Executive Dean's Message - January 2021
Dear colleagues,
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful and restful break over the Christmas/New Year period and are ready for another year. I think we all hope that 2021 will be an easier year to navigate than 2020.
In case you haven’t seen it, UQ put together some highlights of 2020 here which demonstrate our amazing achievements, despite the challenges.
As well as lots of walking, eating and relaxing, I did enjoy following the progress of ocean scientist Helen Bostock (SEES) and colleagues, who were mapping the ocean floor off the coast of Australia on the RV Falkor, as part of the Sead2030 project in collaboration with the Schmidt Ocean Institute. Inspiring work!
It’s only January, but many of our researchers are already spreading the word about their science. Dan Watterson (SCMB) and his team have been developing a new defence against dengue and emerging mosquito-borne viruses; Tamara Davis (SMP) has been part of an international team mapping over half a billion celestial objects; Bryan Fry (BIOL) has investigated snakes’ magnetic way to be resistant to venom; Taras Plakhotnik (SMP) has collaborated to use tiny diamonds, or nanodiamonds, to measure heat transfer inside living cells; Chris O’Bryan (SEES) has been investigating how Indigenous lands protect wildlife; and Ben Schulz and Ed Kerr (SCMB) have shrunk beer science, potentially leading to better beer!
I am also greatly looking forward to the delayed 2020 graduations, which will be taking place in the first two weeks of February. I hope to see you there!
2021 is shaping up to be an exciting year in many ways.
In teaching and learning, we will shortly welcome thousands of new domestic and international students, and see the benefits of the Program Architecture project that was undertaken by many of you last year to streamline and improve our undergraduate offerings. We will also be working together to explore options for shorter-form credentials and better ways to assess students online and to transition our teaching materials to an online format.
In research, significant funds will become available from the government to support the impacts of COVID-19 on our research. Details will be shared as soon as they are available. We will also be launching our first Science-led Global Change Institute Research Network (GCI-RN), led by Bernie Degnan (BIOL), entitled: ‘Transformational aquaculture solutions for First Nation communities’. It will involve seven other staff from Science, three staff from BEL, four staff from EAIT, four staff from HaBS, and one staff member from HASS and QYAC. We will also be supporting two other GCI-RNs led by other faculties to which we are contributing, and six GCI-RNs that have been tentatively approved. We will also be continuing to work closely with schools to progress excellent initiatives to support industry engagement and EMCR development.
In terms of senior staff changes, Ann Keep has commenced as the new Director of Gatton Campus and Daniel Dunn has commenced as the new Director of The Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science. Congratulations to Lisa Kennedy who has been seconded to the role of Acting Director of Research Partnerships in the Office of the DVCR.
We will shortly be commencing a significant number of new academic and professional recruitment activities, and are currently fielding expressions of interest for Indigenous academics in Science.
Despite financial restrictions, we are continuing to progress a number of infrastructure projects, including new PC3 laboratories, new plant growth facilities, new crop irrigation infrastructure and new homes for two of our ARC Centres of Excellence. In May, UQ will launch a new HR system which will significantly improve the way we manage recruitment, selection, leave, appraisals, promotions and more. Please engage in information sessions to hear more.
Kind regards,
Professor Melissa Brown
Executive Dean - Faculty of Science