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Roundup

Cars of the future

Twelve futuristic model vehicles designed by Monash University students went on show for the first time at the 2002 Melbourne Motor Show in February.

Monash's Faculty of Art and Design was the only non-commercial vendor to be offered a place at the Motor Show. The concept vehicles, designed and built by Monash industrial design students, showed what cars might be like in 10 years time.

The designs incorporated new technologies and took environmental concerns and transport users' behaviour into account.

Teaching attracts professional recruits

A preliminary study into the reasons why professionals are choosing to change careers and study teaching has found flexibility, security and an ongoing desire to teach is attracting them into the industry.

The study, 'A survey investigation of influences and choices in attracting graduates into teaching', was conducted by Dr Paul Richardson, associate dean (Teaching) in Monash's Faculty of Education, and Dr Helen Watt from the Faculty of Education at the University of Sydney. It aimed to determine the reasons behind graduates' decisions to pursue teaching as a career.

Dr Richardson said the study was undertaken in response to the high number of professionals returning to university to study teaching.

Active kids program wins award

A Monash-led program encouraging young children in childcare to become more active has won a state government 2002 Sport and Recreation Industry Award.

Developed by education lecturer Dr Justen O'Connor, the 'Active Care, a meaningful movement program for children in care' program won the education category of the award.

The program is designed to increase the opportunities for physical activity and motor skill development for children aged between three and five in family daycare programs.

Dr O'Connor, who created the program with Monash researcher Ms Vicki Bradley and Dr Viviene Temple from RMIT, said it was developed out of a concern that young children's opportunities to engage in physical activity were "under threat".

Students get a taste of Tuscany

Monash law students experienced a taste of Tuscan life while furthering their studies as part of the Law School's Study in Europe program this year.

More than 80 students undertook a semester of international law studies at Monash's Prato Centre in Italy, as well as in Vienna, Austria.

The students were accompanied and taught by three Monash law academics, Mr Judd Epstein, Mr Paul Brenner and Professor George Hampel. They also benefited from the expertise of Professor Vincenzo Vigoriti and Professor Vincenzo Varano from the University of Florence, and Professor Herbert Hausmaninger from the University of Vienna.

Child refugee policy questioned

A new study by a Monash refugee law expert has found Australia's system for processing child asylum seekers is inadequate compared to the policies and procedures of other Western nations.

In a paper co-written with Monash law graduate Ms Gabi Crafti, Associate Professor Susan Kneebone argues that Australia is unique in having a mandatory detention policy that applies to all asylum seekers regardless of age. She urges the Australian Government to develop and implement policies consistent with those found in the UK, the US and Canada.

The paper forms part of a submission made by Monash's Castan Centre for Human Rights Law to the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention being conducted by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Stem cell discovery

In a world first, Monash University researchers have discovered immune system stem cells and have used them to grow a crucial part of the immune system - the thymus.

For more than 30 years a major question in immunology has been how to build a thymus, a small organ that is critical in generating many vital cells of the immune system, including infection-fighting T-cells.

Now, Associate Professor Richard Boyd and Dr Jason Gill from Monash University Medical School have identified a small population of cells that can generate a complete and functional thymus.

Researchers win Victoria Fellowships

Two Monash University researchers were awarded Victoria Fellowships by the state government in August in recognition of the significant contributions they have made to heart research and public health.

Dr Cindy Yap from Monash's Department of Medicine at Box Hill Hospital received her award for her role in identifying an enzyme that is largely responsible for the abnormal blood clotting that underlies heart attack and stroke.

Ms Tracey Bessell from the Monash Institute of Health Services Research was acknowledged for her research into how to improve the quality of prescribing in Australia and make medicines more cost-effective.

The Victoria Fellowships are presented in conjunction with the Victoria Prize and consist of six awards in the form of travel grants of up to $15,000.

Pharmacy pathway to MBA

Pharmacists will be provided with Australia's first pharmacy pathway to an MBA under a new program at Monash.

Due to start in the second semester of 2002, the Pharmacy Management Program (PMP) is a joint project between the Victorian College of Pharmacy and the Faculty of Business and Economics.

The program, which was developed with input from relevant peak pharmacy bodies, will foster management skill development for pharmacists, nurses and health professionals.

Engineer in Academy of Science

The research achievements of Professor Tam Sridhar, head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, have been acknowledged with his election to the Australian Academy of Science.

Professor Sridhar was honoured for his contributions to reaction engineering and for solving a major problem in the science of large molecules, particularly polymers. He developed a device called a filament stretching rheometer, which measures the elongational properties of these macromolecules. This breakthrough has opened up new areas of research.

Professor Sridhar is only the second Monash engineer to be elected to the academy. The first was Professor Doug Lampard, in 1977.

Artificial muscles discovery

Monash University researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Wollongong, have developed salt-based liquids that improve the performance of artificial muscles by thousands of times.

The discovery has progressed the development of artificial muscles to such an extent that simple prosthetic devices containing artificial muscles could be available within three years.

Professor Doug MacFarlane from Monash University's Chemistry department and Dr Maria Forsyth, a reader in the School of Physics and Materials Engineering, have spent five years developing "ionic liquids" - salts that are liquid at room temperature - which have revolutionised the performance of artificial muscles.

Biodiversity centre plans for future

Monash University has established a research centre that aims to maintain environmental sustainability rather than merely documenting the decline of plant and animal biodiversity in Australia.

The Australian Centre for Biodiversity: Analysis, Policy and Management brings together Monash researchers with specialties in terrestrial and aquatic ecology and conservation biology, environmental policy formulation, impacts of invasive, exotic species and conservation genetics.

Malaria award

Monash pharmacy researchers are part of an international team that has been awarded the Drug Discovery Project of the Year Award 2001 from the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV).

MMV is a leading international public-private partnership and was formed to develop new drug treatments for malaria, which kills between one million and two million people each year.

Professor Bill Charman and Dr Susan Charman from the Victorian College of Pharmacy are collaborating with academic and industrial research groups in the US and Switzerland to develop a new class of low-cost, fast-acting highly effective drugs for treating malaria.

The Monash team, which also includes Dr Francis Chiu, Dr Seetal Dodd and Dr Kylie McIntosh, have identified and designed new drug candidates with optimal pharmaceutical properties so they can be rapidly developed at a reasonable cost.

Infrastructure grants awarded

Monash University's School of Physics and Materials Engineering is a founding partner in two of the consortia that were awarded Science Technology and Innovation Infrastructure grants by the Victorian Government this year.

The school will lead the Nanotechnology Victoria consortium and is a partner in the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing (V-CAMM).

Nanotechnology Victoria received $12 million to consolidate and grow the research base for nanotechnology in Victoria, particularly its interface with the biotechnology community.

The V-CAMM received $5 million towards setting up a research service facility for industry.

New IT deputy dean appointed

Professor Gopal Gupta has been appointed to the newly created role of deputy dean in the Faculty of Information Technology.

Professor Gupta, who began his appointment in October, has had a distinguished 30-year career in computer science research and education.

A senior lecturer in computer science at Monash from 1972 to 1986, Professor Gupta was a former head of the Department of Computer Science at James Cook University from 1986 until 1998. He then took up the position of dean of the Faculty of Information Technology at Bond University.

Professor Gupta will take particular responsibility for quality assurance of academic programs and will assist the dean in a number of other areas.

Enrolments defy IT market trends

Despite media reports of a collapse in the IT job market, the Faculty of Information Technology has reported an increase in enrolments this year, indicating that interest in IT careers is stronger than ever.

Postgraduate courses were most popular, with 55 per cent of the increase attributed to full-fee postgraduate student enrolments.

Among the postgraduate IT courses in demand are the Master of Information Technology, Master of Information Management and Systems, and the Master of Network Computing.

Australian economist honoured

Eminent Australian economist Professor Alan Powell has been awarded an honorary doctorate in economics by Monash University. It is only the fifth time the university has conferred this prestigious award.

Professor Powell has had a long and distinguished career and was instrumental in establishing the world-renowned econometrics department at Monash.

He was director of the federal government's economic research project, IMPACT, from its inception in 1975 until the end of 1992.

Over the past 25 years, IMPACT economic models have played a prominent role in national debates on trade liberalisation, micro-economic reform, the GST, and greenhouse gas reduction.

Corporate accountability

Corporate accountability is a hot topic worldwide, with company stakeholders demanding more transparency and assurances that corporate reports are accurate representations of company performance.

Professor Carol Adams, one of the world's leading researchers in social and ethical reporting and organisational accountability, and the new head of the Faculty of Business and Economics at Gippsland, has helped develop a set of guidelines that provides companies with a systematic stakeholder-based approach to accountability and performance improvement.

The AA1000 Framework is a set of guidelines that each company must follow when they do their reporting in order to ensure transparency.

New appointments in Arts

Professor Jim Walter has been appointed Professor of Political Science in Monash's School of Political and Social Inquiry.

Professor Walter was formerly pro vice-chancellor of Arts at Griffith University.

He has published widely on Australian politics and political history, including an early biography of former prime minister Gough Whitlam.

Professor Walter will strengthen the Australian governance stream in the politics discipline.

The Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies has appointed Professor Andrew Benjamin as its new research professor of critical theory.

Professor Benjamin is an internationally recognised authority on contemporary French and German critical theory.

What it is to be South African

Dr Kate Flynn of Monash South Africa is conducting joint research on post-1994 South African identity and the uses of public history.

The study focuses on the post-apartheid presen-tation, use and policy towards public history as evidenced in South African museums and heritage sites. It is being undertaken with Dr Tony King, research coordinator in the Centre for Development and Enterprise, Johannesburg.

Islamic banking

Monash University Malaysia is carving a niche in the field of Islamic finance and capital markets with its research into the banking sector.

Newly appointed professor and chair of Accounting and Finance at Monash Malaysia, Professor Bala Shanmugam, has helped establish the research project, which will examine the role of the Islamic financial system in Malaysia and its relationship to similar systems in other Islamic countries.

Islamic banking is globally accepted as an important and viable financial system, with more than $US200 billion being managed by Islamic financial institutions. It is widespread in most Islamic nations and can exist on its own, as it does in Iran and Pakistan, or can co-exist with conventional banking systems, as it does in Malaysia.

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