BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT MATTERS | March 1, 2019

Hi all,

ARC Discovery grants and DECRAs are on their way to Canberra – a total of 12 DP and 5 DECRA applications went in from the department. I hope that all the hard work pays off and best wishes to all applicants!

Meanwhile it was a busy week with teaching starting for S1, and continuing work arising from the curriculum review. Next week I will be at Lincoln University in NZ participating in an international expert advisory committee on biosecurity – Andrew Barron and Grant Hose will be in complete charge of everything, so if any issues arise they will be delighted to help you out!

Cheers,

Michelle

Save the Date

This coming week 4th – 8th March

Tue 5th: Department Meeting; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Wed 6th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11am; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Wed 6th: Department Seminar – Dr Andrea Perna, Roehampton University, London; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Thu 7th: Biology Social Club; 5.00pm – 7.00pm; Biology Courtyard or 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room) if wet.

Fri 8th: International Women’s Day 2019 Afternoon Tea; 2.30 pm – 3.30 pm; 12WW Level 1 Mezzanine.

Following week 11th – 15th March

Tue 12th: Welcome BBQ for first-year students; 12pm-2pm, come along and welcome our new cohort of students. Biology courtyard.

Wed 13th: Department Morning Tea; 10.30am – 11am; 205b Colloden Rd.

Wed 13th: Department Seminar – Dr Oscar Perez-Priego, MQU; 1.00pm – 2.00pm; 14EAR(E8A)-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Thu 14th: Ask An R Geek for Help (aaRgh); 3.30pm – 4.30pm; Continuum room (75 Talavera road, room 3114); snacks provided.

Weekly Events

Fri: Writing workshops with Prof Ken Cheng – to support HDRs and ECRs with scientific writing. 2–4pm, at 6 Wally’s Walk (E8C) 212.

Fri: Behaviour and Evolution Journal Club; Friday at 12:30pm (bring your lunch); 205B Culloden Rd Boardroom.

Future Events

Mar 28th: Workshop on Regular Expressions in R; 3.30pm – 5.30pm; Continuum room (75 Talavera road, room 3114); snacks provided.

Mar 28th: Meet the Lord of the Cane Toads – Professor Rick Shine – Mason Lecture 6-7.30pm – Conference Rooms C & D, Level 3, 18 Wally’s Walk (MUSE)

June 11th-13th: HDR Conference 2019, 9am-1pm, Panel Interviews: 2-5pm; venue TBD – Save the date!

General News and Announcements

Fenner Medal Awarded to Daniel Falster – The Academy of Science’s Fenner Medal for 2019 has been awarded to Daniel Falster
(https://www.science.org.au/opportunities-scientists/recognition/honorific-awards/honorific-awardees/2019-awardees#fenner).
Daniel is now a Future Fellow at UNSW, but this is for work done while he was with us at Macquarie. The Fenner Medal is for “distinguished research in biology (excluding the biomedical sciences) by researchers up to 10 years post-PhD”. It was previously won by Ian Wright.

Infographic of Women in STEM – Women-in-STEM-high-res

International Women’s Day 2019 Afternoon Tea – Fri 8 March – 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm – 12WW Level 1 Mezzanine – more info & register at this Eventbrite link –https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/iwd-2019-womeesa-and-fse-women-in-stem-afternoon-tea-tickets-56766450983

Have you completed the MQ Inclusion Survey? So far around 25 people from Biology have completed the survey, compared to nearly 50 in Molecular Sciences – let’s not let them beat us!

You can access the FSE inclusion survey here:

  https://mqedu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ezm6mqVZkOhnonX  

This survey has been designed to help us understand Macquarie’s current culture and provide information to help us to continue to build a community that is diverse, inclusive and where all staff are able to flourish. The data from this survey will enable our Department and the University to identify where progress is being made but also where further work and changes are needed to ensure all staff at MQ are supported, safe and treated equitably.  An overview of the results and responses to the data will also be shared with the university community. Analysis will be conducted by the Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Team. Responses and personal details gathered in the course of the survey will remain anonymous. No data will be shared or made available where individuals can be identified. The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. Please take some time to respond to this survey as your feedback will be extremely valuable to our department and to the University. For more information on the survey, please see that attached FAQs, or contact the Workplace Diversity & inclusion team – <workplacediversityinclusion@mq.edu.au>. Inclusion Survey – FAQs

Stationery Swap Success – The Stationery Swap was a huge success with many items finding new homes. We still have a stash of good quality lever arch folders (2-ring binders) and some box files, manila folders and hanging files. If you know anyone who can use these email samantha.newton@mq.edu.au>.

This week – Honeysuckle – Lonicera japonica.

Honeysuckle has its origins in eastern China, Japan and Korea. Since its introduction to Australia as a garden plant (believed to be some time between 1820 and 1840) it has become widely naturalised and is now regarded as an environmental weed in every state of Australia and the ACT. For all that, it is still loved by many for its fragrant flowers that open white and gradually darken to cream or yellow.

COMINGS AND GOINGS

Welcome New Postdoc – Cwyn is a cognitive neuroethologist who obtained their PhD in Biophysics and Neurophysiology at the University of Colorado, USA before postdocs in Sydney and London. They came back to Sydney to work with Dr Andrew Barron in the Department of Brain Behaviour and Evolution while continuing their international collaborative efforts. They are broadly interested in the evolution of cognition commonly utilising insects as model systems. Their aim while at Macquarie University is to develop an objective measure of basic intelligence across species, by assessing how well animals manage conflicting information, and how they vary their attention to a task.

SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS

Biological Sciences Seminar – Date/Time: Wednesday, 6^th March, 2019; 1pm – 2pm. Speaker: Dr Andrea Perna, Roehampton University, London. Title: From individual to collective building in social insects. Venue:  14EAR-280 (Biology Tea Room). More information on this and all department seminars ON OUR WEBPAGE HERE.

Environmental Sciences Seminar – Date/Time: Tuesday, 5^th March, 2019; 11.00am – 12.00pm. Speaker:  Nanthini Elamgovan (Deputy Director of National Parks Board in Singapore). Title: Bringing People to Nature: Examples from Singapore. Venue:  12 Wally’s Walk, Room 802-803. Contact Jenny Fang <jenny.fang@mq.edu.au> for more info.

MolSci Special Seminar – Date/Time: Thursday, 7^th March, 2019; 11.00am – 12.00pm. Speaker:  Professor B. Jayaram, Department of Chemistry and Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India. Title: Genomes to Hit Molecules In Silico: Bioinformatics for a better tomorrow. Venue:  4WW 322 seminar room. For more, visit: https://goto.mq/7l

MolSci Seminar – Date/Time: Tuesday, 12^th March, 2019; 1.00pm – 2.00pm. Speaker:  Professor Douglas R. MacFarlane, Australian Centre for Electromaterials Science, School of Chemistry, Monash University. Title: Materials Chemistry for Sustainable Energy Storage. Venue:  4WW 322 seminar room. For more, visit: https://goto.mq/7n

Meet the Lord of the Cane Toads – Join the Faculty of Science and Engineering Mason Lecture hosted by Professor Rick Shine. He will talk about his research on Australia’s Most Unpopular Animal – the Cane Toad. Find out about how how Rick and his team have discovered ways to control Toad numbers, and to help the native fauna coexist with these toxic invaders.
WHEN: Thursday, 28 March, 2019; 6.00 pm – 7.30 pm.
WHERE: Conference Rooms C & D, Level 3, 18 Wally’s Walk (MUSE), Macquarie University, New South Wales, 2109
RSVP: Thursday, 28 March, 2019. REGISTER HERE!

Special Seminar – Date/Time: Thursday, 21^st March, 2019; 2.00pm – 3.00pm. Speaker:  NSW Senator Dr Mehreen Faruqi. Title: Should Scientists Become Political Leaders? Venue:  Hearing Hub Lecture Theater L1 01.200.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi_21March

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Faculty Staff (Professional & Academic) Travel Grants – support for staff travel is now provided centrally by the Faculty.  Funding is available for ECR travel, international collaboration, teaching and professional staff development. If you would like to apply, please discuss with your supervisor and A/Prof Andrew Barron (for research travel) or Dr Drew Allen (for teaching travel). Research Eligibility and application details can be found here.
https://staff.mq.edu.au/intranet/science-and-engineering/faculty-awards,-schemes-and-procedures
Two rounds remain for the rest of the year:
– Round 2 closes Friday 31 May 2019
– Round 3 closes Friday 27 September 2019
Apply as soon as possible for any travel you intend on taking in 2018, that meets the criteria. Funds awarded must be spent in 2019 and will not be carried into 2020.

Considering Study Leave or Research in Germany? Check out opportunities for funding from the German Academic Exchange Service: https://www.daad.de/deutschland/stipendium/datenbank/en/21148-scholarship-database/?status=&origin=&subjectGrps=&daad=&q=research%20stays&page=1&detail=50015456

Professional Staff Development Grants scheme opens on 11 March Grants of up to $4000 are available for professional staff to develop their knowledge, skills and experience through activities such as study tours, professional development programs and conferences.

Flying-fox Grant Program 2019 Opens – Offered by Local Government NSW in partnership with the NSW Office of Environment & Heritage, our $500,000 Flying-fox Grants Program is open to NSW councils from Friday 8 February. The closing date for applications is 13 March 2019.

With a new Communications Stream, maximum grant amounts range from $10,000 to $50,000, with up to $150,000 available to groups of councils. Councils match grant requests with their own contribution, which can be cash and/or in-kind. Details available on the LGNSW website.

HDR FUNDING

PhD students: got a grant? Dept. will co-fund up to $1500 – The Department would like to encourage students to seek external sources of funding, and has a small budget with which support successful candidates. New limits from 2019:  PhD students ONLY: Dept. will match up to $1500 of external (non-MQ) funding ONCE per candidate. 

Val Williams Scholarship in Botany – Applications are invited from scholars undertaking scientific research at the Honours, Masters or PhD levels. The research should contribute to the knowledge, conservation or propagation of Australian native plant species in the Sydney or surrounding regions. The North Shore Group of Australian Plants Society NSW awarded the inaugural $2,000 scholarship in 2009 and since then thirteen scholars have used their scholarship money to augment their research. It amounts to $3,000 for Round Eleven in 2019.

Application forms are attached or can be downloaded from our web site at

http://austplants.com.au/NS-4

Applications close on 8th March 2019 and the successful applicant will be notified by 5th April 2019. In addition, a complementary one-year membership of Australian Plants Society sponsored by Australian Plants Society NSW will be offered to the successful applicant.

VWS Application Form 2019
VWS Application Form 2019
VWS Applic Information 2019

Australian Wildlife Society University Research Grants are scholarships offered to honours or postgraduate students at Australian universities. Each year, ten $1,500 grants are awarded. Applicants wishing to become a member of the Society can do so at www.aws.org.au

Grants are available for research projects of direct relevance to the conservation of Australian wildlife – plant or animal. Grants may be used for the purchase of equipment and consumables, travel expenses related to field research, or attendance at conferences at which you are presenting your work. The grant is paid directly to the student. Closing date: applications are due by the 31st May 2019.

If you are, or supervise, a female PhD candidate who is an Aust citizen or permanent resident, please take a look at these Fellowships:

The 2019 Barbara Hale Fellowships and the 2019 Georgina Sweet Fellowship will close to applications on the 30th April 2019.

The 2019 AFGW Barbara Hale Fellowships are offered to women graduates who are Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia and are enrolled for a PhD degree by research in any discipline at an Australian university. Only citizens of Australia or Australian permanent residents may apply. In 2019, two (2) AFGW Barbara Hale Fellowships will be offered at $7500 each.

The 2019 AFGW Georgina Sweet Fellowship is offered to women graduates who are Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia and are enrolled for a PhD degree by research in any discipline at an Australian university. Only citizens of Australia or Australian permanent residents may apply.

Australian Plant Society Scholarships – Applications are now invited from scholars undertaking scientific research at the Honours, Masters or PhD levels. The research should contribute to the knowledge, conservation or propagation of Australian native plant species in the Sydney or surrounding regions.

The North Shore Group of Australian Plants Society NSW awarded the inaugural $2,000 scholarship in 2009 and since then thirteen scholars have used their scholarship money to augment their research. It amounts to $3,000 for Round Eleven in 2019. Application forms are attached or can be downloaded from our web site at https://austplants.com.au/NS-4

Applications close on 8th March 2019 and the successful applicant will be notified by 5th April 2019. An independent selection committee of three North Shore Group members will have the responsibility of selecting the recipient. VWS Applic Information 2019  VWS Application Form 2019  VWS Application Form 2019

Are you a HDR student? Need help with writing? – HDR Mentors in collaboration with HDR Learning Skills is running another round of Peer Writing Assistance (PWA) for the rest of the year! This program is designed to support MRES and HDR candidates in managing thesis writing and research-related concerns. All peer writing assistants have undergone training for their role and are current PhD candidates at Macquarie. Registrations are now open for individual consultation bookings. If you are interested, please go to book in for a 30-minute session with a PWA. If you have questions about the PWA program please email hdrmentors@mq.edu.au>

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