Anchoring enormous oil and gas platforms on relatively unstable seabeds and ensuring the efficiency of pipelines three kilometres or more under the sea is work that has seen an outstanding young researcher based at The University of Western Australia named Physical Scientist of the Year.

Professor Mark Cassidy in UWA’s School of Civil Engineering is Director of the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS), one of the three leading centres in the field worldwide.

Workplace relations law, native title legislation, enactments dealing with the confiscation of proceeds of crime and the debate surrounding the Bills of Rights: these are just some of the issues to be discussed at the Australian Law Teachers Association Conference at The University of Western Australia next week.

Western Australia’s Attorney General Jim McGinty, will open the conference, which runs from September 23 – 26, 2007.

The conference’s theme, ‘Law and Public Policy: Taming the Unruly Horse?’ has drawn influential experts including:

Armistead Maupin will deliver a UWA Extension Spring School Lecture on Wednesday, September 26, from 7.30-9pm.

Armistead Maupin has delighted millions, straight and gay, with his stories of swinging San Francisco. Though Maupin was one of the first of a new breed of openly gay authors, his appeal has always resided in his inclusiveness as a storyteller.

This is a rare opportunity to hear the wit and engaging stories of Armistead Maupin in an exclusive UWA Extension Spring School lecture.

The birthday of one of the giants of biological science will be celebrated this week at The University of Western Australia and around the world.

Carl von Linne, or Linnaeus as he is better known, was born 300 years ago in Sweden. He invented the system of classification and naming of life forms from which sprang the discipline of systematics, a core activity in these days of threatened biodiversity.

A higher than usual percentage of PhD candidates will be among almost 1,200 students graduating during the spring series of graduation ceremonies starting at The University of Western Australia tonight.

More than 90 PhD candidates will graduate having completed research which impacts on areas ranging from health and education to environmental sustainability. They will be joined by three candidates graduating with professional doctorates – two in Education and one in Business Administration.

Have you ever found yourself wondering about the bright colours in flowers, and where those colours come from and why?

Yes, they are important in attracting insects to pollinate them – and attractive to the human eye - but that’s only a tiny part of the story.

The University of Western Australia and the State Government have agreed to withdraw plans to develop the Dalkeith site of a former aged men’s home.

UWA Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Robson said the University had been invited in 2004 to consider options for the Sunset site in consultation with the State Government. This had led to plans to redevelop the site as an arts precinct incorporating the Berndt Museum of Anthropology.

Many more high-quality students will have the opportunity to undertake higher education at their preferred institution thanks to the allocation of new Commonwealth-funded places to The University of Western Australia, according to UWA’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Robson.

Professor Robson said he was delighted that the Federal Government, and particularly the Minister for Education, Science and Training, Julie Bishop, had acknowledged the need for additional places in areas of high demand at UWA.

As the pace of change in China amazes even the most seasoned watchers, China commentator Chris Gill will offer an insight into what future holds for China at a public lecture at The University of Western Australia next week.

Mr Gill’s lecture - ‘Reading China through the Tea Leaves: Knowing the Present to See the Future’ - will provide a broad overview of the major economic and social trends in China and projections, based on extensive research, as to how things may develop in the next 20 years.