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Queensland University of Technology Newspaper

Issue 296 August, 2009

www.news.qut.edu.au www.twitter.com/QUTmedia George Street Brisbane 4000 Telephone (07) 3138 2361 Registered by Australia Post – Publication No. QBF 4778. CRICOS No 00213J

Developments

QUT’s Gardens Point campus will be transformed over the next three years as a new Science and Technology Precinct is created during the biggest construction project in the university’s history.

The $200 million redevelopment involves the demolition of fi ve buildings and the creation of two new buildings for research and teaching, along with new public spaces for recreation, leisure and dining.

The precinct will be used for key teaching and research priorities across the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering, and will house two key QUT institutes – the Institute of Sustainable Resources and the Information Security Institute.

Demolition work has already started, with the project expected to generate 500 construction-related jobs.

QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake said the precinct, to be completed by 2012, would be an internationally signifi cant centre for the

development of science, technology, eng ineer ing and mathemat i c s disciplines.

“The Science and Technolog y Precinct is critical to the future of the Gardens Point campus and will transform QUT’s contribution to Australia’s emerging green workforce needs, as well as to research and development solutions for pressing global issues such as climate change,” Professor Coaldrake said.

“It will place the university at the forefront of development of a world-leading model in the teaching

and research of science, technology, eng ineer ing and mathemat i c s disciplines.

“With a theme of sustainable and secure infrastructure, it will also establish the university’s cross-faculty response to issues formed at the intersection of greenhouse emissions, energy consumption, land use, systems integration, construction and sensor technologies, and materials.

“Together with the recent restoration of Old Government House, the project will create a vibrant new heart for the Gardens Point Campus.”

The redevelopment has been made possible by a $25 million Founding Chairman’s grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies.

The grant, which was announced last week, completed QUT’s campaign to raise $200 million for the precinct project, and came on top of a recent $75 million infrastructure grant awarded by the Commonwealth under the Education Investment Fund on May 12.

The State Government has also pledged $35 million in funding, and QUT is committing $65 million.

Far left, an aerial view of Gardens Point campus with the site of the new precinct highlighted.

Above, left and below, computer-generated images of the planned precinct.

High-tech campus heart

• $200 million development.

• Development funded by: - Commonwealth Government $75m (Education Investment Fund) - Queensland Government $35m (Smart State Research Facilities Fund) - The Atlantic Philanthropies $25m - QUT $65m.

• Facilities to build demand for the national priority fi elds of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

• Facilities to host 1000 research and teaching staff and more than 200 postgraduate research students who will work at the precinct.

• A precinct with two new major buildings, green spaces and public areas for leisure, recreation (including a new gymnasium and Olympic-sized pool) as well as dining and social learning spaces.

Fast Facts

Page 2 Inside QUT August, 2009 IQVisit www.corpcomm.qut.edu.au/insidequt for more details when you see this

COMMENTTHE cover page of this issue of IQ features our plans to develop a $200m Science and Technology Precinct at Gardens Point.

This initiative is a four-way funding partnership involving a $75m contribution from the Commonweal th Gover nment (through the Education Investment Fund), $35m from the Queensland Government’s Smart State Research Facilities program, $25m from The Atlantic Philanthropies and $65m from QUT itself.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the importance of each of the external partners, because without their respective support we simply would not have been able to progress our vision for QUT to reposition itself in the science and technology disciplines.

But much more importantly, QUT is seeking in this initiative to make a real difference in encouraging young people to be attracted to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, and to develop high impact research focussing on some of the big challenges which aff ect our planet and community.

In addition to acknowledging the Queensland Government for its continued investment in education and research in this State, and the Commonwealth for so signifi cantly joining this agenda at a national level, I would like to single out the special contribution which has been made to this nation, this State and to QUT by The Atlantic Philanthropies though its Founding Chairman, Mr Chuck Feeney.

Chuck Feeney has made a truly wonderful contribution to QUT.

A number of us have known him for more than a decade, and he has partnered with us in the development of Kelvin Grove by providing $22.5m toward the

building of the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), and $20m toward the Centre for Physical Activity, Health and Clinical Education (44 Musk Ave).

He has also supported our research and professional practice in nursing and public health, particularly in terms of capacity-building in Vietnam, as well as Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes’ work in the not-for-profi t area.

And now Chuck Feeney has provided $25m to assist us to achieve the Science and Technology Precinct at Gardens Point.

More broadly, Chuck Feeney and The Atlantic Philanthropies have made a pioneering contribution to Queensland and Australia through their remarkable generosity to a number of institutions including – locally – The University of Queensland, The Queensland Institute of Medical Research and The Wesley Medical Research Institute.

In the process, Chuck Feeney is seeking both to encourage a culture of philanthropy and to encourage diff erent research institutions and universities to work together for the broader community benefi t.

A very good example of such collaboration in Brisbane is the Translational Research Institute initiative at the Princess Alexandra Hospital – a partnership involving UQ and its Diamantina Institute, QUT, and the PAH and Mater Hospitals. The $300m+ project is also attracting funding support from the Commonwealth, the State Government as well as The Atlantic Philanthropies.

T h a n k y o u , A t l a n t i c Philanthropies, and thank you, Chuck Feeney.

Professor Peter CoaldrakeVice-Chancellor

Move to Musk Ave

BRUCE McCallum has been appointed as QUT’s new director of Student Business Services.

M r M c C a l l u m h a s h e l d management positions with the university for a decade, and was previously associate director for SBS, and QUT admissions manager.

As director of QUT SBS, he oversees the student lifecycle from enquiry and admission through enrolment, fees, exams and results to student completion.

Mr McCallum is also a member of the regional committee of the Association for Tertiary Education Management.

Dr Wasana Bandara, senior lecturer in the School of

Information Technolog y, for excellence in applying student-centric approaches to motive and support students’ learning to b e c o m e o u t s t a n d i n g I C T professionals.

Mrs Donna Cooper, director of undergraduate programs

(curriculum) in the School of Law, for developing innovative curricula and authentic assessment that engages students and links them to their future professional work.

Dr Philip Crowther, senior lecturer in the School of

Design for sustained commitment to the design, development and d e l ive r y o f a n i n n ova t ive curriculum in architecture and design.

Dr Deborah Henderson, senior lecturer in the School

of Cultural and Language Studies in Education for commitment to transformative teaching and learning through “lectorials” and professional development.

Ms Avril Huddy, associate lecturer in the Creative

Industries Faculty, for innovative approaches to dance teaching and curriculum development founded in the application of practice-led research.

Dr Renata Meuter, senior lecturer in the School of

Psychology and Counselling, for developing a supportive learning environment that fosters optimal academic and profess iona l development in undergraduate and four th-year psycholog y students.

Dr Deborah Peach, Teaching and Lear ning Projects

director, for building sustainable partnerships (institutional and sector-wide) to enhance student learning.

Ms Deborah Southwell, Teaching and Lear ning

Support Services director, for leadership that has nurtured constructive teaching and learning support and mentored eff ective leadership practice locally and nationally.

Eight teaching awards for QUT staffEIGHT academic and professional staff will receive Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) citations at an awards ceremony on August 18. QUT recipients of ALTC citations are:

China’s brightest and best research at QUT

New head of School of Justice

New director for Student Business Services

CRIMINOLOGIST and sociologist Professor Kerry Carrington has been appointed head of the School of Justice in the QUT Faculty of Law.

Professor Carrington comes to QUT from the University of New England where she led a school in social sciences, a research centre in applied social sciences and a major curriculum development introducing Australia’s first double degree in law and criminology available through distance education.

She has an extensive research grant and publication track record across a range of topics in crime and criminology, social

policy and sociology. She is currently the chief investigator on an ARC Discovery Grant researching violence in rural Australia.

Professor Carrington has published seven books and numerous publications on juvenile justice, delinquency, policing sexual violence, masculinity and violence, crime and violence in rural communities and community crime prevention.

She has also held management roles within the Commonwealth public service and was a senior researcher within the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library.

Scholars

HEATWAVES in Australia, health disasters in China, and creative precincts in Brisbane, London and Shanghai are just some of the topics being explored by 54 Chinese PhD scholars studying at QUT this year.

QUT has been targeted by China to help its top research students as part of a fi ve-year agreement between the university and the prestigious China Scholarship Council.

QUT has attracted the largest number of China Scholarship Council scholars of any Australian university over the past three years, since the agreement began in 2006.

This month QUT held a special function in Brisbane to celebrate the visiting researchers’ ongoing success and the fi rst PhD graduations from the group.

D e p u t y V i c e - C h a n c e l l o r (International and Development) Scott Sheppard said QUT had enjoyed strong links with China for many years.

“QUT has been identifi ed by China as a key provider of research education for its high performing students,” he said.

“The attraction of so many PhD candidates provides the university with a great opportunity to build upon existing China research collaborations and grow our relationship with key Chinese institutions.

“We have particular interests and strengths in Australian-Chinese public health research and creative industries innovations, amongst others.

“This research history is one of the reasons so many China Scholarship Council PhD researchers have chosen to further their research careers here at QUT.”

The 54 vis i t ing scholars are conducting their PhD research across the faculties of health, science and IT, built environment and engineering, business, creative industries, and education.

The China Scholarship Council is a non-profi t institution affi liated with the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Education.

Another 12 China Scholarship Council researchers are expected to arrive at QUT later this year.

Among the visiting scholars formally welcomed at Old Government House were education researcher Jun Gao, who is undertaking a doctoral study on higher education policy in China, and information technology researcher Huizhi (Elly) Liang, who is studying for a PhD on data mining.

- Mechelle McMahon

Jun Gao, left, and Huizhi (Elly) Liang

Inside QUT August, 2009 Page 3

Education

A STUDY to fi nd out how best to prepare children for academic and social development has been awarded a $2.2 million Australian Research Council Linkage Grant over f ive years.

The $16.8 million Early Childhood Education and Care study also has funding from the Queensland and Victoria state governments and its results will help inform policy relating to the early care and education of children.

The joint study, involving QUT, Univer s i ty o f Melbour ne and international researchers from the Universities of Toronto and London, aims to fi nd out what features of early childhood education and care best enhance children’s future development and well-being.

QUT researcher Professor Karen Thor pe, pictured, who leads the Queensland component of the study, said the project would follow the achievements of 3000 three-year-olds from six diverse communities across Queensland and Victoria over fi ve years and compare their earlier experiences with national test data collected when the children were aged eight.

“We want to know what care and education factors are required at an

early age to boost academic and social development,” Professor Thorpe said.

“The federal government annually invests about $3 billion in services for children. With this study, we will fi nd out where that money is best put for the greatest long-term benefi t of those children.”

Professor Thorpe said the non-compulsory prep year before primary school was attended by 98 per cent of children aged four-and-a-half to fi ve, however, educating three- to four-year-olds and in what manner they were taught was completely optional.

“The care and education experiences children have at that time predicts how children fare in their early years of school and beyond,” she said.

“It is not whether children go to family day care, child care, educator-facilitated play groups or are cared for at home that is our key question but what happens within these experiences – we want to fi nd out the educational and social elements that best enhance children’s long-term development.”

Professor Thorpe said international research had shown that children who undertook quality education at early ages did better in their long-term schooling and had lower rates of adverse social outcomes such as teen pregnancy and crime.

- Rachael Wilson

Early childhood study underway

Check your eyes before it’s too lateOptometry

PEOPLE aged over 50 have the opportunity to have their eyes checked with one-of-a-kind equipment for free, while helping to solve the mystery behind the leading cause of blindness in Australia.

Even people with healthy eyes, aged 50 and over, are being encouraged to participate in the QUT study.

E ye s p e c i a l i s t a n d QU T researcher Dr Beatrix Feigl is embarking on the study to detect the early signs of age-related macular degeneration, a disease that progressively causes vision loss.

Dr Feigl has received an inaugural Vice-Chancellor Fellowship to help conduct the research.

“Macular degenerat ion is the leading cause of blindness in Australia and one in three Australians will be aff ected by it to some degree,” Dr Feigl said.

“As yet there is no cure, but if it is detected early enough, steps can be taken to prevent the condition from worsening.

“It’s very important to detect the condition before there is damage because you can only preserve existing eyesight.”

Dr Feigl will use extremely sensitive, non-invasive instruments which are unique to QUT to look for early signs of macular degeneration.

“People can have their vision measured for free with tests not available anywhere else in Australia,” she said.

“It’s a very thorough eye test

with immediate feedback.“We need people with healthy

eyes to help fi nd early detection measures.”

Dr Feigl said general health and genetics influenced a person’s chance of developing the eye disease.

“Smoking and a poor diet low in vitamins and omega-3 can increase the risk,” she said.

“Also, if you know one of your parents had age-related macular degeneration, it is worth taking extra care of your eyes.

“And always be sure to have your eyes tested while they are still healthy.”

People aged over 50 can participate in the study and get a free eye check by contacting Dr Feigl on phone 3138 6147 or email b.feigl@qut.edu.au.

Research

SCIENTISTS from QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation will join one of the southern hemisphere’s largest medical research facilities when it opens in Brisbane.

The $354 million Translational Research Institute (TRI) will be built at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) in a joint venture comprising QUT, The University of Queensland, PAH, Mater Medical Research Institute and the Queensland Government.

The new institute has been made possible by a fundraising campaign that culminated last week with the announcement of a $50 million Founding Chairman’s grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies.

The Atlantic gift is the largest ever from a non-government source to a single Australian medical research/higher education institute.

The founder of Atlantic, American philanthropist Chuck Feeney, pictured far left, visited Brisbane for the announcement and also met with TRI partners, including QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake, pictured left.

The 32,000sqm institute will be an Australian first and one of the few places in the world where new biopharmaceuticals and treatments can be discovered, produced, clinically tested and manufactured in one location.

Its 700 researchers will accelerate the translation of medical research breakthroughs to patients with conditions ranging from diabetes

and obesity, to cancers, infl ammatory diseases and bone and joint diseases.

Professor Coaldrake said TRI would advance the capacity of QUT’s innovative health and biomedical research program.

“TRI will allow QUT to form even stronger clinical links with our colleagues at Princess Alexandra Hospital to make a real diff erence in the treatment of patients in the areas of cancer, traumatic injury and wound healing,” he said.

TRI has also received $140 million in funding from the Commonwealth Government, including a recent $40 million grant from the Health and Hospitals Fund.

It has also been backed by the Queensland Government with $100 million.

New institute fast-tracksresearch to patients

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Page 4 Inside QUT August, 2009 IQVisit www.corpcomm.qut.edu.au/insidequt for more details when you see this

LIEUTENANT Colonel David Freeman has made an outstanding contribution to the Australian Defence Force, exemplifi ed by a distinguished service career as a legal offi cer and academic achievements in human rights and international humanitarian law.

Over the past decade, he has served in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, providing advice on rules of engagement, targeting, proper treatment of detainees and human rights abuses.

Lt Col Freeman has received military and

MARIO Pennisi is recognised nationally as a leader in the fi eld of clinical trials for newly developed drugs and therapies.

Focused on commercial outcomes, his activities have been a signifi cant contributor to the development of the biotechnology industry in Queensland and Australia.

In 2005, Mr Pennisi was appointed CEO of the newly established Queensland Clinical Trials Network, an association of life sciences research organisations and related entities established under the Smart State Initiative.

He has developed it into the primary point

of contact for domestic and international organisations seeking to conduct clinical research in Australia.

Prior to this, he was national business development manager for the Mayne Group and a scientist and manager with Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology. Mr Pennisi is active on numerous biotechnology industry bodies including AusBiotech and is its representative on the Pharmaceuticals Industry Development Taskforce. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Medical Laboratory Science) from QIT.

DR Shaun Lark in has been a general manager at HCF – Australia’s largest not-for-profi t health insurer – since 1997.

Since its establishment in 2000, he has also guided the development of the HCF Foundation’s research funding program that has seen more than $6 million invested in 30 projects spread across Australia for the benefi t of the community.

Dr Larkin was appointed to the Federal Government’s National Preventative Health Taskforce in April 2008.

An alumnus of Harvard Business School, his Master of Health Science and Doctor of Health Science were attained at QUT.

Law winnerLieutenant ColonelDavid Freeman

Health winnerDr Shaun Larkin

Chancellor’s Outstanding AlumnusWilliam Robinson

Science and Technology winnerMario Pennisi

SIR Brian Bell is chairman and managing director of the Brian Bell Group of Companies and an icon of the Papau New Guinea business community.

Sir Brian arrived in PNG in 1954 with a Diploma of Pharmacy from the Central Technical College (one of QUT’s predecessor institutions).

H e t o o k u p t h e p o s i t i o n o f pharmaceutical chemist in a bulk medical store but soon established PNG’s first electrical retail outlet.

Through the decades, the business expanded into department stores and home centres, chemicals, cleaning products and industrial equipment.

It is now the largest business of its kind in PNG, generating an annual revenue of

Special Excellence Award winnerSir Brian Bell CSM, KBE, Cst.J

ONE of Australia’s greatest living landscape painters, William Robinson, has been awarded Queensland University of Technology’s highest alumni honour for 2009.

Mr Robinson was named the QUT Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus for 2009 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in front of more than 450 people on July 22.

The awards recognise QUT alumni who have achieved outstanding results in their careers and communities.

Mr Robinson is one of the nation’s most highly regarded contemporary painters and has won two Archibald Prizes for portraiture. His work hangs in the National Gallery of Australia and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Mr Robinson has a 1954 Certifi cate of Teaching from the Queensland Teachers’ Training College, a QUT predecessor institution. He also studied and taught for more than 30 years at both the Central Technical College (on the site of QUT’s Gardens Point

campus) and Kelvin Grove Teachers College/Brisbane College of Advanced Education.

Accepting the award, Mr Robinson said he felt humbled by the honour.

“Twenty years ago I resigned from teaching to take up painting full-time. I recommend ‘no’ to retirement, as many personal goals are not reached until later in life - and I am later in life,” Mr Robinson said.

During Mr Robinson’s 30-year painting career, he has been involved in more than 25 solo exhibitions and 50 group shows nationally and internationally.

Mr Robinson achieved national fame when several of his works were selected for inclusion in the 1983 Australia Perspecta exhibition and the 6th Biennale of Sydney held in 1986.

He has been a distinguished art educator and mentor to many aspiring and emerging Australia artists, and in 2007 was made an Offi cer of the Order of Australia for his service to Australian art.

civilian awards including the Chief of Army’s Commendation in 2003.

For his community works, he has received Australian and international awards including the Knight of Honour in the Sovereign Order of St John of Jerusalem and being made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Lt Col Freeman’s f i r s t deg ree was a Bachelor of Laws from QIT. Following his admission, he completed postgraduate qualifications in legal practice, criminology, i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o l i t i c s a n d h u m a nrights law. He is currently on study leave from the army while studying towards a PhD.

$119 million and employing 1300 staff . A philanthropist, Sir Brian is a prominent benefactor of the Port Moresby General Hospital, the Salvation Army, Red Cross and Port Moresby City Mission.

Inside QUT August, 2009 Page 5

THE OUTSTANDINGALUMNI AWARDS, SPONSORED BY THE NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK, RECOGNISE THE PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF GRADUATES OF QUT AND ITS PREDECESSOR INSTITUTIONS.THIS YEAR’S CEREMONY WAS HELD ON JULY 22.

OUTSTANDING design talents have taken Kirsti Simpson to the top of her fi eld.

The interior design graduate is a director of Hassell Ltd – one of Australasia’s largest and most successful planning and design consultancies – and also its joint leader of interior design in Queensland.

The practice has received many industry awards as a direct result of Kirsti’s innovative approach to workplace design.

In addition to her design skills, her leadership on family-friendly work arrangements has been recognised by the National Association of Women in Construction and the Urban Design Institute of Australia.

Ms Simpson was also named the Queensland Government Smart State Designer of the Year in 2007 for her outstanding contribution to the Queensland design industry.

She has a Bachelor of Built Environment (Interior Design).

Built Environment and Engineering winner

Kirsti Simpson

NATALIE Weir is artistic director of Expressions Dance Company, and a standout Australian choreographer of her generation.

Over a 25-year career, she has contributed more than 150 works to the repertoire of Australian and overseas dance companies, many to international acclaim.

These include Dark Lullaby for the Australian Ballet, Jabula for the

Queensland Ballet and Harmonium for the American Ballet Theatre. Steppenwolfe, created for the Houston Ballet, received the Choo San Goh Award while Turandot, created for the Hong Kong Ballet, won at the 2004 Hong Kong Dance Awards.

Ms Weir was the recipient of a Lord Mayor’s Fellowship and an Australia Council Fellowship for outstanding commitment and further artistic development in her fi eld, an award made only once in a person’s lifetime.

She holds an Associate Diploma of Performing Arts (Dance).

NICOLE Hollows is one of the fi rst female CEOs of a mining company worldwide.

She has been CEO and managing director of Macarthur Coal since 2007, and oversees the largest seaborne exporter of low volatile PCI coal in the world, with an annual turnover in excess of $400 million.

She began her career at Ham and Partners Chartered Accountants, where she became an associate. She then

moved to Australian Premium Coals Pty Ltd, which became Macarthur Coal.

As chief fi nancial offi cer and company secretary, Ms Hollows was involved in the 2001 fl oatation of Macarthur Coal and has been instrumental in the company’s growth.

She is the fi rst female president of the Queensland Resources Council and was this year named a Veuve Clicquot “Rising Star”.

Ms Hollows holds a Bachelor of Business, Graduate Diploma in Advanced Accounting and Graduate Diploma in Company Secretarial Practice.

Business winnerNicole Hollows

THE fortunes of QUT acting graduate Gyton Grantley have undergone a growth explosion since he played Melbourne crime fi gure Carl Williams in the first series of the television drama Underbelly.

Mr Grantley, who graduated from the QUT Bachelor of Arts (Drama) degree in 2001 – now the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) – won last year’s AFI award for Best Lead Actor in a television drama and this year’s Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Actor, which is voted on by industry peers.

He has also been immortalised in paint by QUT fi ne art student Sam Cranstoun, whose portrait of Mr Grantley was chosen as a fi nalist of this year’s Archibald Prize.

And now, the young actor has been recognised with a Special Excellence Award at the 2009 QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards.

In his Silver Logie acceptance speech, which was aired to a national television audience, Mr Grantley thanked QUT for his training.

Mr Grantley told Inside QUT that the university had prepared him well for his challenging role in Underbelly.

“I got to use everything I learnt at QUT. QUT gave me the tools that I needed to perform my craft,” he said.

“Since graduating, (playing Williams) was by far the most amazing challenge, as far as characterisation goes.

“Obviously, playing a real person, there is an obligation to stick with the facts and fi gures. It’s interesting to delve into the mind and psyche of one of the most notorious murderers and drug dealers in Australia’s history.”

Mr Grantley said the lead role resulted in many more opportunities coming his way, including a co-starring role in the new Australian movie Balibo, which was fi lmed last year.

The fi lm is based on the story of the “Balibo Five” – fi ve journalists who disappeared in East Timor in 1975.

- Rachael Wilson

Special Excellence Award winnerGyton Grantley

DR Tom Ward graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Medical) and a QUT Medal.

He then won a Rhodes Scholarship to complete a doctorate at Oxford University’s Orthopaedic Engineering Centre.

During his undergraduate studies, he was sponsored by the Queen’s Trust for Young Australians to assess the needs of landmine victims and rural amputees in Cambodia, which has one

of the largest disabled populations in the world.

He developed a simple device to monitor gait and track post-operative recovery.

He then secured a QUT Community Service Grant to develop a relationship with the Cambodian School of Prosthetics & Orthotics in Phnom Penh and has since returned to Cambodia seven times to teach at the school.

Outstanding Young Alumni Award winnerDr Thomas Ward

Outstanding Young Alumni Award winnerTammy Williams

Creative Industrieswinner

Natalie Weir

TAMMY Williams has made a signifi cant contribution to economic and social justice for Indigenous people.

She has a long history of using her legal expertise to assist Indigenous communities.

In 2000, the National Law Council of Australia awarded her the John Koowarta Scholarship. Ms Williams gained her Bachelor of Laws from QUT the following year and was admitted as

a barrister in 2002.She was named the Queensland

Women Law Association’s Emergent Young Lawyer of the Year in 2003.

Ms Williams is a founding director of Indigenous Enterprise Partnerships.

Last year, she was appointed to the National Human Rights Consultation Committee. She is a member of the Children’s Tribunal in Queensland.

Alumni

Page 6 Inside QUT August, 2009 IQVisit www.corpcomm.qut.edu.au/insidequt for more details when you see this

in BRIEF...Outstanding student

QUT engineering management masters student, winner of the prestigious General Sir John Monash Award and 2009 Young Queenslander of the Year fi nalist Timothy O’Shea has also been awarded the Kindler Memorial Medal. QUT awards the Kindler medal

to outstanding engineering students. Mr O’Shea, pictured above, has made three trips to India as a part of the QUT Dean’s Scholars for the Developing World program to help develop low-cost, low-tech medical devices to alleviate the suffering of India’s rural poor.

Country kids experience uni

High school students from rural areas whose families are strangers to university have been given the opportunity to see what tertiary education is all about. Hosted by QUT, the ‘Exploring Uni’ Camp attracted about 200 Year 11 and 12 students from schools across the Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast region. The camp included a trip to the QUT Open Day on July 26.

Alumni survey

The QUT Alumni survey is now open and wants to hear from graduates on a range of issues regarding their links with QUT. By completing the survey, QUT alumni have the chance to help drive the future direction of the university. The online survey only takes a few minutes. To participate, click the survey link at www.alumni.qut.edu.au. For details, call 07 3138 1833.

Patent initiative

A new global facility dedicated to making the world’s patent systems more transparent and navigable has been launched at the UN-sponsored Conference on Intellectual Property and Public Policy. The Initiative for Open Innovation, was established by QUT and Cambia with a $US3 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to QUT in 2008. QUT’s Professor Richard Jefferson, founder of Cambia, will direct the initiative.

Swine fl u response study

Every hospital emergency department in Australia will be surveyed on its swine fl u response in a new study by QUT’s professor of emergency public health Gerard FitzGerald, pictured below. The study is part of the Australian Government’s injection of $7 million to fast-track H1N1 medical research projects. The survey

will identify how emergency departments handle swine fl u cases to inform planning for future fl u outbreaks.

Funds raised

The Positive Self Leadership (PSL) Team from QUT’s Brisbane Graduate School of Business sponsored a fundraising evening recently which raised more than $2000 for the Gidget Foundation. Along with Barracks Medical, PSL and more than 150 patrons celebrated “Wellness and You”, an event that raised awareness of postnatal depression. For more information, contact cuc.collings@qut.edu.au.

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Humanities

A QUT researcher is commencing a PhD which will look into the moral and ethical issues behind embryo selection by parents.

Cheryl Holmes, a researcher with the Humanities Program said she wanted to come up with a tool which would provide a way of measuring the ethical considerations for three diff erent embryo selection scenarios: social sex selection, disease prevention and saviour donor selection.

“As we all know, medical technology moves too fast sometimes for ethical considerations to keep up with it,” Ms Holmes said.

“In the case of embryo selection, often there is not much guidance out there for medical practitioners or society as a whole, and although there is plenty of research in each area, I want to come up with one tool which can be applied to each scenario to see if it is morally acceptable.”

Social sex selection occurs when parents choose whether they have a boy or a girl. Embryo selection to

prevent disability is used when parents are alerted to the increased chance of their child having a disease, and accept or dispose of an embryo based on their propensity for illness.

“Originally, I found the idea of social sex selection completely un-compelling, but as I have researched the area, there are a lot of arguments for this practice,” Ms Holmes said.

“There is an argument which states that if the parents have such a strong desire to have one gender over another, a child born to them who was of the other sex may not be as well-loved as a child who was the sex the parents wanted.

“It is the same scenario for disease prevention embryo selection: there are compelling arguments on both sides, even for choosing not to have a child with a minor disability.

“However, I wonder whether it is the start of a slippery slope where parents are able to be allowed to be too selective about their children.”

Saviour donors are children who are conceived with the intention of providing healthy tissue for a sick parent, similar to saviour siblings.

“I have done a lot of research in the past about saviour siblings, and with my PhD I wanted to take it a bit further and look at when children are saviours to parents and other members of the family as well,” Ms Holmes said.

“In a lot of places, saviour siblings are legal, but saviour donors are not, so I wanted to research why this is so.”

She said there were two important variables in all three situations: how people see the embryos – as simply tissue, as a child or as something in the process of becoming a person – and whether the decision made about embryo selection was to benefi t the child or the parent.

“It is important that the future child’s rights are uppermost in any decision,” Ms Holmes said.

“The main arguments against these procedures are that it does not put the child fi rst, and the arguments for them are based around procreative liberty which also focuses primarily on the rights of the couple, not the rights of the future child.”

- Sharon Thompson

Study analyses embryo selection ethics

Nominate now!

2009

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Nominations close 11 September 2009.

Visit www.women.qld.gov.au/awards or call 1800 177 577.

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Winners receive

$3,000 in prize money

Inside QUT August, 2009 Page 7

Research

YOU could turn your holiday snaps or favourite fi gurines into three-dimensional images with new free software developed by a researcher from QUT and the Australasian CRC for Interaction Design, based at QUT.

Eight years of 3D image research is coming to fruition for Dr David McKinnon, who has designed software that could revolutionise the way 3D images are created.

And the best part is that anyone can log onto Dr McKinnon’s website and use the software prototype, called 3Dsee, for free.

“In the fi lm and computer games industry, you would spend a really long time making 3D models to create footage like what 3Dsee could create in just a few minutes,” Dr McKinnon said.

“Instead of 3D animators working from a set of photos to model an object or using a cumbersome laser scanner, this software can create 3D models directly from a series of photos, which is a great time and money saver.

“The full version of this software could create 3D action shots, like the famous Matrix bullet scene.”

Dr McKinnon said the software automatically located and tracked common points between the images allowing a determination of where the cameras were when the photos were taken. This information was then used to create a 3D model from the images using graphics cards to massively accelerate the computations.

“The full version of this software would be great for realistic learning simulators and training software, where you want everything to look like the real thing,” he said.

“This technology could also be great for museums wishing to turn their display objects into 3D images that can be viewed online.

“We are even look ing into making 3D models of cows to save farmers spending thousands of dollars transporting their cattle vast distances to auction sites, allowing for an eBay-style auction website for cattle.

“Films, animations and computer games could also benefi t, since 3D filmmaking is taking over from the traditional 2D method of fi lmmaking.

“Another application is allowing people to create 3D models of their own face to use on their avatar in computer games or 3D social networking sites such as Second Life or Sony’s Home.”

The free prototype software is found on the http://3Dsee.net website.

To create a 3D image, the software requires between fi ve and 15 consecutive, overlapping photos of an object. The photos must overlap each other by a minimum of 80 to 90 per cent.

- Rachael Wilson

Music

MUSICIANS and bands who have performed original music in Brisbane are being invited to add their tunes to a unique celebratory event, The Big Jam.

Dreamed up by QUT’s Independent Music Project, t h e 1 5 0 - h o u r B i g J a m – possibly the longest in history – will include local music heroes from the 1950s to today, along with regular house bands and professional recording teams to capture the event.

Beginning bright and early on Monday, August 31 musicians will tag-team for fi ve days at the new QUT recording studio in New Farm before being transported to the Botanic Gardens River Stage for the fi nale on Sunday, September 6.

The fi nal musicians will jam with 150 young string players, local bands and Brisbane’s unleashed orchestra Deep Blue before ending on a massive 12 bar blues.

The fi nale is part of the free QUT-organised Brisbane

150 Come Celebrate concert at the River Stage, which is being headlined by The Cat Empire along with local acts The Gin Club and Intercooler.

Project director Professor A n d y A r t h u r s o f t h e Independent Music Project said this was an unusual event.

“It’s going to be the history of Brisbane music in 150 hours, star ting off with musicians from the 1950s through to today,” he said.

“During The Big Jam, we will launch the mapping of the Brisbane music family tree and the Independent Music Project, which brings together artists, industry people and government to better understand and adapt to changes in the music industry.”

Whether you want to join The Big Jam for two hours or two days, register by clicking the “sign up” link on the Independent Music Project website, www.implabs.net.

- Rachael Wilson

Fashion

BRIGHT and bold monochromes and gold feature in the stunning geometric designs which will adorn catwalk models in two upcoming fashion shows.

They have been created by QUT second-year fashion designer Paula Walden, pictured.

Paula, a qualifi ed fi ne jeweller also trained in interior design, has been commissioned to provide beautiful accessories for two diff erent shows of swimsuit designs – one at the Ekka fashion parades and the other at the Brisbane Fashion Festival this month.

Four teen pieces from Paula’s colourful Starlight Echoes Chapter One collection will be worn by models in Riot Swimwear by designer Gillian Marriage at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival – Brisbane.

Paula met the designer when she was teaching QUT fashion students about the specifi cs of swimwear fashion design earlier this year.

While Gillian was inspired by Paula’s bright designs, Paula said the swimsuit design project also provided her with an important light bulb moment for her goal of bringing sculptured forms into fashion.

“This was the fi rst piece that made me feel like I was on the right path of combining jewellery and fashion,” she said.

“I believe this piece to be integral to the growth of my creative aim of relating the realms of jewellery and fashion in a constructive nature.”

The result was sculptured fl ourishes of fabric and moulded acrylic accessories.

Paula’s teachers were so impressed they commissioned her to create accessories to complement student swimsuit designs that will be worn at

Jeweller in the swim

the Ekka fashion parades.Paula’s designs from her collections

Starlight Echoes Chapter One and Starlight Echoes Chapter Two “reveal a girl’s story about love”.

“While Chapter One is really colourful and fun, Chapter Two is very dark,” she said.

“Chapter One was about fi nding colour when in a dark place, while Chapter Two indulges in the darkness of people lost.

“It’s really quite an emotionally motivated series of collections.”

Paula, whose label is PKW, has made jewellery for international fashion label Gail Sorronda and has been commissioned to design costumes for local rock act Regurgitator’s “Rock Show” concert with contemporary dancers and performers for Q150 celebrations in November.

PKW designs are available at Bessie Head.

Fans of the PKW designs can vote for Paula in the Queen Street Mall Follow the Fashion competition, for which fi rst prize is six months of free rent in a mall-front shop. The fi rst 250 people to register at her website and vote 10 times by early August will receive a headpiece to the value of $200 if she wins.

Vo t e f o r P K W a t w w w.followthefashion.com.au.

- Rachael Wilson

Your photos in 3D on new website

Calling all bands and soloists

Page 8 Inside QUT August, 2009 IQVisit www.corpcomm.qut.edu.au/insidequt for more details when you see this

Meet Caboolture- Campus Open day

If you are interested in studying at QUT’s Caboolture campus, come along to the Caboolture Campus Open Day on Sunday, August 9 from 10am to 2pm. Attend information seminars, enjoy the free entertainment and take a tour of the campus. For details, phone 07 5316 7475.

Events AUGUST 6

Staff and students are invited to the QUT Faculty of Business Postgraduate Alumni group’s next Executive Series Event and hear Paul Niederer speak about his role as CEO and director of Australian Small Scale Off erings Board which enables him to utilise his extensive marketing and management experience. This is also a great networking opportunity. For details, phone 07 3138 8380.

SEPTEMBER 2 Adults considering tertiary study at either undergraduate or postgraduate level are encouraged to visit QUT at the Adult Tertiary Entry Expo, held at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from 11am to 6pm. For details, phone 07 3138 8501.

Competition AUGUST 14

Wr i t e r s a n d p o e t s , A u s t r a l i a ’ s r i c h e s t university writing prize is closing soon! QUT undergrad and postgrad students are elig ible to submit works for a $2000 prize in each category. Winners will be announced at the end-of-year Gala Night on October 23 and will be published in the annual Creative Writing and Literary Studies antholog y. For more details, phone 07 3138 8229 or email s.pearce@qut.edu.au.

Talks AUGUST 17

Ronnie Scott, writer, editor and founder of The Lifted Brow magazine, will talk about establishing a successful, independent magazine at the next Write it! talk, 5-6pm, at The Glasshouse, Creative Industries Precinct. For details phone 07 3138 5495.

Performance AUGUST 13 - 19

Final-year actors perform an acclaimed adaptation of classic folktales in The Arabian Nights, on August 13-15 and 18-19 at 7:30, Gardens Theatre, 2 George Street, Brisbane. For details, email gardenstix@qut.edu.au.

Exhibition AUGUST 19 -

SEPTEMBER 5Interact in a Second Life world called Mellifera and see the results in a multimedia exhibition at Z Block, Creative Industries Precinct. RSVP for opening night on August 18 at 6pm by phoning 07 3138 5495.

Visit www.whatson.qut.edu.au for more event listings and to submit your upcoming event.

WHAT’S on...

Janne Rayner (Editor) 07 3138 2361

Sharon Thompson 07 3138 4494

Niki Widdowson 07 3138 1841

Rachael Wilson 07 3138 1150

Sandra Hutchinson (Tue/Wed) 07 3138 2994

Mechelle McMahon (Mon/Tue) 07 3138 2130

Erika Fish, Sonja de Sterke (Photography) 07 3138 5003

Marissa Hills (Advertising) 07 3138 2999

Richard de Waal (Design)

about IQInside QUT is published by QUT’s Marketing and Communication Department. Our readership includes staff, students and members of the QUT community. The paper is also circulated to business, industry, government and media. Opinions expressed in Inside QUT do not necessarily represent those of the university or the editorial team.

Queensland University of Technology GPO Box 2434 Brisbane QLD 4001 qut.com

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Health

THOSE who think extreme sports are all about risk-taking are missing the point, according to a QUT researcher.

Dr Eric Brymer, pictured, a lecturer from the School of Human Movement Studies in the Faculty of Health, has been researching whether the element of risk was an important factor among participants in “extreme” sports such as waterfall kayakers, mountain climbers, big wave surfers and B.A.S.E. jumpers.

He found that, although the image of those who took part in extreme sports was that of risk-takers and adrenaline junkies, the opposite was true.

“I wanted to do this research because in my masters studies I was hearing about sensation-seeking, risk-taking behaviour in extreme sportspeople, and it just didn’t match what I knew from my background in kayaking and canoeing,” he said.

“The people I knew were very careful, disciplined, determined and focussed, not at all reckless or risk -taking. For some people to get to a certain level of a sport, it takes 15 years’ dedicated training, which is not something you would associate with a thrill-seeker.”

In his study, Dr Brymer conducted interviews with extreme sportspeople aged from 30 to 73, to fi nd out how they felt when they did the activity and what their motivations were.

“What I found was that these people have a real love for these activities, and talk about a realisation about the

power of nature, a sense of humility, and a real sense of peace,” he said.

Dr Brymer said the participants, while unable to control nature,

were educated about conditions and were

very careful to minimise potential risks.

- Sharon Thompson

Study: Extreme sportsnot about risk-taking

power of nature, a sense ofhumility, and a real sense of peace,” he said.

Dr Brymer said the participants, while unable to control nature,

were educated about conditions and were

very careful to minimisepotential risks.

- Sharon Thompson

QUT graduate and ABC TV’s New Inventors panellist Dr James Moody returned to QUT last month to address the Australian Youth Aerospace Forum. Student Chris Walsh is pictured below, left, with Dr

Moody and All Hallows School student Katherine Hickey.

Dr Moody is the CSIRO’s executive director of development and was chief systems engineer for the Australian satellite FedSat.

Aerospace expert fl ies in

Around campus

QUT stepped back in time during mid-year orientation celebrations when “Lord and Lady Lamington” paid a visit to Gardens Point campus and Old Government House.

First-year acting students Danniella Markovic and Sam Hellwege donned period costume to appear as the splendid couple.

Actors take the cake

Crowds ‘taste’ QUT

THOUSANDS of prospect ive students and their families got a taste of uni life at QUT’s annual Open Day held on July 26 at Kelvin Grove campus.

A large contingent of staff and student ambassadors from across the university contributed through planning, working at the event, producing publications, building websites, managing advertising,

and generating publicity.

‘Gayndah Girls’ Brianna Seabrook, Rhanni McCosker and Kate Hampson, pictured left, attended the event as part of QUT’s Exploring Uni Camp, hosted by Equity Services.