormal aggregation of the population into their capital cities is a most unfortunate element in the progress of these states.” Coghlan, a chronicler more than an analyser, missed the point that Australian resource wealth originated in the bush but needed urban-related services – finance, transport, marketing – to realise that wealth through exports. We should plan our cities understanding that Australia has been highly urbanised for a long time. No nation is purely a captive of its history – economies periodically shift equilibriums in the same way that genes mutate – but understanding past patterns is as important in the economic context as it is in the genetic. >>This article was originally written for the Conversation http://bit.ly/1pGRw13

NEW RESEARCH STAFF

Associate Professor Jeremy Crook is overseeing a research program of bioengineering at UOW’s Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) that brings together human stem cells with novel biomaterials. “The research is being done primarily to fabricate useable 3D neural tissue constructs that reasonably reflect the tissue sub-types you find in different regions of the brain including neurons and supporting cells,” A/Prof Crook said. “I also have a special interest in developing precision diagnostics and therapeutics for major mental illness such as schizophrenia.” To fast track the development of personalised implantable tissues and devices for treating brain injury and disease A/Prof Crook is collaborating with world leading experts in a range of disciplines, including other biologists, clinicians, chemists, physicists and engineers. Prior to joining the University he was involved in a project with UOW’s Dr Sina Naficy, and Professors Julie Steele and Geoff Spinks to develop a lymphoedema sleeve. “The team has developed some great progress on the device to date, and I hope to continue to work with them moving forward. I enjoy research collaborations, and am always happy to join research teams who are looking for innovative ways to integrate garments with technology.” After completing his PhD at the University of Melbourne, A/Prof Crook undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda under renowned Doctors Daniel Weinberger and Joel Kleinman. After several years as an academic researcher he moved across to industry, working for a stem cell start-up biotechnology company ES Cell International (ESI). ESI was one of the first commercial ventures in the world to develop stem cells for therapeutic purposes.

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

Dr Catherine Neilsen-Hewett has recently taken on the role of Senior Lecturer and Convenor of Early Years Education at UOW, where she will develop and guide the Early Years education curriculum. She is also a member of UOW’s Early Start Research Institute (ESRI). Her research focuses on children’s social relationships, early childhood bullying, as well as their socioemotional adjustment to early education and care environments and school. Dr Neilsen-Hewett’s move to UOW has coincided with the opening of Early Start – an exciting teaching, research and community engagement initiative in higher education. “Both the Early Start initiative and the rich community connections embedded within the Early Years program are amongst the many factors that drew me to UOW,” Dr Neilsen-Hewett said. Throughout her career Dr Neilse-Hewett has been heavily involved in community outreach primarily through parenting workshops as well as professional development for educators both in Australia and overseas. Connecting with and supporting children, families and communities and enriching life opportunities for young children and their families are both a passion and career goal. She currently provides professional advice to parents through a number of online parenting websites, and is regularly asked to review online content for parenting and child development websites including the Raising Children Network (RCN), and contributes to educational websites including Schools AtoZ.

PhD candidate Bonnie Dean has been appointed as a lecturer in Learning Teaching & Curriculum (formerly known as CEDIR). Her role as an Academic Developer involves supporting UOW academics in various aspects of teaching, learning, assessment and curriculum. “I teach into formal professional development courses including ULT and Flexi-ULT and consult on curriculum matters in Faculty of Business subjects. I am also currently involved in a project exploring the first year experience at UOW,” Ms Dean said. “My research is in the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education. Some examples include: Enhancing the professional development opportunities for sessional teaching staff; Exploring the first year experience at university; Investigating the role of reflective assessment in work-integrated learning.” Bonnie graduated from UOW with a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Performance) and Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) with first class honours. After some time spent working in the industry as a marketing manager she returned to the University in 2009 to develop and run the Commerce Internship Program (CIP). The program has continued since and has now placed over 500 students in local placements. “CIP is a cross-disciplinary internship scheme for undergraduates across marketing, management, human resources, accounting and finance disciplines,” Ms Dean said. Bonnie began her PhD full-time in 2010, under the supervision of Dr Chris Sykes and Dr. Jan Turbill. “My work takes a practice-based approach to exploring learning on placement to find out: What are students doing on placement? And how are they learning?”

Dr Chris Gordon is a landscape ecologist who has recently completed his PhD with the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at the University of Western Sydney. This was followed by work as a research assistant at the University of Sydney studying the influence that dingoes, foxes and cats had on arid ecosystems. “My PhD used field data, statistical analyses and historical datasets to understand if and/ or how dingoes influence arid Australian ecosystems via top-down mechanisms of trophic control,” Dr Gordon said. “I have recently started a research project with Dr Owen Price and Professor Ross Bradstock at UOW’s Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires (in association with the New South Wales Rural Fire Service),” Dr Gordon said. The project aims to understand how time since fire influences fire fuel accumulation, particularly in Coastal Heath and Coastal Swamp Forests of New South Wales, and to develop rapid methods to accurately quantify fire fuel loads. Prior to undertaking his PhD Dr Gordon graduated from the University of Sydney with an honours degree studying the ecophysiology of arid Australian skinks.

Dr Lynn Sheridan joins the School of Education in the Faculty of Social Sciences as a Senior Lecturer in Professional Studies. She has extensive experience in teacher education having worked in a range of universities, including the University of Canberra, University of Technology Sydney, the University of Notre Dame and UNSW. Dr Sheridan also has expertise and experience as a secondary teacher, community educator and in educational project development. These experiences have allowed her to develop a broad and unique understanding of educational research, policy and practice, which she brings to her research and teaching at UOW. “This session I am teaching professional studies to final year undergraduate teachers. In 2015, I will take on the role of Convener of the new postgraduate Masters of Teaching program and will be teaching its core subject ‘What is Teaching’. Completing her PhD in 2012, Dr Sheridan’s research interests are in teacher development and formation, teacher identity and teacher professional development. Her current research at UOW involves a collaborative project in the area of professional judgement-making in teacher development. Prior research projects have included: a two-year study collaborative research project on teacher mentoring (AIS/UNSW - 2012-2013), which resulted in the development of a series of mentoring tools for schools and teachers; and a National Carrick (ALTC - $200, 000) project in 2007, that looked at the support of sessional staff in universities, as well as research and use of digital eportfolios in teacher education at UNSW.

Dr Suman Roy is a senior research scientist with Infosys Labs, Infosys Ltd, Bangalore and is currently collaborating with UOW’s Prof Adhitya Ghose as part of an Infosys-CRC funded project that was established after he began exploring opportunities for possible collaboration. “In this project I am mainly investigating different mining techniques for artifact-centric business processes and enterprise architectures,” Dr Roy said. “Currently I am on lien of employment from Infosys and work as research fellow for the Infosys-CRC joint funded project on software analytics at UOW’s School of Computer Science and Software Analytics,” he said. While working with Infosys Dr Roy began working on empirical analysis related to business process verification which made him interested in software analytics. While working at Infosys Dr Roy has collaborated with researchers from Australia, Poland and India. He has held a number of academic positions as a visiting fellow at UNU/IIST (Macau) a visiting instructor at the CS department, NMT, Socorro (USA) and postdoctoral fellow at IMSc, Chennai in India. After that he moved to Industrial Research Labs and worked in the research labs of Mercedes Benz, Satyam Computer Services, GE Capital and Honeywell technology Solutions in India. His research interests include software engineering, formal methods, knowledge representation techniques and security. Dr Roy holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, a Masters of Engineering and a PhD in Computer Science and Automation from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.

R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

AWARDS

Rail expert honoured with international medal in Japan Consideration is given to non-traditional approaches to the field including multidisciplinary efforts and the integration of research and teaching in geomechanics. Emeritus Professor Desai, of the University of Arizona, USA, was an early pioneer of the modern day analytical and numerical methods in Civil Engineering. The citation of Prof Indraratna’s Medal notes “...his leadership and outstanding contributions to ground improvement and railway geomechanics through fundamental and applied research making a substantial impact on industry and for his dedication towards advancing higher education in geotechnical engineering”.

The International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG) has awarded rail expert Prof Buddhima Indraratna (pictured) the prestigious Chandra S. Desai Medal at the 14th IACMAG Conference held in Kyoto, Japan. The prestigious medal adds to a long list of many awards to Prof Indraratna’s name, in recognition of his dedication to the international geotechnical community and

one the most distinguished achievements in the field. The Medal is awarded every three years in recognition of individuals who have made significant contributions in geomechanics research and education, including in the areas of constitutive modelling, laboratory and field testing, computer methods and applications in geomechanics.

Prof Indraratna is based at UOW’s Centre for Geomechanics and Railway Engineering within the School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering. Over the past 15 years, Prof Indraratna and his fellow researchers have developed numerous experimental, analytical and numerical approaches that simulate the rail track behaviour under high dynamic and impact loads, as well as mechanics of prefabricated vertical drains (PVD) and vacuum preloading including both two-dimensional and three-dimensional computer models and rigorous design methods for port reclamation and coastal ground improvement.

Endeavour takes young scientist to Antarctica and beyond One PhD student expects to spend her exchange in much colder climes than what the mind conjures for a region of South America. Melinda Waterman, a student in UOW’s School of Biological Sciences, has been awarded a 2015 Endeavour Research Fellowship to study with the Universidad de Concepcion in Chile and then on to Portland State University in the US. Under the host supervision of Chilean researcher Dr Angélica Casanova-Katny, Melinda will participate in the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) expedition to Antarctica’s King George Island in January. Dr Casanova-Katny is also the IANCH expedition team leader. “In this proposed project we aim to determine the ages and growth rates of long shoots of four moss species found in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. We aim to determine whether these mosses would be potential candidates for

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

describing past climates in this Antarctic location,” Melinda said. “My plan is to be in Chile and doing field work in Antarctica from January-February next year and then head to Portland, USA, to work with Dr Todd Rosenstiel mid-2015. The Fellowship will not only enable me to enhance existing collaborations between home and host institutions but I will benefit from developing my own links and job opportunities,” she said. Melinda says that she is keen to continue research in the areas of chemical extractions, natural product analysis, radiocarbon dating, climate change and ecology. She is near the completion of her doctoral thesis on the identification of photoprotective compounds within Antarctic mosses and the investigation of their potential as climate proxies, under the supervision of UOW’s Prof Sharon Robinson (@antarcticmoss) and A/Prof Paul Keller.

Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships are internationally competitive, meritbased scholarships provided by the Australian Government that support Australians to undertake study, research and professional development programmes overseas.

AWARDS

Accelerator recognised as best case study

A program designed to help spark and support innovation and entrepreneurs in the Illawarra region has been recognised at an international conference for its approach to driving regional change. The University of Wollongong (UOW) iAccelerate initiative picked up an award for best case study at the University Industry Innovation Network Conference for Entrepreneurial Universities held in Madrid, Spain (29 September - 1 October). The 2014 Entrepreneurial Universities Event brought together close to 150 academics

and professionals who are at the forefront of driving the transition from a traditional university to one that is more engaged with its local community and become more innovative and entrepreneurial. UOW’s Director of Innovation and Commercial Research and iAccelerate CEO, Ms Eastland (pictured) was presented with an award for best case study following her published case study and presentation of how iAccelerate, (which started in 2011), made use of a set of mentoring and education programs to nurture regional entrepreneurship, innovation based on the skills of University’s large pipeline of information technology graduates. With the Illawarra in the midst of its transformation from a manufacturing and mining base, iAccelerate hopes to diversify the region’s industrial base, capturing the intellectual capital of the region and retaining high quality graduates. iAccelerate recently entered into a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Accelerator Centre, in Waterloo, Canada, to provide programming and mentorship aimed at helping young technology companies and entrepreneurs achieve sustainable business growth in the Australian startup landscape. The MOU further enriches a longstanding commitment between the University of Waterloo and UOW. >>Jump to iAccelerate online http://bit.ly/11WJdT9

UOW members join ARC College of Experts Our congratulations to Prof Roger Lewis (Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences), Prof Kiet Tieu (Engineering, Mathematics and Informatics), Prof Kristine French (Biological Sciences and Biotechnology) and A/Prof Sue Bennett (Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences) who have been appointed as members of the College of Experts for 2015! To support the advancement of knowledge and contribute to national innovation, the Australian Research Council (ARC) engages an ARC College of Experts to play a key role in identifying research excellence, moderating external assessments and recommending fundable proposals. The College of Experts also assists the ARC in recruiting and assigning assessors and in implementing peer review reforms for established and emerging disciplines, as well as interdisciplinary areas. Its members are experts of international standing drawn from the Australian research community: from higher education, industry and public sector research organisations. >>Jump to the ARC’s College of Experts webpage http://bit.ly/1phpJCg

Teen tragedy inspires bionic research career As a teenager in Germany, Katharina Schirmer watched her boyfriend fall from his BMX bike and break his third and fourth vertebrae, rendering him a quadriplegic. With a fierce motivation to help people, and a belief that nature provides us with many answers, Kati (pictured) completed her B.Science in Biomimetics (the study of adapting designs found in nature) in Bremen, Germany. As part of her degree, she spent six months at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) based at UOW, working with a team of nerve repair specialists led by A/Prof Robert Kapsa. Influenced by UOW’s research in the field of peripheral nerve repair, Kati’s focus turned to this area, in which the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord have the possibility of regenerating, given appropriate support. She is now completing her PhD at ACES, based in UOW’s Innovation Campus, developing 3D structures for nerve regeneration. “I’m developing a method to fabricate conduits

that help damaged nerves to reconnect. I’m using hydrogel material with cells and growth factors, plus experimenting with conducting wires such as platinum,” Kati said.

For her academic achievements, Kati has won the 2014 Bill Wheeler Student Award and will receive $2,000 of community-raised funds. R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

EVENTS

CSSA Conference contemplates provocation Tuesday 2 - Friday 5 December University of Wollongong INFO: www.csaa.asn.au RSVP: http://bit.ly/1FhMWI1 REGISTRATION ESSENTIAL With the theme of ‘Provocation’, the 2014 CSAA Conference calls for papers that pursue various forms of action, change, or questioning. Such critical responses might be in reaction to global social transformations or the local minutiae of everyday life, and might be incited by

creative practice, cultural analysis or imaginings of a more ethical present. Provocations might be understood to operate at the macro level in terms of politics, governance and law or at the scale of individual bodies, artistic endeavours and engagements with new technologies and social networks. Both members and non-members of Cultural Studies Association of Australasia (CSAA), academic staff, students, professionals and members of the public are welcome to attend the Conference.

International Electromaterials Science Symposium Wednesday 11 - Friday 13 February 2015 University of Wollongong INFO: www.electromaterials.edu.au RSVP: http://bit.ly/1yPBYHT REGISTRATION ESSENTIAL The Annual International Electromaterials Science Symposium celebrates 10 years!

FROM FORMALITY TO LEGISLATION: THE LEGAL DIMENSION OF THE ASIAN INTEGRATION PROCESS The launch of UOW’s newest multidisciplinary research group in the School of Law, the Asian Law Forum, will be launched at the commencement of the Inaugural Asian Law Forum Symposium at UOW on Friday 28 November. Tackling issues of legalisation and institutionalisation in Asia, national and international experts will discuss challenges to achieve a comprehensive and functional integration framework in Asia. The Forum will host visiting speakers including the Indonesian and Bangladesh Ambassadors. The launch of the Asian Law Forum is set to be an engaging event. >> Attend the Asian Law Forum Symposium and visit http://bit.ly/1v88SCX

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4

This international symposium brings together leading researchers engaged in ground-breaking materials science. Applications to be presented in this domain include solar and hydro-energy generation, printing 3D structures, building ultra-strong electrolyte gels and muscle regeneration through electrical stimulation of cells.

Following last year’s interest resulting in a waiting list for the event, please register early to secure your place. Abstract submissions are now being accepted. Please complete the online template and email to Karla Peacock (karlap@uow.edu. au) for abstract submission.

9th Australasian Biomechanics Conference

UOW’s Biomechanics Research Laboratory is proud to host the 9th Australasian Biomechanics Conference (ABC9), on behalf of the Australian & New Zealand Society of Biomechanics (ANZSB). This year ABC9 is entitled ‘Under the Escarpment: Uncovering Biomechanics in the Illawarra’. Building on the objectives of the ANZSB, the aim of ABC9 is to bring together researchers engaged in the scientific study and application of biomechanics to share, listen to, and actively discuss their most recent findings in order to promote the exchange of ideas and stimulate further cutting edge biomechanics research.

ABC9 will provide a forum with the following value propositions: EXCELLENCE- to showcase excellence via internationally acclaimed keynote addresses and presentations of the latest information derived from the scientific study of biomechanical theory. DISCOVERY- to discover new biomechanics knowledge developed by those actively engaged in the scientific study and application of biomechanics. IMPACT - to facilitate a multi-disciplinary exchange of ideas and to establish collaborative networks to stimulate further cutting edge research. >>For more information about ABC9 visit http://bit.ly/1yafq6a

VISITING INTERNATIONAL SCHOLAR AWARDS JOIN ONE OF THE WORLD'S BEST MODERN UNIVERSITIES

TOP 2% IN THE WORLD FOR RESEARCH QUALITY

To celebrate our 40th anniversary of independence, we’re looking for 40 of the world’s best scholars to join one of the world’s leading universities.

RANKED AMONG THE WORLD'S BEST MODERN UNIVERSITIES

Successful applicants will work with leaders in their field, expand their knowledge and skills, and grow their research network with a 2–6 month sponsored placement (valued at A$10,000) in Wollongong, Australia. Apply today: research.uow.edu.au/visa

Leiden Ranking 2014

QS Top 50 Under 50 Rankings 2014

CELEBRATING

YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

R e s e a r ch & Inn o vat i o n Ne w s

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

| OCTO B E R - D ECE M B E R 2 0 1 4