10 August 2005
10 August 2005
More than 64,000 people attended Monash Open Day online or in person this year, 16,000 more than last year.
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| Mr Michael D'Silva from the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering (rear) teaches visitors about the Biped Robot. |
During Open Day, held over August 6 and 7, 42,570 people visited the six Victorian campuses, 4000 more than visited the university for Open Day last year.
As well as the physical visits, 21,690 people visited the university's Open Day website in the month leading up to Open Day - up from 9264 in 2004.
The Clayton campus saw the highest number of visitors with 27,000 people braving the cold and wet, up from 23,000 people last year.
The Parkville campus also saw an increase with 1570 visitors learning about pharmacy courses this year compared with 1000 last year.
The introduction of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and health sciences at the Peninsula campus attracted a lot of interest as did outdoor education, which is moving from Gippsland to Peninsula campus next year. Visitor numbers at Peninsula increased from 2480 last year to 2800 this year.
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| Monash postgraduate students celebrate the United Nations' World Year of Physics at Open Day. |
Open Day coordinator Ms Deryn Vahl-Meyer said the internet was becoming an increasingly popular source of information for prospective students with web visitor numbers rising from 5215 in 2003, the first year such figures were taken, to more than 21,000 this year.
"We had the web information available earlier this year, and that also seems to have increased awareness of the event," she said.
Monash Open Day director Professor Rob Willis said the success of this year's Open Day was a credit to the Open Day committee.
"The committee ran like a well-oiled machine and the university entertained an increased number of visitors to our Victorian campuses," he said.
"It is to the great credit of the volunteer staff and students that the wider community enjoyed such a positive experience."
10 August 2005
Dr Barrie Finnin, a senior lecturer in the Department of Pharmaceutics, has been appointed the inaugural professor of formulation science at the Victorian College of Pharmacy.
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His appointment followed a rigorous selection process after the creation, earlier this year, of the chair of formulation science -- the first of its type in Australia and one of only a few worldwide.
The dean of the Pharmacy faculty, Professor Colin Chapman, said Professor Finnin (pictured) would be responsible for the leadership, organisation, development and management of formulation science activities within the faculty.
"His duties will include management of undergraduate and postgraduate programs, strategic research development, and the further development of linkages with the many industries that have a dependence on formulation science," Professor Chapman said.
"One of Professor Finnin's first tasks will be to establish a Centre for Formulation Science with strong links to other parts of Monash University and with other universities, research institutes and allied industries."
Professor Finnin joined the Victorian College of Pharmacy in 1966, and his teaching responsibilities have included biopharmaceutics, pharmaceutical microbiology, formulation chemistry and product development.
He leads an internationally recognised transdermal drug delivery research program that led to the establishment of the pharmaceutical company Acrux Limited, which listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2004.
Professor Finnin said he was looking forward to his new role. "This provides an opportunity to develop an exciting new area of applied science with potential for impact on the international stage," he said.
10 August 2005
The Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies has established a bursary to support underprivileged Indigenous students.
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| Towards a Just Society Fund bursary recipient, Charmaine Ingram. |
The Towards a Just Society Fund bursary provides financial assistance to students in the Monash Indigenous Access Scheme or Indigenous Pathway Program.
The bursary was offered to the centre by the Towards a Just Society Fund after the philanthropic organisation learned of the unique schemes offered to Indigenous students by Monash faculties.
Pathway schemes are currently offered in the faculties of Arts; Education; Information Technology; and Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.
The bursary was first offered last semester, providing about $2000 each to the two students in the pathways program.
Four students are involved in the pathways programs this semester, and upwards of $8000 is expected to be distributed.
Ms Peggy Swindle, Indigenous Student recruitment officer, said the centre appreciated the opportunity presented by the Towards a Just Society Fund bursary to further support and assist Indigenous students.
"Bursaries such as these are incredibly valuable for our access and pathways programs," she said.
"They have made the difference between our past pathways students being able to study and commit to university and having to sacrifice their education in order to financially support themselves.
"Ideally, we would like to continue assisting this number of enrolments, and gradually increase them to four or five a year for each faculty," Ms Swindle said.
The centre is currently working with other faculties to establish pathway programs and ensure that bursaries are available for Indigenous students.
Further information on the Monash Indigenous Access Scheme and Indigenous Pathway Program can be found at the Indigenous student support website. For information about establishing a Pathway Program in your faculty, contact Ms Peggy Swindle on +61 3 9905 1507.
10 August 2005
The Monash University Library Rare Books Collection has obtained four Jewish prayer books printed by Sir John Monash's grandfather -- Baer Lobel Monasch - in the mid-nineteenth century.
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| Rare Jewish prayer books from the mid 1800s printed by BL Monasch, grandfather of the university's namesake, Sir John Monash. |
The prayer books were bought at auction by Rare Books Librarian Mr Richard Overell. They were previously in the personal collection of a Melbourne Rabbi.
Monash University was named after Sir John Monash, a prominent Australian and wartime hero.
His family originated in Prussia's Posen Province, now part of Poland. Sir John's grandfather BL Monasch was a publisher of religious books. After migrating to Melbourne in 1854, the family changed the spelling of its surname.
Mr Overell said the books were highly significant for the university.
"They are iconic for us as Monash University, because they were printed by Monash's grandfather in Krotoschin, Prussia, where the family lived.
"We already have one of BL Monasch's prayer books donated by the Monash family, so it was great to be able to bring some of the set back together again."
Mr Overell said the books were for various festivals such as Shavout, Succot and Yom Kippur, and have been used in local Melbourne synagogues.
The five prayer books are available for viewing in the library's Rare Books Collection at the Sir Louis Matheson Library at Clayton campus.
The Rare Books Collection has 30 books from Sir John Monash's personal library that have been donated by members of his family over the years.
10 August 2005
Fifty-two aspiring doctors from the Monash University Malaysia Medical School spent last week in the town of Rawson, near Moe in Gippsland, learning about issues unique to rural medicine.
The students -- the first intake of Monash University Malaysia's Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery -- talked to residents, visited local healthcare services and toured local industry to gain an appreciation of rural medicine.
Although all Monash medical students undertake rural placements in their first year, a special program was devised for the Malaysian students that added social activities to their practical experiences.
As well as visiting healthcare providers and residents, the students visited the snowfields at Mount St Gwinnear and a local national park in the hope of spotting Australian wildlife.
The head of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at Monash University Malaysia, Professor Dato Dr Anuar Zaini, joined the students for part of the week.
Professor Chris Browne, head of the medical faculty's international projects, said the program aimed to give the Malaysian students an insight into rural medical facilities while giving them a sense of country Victoria.
"We like all our students to get an international experience, and this is one way we can enhance the Australian experience for our Malaysian students," he said.
In Malaysia, all medical students are sent to country areas to practise once they have completed their degrees. The same will apply for Monash Malaysia medical students.
"The medical facilities in country areas in Malaysia are underdeveloped compared to Kuala Lumpur, so it is appropriate that the students go into country areas that are not as well developed as Melbourne," Professor Browne said.
10 August 2005
The first Monash University-King's College London conference has been rated a huge success.
'The war on terror: views from the south' conference was held at Monash's Prato Centre just days before terrorist bombings in London killed more than 50 people and injured many more.
It was convened by Dr David Wright-Neville, from Monash's School of Political and Social Inquiry, and Dr Karin von Hippel, from King's College London's International Policy Institute.
Conference attendees included experts from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the US, Canada and Europe, as well as King's College and Monash University academics.
Dr Wright-Neville said topics covered included the root causes of terrorism; radicalisation and recruitment; funding and advocacy; the role of the media; and the role of the UN in counter-terrorism.
"Attendees found the expertise on issues related to terrorism in Eastern Africa and Asia to be especially welcome, given that the focus of so many terrorism meetings tends to be on the Middle East and North Africa," he said.
In an effort to continue the momentum generated among the group, the convenors plan to raise funds for further meetings.
Dr von Hippel said the aim was to inject fresh ideas about counter-terrorism policy into public debates.
Dr Wright-Neville said conference attendees were united in their determination to use their scholarship to promote a less divisive and violent approach to combating the threat of terrorism.
"As they currently stand, the approaches to counter-terrorism adopted by most countries are proving counter-productive," he said. "They are dividing, rather than uniting, societies and eroding core democratic principles for little return in terms of public security."
10 August 2005
Monash University Malaysia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute to foster collaboration in research and education.
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| From left: Mr Phang Koon Tuck, executive director of Monash University Malaysia exchanging MoU documents with Yang Berbahagia Datuk Dr Saharan Haji Anang, director general of the Institute. |
The memorandum was signed by Monash University Malaysia's executive director, Mr Phang Koon Tuck, and the institute's director general Yang Berbahagia Datuk Dr Saharan Haji Anang.
It supports the development of programs, seminars, exchanges and visits that promote research and the educational, social and economic wellbeing of students and faculties.
The memorandum also covers staff exchanges between the two organisations, student field visits and attachments with the institute, institute staff undertaking postgraduate degrees at Monash, and the hosting of joint seminars, research projects and conferences.
The collaboration is a significant development in Monash University Malaysia's efforts to enhance and build on its research strengths.
10 August 2005
New software being tried by the university-wide CoolCampus initiative is enabling intercampus meetings and conferences to take place without participants having to leave their desks.
The Marratech software can be downloaded onto individual desktops and used by staff across Monash's eight campuses for meetings, lectures, conferences or communication between offices.
The program links offices via video and audio and provides virtual meeting rooms that staff can book for meetings. Each of the 'rooms' has a whiteboard and Powerpoint and note-taking capacities, all of which can be viewed by meeting participants.
Mr Paul Hii, from the CoolCampus initiative, based in the Faculty of Information Technology, said that as well as being used for administrative meetings, the program could be used for research collaborations and teaching.
"Users can use any headset, any computer and any webcam, -- it is a much cheaper way to communicate across campuses," he said. "It saves money in both travel costs and phone calls."
Associate Professor Arkady Zaslavsky, CoolCampus director and deputy director of the Monash Centre for Distributed Systems and Software Engineering, uses the software to keep in touch with his students while travelling overseas and to collaborate with his Swedish students while he is in Australia.
He also uses it to collaborate with researchers worldwide.
Dr Des Casey, from the Peninsula School of Information Technology, is using Marratech this semester for two online units, providing online sessions where students can 'drop in' for advice.
Pro vice-chancellor, campus coordination, Professor Phillip Steele, who has tried the system, said Marratech provided great potential for connecting the university's campuses.
"Video conference technology enables cross-campus and cross-country interaction in real time, and we have already used Marratech for campus coordination meetings among Monash campuses, including South Africa and Malaysia," he said.
Anyone interested in trialing the Marratech software should go to the Marratech Collaboration Solution website.
10 August 2005
A team of Monash engineering students will present their prototype power inverter at an international 'future energy' competition in the US next week.
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| Mr Luo, left, and Mr Beckett with two models of the Monash prototype power inverter. |
The 10 final-year electrical engineering students spent 18 months developing the prototype, which converts energy from renewable sources such as solar panels into electricity for domestic use and then distributes any unused energy to the state or national power grid.
Associate Professor Grahame Holmes of the Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering supervised the students, who will participate in the finals of the 2005 International Future Energy Challenge in Denver, Colorado, on 15 August.
The students will compete against teams from the US, Germany, Brazil and South Korea, all of which have designed power inverters.
Monash team co-leader Mr John Luo said the winning team would have the prototype with the best design specifications and most economic production costs.
"Our inverter is contained in a small box, and it would be very cheap to build," Mr Luo said. "It would be ideal for developing countries where the electricity supply can be unstable.
"As the only Australian team, we are committed to demonstrating that Australia is able to develop leading-edge technologies that can compete on an international level.
"We are excited to have the opportunity to represent Monash University and the young engineers of Australia," he said.
The Monash team has received financial support from the university and industry sponsors to build the prototype and travel to the US. The competition is organised by the Power Electronics Society of the Institute of Electric and Electronics Engineers.
For more details about the competition, visit the 2005 International Future Energy Challenge website. For more details about the Monash team, visit the Monash Future Energy Challenge team website.
10 August 2005
Graphic designer Don Chang is the latest participant in Monash's Artist/Designer in Residence Program conducted by the Art and Design faculty at Caulfield.
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| Artist-in-residence, graphic design expert Professor Don Chang. |
Professor Chang from Seoul, Korea, will be in residence until 31 August.
An exhibition of his corporate and brand identity works is on display this week at the Faculty of Art and Design concourse.
Professor Chang, a Master of Fine Arts graduate from the California Institute of the Arts, has extensive experience in graphic design. In 1991 he founded his own company DC&A that later merged with global branding and design company Interbrand.
Professor Chang is chair of the Department of Visual Communication Design at Hongik University in Seoul, executive creative advisor at Interbrand Asia Pacific, and is completing a two-year term as vice-president of the International Council of Graphic Design Associations.
His exhibition DonMon features 39 works completed over the past two decades for organisations such as GM Daewoo, Santa Fe coffee, M.Net television, the Korean Tourism Organisation, Korea Telecom, Shinhan Bank, the Shilla Hotel and Crown Bakery.
While at Monash Professor Chang will conduct design management workshops for students. The students will be grouped into teams to work on a design brief and will then present their solutions to a panel of top graphic design industry representatives.
"This is a semi-professional experience for students which will take them through all stages of the creative and communication process," Professor Chang said. "It is an ideal opportunity to put what they have learnt into practice."
His visit is being coordinated by Mr Russell Kennedy, coordinator of the visual communication course at Caulfield.
"It is terrific for the Art and Design faculty to have a graphic designer of Don Chang's ability, experience and qualifications in the program," Mr Kennedy said.
Mr Kennedy and Professor Chang are hopeful future collaborations and exchange programs between the faculty and the Hongik University will follow.
Monash and Hongik University are already linked through their participation in the elite PACE (Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education) network.
10 August 2005
The third annual lecture in memory of Dr Herb Feith -- Monash academic, teacher, scholar, activist and humanitarian -- was attended by more than 250 people in Melbourne last week.
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| From left: Dr Joan Hardjono, Arts Faculty dean Professor Homer Le Grand and Mr M. Wahid Supriyadi, Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia. |
Dr Joan Hardjono, a member of the board of governors of the Social Monitoring and Early Response Unit research institute in Jakarta and a member of the International Advisory Board of the Bulletin of Indonesia Economic Studies, delivered the memorial lecture.
Addressing the topic: 'Can Indonesia hold? Unity and diversity revisited', Dr Hardjono examined the history of Indonesia, and considered whether recent legislative and policy developments provided adequate scope for regional aspirations without weakening national unity.
Dr Hardjono is a prominent scholar of Indonesia who has written extensively on that country's environmental issues, transmigration, poverty and rural conditions.
The lecture was introduced by Emeritus Professor John Legge AO, foundation professor of history at Monash, former dean of the Faculty of Arts, and colleague and close friend of Dr Feith.
"Joan was one of the very early volunteer graduates, following closely on the heels of Herb's second spell as a volunteer," Professor Legge said.
"After teaching in Semarang during 1957-58, she went on to make a much longer term commitment to Indonesia by marrying and staying on in Indonesia. The subject she chose for her lecture was one very close to Herb's own interests in the last years of his life."
Dr Penny Graham, director of Monash's Centre of Southeast Asian Studies in the Monash Asia Institute, coordinated the event.
The lecture was presented in association with the centre, ABC Radio Australia and the Melbourne Institute of Asian Languages and Societies at the University of Melbourne.
The Herb Feith Memorial lecture is held annually in memory of Australia's finest scholar of Indonesia, the late Herb Feith (1930-2001), who taught politics at Monash from 1962 to 1990.
In 2004, a foundation was launched to honour Dr Feith's role in the development of Monash as a major centre for the study of Indonesia and to continue the work to which he devoted his life. This year's lecture marked the launch of a public appeal to support the work of the Foundation.
For information on the Herb Feith Foundation, visit the website. Herb Feith Foundation website.
For a transcript of the third Herb Feith lecture, visit the ABC website at ABC Radio Australia website.
10 August 2005
A record crowd of 440 people last week enjoyed a hearty breakfast and talk by alumnus Dr Sally Cockburn at the 10th annual Administrative Support Network Breakfast.
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| The Parker sisters, from left, Alice, Hannah and Ruth, entertain the crowd. |
Dr Cockburn, also known as radio personality Dr Feelgood, encouraged the audience to find a balance between their work and personal lives to preserve their wellbeing.
Dr Cockburn is one of Australia's leading health communicators with nearly 20 years' clinical experience as a medical practitioner and more than 10 years' experience as a media presenter.
Professor Stephen Parker, senior deputy vice-chancellor and patron of the Network, was master of ceremonies on the breakfast, held at the Clayton campus.
A highlight of the event were performances by Professor Parker's three daughters, Ruth, Hannah and Alice, who sang two George Harrison songs, 'Here comes the sun' and 'Isn't it a pity'.
They were accompanied on guitar by Professor Parker, director of Staff Services Mr Andrew Picouleau and manager of Client Services Mr Terry Hogan.