newsUWA17 April 2000

The University of Western Australia Volume 19 Number 4

■ Page 3 Royal Visit ■ Page 10 Albany Centre ■ Page 14 Institute of Advanced Studies

Surgical centregets royal nod

The University’s new medical and surgicaltraining facility is the best and most

sophisticated medical skills laboratory in the world.Dr Ron Swann, Executive Officer of ctec, the Centre for

Medical and Surgical Skills, is not being partisan or parochialwhen he pronounces this: it just happens to be so.

And early proof of the new centre’s stature wasconfirmed when the Queen agreed to officially open thefacility during her visit to WA early this month.

Originally known as the Collaborative Training andEducation Centre (hence ctec), it was the vision ofmining entrepreneur, philanthropist and resident of Perth,Danny Hill.

He had set up a similar skills training facility in London in1995 after a protracted illness in 1990, during which time hemet English neurosurgeon Alan Crockard and together theydeveloped Mr Hill’s ideas.

In 1996, Danny Hill returned to live in Perth and thefollowing year approached UWA with the idea of setting upanother centre to service the southern hemisphere.

With the direct support of the Royal College of Surgeonsin England, multi-million dollar funding arranged by Mr Hill,

The Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor escort the Queen with John Day, theMinister for Health, from her car to ctec.

by Lindy Brophy

Continued on page 4

UWA Chancellor, Clinical Professor Alex Cohen, guidesthe Queen to the visitor’s book, under the watchful

eye of Professor Bryant Stokes, chairman ofctec’s scientific committee.

2 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

‘Boldness bemy friend…’

VCariousthoughts …

The media is full of such quotes. They have asuperficial power and they feed the urgent

concerns about coping with a world clearly insignificant transformation, especially throughglobalisation.

But what change are we actually talking about in highereducation? And what precise changes will bring benefit —rather than damage — to our own University of WesternAustralia?

At a broad level, Australian universities have undergone apositively revolutionary era of change already over the lastdecade — notably since the Dawkins White Paper and theHigher Education Act of 1989.

With amalgamations, and college ‘redesigns’, we havejumped from 19 to 38 universities. Overall enrolments haveat least doubled (some 230,000 funded ‘places’ to over600,000). More than half the students are mature age. Life-long learning is now a feature of the ‘system’. A majorresearch culture has evolved. Postgraduate enrolments haveboomed. New disciplines, notably in IT and biomedical areas,have blossomed. Major alliances with industry have evolved,and reliance on Commonwealth funding has declined. Anextraordinary international outreach has led to educationbeing Australia’s fourth largest export. Industrial relationsand management systems have meant more effective andmore competitive institutions. And so on . . .

So, why the continuing and urgent calls for more andmore change?

Some of those calls are ill based and draw frommisconceptions of what is and has been happening in theworld of higher education. Much of the public and privatesector, from which vocal critics of the universities emerge,has itself undertaken less change and is still less responsiveto globalising trends. It is notable how much of business andpublic policy has yet to catch up with the ‘new economy’ ofthe world in which universities are already activeparticipants through new knowledge generation.

But we still come back to the harsh reality that these arehard times for universities. Above all, we all have majorresource problems as Commonwealth funding has simplynot kept pace with changing demands in our operating costs.For the high quality, research intensive universities — suchas UWA — there is a widening ‘gap’ between costs andneeds, between universities and resources. “Bridging thegap” is absolutely vital.

What to do? Some universities have hitched their hopesto a single strategy — a huge increase in overseas students,developing a massive private agency, building globalcampuses, sharply narrowing their generic educationalprograms in favour of vocational training, becoming “virtualproviders” of distance education . . .

At UWA we have decided to work from our strengths —the high quality of our educational and research capacity.And then, to be bold in strategically growing these key areasof academic excellence and function.

That is the basis of our detailed operational plan: AchievingInternational Excellence. It has carefully set out an ambitiousbut, I believe, achieveable set of goals, which defines oursense of necessary change and development.

Because it is an approach which tries for an intelligent andwell-based plan of evolutionary transformation at UWA,which rejects the cult of the single options approach, it doesnot mean we can avoid any sense of discomforting change.All change involves discomfort, even if it also means thepositive notion of opportunity and challenge. As another ofthose popular idioms goes — we cannot always live in ourcomfort zones, no matter how comfortable in the world ofCrawley!

As I work with you in many areas and levels of ourUniversity, I do sense unease over change, even if I alsomeet positive calls for change to meet the future challenges.

Above all, many of you worry as to how you can do newthings when you are already so hard pressed.

We cannot just add and add to our duties. But we canlearn “to work smarter” (as they say): do we need all theproliferation of all the units we teach (almost as many asuniversities double our size). All the Committees? All theinter-group rivalries over space and resources?

We can, and must, focus our endeavours to provide timeto take up the key new directions in knowledge, teachingtechnologies, and resource raising. We have a carefullydesigned agenda for such developments, and each of us has aresponsibility and opportunity to contribute to the currentprocess of change.

We wish to change so as to ensure the viability of thethings about which we care most: our sense of values,autonomy, quality and commitment to teaching, researchand role in the wider world community.

“Boldness be my friend” was the motto of a famousparachute regiment. But they also packed their parachutesmost carefully! We need to change as fast as the world itself,but to do so through a comprehensive agenda of our ownmaking.

Deryck M. SchreuderVice-Chancellor and Presidentvc@acs.uwa.edu.au

‘Boldness bemy friend…’

‘Unless your organisation is changing as fastinside as the world is changing outside, youwill fail in the future …’

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

UWA news 3

Hats and heat herald Her Majesty

The last hot day of summer gave a veryAustralian flavour to the Royal visit.

University staff in academic gowns were ushering invitedguests to their seats more than an hour before the Queenwas due to arrive, but shelter from the sun, rather than thebest vantage point, was what the early birds sought.

Chairs closest to the spot where the Royal Rolls wouldstop, offering perhaps the best view of Her Majesty, wererejected in favour of more comfortable seats under thehuge sail providing shade over the forecourt of the newbuilding.

Hats made a comeback, as they always do for Royaltours, but there wasn’t a glove in sight until the Queenstepped out of the Vice Regal Rolls Royce sporting a lightgreen patterned dress, green hat and white gloves.

Staff and students from the School of Music entertainedthe invited guests while they waited and students with bigProsh banners welcoming “King Richard III” (could this be areference to the Premier, Richard Court?) amused severalhundred onlookers safely behind police-patrolled barriers.

Madeleine Warren, attendingthe opening with hergrandmother, Corin Lamont,had a posy for the Queen… just in case.

A modest white car with a police escort April-fooled thecrowd, some of whom waved and cheered, only to find aless famous man emerging from it and striding away.

Students gave Her Majesty an “Aussie Aussie Aussie, OyOy Oy!” chant when her car drove past the Guild. TheAboriginal flag, which had been flying at the Centre forAboriginal Programmes, just the day before, was missing onSaturday morning.

The Queen’s walk down the red carpet whichtransformed the carpark, her meeting of the Chancellor, theVice-Chancellor, the Minister for Health, ctec benefactorDanny Hill, and others went smoothly and some of theshortest speeches ever heard on campus followed.

After she had drawn the curtain to reveal thecommemorative plaque, Her Majesty went inside the buildingfor a tour, but did not visit the Hill International Medical andSurgical Workshop. Apparently she, like other members ofthe Royal family, favours homeopathy over orthodoxmedicine and doesn’t enjoy anything the least bit gory orsuggestive of invasive procedures.

Her Majesty did however put her hand on “the best videogame in the world” in ctec’s virtual reality room. Thecomputerised teaching system, which is being evolved incollaboration with the CSIRO, gives realistic “pressurefeedback” to trainee surgeons.

“Oh I can feel it,” she said, delighting the scientists whoare developing the world-leading system.

Outside, the guests were practising the Aussie wave,fanning themselves with their programs, while the music staffand students played on bravely.

MC Peter Leunig, Office of Development manager,commented, as they began to play Vivaldi’s Autumn, from hisFour Seasons suite, that perhaps they should be playing Summer.

Policewomen chose a dozen small children from thepublic crowd to meet the Queen and present her withflowers. They waited, some not so patiently, on the hotbitumen, with one little barefooted girl sensibly hopping onthe lighter-coloured footpath.

As the Queen emerged from the building to polite cheers(and some muffled shouts from underneath the Proshbanners) and accepted the children’s flowers, a Royal-following photographer said: “You know, it’s not bad. Youcan get closer to the Queen than you can to Madonna!”

4 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

and the partnership of UWA, the RoyalAustralasian College of Surgeons, theHealth Department of WA and theCentre for Anaesthetic Skills andMedical Simulation (CASMS), ctec was acollaboration of unprecedentedproportions in Australia.

Early planning by the then Head ofAnatomy and Human Biology,Associate Professor Neville Bruce, andthe then Honorary Director (nowMedical Director) of ctec, Dr RichardVaughan, was encouraged by Mr Hill,Professor Alan Robson, Martin Griffith(now Chairman of the Board) and DrBrent Donovan (Director of CASMS).

Three years of planning haveresulted in a unique $17.5 milliontraining facility for both undergraduateand postgraduate surgeons, anaes-thetists, medical doctors, nurses anddentists.

The Hill International Medical andSurgical Workshop has ten fullyoperational operating rooms in one biglaboratory complete with simulatedtorsos, limbs and joints on whichsurgeons can practise their skillswithout putting patients at risk.

Incredible as it may seem to thoseoutside the medical and surgical

profession, surgical training until theadvent of skills training facilities like ctecconsisted of “watch one (operation orprocedure), assist with one, do one”.

German philanthropist Sybil Storz,who owns one of the world’s biggestendoscopic companies, has donatedtwo million dollars worth of equipmentto the Hill Workshop.

Workshop technical manager PeterMcIntosh, who has worked with boththe Storz company and the RoyalCollege of Surgeons in London, saidthat Mrs Storz was, like Danny Hill,dedicated to the training of surgeons.

It is expected that more than 2000surgeons will attend surgical skillscourses at the HillWorkshop over thenext year.

Dr Swann said thatthe centre’s telemedicinefacility had already runsurgical courses linkingoperations at QEII andSt John of God Hospitalwith medical schools inBallarat, Hong Kong,Singapore and London.

“The idea of telemedicine is thatsurgeons can watch an operation takingplace and follow the exact proceduresat the same time, on a cadaver,”explained Dr Swann.

Master classes will be run from theHill Workshop, with international videoand computer links, by, among others,Alan Crockard, the neurosurgeon whofirst listened to the ailing Danny Hill’svision for training surgeons.

Upstairs from the Hill Workshop isthe Centre for Anaesthesia Skills andMedical Simulation (CASMS), previouslylocated at RPH.

Operating rooms, emergency wardsand intensive care units are all video-

Surgical centregets royal nod

Continued from page 1

‘ … a collaborationof unprecedented

proportions inAustralia …’

Dr Ron Swann, ctec’sExecutive Officer, in theCASMS operating theatre,with SAM (SimulatedAnaesthesia Mannequin).

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

UWA news 5

linked and connected to a courtyardwhere medical emergencies can besimulated. A car was recently lifted bycrane into the first floor courtyard forsimulation of road accidentemergencies.

A Simulated Anaesthesia Manne-quin (SAM) in the operating room canbe manipulated by computers in anadjoining room to simulate reactionsto surgical and anaestheticprocedures.

“But you can only go so far withplastic,” said Dr Swann, “and that’swhere the virtual reality room comesin. We are developing with the CSIROa fantastic new groundbreaking systemof teaching, which uses virtual realityand ‘pressure feedback.’

“Three-dimensional images arecombined with a sense of touch.Surgeons sit at the Haptic workbenchwearing 3D glasses. They take hold ofan instrument at the end of a roboticarm and miniature motors control theway the arm responds to movement ofthe tool.

“This creates resistance, giving theuser the sensation that s/he is reallytouching, slicing, injecting, depending onthe procedure being followed.” DrSwann said.

The virtual reality technology isbeing developed by CSIRO and hi-techSwedish company ReachIn Tech-nologies.

So far, ctec has only a hand simulator,but elbows and necks will follow, and a

Peter McIntosh, the Hills Workshop’s technical manager, demonstrates endoscopic surgicalprocedures on a simulated torso.

We train Tuesday and Thursday mornings (7.15 to 8.30am) at the HumanMovement Pool, right here on campus. All abilities are catered for.

Cost*: $70/year, or $45/semester ($60/year if you bring this ad.)Includes pool entry and coaching fees.

For more information contact Sarita Bennett (9380 7353)

*Prerequisite: Sports Card.

UWASwimming

Club

Do you enjoy swimming? Want to improve your fitness and style? Then join the

Graduations

The University’s consultingarchitect, Gus Ferguson, wasamong four recipients ofhonorary doctorates at therecent graduation cere-monies.

Mr Ferguson delivered theoccasional address at theEngineering and MathematicalSciences graduation and was madean Honorary Doctor of Archi-tecture.

Honorary Research FellowProfessor George Seddon, from theDepartment of English, was awardedan honorary Doctor of Letters atthe Economics and Commerce, andLaw graduation ceremony.

An honorary Doctorate ofScience was conferred on thespeaker at the Science ceremony,Professor Athelstan Beckwith.

Rabbi Dr Shalom Colemanaddressed the final ceremony andwas awarded the honorary degreeof Doctor of Laws.

simulator for practising gall bladderremoval using keyhole surgery will beavailable within 18 months.

“We can’t get the surgeons off it,”laughed Ron Swann. “It’s the best videogame in the world!”

Completing ctec is a laboratorydevoted to spinal cord regenerationand UWA’s highly acclaimedneuroscience group is bringing worldexpert Dr Giles Plant back from theMiami Project to run the laboratory,which is not yet ready for operation.

Honouringleaders intheir fields

6 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Just three graduates received their Master of Oiland Gas Engineering this graduation season — and

all of them were women.Philippa Viney, Rachel Lunt and Renita Rehbock all agree

that it is very rare for women to choose their field ofspeciality.

And there are still very few women enrolled in the Oiland Gas Engineering master’s degree course (fewer than 20per cent), despite the positive example of Professor BeverleyRonalds, Director of UWA’s Centre for Oil and GasEngineering.

So for women to dominate the stage is something for thecentre to be proud of.

Ms Viney is an even rarer species of oil and gas engineer:she is a drilling engineer and spends a lot of time offshore,which is why it took her five years of part-time study tocomplete her master’s degree.

She is the only professional woman working offshore forWoodside Energy.

But across town at JP Kenny, which employs Rachel Lunt,there are three female engineers and the company has aprogressive outlook on employment.

“It’s wonderful having three women graduates togetherfrom the master’s course,” Professor Ronalds said, butadded that it would be even better when it became socommonplace that it wouldn’t seem a remarkableaccomplishment.

But remarkable accomplishments were certainlycelebrated during the autumn graduation season as morethan 2000 students graduated with both undergraduate andpostgraduate degrees.

Women dominate oil and gas field —at least in Winthrop Hall!

More than 60 years after her own graduation,Dorothy Ransom was back in Winthrop Hall towitness yet another graduation ceremony for herson David.

Mrs Ransom, a former long-serving UWA Senator andoutspoken supporter of the University, was awarded herBachelor of Science in 1938. Forty years later, she sawDavid graduate with an MB BS and now, a further 22 yearson, Dr Ransom has achieved the prestigious degree,Doctor of Medicine.

A medical oncologist, Dr Ransom began his researchten years ago into tumour suppressor genes, while he wasworking at the Mayo Clinic in the US. He now divides histime between RPH and St John’s oncology department.

Few medical practitioners pursue a Doctorate inMedicine. The only other graduate this year is AssociateProfessor Ming-Hao Zheng, Director of Research at QEIIin Orthopaedic Surgery.

Graduations

The single highest number of undergraduate degreeswent to Commerce students, with 388 Bachelor ofCommerce degrees being awarded.

Two hundred and eighty Bachelor of Science degrees,230 Bachelor of Engineering and 192 Bachelor of Artsdegrees were also awarded.

Just over 50 new doctors were created across alldisciplines as postgraduate students received their PhDs atthe six graduation ceremonies.

Ransom namerecorded again

Philippa Viney, Rachel Lunt (standing) and Professor BeverleyRonalds — all rare species in their chosen field.

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

UWA news 7

Brendon and Jane Ward . . . supportingeach other in their studies.

The family who studies together . . . fightsover the family computer!

“But luckily, I’m an early morning person and mychildren are all night owls,” said Lois Hall, who graduated inthe same week as one of her sons.

“The only problem was when Mum would get up early towork and I’d still be at the computer, havingbeen there all night,” said her son KaneArundale, who received his Bachelorof Science, with a double major inpharmacology and physiology.

His mother graduated withfirst class honours inAnthropology after adouble major in politicsand anthropology.

Her eldest daughter,Melanie, has two degreesfrom UWA, a BA inpolitics and a Bachelor ofPsychology. She nowworks at the University,in the Admissions Centre.

Another sibling is studyinginformation technology andmarketing at Curtin University.

“We had to keep out of each other’s way while wewere all studying,” Mrs Hall said. “I decided to go back toschool and then on to University because I felt my kidswere leaving me behind. We’d got to the stage where theyall knew more than me, but I don’t regret for a minutehaving spent all those years at home not working orstudying, but being the best mother I knew how.

“And I would do it again. Full-time mothering is highlyunderrated.”

Mrs Hall is now planning to go one step further than herchildren and is considering starting a PhD in August.

Brendon Ward had always loved the ocean but a career in marine sciencewas far from his mind when he left school at the age of 15.

Now, after travelling Australia and the world with his wife Jane, working in variousjobs and going back to school to complete his TEE, Mr Ward has graduated with aBachelor of Science in Marine Science.

He is UWA’s first Marine Science graduate. A few others who started thecourse at the same time, three years ago, have gone on to do honours, but,despite being offered honours by three faculties, Mr Ward decided tograduate and join the work force.

He is now part of the Department of Environmental Protection’scatchment management group — and is loving it.

“Of the three streams in marine science, marine biology is probablythe most popular and coastal management makes you most employable.But I chose coastal and marine geoscience, which is a mix of geologyand oceanography,” Mr Ward said.

“The geology side fascinated me and I felt that this stream gave me thenecessary depth of understanding while I can always pick up the managementside of the industry while I’m working in it.”

He paid tribute to Mrs Ward, who has put her PhD in clinical psychology onhold while her husband completed his degree.

First marine scientist for UWA

Melanie Arundale ensuresher brother Kane andmother Lois Hall have

their gowns right for theirgraduation ceremony.

Children sendtheir mother

back to school

Monday 17 April

SCIENCE FILM SHOW“Influenza”. Influenza comes in many disguises becauseits virus mutates constantly as the disease circles theglobe. This documentary traces efforts around the worldto contain outbreaks and warns that, unlike the commoncold, influenza can be deadly. 1.05pm, GeographyLecture Theatre 1.

BOTANY SEMINAR“The unique oceanic environment off Western Australia”,Associate Professor Charitha Pattiaratchi, Centre forWater Research. 4pm, Seminar Room (Room 2.14,Second Floor), Department of Botany.

LIMINA LAUNCHLimina is a refereed journal of historical and culturalstudies published by an editorial collective based in theDepartment of History. Volume Six will be launched byDiana Warnock, MLA. The inaugural Iain Brash Prize willbe awarded and copies of the journal will be on sale for$12. Drinks and nibbles will be served. 5.30pm,University House.

Tuesday 18 April

LAWRENCE WILSON ART GALLERY“Fame and fashion: Holly Wood on Glossy”. Holly Wood,radio personality and social columnist for The SundayTimes will talk about fame, fortune and fashion in Glossy,an exhibition of celebrity photographs from magazinesbeing shown at the gallery. 1pm, Lawrence Wilson ArtGallery.

SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION SEMINAR“The significance of soil microporosity”, Professor JimQuirk. 4pm, Agriculture Lecture Theatre.

Wednesday 19 April

ENVIRONMENTAL DYNAMICS (ED) SEMINAR“Renewables in Australia: a growth market domesticallyand internationally”, Gordon Thompson, ManagingDirector, International Centre for Application of SolarEnergy. 4pm, Blakers Lecture Theatre.

RICHARD WAGNER SOCIETY OF WA (INC.)A Patrice Chereau production of Rhinegold. Members: nocharge; Vistors: $10/$8. 7.30pm, Room G5, School ofMusic.

Thursday 20 April

FREE LUNCHTIME CONCERTRoger Smalley and Anna Sleptsova present a dynamicprogram of music inspired by Mozart, by Busoni andReger. 1.10pm, Octagon Theatre.

ZOOLOGY SEMINAR“Go and no-go signall ing during optic nerveregeneration”, Associate Professor Sarah Dunlop. 4pm,Jennifer Arnold Lecture Theatre.

Thursday 27 April

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FORMICROSCOPY/MICROSCOPY ANDMICROANALYSIS SEMINAR“The reasons for using High Resolution SEM at low beamvoltage”, Professor James Pawley, Zoology, University ofWisconsin. (This seminar is of special interest to thoseusing or considering using the field emission SEM in thecentre.) 1pm, Geography Lecture Theatre 11, GeographyBuilding.

Friday 28 April

CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY WORKSHOPProfessor James Pawley, from Zoology at the Universityof Wisconsin will be conducting a confocal microscopyworkshop in conjunction with confocal users in WesternAustralia. All are welcome to attend the confocalworkshop but should pre-register with John Murphy onextension 2766 or email jmurphy@cyllene.uwa.edu.au.9am to 5.30pm, Geography Lecture Theatre 11,Geography Building.

ZOOLOGY SEMINAR“Incorporating predation risk into the ideal freedistribution”, Professor Larry Dill and Simon Fraser,Canada. The ideal free distribution is a theoretical modelpredicting frequency-dependent habitat choice by foraginganimals. Early versions did not consider the possibility thatpredation risk could also vary among habitats; when thisfactor is included, predicted habitat choice decisionsdepend on whether the predator distribution is fixed, orresponds to that of the prey. Testing and application of themodel will be illustrated in several systems, including tigersharks vs. bottlenose dolphins at Monkey Mia. 1pm, JenniferArnold Lecture Theatre.

KEYED UP!Solo Piano Recital Series presents Frank Wibaut,Director of the National Academy of Music. Works byBeethoven, Bartok and Brahms. Tickets: $22.50 and$17.50, available on 9386 4767. 8pm, Octagon Theatre.

SPE updatelaunched online

The 2000 update of the Scholarships,Prizes and Endowments (SPE) volume has

been launched online and can be accessed atthe following web site:

http://www.publishing.uwa.edu.au/spe/The online copy, in PDF, allows hard copies to be

easily printed out if required. An alphabetical indexat the back of the book provides direct ‘clickable’links to individual scholarships, prizes andendowments.

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8 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Publications Unit

wstnightly.ublicationoanna Thompson,Unit,fax 1162,hing.uwa.edu.au

ffairs on 9380 2889.

or charge is specified,ed here are free andct media interest.

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Monday 1 May

SCIENCE FILM SHOW“Can the Olympics be drug free?” In this timely program,the issue of drugs in sport will be explored. 1.05pm,Geography Lecture Theatre 1.

HISTORY SEMINAR“Beaches of the mind: writing rather than ‘doing’ history”,Professor Greg Dening, ANU. 4.30pm, PostgraduateLounge, Hackett Hall.

CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERTThe Blackwood River Chamber Festival in associationwith the School of Music presents guest artists from thisyear’s festival. Performers include Jane Edwards, MichaelLeighton Jones, Anna Sleptsova, Barbara Jane Gilby andthe Tank Stream String Quartet. Tickets are $22.50 and$17.50. Enquiries to 9761 2772 or fax 9761 4151. 8pm,Callaway Music Auditorium.

Tuesday 2 May

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND MARKETINGSEMINAR“Internet issues today”, Kimberley Heitman, ElectronicFrontiers Australia and Julia Bishop. 6.30pm, EconomicsConference Room.

Wednesday 10 May

PERTH MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE GROUPQUIZ NIGHTUniversity House at 7.30pm, $6 per person, tables of sixat $30. Bookings to Dr Emma Hawkes, History, or callCharles Acland at Kingswood College on 9423 9428.

May - June

FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE OLIVE ACTIVITIESTable Olive Workshop 2000This one-day workshop, which costs $125 per person, willbe held at UWA on Sunday May 7. The workshop coversgrowing and processing table olives, hands-on activitiesmaking cracked, chilli olives and tapenade, evaluating tableolive products and an introduction to the MediterraneanDiet.

International Olive School 2000This six-day live in school, which costs $1000 per personand includes all meals and accommodation, will be held atNew Norcia from Sunday June 11 to Friday June 16. Theschool covers all aspects of olive growing, olive oil andtable olive products. Both didactic and hands-on activitieswill be presented by national and international olivespecialists.

4th Olive Cultural and Scientific SymposiumThis three-day live in symposium, which costs $370 perperson and includes all meals and accommodation, will beheld at New Norcia starting at 7pm on Friday June 16 andfinishing 4pm on Sunday June 18. Saturday only registrationis also available. International, national and local speakerswill present current information on olive growing, olive oilproduction and marketing of olive products. Much ofSunday 17 is set aside for practical demonstrations in theolive grove. Cultural activities include: visits to the NewNorcia bakery, museum and historic buildings; Mass,prayers and coffee with the Benedictine Monks; and anAustralian bush breakfast on Sunday.

For further information please contact ProfessorStan Kailis at the Faculty of Agriculture.Telephone 9380 1644; facsimile: 9380 1108;email: skailis@agric.uwa.edu.au

Late last year Dr Alexandra Ludewig of German Studies in the Department of EuropeanLanguages and Studies organised a poster competition

for Year 7 to 11 students of German in Western Australia.The topic was simply “Made in Germany”.

The response from school students was overwhelming and, as aresult, German Studies decided to award a $20 book voucher tothe best three entries from each year.

More than 200 people attended the vernissage, enjoyeddrinks and nibbles and witnessed the judges at work.

The judging panel comprised politicians, diplomatsand business people. Julie Bishop (Curtin MP), BillHassell (Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic ofGermany), Werner Brandt (Vice-Consul of theFRG), Andreas Walewski (President of the WestAustralian German Business Assoc-iation) and Dr Annette Harres(lecturer at UWA and Committeemember of the Goethe Society)were on the panel.

The overall winners were fivestudents from Kelmscott SeniorHigh, who had entered with ahuge piece of the Berlin Wallgiving way in the middle and thusopening up new possibilities for Germanindustry and technology especially in Eastern Europe.

Students from Kelmscott Senior High proudly show off their winning entry.

BERLIN WALL A COMPETITION WINNER

ADVANCE NOTICE

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

UWA news 9

10 UWA news ALBANY FEATURE

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Dr Billie Giles-Cortiis one of thereasons UWA is sopopular in Albany.

The enthusiasm for UWA’sAlbany Centre in the rural

city is tangible.The local council, industries and

individuals have provided or have onoffer library space, scholarships, fundingand support of every kind.

Albany is so keen on its new linkswith the University that its people arealmost falling over themselves to helpout.

“It’s humbling,” says Albany Centredirector Dr Billie Giles-Corti.

“When we started, just over a yearago, I felt uncomfortable asking peoplefor help. Then I realised that everybodyis so excited about being involved.”

The dynamic Albany Centre has 15first-year units on offer this semesterto its 41 undergraduate students. Theunits are from the Faculties of Arts,Economics and Commerce, Scienceand Engineering and MathematicalSciences.

UWA ajewel in

thesouthOf the 53 students (compared

with 33 last year), 23 areHECS undergraduate students(seven last year), six of them

full-time and the remainderstudying between one and three

units.There are 14 continuing

education students, two of whomare studying full-time, 16 Master ofEducation students and oneMaster of Arts student.

Undergraduates include fourschool leavers.

“The challenge is to attractfull-time students and schoolleavers,” Dr Giles-Corti said.

“We are developing a five-year plan and we hope to

have 200 students (not all of them full-time) enrolled at the end of thatperiod.”

The challenges of running a ruralUniversity centre have changed overthe past 12 months. First, problemswith technology and delivery oflectures was the biggest headache,coupled with marketing the centre andattracting students.

Although it’s still not 100 per centsmooth, the technology for deliveringeducation is state-of-the-art and iskeeping the staff at the Faculty of ArtsMultimedia Centre and DUIT on theirtoes.

Dr Giles-Corti explained thelatest innovation: “Thanks to thehard work and tenacity of TerryCoe from the Audio Visual Unit andMike Neville and Mike Fardon fromthe Multimedia Centre, the upgradeof the lecture theatres on Nedlandscampus is now complete.

“This upgrade enables most of thelectures required for the Albany

UWAAlbany Centre

educational program to be centrallydigitised and placed on the web.

“Lecturers can easily delivercomputer-aided lectures and haveaccess to a ‘visualiser’. The visualiserwill be used for subjects in whichlecturers traditionally write on theblackboard or on an overhead.

“The hand-written text will beprojected overhead for Perth studentswhile, for students in Albany, thehandwriting will be videotaped (fiveframes per second), digitised and placedon the web.

“This is ground-breaking use oftechnology and I sincerely thank MikeFardon (Multimedia Centre) and DrDoug Pitney (Mathematics andStatistics), both of whom were trialingthe technology during the summerbreak.”

During the first five years of theAlbany Centre, the aim is to providethe widest possible range of first-yearsubjects, followed by second-yearsubjects and to attract school leavers toenrol for their first year or two “athome”.

“The locals are very keen onpostgraduate research studies beingdone here because they’re desperatefor region-based research,” Dr Giles-Corti said.

But that is not the priority for2000.

For now, the centre is extremelyfortunate that Alan Dodds made themove from Perth (Multimedia Centre)to Albany with his family before thecentre opened and is the cornerstoneof the technological development.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor ProfessorAlan Robson, who visited Albanyrecently for a planning meeting andpresentation of scholarships, saidnothing could replace the campusexperience for university students.

He is keen for Albany students tostart their tertiary education at home,then move up to Perth for the finalyear or two of a degree.

Later, there is the possibility thatthis might even be reversed, with Perthstudents beginning a course in, sayforest science, then completing it inAlbany with the relevant field workdone virtually on site.

ALBANY FEATURESee also pages 11, 12 and 13

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

UWA news ALBANY FEATURE 11

Albany’s mayor Allison Goodeis keen to “keep the kids at

home” by encouraging them to dotheir first year of university inAlbany.

But, as a mature-age universitystudent herself, she agrees that nothingcompares with the experience ofcampus life.

“I would dearly love to see theUWA Albany Centre offering fulldegree courses in time. But unless thecentre becomes a full campus, I wouldencourage students to go up to Perthafter their first year,” said Ms Goode, amember of the UWA Albany Centre’ssteering committee.

Albany City Council has beenmost supportive of the centre,which is currently housed inthe original Governor’ssummer residence, atthe back of a park,right next door to thecouncil offices andlibrary.

The next big stepis for the municipal

library and the University library to joinforces.

The University library has despatched299 kg of books to the City of Albanylibrary and these are being integratedinto the collection. The city has provided25 square metres of space to housethese books and provide space forstudents.

With a one-off capital works injectionof $770,000 from DETYA, the city mayextend its library to cater for the

University. No firm decision has beenmade yet.

Andrew Hammond, AlbanyCity’s CEO, said there was agroundswell of support in

Albany for the city tobecome a “campus town”.

“It fits in well withour strategy of accessfor all to all services,”Mr Hammond said.But the City ofAlbany is aware thatthe University has noplans at this stage toestablish a full campus.

Julia Hunt, winner of a City ofAlbany scholarship, is one of four

school leavers to start her tertiaryeducation without leaving home.

“Most of my other friends have goneup to Perth to university but I’m reallyhappy to be able to stay at home with myfamily. I understand that about half thestudents from the country who go up to Perth to universitydrop out before the end of the first year — it’s just toomuch to cope with, without family support,” she said.

Julia and fellow Albany Senior High School studentAndrew McMillan are enjoying what almost amounts toprivate tutoring. Julia has enrolled in the first year of ascience degree, studying psychology, human biology,anthropology and geography.

Laboratory sessions are held at AgricultureWA or thenew and well-equipped Great Southern Grammar School.

Another student, Ellie O’Shea, who is studying second-year English and first-year information technology andpsychology, said that the small groups of students createda nurturing atmosphere.

Ellie is a nurse who is studying to become apsychologist. “It’s great to be able to stay at home withmy family and friends, at least for a year or two,” she said.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robsonrecently presented eight Albany students with scholarshipsfor study at the centre.

Julia Hunt, Louise Williams andDeborah Bell all won City of Albanyscholarships, worth $1000 each (forHECS students). UWA presented fivescholarships: a Millennial Award tothe highest ranking students enrollingat UWA Albany Centre in 2000(Louise Will iams) and four

scholarships for continuing education students enrollingthrough UWA Extension’s Access program: ShenoaElvin-Johnson, Susan Hart, Barry Critchison and DennisCoombe.

Albany students Julia Hunt (left) Christine McClure and EllieO’Shea (front) appreciate what they identify as the nurturingquality of the Albany Centre.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor,Professor Alan Robson withAllison Goode, City of Albany

mayor at the Scholarshippresentation.

CITY AVALUABLEPARTNER

Going to uniwithout

leaving home

12 UWA news ALBANY FEATURE

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Steve Birkbeck calls himself the “human face” ofthe Albany University Foundation.

“I’ll be up front. I have three primary school-aged girlsand I would love to see them able to start universityeducations without leaving home,” said the founder andCEO of Mt Romance, a manufacturer of sandalwood oilproducts.

Although a prominent businessman in the Albany region, MrBirkbeck had always shied away from joining local committees.

“I felt they always divided the community. But when I wasapproached to be part of the University Foundation, I knewthat the establishment of the University here was a coreissue that would unite the community, not divide them,” hesaid.

Mt Romance has a $2.5 million annual turnover with astaff of 35 and a huge growth potential. Its business partnersinclude UniSuper, BHP and Macquarie Bank. The possibilityof local industry-driven and funded research happening atthe UWA Albany Centre has excited not just Mr Birkbeckbut many people involved with primary and secondaryindustry in the Great Southern region.

“Initially I was pushing hard for postgraduate research,until Billie (Giles-Corti) brought me back down to earth andhelped me realise that undergraduate courses were the firstpriority for the centre, then we will focus on research,” MrBirkbeck said.

“I still see local postgraduate research as providing theultimate benefit to the community, but I have taken theopposite direction to start with: I’ve gone back down thetrack to primary school!

“Mt Romance, through the Foundation, is offering scienceprizes to Year 7 and Year 10 students at local Albanyschools. For top students in Year 12, we are offeringscholarships to study at the UWA Albany Centre, with somespecial incentives for Aboriginal students.

“The Foundation hopes to help supply the bridgebetween school and university. We are also looking atoffering scholarships for UWA Albany students who do wellin their first year here, to help them make the move toPerth to complete their courses. The retention rate insecond year will be the test,” he said.

UWA Albany Centre

UNIVERSITYHAS STRONGFOUNDATIONS

“The community gets its pay-back when the Universityintroduces its postgraduate program, with community- andindustry-driven research.”

That program is scheduled to start at the Albany Centrewithin 12 months. It is clear to Dr Giles-Corti and toeverybody involved with the University that the GreatSouthern region offers many research opportunities.

“Postgraduate research will definitely be regionally basedand supported and will probably start in the area of naturalresource management,” Dr Giles-Corti said.

Natural resource management (NRM) is a major focus forindustry and development in the Albany region and an NRMCentre for Excellence is planned by the Southern ProvinceRegional Development Organisation in collaboration withUWA and other local NRM agencies.

At present, the Albany University Foundation raisescorporate sponsorship and lobbies politicians for theirsupport in developing the centre. The next step will possiblybe the appointment, by the Foundation, of an executive officerspecifically to raise funds for the Foundation’s activitiesincluding funding for postgraduate research and scholarships.

UWA Foundation chairman Steve Birkbeck inspects afractionation column at his sandalwood oil plant.

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

UWA news ALBANY FEATURE 13

Beverley McNamara,a lecturer in anthro-

pology, is as much a pio-neer of the Albany Centreas Billie Giles-Corti.

Her Anthropology 101and 102 lectures wereamong the first to berecorded for Albany stu-dents last year and the unitshave a strong enrolmentagain this year.

Dr McNamara said thatservicing the Albany Centremeant that great stepsforward in flexible delivery were happening on the Perthcampus.

“We have made wonderful changes to the availabletechnology in lecture theatres to enable flexible delivery. Ilecture in the big Social Sciences lecture theatre and it hasjust been fitted out with a touch screen,” she said.

When your lecture is being recorded for remotestudents, it’s no good using an overhead projector or ablackboard to illustrate your points. Dr McNamara andothers delivering to Albany have rethought their lecturingmethods, now making use of PowerPoint and othercomputer-based visual aids and ensuring they make vocalreferences during lectures to slide changes.

“The lectures are taped, then digitised and put on theInternet, so the Albany students can access them eitherfrom home or at the centre whenever it suits them. They

can listen to me speaking and look at the same visualmaterial that the students in Perth are looking at as I speak.

“One of the great advantages of the system is that Perthstudents can also access the lectures, although I don’t advisethis as their primary contact. But it’s very good if a studentmisses a lecture through sickness or working or simplywants to hear it again.”

Albany’s anthropology students have five video-conferencing sessions each semester with Dr McNamaraand their other lecturers. Dr McNamara also visits Albanyonce each semester.

“I love being part of the development of the AlbanyCentre and part of what I enjoy is the emerging process. Iwork closely with Mike Fardon in the Multimedia Centreand he is always experimenting with new ways of doingthings.”

Albany delivery benefits Perth students

Dr Beverley McNamara, one of theAlbany lecturers … showing ProfessorBob Tonkinson how to use thetechnology for recording a lecture forAlbany.

After living in Albany for 42 years, raising seven children and serving(currently) on 24 boards and commissions, you might think thatAlbany’s former mayor, Annette Knight (pictured left), had run out ofenergy.

But you’d be wrong. She is the untiring Chair of the Friends of UWA, thehands-on supporters who have done so much to get the UWA Albany Centre upand running and keep it ticking.

“Education is something that hadn’t really been taken care of in this region,”Mrs Knight said. “I had been involved for 14 or 15 years in trying to get auniversity to come down here. To have the UWA Albany Centre here wasbeyond our wildest dreams.”

Mrs Knight and her 30 Friends have set up a lecture series on naturalresource management (a subject dear to the hearts of most Albany people);established Friends groups in local schools; assisted UWA Press with arecent book sale in Albany; refurbished the old District Education Officegarage, turning it into a student common room; helped with social events;and are planning a major annual lecture by a high profile speaker in Albany.

In short, they are ready to sell raffle tickets, pull weeds, hand out fliers and begenerally positive and supportive of the centre.

They are right behind the centre’s push to attract school leavers.“Young people here have a very exciting opportunity to be part of a new

university, to help to design it and have input into how it could become a uniquearm of UWA,” Mrs Knight said.

Evenuniversitieshave friends

14 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

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2001RAINE PRIMING GRANTS

Applications are invited for Raine Priming Grants in accordance with the Guidelines governing the awards,and include provision for New Project Grants as defined in the Guidelines. The Grants* shall provide fundingfor research into any area of medical science that investigates the nature, origin and cause of human disease,and the prevention, cure, alleviation and combating of such disease.

Grants shall be offered for a two-year period, subject to annual review.

Grants may be used to provide funding, or part funding, of salaries for researchers and/or technical staff,computing, and consumables.

Major items of equipment will not be financed.

The research shall be carried out at, or in association with, The University of Western Australia.Guidelines and Application Forms are available from:

Raine Medical Research FoundationSuite 24, 95 Monash Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009

Hollywood Specialist Centre

Telephone: 9386 9880Fax: 9386 9522; email: raine@raine.uwa.edu.au

Web site: www.raine.uwa.edu.au

Application forms must be received at the above office no later than Monday 1 May 2000 at 5pm

* Raine Priming Grants are intended for: (a) less experienced researchers, (b) researchers wishing to move ina different scientific direction, and (c) new academic research staff to The University of Western Australia.

It won’ttake aminute …It looked an easy enough jobfor a woman and a piece ofrope. Just one little deadbranch caught on anotherbranch in a tree in theNumber 1 carpark. But ittook another three people, aladder and eventually a smalltractor, to dislodge it. We allhave those days, where thesimplest tasks turn intoirritating time-gobblers . . .

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

UWA news 15

ResearchGrantsContracts

&AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL

A/Prof. Jie Pan, Mechanical and MaterialsEngineering: “Band-limited energy flow incoupled structures” — $46,067 (2000); $42,769(2002); $44,841 (2002).

Dr Anya M. Waite, Environmental Engineeringand Dr P. Boyd (external): “Controls andimpacts of organic particle aggregation in aquaticsystems” — $60,000 (2000); $30,000 (2001/2).

Prof. David Russel Badcock and Prof. J.Ross, Psychology: “Detecting, interpreting andcompleting complex pattern and motion” —$45,500 (2000); $52,000 (2001); $46,000 (2002).

Prof. Patricia Marcia Crawford, History:“Families and gender roles in England 1550-1780” — $35,000 (2000); $16,000 (2001);$29,500 (2002).

Dr Lincoln Heinze Schmitt, Anatomy andHuman Biology and Dr R. A. How (external):“Impact of geographic, environmental andhistorical parameters on vertebrate diversity andevolution at the Oriental-Australian interface” —$42,000 (2000/1); $43,000 (2002).

Dr Matthew Charles Wilce and Dr J. M.Newman, Pharmacology: “Intelligent proteinengineering: learning from enzyme evolution” —$62,000 (2000); $50,092 (2001); $49,954 (2002).

Prof. Yianni Attikiouzel, Electrical andElectronic Engineering: “Intelligent search,detection and classification of lesions onmammograms” — $56,000 (2000); $58,000(2001); $60,000 (2002).

Prof. Lorenzo Faraone and Dr John MarcelDell, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, andProf. S. Sivananthan, Physics: “Investigationsof mercury cadmium telluride heterojunctioninterfaces for semiconductor device applications”— $85,000 (2000); $80,000 (2001/2).

Prof. Paul William Miller , Economics:“Neighbourhood effects and the immigrantadjustment process” — $57,500 (2000); $59,500(2001); $54,000 (2002).

Dr Michael Edmund Tobar, Physics: “Novelhigh-stability frequency synthesis for highprecision fundamental physics experiments” —$80,000 (2000); $74,000 (2001); $81,000 (2002).

Prof. Michael John Mcaleer, Economics:“Robust estimation and testing of volatilitymodels in economics and finance” — $44,337(2000); $34,337 (2001); $26,337 (2002).

A/Prof. Albert Yousif Zomaya, Electrical andElectronic Engineering: “Scheduling in thepresence of contention and communicationdelays for parallel computing systems” —$52,000 (2000); $53,000 (2001); $55,000 (2002).

Prof. Paul Kim Kirsner and Prof. KevinAlfred Durkin, Psychology and Dr JohnCameron Dunn, Psychiatry and BehaviouralScience: “Situated memory: transmission andtransformation of knowledge about real events”— $30,500 (2000).

Dr Xiao Zhi Hu, Mechanical and MaterialsEngineering: “Size effect on fracture energy inbrittle matrix composites” — $46,067 (2000);$48,116 (2001); $50,446 (2002).

Prof. Colin Macleod, Psychology: “Thecognitive basis of individual differences insusceptibility to develop elevated trait anxiety”— $74,500 (2000); $73,000 (2001); $60,000(2002).

Prof. Brian James Stone, Mechanical andMaterials Engineering: “The control of unstablevibration in grinding” — $51,185 (2000); $53,462(2001).

Prof. David Russel Badcock, Psychology:“The dependence of motion perception on thespatial properties of the moving object” —$30,500 (2000); $30,000 (2001); $31,000 (2002).

Dr Jakob Brochner Madsen, Economics: “TheGreat Depression of the 1930s: causes,international transmission and implications forthe Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s” —$44,000 (2000/1); $25,000 (2002).

Dr Andre Nicholas Luiten, Physics: “Towardsthe optical time standard” — $100,000 (2000);$115,000 (2001); $55,000 (2002).

Dr Loretta Virginia Baldassar, Anthropologyand Prof. C. Baldock (external): “Transitionalcare-giving: cross-cultural aged care practicesbetween Australian immigrants and their parentsliving abroad” — $44,000 (2000); $75,000 (2001)$48,000 (2002).

Dr Peter Graeme Arthur, Biochemistry: “Amechanism to describe the sensitivity ofmammalian cells to changes in oxygenconcentration” — $5790 (2000).

AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL —SMALL GRANTS

Dr Alice Catherine Niemeyer and Prof.Cheryl Elisabeth Praeger, Mathematics andStatistics: “Algorithms for soluble groups” —$15,620 (2000).

Dr Andre Nicholas Luiten and Dr FrankJoachim Van Kann, Physics: “An innovativeand compact optical frequency standard” —$17,059 (2000).

Dr Carolyn Elizabeth Oldham ,Environmental Engineering: “Assessment of bio-available phosphorus in wetland sediments” —$19,048 (2000).

Dr Timothy Guy St Pierre , Physics:“Bioassays and biosensors based on the time-dependent magnetic properties ofimmunomagnetic fluids” — $18,500 (2000).

Dr Charitha Bandula Pattiaratchi ,Environmental Engineering: “Continental shelfprocesses between Shark Bay and North WestCape” — $15,981 (2000).

Dr Dominique Blache, Animal Science andProduction: “Control of gonadotrophinsecretion by nutrition: roles of aromatization andreduction of androgens in brain tissue” — $5790(2000).

Dr Allan James Mckinley, Chemistry: “DoZnP and MgP have 4E ground electronic states?”— $10,375 (2000).

Dr Martin Luke Hazelton, Mathematics andStatistics: “Efficient stochastic simulation of roadtraffic models” — $11,200 (2000).

Kees Willem De Winter and Prof. C. E.Oxnard , Anatomy and Human Biology:“Evolutionary radiations and l i festyleconvergences in the internal proportions ofmammalian brains” — $6790 (2000).

Dr Liang Cheng , Civi l and ResourceEngineering: “Experimental study of vortexinduced vibration of a pipeline bundle” —$12,950 (2000).

Dr Emad Sahouryeh, Civil and ResourceEngineering: “Fluid flow through pressuresensitive fracture networks” — $15,090 (2000).

Dr Geoffrey Alexander Stewart ,Microbiology: “Gut-derived enzymes fromeconomically importnat mites: suitable targetsfor biological control in agriculture” — $13,000(2000).

Dr Neal Jesse Mcnaughton, Geology andGeophysics: “High precision U-Pb geochronologyof diagenetic phosphates: a pilot study” —$20,000 (2000).

Dr Susan Marianne Spaargaren, Electricaland Electronic Engineering: “Investigation ofdefects in AIGaN/GaN structures by electronspin resonance spectroscopy” — $13,800(2000).

Dr John Marcel Dell, Electrical and ElectronicEngineering: “Investigation of micro-mechanicalsystems for short distance opticalcommunications applictions” — $19,481 (2000).

A/Prof. David Douglas Sampson, Electricaland Electronic Engineering: “Investigation of theoptical properties of tissue in the 1-2 micronnear-infrared spectral range” — $20,000 (2000).

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More Research Grantsin the next issue.

Enquiries through ResearchServices on 9380 1776.

16 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The first series of major activities by the Instituteof Advanced Studies took place in March and

provided an auspicious start to a busy inaugural yearof programs and one-off events.

Science at the New Millennium, one of the two programsfunded by the Institute in mid 1999, started with threediscrete components: the Octagon lecture series over threenights; the fourth International Centre for RelativisticAstrophysics (ICRA) workshop; and the visit by animpressive gathering of eminent scientists for the opening ofthe Australian International Gravitational Observatory atGingin (see the last issue of UWA News for the full story).

The Public Lecture series, well attended by both UWA staffand students and the larger interested public, was a returnto the passionate interest in physics that was shown at theOctagon in 1988 when David Blair organised five lectures byscientists including Paul Davies. Back then, there were notenough seats to hold the crowds of interested people. Thistime, almost 1000 people attended over the three nights.This series welcomed back Remo Ruffini, a regular visitor to

UWA over 20 years, as well as Barry Barish from the LIGOLaboratory at Caltech, one of the most distinguishedexperimental physicists in the USA, and Adalberto Giazottofrom the University of Pisa. This was just the sort ofinternational series that we are striving for with theInstitute.

The ICRA workshop, held for two days on campus,attracted a hugely impressive list of visitors from Europe, theUSA, and Australia. Some of the participants travelled acrossmany borders to arrive in Perth: including Professor JimWilson from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratoryin California, and Gurzadyan Vahe of the Yerevan PhysicsInstitute and Dr Richard Isaacson, a Programme Directorfrom the American National Science Foundation. As well, ahost of local government dignitaries from Italy attended tocelebrate Australia’s entry into the ICRA Network. This wasa brilliant opportunity for students to work with high-levelscientists in an intimate workshop setting.

The ICRA web site (http://www.icra.it/Welcome.htm) hasfurther details of this workshop and features the dazzlingimage of artist Julie Weekes used on the IAS poster. Herpainting captured the attention of all of the visiting scientists.Professor Barish made an allusion to it in his lecture, andeach of the visitors travelled to her Fremantle studio to seemore of her work. Look out for the second series posterfeaturing another of her works, this time on Stars and Cells,from the middle of the year.

The next round of visitors to Science at the New Millennium isscheduled to arrive in October. Joseph Vacanti from theHarvard Medical School is visiting as a Raine DistinguishedProfessor and will present a Public Lecture in early Octoberat the Octagon Theatre. Professor Vacanti is at the forefront

of innovation in the area of Tissue Engineeringinternationally. Vacanti is currently hosting aresidency for Oran Catts and Ionat Zurr, two artistsfrom SymbioticA, UWA’s Anatomy and HumanBiology Collaborative studio.

Later in the month two distinguished physicistswill visit — Thibault Damour from France’sInstitut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques and hisclose colleague, Nobel Laureate Joseph H. Taylorof Princeton who continues to explore problemsin astrophysics and gravitational physics by meansof radio-wavelength studies of pulsars. ProfessorTaylor is also formerly a faculty member ofPrinceton’s famous Institute for Advanced Study.These two Public Lectures are being planned forlate October.

And by the way, for those of you who attendedthe Octagon lectures and were impressed withthe young boy who asked the astute and mostimpressive questions — he has been contacted toexplore the possibility of an ongoing relationshipwith science and UWA! …

the

last

wor

dMichael BarberPRO VICE-CHANCELLOR (RESEARCH AND INNOVATION)INTERIM DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES

Scienceat theNewMillennium

Michael BarberPRO VICE-CHANCELLOR (RESEARCH AND INNOVATION)INTERIM DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES