News Archive

Welcome to the first edition of Science Matters for 2012 and the first joint edition from the Faculty of Life and Physical Sciences and the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences.

2011 was a very productive year for the Faculties of Science as we geared up for the introduction of UWA’s new courses. At the end of this month, we will welcome our first cohort into these courses with a record number of students expected to enrol in majors within the Bachelor of Science. This intake will involve contributions from the Faculties of Science; the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics; and the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences.

After months of hard work by staff from across both science faculties, the Science Student Office officially opened in September. This one-stop, science shop presents a combined ‘Faculties of Science’ front and will help us provide
better academic and administrative support to our students.

In December the Faculties’ hosted the annual STAWA Future Science Conference with over 200 science teachers from around the state attending the one-day event featuring a program of workshops and presentations devoted to cutting
edge science. The conference will be held at UWA for the next four years.

We begin 2012 with two new schools: the School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences has been disestablished to make way for the new schools of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology. The School of Chemistry and Biochemistry includes the disciplines of biochemistry and molecular biology, chemistry, and genetics. Neuroscience and physiology are now integrated into the School of Anatomy, Physiology and
Human Biology . Microbiology and immunology and infectious diseases have transferred to the School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and pharmacy has joined the School of Medicine and Pharmacology (both in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences).

All these changes indicate a busy year ahead. But what isn’t likely to change is the quality research and achievements of our colleagues. In 2011 they received many awards and accolades, including Professor Richard Hobbs who was named WA Scientist of the Year.

The Faculties’ reputation for research excellence was also further recognised with 14 prestigious Australian Research Council Future Fellowships awarded to our staff. The fellowships are awarded to outstanding researchers working in areas of national importance and help provide an incentive for them to conduct their research in Australia.

Several other colleagues have been acknowledged for the quality of their work. Winthrop Professor
Harvey Millar , a Chief Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, recently won the 2012 Fenner Medal for distinguished research in biology by a scientist under 40. The Fenner Medal is awarded by the
Australian Academy of Science and recognises excellence in several categories including lifelong scientific achievement, outstanding early career researchers and research support.

Students in the Faculties of Science also achieved considerable success. Nathanael Yates , a PhD Neuroscience student in the School of Animal Biology, was awarded a United Kingdom Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan Split-Site Scholarship, which will cover all fees and living expenses during 12 months’ research at St Peter’s College, Oxford.

And in November, recent BSc graduate Rachel Paterson was named WA’s 2012 Rhodes Scholar. Rachel – who completed majors in Genetics and Biochemistry – will study infection, immunology and translational medicine at Oxford University and hopes to use her research to eradicate killer diseases such as HIV.

We congratulate everyone on their achievements and wish them the best with their work and travels. And we look forward to continuing success in the year ahead.