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Events for the public
 August 2012
Tuesday 21
17:00 - CANCELLED - LECTURE - Distinguished International Guest Lecture Series : Dr Penelope Woods Website | More Information
Unfortunately this event has been cancelled.

Lecture not longer taking place

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Dr Penelope Woods, ARC Centre of Excellence for History of Emotions, The University of Western Australia. Musical Emotions on the Shakespearean Stage.

18:00 - PUBLIC LECTURE - **SOLD OUT ** Beauty, Love, and Art: The Legacy of Ancient Greece Website | More Information
A public lecture by David Konstan, Professor of Classics, New York University and visiting UWA Institute of Advanced Studies Professor-at-Large.

There is a deep problem with beauty. Beauty is commonly equated with sexual attractiveness. Yet there is also the beauty of art, which arouses an aesthetic response of disinterested contemplation.

As Roger Scruton writes in his recent book, Beauty (2009): “In the realm of art beauty is an object of contemplation, not desire.”

Are there, then, two kinds of beauty? By looking back the classical Greek conception of beauty, we may see how it gave rise to the modern dilemma, and some possible ways of resolving it.

This lecture is presented by the Institute of Advanced Studies at UWA and the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions.

This event is sold out.
Wednesday 22
16:00 - SEMINAR - CWR Presents : Current Knowledge of the Brain of Sharks and Their Relatives: Evolution and Adaptation Website | More Information
Cartilaginous fishes are comprised of approximately c. 1185 species worldwide and occupy a range of niches and primary habitats. It is a widely accepted view that neural development can reflect morphological adaptations and sensory specializations and that similar patterns of brain organization, termed cerebrotypes, exist in species of that share certain lifestyle characteristics. Clear patterns of brain organization exist across cartilaginous fishes, irrespective of phylogenetic grouping.

Examination of brain size (encephalization, n = 151) and interspecific variation in brain organization (n = 84) across this group suggests that chondrichthyan brain structures might have developed in conjunction with specific behaviours or enhanced cognitive capabilities. Larger brains, with well-developed telencephala (associated with spatial learning and memory) and large, highly foliated cerebella (associated with motor control) are reported in species that occupy complex reef or oceanic habitats, such as Prionace glauca and Sphyrna zygaena. In contrast, benthic and benthopelagic demersal species comprise the group with the smallest brains, such as Cephaloscyllium spp. and Squatina californica, with a relatively reduced telencephalon and a smooth cerebellar corpus.

There is also evidence of a bathyal cerebrotype; deep-sea benthopelagic sharks, such as Centroselachus crepidater and Harriotta raleighana possess relatively small brains and show a clear relative hypertrophy of the hindbrain and the structures that receive non-visual sensory input. Using this broad dataset, this talk will explore how brain morphology may serve as a tool to make predictions about the behavioral ecology, sensory specialization, and predatory habits of species that are difficult to acquire and/or study in the wild.

I will also discuss the development of new techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and its impact to the field of comparative marine biology. While it does not have the spatial resolution of histological data, MRI offers distinct advantages over traditional methods by allowing for in situ brain imaging of rare specimens where gross dissection is difficult or impossible. In a case study, the brain size and brain organization in the large-bodied whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is described, where I investigate the digital reconstruction of rare, damaged specimens and discuss the advantages, drawbacks, and future of MRI in comparative neuroanatomical studies.



Biography,

Dr. Kara E. Yopak’s (née) research focuses on the evolution of neural systems, particularly how brains have diversified within some of the earliest vertebrate groups, namely sharks, skates, rays, and chimaerids, a group collectively referred to as Chondrichthyans. Dr. Yopak received her B.A. in Biology (with a specialization in marine science) from Boston University in 2002 and completed her PhD at the University of Auckland in New Zealand in 2007. For her PhD and beyond, Dr. Yopak’s research has focused on comparative neuroanatomy within the clade of cartilaginous fishes, and how the development of major brain areas vary between species in conjunction with the adaptive evolution of their sensory and motor systems.

She has explored a variety of traditional and novel techniques to explore questions related to brain evolution of sharks and their relatives, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Her data suggest that brain organization and the relative development of major brain structures reflect an animal’s ecology, even in phylogenetically unrelated species that share certain lifestyle characteristics, a pattern similarly documented in other vertebrate groups.

She is currently working within the Neuroecology Group, within the School of Animal Biology at UWA. Here she is exploring a multitude of questions relating to brain development, including how the brain, major brain components, and cell classes within these brain components scale across this unique group of animals. This work will potentially highlight a developmental plan that originated at least as early as cartilaginous fishes and may have been carried through evolutionary time to mammals. In addition, she is investigating whether alterations during early development in these animals can lead to changes in brain development, and by extension cognitive capabilities. This work could have far reaching implications for preservation of Australia’s biodiversity, particularly for improving survival strategies for captively-reared endangered species.



PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****
Thursday 23
13:10 - PERFORMANCE - Free Lunchtime Concert : Thea Rossen (percussion) Website | More Information

18:00 - PUBLIC LECTURE - The (mis)use of religion in justification of political violence: a comparative analysis Website | More Information
A public lecture by Professor Oliver P. Rafferty SJ Heythrop College, London University & 2012 St Thomas More College Chair in Jesuit Studies.

This lecture will look at religiously motivated violence in three historically conditioned phases and the attitude of religious authorities to them:

the Crusades, with emphasis on the first Crusade the Church’s attitude to political violence in Ireland and contemporary issues with Islamic fundamentalist violence. The Crusades were undoubtedly blessed by the church, and mandated by Blessed Urban II, with the promulgation of an indulgence for those who ‘took the cross’. Individuals were in effect promised paradise for engaging in a war that had religious purposes and intent - the recovery of Jerusalem. This was the ideology, even if the results were different.

The church’s attitude to political violence in Ireland was more ambiguous. Nevertheless it ultimately supported the party of revolution, (at least by 1918) a party which manipulated religious imagery for its political ends - the ideas of self-sacrifice and resurrection. The contemporary issue with Islamic fundamentalist violence raises a different aspect to the problem.

Since there is no centralised authority in Islam, the ability of individuals and groups to interpret sacred texts in justification of violence is given much greater scope, and therefore it could be argued that the ethos of the faith is such that political violence can be justified on the basis of God’s will, much in the same way as it was during the Crusades.

Is the result of all this to undermine the role of religion as an instrument of peace in the world, and therefore to give ammunition to hostile non-believers who assert that religion in itself is fundamentally a cause of suffering in the world?

These issues also touch on a broader problem within Christianity, and that is the problem for the state of engaging Christians to fight in war in clear defiance of the fifth commandment and the teaching of Christ about turning the other cheek - just war theory notwithstanding.

This lecture is presented by St Thomas More College, in partnership with the Institute of Advanced Studies at The University of Western Australia.

Cost: Free, but seats are limited. RSVP to [email protected].

18:00 - PERFORMANCE - Winthrop Singers Choral Evensong : Evensong at St George's College Chapel Website | More Information
This week's introit is a preview of the "Earthquake" Mass by Antoine Brumel, a full performance of which will take place on September 13th at St George's, and again alongside Louis Vierne's Symphony No 6 for organ on September 23rd at St Patrick’s Basilica Fremantle.

Introit: Brumel Benedictus (from Et ecce terrae motus)

Responses: Rose

Canticles: Purcell in g minor

Anthem: Pearsall Tu es Petrus

18:00 - LECTURE - St Thomas More College 2012 Chair of Jesuit Studies : Public Lecture More Information
'The mis-use of religion in the justification of political violence: a comparative analysis'

This year's St Thomas More College Chair of Jesuit Studies is Professor Oliver Rafferty SJ, Lecturer in Irish and Ecclesiastical History at Heythrop College, University of London. A Past President of the Irish Historical Society, Professor Rafferty will address the subject of religion as a justification for political violence, from the Crusades down to the present day.

This public lecture is presented in association with the Institute of Advanced Studies, UWA.
Friday 24
13:00 - SEMINAR - Ireland: Church, State and Society, 1800-1870 : Seminar Series More Information
"Nicholas Wiseman, Ecclesiastical Politics and Anglo-Irish Relations in the Mid 19th Century"

Professor Oliver Rafferty SJ, the 2012 St Thomas More College Chair of Jesuit Studies, will present the third in a series of six lectures on nineteenth century Irish history.

The Chair of Jesuit Studies is jointly recognised by the the University of Western Australia and the University of Notre Dame Australia, and aims to bring a leading academic from the worldwide Jesuit community to Perth each year.

Professor Rafferty is visiting from Heythrop College, University of London, where he specialises in Irish and Ecclesiastical history. He will present the remaining five seminars in the same locations, and at the same time, on Fridays 7th, 14th, and 21st September.

19:30 - PERFORMANCE - Artistry! Three : Innovation Website | More Information
With a thriving community of composers and celebrated staff mentoring their progress, aural portraits by some of the finest young composers in Western Australia are revealed amongst two inimitable treasures of the orchestral repertoire.

Ravel Bolero Emerging Composers Bartok Concerto for Orchestra
Monday 27
12:00 - SEMINAR - LIWA Medical Research Seminar Series : W/Prof David Mackey presents "Genome-wide Association Studies Success in Ophthalmology" Website | More Information
LIWA invites you to a free seminar on: "Genome-wide Association Studies Success in Ophthalmology" by W/Prof David Mackey, Managing Director, Lions Eye Institute. Time: 12 noon for light lunch with 12.30pm – 1.30pm presentation.

18:00 - PUBLIC LECTURE - The Star-Crossed Stone - The Archaeology, Mythology and Folklore of Fossil Sea Urchins Website | More Information
A public lecture by Dr Kenneth J. McNamara, Dept of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge.

On a March day in 1887 the skeletons of a young woman and a child were found on top of a windswept hill in southern England where they had lain in their shallow grave for about 4,000 years. Little would be remembered today about this discovery were it not for one very strange feature of the burial. Nestling close to the very fragile bones were hundreds of fossil sea urchins, each emblazoned by a five-pointed star.

Since that day archaeologists have excavated many graves that contain fossil sea urchins. Such discoveries, along with the recovery of fossil urchins from many other types of archaeological excavations throughout much of Europe, the Near East and northern Africa, have revealed that people have been collecting fossil urchins for an extraordinarily long period of time.

Just what did these prehistoric collectors make of them? Sports of the Devil? Gifts from the Gods? Why did they bother to collect them? And more importantly, what drove them to so often bury them with their dead?

In this talk Dr McNamara will try to answer these questions and explore what Norse mythology tell us about the Vikings’ association of fossil urchins with hand axes; why another species of human 400,000 years ago made a hand axe with a fossil urchin in it; why the lives of a Roman Emperor and an ancient Egyptian priest were both touched by fossil urchins; why, 10,000 years ago, people in the eastern Mediterranean region apparently viewed these fossils as fertility symbols; what prompted a Medieval church-builder in England to frame a window with a collection of fossil urchins; and why today we are still fascinated by five-pointed stars.

Cost: Free. RSVP to [email protected]
Wednesday 29
16:00 - SEMINAR - CWR Presents : Green chemistry incorporating microfluidic platforms. Website | More Information
Green chemistry is about developing processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and use of chemical products.

The presentation will track the development of green chemistry, as a drive towards getting the planet onto a sustainable trajectory, followed by our recent contributions to the field. This includes the use of continuous flow microfluidic platforms to control organic synthesis without generating waste, and avoiding the use of toxic reagents, with scope for carryout reactions in water as a benign solvent. The same technology can also be used to fabricate nano-particles with fine control of size, shape, phase, agglomeration and defects.

Here the ‘top down’ and ‘bottom up’ processing features in gaining access to functional materials for application in three areas facing humanity – health, energy and protecting the environment.

Bio,

Professor Colin Raston is an ARC Australian Professorial Fellow, and Director of the Centre fro Strategic Nano-Fabrication (Incorporating Toxicology) at The University of Western Australia (UWA), and is on the NICNAS Nano-technology Advisory Group. He has been at UWA since 2003, and has held Chairs at Griffith University, Monash University, and the University of Leeds, with previous positions at UWA as a Lecturer, and Sussex University as a Postdoctoral Fellow. He has received the Royal Australian Chemical Institute’s Green Chemistry Challenge Award, the H.G. Smith Award, the Burrows Award, and the Leighton Memorial Award, and is a former recipient of an ARC Special Investigator Award, ARC Senior Research Fellowships, and played a leading role in establishing the ARC Centre of Excellence in Green Chemistry at Monash University. He recently completed a five year term as Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Life and Physical Sciences (2005-2009) and a three year term on the College of Experts for the Australian Research Council (2007-2009),

He has been on editorial board of several journals including Aust. J. Chem., and as Topic Editor for Crystal Growth and Design. He has completed a term as Chair of the Editorial Board of Green Chemistry, and member of the Editorial Board of Chem. Commun., and the International Advisory Committee for Angew. Chem. He is a former President of the RACI, as a Fellow of the Institute, Chairperson of the Queensland Branch, and Chairperson of the Inorganic Division. In 1996 he chaired the 17th International Conference on Organometallic Chemistry in Brisbane.

Professor Raston has published over 580 journal articles, and has a book, chapters in books, and has patents on fullerene, nano-particles, calixarenes, carbon nanotube separation and surface technology. His current research interests include nano-technology incorporating sustainability, process intensification, supramolecular chemistry and green chemistry.

PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

18:00 - PUBLIC LECTURE - **SOLD OUT** WA on the threshold...SKA and the new view of the Universe Website | More Information
UWA’s Institute of Advanced Studies, Research Services and the Centre for Software Practice present the inaugural Inquiring Minds public lecture by Peter Quinn, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, UWA and Director, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR).

Professor Professor Quinn will review the current status of the international SKA effort following the announcement of the site decision in May this year that saw the project shared between Southern Africa and Australia/NZ. He will outline some of the amazing scientific and technological challenges and opportunities before us in WA as we ramp up to explore the Universe to a depth that will revolutionize our understanding of space and time.

18:00 - PUBLIC LECTURE - Prof Jeffrey Chipps Smith (Art History) Public Lecture : Jesuit Confraternities in Germany and the Art of Sensual Engagement Website | More Information
JEFFREY CHIPPS SMITH Kay Fortson Chair in European Art and Professor of Art History The University of Texas

19:30 - PERFORMANCE - Percussion Purity! : 2 Pianos: 2 Percussion Website | More Information
Percussion Purity! Masterworks from the percussion and piano repertoire come together in this extraordinary performance featuring some of West Australia's finest musicians; Paul Tanner, Louise Devenish, Graeme Gilling and Emily Green-Armytage. Works include Luciano Berio's Linea, and George Crumb's Music for a Summer Evening (Makrokosmoas lll)
Thursday 30
13:10 - EVENT - Lunchtime Concert : Associate Professor Alan Lourens (euphonium) More Information

18:00 - PUBLIC LECTURE - Climate Change: Will we cope? Website | More Information
A public lecture by Professor Chris Rapley CBE, Professor of Climate Science, University College London.

In this public lecture Professor Chris Rapley CBE will present a brief overview of the Earth system, and the evidence that human activities, especially our use of fossil fuel energy, are forcing change in the climate system at the global level. He will discuss the risks that this presents to humanity and the current mismatch between the nature and scale of actions that would mitigate climate change and those actually being taken. He will discuss the prospects for adaptation and remediation and also say a few words about communicating climate science, using the London Science Museum’s new “atmosphere” exhibition as an example.

Professor Rapley is visiting Australia as a guest of the UCL School of Energy and Resources, Australia, the university’s graduate school in Adelaide. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/australia/

This lecture is an Inspiring Australia initiative presented by the Institute of Advanced Studies at The University of Western Australia and Scitech.

Cost: Free, but seats are limited. RSVP to [email protected].

18:00 - PERFORMANCE - Winthrop Singers Choral Evensong : Evensong at St George's College Chapel Website | More Information
Responses: Tomkins

Lord’s Prayer: Stone

Canticles: Tallis Short Service

Anthem: Eslava Jesu dulcis memoria
Friday 31
9:00 - SEMINAR - Microbiology & Immunology Seminar Series: One Health - Equality for All? More Information
Professor Andrew Thompson will give a talk on "One Health - Equality for All?" in the Microbiology & Immunology Seminar room, Friday, 31 August 2012 at 09.00am. Professor Andrew Thompson Heads the Parasitology Section in the School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Division of Health Sciences, Murdoch University and is a Visiting Professor of Parasitology in the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok. He is a recent past President of the Australian Society for Parasitology and has over 30 years experience in basic and applied parasitology. His research covers the biology, taxonomy and ecology of protozoan and helminth parasites, and he is a lead investigator of a major research programme of drug discovery against vector-borne neglected tropical diseases.

 September 2012
Saturday 01
6:00 - PERFORMANCE - Dawn Chorus from Winthrop Tower : The Winthrop Singers welcome Spring from the top of Winthrop Tower Website | More Information
The Winthrop Singers welcome spring from the top of Winthrop Tower at sunrise.

Includes performance with didjeridu.

Free event.

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