Executive Dean’s Message - September 2021
Dear colleagues,
I hope you had the opportunity to take some leave or at least have a change in pace over the mid-semester break. The weather has certainly been spectacular, providing an excellent opportunity to experience the beauty of Queensland. I gratefully acknowledge the freedom we have had over the last few weeks, relative to our dear friends, family and colleagues in New South Wales and Victoria during this very challenging time.
Thank you to the many staff who contributed to an in-person Open Day on UQ’s Gatton Campus on Sunday 12 September. 1394 people attended the event and enjoyed a range of tours, visits and activities.
There are a lot of good news stories this month!
Congratulations to ‘Team Chimera’ (Jody Peters, Roy Hall, Alex Khromykh, Paul Young et al, SCMB) for being named as finalists in the 2021 Australian Museum Eureka awards.
Congratulations to Melissa Fitzgerald (SAFS and Science) for leading a successful application for funding via the Strategic University Reform Fund aimed at encouraging universities to undertake novel reform in areas of Government priority and enable them to develop targeted and innovative solutions that are focused on local communities. The title of the UQ-led program is ‘UQ Agri-Food Innovation Centre’.
Congratulations to Gwen Lawrie (SCMB) for being awarded the 2021 RACI Fensham Medal. This award recognises outstanding contributions to the teaching of chemistry and science in general over an extended period and is the most senior award for education in the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI).
Congratulations to Kirsty Short (SCMB) and Natalee Newton (SCMB) for being awarded NHMRC Investigator Grants.
Congratulations to Paul Burn and Joanne Blanchfield (SCMB) for being selected to join the Defense Science and Technology Group STaR Shot Advisory Council.
Congratulations to Jessie Harper for being nominated as the UQ Graduate of the Year. Jessie completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Honours) with an undergraduate GPA of 6.962 and an overall GPA of 7. She is now completing a PhD with Alwyn Williams (SAFS), supported by a Westpac Future Leaders scholarship.
Congratulations to the Faculty of Science for winning a Queensland Department of Education Peter Doherty Award for Excellence in STEM Education. The STEM Education Partnership Award recognises our outstanding Teacher Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program, which was established more than 10 years ago and has in the last four years provided support to over 6000 secondary school teachers across Queensland in the implementation of the new senior science, mathematics, geography and food science curricula. CPD activities have included workshops, online resources and the establishment of an active community of practice. A big shout out to Jackie Mergard and other members of the Faculty Engagement Team for managing this program and submitting the application for this award, and to Gurion Ang and the more than 20 other academic and professional staff from BIOL, SEES, SAFS, SMP and SCMB who developed and delivered this program.
Additional congratulations to Jackie for being awarded a Life Membership of the Science Teachers Association of Queensland (STAQ) this month!
The Faculty of Science also did extremely well at the UQ Research and Innovation Week Awards last week. Congratulations to:
- UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award: Jody Peters (SCMB)
- UQ Higher Degree Research Supervision awards: Paul Mills (SVS) and Susanne Schmidt (SAFS)
- UQ Industry Collaboration Awards: Joerg Henning (SVS) and Hamish McGowan (SEES)
Just a reminder that the UQ Pulse Survey is currently live for Faculty of Science staff. Please take a few minutes to tell us what you think by Friday October the 8th. Please note that the survey data is anonymous and confidential.
Kind regards,
Professor Melissa Brown
Executive Dean