BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT MATTERS | April 14, 2017

Dear all,

We held our traditional Easter treasure hunt and hot cross bun feast on Wednesday – thanks to Mariella for organising it and well done to all the competing teams, with Team Awesome (from the PIREL lab) squeaking home in 1st place and money raised going to the UNHCR African Food crisis.  I hope you all have a wonderful break over Easter and get some rest and recreation. I’ll be away next week but the department will be in the capable hands of any one of Grant, Andy or Mariella plus our admin team!

cheerio,

Michelle

Save the Date

This coming week 18th – 21st April

Tue 18th: R-Users Group Meeting; 1:30pm – 3:30pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Wed 19th: No Weekly Seminar  this week.

Wed 19th: Research Enrichment Program – Bookclub: “How to get a PhD: a handbook for students and their supervisors,” Ch 7-8; 4pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Thu 20th: New Student Inductions;  11am – 12:00pm; E8C-212.

Thu 20th: HDR Completion Seminars;  3pm – 4pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Thu 20th: Department social with drinks in the courtyard; 5pm.

Following week 24th – 28th April

Wed 26th: Morning Tea with HoD; 10:30am – 11am; The Hill.

Wed 26th: Weekly Seminar – Departmental ECRs – Koa Webster & James Lawson; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Coming up

May 3rd: Research Enrichment Program – Bookclub: “How to get a PhD: a handbook for students and their supervisors,” Ch 9-12; 4pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

June 13 – 15th: HDR Conference; Timetable TBA; Location TBA.

Department seminar schedule

May 3rd: Associate Professor Tim Parker, Whitman College, Washington; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

May 10th: Associate Professor Eddie Holmes, The University of Sydney; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

May 17th:  Associate Professor Vanessa Hayes, The University of Sydney and The Garvan Institute; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

May 24th:  Professor Mike Archer, The University of NSW, PANGEA Research Centre & CREATE School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

May 31st:  Professor Michael Romero, Tufts University; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

June 7th:  Dr Ceridwen Fraser, ANU; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

June 14th:  Dr Caragh Threlfall, The University of Melbourne; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

June 21st:  Professor Bill Ballard, The University of NSW; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

June 28th:  Professor Madeleine Beekman, The University of Sydney; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

General News and Announcements

Department Knitting in Resume

Come and join the fun of knitting for the charity Wrap With Love

Where: E8A Tearoom & W19F Foyer

When: Wednesdays 10:30 (department morning teas)

How: Instructions here and will be available with the knitting.

Knitting yarn will be supplied in the E8A Tearoom and the W19F foyer.

Some knitting needles will be provided, but please bring your own if you have them.

Loss or Damage to University Property

Please be advised that the loss of, or damage to, Macquarie University property must be reported to the Risk and Insurance office if the cost of replacement or cost to repair is greater than $5,000. University property includes items of equipment. Please see this flyer for further information about property insurance and instructions on how to report a loss or damage.

High-Achieving Graduate Alumni

Tom White, a graduate of Macquarie Biological Sciences, has just published a paper that also got the front cover of Biology Letters.

Cover: http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/13/4.cover-expansion

Paper: White TE. 2017 Jewelled spiders manipulate colour-lure geometry to deceive prey. Biol. Lett. 13: 20170027. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0027

http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/13/3/20170027

It’s a wonderful independent achievement for Tom, and a great indication of what our PhD grads can achieve.

Outreach

Do you have any outreach activities coming up or recently completed? DON’T FORGET to let us know via the outreach form – (an average of 1min 46sec to fill in but worth so much more in terms of brownie points for the department) – ACCESS OUTREACH FORM HERE

Terrestrial Fieldwork Coverage (2 weeks only)

From 19th April – 4th May, Sarah Collison will not be at work and terrestrial fieldwork approvals will be done by another member of the fieldwork management team. Please ensure during this period that you give more than 3 days notice for fieldwork. Also during this period no fieldwork inductions or planning meetings for new fieldwork will take place. Only ongoing Trip approvals will be happening just for these two weeks.

If you need to have a terrestrial fieldwork induction or talk to Sarah about projects or trips that are not yet planned please do so before 19th April.

Thank you for your understanding.

New Rescue Tool Available for Fieldwork

We have a new rescue tool made available in our cars. It’s called “ResQme” and is a tempered glass breaker and a seat belt cutter – only to be used in the event of vehicular emergency situations.

The tool is kept along with the vehicle keys for easy access. Please watch this demonstration video at your earliest convenience.

BQ61HI has been moved back to the F5B parking lot on Thursday, 13th May 2017,  and replaced with the 2016 4×2 Toyota Hilux CJ23LT. The keys to the Hilux will be kept in the key safe in the copier room in W21A.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Moving of BQ61HI

This is to inform you all that BQ61HI, currently parked in W21A will be moved back to the F5B parking lot from Tuesday, 18th April 2017. It will be replaced with the 2016 Toyota Hilux CJ24LT.

Apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your co-operation.

BIOL773 Fieldtrip Report

Check out this PDF link to see what the BIOL773 Students got up to in the wake of Cyclone Debbie, whilst doing fieldwork around Herron Island.

Potential IPCC Opportunity

The Australia’s IPCC National Focal Point, Mr Rob Sturgiss, wishes to advise you of opportunities for Australia’s expert participation in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forthcoming processes. The IPCC has issued a call for nominations for experts to participate in the development of two Special Reports, which will take place during 2017 to 2019:

• Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (the report outline is attached for reference)
• Special Report on Climate Change and Land (the report outline is attached for reference)

Australia’s IPCC National Focal Point is responsible for submitting nominations of potential Australian expert participants to the IPCC Bureau. Mr Sturgiss therefore invites your institution to nominate Australian experts by submitting the following information for each candidate:

1. a completed application form (attached), and
2. a CV including a list of relevant publications (4 pages maximum)

Please submit this information to <nationalgreenhouseaccounts@environment.gov.au> by Wednesday 3^rd May 2017. Nominations received after this date cannot be considered.

Further information about this selection process can be found at:

http://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/climate-science/ipcc

IPCC Nomination – Special Report Climate Change and Land

IPCC Nomination – Special Report Oceans and Cryosphere

IPCC Outline Special Report Climate Change and Land

IPCC Outline Special Report Oceans and Cryosphere

Applications for the 2017-2018 Nicolas Baudin Travel Grant are now open!

The Embassy of France in Australia is pleased to announce that the applications for the 2017-2018 Nicolas Baudin Travel Grant are now open. The Nicolas Baudin Travel Grant is designed to encourage students to undertake study, research or professional development in France. The grant consists in a return flight ticket between Australia and France. For students undertaking an internship in a French laboratory or company, social insurance is also provided for a period of up to six months.

The Higher Education section has made some exciting new changes to the program from previous years, notably to include cotutelle candidates, students undertaking an internship in France, and students participating in a short course. By broadening the list of eligible candidates, we hope to receive an increased number of applications from a diverse range of students wishing to experience the benefits of studying in France. Additionally, applications must now be completed and submitted online to allow for a simpler and clearer process for students.

For this new version of the program, students are eligible to apply through the following frameworks:

1) Students seeking to undertake a research internship in a French laboratory or undertake an internship within a French company.

2) Students seeking to undertake research in a France as part of a cotutelle joint-PhD established between an Australian university and a French university. The student will obtain an Australian degree and a French degree at the end of their studies.

3) Students enrolled at an Australian university seeking to take part in a study abroad/ exchange program at a French establishment.

4) Student seeking to pursue a full degree at a French university (students will obtain a French degree at the end of their studies), including double degrees jointly offered by a French and an Australian university.

5) Students seeking to undertake a short term program at a French establishment. This includes summer and winter school programs.

Applications from research, internship and cotutelle students will be given special consideration.

To apply for the grant, students will need to visit the Embassy’s Grants and Opportunities page and follow the dedicated link to the online application platform.

For more information, students can visit the Nicolas Baudin Grants page or contact the Higher Education team at education.canberra-amba@diplomatie.gouv.fr.

We would be greatly appreciative if you could distribute this information to your students and contacts in order to ensure that this wonderful opportunity is advertised as widely as possible.

Please do not hesitate to contact us on <education.canberra-amba@diplomatie.gouv.fr> with any questions you may have, and we thank you in advance for your assistance.

Accommodation Needed for New PhD Student

Iván Beltran will be arriving on 17 April to start a PhD with Martin Whiting and is looking for accommodation. Please let Martin know <martin.whiting@mq.edu.au> if you happen to know of something, or know of students away in the field that might be interested in saving on rent.

More Accommodation Needed!

My name is Duncan, I am a 23 year old prospective masters by research student who will be starting at Macquarie University. My program begins with the mid-year intake, so I am looking to move to Sydney in June. Currently, I am looking at different accommodation options in Sydney, that suit my studies and living preferences. As a housemate/flatmate, I am very respectful of other’s space, peace and lifestyles. Also, I am a welcoming and social individual and will be happy to help host any friends or family. This extends to pets as well.
My specific living arrangement preferences are as listed:
–> Pets: No preference
–> Smoking: No preference
–> Rent Budget: ≤ $250/week
–> Distance: <1 hr to Macquarie Uni campus by train
–> Housemates: Prefer post-graduates students

If you or a friend are looking for a housemate and are happy to live with me, I can be emailed at <D.Jaroslow@latrobe.edu.au>.
Thank you.

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