 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||
    | ||||
|
|
RoundupScience and technologySynchrotron construction due to begin Construction of Australia's first synchrotron, a powerful $157 million microscope that will revolutionise scientific research in this country, is due to commence at Monash University's Clayton campus later this year. Professor Robert Lewis, a prominent physicist from the UK, has been recruited to play a leading role in the synchrotron project. Currently an instrumentation physicist at a synchrotron in England, he will take up the Chair of X-Ray and Synchrotron Physics in the School of Physics and Materials Engineering in June. He will also be the director of the Centre for X-Ray Physics and Imaging at Monash. New agreement on green chemistry Monash University's Centre for Green Chemistry will work with an Italian network of universities known as Consortium INCA to identify greener approaches to chemistry. The partners have signed an agreement to regulate research and education practices on green chemistry between the institutions for the next five years. Green chemistry involves developing chemical processes and products that have little or no environmental risk and are economically and technologically feasible. Supercomputer to aid research A $1 million world-class Cray supercomputer will boost the research capabilities of Monash University's Engineering faculty. The recently donated Cray SV1, which will be one of Australia's fastest supercomputers, is designed to work on scientific and engineering problems requiring large single calculations unable to be performed on a normal desktop computer. The machine will be a powerful tool for ongoing industry research related to genomics, telecommunications, mining, defence and the automotive industry. Queensland lays claim to South Australia Queensland could lay claim to South Australia, with Monash University researchers revealing that large sections of South Australia were once part of Queensland. Researchers from the Australian Crustal Research Centre have found that a large part of South Australia was originally part of Queensland, just east of Mount Isa. Some 1500 million years ago, a large chunk of the Earth's crust broke free from the north Australian landmass and was dragged south by a retreating subduction zone. This landmass rotated about 55 degrees as it was dragged away from its northern cousin. It eventually smashed into the southern Australian coastline. |
|