In Brief

May 2006

Achievements

Professor David de Kretser.

Leading appointments

Highly respected Monash academic Professor David de Kretser has been named Governor of Victoria.

Professor de Kretser, who was Associate Dean (Biotechnology Development) in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, began his five-year appointment in April.

The first woman to head the Supreme Court of Australia -- Monash alumna The Honourable Justice Marilyn Warren -- is the new Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria.

IITB--Monash establish science institute

Monash University and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) have signed a landmark agreement to jointly undertake scientific research.

The collaboration will create the IITB--Monash University Research Academy as a centre of research excellence in clean energy, water, biotechnology, mineral exploration and computer simulation.

Students and alumni shine at the Games

Ms Lauren Hewitt.

Monash students and alumni brought home three gold, three silver and four bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne earlier this year.

Science student Mr Brenton Rickard swam the breaststroke leg in the men's gold-medal-winning 4x100m medley relay. He also won silver in the men's 200m breaststroke and bronze in the 50m and 100m breaststroke.

In track and field, Ms Lauren Hewitt, who completed a Bachelor of Science in 2005, won a gold medal for her part in the 4x100m women's relay.

Arts student Ms Jacinta Hamilton was part of the Australian women's basketball team that defeated New Zealand by 38 points to win the gold medal match.

Computing graduate Mr Travis Brooks (BComp 2005) was part of the men's hockey team that also won gold, and Ms Janine Ilitch (BE (Civ) (Cl) 1997) received a silver medal after the women's netball team was defeated by New Zealand.

Ms Irena Olevsky (BBus (BBU-Gipps) 1997) won silver in the synchronised swimming duet and bronze in the synchronised swimming solo.

Ms Rosie Hooper (BA 2005, LLB(Hons) 2005) placed eighth in the women's javelin, and Mr Dave Zalcberg, who is undertaking a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery, finished sixth in the men's table tennis.

Three Monash Australia Day Honours

Three senior Monash academics have been named in this year's Australia Day Honours list.

The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Professor Ed Byrne, received an AO (Officer in the Order of Australia ) medal for his services to neurology as a clinician and academic, and in recognition of advances in medical research, particularly in mitochondrial muscle disease.

Professor The Honourable George Hampel QC of the Law faculty was awarded an AM (Member in the Order of Australia ) medal for service to legal education, particularly in advocacy training, and to professional organisations.

Professor Uwe Proske, of the Department of Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, received an OAM (Medal of the Order of Australia ) for service to physiology, particularly in neuroscience, and to medical research.

For a listing of all Monash recipients, visit the Australia Day Honours 2006 webpage.

Law

Law Dean recognised for excellence

Monash's Law Dean, Professor Arie Freiberg, has been elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

Professor Freiberg was elected for his contribution to criminology scholarship.

Arts

Indonesian honour

Senior lecturer in Indonesian studies Mr Bas Koesasi has received the Widya Samkrama Yasa award from Indonesia's Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.

The award acknowledges Mr Koesasi's distinguished service and contribution to cooperation between Indonesia and Australia in education and training.

Business and Economics

EQUIS accreditation

Monash has become the first Victorian university to be awarded international business school accreditation by the Brussels-based European Quality Improvement System, EQUIS.

EQUIS is the leading international system of quality assessment, improvement and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration.

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Knocking out malaria

Removing a single gene from the malaria parasite could prevent the most severe forms of the disease and save millions of lives, a Monash team has found.

Dr Brian Cooke and his team from the Department of Microbiology found that by 'knocking out' the SBP1 (skeleton binding protein-1) gene from the malaria parasite, infected red blood cells could no longer stick to the inside of blood vessels and block blood flow in vital organs, causing severe disease and, frequently, death.

The team is now trying to develop a drug that could target the protein.

Pharmacy

Cannabis compound may reduce psychosis

Cannabis, a drug believed to increase the risk of psychosis in users, contains a compound that may be able to reverse psychotic behaviour, Monash researchers have found.

The scientists have identified a chemical compound in cannabis -- cannabidiol -- that has been found to reverse drug-induced behavioural disturbances in mice.

Engineering

Synchrotron celebration

Hundreds of VIPs attended a gala dinner at the Australian Synchrotron -- the first and only opportunity to dine on the 'technical floor' of the facility that will open next year.

The unique event, held in March, was hosted by the Monash Engineering Foundation in the synchrotron building, which is under construction at the university's Clayton campus.

The dinner was sponsored by Thiess, Bassett and JMP Consulting -- companies involved in the construction of the Australian Synchrotron.

Education

Dean heads peak body

The Dean of the Faculty of Education, Professor Sue Willis, has been appointed head of the peak body representing education deans throughout Australia.

Science

Dr Jeffrey Stilwell.

New dinosaur evidence

Monash University palaeontologist Dr Jeffrey Stilwell has rocked the South Pacific with his latest find -- the first evidence that land-dwelling dinosaurs lived on remote south-west islands.

His fossil discovery on the Chatham Islands confirmed the islands were once linked by a finger-like extension of land to New Zealand, some 860 kilometres away.

Dr Stilwell said the discovery showed dinosaurs inhabited the most isolated parts of the Southern Hemisphere.

Information Technology

Lecturer hotfoots after criminals

Criminals who leave their footprints at crime scenes could be more easily identified, thanks to a Monash research project awarded a Victorian Partnership for Advanced Computing (VPAC) grant.

The project, headed by Dr David Taniar, a senior lecturer at Monash's Clayton School of Information Technology, uses advanced data-mining techniques to discover patterns in the thousands of footprint images held by Victoria Police.

Dr Taniar said identifying patterns in shoe-mark images could help solve crimes where offenders had tried to avoid leaving traces by wearing gloves or masks.

Art and Design

Richest portrait prize win

Australia's richest portrait prize has been won by Monash drawing tutor and masters student Mr Peter Wegner.

Mr Wegner won the $100,000 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize in March for his portrait of friend and muse Mr Graeme Doyle, who he has painted more than 100 times since they met at art school in the 1980s.

Mr Wegner's win with 'Wounded Poet' marks the third time a Monash artist has taken out the award. Prudence Flint (2004) and Kristin Headlam (2000) are previous winners.

Vale

Mr John White.

John White

Mr John White, the former Caulfield and Peninsula Campus Director and Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor on Sport, passed away in April.

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Parker said Mr White had been highly respected by staff and students across the university. "His sense of humour and down-to-earth manner endeared him to all," he said.