Division of Environmental and Life Sciences

News From the Dean
The weekly update from the Dean of Division, Prof Richie Howitt

An Award Winning Teaching Philosophy
Ian Jamie talks about his approach to learning and teaching

Opportunities
- Two Postdoc Opportunities in Denmark
- Entries are now open in the 2008 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes

Events
- State Library Talk: Eco-fashion and sustainable style
- Philosophy Talk: God, Atheism and Human Values
- Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society talk "The Variability of Tropospheric Pollution: A Satellite Perspective"
- ELS Seminar Series

News from the Dean

Dear Colleagues

Academic advising is in full swing and I would like to thank everyone involved for giving up their time and energy to this very important and worthwhile exercise. Two further dates for your diary - International enrolments on Monday 18 February between 10:00 and 4:30 and late enrolment day on Friday 22 February between 9:30 and 3:30.

A busy time also for those submitting ARC Discovery grants. Please make sure that you are aware of the deadlines as they are being enforced by the Research Office.

Please note the following from Mark Ellis "the DVCR will not sign any applications where the final version is received after the deadlines quoted in the RO email to applicants of 30 January, see:- http://www.research.mq.edu.au/researchers/funding/arc_schemes/discovery_projects_resource_pack "FINAL SUBMISSION". This is to allow 3 days for final checking, copying and collation of some 180 applications, in parallel with checking and feedback for around 30 NHMRC and Cancer Council applications due one week after the Discos.

This is the first time that we have had to have a hard deadline and it will be strictly enforced. I stress that this hard deadline relates to the final signed version, but does assume that a draft version had been submitted to the RO by the earlier deadlines to allow time for compliance checking and (if the option was selected) feedback on specific sections. In the (hopefully) unlikely event that we see an application for the first time at the deadline for the signed versions then the DVCR will decide whether he is prepared to sign and submit an unchecked application, but my advice will be that he does not."

Please ensure that you allow the Acting Dean sufficient time to read and sign all grants prior to their submission to the RO.

Please note the Biosafety committee will be holding a workshop addressing biosafety issues in research on Thursday 21 February from 2:00-4:00 pm in E5A room 119. Registration is by 5:00 pm on Wednesday 20 February. Further details from Kokila De Silva, kdesilva@vc.mq.edu.au .

The Edmund Rice Centre for Social Justice and Community Education is hosting the Brooklyn Project: Young Australians and the next hundred years on April 2-6. The project will bring together 25 people between the ages of 18 and 30 to participate in discussions about the history of the way Australia has conceived of itself as a nation, to revisit the way our constitution was written and to discuss ways of making our society more just. Applications available at http://www.brooklyn.org.au .

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sharon Fraser from the Centre for Professional Development for her very valuable contribution to the work of the Learning and Teaching Committee. Sharon is leaving the University to take up an appointment at the University of Tasmania . She will be missed.

Till next time

Richie

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An Award Winning Philosophy

Ian Jamie was recently awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Teaching Excellence with Judith Sachs commending his application stating that:

"Your application demonstrated the scholarly foundations of your teaching and a great love for your discipline. You were able to demonstrate that student learning was a joint journey."

2007 has been a good year for Ian with respect to teaching and learning awards. As well as the VC's award, he has been a team member in to Carrick Institute National Awards and one Macquaire Universiy Innovation Award related to teaching activities:

2007 Carrick Award for Australian University Teaching, Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning: “For the development and implementation of the ACELL project, that is improving the quality of teaching and learning in undergraduate chemistry laboratories throughout Australia” (Team Member)

2007 Carrick Award for Programs that Enhance Learning, Educational Partnerships and Collaborations with Other Organisations: “Advancing Chemistry by Enhanced Learning in the Laboratory (ACELL)” (Team Member)

2007 Macquarie University Innovation Awards, Innovation in Partnership: “Science Education Program: Engaging Indigenous Students”

Below, in an effort to demonstrate Ian's teaching philosophy, is the overview section of his application for the award.

"Tell me, I forget; Show me, I remember; Involve me, I understand (usually ascribed to Confucius)";

"The foundation of every state is the education of its youth (Diogenes Laërtius)."

These two quotations neatly summarise my educational philosophy and beliefs. The former relates to my main activities in the field of the Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (SoLT). The latter explains why I place a great emphasis on my teaching activities.

I take the responsibility of being a teacher very seriously. Having the opportunity to instil the joy of learning in students and prepare them for their post-study life is a privilege, but it is also a great responsibility. The direction they take is dependent to no small extent on their experiences while under my care. My educational philosophy is based on Experiential Learning Theory (from Kolb), a weak form of constructivist theory and, to some extent, Socratic questioning. It is my strong belief that the only real way to learning is through doing. A tenet of education in chemistry is that the practical component (“the lab”) is of primary importance. When used properly, it engages students in active and effective learning. Students can make a real connection to the theory presented in lectures, develop practical and generic skills, be closely observed by staff (thus allowing learning to be monitored, enhanced and assessed effectively) and achieve many other important

learning objectives required of them. Above all, it allows students to see the beauty of chemistry.

Whether in the lab or the classroom, my approach to learning and teaching is that the process is a shared journey of discovery. The students are not learning from me, but with me. As much as I can, I put aside my knowledge of the subject matter and try to see it from the perspective of the student who is coming fresh to the topic. I ask myself, how can I build upon their prior knowledge, what connections can I make to their common experiences, how can this topic be explained in understandable terms, what can they do to integrate the material into their world-view? It is my job to make the topic accessible to my students.

I have been involved in teaching since 1984 (when, as an Honours student, I was employed as tutor and demonstrator). Over the last 23 years my teaching has mainly been in the area of Physical Chemistry. Physical Chemistry is viewed by the majority of students undertaking it as a “necessary evil”. It involves mathematics and concepts that lie outside their common experience (which makes teaching from a constructivist perspective interesting).

I coordinate units at all levels, and my coursework teaching encompasses 1st year through to Masters, and from quantum mechanics through to the pedagogy of laboratory-based teaching and learning. The latter involves the professional development of secondary education teachers.

There are many activities that will form the basis for my claim of Excellence in Teaching but the outstanding one is the Advancing Chemistry by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory (ACELL) project. ACELL has improved learning in university chemistry laboratories throughout the country. At least 35 Australian universities have been involved in ACELL, with an impact on more than 20,000 chemistry students per year. The outcomes of the project are also being used internationally. For staff, ACELL adopts a unique approach to bridge the gap between educational research and the development of quality chemistry laboratory activities. About 25% of chemistry academics in Australia have attended an ACELL workshop, becoming engaged with modern education research and how it connects with chemistry practice. For students, ACELL influences their laboratory learning in two ways: directly, when students participate in experiments improved through the ACELL process; and, indirectly by the increased awareness of key educational issues amongst academic staff. The value of this project has been recognised through two national Carrick Institute awards. Beyond teaching and SoLT, my education related actions extend to community outreach, development of a community of practice, implementation of good practise and administration of teaching activities. An example of this is my participation in the “Indigenous Science Education Program: Engaging Indigenous Students” project. This has recently been recognised with a Macquarie University Innovation Award - Innovations in Partnerships.

In the next few pages I hope to convince you that my SoLT and teaching activities are making a real difference to students (secondary and tertiary) and teachers (secondary and tertiary). I want to show you that my students do actually learn something and that I contribute to their professional and personal development. In the limited space that I have, I will attempt to give you some highlights of my teaching and research activities and thus provide you with a sense of my Learning and Teaching philosophy and actions.

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Opportunities

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Copenhagen University Two vacant Post Docs

- Project 1 is 3 years and Project 2 is one year
- Both connected to the new 454/GS FLX sequencing facility in Copenhagen.
- Both require skilled and competent molecular biologists ideally with experience in sequencing and sequence data handling. - Be warned...the “3 year post doc” is beside the research project expected to function as “super user” on the FLX-machine.

For more information on the research group and to make further enquiries see:
http://www.bi.ku.dk/microbiology/splejsen/

The positions are to be filled ASAP.

Project 1: Bacterial Diversity in Agricultural Soil.
In no other corner of biology is the need for extensive in-depth sequencing more evident than in microbiology. Non-culturable or hard-to-culture bacteria and archaea comprise more than 99% of species present in natural environments, so detailed knowledge about microbial communities must rely on molecular analysis. Of the Earth’s many microbial habitats, soil is by far the most species-rich with hundreds of thousands of different microbial species in a few grams. This environment will continue to be an important source of beneficial microorganisms for biotechnological exploitation, with a multitude of novel pharmaceuticals, antibiotics and enzymes from soil microorganisms awaits discovery; but the immense diversity has hitherto hindered in depth studies on bacterial diversity in soil. Therefore, the invention of the GS FLX system is truly exciting, as its sequencing power will enable microbiologists to explore the true bacterial biodiversity and composition at a hitherto unseen depth. Hence, we will use this technology to resolve the immense bacterial diversity in soil by sequencing of genomic DNA extracted from soil to characterize the complex bacterial community of agricultural soil.

Project 2: Basic mechanisms of plasmid transfer and plasmid stability.
A thorough understanding of the basic mechanisms of transfer and stability under different environmental conditions is expected to lead to new unidentified targets for intervention directed at limiting transfer or curing isolates for resistance. In addition, it will also provide the foundation for relevant plasmids, donors and recipients to be tested in the later phases of the transfer assays. We will test the host-range, transfer frequencies, and stability of plasmids in cultures with few and multiple strains, including both Gram-negative and Gram-positive species. The time of optimal transfer in relation to growth phase as well as time-delay until further transfer from an intermediate host will also be determined. The specific molecular regulation of plasmid transfer, and potential ways of interrupting this, will also be studied using known plasmid transfer systems such as the Gram-positive pheromone-based pCF10 plasmid from Enterococcus faecalis (Bae et al, 2000) as well as the incP and incX plasmids of Gram-negative bacteria (Sørensen 2003).

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Entries are now open in the 2008 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes

Presented annually by the Australian Museum, the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes reward excellence in the categories of:
· Research & Innovation
· Leadership
· School Science
· Science Communication & Journalism

There is something for everyone in this year’s competition, with 20 prizes worth over $200,000 available including the brand new:
· Action Against Climate Change (School Science)
· Taxonomic Research (Research & Innovation)
· Research in support of Defence or National Security (Research & Innovation)

In addition, the Sleek Geeks Science Prize has been expanded to include Primary, Secondary and University students. And the New Scientist science photography prize is open to anyone over 17 years of age.

And – most significantly perhaps for ASC’ers – the promoting understanding of science has been amended to now PERMIT entries from professional science communicators. This is a significant shift from past years, when applicants were effectively restricted to practicing scientists doing extra-curricula work, and should allow us to highlight some of the very significant science outreach work been done in Australia by professional individuals, groups and organisations.

Entries close 2 May 2008

For further information on the prizes and how to enter:

Go to www.australianmuseum.net.au/eureka or email eureka@austmus.gov.au

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Events

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Philosophy Talk: God, Atheism and Human Values

Tuesday 19 February 2008

The talk examines the recent onslaught in atheist writings - Dawkins, Hitchens, Onfray, Dennet, Harris, compares them with philosophers and scientists over time, including Darwin, and asks what we have learned. Peter is an Associate of the Department of Philosophy at Sydney University and a founding member of Philo Agora.

Time: 7:30pm-9:00pm Feb 19 Cost: $6 incl.coffee/tea
Venue: Fair Trade Coffee House, 33 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe
Enquiries: Philo Agora (Philosophy Cafe) www.philoagora.wordpress.com (02) 9797 6459

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State Library Talk: Eco-fashion and sustainable style

Thursday 21st February

An illustrated talk by curator Margot Riley explores trends in Eco-clothing, identifies the uses of environmentally friendly manufacturing processes, recycled materials, or reworks from existing garments. Also find out how to create a more planet-friendly wardrobe.

Time: 5:30pm-7:00pm Feb 21 Cost: $22/$20(Seniors)/$15 (Friends & students) incl.light refreshments
Venue: Dixson Room, State Library of NSW, Macquarie Street, Sydney
Bookings: State Library of NSW www.sl.nsw.gov.au (02) 9273 1770

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AUSTRALIAN METEOROLOGICAL & OCEANOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
- SYDNEY CENTRE -
NOTICE OF FEBRUARY SCIENTIFIC MEETING

Visitors welcome--gold coin donation will be appreciated
Friday 22nd February 2:00pm
Building 18 room 108,
University of Wollongong

"The Variability of Tropospheric Pollution: A Satellite Perspective"
Dr. David P. Edwards
Atmospheric Chemistry Division
National Center for Atmospheric Research

Abstract

Satellite remote sensing of trace gases and aerosols in the troposphere is a relatively new capability. As part of an integrated observing strategy togetherwith ground-based and aircraft measurements, satellites provide the global long-term perspective, and these data have contributed to rapid development in scientific understanding of tropospheric composition. The data are both illustrative of specific events, pollution releases, fires, and the subsequent transport pathways for instance, and useful for quantitative studies such as improvements to source emission estimates through inverse modeling. In this talk I will focus on the geographical, seasonal, and inter-annual variability of tropospheric ozone precursors and aerosol as revealed in the multi-year records of satellite sensors such as MOPITT, SCIAMACHY, and MODIS. These data show how regional and global pollution levels depend on a mix of anthropogenic urban and industrial emissions together with a large contribution from wildfires and tropical biomass burning. The global nature of the pollution problem is also emphasized by frequent observations of intercontinental transport, and I will describe some of the field campaign investigations to quantify this effect through the combination of satellite and aircraft measurements and chemical transport models. The evidence of a direct link between climate variations such as ENSO and the deterioration of regional air quality as a result of increased fire emissions will also be discussed. I will conclude the talk with a review of community initiatives aimed at maintaining a satellite observational capability for tropospheric composition.

Biography

David Edwards is a Senior Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado USA. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Birmingham (UK) in 1987, after which he moved to Oxford University (UK) to work on atmospheric radiative transfer. He joined NCAR as a Scientist in 1991 working on the GENLN community atmospheric radiative transfer model that has applications including laboratory spectroscopy, satellite remote sensing, and benchmark studies for climate model radiation codes. He has worked on the instrument and algorithm science for a number of satellite missions with personal research interests in middle atmosphere radiative transfer and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium processes. Since its launch in 1999, Edwards has been the NCAR project leader and a NASA coinvestigator for the Measurement Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) mission on the Terra satellite. His current research centers around the scientific utilization of tropospheric remote sensing data with emphasis on investigations of trace gas and aerosol seasonal variations and global distributions, sources and sinks. Internationally, he is a member of the IUGG/IAMAS Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Change (CACGP), a Lead Coordinating Author of the UN Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution Report (HTAP) and is involved in several satellite science teams. He is currently Director of the NCAR Program in Atmospheric Remote Sensing and Prediction (ACRESP) promoting the integration of satellite data into earth system models for chemical weather forecasting. He is also active in international initiatives to define the next generation of satellite missions aimed at air quality applications.

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ELS Seminar Series

Departments in ELS host seminars covering a wide range of topics associated with ongoing research projects and other areas of interest. The seminars are delivered by academics, research staff, and students from within the Division, as well as guest speakers from other institutions and industry. Details of times, dates, locations and topics of seminars to be held over the next few weeks are listed here.

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Snippets

Stutterers aren't anxious
Anxiety doesn't cause childhood stuttering, according to the results of a study that challenges the previously assumed link between the two.

Clothing sizes adjust for real bodies
Finding the perfect pair of jeans may get easier, according to research that found designers are using new techniques to cater for all ages and body shapes.

Heat treatment strengthens cars
Australian scientists have developed a heat treatment method of processing aluminium, which is strengthening and extending the life of car parts.

Learning stuck in 60s
The literacy and numeracy of Australian school children hasn't improved since the 1960s, despite spending more on education, research has found.

Female entrepreneurs have it tough
Female entrepreneurs face more challenges than males, such as balancing family life with work and a lack of financial support, reveal new results.

Stories boost Maoris early memories
Maori adults recall earlier memories than europeans because their mothers told them detailed stories of the past while they were young, new research suggests.

Adverts don't scare young smokers
Scare campaigns are the least effective way to stop young people from smoking, according to research that reveals teen smokers already know the risks.

Young stars risk burnout
Young, elite players of team sports are more susceptible to self-criticism, fear and "burnout" than older, more experienced players, new research has found.

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