What's On at UWA

We are seeking volunteers for a study investigating ways to improve the health and well being of dog owners and their dogs. If you own a dog, but do not walk it very often we would like you to hear from you.

Participation in this study will involve attending a 1-2 hour discussion with about 10 other dog owners about the barriers and incentives for walking your dog. The discussion groups will run on: Friday 8th July 2011 (12.00-13.30) & Monday 11th- Thursday 14th July 2011 (12.00-13.30 and 16.00-1730)

You only need to attend one session.

Participants will be offered $20 cash or the equivalent in pet supplies as a token of appreciation for participation.

We would appreciate if you could forward this to interested family and friends.

If you would like to participate in this study or find out more about it, please contact the Project Coordinator:

Mr Martin Hopkins [email protected] 0423 977 594

Centre for the Built Environment and Health (M707) School of Population Health

The University of Western Australia

The 10 most engaging 3 Minute Thesis presenters selected at the UWA semi-finals on 21st July, will compete for prizes and the opportunity to represent UWA at the Australia-New Zealand 3MT competition in September. Please come along to support the presenters and vote for your "People's Choice".

Presentations over this two-day event will cover comparisons of environments for the dawn of life on Earth and comparing with the possibility of life on the red Planet, Mars.

Written submissions from teachers, scientists, engineers, social theorists, managers, writers and artists are welcomed. Full papers will be reviewed and published in accordance with the DEEWR guidelines.

Topics include (but are not limited to):

Mars - Earth analogue comparisons, strategies and technologies for surface exploration, field science for exploration, recruiting the next generation of explorers, astronauts, scientists and engineers, educational needs for a spacefaring culture, the Mars Society as a culture, new concepts in project management, remote-area engineering, Mars as an inspiration to science students and artists.

Walking into Slavery with Open Eyes: The Descent of “Science”

The cover letter is usually the first thing read by an employer and it will influence whether they read on or not! Learn how to:

Structure your letters Create interest in your application Prepare letters for advertised and non-advertised positions

The Western Australia Chief Scientist, Professor Lyn Beazley, and the University of Western Australia's Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management are hosting a symposium in Albany to showcase the excellent science taking place in the Great Southern region.

'Great Southern, Great Science' will include presentations on nationally significant work that impacts on the Great Southern, and local research and development by scientists and professionals in the Great Southern.

Tickets will be available from the Albany Entertainment Centre box office - 9844 5005.

Standard $39.50 and Students $20.00

Registration includes morning and afternoon teas and lunch.

UWA opens up the whole campus to the public.

Come and find out about the courses on offer, valuable research, community programs, and facilities...all mixed with a day full of lots of fun activities for everyone!

Looking for graduate work? Vacation work?

Studying Engineering or Computer Science?

Then this is the careers evening for YOU!

When: 6.30-9pm, Monday 15th August Where: Technology Park Function Centre, Bentley Cost: FREE(!) for IEEE members, $2 for non-members if pre-purchased. Otherwise $5 at the door.

Companies attending: Alliance Power & Data, APESMA, BEC Engineering, BHP Billiton (Olympic Dam), Defence Force Recruiting, Deloitte, Engineers Australia, Ernst & Young, EWB, GHD, Hatch, IBM, IEEE GOLD, IET, iiNet, NAGCAS, Norman Disney & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Public Transport Authority of WA, Raytheon, Rio Tinto and Tiwest.

Tickets on sale DAILY 12-1pm outside the Monadelphous Integrated Learning Centre (MILC)!

Don't miss this excellent opportunity to talk to future employers, learn valuable skills from free seminars, and find a job!

The first Soil&Water Seminar for 2nd semester will be at 1pm on Tues, Aug 16th. The speaker will be Gavan McGrath, from the Soil Physics group at School of Earth and Environment. All welcome!

TITLE: “Tropical cyclones and the pulsed eco–hydrological dynamics of Australia’s arid zone: As revealed by AVHRR, MODIS and GRACE”

ABSTRACT: Pulses of vegetation growth following significant rains are a characteristic of water limited systems. However, the underlying climatic control often remains elusive. We show that throughout Australia’s west and central arid zones, most significant pulses of vegetation growth are associated with the passage of tropical cyclones. The analysis used a combination of MODIS Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (2002 – 2009), AVHRR fraction Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (1981 – 2006) as well as historical cyclone tracks. We also find a significant correlation between these pulsed vegetation dynamics and variation in the equivalent water thickness stored in the landscape as estimated by GRACE products (2002 – 2009). In areas away from the monsoonal tropics and southern Mediterranean climatic regions, these correlations show little or no lag at monthly time scales and both gravity and vegetation signals show similar levels of persistence, typically five-seven months following a cyclone. Recent low vegetation greenness as well as a deficit in water storage over north-west Australia appears to be associated with a decline in cyclone activity over the last few years. Inter-annual and inter-decadal oscillations in sea surface temperatures across Australia’s north, impacting upon the frequency of cyclones, are therefore anticipated to have significant effects on vegetation dynamics throughout much of Australia’s arid zone.

It’s never too early to start preparing for the graduate or vacation employment market.

You need to develop career management skills and take the steps to maximise success when applying for vacation and graduate positions in your later years at uni.

Find out how to: * choose a career direction * develop generic transferable skills and * build evidence of your employability

so that you ‘stand out in the crowd’ when you’re ready to apply for jobs.

The Soil&Water Seminar at 1pm on Tues, Aug 23rd will be given by Winthrop Professor Bob Gilkes. All welcome!

TITLE: “Amazonian Indian Black Earths, black carbon and a little bulldust”

ABSTRACT: Indian black earths(IBE) in the Amazon basin are small inliers of very fertile, black soils in a landscape dominated by infertile highly weathered pale coloured and red soils(mostly oxisols ,ultisols and inceptisols). Several theories have been proposed for the origin of IBE and all agree that they represent the effect of long term land management practices by pre-Colombian societies. Some workers consider that the various forms of black carbon in the IBE provide chemical, physical and microbial benefits that enabled productive agriculture on these soils. This is an attractive concept for proponents of biochar for use as a soil ameliorant and as a mechanism for sequestering atmospheric carbon.

In this talk I will examine an alternative explanation for the properties and distribution of IBE and relate it to recent work in SEE on the nature of biochar and ash created from tropical and local plant species. I will propose that IBE are a consequence of the agricultural and fishing activities of communities that adapted to the diverse soils and seasonal flooding regime of the Amazon Basin in the period ca.2400-1525BP.

AIESEC is giving you a chance to go out into the world and join the other hundreds of students who have lived the change by educating students, raising awareness of HIV/AIDS, getting involved in social entrepreneurship, empowering women, tackling human rights and environmental issues in countries like Kenya, Mauritius, Poland, Taiwan, Philippines, Turkey, Indonesia and Cambodia. So don't just stand around this summer. Make an impact, LIVE THE CHANGE!

AIESEC is giving you a chance to go out into the world and join the other hundreds of students who have lived the change by educating students, raising awareness of HIV/AIDS, getting involved in social entrepreneurship, empowering women, tackling human rights and environmental issues in countries like Kenya, Mauritius, Poland, Taiwan, Philippines, Turkey, Indonesia and Cambodia. So don't just stand around this summer. Make an impact, LIVE THE CHANGE!

Are you wondering about what you will do after you graduate? Do you think it's time for you to do something to make yourself stand out from the crowd? Do you want to gain skills that employers value? Do you feel like you aren't well connected? If so, lead yourself in the right direction with AIESEC! Come along to our Compass Workshop Series to find the path to your ideal career. Consisting of four workshops, the series provides you with an opportunity to gain skills you require to be successful in finding yourself work, as well as skills that will help you excel in your career. Each workshop will be run by a guest speaker, who will explore a particular skill in depth to help you with your career path. Workshops will be focused on leadership and team management, creating and maintaining your networks, cultural understanding and entrepreneurship and innovation. Moreover, at the conclusion of the series, you will be invited to attend a cocktail event to network with the speakers and many other corporate representatives. This gives you a chance to apply the skills you learn straight away. If you want to stand out in the competitive global workforce and are up to be challenged, this is the workshop series for you!

The Soil&Water Seminar at 1pm on Tues, Sept. 6th will be given by Professor Martin Fey from the School of Earth and Environment. All welcome!

TITLE: “Towards a philosophy of soil science”

ABSTRACT: Besides the philosophy of science there is a philosophy of particular sciences. This paper addresses each of the classical branches of philosophy (metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, politics and aesthetics) from a soil science perspective. By comparing soil with rock, regolith, biomantle and duricrust we understand it from different perspectives. The roots of soil science lie in the study of soil for its own sake. Logically the main branches of soil science should be physics, chemistry (including mineralogy) and genesis, with each having applied divisions as appropriate: edaphology (agriculture, forestry, ecology); informatics (classification, spatiation, databases); environmental management (conservation, pollution, restoration) and engineering (construction, tillage, mining, traffic and water). Some hybrid subjects such as soil biology belong less in soil science than in the partner discipline. Certain fashionable terms used in soil science have pitfalls. Notable examples (with respective pitfalls) are soil health (condition and quality are sufficient terms); ecosystem services (property, process and function are adequate terms); intrinsic value (no such thing - value is relational by definition); holism and complexity theory (cognitive significance is lacking); sustainability (green politics buzzword); and organic production (a term widely abused). Cognitive significance is crucial. Research funding and public policy interact. Researchers often have a vested interest in accepting and promoting ideas. This applies to recipients of both government and big business funding. Some of the best discoveries result from amateur interest. Professional registration is claimed to ensure ethical practice but could be seen as unethical by those whom it excludes and those who feel they pay excessively for the service. Certification should be voluntary and non-registered practitioners free to establish and benefit from their own reputations. Soil and land can be viewed from an individualist (voluntary) or collectivist (coercive) perspective. Should soil pollution and erosion be tackled by legislation or jurisprudence? Soil profiles are beautiful. The colour and tilth of a ploughed field can be fine things to behold. Restoration after mining entails aesthetic landscaping. Some creative art is soil based. Soil themes in literature can be inspiring. The philosophy of soil science affects the self esteem of practitioners and makes soil science more durable as a discipline.

Sasha Ivanovich has travelled to the UAE to study the amazing city of Masdar, hailed to be the world's first carbon neutral city. The lecture will be followed by drinks.

The Computer Science Student's Club is Hosting its annual quiz night, in the Tavern, on the 15th of September. Tickets are $10 each or Eight (a table) for $70. Tickets on sale from the CSSC clubroom (Rm2.26 in the Computer Science Building). 18+ yrs old only.

Dear Colleagues, You are all invited to the next in the series of the DVCR Prof Robyn Owens’ Lunchtime Seminars.

Title: Socialising your Research - publishing a paper is just the start…

Guest Speakers: Prof Stephan Lewandowsky – Professorial Fellow, School of Psychology An expert in human memory and learning; Steve is a regular contributor to “The Conversation”.

Prof T. Campbell McCuaig– Director, Centre for Exploration Targeting (CET) An expert in mineral deposit genesis and exploration; Cam interacts constantly with end-users, discipline experts and other stakeholders.

Venue: Murdoch Lecture Theatre, Ground Floor, Arts Building

Date and Time: Friday 16th September 1-2pm. See: http://www.uwa.edu.au/campus-map?id=2185

RSVP is NOT required.

Note: open the attachment to enter into your diaries.

Regards,

Vincent Wallace

Vincent P. Wallace, Ph.D. Research Development Advisor (FLPS) Research Services, M459 The University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway, CRAWLEY, WA, 6009

Office: +61 8 6488 3056 Fax: +61 8 6488 1075

The Engineers Without Borders UWA Chapter is hosting their first annual (its a historic moment) TALENT QUEST NIGHT and you are cordially invited!

There will be acts and snacks, surprises and prizes, drinks and winks - and hopefully not too much bad rhyming.

So come for a night of fun and fundraising (I did it again didn't I?)!

Engineers Without Borders Australia works with disadvantaged communities to improve their quality of life through education and the implementation of sustainable engineering projects. Through the process of helping people in need we become more socially aware and responsible, improve ourselves, inspire others to action and further our ultimate goal of sustainable development.

Individual tickets will be $10 from the EWB committee or $15 at the door after 9pm. The event is being held at the UWA Tavern on the 16th of September 8pm.

Competitors please email [email protected] to register and for further information. Competitors receive free entry, although there will be a crowd favourite prize- so bring your friends!

A UWA engineering qualification combines practical and theoretical learning in an exciting and engaging environment that will make you a sought-after graduate, with an internationally recognised education.

To find out more about how to become an engineer, come along to one of our free Engineering Information Evenings and talk to us about commencing your engineering career at UWA.

The information evenings will cover course and career options, the types of engineering available to study, what the course entails, entry pathways and how to apply through TISC.