Division of Environmental and Life Sciences

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

CBMS Hosts the 2008 NSW Schools Titration Competition
75 keen and local year 11 and 12 students compete for titration glory in our new labs...

Opportunities
- Abundant APAF Employment Opportunities (but you have to be quick!!)
- NT Position Available: Katherine/Daly Catchment Water Quality Monitoring Framework

Events
- Special Genes to Geosciences Seminar NEXT Monday
- Astroarchaeology Talk: "From the Peruvian Desert to the Universe"
- City Wide Debate: "By 2020, Only The Rich Will Be At Home in Australia"
- ELS Seminar Series

News from the Dean

Dear Colleagues,

By the time you get this presumably all exam marking will be out of the way, so congratulations everyone for once again meeting very tight marking schedules. It certainly never gets any easier. Hopefully between now and the start of Semester 2 teaching you will get opportunities for some clear research time, conferences, or even just reintroducing yourselves to family and friends. Having said that I'm aware preparations for Semester 2 will take up considerable time for many.

Just following up on last week's microwave incident. We have now been able to formalise a set of procedures that will allow microwave users to make a case for having their machine(s) reinstalled. Details of those procedures have been circulated by email to everyone in the Division. The decision to temporarily stop the use of that equipment was not taken lightly, safety and liability considerations leaving no alternative. The important thing now is for everyone to follow the protocols for use that have been worked out and circulated. The microwave incident though is really only part of the wider OH&S scene and we all need to make a 100% commitment to ensuring a safe working environment for staff and students across all areas of our activities. Fieldwork, for instance, is another key area for this Division. As I mentioned in last week's Science News , a few weeks ago Russell Field gave the Divisional Executive an overview of the ELS OH&S situation as he saw it from his position as Chair of our OH&S Committee and each department has been requested to review its own OH&S policies and procedures and report back to the Executive. I look forward to everyones' help in this area.

Faculty of Science Research Conference - July 15: Most will have seen mention of this conference in an earlier issue of Science News . Details of the conference and web-based registration are at http://www.science.mq.edu.au/conferences/research/. I hope we can have a strong ELS presence at the conference and would encourage those who are going to be on campus that day to register for it. It is shaping up as an interesting event.

Finally, I'll take the opportunity of this space to draw your attention to Policy Central, a new section of the University's web site ( http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/ ). This site is the central source of all MQ institutional policies, procedures and guidelines. At present there is not all that much material on the site as a lot of developmental drafting work is going on. However, as these various policies, procedures and guidelines are endorsed by Academic Senate they will posted on the site. The Assessment Policy document, for example, which has been doing the rounds in draft form in recent months will be an important one for all teaching staff to be familiar with. Others in the drafting stage at the moment include Academic Promotions, Appeal Against a Final Grade, and Special Consideration.

Till next week.

Kevin

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CBMS Hosts the 2008 NSW Schools Titration Competition

On Saturday 21st June, CBMS hosted the NSW Schools Titration Competition for 75 keen Year 11 and 12 students.

The aim of this competition is for the students to work in teams of three and use their analytical chemistry skills to accurately determine concentrations of unknown acids. This is a major competition that runs simultaneously at schools and universities both in Sydney and regional areas of NSW. Many of the students and teachers had been training hard for the competition and were all very excited. The students came from Baulkham Hills High School, Abbotsleigh School, Our Lady of Mercy College, Mater Maria Catholic College, Hornsby Girls' High School, Mount St Benedict College, Santa Sabina College and Randwick Boys' High School.

All the students and the accompanying teachers had a great time and enjoyed the lovely new undergraduate laboratories. We also had the pleasure of announcing the winners and presenting them with plaques for their efforts. The winners were Amanda Siqueira, Ashleigh Wright and Samantha Horlyck (all pictured below), from Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta. They now have an opportunity to enter the National competition.

Hosting of this competition takes some effort to prepare for and we would like to thank Keith Tonkin, Mark Tran, Thulasy Jeyendra and Hong Nguyen for setting up the laboratories for the event and especially Keith, Ian Jamie and Janelle Seaman (Royal Australian Chemical Institute, NSW Chemical Education representative) for running the event with me on the day.

Winners are Grinners: Amanda Siqueira, Ashleigh Wright and Samantha Horlyck from
Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta

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Opportunities

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APAF Employment Opportunities

APAF has advised us that the following employment opportunities exist in the research facility. You need to apply for the jobs on line by clicking "Jobs" from the left hand column on the MQ main page at www.mq.edu.au but be warned that applications close on the 30th of June, ie. TODAY.

Biostatistician
Level 8, base salary from $68,852 pa, +17% super. Full-time (3+year fixed-term)
Contact: Brett Cooke on (02) 9850 6210 or e-mail brett.cooke@mq.edu.au

Bioinformatician
Level 7, base salary from $62,683 pa, +17% super. Full-time (3+year fixed-term)
Contact: Brett Cooke on (02) 9850 6210 or e-mail brett.cooke@mq.edu.au

Scientific Officer - Array Technologies
Level 6, base salary from $55,676 pa, +17% super. Full-time (3+ year fixed-term)
Contact: Alamgir Khan on (02) 9850 6204 or e-mail alamgir.khan@mq.edu.au

Scientific Officer - Protein Chemistry
Level 5, base salary from $48,334 pa, +17% super. Full-time (3+ year fixed-term)
Contact: Bernie McInerney on (02) 9850 6207 or e-mail bernie.mcinerney@mq.edu.au

Scientific Officer - Protein Chemistry
Level 5, base salary from $48,334 pa, +17% super. Full-time (3+ year fixed-term)
Contact: Bernie McInerney on (02) 9850 6207 or e-mail bernie.mcinerney@mq.edu.au

Senior Scientific Officer - Mass Spectrometry
Level 8, base salary from $68,852 pa, +17% super. Full-time (3+ year fixed-term)
Contact: Xiaomin Song on (02) 9850 6246 or e-mail xiaomin.song@mq.edu.au

Senior Scientific Officer - Mass Spectrometry
APAF, Division of Environmental and Life Sciences
Level 7, base salary from $62,683 pa, +17% super. Full-time (3+ year fixed-term)
Contact: Xiaomin Song on (02) 9850 6246 or e-mail xiaomin.song@mq.edu.au

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Research Fellow – Katherine/Daly Catchment Water Quality Monitoring Framework

Chales Darwin University in the NT is looking for a Research Fellow – Katherine/Daly Catchment Water Quality Monitoring Framework.

This position, at Academic Level B, will be part of the Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge (TRaCK) Research Hub (www.track.gov.au). TRaCK brings together more than 70 leading researchers from 15 organisations to improve our understanding of the rivers, catchments and estuaries across northern Australia. The TRaCK consortium is led by Charles Darwin University, CSIRO, Griffith University, Land & Water Australia, the North Australia Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance and the University of Western Australia. TRaCK is funded by the Australian Government, principally through its Commonwealth Environment Research Fund, the National Water Commission, and Land and Water Australia.

The TRaCK Research Hub is hosted by CDU and is associated with the Aquatic Ecosystems and Water Resources Theme of the School for Environmental Research (http://www.cdu.edu.au/ser). The School conducts integrated research on the environments of northern Australia and Southeast Asia within three focus areas: Aquatic Ecosystems and Water Resources, Wildlife and Landscape Science, and Livelihoods and Policy Research. The AEWR Theme brings together staff with relevant research expertise from across the University.

TRaCK has been engaged by the Northern Territory Natural Resource Management Board to develop a framework for water quality monitoring in the Katherine/Daly Catchment. The primary role is to develop and report on a water quality monitoring framework for the Katherine/Daly Catchment, in consultation with the community and stakeholders. The framework needs to address the key concerns of native vegetation clearing, agricultural development and consumptive water use. It will be based on the National Water Quality Management Strategy, and constitute an adaptive management system, which incorporates monitoring, reporting, and the use of decision support tools. This project will be run as a co-ordinated program of activity.

Closing date: 10 July 2008

In order to apply, please obtain an application package by accessing the Charles Darwin University’s People Management and Development Home Page at http//:www.cdu.edu.au/pmd or by phoning the Recruitment Answering Service on 08 8946 6284 OR email: recruitment@cdu.edu.au
Informal enquiries may be directed to Associate Professor Michael Douglas, on 08 8946 7261 or michael.douglas@cdu.edu.au
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Events

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Genes to Geosciences Seminar
“Urban Fine Particulate Matter Alters Expression of Genes Associated with the Inflammatory Response in Human Lung Cells”

by Dr. Roger Coulombe, Utah State University

Monday 7th July, 1-2 pm (Biology tea room).

Seminar abstract:

Numerous epidemiologic studies consistently link inhalation of fine particulate matter (PM) air pollution with cardiovascular disease, stroke, and other adverse health effects. During wintertime atmospheric inversions, the normally picturesque Cache Valley in Northern Utah USA (home to Utah State University) experiences episodes of some of the highest PM concentrations in the United States. These particles are largely the result of "cow and cars," formed from reactants resulting from agricultural activity and vehicle emissions. Our research has focused on the gene-level effects of these particles in cultured human airway cells, where we have found up-regulation of key mediators of the inflammatory and the unfolded protein responses. These observations are generally consistent with the adverse health effects associated with inhalation of urban PM.

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Astroarchaeology Talk: From the Peruvian desert to the Universe

Tuesday 1 July 2008
Join astronomer Fred Watson to learn about the Thirteen Towers of Chankillo, in northern Peru – a pre-Inca solar observatory of epic proportions. In this sparkling illustrated talk, Fred recounts the first visit by an Australian scientific group to the site, in 2007, and explains Chankillo's importance in astroarchaeology

Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm Jul 01 Cost: $20/$18 members
Venue: Australian Museum Theatrette, Australian Museum, William Street entrance, Sydney
Bookings: Phone Australian Geographic on 1300 555 176

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Debate: By 2020, Only The Rich Will Be At Home in Australia

Tuesday 1 July 2008
Hear a fascinating debate on this contentious issue with ACTU President Sharon Burrow, Prof. Michael Pusey, UNSW, Prof. Bob Gregory, ANU, arguing the case for the affirmative, whilst journalist Ross Gittins, John Roskam, Inst. of Public Affiars and Elizabeth Proust, Melbourne Symphany, argue the negative. Then join in and have your own say. Bookings essential.

Time: 6:45pm-8:30pm Jul 08 Cost: $30
Venue: City Recital Hall, Angel place, Angel Place, Sudney
Bookings: Intelligence Squared www.iq2oz.com (02) 8256 2222

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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

Crowds hide fearful looks from brain
Facial expressions showing fear are harder for the brain to detect in crowds than individually or in small groups, according to research. 

Knee injury avoidable with training
The risk of a common serious knee injury can be reduced in sport if athletes modify the way they move when changing direction, according to a study.

'Fingerprinting' to catch coral killer
A new technique is being used to uncover which fish species are eating the few corals that have survived bleaching, and whether they will survive if the reef disappears.

Forestry important to Tasmania
A new report that analysed the Tasmanian forest industry's spending and jobs in detail has found that it employs around 3 per cent of the territory's workforce.

Helping agriculture adapt to warming
Farmers can no longer avoid the reality of global warming, according to a new report that will help Australian agriculture adapt to climate change.

Leaders important to change
A study has found that it is not only leaders' knowledge that makes them successful, but their ability to develop and commit to strategies for the future.

Australian unis feed body issues
Research has found that Asian university students living in Australia, along with Australian students, have more body image problems than those in China.

Satellite finds coral-killing hot spots
Scientists have found a way to detect areas of over-heated ocean water by satellite, which could give managers time to protect reefs from other stresses.

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