“Earlier this week Australian Senator Kim Carr (Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) announced the removal of the somewhat controversial ERA rankings for scientific journals.

Early last year I posted about the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) journal rankings for ecology and conservation journals. To remind you, the ERA has ranked > 20,000 unique peer-reviewed journals, with each given a single quality rating – and they are careful to say that ‘A journal’s quality rating represents the overall quality of the journal. This is defined in terms of how it compares with other journals and should not be confused with its relevance or importance to a particular discipline’…”

“South Australia’s Sunday Mail ran an insightful article about the hope stem cells provide and the exciting research happening here at the University of Adelaide’s Robinson Institute using adult stem cells.

The article focuses on our innovative Stroke Research Program, lead by Associate Professor Simon Koblar (right), which is using adult stem cells from teeth as a potential therapy for brain repair in stroke victims.

Research to date has indicated that dental pulp stem cells have an intrinsic ability to produce neurons (brain cells) and make a range of growth factors which are likely to help repair the brain.

Read full article

Learn more about supporting Stem Cell for Stroke Research through the Peter Couche Foundation…”

“On the 11th of April Alicia Hurkmans, the Young Scientists of Australia Adelaide Chapter Inc. (YSA) and from the University of Adelaide, attended the United Nations Women in Science and Engineering Summit (WiSE) summit held in Canberra.

The summit was largely aimed of industry and research leaders, representatives from major institutions such as CSIRO, WEHI Medical Institute, Engineers Australia, ANSTO and FASTS.   A few particular messages were reiterated throughout the summit that it is imperative to engage women from a young age in science and engineering and support them throughout their degrees.  Change in the industry is vital to encourage more young people to pursue technical career pathways. It is us as the current undergraduate and graduate students who will pave the way to generating this change…”

“The 2011 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes, Australia’s premier national science awards program, are now open!

The nomination process is simple, but the reward can be great. This could be your opportunity to acknowledge and potentially reward the work of a student, team, colleague or friend (perhaps even yourself!).

In 2011 the following  Eureka Prizes are dedicated to the environment with a share in $50,000 up for grabs:

Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge – awarded to an individual, group or organisation for communication that motivates action to reduce the impacts of climate change.
http://eureka.australianmuseum.net.au/eureka-prize/advancement-of-climate-change-knowledge1

Environmental Journalism – awarded to journalists or communicators whose work is assessed as having most effectively communicated environmental issues to the public.
http://eureka.australianmuseum.net.au/eureka-prize/environmental-journalism4

Environmental Research – awarded for research in any field of the biological, physical, mathematical or biomedical sciences leading to the resolution of an environmental problem or the improvement of our natural environment.
http://eureka.australianmuseum.net.au/eureka-prize/environmental-research4

Innovative Solutions to Climate Change – awarded for work that demonstrates a commitment to pursuing innovative solutions to the challenges posed by climate change.
http://eureka.australianmuseum.net.au/eureka-prize/innovative-solutions-to-climate-change4

Water Research and Innovation – awarded to an individual, team or organisation for research and innovation that has made or has the potential to make an outstanding contribution to the sustainable use and management of Australia’s water resources.
http://eureka.australianmuseum.net.au/eureka-prize/water-research-and-innovation4

For a full prize listing go to http://eureka.australianmuseum.net.au/enter with entries closing midnight AEST Friday 6 May…”

“The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies’ gambling database has been updated to include gaming machine expenditure, taxation revenue and gaming machine and venue population data for 2008/09 and 2009/10. The database provides regional level data on gaming machine activity in South Australian licensed venues (i.e. hotels and clubs) based on data published and supplied by the Office of the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner….”

“The WRI Director, Professor Roger Leigh, recently attended the National Sustainable Food Summit held at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium on 5 & 6 April 2011. The Summit was attended by a range of national and international experts from across the whole food chain including agricultural researchers, food industry players, and sustainability experts. They discussed how food production and use could be undertaken more sustainably and what new paradigms need to be implemented to meet the twin needs of sustainability and productivity…”

2-YEAR POSTDOCTORAL POSITION
Australian Centre for Visual Technologies
University of Adelaide
South Australia

“Professor Hugh Possingham is in Adelaide today to advise SA Parliament on Marine Parks. Listen to a brief audio bite of Hugh on the importance and benefits of Marine Parks for South Australia here. For more about the science and benefits Marine Parks provide for the environment and society, head to Conservationbytes.com where Corey Bradshaw and Hugh discuss this issue in more detail.

Adelaide born and bred, Hugh Possingham studied at the University of Adelaide before becoming a Rhode Scholar. Now based at the University of Queensland,  he is the Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions. Hugh visited Adelaide last year when he presented “Why monitor the environment” to a full house….”

“Dr Heather Bray recently joined the Waite Research Institute as Special Projects Officer.

Her initial focus will be on the Waite Research Institute’s communications activities and developing programs to enhance the research management and leadership capabilities of staff and students at the Waite.

Dr Bray has a background in agricultural and animal science in addition to science communication and education. She previously worked with the Molecular Plant Breeding Cooperative Research Centre’s Education and Training program and is currently Project Manager for the ALTC funded project ‘Plant Breeding by Example’ led by Professor Diane Mather. She has also recently developed research links with Associate Professor Rachel Ankeny from the School of History and Politics through a number of small projects examining attitudes to the use of genetic modification in the production of food and beverages.

Dr Bray will be working with the Waite Research Institute two days per week (mostly Tuesdays and Thursdays) and will be located with the Waite Research Institute staff when they relocate in May…”

“On Monday March 21 2011, there was a free science forum held in Mannum which was organised by the SA Murray-Darling Basin NRM Board (Ranges to River NRM Group). Presenters included Dr Wendy Umberger from the University of Adelaide (Lecturer in Agri Food and Wine Business) and the one day forum explored issues around farming sustainability and the technologies that are transforming our agricultural practices. The global problems of food security were also discussed. For more information please visit the SAMDBNRM website, podcasts will soon be made available here….”