News Archive

Welcome to the latest edition of Science Matters which comes at a time of considerable change within the Faculty. Our Dean of more than 12 years, Winthrop Professor George Stewart , retired in June to enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle in Tasmania. George was the inaugural Dean of the Faculty of Life and Physical Sciences and was central to its establishment and subsequent success. George also played a key role for the Faculty and broader university through his development of significant links with China, which will benefit the university for many years to come.

One of George’s key initiatives in recent years was the establishment of a partnership with PSB Academy to deliver a select number of UWA science degrees in Singapore. Earlier this month, we celebrated the completion of another cohort of students from these programs with a presentation ceremony in Singapore. This ceremony was attended by the Vice Chancellor, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education) and Dean of Sciences, together with many of the academic and professional staff involved in delivering these programs. While in Singapore, we took the opportunity to touch base with our local alumni, enjoying a very pleasant alumni function at the Singapore Cricket Club.

Following George’s departure, the University appointed Winthrop Professor Tony O’Donnell as Dean of Sciences, and myself ( Winthrop Professor Brendan Waddell ) as Vice Dean in Life and Physical Sciences. Tony previously served as Dean in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Science at UWA, and although our two faculties remain separate entities, Tony’s appointment will unify many of our functions.

The Faculty continues to enjoy considerable success in relation to both teaching and research. Most recently, the Shanghai Jiao Tong World University Rankings were announced and, in the disciplines of Life and Agricultural Sciences, UWA ranked 34th in the world and number 1 in Australia. Moreover, the discipline of Chemistry at UWA, which sits within our School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences, was ranked in the top 100 internationally and number 2 in Australia. These results reflect well on the remarkable research achievements of many staff within our Faculty.

More recognition of outstanding research came with the announcement in May that W inthrop Professor Tim St Pierre , from the School of Physics, was the 2010 recipient of the Clunies Ross Award. Tim was awarded for his ‘significant and positive influence on the lives of many Australians’. He follows in the footsteps of the Faculty’s previous winner, Nobel Laureate Professor Barry Marshall . Tim heads the Biomagnetics Group and has developed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based method of measuring and imaging tissue-damaging iron deposits in the human liver caused by iron-overload diseases such as thalassaemia and hereditary haemochromatosis. The method is non-invasive, risk free and pain free.

Research students from the Faculty have also enjoyed recent successes. Four PhD students associated with the School of Anatomy and Human Biology Eleanor Drummond, Ruth Chai, Tahmina Anwari and Irving Aye all won awards at the ASMR’s Medical Research Week Scientific Symposium.

Researchers from the Faculty were also successful as part of the ARC Centres of Excellence announced in July by the Federal Government. The School of Physics is involved with two new Centres. The first is the Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics CAASTRO (based out of the University of Sydney) with Premier's Fellow Lister Staveley-Smith as Deputy Director. CAASTRO will expand Australia's research capabilities and help boost Australia's track record as a world leader in astronomy, including work at UWA on the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project. The second is Engineered Quantum Systems EQuS (based out of the University of Queensland) with Laureate Fellow Mike Tobar leading the UWA node. In another area, staff from the School of Psychology are part of the Centre for the Study of Cognition and its Disorders, which will inform the diagnosis and treatment of a range of cognitive disorders, including dyslexia, language impairment, autism, dementia and schizophrenia.

On the teaching front, Faculty staff were recently recognised in the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) awards for their outstanding contributions to student learning. Winthrop Professor and Australian Research Council Australian Laureate Fellow Mike Tobar received an award for inspiring Physics students to reach their full potential through sharing knowledge between people of diverse backgrounds. Professor Paul Fournier from the School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health was recognised for 15 years of postgraduate teaching and research supervision in exercise biochemistry, diabetes research, evolutionary biology, and nutrition biochemistry. Professor Tobar also received a UWA Award for Excellence in Teaching in the category of postgraduate supervision.

The Faculty was a key player in the annual UWA Open Day held in August. The day was a tremendous success with thousands of West Australians flocking to the Crawley campus to enjoy the event in magnificent weather. Schools within the Faculty had a range of interactive displays that attracted considerable interest from the general public and prospective students. The University’s proposed ‘ New Courses 2012 ’ attracted much interest from prospective students, and we are greatly encouraged by their very positive response to what will be offered.

In relation to New Courses 2012, the Faculty is currently putting considerable effort into developing new undergraduate and postgraduate programs. One of the major features of the new undergraduate structure will be the embedding of research and communication skills within our programs. This will ensure that our graduates are highly skilled in these areas and further strengthen the teaching-research nexus that is so fundamental to our mission.