PUBLIC TALK: Keeping Australia prosperous

The 2014 ATSE lecture by Dr Rob Hough, Australian Resources Research Centre, CSIRO.

In this talk, Rob will describe the ways that science and innovation are helping to find the resources that can provide a prosperous future for Australia.

Just a small proportion of Australia's rich endowment of ore minerals, petroleum and geothermal resources have been processed, a large amount of mineral and energy wealth remains to be found. Early prospectors combed the surface of this ancient land searching for valuable minerals, the geology that was visible on the surface was then mapped, but in the 21st century we need to see through the surface and map below.

Rob is an investigator, of sorts, looking for clues that will lead to the discovery of mineral wealth. Exploring bacteria, gases, plants and even termites can provide hints as to the geology under the surface.

Arguably more is known about the surface of Mars than the deep parts of the planet Earth. It is no surprise then, that some technologies employed by the Mars Rovers are also being used to investigate the unknown realms of our own planet.

Cost: Free, but RSVP required via http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/hough