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Find out more about what makes us happy, how poor mental health can affect children’s development and how much of the universe we can reproduce using computer simulation during The University of Western Australia’s Research Week.

Starting Monday 5 September, Research Week will host more than 50 events including seminars, tours, workshops and exhibitions, showcasing its research and considerable contribution to local and global communities.

Science guru Dr Karl Kruszelnicki will also present two free events on Monday 5 September: a public lecture on “Great Moments in Science Communication” at 11am and his regular ABC radio science show will be part of Afternoons with Gillian O’Shaughnessy broadcasting live from UWA Research Week between 1-3pm.

UWA Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Professor Robyn Owens said Research Week aimed to celebrate and promote the work being undertaken to discover new knowledge and create new methods and techniques.

“Research Week is UWA’s celebration of all that we do on campus and it’s a great opportunity for people to come and see the sorts of problems that we’re working on, the connections that we have with international researchers and to learn about the cutting-edge facilities we have at the University,” Professor Owens said.

The face of Research Week is Professor David Blair, who led the UWA team involved in the recent discovery of gravitational waves.

Professor Blair, Director of the Australian International Gravitational Research Centre, and UWA Institute of Advanced Studies Visiting Fellow Professor Hyung Mok Lee, from Seoul University, will discuss the century-long quest to detect Einstein’s gravitational waves in Songs of the Universe . The free public lecture will be held at 6pm on Monday 5 September in the University Club theatre auditorium.

Other highlights include the Three-Minute Thesis semi-finals and finals on Thursday 8 September, where young UWA postgraduate students will battle it out to determine who does the best job in presenting their thesis in three minutes. Also on Thursday, investigate some very old rock art through the public lecture Murujuga: Dynamics of the Dreaming .

Experience the wonders of the WA night sky at the Astrofest Astrophotography Exhibition which runs all week at the Reid Library.  If you are in the city, enjoy the Ageing in Australia Photographic Exhibition also running all week in Brookfield Place.

On Tuesday 6 September, explore common mental health problems in children and adolescents, the benefits of early detection and how they relate to educational outcomes in Young Minds Matter .

Light: a Spectrum of Opportunities on Wednesday 7 September, will examine the physical nature of light and how its use has evolved in technology.

Members of the community, researchers and industry representatives are welcome to attend many of the free public lectures and events on campus throughout the week which ends on Friday 9 September. To check out all that’s on offer and to register visit the Research Week webpage .

Media references

David Stacey (UWA Media and Public Relations Manager)   (+61 8) 6488 3229 / (+61 4) 32 637 716