BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT MATTERS | October 27, 2017

Dear all,

Building is starting on the new Biological Sciences building in the Fauna Park, with the site now secured and under preparation as a construction site. If there are any issues then please let Josh Aldridge know and he can pass them through the correct channels to Property and the project management team. And just a heads up that seminars for the Plant Biology lectureship position will be held during the week of 20-24 November, so keep an eye on the Biology events calendar for the details.

And good news – our application for a teaching partnership with Taronga is through to the final stage – presentations are next week, wish us luck!

cheers,

Michelle

Save the Date

This coming week 30th October – 3rd November

Tue 31st: R User’s Group with Seminar on R Markdown from Dr Jamie Undurraga; 3pm – 5pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Wed 1st: Department Morning Tea; 10:30am – 11:30am; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Wed 1st: Departmental Seminar – Dr Marc Seid, University of Scranton, USA; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Wed 1st: MQ Excellence in Research and Teaching Awards; 3 – 5.30pm; E7B Indoor Courtyard.

Thu 2nd: REP Workshop: Leadership: Defining Your Values; 2pm – 4pm; Manly Room (C5C – bookings essential)

Thu 2nd: Writing Workshop; 2:30-4:30pm, E8C-212.

Fri 3rd: HDR Mentor’s Pot Luck Dinner; 6 – 8pm; E7B Indoor Courtyard.

Following week 6th – 10th November

Tue 7th: Departmental Meeting; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Tue 7th: Melbourne Cup Gathering & Sweeps; 2:30pm – 3:30pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Wed 8th: Department Morning Tea; 10:30am – 11:30am; The Hill.

Wed 8th: Departmental Seminar – Associate Professor Bob Wong, Monash University; 1pm – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Thu 9th: Writing Workshop; 2:30-4:30pm, E8C-212.

Coming up

Every Thursday for the next few months: Writing Workshop; 2:30-4:00pm; E8C-212

Nov 13-14: Department Retreat for Academic Staff; venue Kooindah Waters Central Coast.

Dec 5th: Formal Department Meeting for Grading, followed by the Christmas Party.

Department seminar schedule
November 15th: Professor Dan Blumstein, UCLA
November 22nd: Associate Professor Nathan Lo, The University of Sydney

General News and Announcements

A New Method for Submitting to Department Matters

Department Matters submissions now have their own email address.  Please send all future submissions to the newsletter to <fse.bionewsletter@mq.edu.au>!

Also, please see the following to correctly format your additions, and keep them rolling in!

You may have noticed that we try to keep all the articles to the same format for the Department Matters, however, rest assured, they do NOT all turn up in this format! To help keep your Department Matters looking as good as possible, when sending in additions to the Newsletter, please try to keep these formatting guidelines in mind.

1. Please write in third person. The information is coming from the Newsletter, not directly from you.
2. Do not use fancy text formatting. Bold heading, normal text, and only italics or bold to highlight. No font size changes will make it through, sorry.
3. If sending via email, set your email output to basic. HTML output will add all sort of formatting that will have to be removed before your article can go into the newsletter.

Keeping to these guidelines will streamline your article’s addition to the newsletter. Thank you.

Plant of the Week

This week, Ornithogalum thyrsoides, Cape Lily, or Chincherinchee, a white flowering geophyte from the Northern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa, now a popular garden plant in Sydney. However, be careful, as it is already recognised as an environmental weed in Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales.

Upcycle Competition – Register Now! (Send email to Samantha Newton)

See attached poster for more information.

Closing date for entries 3rd November!

Display and judging: Monday 6th – Wednesday 8th November, with the award announcement morning tea: Thursday 9th November.

We will also be holding a SWAP PARTY with the display. More details to come.

Upcycle Comp Poster

Smart Phone and Tablet Collection

Drop off your device at the Department front desk before 4 November

To reduce e-waste and the need to extract new minerals, the Jane Goodall Institute Australia (JGIA) recycles mobile phones and tablets in any condition as well as their chargers.

All phones are data-wiped and factory reset before reuse. Before donating, use the factory reset option to delete all of your data (it is device specific but the product webpage will have instructions) and remove the devices from their iCloud accounts (in the case of iPhones). (Ipad: http://support.apple.com/en-us/ht5661 ; Iphone: http://support.apple.com/en-us/ts4515).

Want to learn more about conservation projects with JGIA? Then visit the Roots and Shoots website to see how you can become involved. http://rootsandshoots.org.au/

If you have any questions about JGIA or Roots and Shoots, please contact Dr K-lynn Smith at <NSW@janegoodall.org.au> or <klynn.smith@mq.edu.au>.

Your Biology Photos Needed

Do you have photos taken from 2016 or this year while doing cool things for Biological Sciences? We are collecting photos that are likely to be used in the annual report, on the Biological Sciences web pages or on the social media pages (facebook and twitter).

We are especially interested in images taken with you doing things, group/team activities and any interesting flora or fauna. Please provide the following information:

• What/who is in the image
• Location is was taken (if off campus)
• Who took the photos
• Year it was taken

Please follow the drop box file request link to submit your images.

Do you have a twitter account with photo you’d like to share with biological sciences? We require your permission to use those images, so please email <sci.bio-adm@mq.edu.au> advising of this.

Biological Sciences Administrative Requests

Please email any admin requests you have to <sci.bio-adm@mq.edu.au>. The email is monitored by the whole Admin Team, so your request won’t sit unanswered in a single person’s inbox should they be away or on leave. If you need to contact the individual admin staff member directly, you will find their contact details in this document.

And if you need HoD signoff on any applications, forms, etc please send to fse.bio-hod@mq.edu.au

STEM Speakers in Schools

What is it?

The Speakers in Schools program places Macquarie University academics in schools to connect students and teachers with researchers who inspire, inform and challenge students to question their thinking. Presentations discuss hot topics, global issues affecting society, have inspirational and significant impact for students.

How does it work?

We request that interested schools give us 4 weeks’ notice with some suggested dates, Alison Willard (FSE Future Students) will then liaise with you to see if any of those dates suit your schedule. The FSE Future Students Team provides transport for you (either someone will accompanying and drive you, or you can get a cab charge voucher).

Are you interested?

Please express your interest here:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=wRTFghenh0C-BtQNIHCtUvfrfYNGdG1CuRL70EGWeRNUQ1dEWFdVWUVFOUVGOFZLVUFXTFdYV0hSMi4u

Did You Participate in an Outreach Activity Recently for the Department?
Don’t forget to fill in the super-quick form here – – ACCESS OUTREACH FORM HERE

Get Paid for Outreach Lesson Plans!

2018 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Applications close on Friday 13 October, so apply now! If you’re 18-35, this is your chance to apply for a grant of up to $22,000 (inc GST) to fund your project on an innovative or emerging scientific issue that will benefit Australia’s primary industries. Know of anyone who may be interested in applying? Share this link www.agriculture.gov.au/scienceawards.

Ryde Council Advisory Committees
Ryde Council is seeking expressions of interest to join a range of advisory committees – please see information here and let Michelle know if you intend to nominate for any of these – http://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/Council/Committees/Advisory-Committees/Advisory-Committees-EOI.

REP workshop: Leadership: Defining Your Values

Half-day workshop, running on Thursday 2nd Nov (2-5pm).

Organised by Mauricio Marone (FBE) and Mariella Herberstein (FSE).

Whether we know it or not, we all engage in leadership at some stage – be it as a tutor organising a group of students, leading a research group or organising a social event. In this workshop we explore the idea that ‘leadership’ begins with you. It is about understanding what you value and how you bring those authentic values to your leadership activities. Working in small groups we will explore how you approach a situation where leadership is required, help you identify your core values as well as explore how your personal values align with those of an employer. By increasing your awareness of the role of values in leadership, we hope this workshop will set you on a trajectory of ever increasing leadership activities.

Our very own VC will open the workshop with a discussion around his own values. Then, working in small groups, we will explore the relationship between values and leadership, help you identify your core values as well as explore how your personal values align with those of an employer. By increasing your awareness of the role of values in leadership, we hope this workshop will set you on a trajectory of ever increasing leadership activities.

Click here to register for ‘Leadership: defining your values’

Looking for Volunteer or Paid Work Within the Department

Rebeca Violante is interested in any volunteer or paid work within the Department. She has a Bachelor Degree in Biology (from Brazil) and has previously worked as an environmental consultant and veterinary assistant (also within Brazil).  She is  passionate about all things conservation and nature related. If you have any opportunities for Rebeca to help with, please e-mail her at <rebecasofia.rv@gmail.com>. If you would like a copy of Rebeca’s CV, please e-mail Claire Laws – <claire.laws@mq.edu.au>.

Rebeca also makes some pretty cool terrariums, you can find her on twitter @reflorartenatural.

New Publications

In the Media

Recent Completions