What's On at UWA

The online application process is now open for keen science students currently in Year 11 who wish to be considered for selection for the 12-day residential "science immersion" program to be offered in Canberra and Perth in January 2013.

The National Youth Science Forum is a unique program that enables students on the point of entering their final year of secondary school, the opportunity to get a hands-on feel for careers and learn about study options in the diverse fields of science, engineering and technology.

There are three sessions offered, each of 144 students from all parts of Australia, plus some from overseas. Two sessions run in Canberra, and one in Perth. Students live on campus as University students, gain an insider's perspective on campus life, and experience real science, working with real scientists at a range of laboratories and workshops.

Students gain the knowledge, skills and perspectives that enable them to make informed choices about Year 12 studies - University course options - and provide them with a confident sense of the way forward and into a future of their choosing.

In school holiday breaks during Year 12, they also have the opportunity to come back to campus in university and industry locations around the country, to build further upon their knowledge and experience and add further perspectives that assist in the successful transition to University.

SPICE Events are designed to expose high school science teachers to exciting new science by increasing interaction between teachers and researchers at UWA. They provide the opportunity for teachers to engage in current research and learn new ideas for the classroom, and usually contain a range of activities including hands-on lab sessions, field trips or presentations showcasing cutting-edge research. We expect the heightened engagement and interaction between teachers and tertiary scientists to have a significant impact upon the enthusiasm of teachers for science.

See website for dates and further details.

The National Youth Science Forum is a two weeks in January program of events for students about to enter Year 12 and who are considering going on to a tertiary education in the sciences. The Forum is run in three sessions: two in Canberra and one in Perth.

Selection of participants for the Forum is coordinated by Rotary International and is undertaken by Rotarians, members of the scientific community including teachers, and former NYSF students. Selection is competitive, so the students that attend NYSF are some of the brightest young minds in the country.

The Forum aims to expose the students not only to the different career options in the sciences, but also to the choices of tertiary institutions they can attend to obtain the degree that enables them to embark on their new career.

A public lecture by Dr Joe Liske, staff astronomer, European Southern Observatory (ESO), Germany.

403 years after Galileo Galilei first pointed a telescope at the night sky European astronomers are set to build the largest optical telescope ever in the Chilean Atacama desert: with a diameter of 40 meters the European Extremely Large Telescope is one of the most ambitious science projects on (and off) the planet - our biggest "eye on the sky".

This unique science machine will literally broaden our horizons by leaps and bounds, and astronomers will use it to probe into the mysteries of the Universe more deeply than ever before. Does life exist beyond planet Earth? What did the first galaxies look like? And what exactly is this mysterious 'Dark Energy' that's been in the news so much lately?

In this talk Dr Joe Liske will provide a preview of the European Extremely Large Telescope, its capabilities and the fascinating questions it will address.

This lecture is co-sponsored with the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and the Institute of Advanced Studies at UWA.

The Seminar: In mammals, including humans, there are two types of sleep. The function of the brain activity underlying these states, called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep, is an unresolved question in biology. Natural interspecific variation in sleep can constitute a powerful resource to identify the significance of these states. Notably, the study of birds, as the only animals outside of mammals to engage in REM and non-REM sleep, may provide unique insight into the evolution and function of these states by revealing overriding patterns common to both lineages. Such value is particularly salient because the similarity in sleep between mammals and birds appears to have arisen independently through convergent evolution. Here, I highlight three examples for the unique contribution of avian sleep towards our understanding of REM and non-REM sleep in mammals. By doing so, I emphasise that comparisons of sleeping mammals and birds can reveal general aspects of sleep that might not be evident using a strictly mammalian-based research approach.

The Speaker: John completed his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany, on the evolution and regulation of avian sleep. In 2011, he was awarded a University Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Western Australia. His research interests focus on the ecology and evolution of sleep, trade-offs between sleep and vigilance, the co-evolution of sleep and brain function, local aspects of sleep homeostasis, the influence of predation risk on sleep in prey, and measuring sleep in the wild.

*Applications have now closed*

Have you ever wanted to know what it's like to be an Environmental Science student at UWA?

"A Day in the Life of an Environmental Science Student" gives WA secondary students the opportunity to discover what studies in this field would be like, with a variety of workshops and demonstrations on offer throughout the day.

Places are strictly limited and bookings are essential. Applications close 21 March 2012.

Note: times shown are a guide only and are subject to change. Refer to the respective event brochure/application form for detailed information.

Unfortunately this event has been cancelled.

PSO created event - this is a duplicate

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‘A day in the life of a UWA Environmental Science Student’ gives high school students the opportunity to explore the environmental sciences at UWA and to participate in a range of hands-on and informative activities.

Students will have the opportunity to speak with UWA staff and current students to find out more about life as a UWA student, what the campus has to offer, UWA's new course structure, study pathways and career options.

The PICSE Science Investigation Awards (SIA) are an opportunity for Year 8, 9 and 10 students to investigate a topic and hypothesis of their OWN CHOICE to find out answers with a hands-on and fun approach to science. Visit the website for more information.

The 2011/12 Reunion will be open to all current and past Industry Placement Scholarship Participants. Find out about the Reunion details at our PICSE Facebook group. We look forward to catching up with you all soon!

The PICSE Science Investigation Awards (SIA) are an opportunity for Year 8, 9 and 10 students to investigate a topic and hypothesis of their OWN CHOICE to find out answers with a hands-on and fun approach to science. Winning investigations receive cash prizes of up to $500.

Simply pick a topic that interests you, pose a hypothesis, carry out experiments and work towards answering your question using scientific methodology (it’s really like Myth Busters!).

You then present your findings as a poster (presentation board) and report. These are entered into the awards at your school. The top three investigations from each year group entered from your school will then be selected to attend the PICSE UWA Science Investigation Awards at UWA. These investigations will then be judged by scientists and industry representatives.

The Science Investigation Awards are open to any student in years 8, 9 and 10 from any school in the Great Southern and Perth Metropolitan areas of Western Australia. Schools need to contact PICSE UWA and submit their Expression of Interest details (see website).

Return forms to Belinda Pope ([email protected]) by April 27th 2012 to enter.

Teachers can also get involved by attending the Science Investigation Awards Teacher PD.

Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr will discuss the Tissue Culture and Art Project(TC&A) retrospective in Lazina Centre for Contemporary Arts, Gdansk; they will use the opportunity to reflect on some of TC&A’s earlier works, and attempt to create a kind of a narrative to culminate with TC&A’s latest work Crude Matter, which might be somewhat different from what the Curator of the show Ryszard W. Kluszczyski had to say: Presentation of the works of Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr in Centre for Contemporary Art in Gdansk is the world's first retrospective exhibition of these artists. In this framework the full spectrum of their works is presented, from early prints and light boxes (1996-2000), through a video installation The Remains of Disembodied Cuisine (2005), until the semi-living sculptures: Semi-Living Worry Dolls (2000), Victimless Leather (2004) and Crude Matter (2012 – premiere of the work). The installation The Remains of Disembodied Cuisine refers to an earlier project – Disembodied Cuisine (2003), in which artists offered the audience small steaks grown in a laboratory from cells taken from frogs, which themselves have witnessed the feast being present at the exhibition. Semi-Living Worry Dolls refers to a Guatemalan story about the dolls on which we can pass our fears to feel unburdened. The dolls are created from mouse cells on polymer backbones (and decorated with surgical thread) would also listen to the concerns of the viewers, but because of their semi-living tenderness and helplessness (they are located in the bioreactor that supports their half-lives) they themselves become the source of our care. The purpose of Victimless Leather, is to breed during the exhibition miniature leather coat of cells (leather farming instead of farming livestock for leather production). Through this work artists highlight the issue of human exploitation of other living creatures. In Crude Matter the artists are distancing themselves from the concept of life as the genetic code and referring to the legend of the Golem, they take up the problem of the substrate, the source of matter, the context for life that eventually becomes its substitute.

A public lecture by Derek Elsworth, Professor of Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering at Pennsylvania State University & 2012 UWA Institute of Advanced Studies Professor-at-Large.

Shale gas is just one of a variety of approaches that may be taken to reduce the carbon footprint of energy use. Fuel switching to the utilization of low-carbon natural gas has proven a natural and economically driven selection. This is promoted by the new-found abundance of large gas deposits in unconventional reservoirs made accessible by recently-improved methods of recovery from these very challenging environments. However utilization requires “fracking” of the low permeability reservoirs, that by its very nature is disruptive and to related concerns for the protection of the environment.

This talk will explore the broad range of issues related to gas production from unconventional resources in the broadest possible context. This will include discussion of environmental protection, energy security and economics, all writ large, at this important nexus of environment, energy and economics.

Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR) WA, is the peak professional society representing Australian health and medical research.

Open date to be confirmed.

Applications open for the Science Experience 2013. Current year 9 and 10 students apply on-line at the Science Experience website.

The Science Experience is a three day program of events for students about to enter Year 10 and Year 11. The program is designed to excite students about science and technology and introduce the students to the variety of career options in science and engineering, with the aim that more will choose to study and pursue a career in science.

SPICE Events are designed to expose high school science teachers to exciting new science by increasing interaction between teachers and researchers at UWA. They provide the opportunity for teachers to engage in current research and learn new ideas for the classroom, and usually contain a range of activities including hands-on lab sessions, field trips or presentations showcasing cutting-edge research. We expect the heightened engagement and interaction between teachers and tertiary scientists to have a significant impact upon the enthusiasm of teachers for science.

See website for dates and further details.

The PICSE Science Investigation Awards (SIA) are an opportunity for Year 8, 9 and 10 students to investigate a topic and hypothesis of their OWN CHOICE to find out answers with a hands-on and fun approach to science. Winning investigations receive cash prizes of up to $500.

The Science Investigation Awards are open to any student in years 8, 9 and 10 from any school in the Great Southern and Perth Metropolitan areas of Western Australia. Schools need to contact PICSE UWA and submit their Expression of Interest details (see website).

Teachers can also get involved by attending the Science Investigation Awards Teacher PD.

Cartilaginous fishes are comprised of approximately 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 it has been shown 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 similar patterns of brain organization, termed “cerebrotypes”, exist in species that share certain lifestyle characteristics. Clear patterns of brain organization exist across cartilaginous fishes, irrespective of phylogenetic grouping and, although this study was not a functional analysis, it provides further evidence that chondrichthyan brain structures might have developed in conjunction with specific behaviours or enhanced cognitive capabilities. Larger brains, with well-developed telencephala and large, highly foliated cerebella 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 medulla oblongata. Despite the patterns observed and documented, significant gaps in the literature have been highlighted. Brain mass data are only currently available on c. 16% of all chondrichthyan species, and only 8% of species have data available on their brain organization, with far less on subsections of major brain areas that receive distinct sensory input. The interspecific variability in brain organization further stresses the importance of performing functional studies on a greater range of species. Only an expansive data set, comprised of species that span a variety of habitats and taxonomic groups, with widely disparate behavioural repertoires, combined with further functional analyses, will help shed light on the extent to which chondrichthyan brains have evolved as a consequence of behaviour, habitat and lifestyle in addition to phylogeny.

- Obligation free hands on demonstrations - Bring and try your own samples - Patented eye-pieceless optics allows operators freedomn of head movement with the ability to wear glasses - Superb Ergonomics reduces eye strain and fatigue - Pin sharp iomage with long working distances - Bright LED illumination ideal for all Inspection applications and manipulation tasks

Lynx - Stereo Dynascopic Microscope for inspection and material rework

- Wide range of magnification x3.5 - x120 - Patented stereo eyepieceless optical technology provides superb resolution and contrast - Easy hand-to-eye coordination resulting in increased throughput, accuracy and reduced scrap - Long-life, true colour LED illumination for shadow-free viewing of complex surfaces

Mantis - Stereo Viewing Systems Superior imaging for a wide range of inspection & rework tasks

- Patented optical technology for fatigue-free viewing and superb image quality - Wide range of magnification options (to x20) - Long working distances; large depths of field - Shadow-free true colour LED illumination

Although the risk of developing dementia increases with age – in most people with dementia, symptoms first appear after age 60. Dementia is not a part of normal aging. It is caused by a fatal disease that affects the brain. Dementia is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. International Health and dementia expert Professor Passmore will reveal the causes of brain degeneration in dementia.

'Measuring nanoparticle dispersion and in vitro cellular uptake by electron microscopy' presented by Nicole Hondow from the Institute for Materials Research, University of Leeds

Engineered nanoparticles have been the focus of much recent research with a wide-range of potential applications in catalysis, biomedicine, magnetic resonance imaging, data storage and environmental remediation. For biomedical applications these particles often have surface modification with organic molecules to stabilise them in biological suspensions, functionalise the surface and avoid immediate uptake or clearance by the immune system. Understanding the structure of particles after modification and when within cellular environments is criticial to their safe and successful application. At Leeds we have been developing a systematic approach to the characterisation of nanoparticles and their cellular uptake using electron microscopy. One approach is to draw on the imaging and analytical capabilities of transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) to characterise these particles before and after cellular uptake. A key challenge for this work is representative sample preparation, and we are examining this using CdTe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots dispersed in biological media and serum. The uptake of these nanoparticles by U2-OS human osteosarcoma cells has been examined by quantitative TEM imaging to determine the distribution of the nanoparticles in membrane bound vesicles and the cytoplasm. This is being extended into 3-D, using the Gatan 3-View system in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) to serial section resin-embedded cells exposed to quantum dots. By combining the information from TEM imaging (i.e. location and number of vesicles per 2-D cell section plus the number of quantum dots per vesicle) and serial sectioning (i.e. location, size and number of vesicles in whole cells (3-D)) with that provided by other techniques (such as optical imaging,) we are developing a fully quantitative description of cellular uptake of these quantum dots.

The immune system can be seen as the metaphorical factor of applied performance, which makes the latter artistic practice more than simply social work. Transposed into a functional nomenclature, the immune system makes a larger body stay healthy by encountering visitors (pathogens) by way of recollection, accommodation, identification, discrimination, protection, and aggression. But it may also learn to live with strangers, ad interim, even if it doesn’t quite know who they are. This captures the current challenges of contemporary applied performance very well.

Applied performance is used when social crises require extraordinary management beyond simple solutions. Such conflicts often subsist on deep structural and implicit behavioural attitudes between two parties in situations of, i.e., racism, bullying, gender discord, postcolonial disputes, ecological predicaments, and so forth. Applied performance is often initiated by a third party, e.g., extension workers in non-governmental organizations, who approach conflicts with an equally cooperative and critical mind towards the host culture, but also those who choose to participate in projects.

Amanda Newall is Senior Lecturer in sculpture at Royal Institute of Arts (Kungliga Konsthögskolan) in Stockholm, Sweden. She is also conducting a doctoral project at Chelsea College of Art, University of the Arts, London. She has taught sculpture, socially engaged art, curatorship, professional practice and new media at Auckland University, Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts (UK), and has exhibited numerous international shows.

Ola Johansson is Guest Professor in artistic research at Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts (Stockholms dramatiska högskola). His books on community theatre and performance art are paralleled by creative work in intercultural performance, documentary film, devising, and applied performance. He has taught devising and applied performance in the UK, Sweden and India. Johansson’s have published two books, Community Theatre and AIDS (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) and Performance and Philosophy: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Performing Arts (Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag, 2008).