News Archive

Supplied by Elizabeth Hutchinson Executive Officer, Academic Promotions Committee  Human Resources

RESEARCH FELLOW

Dr Christopher Beckett (School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering)

Dr Beckett commenced with UWA in January 2012 to investigate the geotechnical properties of rammed earth (RE) materials (cement stabilised compacted soils), a prominent construction method in Australia but a new area of research both at UWA and internationally.  In April 2013 he became part of the AMIRA P1087 project research seepage from Tailings Storage Facilities in collaboration with Professor Andy Fourie.  He has also spearheaded research to incorporate engineering principles into agricultural practices. As well as his research role, Dr Beckett is heavily involved in student supervision and is Vice-Chair and Organiser of the First International Conference on Rammed Earth Construction, to be held at UWA in February 2015, which will represent a significant contribution to the scientific community.

SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

Dr Monica Gagliano (School of Animal Biology)

Dr Gagliano commenced with UWA in 2009 as an early career researcher.  She obtained her PhD from James Cook University in Marine Ecology in 2007 and completed a Masters in Aberdeen and Cape Town after completing her BSc in the United Kingdom.  She has worked as a Research Assistant in New Zealand and Spain and as a consultant in Italy.  By way of her international training, she was awarded a Fellowship at James Cook and AIMS for 2007-2009. She went on to win a UPRF to work in the internationally acclaimed Centre for Evolutionary Biology and this was followed by the award of an ARC/DECRA Fellowship in Evolutionary Biology within the School of Animal Biology.

SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

Dr Peter Noble (School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology)

Dr Noble joined the University in 2001.  The aim of his research is to identify the physiological abnormalities in asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.  He is an NHMRC Career Development Fellow supported by a strong network of collaborations in diverse and interrelated fields including physiology, respiratory medicine and engineering. Since obtaining his PhD in 2006 he has attracted over 5 million dollars in nationally competitive funding. During 2013 he initiated a programme to recruit patients in Perth and Sydney to run parallel physiological investigations in each city utilising human airway tissue acquired after lung resection surgery.  The experimental approach, now funded by the NH&MRC is unique and not used anywhere else in the world and provides an opportunity to address questions of fundamental importance to respiratory health and disease. He is a member of Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand and co-convenor of the Asthma and Allergy Special Interest Group, and an Associated Editor for the International Journal ‘BMC Pulmonary Medicine'.  At a local level he is President of the WA branch of TSANZ.

LECTURER

Dr Michael Champion (School of Humanities)

Dr Champion commenced at UWA in 2009 in Classics and Ancient History and also teaches Medieval Studies. He researches Late Antiquity, publishing a book on Gaza (OUP, 2014) alongside studies of aspects of cultural and intellectual history. He received a UWA-UQ Bilateral Research Collaboration Award (2013). He won the Arts Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award (Early Career, 2011), with further nominations 2012-13. He is President of the Perth Medieval and Renaissance Group and served as chief examiner and course advisory committee member for WACE Ancient History.

SENIOR LECTURER

Dr Edward Cripps (School of Mathematics and Statistics)

Dr Cripps joined the University in 2009.  His research interests cover both methodological developments and applications of statistics.  His methodological work is focused on how to account for model uncertainty in prediction using Bayesian model averaging and Bayesian finite/infinite mixture models.  His current focus is asset management as a result of a request from the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics to align its research with Engineering for Remote Operations (ERO), His association with the Centre for Applied Statistics within UWA has resulted in increasing interaction with industry.  He is now developing a record of providing professional statistical advice through the University to industry members across Western Australia.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Dr Martin Forsey (School of Social Sciences)

Dr Forsey joined the University in 2004.  His research interest is Australian society, with a particular focus on the anthropology of schools and schooling and he enjoys an international reputation in his field, particularly in relation to schools in society, school choice and qualitative research methods.  A conference organised by Dr Forsey through the Institute of Advanced Studies was attended by scholars from many parts of the world formed the basis of a successful  edited collection on the Globalisation of School Choice, as part of Oxford University's comparative education series. Dr Forsey is on the editorial board of several important journals in qualitative research methods, ethnography and education and as a leader in his field, his expertise is sought out by people and organisations connected with his discipline.  He has made a considerable contribution to service to the University as an educational innovator, and by way of his membership on a number of University Committees, he also helps lead the Mobilities and Belonging research cluster located in the Faculty of Arts.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Dr Michael Giudici (School of Mathematics and Statistics)

Dr Giudici joined the University in 2002 as a Research Associate.   He moved to a teaching and research position in 2012 after holding an  Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship and Australian Research Fellowship.  His main areas of research are group theory and algebraic combinatorics.  Group theory is the mathematical abstraction of symmetry.  His work has been mainly concerned with studying the properties of permutation groups and using them to investigate combinatorial objects such as graphs and geometries.    He has been an active member of the Centre for the Mathematics of Symmetry and Computation, in the School and has been the Deputy Director of the Centre since 2011. He has also been the unit coordinator for the main first semester first year maths unit for the past two years and is the School's Graduate Research Coordinator.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Dr Peter Hammond (School of Physics)

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Dr Hammond joined the University in 2000.  He is involved in high quality innovative research involving the invention and development of technically and theoretically demanding novel scientific instruments.  His research since joining UWA has had a strong international focus with collaborations with key scientists in the UK, Canada, France, Italy and Japan.  He is Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Physics and Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) in the Faculty of Science.  In addition to his University role, he has been highly active in promoting physics through High Schools.

Dr Donald Payne (School of Paediatrics and Child Health)

Dr Payne joined the University in 2007 in the School of Paediatrics and Child Health. His main focus has been on the establishment of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine (AYAM) as a recognised field of specialty practice and on the development of clinical services for adolescents and young adults. This has allowed him to emerge as one of Australia's leading practitioners in the field of AYAM and to establish UWA and Princess Margaret Hospital as a centre of considerable influence. Dr Payne has been instrumental in embedding a culture of adolescent health at Princess Margaret Hospital and, through his involvement in the Perth Children's Hospital (PCH) project; he is currently leading the development of services for adolescents and young adults on the QEII site, at both PCH and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. In collaboration with the Telethon Kids Institute and the WA Commissioner for Children and Young People, Dr Payne now plans to establish a WA Centre for Youth Health and Wellbeing. The centre will focus on service delivery, research, training, advocacy and policy development and will play a major role in raising awareness of the specific health needs of young people.