Division of Environmental and Life Sciences

News From the Dean
The weekly update from the Dean of Division, A/Prof Kevin McCracken

ELS Hosts Another Successful Siemens Science Experience
Students using their holidays to get into science...

Opportunities
- Environment and Justice e-Conference
- Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange: applications soon to close
- Fire Warden Training Coming Up!

Events
- Sydney Ideas Seminar: Tim Harford talks on the "Logic of Life"
- Health Seminar: New Perspectives on Chronic Disease or Business as Usual?
- Public Debate: "Is Australia Ready for a Republic?"
- Australian & NZ Solar Energy Society seminar: "The Energy Market"
- ELS Seminar Series

News from the Dean

Dear Colleagues,

Thanks to all of you who have contributed your valuable time to assisting our students with their enrolment over the last couple of weeks. Academic advising is a very important part of our engagement with new students and your commitment in this area is really appreciated. This leads me to the start of first semester, which it seems has rolled around again very rapidly indeed. Our 2008 enrolment numbers are looking very healthy in most areas, which is great for us all but provides extra challenges for our teaching staff, so I want to wish them all the best in their endeavours this year.

I also wanted to let you know about an important date in 2008 for teaching staff. Nominations for MQ Learning and Teaching Awards close on 24 October and I'm flagging this now because potential candidates are going to need sufficient lead time to prepare submissions. The award categories are:

I really want to encourage all of you to look at the award categories and conditions and discuss your interest with your Head of Department. These awards are an opportunity for our dedicated and innovative teachers and programs to be recognised and acknowledged.

This week we welcomed our new international exchange students with an Australian morning tea complete with lamingtons, Vegemite and Caramello Koalas. Under the Environmental Education Exchange program, which is an ELS initiative, we are hosting this semester five students from the University of East Anglia and two from BOKU in Vienna . In exchange, we have sent four of our students to BOKU and one to East Anglia . I wish all the exchange students well and hope that they study hard while still managing to experience and enjoy the culture and lifestyle of their host countries.

And, finally, our incoming international students in the Master of Biotechnology programs will be better prepared for their Australian study this year thanks to an innovative Transition Program in which the students will have the opportunity to review their lab and report writing skills. This collaborative program, which starts next week, is being run by CBMS with valuable input from Linguistics.

And, finally, finally, thanks to Richie Howitt who filled in for me last week.

Kevin

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Siemens Science Experience 2008

The end of January at ELS always sees the annual Siemens Science Experience bubble into action and 2008 was no exception, with over 80 students making the most of their holidays by delving into the world of science, engineering and technology. Held from over two days, the event gave students the chance to put science under the microscope.

The Siemens Science Experience is a national program that offers students an insight into tertiary studies in science, engineering and technology, as well as informing them on the wide range of careers available to science graduates.

Most of the participants were locals. Nine were from as far afield as Bellingen, Box Hill, Rocky Hall, Berrima, Mudgee, Orange , Eugowra and Mittagong, and 13 Indigenous students travelled from Maclean and Casino.

During the three days of the Siemens Science Experience, students participated in a veritable scientific smorgasbord of hands-on activities.

This included making dry ice fountains, slime, and elephant toothpaste with Macquarie chemists; testing reflexes and cranial nerves, feeling pulses and measuring blood pressure with anatomy lecturers; investigating the psychology of visual perception with an examination of how 3D and magic eye pictures work; exploring the world of spiders with Macquarie biologists; investigating the make-up of ancient Roman coins; and designing wiring systems with engineers.

In addition to these laboratory activities, students attended informative lectures on topics such as how a hot, dry continent can power the future; engineering into the 21 st century; mythbusting microbes; bush medicines and dolphins.

Local newspapers including the Manly Daily and Hornsby Advocate printed articles about the Siemens Science Experience and The Australian printed a story about the Indigenous students' involvement. More media mentions are expected in the coming weeks.

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Environmental Education Student Exchange Program

Macquarie University is once again welcoming European exchange students into environmentally focussed units for the first semester of 2008.

The University is the Australian lead university in the Environmental Education Student Exchange Program. The membership of the project includes all the Innovative Research Universities, plus the University of East Anglia in the UK; BOKU in Austria; and Linkoping in Sweden.

This semester, Macquarie is sending five enthusiastic students to Europe for a semester, one to East Anglia and four to BOKU. In return, we are hosting five East Anglia students and two BOKU students.

Feedback from last semester's incoming students has supported the belief that the experience is all good and, indeed, one studnet is staying on for one more semester to conduct research.

What the students say ...

I really enjoyed my exchange semester at Macquarie. It was a great chance to meet people from all over the world and to improve my language skills. The subjects I chose were all very interesting and it was a great opportunity for me to know a completely new environment and to apply the studied theory during fieldtrips.

A great advantage of the semester at Macquarie University was that I learned how to do proper scientific research and how to compose papers and reports; this will be very useful for the thesis and research work I am planning to do the ongoing semester.

I consider my exchange semester at Macquarie University as an important part of my academic and personal life. To conclude, Macquarie University is a great place to study and Australia in general a great place to live and travel, especially for environmental scientists!
Verena Hell, visiting MQ from BOKU

As I arrived here in Sydney in the middle of July my feelings were really mixed up not knowing what will happen in the next month. Fortunately you and your colleagues invited us to the morning tea and the first fear was taken away because of you nice guys.

I did a full study load with 11 credit points and I have to say I was really busy over the whole semester. The system you have here is really different in comparison to ours back home in Austria. But it was possible to manage it!

All the experiences I have had in the last months will stay forever in my life and the friendships I developed will surely last for a long time. So I can just say the exchange here in Australia at Macquarie University was the best time in my life I ever had! Now I'm really looking forward to meet up with the exchange students in Vienna.
Harald Franger, visiting MQ from BOKU

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Opportunities

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ENVIRONMENTAL & CLIMATE JUSTICE E-CONFERENCE

You are invited to join the EcoRes Forum from 11-24 April 2008 for " Environmental (In)Justice: Sources, Symptoms, and Solutions ", the second in a series of online dialogues focusing on the ethical, political and socio-cultural aspects of climate change.

As experts call for swift action in response to accelerating climate change, the words "global warming" have become commonplace. Headlines and commentators tout the latest technological developments, politicians focus on greening their platforms, and concerned citizens in MDCs check their house insurance and consider relocating to higher ground. Adaptation is underway.

But what about those who can't make that choice? Those forced to cope with changes they can least afford, changes to which they contributed little? As the data continues to pour in, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer's warning is being confirmed - over and over again: "The most vulnerable communities in the poorest countries, those who have contributed nothing to climate change, will be the worst affected by its impact."

As the growing numbers of unemployed, displaced and dis-eased climate refugees and victims of injustice outpace projections, one thing is clear: Our task, our ethical responsibility, is to ensure that this indefensible discrimination does not continue. What will this require? Nothing less than incorporating fully the interrelated principles of environmental and climate justice across the board, at all levels, in all decision-making platforms, throughout all societies.

The purpose of this dialogue is to raise awareness among participants about environmental and climate justice: what these concepts mean, underlying causes and symptoms of EJ/CJ injustice, how this injustice may be rectified, and related elements ranging from national immigration policy and international contraction and convergence proposals to xenophobia and racism.

PANEL OF EXPERTS: Joining the Forum panel will be Drs. Julian Agyeman (USA), Patrick Bond (South Africa), Robert D. Bullard (USA), Michael Dorsey (USA), and Shirley Thompson (Canada), internationally known and respected leaders in their fields. Additional panelists are being announced throughout March.

BREAKOUT DISCUSSIONS: Proposals for self-directed breakout discussions and presentations on related subjects may be submitted to forum@eco-res.org . Each selected presentation will be provided with a stand-alone webpage and unlimited discussion threads within the Forum website, with limited server space provided for presentation materials. Deadline for proposals : 18 March 2008.

NEW FORMAT!! EcoRes is pleased to introduce its new web-based e-conference format , which will be hosted on the Forum website. Registration is required for participation, with materials accessible as read-only for non-registrants.

The EcoRes Forum e-conference series brings together academics and activists, scientists and social critics, researchers, journalists, community leaders and members from around the world, offering a unique opportunity to learn from and network with like-minded citizens. By offering the series free of charge, crossing cultural, disciplinary and geopolitical borders, and removing the financial and logistical barriers to participation often encountered by those whom climate change threatens most, EcoRes continues to encourage wide-ranging stakeholder participation, with registrants from over 90 countries taking part in previous issue discussions.

Join us as we discuss this urgent need for widespread political and societal transformation: For more information or to register for the April event, visit the EcoRes Forum at http://www.eco-res.org .

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Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange

The European Commission has published a call for the a new scheme: the Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES)

The IRSES call itself is open since November and will close on 28th March! There is just under a month to complete the application with 2 European partner organisations.In summary, IRSES provides support to strengthen long term staff exchange with Europe (including research managers). The EU will only fund the travel cost of European organisations visiting Australia. In Australia, institutions are expected to cover the cost of their staff. DIISR will provide support toward these costs for a limited number of approved projects (for a total of $60,000 and maybe more depending on demand).

Activities covered by IRSES
IRSES provides support for those Australian research organisations participating in a selected partnership, to establish or reinforce long-term research co-operation through a coordinated joint and balanced programme of exchange for 2 to 4 years, of researchers for periods not exceeding 12 months. Importantly, technical and management staff may also participate in these exchanges.

The European Commission will support the travel and living costs of European staff travelling to Australia. In Australia, each organisation is expected to cover the mobility costs (i.e. travel and subsistence costs) of their outgoing researchers travelling to Europe. Under IRSES, staff exchanges are treated as secondments (i.e. exchange participants maintain salary in their institution of origin, and have the right to return).

Application
The proposal must be submitted by a coordinator from a European Member State of FP7 Associated Country (list available in the guide for applicants). To be eligible, the consortium must include the organisation of the coordinator, an organisation from another European country (Member State of FP7 Associated Country), and an Australian organisation (or from any Third country).

The size of such exchanges is left to the appreciation of the partners and to the available matching funding from Australia. Consortium from Australia will be competing on a 25m call with all other third countries having a S&T agreement with the EC and European neighbours.

Details about the Application are available in the guide for applicants at http://www.feast.org/fp7/documents/IRSES_applicants_2008.pdf. Details about the call are available in the people work programme and in the FP7 calls pages FP7-PEOPLE-IRSES-2008 http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/calls/

Funding for Australian staff
This Marie Curie action is not totally supported by the European Commission. Australian staff will need to seek funding from their own institutions or any other domestic sources. In order to assist participating Australian research organisations, the new Australian Government Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research is considering providing some support to help cover these mobility costs. Funding worth $60,000 has been reserved through the strategic policy element of the International Science Linkages program to assist such Australian research organisations for this purpose. This funding is intended to support travel and subsistence costs for a number of exchanges over the period that IRSES is in place, and this initial level of support may be reviewed if demand is particularly high. Such funding would be available on a competitive basis and, to be eligible for consideration, Australian research organisations would need to demonstrate that they are a member of a selected partnership under IRSES. In particular, the Department would be interested in supporting exchanges in certain research priority areas for collaboration with the European Union, including biotechnology and food, energy technologies (including clean energy), bioeconomy (including industrial biotechnology and agriculture) and climate change. The Department will provide further information, through the FEAST website, about this process and selection procedures in March 2008.

For questions and feedback please contact the FEAST secretariat at:
Jean-Francois Desvignes-Hicks
FEAST (Forum for European-Australian Science and Technology Cooperation)
web: http://www.feast.org/
phone : +61 2 6125 7884
fax   : +61 2 6125 7815
mobile: +61 415 482 650

Please note: The MU Research Office has also requested that you let them know if you are considering applying - please drop Sarah Hogan a line on x4463.

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Fire warden training is scheduled for:
Tuesday 11th March, 2008
Friday 9th May, 2008
Thursday 7th August, 2008

The training will be a half day course, running from 9:30am - 1:00pm.
If you are a current fire warden and have either not yet received any training or require refresher training (those who haven't completed training since 05) please e-mail Melissa from HR at melissa.pisani@pers.mq.edu.au with the following details
- Name
- Employee Number
- Contact Details
- Suitable Date

Melissa will e-mail back to confirm your training dates and then e-mail again closer to the date with further details on venue etc. Ron Claassens (rclaasse@els.mq.edu.au) would also appreciate it if you could let him know - he's on the search for additional wardens.

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Events

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Tuesday 26 February 2008
Sydney Ideas: Tim Harford talks about the Logic of Life

UK economist, Financial Times columnist, and author of The Undercover Economist, Tim Harford, uses economic principles to demystify the seemingly irrational choices people make. Arguing that rational behavior is more widespread than most people expect, he also explains how individual rational behavior doesn't always lead to socially desired outcomes.
Time: 6:30pm-8:00pm Feb 26 Cost: $20/$15
Venue: Seymour Theatre Centre, Cnr Cleveland St and City Rds, Chippendale
Bookings: Sydney Ideas www.usyd.edu.au/sydneyideas/ 02 9351 7940

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Wednesday 27th February
Australian & New Zealand Solar Energy Society seminar: "The Energy Market"

Presented by the Australian & New Zealand Solar Energy Society. Speakers Edward Hanna & Stephen McCulloch from EnergyAction discuss topics such as energy pricing, energy policy, generation mix, retailer strategies and on EnergyAction's role as an intermediary in the market.

Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm Feb 27 Cost: Free
Venue: Main Hall, Abraham Mott Hall, 17 Argyle Place, Millers Point
Enquiries: Australian & New Zealand Solar Energy Society www.anzses.org (02) 9918 9613

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Wednesday 27th February
Public Debate: Is Australia Ready for a Republic?

Join monarchist Prof. David Flint as he engages in a lively debate with republicans Emeritus Prof. Stuart Rees and NSW Greens MLC Lee Rhiannon.
Time: 7:00pm-10:30pm Feb 27 Cost: $20 Supper Included.
Venue: Jubilee Room, Parliment House, Macquarie St, Sydney
Bookings: felowship of the roundtable fortaustralia.com 02 94982882

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Friday 29 February 2008
Health Seminar: New Perspectives on Chronic Disease or Business as Usual?

This conference seeks to debate and explore the role of industry in meeting the challenges of chronic disease. An outstanding array of experts from both Australia and the US provide new perspectives on the challenges of regulating industry to protect the public's health; in particular, chronic diseases. Keynote speakers include: Prof. Lawrence Gostin, Georgetown Uni. , Prof. Fiona Stanley AC, UWA & Prof. Stephen Sugarman, Uni. of California.
Time: 9:15am-3:45pm Feb 29 Cost: $150/$50 full time student/pensioner (incl. lunch)
Venue: Sydney Law School, 173 Phillip St, Sydney
Enquiries: Uni of Syd (Faculty of Law) www.law.usyd.edu.au/LPD/docs_pdfs.. 02 9351 0238

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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

Surgery simulator cuts healing time
Scientist have developed a program that simulates spinal surgery, allowing surgeons to preselect the procedure that will optimise results and healing time.

Australians work more, play less
Australians are spending less time playing, sleeping and eating, but are working longer hours than they did a decade ago, according to a new report.

Most kids adopted from overseas
Seventy per cent of children adopted into Australian families today come from overseas, with the most born in Asia, show the findings of a new report

Algae could reveal malaria cure
Researchers have discovered a brown alga that represents the 'missing link' in parasitic evolution, and may hold the key to treating diseases such as malaria.

Humans may help forests flee warming
Trees may need to migrate to survive global warming and could need human assistance in order to escape fast enough, according to a forest scientists.

The pill stops ovarian cancer
Long term use of the oral contraceptive pill prevents thousands of ovarian cancers annually according to a review of 45 studies worldwide.

Milky Way is twice as big
After only a few hours of calculations, astronomers have discovered that the milky way is twice as thick as previously thought.

Fish communicate with colour
The spectacular colours of coral reef fish represent a 'lost language' that they have been using to communicate for over 50 million years, according to scientists.

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