uwa highlight 2010-2011

Highlights 2010|11

achieve international excellence

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HighlightsThe University of Western Australia (UWA) continues to close on its ambitious goal of being counted among the world’s top 50 universities by 2050 as measured by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Ranking of World Universities.

UWA has moved into 112th place overall in the international rankings, cementing its place as one of Australia’s leading universities with the disciplines of Life and Agricultural Sciences now ranked the highest in Australia.

Another important milestone in 2010 was the launch of the Oceans Institute, creating an international hub for Indian Ocean research. There is no

doubt that this new Centre will place this State and UWA at the forefront of the world’s Indian Ocean research.And there were many other signifi cant announcements, such as the University leading or collaborating in seven of the nation’s 13 new Centres of Excellence ranking it second in Australia in these research ventures. The $24.25 million Centre of Excellence in the History of Emotions – an international and national collaboration based at UWA – represents the largest ever research grant to the humanities in Australia.

There have also been many major individual achievements. UWA researchers once again dominated the list of fi nalists for the 2010

A high performance culture designed to achieve international excellence

The University of Western Australia | 1

s 2010|11Western Australian Science Awards and were awarded Scientist of the Year, Early Career Scientist of the Year and the inaugural Young Tall Poppy Scientist of the Year. This recognition reinforces the University’s place as the pre-eminent research and teaching institution in the State and is testament to the excellence of its academics and students. And the high standard of teaching was again recognised in successful outcomes at the 2010 Australian Awards for University Teaching.

ARC Future Fellowships were awarded to eight individuals working on a range of projects from a networked robotic telescope array; to the timing and processes of continent formation;

and building proactivity at work. National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Fellowships and People Support Grants were awarded to researchers working on projects addressing topics as varied as creating active environments for mentally and physically healthy communities; hunting human disease genes; exploring the link between dietary patterns and mental health; and paediatric diabetes. NHMRC grants were also awarded for specifi c projects including work on gestational diabetes; coronary heart disease; neuropsychiatric outcomes for children of mothers with psychosis; prostate cancer; neurosurgery; men’s health; asthma; malaria; bone disease; management of Rett syndrome; risk

factors for autism spectrum disorders; and cognitive development. This work will be carried out by staff of the University on the Nedlands campus and at affi liated research institutes such as the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research and the Lion’s Eye Institute.

The confi dence placed in our University by a wide range of funding bodies ensures that our University continues its work in serving the community – locally, nationally and internationally.

Professor Alan Robson AM CitWAUWA Vice-Chancellor

internationally-focused, for both the content and standards of our activities; technologically innovative, to maximise our fl exibility; responsive, to meet the needs of the community, our students and our graduates.

Achieving international excellence as a comprehensive teaching and research university calls for fully funded growth to achieve economies of scale. The University has set a growth target to reach 25,000 students by 2020 and to move towards a 65:35 ratio of undergraduate to postgraduate students.

A major step forward in positioning the University as a world leader is a reshaping of the relationship between our undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. By implementing our New Courses 2012 program (set by our Review of Course Structures), the University will ensure that in every academic fi eld, the quality of

education provided will meet the needs of 21st Century graduates at the highest international standard.

Strategic PrioritiesThe University has identifi ed four priority strategic objectives of particular signifi cance to achieving international excellence over the period 2009-2013:

Teaching and Learning – improve the quality of the student learning experience;Research and Research Training – improve the quality and impact, and productivity of research and research training; External Relations – improve the University’s positioning and reputation, and develop strategic relationships and community engagement;People and Resources – develop our people and resources.

Research Priority Areas

MissionTo advance, transmit and sustain knowledge and understanding through the conduct of teaching, research and scholarship at the highest international standards, for the benefi t of the Western Australian, Australian and international communities.

ValuesThe core values underpinning our activities are a commitment to:

a high performance culture to achieve international excellence; academic freedom to encourage staff and students to engage in the open exchange of ideas and thought; continuous improvement through self-examination and external review; fostering the values of openness, honesty, tolerance, fairness, trust and responsibility in social, moral and academic matters; transparency in decision makingand accountability; equity and merit as the fundamental principles for the achievement of the full potential of all staff and students.

Defi ning CharacteristicsThe University of Western Australia will be recognised by the following defi ning characteristics:

high quality, as the pervading criterion for all our activities; comprehensive, with a broad teaching and research profi le in the arts, sciences, and professions; selective, within a comprehensive base, to develop particular areas of research strength and emphasis; research-intensive, with a strong teaching and research nexus across all our disciplines;

Strategic Directions 2010-2013The University of Western Australia is recognised internationally for its excellence in teaching and research and as a leading intellectual and creative resource for the communities it serves.

PROFESSOR ALAN ROBSON AM CITWA

VICE-CHANCELLOR

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The University will engage in a number of strategic research areas and a number of emerging and seed priority areas while continually improving the quality of research discoveries, publications and research productivity.

The strategic research areas are:Plants, animals, agriculture and environment (including management of natural and agricultural systems);Exploration, production and utilisation of Minerals, Oil and Gas;Fundamental Bio-medical and Translational Approaches to Health;Indigenous Knowledge;Bio-engineering and Bio-imaging;Neurosciences (including Psychology).

The areas of emerging and seed priorities are:

Metrology and Measurement;Educational Measurement;Organisational Behaviour;Medieval and Early Modern Studies;Australian Literature;Radio Astronomy;Green Chemistry;Social Policy, Public Policy and International Studies;Marine and Ocean Sciences.


Researcher elected to Royal Society

Coral reef expert, Premier’s Fellow and research leader at The University of Western Australia’s Oceans Institute, Professor Malcolm McCulloch, was elected to the prestigious Royal Society.

Professor McCulloch is a distinguished isotope geochemist who, over many years, has made highly original contributions to our understanding of the Earth and early solar system. Over the past decade he has been a trailblazer in developing innovative indicators of climate change preserved in coral skeletons.

Western Australian Science Awards

Australian Laureate Fellow Winthrop Professor Michael Tobar (main picture) was named WA Scientist of the Year. Professor Tobar is a world-leading scientist researching the invention, creation and applications of precise time, frequency and phase measurement techniques.

Winthrop Professor Eric May (above) was named Early Career

Scientist of the Year. The Chevron Chair in Gas Process Engineering has developed new techniques to more accurately measure gas properties.

WA Science Hall of Fame

Winthrop Professor Fiona Stanley – the founding Director of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and CEO of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth – was inducted into the WA Science Hall of Fame. W/Professor Stanley, one of Australia’s most highly regarded medical researchers renowned for her work as an epidemiologist involving cerebral palsy and children’s health, is pictured (above) with WA Chief Scientist Professor Lyn Beazley.

Tall Poppy Awards

Dr Kristen Nowak (second from left), from UWA’s affi liate, the WA Institute for Medical Research, won the inaugural Western Australia Young Tall Poppy Science Award in recognition of her research achievements and commitment to communicate science and its signifi cance to the community.

Staff and Student Successes

The building of a team of internationally recognised staff provides the basis for recruiting high quality students. In 2010 this quality was recognised in many ways. Some highlights include:

Dr Nowak has been instrumental in leading research towards a cure for Floppy Baby Syndrome, a paralysing disorder that affects thousands of infants worldwide.

Dr Nowak was one of four awardees, all from UWA, including Dr Marco Fiorentini, from the Centre for Exploration Targeting; Dr Swaminathan Iyer, ARC Australian Research Fellow and deputy director of the Centre for Strategic Nano-fabrication and Associate Professor Meri Tulic, from the School of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Marshall Medal

Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) Associate Professor Kevin Pfl eger (left) and Dr Aleksandra Filipovska (right) were awarded the Institute’s top accolade for young researchers, the Marshall Medal.

ARC Future Fellow Dr Filipovska leads a team of biologists at WAIMR who are working to understand the origin of dysfunction in mitochondrial diseases, which cause babies to be born with conditions that prevent them from surviving into adulthood.

The 2009 Young Scientist of the Year, Assoc/Prof Pfl eger, along with colleagues, invented a novel way of studying G Protein Coupled Receptors. The aim of his work is to identify new drugs and drug targets to more effectively treat a range of conditions including heart, metabolic, sleep and kidney disorders.

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Eureka Prize

A research project from The University of Western Australia that has revolutionised the surveillance and monitoring of potential threats in the nation’s vast air, sea and land space was one of the winners of the 21st Annual Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.

Winthrop Professor Ba-Ngu Vo (right), his brother Assistant Professor Ba-Tuong Vo (left), and Winthrop Professor Antonio Cantoni from UWA’s School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering developed a new family of algorithms for tracking multiple targets – a system which outperforms and is cheaper than previous methods.

Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia

Winthrop Professor Tom O’Donoghue (left) from the Graduate School of Education was welcomed as a fellow into the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) in November 2010 (pictured with ASSA Fellow, Professor Barry McGaw AO).

W/Professor O’Donoghue specialises in the history of education in the English-speaking world, with particular reference to the history of teachers and the process of education in faith-based schools.

Chemical Institute Award The Royal Australian Chemical Institute’s Alton McAllan Batty Medal 2010 was awarded to the Director of UWA’s Offi ce of Industry and Innovation Dr Andy Sierakowski. The award is made to a member of the WA Branch for contributions to successfully transferring research applications to industry.

Top health and medical researchers

Associate Professor Wendy Oddy (left) and Professor Grant Waterer (right) were identifi ed as among the top 10 of almost 5,000 researchers nationally who applied for National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) funding in 2010.

A Senior Research Fellow at the UWA-affi liated Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Assoc/Prof Oddy won a NHMRC Achievement Award for Career Development in Population Health Research.

Professor Waterer won a NHMRC Achievement Award for Career Development in Clinical Research. His primary research interest is in pulmonary infectious disease. Professor Waterer is Head of the UWA School of Medicine and Pharmacology’s Royal Perth Hospital Unit, Head of Infectious Diseases at the Lung Institute of WA and a member of the Cooperative Research Centre for Asthma and Airways and the Centre for Asthma, Allergy and Respiratory Research. He is also an adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago.

In addition, the work of UWA researchers Winthrop Professor Susan Prescott of the School of Paediatrics and Child Health and Associate Professor Kevin Pfl eger of the Centre for Medical Research have been chosen by the NHMRC to be included in its prestigious Ten of the Best publication which profi les the nation’s top researchers.

WA Scientist of the Year, Professor Michael Tobar


Clunies Ross Award

Professor Tim St Pierre, a physicist at The University of Western Australia who has researched the magnetic properties of iron in biology and medicine for 25 years, won a Clunies Ross Award for his ‘signifi cant and positive infl uence on the lives of many Australians’.

Professor St Pierre follows in the footsteps of previous UWA winners including Nobel Laureate Professor Barry Marshall, who discovered the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers, and Winthrop Professor Fiona Wood, inventor of spray-on skin.

Ecological Society of Australia Gold Medal

Australian Laureate Fellow Professor Richard Hobbs was awarded the 2010 Ecological Society of Australia Gold Medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the study of ecology in Australia.

The award recognises Professor Hobbs’ signifi cant contribution to research in both theoretical and applied aspects of restoration ecology, and his role in improving communications among scientists and practitioners in ecosystem management. He leads a dynamic research group in the UWA Ecosystem Research Laboratory, which is involved in projects such as woodland restoration on former agricultural land, speeding the return of vertebrates to rehabilitated bauxite mines, and understanding the impacts of urbanisation on native plant communities.

Green ambassador

Winthrop Professor Klaus Regenauer-Lieb, Director of the Western Australian Geothermal Centre of Excellence, was awarded the inaugural Sustainable Energy Industry Excellence and Innovation Ambassador Award for 2010 for his ‘commitment to the principles of sustainable energy, energy effi ciency or greenhouse gas abatement/mitigation’.

The judges chose Professor Regenauer-Lieb for his ‘signifi cant contribution to the industry and, in particular, for his ambassadorial services, by uniting academia, industry and government to ensure sustainable energy solutions for WA, the culmination of which was the establishment of the Centre of Excellence’.

Seed of Light award

Internationally recognised plant scientist Winthrop Professor Stephen Powles was awarded the 2010 Grains Research and Development Corporation Western Region Seed of Light Award.

The Director of the WA Herbicide Resistance Initiative in the UWA School of Plant Biology received the award for his signifi cant contribution to herbicide resistance research in agriculture, not only in Australia, but on a world scale.

Humboldt Research Award

Winthrop Professor Zdenko (Zed) Rengel, whose work has had a positive impact on agriculture and land rehabilitation in Australia and around the world, was awarded a prestigious Humboldt Research Award.

The award, from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, promotes academic cooperation between excellent scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Professor Rengel, of UWA’s School of Earth and Environment, and Centre for Land Rehabilitation, leads the Integrated Land and Water Management program.

Art of Science and Medicine Gold Medal

World-renowned clinician scientist from the Lung Institute of Western Australia, Professor Kanti Bhoola, was awarded the Art and Science of Medicine Gold Medal by the South African Medical Association.

Professor Bhoola received the honour in recognition of his pursuit of excellence in scientifi c research, in extending the frontiers of medicine, and for his ethical conduct, perceptive mentorship and nurturing stewardship in a career extending over half a century.

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Rhodes Scholarship

The 2011 Rhodes Scholarship for Western Australia was won by Bachelor of Law (Honours) student Jackie McArthur, who aims to use her education to improve the community as a barrister and academic. Jackie is undertaking a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in political science and international relations. She plans to read for a Bachelor of Civil Law and Master of Philosophy at Oxford.

Literary Prizes

Chair in Australian Literature at The University of Western Australia, Winthrop Professor Philip Mead, won the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Prize for Literary Scholarship for his book, Networked Language: Culture and History in Australian Poetry.

And a book that celebrates the power of literature won Winthrop Professor Brenda Walker a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award. An author of four acclaimed novels as well as a critic, essayist and teacher in the School of English and Cultural Studies, Winthrop Professor Walker’s work, Reading by Moonlight: How Books Saved a Life, topped the non-fi ction category: the Nettie Palmer Prize.

National water award

Final year Environmental Systems Engineering student Samuel Cleary won the Australian Water Association National Undergraduate of the Year Award 2010, with his paper ‘Targeting strategic tree and perennial plantings to reduce stream salinity in the Warren River Catchment’. Samuel’s achievement follows on from UWA student Ali Barrett-Lennard’s success in 2009. Both Ali and Sam were winners of the State award and Ali was placed nationally.

Young professionals in agriculture

Postgraduate student Stacey Plug (pictured with WA Minister for Agriculture and Food Terry Redman) won top honours in the State Government’s Young Professionals in Agriculture Forum awards for her fourth year project research on the effect of drenches on ovarian function in merino ewes.

Third prize went to Courtney Rose for her presentation on the End Point Royalty system for commercial plant breeding and its important role in sustaining innovation and raising yield performance across WA.

The award for best presentation went to UWA graduate Genevieve Simpson.

UWA Law students attract High Court judges

Four of The University of Western Australia’s top law students have been selected to serve as Associates to the High Court of Australia. Pictured left-right: Laurentia McKessar, Jackie McArthur, Hayden Teo and Clare McKay.

Hayden Teo is one of four UWA Law graduates who are to be Associates to High Court Judges over the next two years. He will succeed Laurentia McKessar who takes up a position as Associate to Chief Justice French from February 2011.

Lawyers Weekly Icon Awards Law Student of the Year, Clare McKay, will serve as an Associate to High Court Justice Susan Crennan in October 2012 and 2011 Rhodes Scholar Jackie McArthur will become Associate to Justice Susan Kiefel in 2012.

Endeavour Awards

John Moore (above), a Senior Technician and Safety Offi cer in UWA’s School of Physics and ARC Australian Research Fellow, Research Associate Professor Michael Shane of UWA’s School of Plant Biology were among a record 33 Endeavour Award winners at UWA.

Mr Moore will be involved in maintaining telescope optics in optimum condition at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence in St. Michel, France and the European Southern Observatory. He expects to take a leading role in Australia in highly innovative technical support within the astronomical community.


UWA law/commerce student James Lewis also achieved a good result at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships held in Melbourne, taking 12th place in the men’s individual epee and was a member of the Australian men’s epee team that was placed fourth overall.

Australian University Games champions

The University of Western Australia was overall university champion at the 2010 Australian University Games. An annual event, the Australian University Games saw some 5,000 competitors from 38 universities around Australia compete in a total of 30 sports. As the host of the 2010 Games, UWA took to the sporting grounds with a team of 500 student athletes, winning the highly contested competition for the fi rst time since its inception in 1993.

Global Marketing Challenge

Six students from Professor Jamie Murphy’s postgraduate eMarketing unit beat more than 3,030 teams around the world to win the 2010 Google Online Marketing Challenge.Their strategies increased visitors to the website of a children’s book by 800 per cent. Professor Murphy initiated the competition in 2008 along with former UWA student and Google employee Lee Hunter.

Commonwealth Games success

Five current and former students lived up to the University’s aim of achieving international excellence at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, bringing home four gold medals and one silver.Swimmer Tommaso D’Orsogna, a former student now based at the Australian Institute of Sport, was a member of the gold medal 4x100m freestyle relay team while commerce student Fergus Kavanagh (above) won gold as part of the Kookaburra men’s hockey team.

Rhythmic gymnast and sports science student Janine Murray was part of the gold medal team event for rhythmic gymnastics. She fi nished seventh in the individual all-round for rhythmic gymnastics.

Commerce student Michael Freiberg (above) won gold as part of the men’s cycle team pursuit and silver in the men’s cycling sprint event, while pole vaulter Amanda Bisk, a science graduate, fi nished sixth in the women’s pole vault.

Professor Shane will collaborate with Professor Bill Plaxton at Queen’s University, Canada to investigate the biochemical basis underpinning the phosphate acquiring ability of specialised roots of native Australian plants.

Arts/Law Fogarty Scholar Thomas Williams (above), winner of a Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Endeavour Award, will continue his Chinese studies at Peking University.

Three minute thesis wins Trans-Tasman award

Balarka Banerjee, a School of Paediatrics and Child Health PhD student at UWA, won the Trans-Tasman Three Minute Thesis Challenge. Balarka is pictured with his supervisor, Dr Anthony Kicic, and supporters Dr Krys Haq, Professor Jane Davidson and Professor Alan Dench.

Balarka’s presentation ‘Lung transplants – making the second chance count’ outlined his work to combat chronic rejection. He beat 33 other students from Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacifi c, who competed to deliver the most compelling, comprehensive and easy to understand presentation of their thesis.

With this win, UWA has won the right to host the Trans-Tasman Three Minute Thesis challenge in 2011.

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Social Worker of the Year Award

Bachelor of Social Work graduate and PhD student Glenda Kickett won the 2010 Social Worker of the Year Award for her efforts in helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children fi nd a safe home when they are unable to live with their families.

Ms Kickett, who works for Centrecare’s Djooraminda’s branch in Lockridge, has also helped implement a number of support services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families with the aim of keeping their children safe at home. As well as winning the main award, Ms Kickett won the Richmond Fellowship Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award.

Three of the other category awards were also won by UWA graduates. Sophie Heal won the GESB Rising Star Award, Julie McKenzie won the KPMG Australia Agent of Change Award and Joanne Delaney won the Head, Heart and Hands Award, sponsored by the Department for Child Protection.

Graduates in Federal Cabinet

Two graduates of The University of Western Australia took up key Cabinet posts in the Federal Government – Mr Stephen Smith MP (left) as Australia’s new Minister for Defence and Senator Chris Evans (right) as the Minister for Tertiary Education, Jobs, Skills and Workplace Relations.

Both Ministers studied at UWA in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Minister Smith is an Arts-Law Graduate and Senator Evans is an Arts Graduate. They join other former distinguished UWA alumni who have served in Federal Parliament including Prime Minister Bob Hawke, former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Beazley, former WA Premier Carmen Lawrence and former Federal Attorney-General Daryl Williams.

World recognition for plant scientists

The American Society of Plant Biologists identifi ed Winthrop Professors Harvey Millar (left) and Jim Whelan (right) among the most highly cited and infl uential plant scientists in the world. Both researchers are Chief Investigators at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology.

Professor Millar’s study of plant stress responses has contributed knowledge and new techniques to the fi eld of proteomics, especially in the study of plant mitochondria and subcellular localisation of proteins in plants.

Professor Whelan's research focuses on RNA (ribonucleic acid copies of genes) and the characterisation of protein import in the context of organelle biogenesis. He has found that the synthesis of new proteins requires a complex set of control points, starting from the activation of genes and synthesis of messenger RNAs, and ending in the transport of proteins to their fi nal destinations.

Sitting on the banks of the Swan River, the UWA Crawley campus is the oldest in Western Australia and among the most picturesque in the nation with its grand sandstone and terracotta buildings sitting among elegant heritage-listed gardens.

IMAGE COURTESY JORDAN SHIELDS


Top Research AwardsBoth the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) endorsed UWA researchers with funding of more than $13 million.

ARC Future Fellowships were awarded to eight individuals working on a range of projects from a networked robotic telescope array; to the timing and processes of continent formation; and building proactivity at work.

The fi ve-year Future Fellowships funding recognised researchers including Dr Kristen Nowak and Associate Professor Kevin Pfl eger who are based at UWA affi liate, the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research.

NHMRC Fellowships and People Support Grants were awarded to researchers working on projects addressing topics as varied as creating active environments for mentally and physically healthy communities; hunting human disease genes; exploring the link between dietary patterns and mental health; and paediatric diabetes.

National Health Grants The University was awarded $19.7 million in grants for medical research, through the National Health and Medical Research Council. Forty projects have been awarded funding by the NHMRC including research into gestational diabetes; coronary heart disease; neuropsychiatric outcomes for children of mothers with psychosis; prostate cancer; neurosurgery; men’s health; asthma; malaria; bone disease; management of Rett syndrome; risk factors for autism spectrum disorders; and cognitive development.

Project grants ranged from $138,000 for a study of the screening

Australian Research Council Grants Researchers at The University of Western Australia secured almost $19 million in grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC). Another $10.4 million was pledged by national and international organisations to support a number of specifi c research projects.

In addition, 12 UWA academics and postdoctoral researchers won individual fellowships to support their work.

UWA received 67 per cent of the State’s ARC Linkage Grants announced in October. The UWA research projects include the stability of oil rigs on the north-west shelf; four dimensional mapping of mineral deposits; Indian Ocean climate change through investigations on Ningaloo Reef; astrophysics and gravitational wave research; studies of memory and cognition; plant and animal biology; and artifi cial intelligence and image processing for defence and security.

Research and Research TrainingThroughout 2010, The University of Western Australia has �� research-intensive universities.

Under the ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) scheme UWA once again secured more funding than any other Australian university. The Federal scheme to support infrastructure, equipment and facilities for high quality, large-scale research projects invested $4.4 million in 10 UWA projects. The University received more than $18 million to support its LIEF projects from collaborating organisations, including national and international universities, industry and government organisations. UWA is also involved in another nine projects administered by other universities around the nation.

Among successful UWA LIEF projects, work will be able to continue on the world’s most precise time piece; research into a new detector to remove radio interference from the Parkes radio telescope and new laser technology that will be applied to a diverse range of research areas including the next generation of medical implants.

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as oil and gas platforms, roads, railways, tunnels, dams, and port facilities.Study of Cognition and its Disorders will inform the diagnosis and treatment of a range of cognitive disorders, including dyslexia, language impairment, autism, dementia and schizophrenia.

NHMRC Centres for Medical ResearchUWA was recognised for the outstanding quality of its medical researchers by receiving more than |$9 million in National Health and Medical Research Council funding for three new Centres for Research Excellence.

Winthrop Professor Fiona Stanley, Director of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, received $2.5 million over fi ve years to lead research into Aboriginal health and wellbeing.

Winthrop Professor Bruce Robinson, Director of the National Centre for Asbestos-Related Diseases, has been awarded $4.5 million over fi ve years to further his centre’s research focusing on improving diagnosis, early intervention strategies and improving treatment of asbestos-related diseases.

Researchers led by Clinical Professor Stephen Stick were awarded almost $2.5 million over fi ve years to continue their ground-breaking research into early cystic fi brosis lung disease as well as improve understanding and management of other chronic lung diseases.

The $24.25 million Centre of Excellence in the History of Emotions based at UWA represents the largest ever research grant to the humanities in Australia. With collaborating institutions and industry partners contributing an additional $6 million, the seven-year international collaboration will cement Australia's place at the top of research in medieval and early modern studies.

UWA is also involved in six other Centres of Excellence:

All-Sky Astrophysics will expand Australia’s research capabilities and boost Australia’s track record as a world leader in astronomy, including work at UWA on the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project.Core to Crust Fluid Systems will develop new frameworks for mineral and energy exploration based on fundamental advances in geodynamics and a new understanding of fl uid transport at lithosphere scales.Engineered Quantum Systems will produce novel devices and technologies through the engineering of quantum coherent systems, enabling powerful new applications across a range of fi elds. Environmental Decisions will generate the knowledge and tools needed to make the best use of available resources for conservation. Geotechnical Science and Engineering will provide engineers with new science-based tools for predicting the safety of offshore and onshore geostructures such

of abdominal aortic aneurysms to $840,000 for research into the effects of Omega-3 fatty acids on long-term cardiovascular risk.

Super Science FellowshipsThe University of Western Australia was allocated 10 new Super Science Fellowships – the largest funding allocation given to any Australian university or research institute under the scheme. The Super Science Fellowships aim to attract the best and brightest early-career researchers from within Australia and around the world.

Two Fellowships have been allocated to the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) based at UWA. Another, three Fellows (within the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology) will research novel biotechnology-based solutions that can be implemented in a variety of cereal crops to reduce the use of phosphate fertiliser in agriculture and unlock the large phosphate pool not used by plants in soil.

Two more Fellowships will help to determine how the survival of Ningaloo Reef is linked to the response of Australia's Indian Ocean to climate change; and the fi nal three Fellows will conduct a fundamental study of electronic transport in advanced semiconductor nanostructures.

Centres of Excellence The University of Western Australia is leading or collaborating in seven of the nation’s 13 new Centres of Excellence ranking it second in Australia in these research ventures.


Energy and Minerals Institute

The Energy and Minerals Institute launched at UWA will help position Western Australia as a national and international hub for resources expertise.

The multi-disciplinary institute is a gateway connecting government, industry and business with academia in the areas of energy; minerals; exploration and mining; environment; policy and business; and community engagement.

The Institute’s board will be chaired by Mr Greig Gailey (second from left) and includes UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson; former Australian diplomat and current Government Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Dr Richard C Smith AO; Country Chair of Shell in Australia Ann Pickard; Rio Tinto Chief Executive Iron Ore and Australia Sam Walsh AO and Energy and Minerals Institute Director Tim Shanahan (pictured left to right).

Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre The new Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre based at UWA will boost marine science research into the most important drivers of innovation in the marine sector – climate change, the sustainable use of marine resources, conserving marine biodiversity, coastal zone management and security and safety.

The $63 million centre brings together 240 world-class researchers from UWA’s Oceans Institute, the Australian Commonwealth Scientifi c and Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).

Oceans Institute

In 2010, UWA launched its Oceans Institute in response to the urgent need to protect the future of the Indian and Southern Oceans regions.

The Oceans Institute brings together the strengths of the

University’s marine research programs in oceanography, ecology, engineering and resource management to allow for larger research projects that will infl uence future government, industry and community decisions. The Institute will work closely with the AIMS, now co-housed on campus, to take on what have been identifi ed as the fi ve most signifi cant broad-scale threats to marine biodiversity: climate change, resource use, land-based impacts, marine biosecurity and marine pollution.

Centre for Forensic Science A new Centre for Forensic Science has brought together the University’s forensic science laboratories and expertise.

UWA is at the forefront of forensic research in the Asia/Pacifi c region, particularly in entomology; anthropology; human and animal DNA profi ling; chemical gold and diamond ‘fi ngerprinting’; and food forensics.

Rock Art Studies A new Centre for Rock Art Studies will ensure WA is recognised as a global leader in rock-art research and provide a focal point for advice and research-related activities into WA and Australian rock-art, including tourism and conservation.

The interdisciplinary centre involves staff from UWA’s School of Indigenous Studies, the Berndt

Museum of Anthropology, the WA Supercomputer Project, the Energy and Minerals Institute, and the disciplines of archaeology, chemistry and fi ne arts.

UWA also joined forces with the philanthropic body Kimberley Foundation Australia to protect the unique rock-art of the Kimberley region in a memorandum of understanding. The agreement

commits the partners to initiate and support long-term research programs, collaborate with Indigenous groups, seek support from the corporate and Government sectors and advocate for the heritage value of rock-art.

WA Premier, Colin Barnett, also announced that the State Government would provide $300,000 over three years to the University for rock-art research in the Kimberley.

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US body backs muscular dystrophy researcher

The Muscular Dystrophy Association of the United States has awarded UWA’s Molecular Genetic Therapies Group researcher Professor Steve Wilton more than $400,000 over three years to improve his revolutionary treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

Professor Wilton has been working on his unique genetic technology for more than 14 years. It uses molecules called anti-sense oligonucleotides which Professor Wilton calls ‘genetic band-aids’. He uses them to trick the body’s gene-transcript processing machinery to ‘skip over’ the fl awed parts of the dystrophin pre-mRNA that lead to DMD, enabling muscles to produce nearly fully-functional dystrophin protein in some cases.

WA medical and health research awards Five outstanding new researchers at UWA were among nine recipients of the 2010 New Independent Researcher Infrastructure Support Awards, announced by Western Australia’s Chief Medical Offi cer Simon Towler.

The researchers funded to carry out important medical and health research include:

Assistant Professor Anita Chua, from the UWA School of Medicine and Pharmacology, Fremantle Hospital Unit, who is examining whether a high dietary intake of red meat and iron-containing foods are risk factors

for colorectal (bowel) cancer. She also aims to identify factors that affect the degree of iron overload in haemochromatosis, a common genetic disorder of iron metabolism.

Assistant Professor Wendy Davis, also from the UWA School of Medicine and Pharmacology, Fremantle Hospital Unit, will analyse and compare the cost and personal impact of diabetes.

Dr Brad Zhang, who works in the UWA School of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, will investigate the role of genetic and environmental interaction in allergic diseases such as asthma.

Dr Shelley Gorman, adjunct lecturer at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, is investigating the effects of vitamin D defi ciency on allergic skin and lung disease.

Dr Graeme Zosky, also an adjunct

lecturer at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, is examining the effects of exposure to drinking water contaminated by arsenic and whether it increases the risk of chronic lung disease in later life.

New hope for premature babies

Researchers at The University of Western Australia established evidence that supports the use of high frequency jet ventilators to help premature babies with respiratory disease. Professor Jane Pillow, a neonatologist in the School of Women’s and Infants’ Health, used the jet ventilator for the fi rst time in a maternity hospital in Australia (photo: courtesy Sunday Times).

Sustainable transport

A high-performance sports car, converted to run on renewable energy with a maximum speed of around 200km/hour and a range of 110km, was launched by the University's Centre for Intelligent Information Processing Systems.

As part of UWA’s Renewable Energy Vehicle Project (REV), the 2002 Lotus Elise S2 joined UWA's fi rst battery-electric conversion, the REV Eco, based on a Hyundai Getz. The cars were converted by a team of engineering students who manage the REV projects.


of undergraduate teaching and postgraduate research supervision in exercise biochemistry, diabetes research, evolutionary biology, and nutrition biochemistry. Winthrop Professor Lesley Vidovich of UWA’s Graduate School of Education: for motivating and inspiring students. Professor Vidovich is particularly interested in social justice and in education in countries across Asia, Europe and Africa as well as Australia.

Accounting Hall of Fame

The UWA Business School’s Emeritus Professor Philip Brown became one of fi ve inaugural inductees into Australia’s fi rst Accounting Hall of Fame.

Professor Brown has been recognised for his research and teaching contributions transforming the world of accounting and fi nance in 1968 with a paper he co-authored examining the relationship between stock market fl uctuations and company fi nancial announcements.

He was made a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 1979, and was appointed as a Life Member, Accounting Association of Australia and New Zealand in 2000. In the early years of his appointment at UWA, Professor Brown helped to develop the MBA program. In 1973, the UWA course became one of the fi rst MBAs to be offered within Australia.

integration of theoretical concepts with professional practice and develop the skills and competencies necessary for gaining employment.

Australian Learning and Teaching Council AwardsSix UWA staff members were recognised for their outstanding contributions to student learning in the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) awards. The UWA ALTC Citation recipients were:

Winthrop Professor Lawrie Beilin of UWA’s School of Medicine and Pharmacology: for three decades of exemplary leadership in teaching and learning. Winthrop Professor John Campbell Murdoch of UWA’s Rural Clinical School: for leading the team which developed WA’s fi rst rural medicine curriculum, setting up a ‘bush faculty’ despite many saying it couldn’t be done.Professor Carolyn Oldham of UWA’s Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics: for increasing the diversity of student learning experiences in engineering, including encouraging the ‘Engineers Without Borders’ competition.Winthrop Professor Michael Tobar of UWA’s School of Physics: for inspiring Physics students to reach their full potential through sharing knowledge between people of diverse backgrounds and experience. By including all his students in ground-breaking research, they are transformed into successful research scientists.Professor Paul Fournier of UWA’s School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health: for 15 years

Teaching and Learning

In 2010 the University and its staff were recognised for their commitment to providing a learning and teaching environment that encourages students to achieve international excellence.

Australian Awards for University Teaching The high standard of teaching at The University of Western Australia was recognised in the 2010 Australian Awards for University Teaching.

The UWA winner for individual Awards for Teaching Excellence in Social Sciences was Assistant Professor Mark Pegrum from the Graduate School of Education. His key research areas are e-learning; electronic language; and cultural artefacts, such as fi lm and music, in education.

The UWA winner for Programs that Enhance Learning was the School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health’s Professional Practice Program which is offered in the third year of study of a Bachelor of Science, Exercise and Health. Mrs Kerry Smith coordinates the unit which aims to enable the

The University of Western Australia is committed to being a high-quality student-centred teaching university and a high-performing research-intensive university, with an international focus for its activities and standards.

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and health services in the Kimberley with a focus on Indigenous health. And more than $500,000 towards accommodation for dental students in Bunbury, which ensuring the South-West is better-served in the teaching and research of oral health.

As well, the Combined Universities Centre for Rural Health (a Geraldton-based group comprising UWA and all other universities in the State) received almost $200,000 for student accommodation in Mount Magnet.

School of Indigenous Studies celebrates milestone

The University of Western Australia’s School of Indigenous Studies celebrated 21 highly successful years in 2010. The School has helped more than 250 Indigenous students complete undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Led by Winthrop Professor Jill Milroy, the School has developed strong and extensive links to effective

Infecting leadershipMore than $212,000 was allocated to The University of Western Australia and partner institutions for a project that will explore ways of harnessing emerging technologies to help create more cohesive university communities.

The Australian Learning and Teaching Council Leadership Excellence grant for UWA (the lead institution), Edith Cowan and Murdoch Universities enabled university staff who work ‘outside the classroom’ to play a more signifi cant and ongoing role in student engagement.

The ALTC Viral Leadership Project encourages professional staff to develop their leadership in student engagement through use of emerging technologies.

Health grants for rural WARural Western Australia was the benefi ciary of more than $2 million of Federal grants awarded to The University of Western Australia for regional medicine and dentistry programs to attract more health professionals to regional and rural communities.

The University received more than $1 million for the construction of a teaching and administration centre in Broome, boosting medical studies

pathways for Indigenous students from secondary school to University. The School also has a strong publication record, particularly in Indigenous knowledge and oral history.

Initially, most Indigenous students were drawn to Arts, Social Work and Education. But since the School’s initiation of the fi rst Indigenous pre-Law and pre-Medicine/Dentistry courses, more than 64 students are working around Australia in these professions. More recently, there have been more students in all faculties, including a growing number in Science, Engineering, Architecture and Commerce.

UWA Albany sciences building Planning got underway for the new UWA Albany Sciences Building. The University of Western Australia facility will provide teaching and laboratory space for research staff and students.

The development will enable the Centre of Excellence in Natural Resources to undertake more varied research and also enable the Rural Clinical School of WA to expand.

The new building will add signifi cantly to the teaching and resource competency of the UWA Albany Centre (below).

IMAGE COURTESY JULIEANN GRAY


Vice-Chancellor heads Worldwide Network UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson was appointed Chair of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) board.

The WUN partnership of 16 research-focused universities, based in Europe, North America, China, New Zealand and Australia, aims to be one of the leading international higher education networks, collaborating to accelerate the creation of knowledge.Professor Alan Robson is also Chair of Australia’s Group of Eight leading research universities and Deputy Chair of Universities Australia, which represents all Australian Universities.

Matariki Network

The University of Western Australia became a founding member of the new international network of high-quality universities across seven nations known as the Matariki Network of Universities.

The new network is a select group recognised for their international practice in teaching and learning. They are also universities which encourage their students to live on and around campus to enrich their experience of student life and learning.

In 2010 UWA moved closer to its next milestone of joining the top 100 universities in the world (as measured by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Ranking of World Universities) by the UWA Centenary year in 2013.

It is the University’s ultimate ambition to be among the top 50 universities in the world by the year 2050.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities.

The disciplines of Life and Agricultural Sciences at The University of Western Australia ranked the highest in Australia and 34th in the world in the prestigious Shanghai Jiao Tong World University Rankings in 2010.

In the fi eld of Clinical Medicine and Pharmacology, the University was ranked in the top 51-75 Universities in the world.

UWA has moved into 112th place overall in the international rankings, cementing its place as one of Australia’s leading universities.

International EngagementInternational engagement enables UWA researchers to access global networks, leading technologies and unique research infrastructure.

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Black Hole observatoryFive leading Australian universities have joined together to seek funding for a major international gravitational wave observatory in Australia (LIGO-Australia).

The University of Western Australia, the Australian National University, the University of Adelaide, the University of Melbourne, and Monash University signed an agreement to plan and develop a collaborative project with the US-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) Laboratory to build a gravitational wave observatory near Gingin, approximately 85km north of Perth, Western Australia.

The Gingin facility will be the crucial Southern Hemisphere node in an international network of detectors aimed at bringing about a

new kind of astronomy: gravitational wave astronomy. The project will be headquartered at UWA and both countries would share the research benefi ts.

Korea strengthens ties with UWA in minerals and energy

The top 10 resource universities in Korea have strengthened ties with The University of Western Australia to develop a global talent in mineral and energy resources development.

Professor Chang Woo Lee of Dong-A University represented the Korean Universities involved in the Korea Energy and Mineral Resources Engineering Program at an offi cial ceremony to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with UWA and Curtin University.

WA Minister for Education Dr Elizabeth Constable attended the ceremony which represents a signifi cant step in building on UWA’s longstanding relationship with Korea in the resources sector and follows the launch of UWA’s Energy and Minerals Institute that will help position Western Australia as a national and international hub for resources expertise.

The disciplines of Life and Agricultural Sciences at The University of Western Australia ranked the highest in Australia and 34th in the world in the prestigious Shanghai Jiao Tong World University Rankings in 2010.


Religion and globalisation initiativeUWA joined other global research universities, under the auspices of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation, which will link their research and teaching strengths as well as develop and deliver courses on religion and globalisation.

UWA is the fi rst Australian university to join the network. Other members include Yale University in the US, the National University of Singapore, Durham University in the UK, McGill University in Canada and Monterrey Technological University in Mexico.

UWA is a religiously and culturally diverse community of more than 20,000 students and staff from more than 90 countries around the world.

States unite to feed the world UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson, was invited to Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) in south-western India to launch KAU’s new Master of Science course in Climate Change Adaptation.

Half of Kerala’s population of more than 30 million people depend on agriculture and the State’s produce include rice, coconut, tea, coffee, rubber and spices.

KAU’s aim is to enhance agricultural development and the livelihood of agricultural communities in Kerala through education and research. UWA and KAU signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2009. KAU was established in 1971 and is ranked in the fi rst three of India’s 57 agricultural universities.

Boost to research collaborations with India

Collaboration between the Condensed Matter Group in the UWA Physics department and the Indian Institute of Technology received $232,000 from the Federal Government’s Indo-Australian Science and Technology Fund, which is a component of the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF).

The funding is towards the study of microwave losses in ferrite thin fi lms for meta materials applications. These materials are important for the creation of new microwave frequency signal processing devices, and development of low power alternatives to conventional computer technologies, and also for the creation of new microwave frequency signal processing devices.

The latest round of funding adds to projects which were successful in previous rounds of the AISRF including collaborations between:

UWA and the Indian Institute of Science to investigate all-optical actuation and interrogation of MEMS and NEMS resonant mode sensors; andUWA and the Human Genetics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata to Develop a Global Blueprint for Zero PCG: towards a complete understanding of the molecular basis of primary congenital glaucoma (PCG).

International marine scientists

The UWA Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis came under close scrutiny from a group of 44 marine scientists from around the world. The scientists were in Perth for Frontiers of Science 2010, a joint conference staged by the UK Royal Society and the Australian Academy of Science. Part of the conference included a visit to the Centre for a close-up view of its world-class equipment.

Pictured (l-r) Associate Professor Peta Clode (UWA’s Oceans Institute) shows some of the centre’s equipment to Dr Tom Webb (University of Sheffi eld), Dr Elvira Poloczanska (CSIRO) and Professor Lorna Casselton (Royal Society Vice-President).

UWA is the only institution in the world to house both NanoSIMS and 1280 SIMS instruments, which can provide science and industry with unrivalled analytical capabilities for research.

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Research and scholarships Generous support from the community and corporate sector helped the University to continue to enhance opportunities for social and economic change; broaden access to higher education for academically talented students from all walks of life; foster a new generation of leaders; and contribute generally to Australia’s creative and research development.Among the highlights:

A corporate partnership agreement between The University of Western Australia’s Business School and the ANZ Banking Group will give business students the opportunity to participate in a combined student exchange and work experience program with an Asia-Pacifi c focus;The UWA Oceans Institute received sponsorship from MScience Pty Ltd for a postdoctoral researcher; The Great Southern Development Commission continued its signifi cant contribution and support of UWA in Albany;The Renewable Energy Vehicle Project received ongoing support from the WA Department of Transport and Galaxy Resources;The School of Population Health received ongoing support for research from the Centre’s Foundation Corporate sponsor Minter Ellison and LandCorp, the Centre’s Land Development Agency;The Offi ce of Development and Alumni Relations devoted $267,000 of its annual alumni appeal to raise funds for several Science Futures Foundation projects to enhance scientifi c research and the student experience at UWA.

Elizabeth Rutherford Memorial Centre

The Elizabeth Rutherford Memorial Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion was offi cially opened by WA’s Acting Mental Health Commissioner Neil Guard who is pictured with Dr Rutherford’s sister Debbie and mother, Margot Rutherford. Located within the UWA School of Psychology, The Centre commemorates the work of the late Dr Rutherford, a world leader in research into emotion.

Dr Rutherford’s mother and sister helped to establish the new centre which boosts the University’s internationally recognised research into human emotional experiences and behaviours.

Gift to genome research

Perth businessman Mr Charles Morgan’s philanthropic gift of almost $1million to UWA to purchase high-capacity genome sequencing and genetic analysis equipment has provided new opportunities for research in WA.

The equipment is based at the Lotterywest State Biomedical Facility: Genomics at Royal Perth Hospital and supported by UWA through its School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, a strategic partnership between the University and PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA. UWA will provide an additional $225,000 for staff to support research with the new equipment.

The new equipment will help in the diagnosis of a wide range of genetic diseases including neuromuscular disorders and cancers as well as other fi elds of research that consider DNA and gene expression.

Major Gifts and Corporate SupportThe University enjoys generous support by the community, corporations and individuals.

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Perron Foundation Paediatric Oncology Chair

A generous donation from the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation to the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation (PMHF) has ensured the ongoing funding of Winthrop Professor Catherine Cole in the position of Perron Chair of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (pictured left to right is Acting PMHF CEO Ian de Nazareth with W/Professor Cole, Stan and Jean Perron and PMHF Chairman Ian Campbell).

W/Professor Cole of UWA’s School of Paediatrics and Child Health has coordinated the clinical and translational research department of Princess Margaret Hospital for the three years, allowing continued development and improvement in the treatment of children and adolescents with cancer.

Without the on-going support from charitable foundations such as Stan Perron’s and PMHF, vital research into treatments and cures of debilitating childhood illnesses would not be possible.

Woolworths Chair in Paediatric Anaesthesiology An internationally recognised anaesthetist, Professor Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg, was appointed the inaugural Woolworths Chair in Paediatric Anaesthesiology at The University of Western Australia.

A member of the division of clinical sciences at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Professor Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg has published more than 50 peer-reviewed original research articles in highly ranked international journals and won several national and international research prizes.

Her current research focuses on the prediction and prevention of respiratory complications in children, one of the main causes of life-threatening illness and death in paediatric anaesthesia.

Support for offshore engineeringThe Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust (LRET) is supporting the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS) $2.4-million program to help provide solutions to the challenges of harnessing resources from beneath our oceans.

The agreement signed with LRET has UWA committing $1.2 million to provide a Chair and Research Centre of Excellence in Offshore Foundation Systems, three assistant professor positions and a number of top-up PhD scholarships.

The program means UWA will have a critical mass of researchers in deep-water engineering, renewable energy, and risk assessment for oil and gas facilities. It will allow COFS to engage more effectively with local and international oil, gas and renewable-energy industries – and with other universities in the LRET research network, such as the University of Southampton and the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Offshore Research in Engineering.

IMAGE COURTESY CLOUGH LTD


WA heritage awardsThe University of Western Australia was highly commended for its outstanding contribution to heritage at the Western Australian Heritage Awards, which recognise outstanding commitment and contribution to heritage conservation. PIAF Artistic Director appointed

The director of one of the UK’s largest and most vibrant arts festivals was appointed as artistic director of the Perth International Arts Festival, founded by The University of Western Australia.

Jonathan Holloway, currently artistic director and chief executive of the 238-year-old Norfolk and Norwich Festival, will take over the artistic direction of the Perth Festival from 2012-2015, following the departure of current artistic director Shelagh Magadza after the 2011 Festival.

Mr Holloway’s appointment further strengthens the Perth International Arts Festival’s reputation as one of the most exciting festivals in Australia, and the world.

ICRAR Remote Internet Telescope) initiative has been developed by the secondary teachers’ enrichment program, SPICE, and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), with support from the School of Physics at UWA.

The telescope is housed in a 3.5m dome observatory on the roof of UWA’s Physics Building. SPIRIT’s primary mirror has a diameter of 35cm capable of viewing objects hundreds of millions of light-years away.

Microscope to capture 3-D images of nano world

The University of Western Australia will be home to one of the most powerful microscopes in Australia, capable of capturing 3-D images of objects and surfaces at the molecular or nanoparticle level in real time.

A group of researchers led by Winthrop Professor Shaun Collin has been awarded an Australian Research Council grant to purchase a multiphoton confocal microscope that will be able to combine high-speed multiphoton and optical imaging with atomic force microscopy. The grant was awarded to a collaboration of researchers from UWA, Edith Cowan University and Curtin University and will be available to researchers across Western Australia in 2011.

Science Library

The new UWA Science Library opened in 2010 draws together the University’s library resources and services in life and physical sciences, engineering, mathematics, computing sciences and natural and agricultural sciences creating a major focal point for student learning and world class scientifi c research.

With carefully designed spaces, furnishings and equipment, the $30 million project showcases contemporary thinking about academic library design.

New telescope promotes scientifi c research in schools

UWA established a new internet telescope that allows students across the State to conduct signifi cant scientifi c research.

The research-grade instrument allows students to measure the positions of asteroids and comets, and potentially discover new minor planets and exploding stars in distant galaxies. The SPIRIT (SPICE-Physics-

‘A creative and intellectual resource to the �� The University continued to engage with the wider community to establish strong links and cement its position as ‘a leading ��

22 | www.uwa.edu.au

Employer of Choice for Women The University of Western Australia was named an Employer of Choice for Women for the eighth consecutive year. The University has been named in every list published since the national awards began in 2002.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson said UWA was an advocate of equal opportunity and gender equity and, as a result, had increased the number of women at senior levels. The University also provided development plans for high achievers, paid parental leave and family friendly working arrangements.

Perth urban planning under the microscopeIn a signifi cant coup for The University of Western Australia, the next World Planning-Schools Congress (WPSC) will be hosted by UWA in July 2011.

The theme of WPSC 2011 is “Planning’s Future – Futures Planning: Planning in an Era of Global (Un)Certainty and Transformation”. The international congress will bring together up to 1,000 planning scholars from nine associations across the globe, representing Africa, the US, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Brazil, Asia, French-speaking nations, New Zealand and Australia.

Perth International Arts Festival wins Partnering AwardThe 2010 Australia Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) Partnering Award went to the Perth International Arts Festival and engineering and environmental services fi rm URS.

For the Festival it delivers an investment into its contemporary culture venue Beck’s Music Box (below), environmental consultancy to develop a sustainability framework, and support through strong advocacy. For URS it is an opportunity to apply its core environmental services to the arts and cultural sector, as well as offering a unique platform to support a key community activity in the heart of Perth that ultimately fosters stronger relationships with clients and employees.

IMAGE COURTESY OF TONI WILKINSON


AppointmentsKey appointments made during the year include:

Librarian and Director of Information Management An information management expert who transformed the e-learning and research information management systems of King’s College London, Dr Mary Davies, was appointed as The University of Western Australia’s new Librarian and Director (Information Management). Dr Davies is only the fi fth librarian in the University’s history and replaced Mr John Arfi eld, who retired after 14 years.

Dean of UWA Law School The University of Western Australia appointed Professor Stuart Kaye as the new Dean of the UWA Law School, replacing retiring Dean Professor William Ford.

Professor Kaye, an international, maritime and humanitarian law expert, is a former Chair in Law at The University of Melbourne (2006-2010) and Dean of Law at the University of Wollongong (2002-2006) who joined UWA as Winthrop Professor of Law this year.

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LandmarksIn 2010, UWA named several landmarks across campus in honour ��

The General Purpose II building was renamed the Robert Street Building, to acknowledge Emeritus Professor Robert Street AO, UWA Vice-Chancellor 1978-1985.

The Biochemistry building has been renamed the Curnow Building, in recognition of the longstanding contribution of the late Emeritus Professor David Curnow AO, who held the

position of UWA Chair of Clinical Biochemistry from 1968-1985.

The major thoroughfare leading north-south from near Prescott Court to the Business School has been offi cially named Underwood Promenade in recognition of the late Emeritus Professor Eric Underwood AO CBE and his contribution to UWA and agriculture in Western Australia.

The Molecular and Chemical Sciences Building, has been renamed the Bayliss Building in honour of the outstanding contribution made to the University by the late Emeritus Professor Sir Noel Bayliss during his tenure as Chair of Chemistry at UWA from 1938-1971.

The outstanding contribution of Dr Ken Michael, Governor of Western Australia, and Mrs Julie Michael to The University of Western Australia was recognised with the naming of a building, a recent edition to the campus, in their honour. Dr Michael served as Chancellor from 2001 to 2005.


Vice-ChancelloryThe University of Western AustraliaM464, 35 Stirling HighwayCrawley WA 6009Tel: +61 8 6488 3500Fax: +61 8 6488 1013Email: [email protected] Web: www.uwa.edu.au

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