Friday, 27 January 2012

The contribution of three outstanding academics from The University of Western Australia who have revolutionised the global understanding of accounting, microelectronics and human lactation has been recognised in this year's Australia Day honours.

Emeritus Professor Philip Brown, from the UWA Business School, was made a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for "service to education in the disciplines of accounting and finance, and to professional associations".

Professor Brown's ground-breaking work in 1968 - his co-authored paper on the impact of corporate disclosure on share prices - was the first time the influence of companies' annual reports on ebbs and flows of the stock market had been scientifically analysed and evaluated in the centuries since accounting began.

In his early years at UWA, Professor Brown helped to develop an MBA program which, in 1973, became one of the first MBAs to be offered in Australia.  Professor Brown was recently appointed joint Presidential Scholar for 2012 by the American Accounting Association.  In October 2010, he also became one of five inaugural inductees into Australia's Accounting Hall of Fame.

Winthrop Professor Lorenzo Faraone , from the UWA School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, was made a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for "service to science as an educator and researcher, particularly in the field of micro-electronics, and to professional associations".

Professor Faraone is Director of the UWA-based WA Centre for Semiconductor Optoelectronics and Microsystems, an international leader delivering solutions, new knowledge and education in advanced microelectronics, optoelectronics, nanotechnology, photonics and microsystems technology.

Professor Faraone is also the Director of the UWA-based WA node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility, which enables the development of unique technologies that will revolutionise daily life in fields as varied as health, agriculture, mining, automotive industries, communications, data storage and defence.

Winthrop Professor Peter Hartmann, from the UWA School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, was made a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for "service to science and education as an academic and researcher in the biochemistry and physiology of human lactation".

Professor Hartmann's research ranges from lactation in dairy animals and sows to lactation in women.  He has published 157 research papers on the synthesis and secretion of milk over the entire lactation cycle, that is, from conception to weaning.  Current research projects include breast milk synthesis and composition, milk ejection and breast milk removal, influence of infant appetite and breast milk composition, and the characterisation, function and clinical potential of stem cells isolated from human breast milk.

He has supervised 49 completed PhD students and received the Macy-Gyorgy award from the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML) in 2006 and jointly the Rank Prize for Nutrition in the UK in 2010.  He is a Fellow of Nutrition Society of Australia, current President of ISRHML and a Visiting Professor, Kagawa Nutrition University, Sakado, Japan.

Media references

Emeritus Professor Philip Brown (UWA Business School)  (+61 8)  6488 2899
Winthrop Professor Lorenzo Faraone (UWA School of Electrical,  (+61 8)  6488 3104
Electronic and Computer Engineering)
Winthrop Professor Peter Hartmann (UWA School of Chemistry and Biochemistry)  (+61 8)  6488 3327
Doug Durack (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 2806  /  (+61 4) 19 946 294

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