Synergy Vol 5 No 1: Autumn 2001

Leading Edge Research at Murdoch University - Volume 5 No 1: Autumn 2001

BACKING AUSTRALIA'S ABILITY
The year 2000 was a grim one for the tertiary sector as a whole, although it was Murdoch’s best year ever in research.
>> more information on backing Australia's ability

NEWS IN BRIEF

THE Division of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences has established a School of Health Sciences. Professor Jim Reynoldson will be the inaugural Head of School.

PROFESSOR Peter Lee, Principal of the Rockingham Campus and Foundation Professor of Engineering at Murdoch, has been appointed WA division president of the Institution of Engineers.
THE former CEO of the AJ Parker CRC for Hydrometallurgy, Professor Ian Ritchie, has been made an inaugural ambassador with the WA Government’s new Citizenship Ambassadors Link Program.

Launched earlier this year by the then Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Interests, the Hon Rob Johnson, the program will place award-winning Australian citizens such as Professor Ritchie in direct contact with community groups and students throughout the State to encourage and inspire others to become more active in their own communities.

MORE HEADLINES

ARC secures AusAID tender

Service to Environment rewarded

Australia Breaches Human Rights - Fraser

‘Sludge science’ wins national award

ETC A HIT WITH OIL'S SINGER
Peter Garrett, President of the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and lead singer of Midnight Oil, took time out from his hectic concert schedule to look around the Environmental Technology Centre (ETC) in a recent visit to the Murdoch campus.
>> more information on ETC a hit with oil's singer

NEW DECISION-MAKING TOOL WASTES NO TIME
MANY people find it hard even to choose what breakfast cereal to buy. So imagine the difficulty of making a decision that could affect hundreds of people’s lives, such as deciding where roads will run or how natural resources are managed.
>> more information on new decision-making tool wastes no time

SUCCESS FOR HYDROMETALLURGY, ENGINEERING, LAW RESEARCHERS
PROFESSOR Ian Ritchie, Senior Lecturer Dr Parisa Bahri and Senior Lecturer Christopher Kendall are the inaugural winners of the Vice Chancellor’s Excellence in Research Awards, which were introduced in Murdoch’s 2001 graduation ceremonies.
>> more information on success for hydrometallurgy, engineering, law researchers

SALINITY: TACKLING OUR BIGGEST ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM
SALINITY is recognised as one of Australia’s most pressing environmental problems. This is nowhere more evident than in Western Australia, where large tracts of agricultural land, rural roads and buildings and many species of flora and fauna are under threat from salinisation.
>> more information on salinity: tackling our biggest environmental problem

MOTION SICKNESS COULD PROVIDE THE KEY TO MIGRAINE TREATMENTS
NEW preventative treatments for migraine pain could be on the horizon after an innovative study at Murdoch University’s School of Psychology is completed.
>> more information on motion sickness

PROFESSOR SMITH TAKES THE REINS OF BUSINESS, IT AND LAW
THE new Executive Dean for the Division of Business, Information Technology and Law (BITL), Professor Catherine Smith, joined Murdoch University in January.
>> more information on Professor Smith takes the reins of Business, IT and Law

BETTER PERFORMANCE, SAFETY FOR MINERALS PROCESSING
MURDOCH University has wooed Dr Srinivas Shastri back onto campus.
Dr Shastri, who was the second PhD graduate from the Rockingham campus, has recently returned to join the research staff of the newly established Centre for Intelligent Process Operations Management (IPOM).
>> more information on better performance, safety for minerals processing

RUMINATING OVER LANDFILL
Dr PRATAP Pullammanappalil is attempting to make a gigantic cow’s stomach to address our significant waste problems.
>> more information on ruminating over landfill

CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT THE PARKER CENTRE
MARK Woffenden believes that his new role as Chief Executive Officer of the Parker Centre will be unlike any other chapter of his mining career.
>> more information on changing of the guard at the Parker Centre

HOOKED ON NUMBERS
THE size of a fisherman’s catch is resting increasingly in the hands of mathematicians like Dr Norm Hall.
>> more information on Tip O'Neill fellow returns

CROP DISEASE SOLUTIONS DRAW INTERNATIONAL TEAM TO MURDOCH
MURDOCH is home to the new $3.2 million Australian Centre for Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens, which will be working towards protecting crops from these damaging diseases.
>> more information on crop disease solutions draw international team to Murdoch

JOINING THE CHARGE OF NEW RECRUITS TO THE VET SCHOOL
Murdoch’s Division of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences is the perfect place for Dr Jacqueline Phillips to continue her research career.
>> more information on joining the charge of new recruits to the vet school

LOGGING ONTO NEW LEARNING METHODS
ACCORDING to Dr Dorit Maor, online learning is not a matter of converting a horizontal textbook to a vertical computer screen.
>> more information on logging onto new learning methods

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH COMPUTERS
GRAHAM Mann hates computers.
That’s why he has made a career out making them easier to handle.
>> more information on up close and personal with computers

FOOD SCIENCE AT THE FOREFRONT OF NEW CURRICULUM
DR VAILLE Dawson believes students should be taught to think about and discuss issues at school.
>> more information on food science

FRESH LOOK AT RESTORING ENVIRONMENT
RICHARD Hobbs loves the bush, and he wants to use his new role as Murdoch’s environmental professor to spread his message about restoring the environment to the community.
>> more information on fresh look at restoring environment

POLITICS AND CULTURE REFLECTED THROUGH FILMS
ACCORDING to Dr Mick Broderick, films such as the Mad Max and Terminator series, The Matrix and Waterworld can tell us quite a lot about our society.
>> more information on politics and culture reflected through films

PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE PADDOCK
AS INCREASING numbers and species of animals are being farmed and their products transported globally, food safety is becoming a more complex issue than ever before.
>> more information on public health in the paddock

BIOMEDICAL BOOST FOR WA
AS the first Director of the Western Australian Biomedical Research Institute, a virtual institute spanning Murdoch and Curtin Universities, Professor Simon Carroll aims to build a flagship for biomedical research in the State.
>> more information on biomedical boost for WA

SLIDING INTO LAW WITH SCALES
AFTER twelve years practicing family law and working at Legal Aid in Perth, Colin James has gone back to university.
>> more information on sliding into law with SCALES

CULTURE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
THANKS to Brogan Bunt, you will soon be able to travel to Halfeti, a small town in Turkey, by simply clicking a button.
>> more information on culture at your fingertips

CLARK IS LIFEBLOOD OF RESEARCH CLINIC
KNOWING how to collect and analyse blood samples from different animals is a specialised business, and it is about to be made much clearer for researchers with a new haematology atlas.
>> more information on Clark is lifeblood of research clinic

ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY AND EVERYDAY LIFE
IS THE gap closing between amateur and professional psychologists?
>> more information on abnormal psychology and everyday life

PET LOSS STUDY FINDS VETERINARIANS THE KEY TO OVERCOMING GRIEF
THE loss of a pet can be devastating for all concerned yet society does not always acknowledge the full extent of a person’s grief.
>> more information on pet loss study finds veterinarians the key to overcoming grief

MURDOCH ANATOMY MUSEUM GETS A NEW LEASE OF LIFE
A $200,000 refurbishment of the Murdoch Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Anatomy Museum will make it the biggest and most comprehensive museum of its kind in Australia.
>> more information on Murdoch anatomy museum gets a new lease of life

Editor Pepi Smyth
Writers Lachlan McCrudden, Michael Peeters, Chris Smyth, Pepi Smyth, Marissa Williams
Design Peter Roots
Photography Grace Banks, Geoff Griffiths, Brian Richards
All material may be used without permission but correct reference to persons quoted and the University is requested.
Enquiries to The Editor, Synergy (editorcr@central.murdoch.edu.au)

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