2011 Media Files

Dr Siobhan McHugh presented the final Uni in the Brewery for 2011: "The Power of Voice" . She is an award-winning author, broadcaster and historian who has recorded many of the forgotten voices of Australia. Her radio series 'Marrying Out' describes a social apartheid between Catholics and Protestants up to the 1960s, and the family feuds that resulted when one side married the other. The series won a gold medal at the 2010 New York Radio Festival.

Professor Sandra Jones was recently interviewed on the ABC radio 'Life Matters' program. "Alcohol at both ends of the cycle"
Teenagers attending Schoolies Week expect to binge drink. Only two per cent who responded to a survey thought it was unacceptable for teenagers to get drunk. Professor Jones has also interviewed retirees who don't realise they're drinking at harmful levels. She says we need to promote other ways to celebrate and socialise that don't depend on alcohol. Comments welcome: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2011/3364757.htm

Twisting Nanobots
Research from ACES / IPRI  published in 'Science' (14th Oct. 2011) - New twisting artificial muscles propel nano-robots one step closer to medical applications. “This new, giant, rotating type of actuation will open up lots of opportunities for micro-machines,” said Prof Spinks, ACES Chief Investigator.

'AquaHydrex' technology produced by UOW's IPRI - a finalist in the Australian Clean Technologies (Cleantech) Ideas Competition. Innovation Minister Kim Carr launched Cleantech to identify the best ways of addressing the challenges of climate change and sustainability. Researcher Prof. Gerry Sweigers explains how 'AquaHydrex' works.

iSee by Prof. Farzard Safaei 
iSee brings together the best of Virtual Worlds and videoconferencing for a high-quality situated online collaboration experience. The video stream captured by the webcam of each participant is rendered in a Virtual World that also features spatial sound for a total immersive collaboration experience.

A short video describing the project of trials of an ionisation rainfall enhancement technology called Atlant, by the Australian company Australian Rain Technologies, owned by Matt Handbury. Video includes respected scientists Professors Neville Fletcher, UOW's Ray Chambers and Economist Steve Beare, as well as company CTO Scott Peak. Australian trials over the past 4 years has demonstrated potential to effectively deliver increased rainfall from clouds. Can we afford to pass up this opportunity? >More

UOWtv features Prof. Gordon Wallace after being awarded the prestigious Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship. Professor Wallace is the Director of the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) and Executive Research Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) >More

UOW's winning 3 Minute Thesis Competition winner is HDR student Jen Hawksley from the Faculty of Arts. Talk Title:  Bereft: the extremities of wartime bereavement among Australian parents. Jen will now represent the UOW at the National/Trans-Tasman competition at the University of Western Australia. Runners Up and the People's Choice are also featured on this webpage >More

UOW Researchers work to piece together the schizophrenia puzzle
Many neurological and psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, are believed to arise as a result of abnormalities in normal brain development. Numerous neurochemical systems play vital roles in key stages of brain development; the glutamate, neuregulin and cannabinoid systems in particular are of interest in the development and pathology of schizophrenia >More
 

Research reveals lack of prenatal alcohol information
Researchers from UOW have discovered that pregnant women are not receiving enough information from midwives and health professionals on the effects of alcohol consumption on their babies. The Centre for Health Initiatives (CHI) found that patient sensitivity was seen as a barrier for many midwives and health professionals when it came to recommending abstinence from alcohol to expectant mothers as they did not wish to offend patients about their lifestyle choices >More

Climate Change Research in Antarctica
UOW PhD Student Jess Bramley-Alves recently returned from a research trip to Antarctica and Macquarie Island studying climate change. She is studying moss on the continent to determine climate changes over the past 200 years.The research is in the early stage, but there has been significant changes on the ground >More

Not Just Ned - A True History of the Irish in Australia
The National Museum of Australia recently held an exhibition of more than 450 objects from public institutions and private collections across Australia, Ireland, the US and NZ to showcase the real history of the Irish in Australia. Award winning audio extracts from Siobhan McHugh's radio documentaries were featured as part of the exhibition >More

Geological Excursion to the Shakey Isles 
11 students and staff from the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences recently returned from a geological field trip to the South Island of NZ to investigate active tectonic processes. Little did they know that a second large earthquake would devastate Christchurch only 5 days following their return >More

Life in Burma Documentary
UOW Masters Journalism student Michaela Werner recently returned from shooting a documentary on life in Burma. Michaela discovered that many people's perceptions of life in Burma are incorrect and that all of the people she interviewed from other countries had positive stories to tell about the country >More  

'The brave new world of medical bionics' - online background briefing from Tokyo – Thurs 17th February 2011, 2.30pm AEDT - recording made available via UStream
Science fiction has long imagined a time when those who have lost limbs are able to regrow nerve and muscle cells into their prosthetic device, controlling it with their brain as though it were simply an extension of their body. Combining nanotechnology with new organic materials that conduct electricity, Australian and Japanese researchers have been able to guide the regrowth of nerve and muscle cells after damage. These new materials show promise in the repair of damaged nerve cells after injury and in the development of “smarter” medical devices. Are we closer to a Bionic Man? The Australian and Japanese Science Media Centres ran a joint online briefing out of the Nanotech Expo 2011 in Tokyo recently. Available simultaneously in Japanese and English, the briefing provided an update on the latest developments in  medical bionics and connected journalists to one of the biggest nanotechnology events of the year.
SPEAKERS: Professor Gordon Wallace, ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science and the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute,  UOW
Professor Keiichi Torimitsu,  Molecular Biological Systems Research Group, NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone)
Host: Dr Go Yoshizawa, Lecturer, Tokyo University Graduate School of Public Policy, I2TA Project.