15 December 2004
15 December 2004
Dear colleagues,
As we approach the end of 2004, I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone in the Monash community for their contributions to the university throughout the year.
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| Vice-chancellor, Professor Richard Larkins |
2004 has been a very successful year for the university; major achievements include:
I am more convinced than ever of the potential for Monash University to become a truly great international research-led university. It has areas of excellence in research and scholarship and the critical mass to enable the development of multidisciplinary research teams which, alone or in collaboration with other institutions and industry, can compete at the highest international level. We are beginning to realise that our multicampus structure, while producing some administrative complexities, provides particular opportunities both in regional alliances with associated funding and in international links through our developing overseas campuses.
I thank all staff for your continued hard work and support and wish you all a happy and peaceful festive season and a wonderful year ahead.
Invitation to end-of-year celebration
I would like to invite all staff to join me at an end-of-year celebration to be held in the Campus Centre Main dining room on Monday, 20 December.
Drinks and nibbles will be provided as we celebrate the end of another successful year. I will say a few words at 5pm.
Where: Main dining room, Campus Centre
When: Monday, 20 December, 4.30 - 6.30 pm
No RSVP is required.
15 December 2004
Democracy, religion, capitalism, terrorism and tolerance were some of the issues discussed with former Indonesian president Mr Abdurrahman Wahid at a seminar at Monash's Clayton campus last Friday.
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| Mr Abdurrahman Wahid with Professor Gary Bouma. |
A panel of six journalists and academics took part in the discussion, titled 'Inter-religious and intercultural dialogue in south-east Asia and the Pacific', with the well-known Muslim cleric.
Mr Wahid was on campus to launch the UNESCO chair in inter-religious and intercultural relations, South Pacific -- a position awarded to Professor Gary Bouma, head of Monash's School of Social and Political Inquiry, in September.
Mr Wahid, the first freely elected president of Indonesia, spoke about peace, unity and the rise of religion as an increasingly powerful force.
He highlighted the growing need for policy-makers to promote peace and ease ethnic tensions in the Asia Pacific region.
The Reverend John Baldock, executive officer of International Outlook, an independent, non-profit organisation promoting ethnic and religious conflict resolution and post-conflict resolution, chaired the discussion.
Among those in attendance were vice-chancellor Professor Richard Larkins and Arts dean Professor Homer Le Grand.
This was Mr Wahid's first visit to Australia in several years.
15 December 2004
Two Monash staff members have been recognised for their outstanding contribution to teaching in the annual Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Excellence.
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| Award winners: Associate Professor Marilyn Baird and Professor Richard Harding with vice-chancellor Professor Richard Larkins (back). |
Vice-chancellor Professor Larkins presented the awards at a ceremony earlier this month.
The Distinguished Teaching Award was presented to Associate Professor Marilyn Baird, head of the Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences.
Professor Baird's accomplishments include the creation of the Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences and the creation and implementation of the Bachelor of Radiography and Medical Imaging, the Master of Radiation Therapy and the Master of Medical Ultrasound.
The Postgraduate Supervision Award was awarded to Professor Richard Harding, a professorial fellow in the Department of Physiology.
Professor Harding said his work as a postgraduate supervisor could be measured by his students' success. His research group has a strong reputation within the academic community because of the many students who are offered employment in Australia and with universities overseas.
Professor Larkins said it was important for a university to recognise staff members who made exceptional contributions.
"These awards are just one of the small ways in which Monash can give back to its staff," he said.
The winners each received a medallion, a permanent citation in the Monash University Calendar and a $5000 grant.
15 December 2004
More than 100 of Victoria's high-achieving students are being offered Monash University scholarships this year worth more than $2 million over five years.
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| Monash vice-chancellor Professor Richard Larkins with students offered the Monash University Scholarships for Excellence. |
Ten students will receive Scholarships for Excellence, offered to students who achieved the highest Year 12 ENTER scores. Each scholarship covers the Commonwealth student contribution amount and provides $6000 in cash per year to help with other expenses.
Students offered the scholarships include Mr David O'Loughlin, who studied at Caulfield Grammar, Mr Christopher Marchingo, from St Kevin's College Toorak, Mr Ross Bicknell, from Trinity Grammar School, Ms Melissa Lee, from Korowa Anglican Girls School, Ms Michelle Cheh, from Balwyn High School, Mr Matthew Eglezos from Xavier College, Mr Alexander Papachristos from Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School, and Ms Wendy Ni from Presbyterian Ladies College.
These students all received ENTER scores above 99.90.
The university will also award 100 Scholarships for Excellence and Equity to high-achieving students whose ENTER scores were above 90 and who faced significant disadvantages in successfully completing their secondary schooling.
These scholarships offer $3000 per year for each year of study up to a maximum of five years, to use towards education costs including living expenses, books and stationery.
Students applying for the excellence and equity scholarships are assessed on a range of criteria, including their socio-economic status and whether they are of Australian Indigenous descent, from a rural or isolated background or whether they have experienced long-term difficult family circumstances.
15 December 2004
Monash University vice-chancellor Professor Richard Larkins has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Melbourne for his outstanding service to medicine, medical education and research.
Professor Larkins received the award at the university's graduation ceremony last week, at which he gave the keynote address.
In a citation, Professor Larkins was described as one of the most distinguished graduates of the University of Melbourne.
"His career has been one of continuous growth and selfless service," it said.
"Among his many achievements, his personal example as a caring clinician and a teacher and mentor of students is exemplary. Throughout his career he has also shown tremendous support for colleagues."
Professor Larkins said he was surprised to receive the doctorate.
"It is a huge honour to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the university where I studied and spent most of my professional life," he said.
"I was particularly pleased to receive my degree at the same time as the first graduands from the new curriculum in medicine with which I was associated."
Professor Larkins graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery in 1966 as the top student. Before coming to Monash as vice-chancellor in 2003, Professor Larkins was dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at Melbourne.
15 December 2004
A new user-sensitive web portal providing medical, supportive and anecdotal information for women with breast cancer and their families has been launched at Breacan Women's Health Victoria.
The Breast Cancer Knowledge Online (BCKOnline) site has been designed by researchers in Monash's Information Technology faculty, working with BreastCare Victoria, the Breast Cancer Action Group and women with breast cancer.
The site enables women to choose how much and what kind of information they want, as well as the degree of technicality.
Chief investigator and head of the School of Information Management and Systems in the IT faculty Professor Sue McKemmish said the site had been developed in response to research that found women needed diverse information which was easily accessible.
"For instance a young mother who has been recently diagnosed with breast cancer and who lives on a farm has quite different needs from an elderly widow in the advanced stages of the disease and who lives in the city," she said.
"BCKOnline is a tool that women and their families and friends can use to find online information on a range of issues relating to breast cancer and associated support services and, importantly, access the stories of other women who have experienced breast cancer, as and when they need it.
"It enables users to identify relevant information in terms of variables such as age, location, lifestyle and the stage of their disease and in a world first, it also allows users to judge the quality and reliability of the information resources they access."
Chair of the Breast Cancer Action Group Ms Sue Lockwood said the internet was fast becoming the preferred information option for many health consumers because it provided privacy, anonymity and easy access to information.
"Information is vital for informed decision-making and improved health and lifestyle outcomes for people with a serious, life-threatening illness such as breast cancer," she said.
"This site is particularly useful for women who are not well and cannot travel to a physical library."
BCKOnline can be found at www.bckonline.monash.edu.au.
15 December 2004
A Gippsland nursing student with a passion for her career has won the Australian Nursing Federation (Victoria) Undergraduate Award.
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| Award winner Ms Kristen Ferguson. |
Ms Kristen Ferguson, 21, from Churchill, has just completed her three-year undergraduate degree at Monash's Gippsland campus and will combine her honours studies next year with the graduate nursing program at Monash Medical Centre.
Ms Ferguson recalls completing a survey in Year 9 which indicated she had the qualities required to make an excellent nurse.
"It was something I had not really considered, but as I continued through secondary school it became increasingly appealing," she said. "I wanted a career that would be worthwhile and make a real difference to people's lives."
Ms Ferguson has a particular interest in intensive care and critical care nursing but is keen to continue to expand her experience through rotations.
Her honours project will focus on the little-researched area in Australia of how novice nurses cope professionally and personally with sudden death in medical and surgical units.
"Ultimately, I'd like to develop an educational model for undergraduate students in this subject," Ms Ferguson said.
School of Nursing lecturer Ms Jill French nominated Ms Ferguson not only for her academic achievements but also because of her enthusiasm for her studies and willingness to help classmates and the community.
"She is a very empathetic person with a caring nature and bubbly personality," Ms French said. "And she is also dedicated to continuing her research in the nursing field."
Ms Ferguson's award was one of eight made to outstanding undergraduate students from across Victoria at the ANF's (Victorian branch) annual general meeting last week.
15 December 2004
The Faculty of Information Technology and the Information Technology Services (ITS) Division have won a joint grant comprising computing equipment from Sun Microsystems worth more than $150,000.
Deputy vice-chancellor (research) Professor Edwina Cornish said the award, from the Sun Fire Grid Grant Program 2004, would be a valuable addition to Monash's already significant investment in eResearch, by providing high-performance computing equipment, which would offer a range of opportunities for leading-edge research.
The successful grant application was a collaborative submission by Dr Asad Khan of the Faculty of Information Technology and Mr Russell Keil and Mr Richard Spindler of ITS.
Projects that will benefit from the grant include work by Dr Khan which transforms simple wireless sensor networks into a new form of computer. Such computers can be embedded in physical objects and interact with their surroundings without human intervention and with a level of awareness not possible with conventional computers.
IT faculty dean Professor Ron Weber said the grant could open opportunities for developing new technologies that addressed critical areas such as aged-care and water resource conservation.
"For example, embedded networks of cubic millimetre-sized computers and limited radio-frequency devices could make possible an irrigation system that releases water according to plant needs and soil moisture conditions," he said.
The new system will also be used by Professor David Abramson's research group for further development of the Nimrod/Gtoolset, which is used locally and internationally to support GRID computing activities among researchers.
Monash has decided to immediately upgrade the grid computer system.
ITS executive director Mr Alan McMeekin said this had been done to provide ample capacity to enable leading-edge research into grid services and to support cross-disciplinary research.
15 December 2004
A Monash postdoctoral researcher has been recognised for his inflammation research, winning the New Investigator Award at a recent international symposium in Melbourne.
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| New Investigator Award winner Dr Ashley Mansell. |
Dr Ashley Mansell, from the Centre for Functional Genomics and Human Disease at the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development, won the award, which is open to postdoctoral researchers who have completed their PhD within the past five years and who are researching inflammation.
The award was presented at a three-day symposium, 'Inflammation: from cellular immunity to human disease', in November at the Monash Medical Centre, Clayton. The Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development and the Southern Clinical School hosted the event.
Dr Mansell was selected as a finalist based on an abstract he submitted.
His talk at the symposium, titled 'SOCS-1 targets MAL/TIRAP for degradation to regulate TLR mediated signalling', centred on a novel role for Mal (a special protein) that had not been previously described and explained how it may control inflammation in response to pathogens.
The second part described the degradation of Mal.
"The two parts of the research may explain how our immune system regulates our response to microbial invasion and how that is shut down or modified so that we don't go into a chronic inflammatory state," Dr Mansell said.
Dr Mansell completed his PhD at Trinity College, Dublin, in 2002. His research into inflammation involves understanding how the innate immune system detects microbial pathogens and responds to them via relatively new family of receptors called the Toll-like Receptors.
15 December 2004
Monash's top undergraduate and graduate marketing students have been recognised for their academic achievements at the 33rd Annual Marketing Awards for Excellence.
More than 300 students, staff and industry professionals attended the awards at the Park Hyatt on 9 December.
The event was organised entirely by students under the supervision of Department of Marketing lecturers Ms Erica Brady and Mr Brian Imrie.
"The student committee organises the awards night, taking responsibility for the planning, raising sponsorship money, controlling event finances, managing publicity, and maintaining the event's website," Mr Imrie said.
"The winners receive a trophy and an industry-sponsored cheque, and internships are available for selected undergraduate marketing students.
"The event also provides students with valuable networking contacts, as industry leaders attend to head-hunt the year's most promising graduates."
Industry-sponsored unit and course awards were presented to outstanding students.
Among the winners were final-year marketing student Ms Kim Vernon, who received the Sidwell Scholarship valued at $25,000, and Bachelor of Business (Honours) marketing student Ms Esther Smith-Mitchell, who was presented with the GE Money award for $600.
GE Money sponsored the awards, with additional support provided by Cricket Australia, National Foods, Tattersalls, Nike, Priceline, Compucon, Marketing Magazine (Niche media), Network Event Management, Encore Productions, Park Hyatt Melbourne, Rogen, Seppelt, and Carlton & United Beverages.
For more information, visit www.monashawards.com.
15 December 2004
Non-government organisations (NGOs) face increasing challenges related to governance, Monash alumnus and chief executive officer of World Vision the Reverend Tim Costello has told the Monash Governance Forum.
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| Reverend Tim Costello, left, and Mr Steven Bowman were guest speakers at the final Monash Governance Research Unit forum for 2004. |
Reverend Costello, one of two guest speakers at last week's forum organised by the Monash Governance Research Unit, said since NGOs had to pursue more complex and difficult objectives than profit-making corporations, their structures should reflect this complexity.
He said the quality of governance was critical because of the need to retain contributors' goodwill as well as efficiently achieving the organisation's non-profit vision.
Mr Steven Bowman, a leading corporate and not-for-profit executive, told the forum that recent increases in the number of corporate failures, including Enron, Worldcom, Parmalaat, HIH and OneTel, meant governance was a buzzword in business talk.
He said company boards needed to be more conscious of the dynamics of the companies they governed.
"Board members need to be able to ask probing questions, seek the truth, understand risks and consequences, consider multiple scenarios, confront and correct mistakes, assume ownership of performance targets and act as true custodians of a company's vision," he said.
The Monash Governance Research Unit forums are held monthly to highlight issues of governance.
15 December 2004
More than 90 third-year students from Monash's School of Multimedia Systems (SMS) have displayed their work at the SMS 2004 Exhibition at the Atrium in Melbourne's Federation Square.
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| Visitors enjoy the recent exhibition at Federation Square. |
The annual two-day exhibition allowed local and international industry representatives, Members of Parliament and the public to view the students' work, which included 3D games, websites, videos, CD-ROMS, interactive multimedia and Flash games.
SMS head Mr Lindsay Smith said the exhibition had been an outstanding success.
"The work illustrated the students' achievements in completing their degrees," he said. "This is a true credit to themselves and the staff who helped them throughout their studies."
The event culminated in an industry night attended by more than 300 staff, students, sponsors, special guests and local and international industry representatives.
As part of the exhibition, Victorian high school students were invited to participate in the 2004 SMS Flash competition, which required entrants to create an original short animation using Macromedia Flash.
The winners, three Year 10 students from Whitefriars College in Donvale, received a USB (Universal Serial Bus) drive and an educational version of Flash software for their school.
SMS 2004 Exhibition coordinator Mr Andrew Owen said the event had proved so popular that plans were under way to hold next year's exhibition again at Federation Square.
15 December 2004
Dr Annette Van den Bosch, a lecturer in art history at Monash's Clayton campus, has launched her second published book, The Australian Art World: Aesthetics in a Global Market.
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| History of art: Associate Professor Robert Nelson and Dr Annette Van den Bosch. |
The book, which details the past 50 years of development in the Australian art world, stems from more than 10 years of research.
"The Australian art world has changed significantly since the 1960s, and this book examines the process of this change and the impact it has had on artists' careers, education, dealers, museums and audiences," Dr Van den Bosch said.
The Age newspaper art critic and associate dean, research and graduate studies, in the Art and Design faculty Associate Professor Robert Nelson launched the book at the Christine Abrahams Gallery in Richmond last week.
The launch was attended by artists, collectors and art dealers.
15 December 2004
More than 250 people attended the launch of a new edition of the classic Australian history book, The Rise and Fall of Marvellous Melbourne, at the historic Royal Exhibition Buildings in Carlton.
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| Book launch: Professor Graeme Davison was on site at the Royal Exhibition Buildings to launch the new edition of his latest book, The Rise and Fall of Marvellous Melbourne. |
The book, written by Professor Graeme Davison from the School of Historical Studies at Monash, was first published in 1978 by Melbourne University Press.
"Marvellous Melbourne has enjoyed great success, so we hope this new edition continues to generate interest," Professor Davison said.
Professor Davison is a Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor of History and recent winner of the Nettie Palmer Prize for non-fiction as part of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards for his book, Car Wars.
The launch was organised by the Institute for Public History (IPH), a recent initiative of the School of Historical Studies.
IPH deputy director Dr Susan Aykut said the institute's goal was to increase the profile of history by keeping it in the public eye and to help strengthen links between historians.
She said the institute would continue to host events for alumni and the wider community with this in mind.
"We want to raise community awareness of the importance of history and heritage by promoting events and publications that foster public knowledge of history," she said.
For further information about the Institute for Public History, visit www.arts.monash.edu.au/history/iph/.