newsUWA18 September 2000

The University of Western Australia Volume 19 Number 15

Of all the sports that people start playing forfun, beach volleyball must be near the top of

the list.Twenty years ago, it was a sport that few people in

Australia took seriously, but this week it will be played veryseriously for the second time at an Olympic Games.

And representing Australia in beach volleyball is UWAgraduate Sarah Straton.

Volleyball and beach volleyball are huge in Japan, Europeand South America, particularly Brazil. Regular volleyballhasn’t risen to those heights in Australia but we are wellplaced in beach volleyball.

According to her mother, Associate Professor JudyStraton, Department of Public Health and Associate Dean(Student Affairs) in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry,Sarah had a taste of volleyball at high school.

By the time she finished her Bachelor of Science atthe Department of Human Movement andExercise Science in 1992, she was“seriously into volleyball,” her mothersaid.

She now plays volleyballprofessionally full-time.

“During the season, thereis a tournament everyweekend in a differentcountry,” said

Associate Professor Straton, who has taken leave to watchher daughter compete in Sydney.

Sarah and her partner, Annette Huygens-Tholen areranked 19th in the world. The other two AustralianOlympic women’s beach volleyball teams are ranked fifthand seventh.

But Glenn Hamilton, who coached Sarah and Annetteright up until their Olympic selection, said there was verylittle difference between first and 24th rank.

“It’s a very even sport and a lot depends on theconditions on the day,” he said.

Mr Hamilton said Sarah had done extremely wellto reach Olympic level after starting volleyball solate in life. Usually players start while they’re stillat high school.

Human Movement lecturer Nick Randall wasthe man who suggested Sarah take up volleyballseriously while she was at university.

“She’s very tall, very athletic. Ithought the game would suit

her,” Mr Randall said.It obviously does. UWA graduates and

students are also com-peting in Olympic hockey(women’s and men’s),swimming, water poloand athletics.

UWA gives birth toOlympic career

in this issue …

Pages 3, 4PHYSICS RESEARCH

Pages 6, 7, 10SPRINGGRADUATIONS

by Lindy Brophy

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE AUSTRALIAN

Olympic volleyballers —Pauline Manser andSarah Straton.

2 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

VCariousthoughts …

Deryck M. SchreuderVice-Chancellor and Presidentvc@acs.uwa.edu.au

We are all aware of the Queen Mother’s 100thbirthday recently . . . but fewer of us know of

Mr Bruce Newton of Bentley who was also recently100 years old (on Friday September 1).

Bruce is in fact our oldest living former student and staffmember. And he is still in robust good form, with an alertmind, deep voice and strong personality. Having afternoontea with Bruce recently — together with his son, a familyfriend and Terry Larder from our Visitor’s Centre — was anexperience I shall long value.

‘Bruce’s UWA’ began with the Irwin Street facilities,which was tiny in size, dominated by a few inimitableprofessors and lecturers, and of course, the only universityin the state.

UWA grew with the city and the state. And Bruce’scareer mirrored that growth in staff and student numbers,the emergence of a small research culture and the move tothe Crawley campus site in the 1930s. He has lived to seethe twenty-first century UWA as an international universityof excellence. Yet his memories easily connect traditions andtomorrow. Did you know that among the challenges ofworking in the Irwin Street phase of UWA was dealing withcity noise — not only of growing motor vehicle traffic afterthe Great War, but especially of a motorbike repair garagenext door!

An abiding feature of that UWA story of developmenthas been the role of our staff as personified by Bruce —whether as academics or professionals or general staffmembers.

Senate recently received, for consideration, a significantpaper on staffing first prepared for the Strategic ResourcesCommittee. The paper admirably sets out the challengesfaced by UWA and its staff as we confront the new century.Let me draw from that report and the valuable points madeby our Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Robson, inintroducing the document.

Bruce’s UWA has long since grown beyond that smallearly cohort of less than 100 staff. As of last year we had atotal staff of 2364, composed of 1733.3 who worked inacademic originated units, and 631.2 in the non-academicunits. Our teaching and research academic staff numbered699.2 with 291.1 academic staff additionally supported byresearch funds. Non-academic staff on research fundsamounted to 190.3. Other major categories by size included552.7 non-academic staff (general), 161.7 staff in academicsupport services, and 380.2 in general institutional services.

Sheer numbers, of course, only give us the outline profileof UWA at the turn of the century. To achieve a sense of

the change and growth at UWA we need trend data. Andhere, some major facts and issues stand out:

• Between 1995 and 2000 our student numbers rose by 29per cent but staffing has only grown by some one per cent(2355.3 to 2364.5). Yet interestingly, some 77.3 academicresearch-funded staff were added following UWA successin obtaining competitive grants. Efficiency gains have beena major feature of the past years. But we need to growour budget to grow our staff again.

• Staff and student rations had worsened by a factor of two,an aspect of growth that reflected great demand for placesbut which also required a larger budget allocation, from alarger total budget, to keep excellence attached toimproving staff-student ratios.

• In gender balance terms, the news is happily morepositive. From 19 per cent (FTE) in 1995, the proportionof women teaching and research staff increased to over 30per cent in 2000. Moreover, UWA’s equity index(meaning the degree of women staff at levels closest tothe ideal of 100) registered at 70, the best in WA and oneof the best in Australia.

• We are also a notably multicultural staff, and overseasvisitors have several times remarked on the fact the UWApresents a happily international face with so many of usfrom outside of Australia.

• And we are a changing staff as there have been over 400voluntary separations over time (since 1995) of academicand general staff. New staff members have come to joinUWA and ensured a sense of change at a time of stasis inUniversity funding.

Two important current documents in the Universityreflect aspects of forward thinking about staffing policy andconditions. There has been a significant report on the statusand security of research staff, a growing category of vitalsignificance whose resourcing is often tied to grants andconsultancies. We are also currently undertaking a secondmajor working life survey, as a means to optimising theemployment environment that is our University.

A significant register of the standing of UWA is, for me,the response we get to appointment advertising. It isheartening that we continue to attract excellent applicants,both general and academic. Indeed, I have specially noted thefact that at the Professorial Selection Committees, amajority of the applicants already hold chairs at otheruniversities.

We can always do better. I’d especially like more seniorwomen staff, more of us from multicultural and indigenousbackgrounds, and a greater capacity to remunerate our staffmore generously.

But I do celebrate the great staff we have — and havehad. Bruce Newton’s 100th birthday deserves celebration asa reminder of how our staff are at the core of the quality ofour University.

FortunateLives

See story on page 5

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

UWA news 3

John McFerran had the time of his life at a selectsummer school for physicists in Italy.And when it comes to time, Mr McFerran knows what

he’s talking about.He is part of award-winning physicist Dr Andre Luiten’s

team, which is working hard on developing a clock that useslight frequencies.

Dr Luiten has already developed a sapphire crystal clockthat has proved to be the world’s most stable timepiece.Now his research team is pushing the boundaries ofperfection, with lasers rather than microwaves.

Dr Luiten is supervising John McFerran’s PhD in the areaof frequency synthesis. Together they are trying to link

Physicists clock uptimely research

“ … a clock based onlight frequencies could bea huge step forward … ”

Dr Mike Tobar and Dr AndréLuiten — pushing theboundaries of precision.

Continued on page 4

lasers to microwaves in a coherent fashion, so that they canproduce an optical standard based on atoms, which mayhave unprecedented accuracy.

“At the moment, the definition of a second is based in themicrowave domain. If optical oscillators continue to improvetheir frequency sta-bility the definition may change onceagain,” Mr McFerran said.

Dr Luiten added that while their sap-phire clock would beconsidered among the best of all micro-wave clocks everdeveloped, it had been recognised, over the past ten years,that a clock based on light frequencies could be a huge stepforward. Furthermore, a link to atoms would make the clockaccurate as opposed to simply being stable.

“The computers of the future, and the communicationtechnology of today, are based on sending light signalsaround, so a clock based on light with superior accuracy andstability, will find many applications in these types oftechnology,” he said.

John McFerran took their pre-liminary findings in this newarea of research with him to the prestigious Enrico Fermisummer school in physics in northern Italy recently.

Only 50 students from around the world are selected toattend. They are chosen on the basis of the work they havedone so far, their potential as scientists of the future and thequality of the group with which they work.

To embellish the honour of being selected, his trip waspaid for by UWA through funding from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and the Executive Dean of Science. The EnricoFermi Inter-national School of Physics awarded him a fullscholarship to cover accom-modation, registration andproceedings, one of 28 out of 50 students to be granted fullscholarships.

Joined by young physicists from other metrology groupsaround the world, Mr McFerran (the only Australian at thesummer school) said the two weeks of intense lectures andseminars enlightened the students to the exciting prospectsthat lie ahead in this wide-ranging field.

The sessions are run by the world’s top scientists in theirfields, including the 1997 Nobel Prize winner for physics,who lectured in his area of laser cooling.

“The lecturers were very forth-coming. It was nice to rubshoulders with the big wigs,” he said.

While Mr McFerran said the course was something hewould always cherish, Dr Luiten said his selection for theschool was a great endorsement of his work, as well as thedirection his (Dr Luiten’s) group was following.

4 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

John McFerran’s poster presentationof the group’s work for the EnricoFermi School illustrated the schematicdesign of the optical-to-microwavefrequency chain, which he hasaffectionately called ‘Synthia’ (fromsynthesis). A link is made between acryogenic microwave sapphire oscil-lator and an optical oscillator.

He explained that, on its completion,the frequency chain may be operated aseither an optical frequency measuring

device or as an optical frequencysynthesiser.

The summer school, on recentadvances in metrology and fundamentalconstants, was sponsored by the ItalianPhysical Society, the EuropeanCommunity and UNESCO.

It covered topics such as timekeeping in space, laser cooling andBose-Einstein condensation, opticalfrequency measurements and stan-dards, mass metrology, single photonexperiments, quantum hall effect andmuch more.

Continued from page 1

Timely research

Department of Physics

Redefining words like accuracyand precision are the exciting

outcomes of modern physics.In laboratories next door to each

other, in the basement of the PhysicsBuilding, two internationally recognisedresearch teams are working onmetrology projects that have capturedthe attention of the world.

Metrology is the science ofmeasurement and Dr Michael Tobar’sand Dr Andre Luiten’s teams areforcing the world to rethink the accu-racy and precision of time measure-ment.

Dr Tobar and his team have beenworking collaboratively with AssociateProfessor Jerzy Krupka from WarsawUniversity to measure accurately theelectronic properties of crystalmaterials.

“We have developed an extremelyaccurate method based on theWhispering Gallery modes in cylindricalsamples at microwave frequencies,” DrTobar said.

“These types of modes are specialwell-confined modes that are con-centrated near the cylindrical edge ofthe crystal. They travel around theedges like whispers in St Paul’sCathedral.

Aiming forperfection

“We have already measured electricand magnetic properties of manycrystals. Some mysteries remain withregards to the results we haveobtained. Associate Professor Krupka isreturning next month to continue thiscollaboration and we have devisedsome experiments to help determinethese mysteries,” he said.

In the meantime, the team has beengiven the award of best paper publishedin 1999 from the Institute of PhysicsJournal, Measurement Science and Tech-nology.

Their winning paper describes themeasurement science and technologyrequired to conduct the most accuratemeasurements of permittivity and thedielectric loss tangent in low-losscrystals down to 4K.

The team began their award-winningARC-funded research six years ago.They are also collaborating with theNational Bureau of Metrology in Franceand the prototype of their liquid heliumsapphire crystal clock is now operatingin the observatory in Paris.

Student Pawel Bilski joins John Hartnett and Dr Mike Tobar . . . perfecting precision.

“But we are now developing a clockthat can be operational at highertemperatures, so doesn’t need theliquid helium, because the observatory’slabs are not equipped, as ours are, withliquid helium and it’s very expensive,”Dr Tobar said.

“Liquid nitrogen is not quite aseffective but a hundred times cheaper,smaller and more mobile. So the idea isto build a device that will sacrifice someprecision, performance and stability, tomake it more practical.”

He and his postgraduate student JohnHartnett explained that there weresome applications that only the heliumclock could fill. But in some cases, usingit would be a case of overkill because itsprecision was not necessary.

The liquid helium clock is soaccurate that it gains or loses a secondonly once in two billion years.

Dr Tobar, Dr Luiten and MrHartnett are all going to Paris atdifferent times over the next 12months to work with the French ontheir developments.

John McFerran — mixing it with theworld’s best physicists.

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

UWA news 5

B ruce Newton wouldcertainly be an advo-

cate of the adage that youlearn something every day.

He devoted his working life toadult education at UWA: hisdaughter says the family’s liferevolved around it.

Now, at the age of 100, he hashad more days behind him, inwhich to learn something, than most other people.

Mr Newton is the oldest former University staff memberand the Vice-Chancellor honoured him on his 100th birthdayon September 1 with the presentation of a certificate.

Mr Newton was a senior administrative assistant at theUniversity’s original home in Irwin Street, Perth. Hetransferred to Crawley and, in 1932, was appointedsecretary to the Joint Committee of Adult Education, whichin the following year became the Adult Education Board.

He served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Australian Navybetween 1941 and 1946 but otherwise devoted his life tothe Adult Education Board (AEB), which preceded bothUniversity Extension and UWA’s Summer School.

As the AEB’s activities extended, Mr Newton became itsaccountant as well as its secretary. He retired in 1965 butcontinued part-time leave replacement at UWA until 1973.

His daughter Pat Hunt and sons Barry, Ian and Malcolmcelebrated their father’s 100th birthday with a lunch at RoyalFreshwater Bay Yacht Club and a party, for his grandchildrenand great-grandchildren, at his Bentley nursing home.

A life of learning

6 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

Mary’s historya final goal

Nearly 650 graduates from every facultyachieved their individual milestones at

the Spring Graduation ceremonies last week.Although fewer students graduate at this time of

the year, the relative numbers are similar.Commerce graduates now always outnumber any

other group, with 130 Bachelors of Commerce beingbestowed last week.

There were 84 Bachelors of Science and 72Bachelors of Arts graduating, including Guild PresidentTim Huggins, with first class honours in PoliticalScience.

The first six graduates in Forensic Science receivedtheir graduate diplomas and 72 PhDs were awarded.

Two Chancellor’s Medals were presented by theChancellor, Clinical Professor Alex Cohen, to JoanRobins and Hans Arkeveld.

Mrs Robins was honoured for her dedication to theUniversity throughout her working life; and MrArkeveld for his artistic contributions to the Uni-versity.

Mrs Robins’ husband, Dr John Robins, was awardedthe Chancellor’s Medal 18 months ago for his work inphysics and as an ambassador for UWA.

Oxford University’s Vice-Chancellor, Doctor ColinLucas was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters,as was the Most Reverend Dr Peter Carnley,Archbishop of Perth and Head of the Anglican Churchin Australia.

pring GraduationsS

It’sbloomingBachelorsin spring

Mary’s historya final goal

When Helen Wallace started work at theUniversity Library nearly 30 years ago, it

was a very relaxed place to work.“It was the hippy era and we used to come to work in

bare feet, wearing a sarong,” she said.“Being a librarian these days is much more challenging.

The sterotyped ‘retiring little old lady’ just wouldn’t copewith the changes computers have brought.”

To keep herself up to pace, Ms Wallace has been almostconstantly studying since she arrived from Melbourne in1971 with basic librarian training.

She graduated last week with her Master of Arts inhistory, which took her eight years to complete.

“When I first arrived, I did a Bachelor of Arts, majoring inEnglish, which took me six years. Then a couple of yearslater, I did a Business Diploma at Curtin University, whichhas helped me with library administration. I finished thatsome time in the 1980s.

“The reason I started my master’s degree is that I’minterested in family history. Mary Wollaston, the wife of JohnRamsden Wollaston, WA’s first Anglican Archdeacon, wasmy great great grandmother. I wanted to write her story butI wanted to do it properly.

“So first, because I hadn’t done honours, I had to do amaster’s preliminary, which took me two years. Then I spent

Helen Wallace — capitalising on an academic environment.

six years researching Mary Wollaston and writing thehistory.

“It was a challenge because there were very few diariesand letters, but gradually I pieced it all together, includingtrips to England to research John and Mary’s life before theycame here and to South Australia, where she went to livewith her sons after John died.”

Ms Wallace is now in the Law Library and has no plansfor further study.

“I edit the Australian Law Librarian now and that takes upwhat time I might have had for study,” she said.

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

UWA news 7

Dr Ted Lefroy is celebrating his PhD by launchinga book, inspired by an American agriculturalist

who is more of a poet than a farmer.Agriculture as a Mimic of Natural Ecosystems is far from

poetic, but how the book came about is a lyrical story.Wendell Berry taught English at Harvard for years before

returning to the family farm in Kentucky. He now describeshimself as a farmer whose cash crop is poetry. In 1997 hepublished a book called The Unsettling of America, describingAmerica’s settlers arriving with ‘visions of former places butnot the sight to see where they were’; of modifying thelandscape to conform to their vision rather than adaptingtheir vision to fit the new landscape.

“That is essentially the subject matter of this new book— how we might use sight rather than vision to modify ouragriculture to fit more easily on this continent,” says DrLefroy, who has co-edited it with Professor John Pate fromBotany, Michael O’Connor from the Muresk Institute ofAgriculture and Richard Hobbs from CSIRO.

Berry’s book did the rounds of farmers around Esperanceand one of them asked the local library to send themanything more by the same author. Meeting the Expectationsof the Land, co-authored by Berry and Wes Jackson, arrivedand the farmers turned their attention to Jackson, ageneticist who was developing a mimic of the native mid-Western prairie that could be harvested for grain, toeliminate soil erosion and pollution.

They invited him to a conference in 1992.After his visit (as inspiring as Wendell Berry’s book) Ted

Lefroy, Michael O’Connor and Richard Hobbs recruitedJohn Pate and they invited 30 agriculturalists and ecologists

pring GraduationsS

Poetry inspires practical solutions

Dr Ted Lefroy . . . his book makes a deliberate attemptnot to be emotional.

from various parts of the world to meet in a shearing shedoutside Williams for five days in September 1997.

This book is the result of that meeting.It critically examines the idea that the sustainability of

agriculture could be improved by mimicking the structureand processes occurring in natural ecosystems.

“It doesn’t mean we have to turn the wheatbelt back intomallee,” Dr Lefroy said, “but we have to find a way for ourcrops to function like the mallee.”

The book brings together researchers from around theworld, examining issues like thetrade-off between perennialityand productivity, and the role ofbiodiversity in agriculture.

One section is devoted tothe application of this conceptin southern Australia, where 15million hectares of land areexpected to be affected bysalinity by the middle of thenext century unless there is asignificant change in agriculturalpractice.

Agriculture as a Mimic ofNatural Ecosystems is available inthe Biological Sciences Library.

There are times when all of us have challenging issues todeal with. When personal or work related issues makelife difficult, the University has an Employee AssistanceProgram (EAP) to help staff manage these issues moreeffectively.The EAP is a professional, confidential counselling andconsultation service. The services of Davidson Trahaireare available FREE to you and your family for up to sixsessions a year.For appointments, please ring Davidson Trahaire on9382 8100 or if urgent 9480 4847 (24 hours). Theiroffices are located at Suite 11, 100 Hay St, Subiaco.Further information can be obtained atwww.admin.uwa.edu.au/sho

UWAEmployeeAssistanceProgram

8 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

UWANews is published fortnightly. Information for thepublication dated October 2 should be forwarded toJoanna Thompson, Publications Unit, ext 3029, fax 1162,

email: uwanews@publishing.uwa.edu.au

NO LATER THAN 5 PM ON SEPTEMBER 20

Media enquiries to Public Affairs on 9380 2889.

Unless a restricted audience or charge is specified, allthe events/exhibitions listed here are free and open to

all and may attract media interest.

Monday 18 September

ASTHMA AND ALLERGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE SEMINAR“The relevance of pharmacogenetic variation in drug therapy anddisease predisposition”, Professor Mike Garlepp. 12.30pm, JoskeSeminar Room, Medicine, Fourth Floor, G Block, SCGH.

BOTANY SEMINAR“The Leeuwin Current south of Western Australia”, Dr GeorgeCresswell, CSIRO Marine Research. 4pm, Room 2.14, Departmentof Botany.

HISTORY SEMINAR“Feature film and the historian”, Tracy McDiarmid, History.4.30pm, Postgraduate Lounge, Hackett Hall.

Tuesday 19 September

LAWRENCE WILSON ART GALLERY“Allan Baker: a survey — the curator’s perspective.” 1pm, LWAG.

SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION“Environmental problems in Mediterranean calcareous soils inSpain”, Dr Raul Moral, Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche,Spain. 4pm, Agriculture Lecture Theatre.

Wednesday 20 September

CHEMISTRY SEMINAR“Structure and function of the DnaB helicase”, Nick Dixon, ANU.12noon, White Lecture Theatre.

INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIESGreg Ivey (Environmental Engineering) and M. Siva Sivapalan(Centre for Water Research) will present their work in aninformal setting. 1pm, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery. Enquiries toTerri-ann White, ext. 2114.

RICHARD WAGNER SOCIETY OF WA (INC.)“Act 1 of Gotterdammerung with guest speaker Michael Kile.Member: no charge; visitors: $10/$8. 7.30pm, Room G5, School ofMusic.

Friday 22 September

MICROBIOLOGY SEMINAR“Muscle regeneration and myoblast transfer therapy”, ProfessorMiranda Grounds, Anatomy and Human Biology. 9am, Room 1.1,First Floor, L Block, QEIIMC.

ASIAN STUDIES SEMINAR“The Pak Mun Dam dispute in Northeast Thailand”, SharynGraham. 1pm, Room G.25, Ground Floor, Social Sciences/Economics and Commerce Building.

CIVIL AND RESOURCE ENGINEERING“Case studies of piled raft performance in Germany”, Oliver Reul,Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany. 3.45pm, RoomE151, First Floor, Civil Engineering Building.

Saturday 23 September

UNIVERSITY MUSIC SOCIETY“Re-organ-isation”. The University Music Society presentsColm Carey (organ), Stewart Smith (organ), Caris-Anne Lane(soprano), Garth O’Rafferty (trumpet) and Suzanne Wijsman(cello) in a program of immense variety, from Bach andScarlatti to The Carnival of the Animals and The Ride of theValkyrie! Tickets: $20.35 and $14.85. 8pm, Winthrop Hall. Bookon ext. 2440.

Monday 25 September

HISTORY SEMINAR“Memories of a pedestrian-historian”, Iain Brash, History. 4.30pm,Postgraduate Lounge, Hackett Hall.

Wednesday 27 toSaturday 30 September

INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIESPLANT FORM AND FUNCTION:

ADAPTATIONS TO STRESS

As part of a symposium honouring Professor JohnPate and his contributions to plant ecology andphysiology, there are three public lectures beingpresented that should be of great interest to ageneral audience. All are welcome.

Wednesday 27 Septemberat 8 to 9.30pm

Professor Ernst-Detlef SchulzeErnst-Detlef Schulze is a director of the Max-PlanckInstitut fur Biogeochemie in Jena, Germany. He will bepresenting a very topical lecture titled ‘Human impact onglobal biogeochemical cycles — a perspective of globalchange’.

Thursday 28 Septemberat 8 to 9.30pm

Professor Malcolm PressProfessor Press from the University of Sheffield will talkon a surprising mixture of parasitic plants, genetics andecosystems. His lecture is titled ‘Biological interactionsfrom genes to ecosystems and back again: making thejourney with parasitic plants’.

Friday 29 Septemberat 2 to 3.30pm

Emeritus Professor John PateListen to John Pate synthesise his most recent researchand enjoy his expertise in recounting the natural historyof Western Australian flora in a public lecture titled‘Banksias—king of the sandplains’.

Venue: Social Sciences Lecture Theatre.

For more information contact Terri-ann Whiteon ext. 2114 or by visiting the website at http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

UWA news 9

Tuesday 26 September

LAWRENCE WILSON ART GALLERY“A panel discussion on Allan Baker and new directions in WA art.”Panel members will include well-known WA artist KevinRobertson. 1pm, LWAG.

Wednesday 27 September

ENGLISH WORK-IN-PROGRESS SEMINAR“Flirting with death”, Lynette Field. 1pm, Ground Floor CommonRoom (G.14), Department of English.

Friday 29 September

MICROBIOLOGY SEMINAR“Murray Valley encephalitis virus activity in the north of WesternAustralia — vectors, virus activity and human cases”, Dr AnnetteBroom, Microbiology. 9am, Room 1.1, First Floor, L Block,QEIIMC.

PUBLIC LECTURE AT THE ALBANY CENYRE“The deplorable life and disgusting death of AndronicusComnenus, Emporer of the Romans”, Professor John Melville-Jones, Classics and Ancient History. 12 noon, Albany Centre.

BIOCHEMISTRY SEMINAR“Absorption and metabolism of dietary polyphenolic antioxidantsand oxidative stress in humans”, A/Prof Kevin Croft, Medicine.1pm, Simmonds Lecture Theatre.

If you’re feeling far from Sydney and want to getinto the Olympic spirit, take a stroll past theannuals garden, between the Psychology andChemistry Buildings.

CENTRE FORSTAFF DEVELOPMENT

Coming up …Places are available in the following workshops due

to close within the next month. Further details areavailable on the CSD Web page: http://www.csd.uwa.edu.au/programme/ or by contactingCSD on ext. 1504 or csdoffice@csd.uwa.edu.au.

• Aboriginal Cross-cultural Awareness• Cross-cultural Communication• How the University Works: A Basic Guide to

UWA’s Organisational and Committee Structures• Planning for Retirement• Stress Management Through Meditation• Understanding Discrimination• Winning Research Grants

VACATION CARE PROGRAMMEThe Vacation Care Programme is about to start up again. It runs from Monday September 25to Friday October 6 (excluding the public holiday, Monday October 2).

If you wish to enrol your children, call Sue Lumbers on 9389 9433 or enrol on the web at:http://www.childcare.uwa.edu.au/

Olympicgardening

The horticultural apprentices from Unigrounds haveplanted an Olympic garden, featuring the Olympic ringsblooming in golden miniature marigolds among a sea ofblue mauve and white violas.

The annuals is always an apprentices’ project and thistime it was designed by Brad Smith and planted by him,Marcia Scoon and Carrie Docherty.

You can see the design even better from the medicalcentre upstairs in the south wing of the Guild building.Need a check-up or a flu shot?

10 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

T he University’s roboticslaboratory shot to fame with

its sheep-shearing robot in theearly ‘90s.

The telerobot was the nextinvention to claim world attention,devised and developed by a post-graduate student, Ken Taylor, and hissupervisor, Associate Professor JamesTrevelyan.

Back in 1994, people in the US weremanipulating the robot in theMechanical and Materials EngineeringBuilding, through the Internet. In itsfirst two years, more than 10,000people around the world accessed thetelerobot, getting it to move andrearrange children’s building blocks.

While some people questioned thevalidity of this, Dr Ken Taylor, whoreceived his PhD last week, said theexperiment opened up the possibility ofhalf a dozen scientists around the worldworking together on a project based inone laboratory.

Dr Taylor completed his PhD onWeb robotics: reducing complexity inrobotics last year and has recently beenemployed by the CSIRO Division ofMathematical and Information Sciencesat the Australian National Universitycampus.

He is also a visiting fellow in therobotics lab at the nearby ResearchSchool of Information Sciences andEngineering.

“At CSIRO I’m involved inresearching mobile computing appli-cations which is an exciting and fastgrowing application area and in manyways related to my PhD research.Controlling devices through theInternet has really taken off and thereare now so many devices and projectsexploring different aspects of theconcept that it is impossible to remainaware of all that is going on,” Dr Taylorsaid.

“However within the Australianrobotics community it has been difficultto generate interest and this has beenthe case from the start. I rememberpresenting a paper to an AustralianRobotics conference in Melbourne andgetting little interest, then only a fewweeks later presenting a paper at aSingapore conference and picking up aUS$2000 best paper prize from theJapanese Robot Association.

“This has made it difficult to securefunding to continue work in this areaeven with the help of the roboticsgroup at the Australian NationalUniversity.”

Dr Taylor keeps involved with thedevelopment of telerobotics throughsupervising honours projects andcontributing to robotics journals.

pring GraduationsS

Ken Taylor withSeungjun Oh, who ispreparing this mobilerobot for controlthrough the internetfor his honours projectat the AustralianNational University.

Sue Murphy is the epi-tome of what’s become

known as the “have it all”women.

The engineering honoursgraduate from UWA has recentlybeen named Telstra BusinessWoman of the Year in the privatesector category.

The first woman in 80 years tobe appointed to the board ofClough Engineering Limited, MsMurphy won the Western Aus-tralian Ansett Private SectorAward in July and went on to winthe national finals in Adelaide inAugust.

She has achieved outstandingsuccess in the male-dominatedarea of engineering and con-struction, working in some of themost remote construction sitesin Australia, where she has beeninvolved in a range of landmarkmining, resource and infra-structure developments.

Ms Murphy was Clough’s firsthuman resource manager and isnow the director of themultimillion dollar company’stechnical resources group, leadingClough in the areas of humanresources, safety, environment,industrial relations, qualitymanagement and engineeringtechnology.

She has three children andspreads her nurturing skills intothe development of Australia’srich pool of young engineeringtalent.

National awardfor first femaleboard member

Doctoratefortelerobotinventor

UWA news 11

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

A quiet explosion has been happening in the Depart-

ment of English.They have ten visitors this year,

from overseas and interstate, all self-funded and eager to pursue theirresearch in this department.

“Our global profile has exploded,”says Head of Department, Dr IanSaunders with a smile.

“It’s very unusual to have so manyvisitors all staying for such a long time.”

Seven of the ten academics haveopted to stay for between six and 12months attracted by the department’sinternational success.

Five of them are currently here:Australian poet, novelist and literarycritic John Kinsella, a Fellow of Churc-hill College, Cambridge; American SamPickering, Professor of English at theUniversity of Connecticut; SouthKorean Seok-Kweon Cheong, Vice-Director of the Foreign LanguageEducation Centre at Chonbuk NationalUniversity; Perth-born Tracy Ryan, apoet, novelist and literary critic whonow lives in Cambridge; and Dr

Geoffrey Davis, an autho-rity on post-colonial literature,particularly South African and Canadian,who teaches at the Universities ofAachen and Frankfurt.

Tracy Ryan is teaching some first-year creative writing classes while doingresearch for a new book. John Kinsellais working on a new play, which he ishoping to put on here in Perth before

Generations of Australian students owe theirenthusiasm for — even their understanding of

— economics to Monash University legend KeithFrearson.

Professor Frearson died earlier this year, inspiring hisformer students to remember not only his brilliant teachingmethods but also his boundless generosity.

Professor Ken Clement, Director of the Economic ResearchCentre, is one of his proteges and remembers his masteringthe teaching of economic statistics to first-year students.

“It’s notoriously difficult to teach to young students, some ofwhom experience major problems with the maths and somewho are just not particularly interested.” Professor Clement said.

“But Keith was a masterful teacher. He would haveseveral hundred 18-year-olds in lectures in awe of him. He

made the material seem so simple and straightforward andhe made those lectures fun,” he said.

Professor Frearson has six former students who are nowacademics in WA. Born in WA and educated at UWA, hewent on to Cambridge, then settled in Melbourne.

He was a man of remarkable generosity. He did notbelieve in possessions for himself and was always giving awayhis money to needy students or the (Monash) universityfootball club.

His colleagues and former students have set up theFrearson Fund to help students facing financial difficulties.

Anybody who would like to make a donation can send itto John White, Monash Football Club, PO Box 197 CaulfieldEast, Victoria, 3145, or talk to Ken Clements about it onext. 2928.

Carrying on Keith’s generosity

Englishattracts topvisitors

taking it back to Cambridge. He calls itan example of ‘reverse colonialism’.

It is Professor Pickering’s second visitand he plans to write his second bookfocusing on Western Australia. AssociateProfessor Cheong is working on aresearch project in Australian literature.

Dr Davis is on a six-week exchangebetween the Faculty of Arts andRWTH-Aachen.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Sam Pickering,Geoffrey Davis, Tracy Ryan, JohnKinsella and Seok-Kweon Cheong

12 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

Inverarity, de la Hunty, Vlahov,Neesham and Hoad are all

names linked with sporting successin WA.

They also have links with UWA. Andthey are all keen to be involved in theformation of the new UWA SportsAlumni, so that the names of futurestudents will become as well known astheirs in the sporting world.

David Russell, the deputy director ofUWA Sport and Recreation, has beencharged with setting up the UWASports Alumni to provide sportingscholarships for students, to developsporting facilities and to develop andrecord a sports history of UWA.

He hopes that graduates who wereinvolved with sport at University willwelcome the chance to become part ofthat group again and help to fundraisefor the scholarships and facilities.

“Better facilities would be enjoyedby the graduates as well as the students.Our sports association plays a big rolein community sports, with more than40 per cent of our participants comingfrom outside the University,” MrRussell said.

“Our students perform exceptionallywell in intervarsity competitions and inother competitions outside the Uni-versity sphere.

“We have four members of theUniversity Hockey Club representingAustralia at the Olympics. We also haveRachel Harris swimming for Australia,Timothy Neesham competing in waterpolo and Justin Eveson in the para-

lympics squad. Allison Inverarity (highjump) and Sarah Straton (beachvolleyball) are our graduates.

Mr Russell said it was planned thatthe UWA Sports Alumni would awardseven scholarships in 2000 and wouldadd a further seven in 2001.

They will cover four categories:specific sports scholarships (for rugby,tennis, cricket, hockey and possibly net-ball — the sports in which UWA clubscompete at the highest level); generalsports scholarships; developmentawards; and one major overall generalscholarship, which will be the Graduates’Association bursary upgraded.

Scholarships will provide financialsupport for specialised sporting equip-ment and travel expenses to sportingevents or specialised training, with grantsranging from $500 to $5000.

It is hoped that University resourceslike pastoral care and access to collegeaccommodation would be available forscholarship winners, especially thosefrom rural areas.

Mr Russell has also planned acalendar of major invitational sportingevents in which graduates would beinvolved. These are a cricket match, anevening hockey series, the VC’s Cuprowing regatta (already instituted), arugby carnival and a clay court master’son the new clay tennis courts atMcGillivray.

The Sports Ball will be reinstituted,replacing and including the annual BluesAward presentation night onNovember 8.

UWA students off to the Olympics: Hockey players (left to right) Damon Diletti,Angie Skirving, Claire Mitchell-Tavener and Matthew Wells.

Sport scholarshipsa winning idea

UWA Sports

D r Bruce Hobbs is ascientist with passion.

The Deputy Chief Executive(Minerals and Energy) of CSIROhas a vision for Australia’s futurethat he will present in the 16thannual Brodie-Hall Address nextmonth.

It’s easy to guess that salinityproblems, greenhouse emissionsand water supplies will figure inhis address, What Kind of AustraliaDo You Want?

What you might not haveguessed is that Dr Hobbs placesas much importance on therespect and understanding ofAustralian Aboriginal people andtheir cultures as he does on thephysical needs of our country.

“Australia must face a numberof monumental challenges if we, asa nation, are to make significantadvances over the nest two orthree decades,” Dr Hobbs said.

The Brodie-Hall Address isCSIRO’s annual public lecture. Itis at the City West functioncentre at 8pm on WednesdayOctober 11.

Admission is free but if youwould like to attend, please callCSIRO on 9333 6000 to reservea seat.

Dr Bruce Hobbs . . . promises to fillthe screen with colour and the

auditorium with passion.

Culture asimportantas soil toour future

UWA news 13

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

An explosion in a labora-tory in Botany last

December was a wake-up callfor staff and students tobecome more safety conscious.

Nobody was hurt when a bottleof formic acid exploded andprobably, the accident was not amatter of carelessness, according toBotany’s new safety and healthofficer, Liza Tunnell.

“It was most likely just a lack ofknowledge that caused it,” she said.But Ms Tunnell is working hard toensure that no such lack ofknowledge exists any more in thedepartment.

Last week she was awarded theannual University Safety Award foran outstanding contribution by anindividual in establishing and main-

Keeping the campushealthy and safe

taining high standards of occupationalsafety and health.

“I’m always on everybody’s backnow to make sure they follow correctsafety procedures,” said Ms Tunnell, alaboratory technician in Botany for fouryears.

“I love to keep learning and beingthe safety officer certainly keeps me onmy toes and up to date witheverything,” she said.

The winning department is Mech-anical and Materials Engineering, whichhas its own safety Web site and wascommended for its commitment tohealth and safety policy developmentand its constant safety checks.

Soil Science and Plant Nutritionreceived an outstanding achievementaward for its work in the occupationalhealth area.

Safety and Health Office Liza Tunnell is now a stickler for safety.

A special award, a certificate ofappreciation, was awarded tochemistry student Chris Griffith,who played an important role duringan explosion and chemical fire inApril. Chris put out the fire andlooked after another student whowas badly burned, until the ambu-lance arrived.

These are the second annualUniversity Safety Awards, acknow-ledging achievements in occupationalsafety and health management byindividuals, departments, faculties orcentres.

14 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

Redundant Equipment for Sale

Bids should be accepted by Monday October 2 with departments to have first option

Departments are reminded that all University equipment available for sale must be advertised in the UWANews. Receipts should be PeopleSoft accountcoded 490 (computing with barcode), 491 (non-computing with barcode) or 493 (items with no barcode). If equipment has an existing barcode please

contact extension 3618/2547 for details.

CONDITION refers to the general condition of item ( 1 = as new; 2 = good; 3 = serviceable; 4 = unserviceable). AGE refers to the nearest year.

ITEM PRICE AGE COND. CONTACT EXTComputer Toshiba Tecra 740CDT 16/36CD $500 3 3 Penny/Judy 3467/2741PowerMac 7200/90, 48MB RAM,1 GB HD, AppleVision 171017" Trinitron Display $700 4 2-3 Louise 2716PowerMac 7200/120, 56 MB RAM,1.2 GB HD, AppleVision 171017" Trinitron Display(software incl. is MacOs 7.55 (free) $800 4 2-3 Louise 2716Desktop TOTAL PERIPHERALS P 90,16MB OFFERS – – Mark 1405Desktop DX PENTIUM 5 `` `` ``Desktop COMPUCON PENTIUM 133 5 `` `` ``Desktop NEC POWERMATE 386/25S `` `` ``Desktop NEC POWERMATE 386/25S `` `` ``Desktop NEC POWERMATE 386/33I `` `` ``Desktop NEC POWERMATE SX/16 `` `` ``Desktop APPLE QUADRA 610 `` `` ``Desktop APPLE SE `` `` ``Desktop APPLE SE `` `` ``Desktop APPLE SE/30 `` `` ``Desktop APPLE SE/30 `` `` ``Docking station APPLE DUO DOCK `` `` ``Docking station APPLE DUO DOCK II `` `` ``Docking station Apple Duo Dock Plus `` `` ``Notebook EPSON E0620U `` `` ``Notebook Sharp PC-4641 `` `` ``Notebook APPLE POWERBOOK 170 `` `` ``Notebook APPLE POWERBOOK 5300 `` `` ``Printer CANON BJ-200 `` `` ``Printer HEWLETT PACKARD DESKJET 500 `` `` ``Printer HEWLETT PACKARD DESKJET 500 `` `` ``Printer APPLE IMAGE WRITER II `` `` ``Printer APPLE LASERWRITER 16/6005 `` `` ``Printer APPLE LASERWRITER PRO `` `` ``Printer CANON LBP-8III `` `` ``Printer NEC PINWRITER P9300 `` `` ``Projector ASK IMPACT 21 `` `` ``Projector Sharp QA-1150 `` `` ``Projector Sharp QA-75 `` `` ``Projector VIEWFRAME SPECTRA `` `` ``Typewriter CANON ES 5 `` `` ``Desktop APPLE LC475 LC4161MX2BM `` `` ``Desktop APPLE LC475 SG2511JFM03 `` `` ``

HOLIDAYING IN THESOUTHWEST?

Go ‘first class’ at Broadwater BeachResort, three B/R lux. unit with heatedpool, spa, tennis court, privately owned,special rate; or cedarwood chalets inbush setting on Blackwood River, twoadults only, perfect peace and tranquility.Pay two nights, stay three.Bookings: 0427 522 334 or 9756 1024

CLASSIFIEDS

WANTED

DESKTOP GUILLOTINE wanted. Call Sue at theChildCare Centre on 9389 9433.

FOR RENT

THREE-BEDROOM TOWNHOUSE, in ShentonPark (University end of Austin St). Fully air-conditioned, carpeted, fans, external sauna andshower, private courtyards, store, microwave,fridge, clothes dryer, 2 u/cover car bays, rear unitin group of 3. Available after 7/8 October for$300 p/w. Phone Linda/Christopher on 93811003.

FURNISHED THREE-BEDROOM HOUSE withspa, walking distance from UWA. Available fromDecember to July (first week) for visitingacademics. Contact Amitava on ext. 3449 or 93897172 (a/h).

TOWNHOUSE IN SCARBOROUGH. Near-newthree bedroom townshouse in quiet block of four,with lock up garage and courtyard. Close to thebeach and shops. Available at $205 p/w. ContactRenee on 9380 3708 or rporter@acs.uwa.edu.au

THREE-BEDROOM APARTMENT with balconyand river views, 5 min. walk to UWA for rentfrom December 1 to March 1. $280 p/w incl.water and electricity. Phone 9389 7981.

WANTED TO RENT

RENTAL/HOUSESITTING ACCOMMODATIONWANTED by family of three returning toNedlands from overseas. In need of furnishedhome near UWA beginning October. Haveexcellent local references and housesittingexperience. Non-smoking professionals. Happy togarden and/or look after pets. Can sign 12-monthlease or longer. Contact Becky at beckinoz@aol.com

UWA news 15

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

ResearchGrantsContracts

&

HEALTHWESTDr Alison Ward, General Practice and Dr D.Pritchard (external): “Sentinel Practice ProjectEvaluation”—$40,000.

LAND AND WATER RESOURCESR AND D CORPORATIONAssociate Professor Wallace Cowling, PlantSciences: “Scoping study—opportunities tobreed/select bioengineer plant species to controldeep drainage and nitrogen leakage”—$2000.

NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR THEMENTALLY ILL (NAMI)Professor Assen Jablensky , Ms VeraMorgan, Psychiatry and Behavioural Science,Associate Professor C. Bower andAssociate Professor S. R. Zubrick, Institutefor Child Health Research, and Mr N. Preston(external): “Pathways of risk from conception todisease: a population-based study of the offspringof women with bipolar disorder and schizo-phrenia”—$103,0555 (2000); $84,642 (2001).

NHMRCDr Rodney Michin, Pharmacology: “Targetingof CD4 positive cells for anti-HIV genetherapy”—$112,248 (2000); $116,080 (2001);$119,909 (2002)

Watch out for more

Research Grants

and Contracts

in the next issue

of UWA News.

EDITOR/FEATURE STORY WRITER

Lindy BrophyTel.: 9380 2436 Fax: 9380 1192Email: lindy.brophy@uwa.edu.au

CAMPUS DIARY/ADVERTISING/CLASSIFIEDS/REDUNDANT EQUIPMENT/

DISTRIBUTION LIST

Jo ThompsonTel.: 9380 3029 Fax: 9380 1162

Email: uwanews@publishing.uwa.edu.au

Designed and produced byPublications Unit

The University of Western Australia

Printed byUniprint

The University of Western Australia

UWAnews onlinehttp://www.publishing.uwa.edu.au/uwanews/

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Colin Campbell-FraserTel.: 9380 2889 Fax: 9380 1020

Email: cam@acs.uwa.edu.au

newsUWA

RAINE VISITING PROFESSORS’ LECTURE SERIES

Professor Sam GandyProfessor of Psychiatry and of Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, and

Head, Cell Biology Laboratory, The Nathan S. Kline Institute of Psychiatric Research

will present a Raine Lecture entitled:

Eradicating Alzheimer’s Disease:Causes and strategies for prevention and cure

Wednesday October 4 at 5pmThe Mary Lockett Lecture Theatre

F. J. Clark Lecture Theatre Complex, the QEII Medical Centre

RURAL INDUSTRIES RESEARCH ANDDEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONProfessor John Considine, Agriculture, Mr D.J. Growns and Mr M. Webb (external):“Preparation and publication of a protocol forobtaining intellectual property rights forplants”—$9000

SMITH KLINE BEECHAMAssociate Professor Gerald Watts, Medicine:“Insulin as a regulator of postprandial lipaemiaand related projects”—$20,000.

UROLOGICAL FOUNDATION OFAUSTRALASIADr Justin Vivian, Surgery: “The role of CD44in renal cell carcinoma”—$40,000.

WA HEALTH PROMOTIONFOUNDATIONDr B. Giles-Corti, Public Health, Ms A.Williams, Institute for Child Health Research,Ms L. J. Wood and Ms S. M. Mackay(external): “Starter Grant: Social capital, physicalenvironments and health”—$19,000 (2001).

SAM GANDY is Professor of Psychiatry and of Cell Biology at NewYork University School of Medicine and heads the Cell BiologyLaboratory at The Nathan S. Kline Institute of Psychiatric Research.Professor Gandy also holds a position as Adjunct Professor of Molecularand Cellular Neuroscience at The Rockefeller University in Manhattan.

After graduating from Charleston Southern University with aBS(Chemistry) summa cum laude, Professor Gandy undertook furtherstudies at the Medical University of South Carolina, and was awarded anMD and PhD in molecular cell biology in 1982. During this time hedeveloped an interest in the molecular basis for the phenomenon of“selective vulnerability” which led to his current work onneurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer’s Disease. ProfessorGandy went on to study medicine at Columbia University College ofPhysicians and Surgeons at The Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Centerin Manhattan, and neurology at The New York Hospital-Cornell MedicalCenter. His postgraduate training was undertaken in the Laboratory ofMolecular and Cellular Neuroscience at The Rockefeller University,headed by Professor Paul Greengard. It was here that Professor Gandy

and his colleagues discovered methods to prevent the formation ofpebble-like structures in the brain—structures called “amyloid plaques”which are now believed to be the cause of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Since 1995 Professor Gandy and Dr Ralph Martins (Head, Sir JamesMcCusker Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit, Hollywood PrivateHospital) have collaborated on studies of the role of apolipoprotein E(apoE), an “amyloid-interacting” molecule, and have attempted tounderstand how this and other genetic risk factors cause Alzheimer’sDisease in the Western Australian population. During his visit to theUniversity, Professor Gandy will be working with Dr Martins and othermembers of the McCusker Unit in collaboration with Professor ColinMasters (The University of Melbourne). In addition, Professor Gandy andDr Martins will be developing a framework for clinical investigations inPerth, which will be directed by Dr Roger Clarnette.Departmental Host: Lyn Ellis, Telephone: 9386 9880, email: lellis@raine.uwa.edu.auDr Ralph Martins, Raine Medical Research Foundation, Department of Surgery,Hollywood Private Hospital. Telephone: 9346 6703, email: rmartins@cyllene.uwa.edu.auweb site: www.raine.uwa.edu.au

ALLWELCOME

16 UWA news

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA • 18 SEPTEMBER 2000

Library

...the last... the last word

Nobody in 1913, when The University ofWestern Australia ordered the first book for

its new library, could have imagined that by the endof the century it would contain more than 1.3 millionvolumes.

And that’s not to mention the extensive collections ofmaps, music scores, manuscripts, records, CDs and slides.Nor could anyone have envisaged that from those first fewshelves in the University’s building in Irwin Street wouldgrow a library system that today consists of fourteenlibraries in ten different buildings.

Least of all would the student of 1913, settling down toread one of the new books, have dreamt that his greatgrandchild would be finding information by a computer.

Yet today in every one of the University’s libraries thecomputer terminal is as much a part of the scenery as arethe shelves and books and is used as routinely as the issuedesk and the photocopier.

John Arfield University Librarian

The largest library building in the University Librarysystem is the Reid, named after a former Chancellor of theUniversity and State Governor. This library houses thecollections in humanities, social sciences, and business, aswell as the Map Library, the Geology Library, and theScholars’ Centre, which provides special services to supportresearch activity as well as housing the University’scollections of microforms, rare books and UWA theses.

Separate libraries on the Crawley campus cover thebiological sciences, mathematics and physical sciences, music,law, and chemistry. A new Medical Library is due to open in2002. This will combine space for printed books and journalswith modern facilities for teaching and using computers forinformation gathering.

The UWA Library, like the University itself, mustconserve knowledge. It retains the memory of the past andstores the riches of past cultures and earlier scholarship.

In the Erulkar Collection, for example, there are majornational resources for scholars and researchers in the fieldof Indian Ocean studies. This collection, named after theman who originally formed it, brings together printed,manuscript, pamphlet and visual material relating to thetrade and history of the Indian sub-continent up to 1947. Inorder to enhance this collection the Friends of the Libraryaim to raise $5000 as their special project for 2000 topurchase a map published in 1574 by Abraham Ortelius ofthe eastern Indian Ocean.

But the Library also communicates current knowledge.The University depends in both its teaching and research onhaving access to the very latest advances in research andscholarship.

So it adds over 10,000 books a year to its collections, andsubscribes to over 5000 journals. Its computers provideaccess not only to its catalogue but also, through CygNET,its web interface, to other library holdings across the world.

Indeed, CygNET, in some ways, resembles a library itself.Increasingly journals and even books are published on theweb, so that academics and students can read the literaturewithout even coming to the Library.

Of course finding your way around a collection of bookswas never easy. But there is such a huge amount publishedon the web, much of it of dubious value, that the library staffhave an even more vital role in helping people to locate thesources that are relevant and valuable to them.

So CygNET contains subject guides, with links to usefulsites. You can even send an electronic message to ‘Ask areference librarian’ and get an answer back by email.

Of course the University Library exists primarily to servethe needs of the staff and students of the University.

Yet so rich are the libraries’ collections that it alsoprovides a research resource for a wider community. Eachyear it lends more than 13,000 items to other libraries(about 5000 to the other universities in Perth). It providesspecial membership for UWA alumni and Friends of theLibrary, and other individuals who have a special need to useits resources are able to do so.

the

legend& legacy