July 24, 2015
Graduation highlights: 23 July
Ceremonies for the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences and the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts were held on 23 July.
A married couple, Dr Abdurahim Alharbi and his wife Dr Asma Alharbi, from Saudi Arabia, received their doctoral degrees in Mathematics. The couple achieved the feat while raising three young children who were on hand to see their parents receive their degrees.
Dr Nicolas Depauw (pictured below) is currently working in Boston but flew back to Australia to receive his PhD on Thuesday morning. His PhD was a study into the design of an imaging device and a fast dose calculation algorithm for proton cancer therapy. The Director of the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics at UOW, Professor Anatoly Rosenfeld, recommended Nicolas to IBA Belgium Company which is a vendor for proton therapy facilities. He was given a position at this company with secondment to the Proton Therapy Centre at Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School.
Lachlan MacDonald and Alexander Mundey, both from Shellharbour (pictured below), have both completed a four-year double degree Bachelor of Science-Bachelor of Mathematics with a major in Physics, followed by the Advanced Bachelor of Mathematics Honours degree. Both of their Advanced Honours projects were in areas of mathematics that are closely related to theoretical physics.
Dr Jane Lim received her PhD for her study on the use of social media by undergraduate Informatics students and faculties in Malaysia. Dr Lim is closely associated with Wollongong as Dean of UOW Programs at INTI Malaysia.
Professor Jennifer Seberry from UOW’s School of Computing and Information Technology was made an Emeritus Professor for her outstanding contributions to computer security research and education. About Professor Seberry, Professor Chris Cook, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, said: "Jennifer Seberry is a remarkable researcher, educator and mentor who pioneered a path into fields historically dominated by men, carving out an impressive legacy and lighting the way for those who follow."
Joining the University in 1992, Professor Seberry’s time at UOW has encompassed research, course development, teaching and academic governance. A passionate researcher, she has published extensively in discrete mathematics, Hadamard matrices and combinatorial designs. She has written over 450 research publications and has also undertaken consultancy work for major industry clients.
Professor Carl Chiarella is an internationally renowned expert in the areas of financial mathematics and economics received a Doctor of Science (honoris causa) at the 23 July morning ceremony. Professor Chiarella is an internationally renowned expert in the areas of financial mathematics and economics.
Described as a friend of UOW, Thomas Keneally was awarded a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) on 23 July during the morning graduation ceremony for the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts. Mr Keneally has worked tirelessly for the benefit of artists. He has served on the Australia Council, the Australian Society of Authors and supported imprisoned writers through the literature and cultural network Sydney PEN. Mr Keneally is also a teacher, an advocate of a just society and robust culture and a social critic.
Sarah Willard Gray is a painter from the Southern Highlands and received her PhD in Creative Arts for her thesis, ‘The Cartographic Paradign in Contemporary Australian Landscape Painting: Concepts of Ownership, Belonging and Place’. Her thesis aims to explain the role of mapping in depicting place and identity in Australian Aboriginal art. Sarah has previously done her BCA and BCA Hons.
