01 December 2011
In The Loop – Issue 11/2011, 1 December 2011
In The Loop is the monthly newsletter from the College of Science, Engineering and Health.
In this month's issue…
- RMIT Teaching and Research Awards
- Engineering TAFE recognised for support of Army Reservists
- Award for service to the scientific community
- Landmark aspirin study a first for new RMIT Community Research Facility
- RMIT-Boeing Regional Victoria Science Roadshow
- RMIT SPACE Research Centre collaborative project
- An even better battery
- Hideaka Imuria Memorial Award
- RMIT on board for Environmental Film Festival Melbourne
- Adjunct Professorship with RMIT University and the SPACE Research Centre award
- NASA are now hiring!
- University of New South Wales and intellectual property
- Do you have troublesome hot flushes? Volunteers wanted for acupuncture study
- Holiday giveaway!
- Three things you might not know: Christmas Edition
Regulars
RMIT Teaching and Research Awards
The 2011 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching and Research went to Associate Professor John Reece from the School of Health Sciences. The 2011 Vice-Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award went to Professor Charlie Changli Xue also from the School of Health Sciences. Thirty SEH staff members were honoured with RMIT teaching and research awards. Congratulations to all.
Engineering TAFE recognised for support of Army Reservists
The School of Engineering TAFE was one of 11 organisations awarded.
The School of Engineering TAFE was recently awarded an Employer Support Award by The Defence Reserves Support Council (DRCS).
THE DRSC conducts an Employer Support Awards program which gives members of the Australian Defence Force Reserves the opportunity to nominate their civilian employer. This is designed to formally acknowledge their employer's commitment to supporting Reservists in the workplace.
Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Senator David Feeney was present to congratulate 11 employers for their support of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Reserves at the event held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“Our Reserve forces make a substantial contribution to Defence capability. This is particularly important with the high tempo of operations,” Senator Feeney said.
“Without the continued support of these employers it would not be possible for Reservists to successfully coordinate their civilian and service roles,” he said.
Other winners included Victoria Police, Geelong Grammar, the Australian Taxation Office and Sinclair Knight Merz.
Award for service to the scientific community
Professor Paul Slatter receives an award for service to the scientific community.
Professor Paul Slatter from the School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering attended the International Conference on Transport and Sedimentation of Solid Particles in Poland in September, where he was awarded a medal for his service to the scientific community.
Professor Roman Kolacz, Rector from Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences presented the medal to Professor Slatter in recognition of his contribution to Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences.
“The medal was awarded in recognition of Professor Slatter’s contribution to Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences,” Professor Kolacz said.
“I hope that your scientific cooperation with our university will be continued,” he said.
Professor Slatter has been a member of the Scientific Committee for the Transport and Sedimentation of Solids for 15 years.
Landmark aspirin study a first for new RMIT Community Research Facility
The ASPREE (ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly) project is a public-funded study to determine if daily low-dose aspirin can help maintain good physical and mental health in older Australians.
A new RMIT clinical research facility in Bundoora will become a northern suburbs hub to the largest primary prevention study ever rolled out in Australia. The new facility, which became operational in late October, will host the Monash ASPREE study, but will also provide valuable infrastructure for RMIT led clinical research projects.
Led by Monash University in Australia, the ASPREE (ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly) project is a public-funded study to determine if daily low-dose aspirin can help maintain good physical and mental health in older Australians. It will also, for the first time, weigh up the benefits versus the risks of the drug in this age group.
ASPREE aims to have 12,500 healthy senior Australians around Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT and South Australia, enrolled in the study by mid-2013. Another 6,500 will be from the USA. Participants, who will take an aspirin or a placebo tablet daily, will be followed for five years.
Dr Matthew Linden from the Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences will manage the new research facility and hopes that ASPREE will be the first of many collaborative community-based clinical trials.
“With the launch of this research facility, and through our partnership with ASPREE and Monash University, we are creating a new focus on clinical research in the community. We have plans for many more such important studies, which will engage the community and involve local GPs, nurses, and pharmacies in research which has, until now, been restricted to the hospital setting,” said Dr Linden.
“ASPREE is a perfect example of this sort of collaborative, community research, and has the potential to be a critically important, landmark study in ageing and wellbeing. We are delighted to be involved with research of this calibre.”
For more information about the RMIT Clinical Research Facility and how it might be of benefit to your research program contact Matthew on 9925 7898. For more information about ASPREE call 1800 728 745 or visit www.aspree.org.
RMIT-Boeing Regional Victoria Science Roadshow
RMIT Science Road Crew Manager Megan Mundy (right) and the team of student volunteers.
Food science, slime and electronics took centre stage recently, as a team of students from RMIT University got science and technology out of the lab and into regional schools as part of the RMIT-Boeing Science Road Show.
The roadshow visited Birchip P-12, Wycheproof P-12, Donald High School and Avoca Primary School to show students that science is not just about how you look in a lab coat, it’s about careers with a future.
RMIT Science Road Show manager Megan Mundy said it was great to see the excitement on the children's faces.
“Sometimes you forget that science really is amazing but the students’ faces remind you.”
“The teachers loved it too. They wanted to know where we got all of our tricks from,” she said.
Megan was also impressed with the enthusiasm of the student volunteers.
“The student volunteers were fantastic - they connected with students from all ages and got that buzz from teaching something to someone,” she said.
The roadshow heads off again next week to visit Euroa Primary, Alexandra Secondary College and Yea High School.
RMIT SPACE Research Centre collaborative project
The RMIT SPACE Research Centre has been awarded a CRC-SI project in collaboration with Curtin University, UNSW and QUT. The title of the project is ‘New carrier phase processing strategies for achieving precise and reliable multi-satellite, multi-frequency GNSS /RNSS positioning in Australia’.
The aim of the project is to address two important research challenges that emerge in the context of processing multi-constellation and multi-frequency GNSS/ RNSS data. First is the development of new integer inference theory to allow the estimation and validation of large integer ambiguity sets under the emerging multi-GNSS/RNSS environment and the proliferation of CORS networks across Australia.
Secondly, the project aims to facilitate new ambiguity resolution-enabled precise point positioning through improved ionosphere and troposphere modelling. This research underpins the CRC-SI Positioning Program objective of instantaneous GNSS/ RNSS positioning, anywhere, anytime, with the highest possible accuracy and the highest possible integrity.
An even better battery
Dr Madhu Bhaskaran’s article A Step Towards an Everlasting Battery has appeared in Stories of Australian Science 2011 (PDF).
Dr Bhaskaran is a research fellow with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
This booklet has been distributed to the Prime Minister’s office and all science-related government agencies.
Hideaka Imuria Memorial Award
Daniel Tan won the prestigious Hideaka Imuria Memorial Award for the best student paper at the Tenth International Heatpipe Symposium held in Taipei early this month. The paper was written in collaboration with RMIT research fellows Dr. Randeep Singh and Dr. Abhijit Date. Daniel is doing his PhD in Mechanical and Automotive Engineering. His research investigates cooling high concentration solar and thermoelectric cells using phase change materials and heatpipe systems.
RMIT on board for Environmental Film Festival Melbourne
Dayanthi Nugegoda from the School of Applied Sciences featured on a discussion panel in October at the Environmental Film Festival Melbourne (EFFM). The films featured were Wasted Earth (Brazil), Plasticized (Australia) and Waste Not (Australia). Other panellists featured were Nicole Webb from Veolia Environment and Vern Steel Manager from the Strategic Resource Efficiency at the Metropolitan Waste Management Group. The 40 minute discussion had around 200 people in attendance.
Adjunct Professorship with RMIT University and the SPACE Research Centre award
Dr Yuriy Kuleshov from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has been awarded an Adjunct Professorship with RMIT University and the SPACE Research Centre.
Dr Kuleshov is a pioneer of microwave satellite remote sensing technology and has expertise in satellite remote sensing, radio physics, GPS radio occultation, GPS reflectometry and climatology of hazardous weather phenomena.
An Australian representative of the World Meteorological Organisation Commission for Climatology, Dr Kuleshov has contributed significantly to the Australian initiative to further advance GPS radio occultation and GPS reflectometry techniques for climate and weather applications in the Australian region.
Professor John Le Marshall from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has also been awarded an Adjunct Professorship with RMIT University and the SPACE Research Centre.
A pioneer of satellite data assimilation techniques, Professor Le Marshall is world renowned for his efforts to advance satellite based atmospheric research and to accelerate the operational implementation of satellite data assimilation systems into world class operational systems.
NASA are now hiring!
NASA are currently hiring the next group of astronauts, who will continue space exploration programs that will include missions into beyond low Earth orbit.
NASA’s first group of seven astronauts, all pilots, were recruited in 1959. Since that first intake, only 330 astronauts have been selected.
With space missions no longer leaving from US soil, the next graduating class of astronauts will be hitching a ride with Russian spaceships. This has added a new requirement for applicants: ability to speak Russian. You must also have at least a bachelor degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or maths and an understanding of physics. You must also fit height requirements, have 20/20 vision and must not suffer from high blood pressure. Sadly for RMIT staff and students, you must also be a US citizen.
University of New South Wales and intellectual property
Did you know that the University of New South Wales in Sydney will offer intellectual property to the private sector at no cost, in an effort to have more of its research used in practical applications?
The University hopes to increase industry partnerships by making intellectual property more available.
To gain access, licence applicants will need to provide a statement of intent, discussing the market and social need for their development; outlining development plans and "critical milestones" over a three-year period; and explaining how they intend to maintain an ongoing engagement with UNSW. They must acknowledge UNSW and report on the progress of their development.
This new model, named Easy Access IP is designed to provide a streamlined licencing process. It replaces complicated negotiations with a simple one-page agreement.
Do you have troublesome hot flushes? Volunteers wanted for acupuncture study
The University of Melbourne in collaboration with Jean Hailes for Women’s Health and Monash/RMIT/Southern Cross Universities is looking for healthy postmenopausal women for a research study. If you or someone you know have not had acupuncture in the past two years, and can attend ten free sessions of acupuncture (either real or placebo) as part of a study on acupuncture for hot flushes, please read on. Volunteers must be over 40, having regular hot flushes, and not menopausal as a result of surgery, radio or chemotherapy. Treatments are provided by experienced acupuncturists located in St Kilda, Bentleigh, Coburg, Rosanna, Mount Waverley, Ringwood, Bundoora and Melton. Treatments last for 30 minutes except for the first treatment which is 45 minutes.
See more information, email gp-acupause@unimelb.edu.au or call 03 9035 5018.
(This study has received Ethics approval from the University of Melbourne HREC1135293 16/6/11)
Holiday giveaway!
Win yourself an early Christmas present! Up for grabs is a copy of Jeff Potter’s Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks and Good Food.
All you have to do is answer this question: Usually seen in this order, what do these abbreviations mean? st, nd, rd.
Entries close 5pm on Wednesday 7 December 2011.
Answer the question and enter the giveaway.
Three things you might not know: Christmas Edition
- Christmas Lights in Melbourne celebrates its 11th birthday this year. Aiming to provide a night of free entertainment to families, Christmas Lights in Melbourne lists all decorated houses and provides maps of locations.
- Carols by Candlelight is an Australian tradition, which became popular in Melbourne in the 1930’s. Today, the largest Carols are held at Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Christmas Eve. This event has run annually since 1938.
- Melbourne’s famous Myer Christmas window display will celebrate its 56th birthday in 2011. This year’s theme is “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and is on display until Thursday 5 January.
Science, Engineering and Health in the news (4 November – 1 December)
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Visiting Professor brings global links
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ARC grants top $3 million
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You've got questions? We've got answers
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$400,000 grant for snail pain study
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Future Aussie trucking: silent and green
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PhD student wins international paper award
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Italy and Australia embrace space
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Engineering head elected academy fellow
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New manufacturing process adds up
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Symposium strengthens Indian-Australian links
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Do organic consumers feel healthier?
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'Sticky' heart study wins $373,000
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Green lift for Carlton site
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Upcoming events (1 December – 1 February)
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07/12/2011 IEEE & ITEE Evening Lecture: Image Quality for the Social Media Era
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13/12/2011 Adapting to climate change: showcasing new perspectives from the Netherlands
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18/01/2012 2012 Science Experience
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24/01/2012 Public forum: Unmanned Aerial Systems
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For a full listing of upcoming events, please see the College Events page.
How to contribute
Contributions can be sent as an unformatted e-mail message (no attachments) to sehnews@rmit.edu.au by 5pm on Thursday 19 January 2012. The word limit for contributions is 200 words.
To ensure In The Loop is distributed on time, we cannot accept late contributions.
Please do not send personal items or repeat articles. Only items that relate to the University's core activities will be published, and the In The Loop team reserves the right to edit submissions as appropriate.
In The Loop is distributed on the first Thursday of each month. Next edition: Thursday 2 February 2012.
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