What's On at UWA

In this public lecture, Professor Hermann Nicolai, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, will review some recent ideas and approaches towards a more complete theory of quantum gravity unifying the fundamental interactions of general relativity and quantum mechanics.

Cost: free but RSVP required via http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/nicolai

An On the Edge public lecture by Professor Pat Dudgeon, School of Indigenous Studies, UWA and Director of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project.

Suicide and mental health conditions among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are double the rate of non-Indigenous people, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics reporting over 100 deaths by suicide each year. This crisis must be addressed before it becomes any further entrenched. In order to treat mental illnesses and suicide we must also look at other challenges facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Mental health cannot be treated in isolation.

In this lecture, Professor Dudgeon will present outcomes of projects she is involved with that address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention.

This public lecture is free, but RSVP is required to http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/dudgeon

School of Music is proud to present: Andrew Foote (baritone) and Caroline Badnall (piano) present Schumann's "Dichterliebe"

Tickets: Entry is free, no bookings required.

Twenty years ago Carmen Lawrence took part in the UN Conference on the Status of Women in Beijing. The event seemed like a watershed and the good will was palpable; participants were determined to develop a practical plan which committed governments to specific actions rather than collating lofty aspirations which would never be realised in practice.

In this lecture, Professor Lawrence will argue that while some progress has been made on these and other fronts, it has to be acknowledged that we are still a long way from realising the ambitions set at the 1995 Conference.

The Grace Vaughan Memorial Lecture is presented by the Australian Association of Social Workers, the Institute of Advanced Studies at The University of Western Australia and the Department of Local Government and Communities.

This public lecture is free, but RSVP is required to http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/2015-gvl

Book your tickets today and join us to celebrate and support an important cause. Cost $170 per head, includes a sumptuous lunch with wine and beer. Email [email protected]

Prof Seow's presentation will focus on recent findings on the structural and functional properties in smooth muscle and how these unique smooth muscle properties allow the muscle to function over a much larger length range compared with that in skeletal muscle, and also how dysregulation of these properties could lead to dysfunction of hollow organs containing smooth muscle.

Julian Burnside, winner of the 2014 Sydney Peace Prize, will present a lecture 'We Are Better Than This' on refugee justice (and injustice) in Australia. His talk will be followed by a conversation with Janet Holmes a Court.

This is a not for profit event sponsored by UWA Publishing, Not in our Name - Perth, Medical Association for Prevention of War, and CASE for Refugees. Any profits to be donated to CASE for Refugees.

Cost: $25 | Bookings via ticketswa

For wheelchair accessible seats and group bookings of 10 or more please call 6488 2440 Monday to Friday, 12pm to 4pm.

Painting Toward Architecture travelling exhibition traces the work of prominent Australian architect, Harry Seidler (1923-2006). It examines his distinctive place and hand within and beyond modernist design methodology. Dozens of featured projects realized across four continents bring to focus Seidler's twelve long-lasting creative collaborations with progressive artistic visionaries: architects Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, and Oscar Niemeyer; engineer Pier Luigi Nervi; artists Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Norman Carlberg, Sol LeWitt, Charles Perry, Frank Stella and Lin Utzon; and photographer Max Dupain. The exhibition was developed by New York-based non-profit Curatorial Project in collaboration with Penelope Seidler and The Seidler Architectural Foundation of Sydney.

Vladimir Belogolovsky will trace the work of Australia's most prominent architect of the 20th century, Harry Seidler (1923-2006), examining his distinctive place and hand within and beyond modernist design methodology. Some of the architect's key projects - from single family houses to multi-story residential and office towers to civic, sports and cultural centres, as well as important government commissions realized in Australia, Austria, France, Israel, Italy, Mexico and Hong Kong-will be discussed to bring to focus Seidler's many long-lasting creative collaborations with progressive artistic visionaries: architects Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, and Oscar Niemeyer; engineer Pier Luigi Nervi; artists Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Norman Carlberg, Sol LeWitt, Charles Perry, Frank Stella, and Lin Utzon; and photographer Max Dupain.

Harry Seidler was the first architect to full express Bauhaus principles in Australia by building his first Project for his parents, the Rose Seidler House (1950) in Wahroonga, Sydney. All his life he was, in his own words, "the torchbearer of modern architecture" and a sincere missionary for the cause of modernism and its ideology to make the world a better place. From the 1970's on, Seidler's hand became increasingly influenced by modular works of American abstract expressionist painters and sculptors, particularly Norman Carlberg, Charles Perry and Frank Stella, evolving into a distinctly personal artistic language yet to be recognised by the profession internationally. Seidler's late work, however free and sculptural, is never arbitrary. His majestic forms were perpetually defined by rational planning, efficiency of standardised construction, social and environmental considerations, and always aiming to achieve the greatest artistic effect with the least effort.

Vladimir Belogolovsky is the Author of Harry Seidler: Lifework (Rizzoli, 2014); curator and designer of Harry Seidler: Painting Toward Architecture ongoing traveling exhibition presented since October 2012 in Moscow, Vienna, Barcelona, Sofia, Riga, Houston, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Sydney.

In this public lecture, Galen Halverson, T.H. Clark Chair of Sedimentology and Petroleum Geology, McGill University and 2015 UWA Gledden Visiting Fellow, will discuss the flurry of new radiometric ages that confirms the synchronicity in the onset and demise of two global glaciation events in the Neoproterozoic Era.

Cost: free but RSVP required via http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/halverson

In 1902, soap manufacturer Darwin Martin commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design his new home at Buffalo, New York. Wright responded with nothing short of a tour-de-force: an integrated complex of a main house with a pergola connecting it to a conservatory and carriage house with chauffeur's quarters and stables, the Barton house (a dwelling for Martin's sister and brother-in-law) and a gardener's cottage (added in 1909). An avid gardener, Martin also insisted that the precinct's surrounds be comprehensively designed. Wright's landscape architect Walter Burley Griffin, rose to the occasion and produced a garden design no less magisterial than his employer's architecture. Tragically, Martin suffered devastating blows in The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and shortly after his death in 1935, his family abandoned the property. Eventually, three of the buildings were demolished and the remaining structures grew ruinous. In 1992, The Martin House Restoration Corporation (MHRC) was formed to champion the house's restoration. Today, the architectural restoration works (including even the reconstruction of the razed structures) are nearing completion. The MHRC has now focused its gaze upon recreating Griffin's landscape design. Project sub-consultant Christopher Vernon will overview the research and methodology underpinning the reconstruction of Walter Burley Griffin's American masterpiece.

Christopher Vernon is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts (ALVA) at The University of Western Australia. Vernon is a leading authority on the lives and works of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, widely lecturing and publishing on the subject. More broadly, his research focuses upon architecture and landscape as collective expressions of identity, especially within the context of designed national capitals such as Canberra, New Delhi and Brasilia.

After 15 years as chief executive of Dun and Bradstreet Australia, Christine thought she had learnt everything there was to know about being a woman leader and a female first in a C suite role. But when she began to look up from the day to day of running a business, Christine saw that what had been true for her own career was by no means the norm for other women in corporate life.

It sparked a passion for gender equity in all spheres of Australian life and led her to take the helm of Chief Executive Women at a pivotal moment in what the next generation will come to see as a gender revolution. CEW has been at the fulcrum of nothing less than a complete transformation in the way the equal participation of women at all levels of Australian society is accepted and supported.

Join Christine Christian as she shares her insights into forging a leadership role for women in the business sector and on what must happen next to complete the gender revolution. In presenting her views, Christine will draw on her experiences as both a CEO and as President of Chief Executive Women.

Price is 52 dollars (members) or 62 dollars (guests) including a two course breakfast.

This event is supported by the UWA Business School.

The Paradoxes and Dilemmas of Securing Change in the DPRK (North Korea)

The largest annual astronomy festival in Australia is returning in 2015. Astrofest, a vibrant celebration of astronomy and Western Australian science, will be held at Curtin Stadium on the Curtin University campus in Bentley on Saturday 28th March.

Preregister to go in the draw to win a prize by Thursday March 26th.

The free event attracts more than 4,000 people each year and features fun and engaging activities for people from all walks of life. Optical and radio telescopes, including some of the largest in the state, will be available throughout the evening to give festival goers a fascinating look at some of the wonders of the Universe.

A huge range of other interactive activities will also be on offer, including guided tours of the night sky, astrophotography competition and displays, Scitech science shows, guest speakers, and hands-on activities for people of all ages.

There will also be expert advice at hand for the amateur astronomer and plenty of information on offer about the Square Kilometre Array, the world's largest radio telescope currently preparing for construction in Western Australia's Murchison region.

The festival kicks-off with solar observing and indoor events from 5.30pm and concludes with the final guided tour of the night sky finishing at 9.30pm. A sausage sizzle, and other food will be available for purchase and picnics are encouraged.

Astrofest 2015 promises to be a fun, educational and memorable evening for the whole family.

For more information or to assist at Astrofest 2015, contact Kirsten Gottschalk at [email protected] or 6488 7771.

The Speaker: Dr David Coall completed his PhD in the School of Anatomy and Human Biology at The University of Western Australia and his Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the Centre for Cognitive and Decision Sciences at the University of Basel, Switzerland. After returning to UWA as a Research Fellow in the School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, David moved to his current position of Senior Lecturer in The School of Medical Sciences at Edith Cowan University. He has authored 20 publications across the fields of evolutionary anthropology, paediatrics, cognitive science, mental health, and maternal and child health. He is especially interested in applying evolutionary theory to understand variation in human health and disease with a particular focus on intergenerational effects. The childhood psychosocial environment, intergenerational relationships and reproductive timing are central to his work examining the impact the early environment has on growth, development, reproduction and health and exploring the influence grandparents have in the lives of their grandchildren.

The Seminar: Across human societies, grandparents and elders more generally are respected and valued contributors to the health of their families and communities. Surprisingly, scientists have only recently begun to examine the influence grandparents have in the lives of grandchildren. The field is in its infancy; however, evidence is gathering that grandparents have a positive impact on the development of grandchildren in contemporary industrialised societies. Therefore, it makes sense that researchers from disciplines as diverse as sociology and evolutionary biology are attempting to answer the question: why do grandparents invest in their grandchildren? Currently, a strong influence on the answer is the discipline the study was conducted in. To try and integrate this work, this paper presents an interdisciplinary perspective on grandparental investment. Data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe will be used to examine factors that predict whether grandparents do or do not help care for their grandchildren. At the population level it is not surprising that a myriad of factors including age of grandchildren, distance to grandchildren, biological relatedness, and the sex and lineage of the grandparents among other economic, sociological, and psychological factors, influenced grandparental investment. The practical application of this perspective shows that similar themes are emerging in a qualitative Western Australian study examining the complexities of everyday life for grandparents who are raising their grandchildren.

The Telethon Kids Institute Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines & Infectious Diseases invite consumers and community members to have a say on a wide range of research into childhood infectious diseases including: - Ear Health - Vaccines - Antibiotic use - Infections in pregnancy. If you have an opinion we would like to hear it so come and have a say! Light lunch and payment for out of pocket expenses are provided.

The Western Australian Minister for Water announced on 13 March 2015 that the State Government is proceeding to draft a Water Resources Management Bill along the lines of the 2013 position paper: 'Securing Western Australia's Water Future'.

The Department of Water says that community input has helped shape the proposed reforms and the Government has committed to ongoing stakeholder input to assist the adoption of the new legislation to suit Western Australia.

What will that Bill look like? How will it provide for adaptation to the incipient and anticipated effects of climate change on securing water for our environment and consumptive uses? How will it allocate new water rights under the "Water for Food" and "Water for Growth" programs? How will it address pressures on urban water supply and a rapidly increasing interest in waste water as a resource? How will it provide for the management of the cumulative impacts of resources projects underway from the mining investment boom? Will it address the concerns in some sections of the community about the potential impacts of shale gas fracking?

This conference will seek the answers to these and other questions of water resources law reform in Western Australia, with comparative international and national insights. The Hon Mia Davies, MLA, BMM, The Minister for Water, Western Australia, will open the conference.

The speakers include national and international legal experts, senior officers of the Department of Water, representatives of the various sectors of water users and environment, and leading technical consultants. The registration fees are reasonable, with some discounts available.

The Prospective Students Office invites future students and their families to join us on a guided tour of UWA's stunning Crawley campus.

You will have the opportunity to explore our beautiful grounds and heritage buildings while learning more about the University, our courses and admission requirements.

The tour runs for about an hour, and ends at Student Central, where you will be able to collect course information booklets and other brochures.

This tour will be held the second Monday of the April school holidays.

Online registrations will open in mid February via the website mentioned below.

Please note: tours are not intended for the general public.

Find out which of our undergraduate mature-age entry pathways are most appropriate to you based on your individual study history, and learn more about what to expect from student life.

Our staff will also be on hand to answer any questions you have about studying at UWA.

About the talk

From a scientific perspective, Aboriginal people entered the landmass of Sahul (greater Australia) more than 50,000 years ago and were in the Pilbara region of Western Australia by 42,000 BP. These first settlers left their mark in these artefacts and in abundant rock art. Images etched into the hard rock surfaces of the Pilbara have become an enduring legacy of these pioneers. Nowhere is this more evident than on the Dampier Archipelago, where possibly at least one million images occur, constituting the densest accumulation of engraved rock art (petroglyphs) in the world. Studies demonstrate that these petroglyphs display a great variety of subjects and styles, documenting changing artistic fashions, embodying cultural, ecological and environmental changes across millennia. These ancient art galleries occur in association with other archaeological features; including artefact scatters, shell middens and stone arrangements, all situated across a landscape that has become an industrial hub for both iron ore and petrochemical industries. There are few places in the world which display a connection of cultural practise across such a vast space and time span, possibly 30,000 years and more. Challenging for the Aboriginal people and academics alike is the protection of such important heritage.

About the speaker

Dr Mulvaney lives in Dampier on the Burrup Peninsula, WA. He is the Principal advisor, Cultural Heritage, at Rio Tinto, which operates the iron ore ports and solar salt fields near Dampier. He is affiliated to the Centre of Rock Art Research and Management at UWA, and is a Partner Investigator on an ARC Linkage Grant. He first came to the Burrup in 1980 when employed by the WA Museum as part of a team recording the Aboriginal heritage of the locations destined for a petrochemical processing plant. Ken's PhD, from the University of New England, established a sequence for the Dampier rock art. Together with the Aboriginal custodians and NGOs he is actively engaged in promoting the heritage values of the place and protection of its rock art. Ken is the previous President of the Australian Rock Art Research Association, having served from 2000 to 2009, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. He is author of many articles on rock art and Aboriginal culture, and his Murujuga Marni, forthcoming from The University of Western Australia Press, will be the first book-length published scientific study of this world significant rock art.

Cost: $5 donation. (Members free)