BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT MATTERS | October 7, 2016

Dear all,

Thanks to all who came along to this month’s regular department meeting – if you couldn’t be there you can catch up with the slides here. Office inspections are all now completed – thanks to Marita and Masood for their efforts. Everyone will have received a report with action items – please make sure you address these before the end of October as this is a University WHS compliance issue (let Marita know if help is needed).

Farewell to Andrew Irvine, our Marine Fieldwork Manager who has taken up a position at Taronga Zoo. We look forward to many future collaborations with the zoo via Andrew and wish him all the best!

Finally, I’m looking forward to morning tea in the renovated Biology Garden Annexe on Wednesday – please come along to enjoy the garden and cakes (what better combination is there?)

cheerio

Michelle

Save the Date

This coming week 10th – 14th October

Mon 10th: Careers in Science; 3 – 5pm; L3 CampusHub.

Tue 11th: Biology Banter Launch; 1 – 2pm; E8A-280 (Tea room).

Tue 11th: GGREP Workshop – 42 Shades of Leadership; 2 – 5pm;Continuum Room (75 Talavera Rd, Lvl 3).

Wed 12th: Morning Tea in the Biology Garden Annexe  to celebrate completion of works; 10:30am – 11:00am; Biology Garden Annexe.

Wed 12th: Weekly Seminar – Geoffrey Bedford: The Rhinoceros Beetle, The Coconut Palm and Virus in the South Pacific; 1 – 2pm; E8A-280 (Tea room).

Following week 17th – 21st October

Wed 19th: Jenny Minard’s Farewell Morning Tea; 10:00am – 11:00am; Lakeside.

Wed 19th: Weekly Seminar –  Dan Warren – Incorporating evolutionary history into niche and distribution models: learning to love terrible species distribution models; 1 – 2pm; E8A-280 (Tea room).

Coming up

Oct 26th; Faculty Safety day

Oct 26th; Advanced Biology Conference; 12 – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Oct 31st: Applications for domestic (APA) PhD scholarships due.

Nov 8th: Biology programs information session for students. 1 – 2pm; E8A-280 (Biology Tea Room).

Nov 14-15: Department research and L&T retreat at Victoria & Albert Hotel, Mt Victoria (academic staff – please put this in your diaries now!)

Dec 7th: Department formal exam meeting

Dec 9th: Faculty of Science & Engineering Xmas BBQ

General News and Announcements

International SOS Presentation and Insurance Information

Attached is the presentation on International SOS from this weeks department meeting as well as the flowchart of insurance procedures that has been put together. A reminder that International SOS is now our one-stop travel service provider that will help you not only with all logistics around international emergencies but pre-departure risk assessment and travel planning and any issues/ questions or uncertainties while abroad. If you want to check out their site it is: www.internationalsos.com and our membership number for login is 12AYCA630700

If you have any questions, feedback or concerns regarding the flow chart or International SOS please don’t hesitate to ask Sarah Collison.

international-sos-dept-presentation-collison

fieldwork-insruance-flowchart-edited-1

Monday 10th Oct – Careers in Science

Come along to a showcase of potential careers outside academia available to science graduates: 3-5pm Mon 10th Oct @ L3 CampusHub. A number of large organisations will be there giving presentations encouraging you to work for them: CSIRO, Young Professionals CCD, Covance, Teach NSW and Shelston IP. All these organisations have various levels of positions for undergrad, postgrad, and research/PhD students. Shelston IP is particularly looking for PhDs (life sciences, chemistry, mechanical engineers, ICT etc) – especially in patent attorney career pathways. Presentations will be followed by a networking afternoon tea. Please see the attached poster for the Careers in Science event.

REGISTER www.careerhub.mq.edu.au/ViewEvent.chpx?id=237279

2016-careers-in-science-poster

Tuesday 11th Oct – GGREP workshop “42 shades of leadership”.

Do I have leadership qualities, and if not, how do I get myself some? What on earth is ‘leadership’ anyway? These and other leadership related questions will be addressed in this half-day open-question forum workshop, convened by Marie Herberstein, and running 2-5pm next Tuesday (11th Oct) in the ‘Continuum room’ (75 Talavera road – on level 3).

Our very own VC will open the workshop by giving his perspective on what leadership means to him, how important leadership is in the workplace and how he developed his own leadership style. Then we’ll hear from — and ask questions of — a panel of leaders, at a range of levels within and outside MQU. The panel will give their reflections, advice, and thoughts on leadership. This open question forum will allow us to reflect on different leadership styles and provide guidance around further developing our own leadership qualities.

Please feel free to come along.

Weekly Seminar

Day / Date / Time / Place: Wednesday, 12th October, 1pm, E8A-280 (Tea Room).

Speaker: Geoffrey Bedford

Title: THE RHINOCEROS BEETLE, THE COCONUT PALM AND A VIRUS IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC

Abstract: The Rhinoceros Beetle Oryctes rhinoceros L. is endemic in SE Asia, and was accidentally introduced into the South Pacific area early in the 20th century. Here it has since spread widely, also to Indian Ocean locations. The cryptic behaviour of adults, and larvae, appears to facilitate its spreading. An adult bores into the heart of a coconut palm to feed on sap, and this damages immature fronds which when they unfurl show characteristic V-shape cuts which reduce photosynthetic area. Repeated attacks kill the meristem resulting in death of the palm. The beetle is thus a burden on the coconut and copra industries. Oil palms are also attacked in SE Asia. Males produce an aggregation pheromone. In the South Pacific, and also in the Indian Ocean, a virus, Oryctes Nudivirus (OrNV) was released many years ago in a number of countries – it became established and significantly reduced rhinoceros beetle populations and damage. There is evidence this reduction persists long-term.

INVITATION  to Jenny Minard’s Farewell Morning Tea

Jenny is retiring from the University. Jenny has been at the University for over 40 years. She has been a wonderful friend and colleague to many of us here in Biology over the past few decades. If you would like to say goodbye please come along.

Where: Lakeside

When 10am on 19^th October.

There is a card to sign in the E8B 204 and we are collecting for a gift if you would like to contribute.

Do you want Kath to teach you some iLearn stuff?

After some discussions I’ve realised that there may be a demand for a short workshop on iLearny stuff. Hot topics seem to be:

(1) How to set up and share quickmarks in Turnitin to provide faster, consistent and comprehensive feedback from markers

(2) How to set up marking rubrics in Turnitin

(3) How to bulk import quiz questions, and have quizzes pull random questions from question banks for weekly quizzes etc…

I would like this workshop to focus on things that YOU want help with, so, if you have different or additional ideas please let me know!

Once I have figured out if there is enough interest, I’ll set up a doodle poll to figure out when people are available. If you are interested please email Kath <katherine.mcclellan@mq.edu.au> with topics you would like covered, and whether you would like to do this soonish (next couple weeks) or later (e.g. next month’s Biology Banter session).

End of Year Financial Deadlines

Action Required: Please note these dates in your calendar

There is a lot of information, but please read it thoroughly so you understand what you need to do and by when. Please make every effort to stick to these deadlines. You may miss out on spending your University money if you don’t!

If you anticipate any problems or have any questions please let us know (the sooner the better) we will do all we can to help. Please let us know (give us a heads up) if you are planning and know that you will have expenses after these deadlines (for example, planning for S3 units or summer fieldwork). Also, if you are currently away or travelling and you can’t meet the deadlines, please let us know so we can be prepared.

Below are the financial spending cut-offs to record in your calendars. Keeping your spending within these dates will help us out immensely during this very busy time.
You need to:
Submit all orders and claims (purchases/orders/stationery orders/store orders/reimbursements) by:

FRIDAY 4 NOVEMBER 2016 5PM  

Spend University** money or appoint new casual and fixed term staff up by:

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016 5pm

** Spending University money means:

• Invoices that need to be paid
• Claims forms for travel (per diems and advances)
• Concur reports and Corporate credit card spending
• Travel: airfare, motor vehicle expenses, car hire, accommodation, etc
• Sundry Debtors (Invoices we generate)
• Journals
• Petty Cash
• Catering
• Shipments/Courier services

Please also note that for all casual employees, your last timesheet for 2016 needs to be submitted by:

WEDNESDAY 14 DECEMBER 2016 (time to be advised)

This is also the deadline to enjoy your last coffee from E8A Tearoom coffee machine.

We understand that things may come up after these dates, but we can not guarantee that your requests will be met due to our extreme workload during this busy time. A scheduled closed door policy will likely be utilised in the upcoming months and we’ll keep you up to date about that.

As always, please come to see us or give us a call/email if you have questions and need help.

Happy spending, Team Admin!

Biology Garden Annexe Open

Join us for morning tea to celebrate the completion of the Biology Garden annexe pathways.

10:30am Wednesday 12th October

Free Native Plants Looking for a New Home

BIOL347 have completed their growth experiments on native trees sourced from the Mona Vale area. These plants need new homes. You will find them in the Biology garden during the next 2 weeks. Please help yourselves.

Please note that these plants have been protected in the glasshouses, so need to be left outside for a while to harden up before being planted.

Species include: Acacia suaveolens, Acmena smithii, Angophora hispida, Banksia robur, Ceratopetalum apetalum, Dodonaea triquetra, Hakea dactyloides, Melaleuca quinquenervia, Myoporum boninense, Trema aspera

Attention Terrestrial fieldworkers

Sarah (terrestrial fieldwork manager) will be on leave from 18th November until 3rd January so there will be no terrestrial fieldwork inductions at this time. If you or your students expect to need an induction at this time please organise as soon as possible before this date. In her absence approvals will be done by Amanda Sordes via Field Friendly as usual. Please allow at least 5 working days for approvals as Amanda will be responsible for all terrestrial and marine (non-boating) approvals during this busy period.  In cases of accidents or emergencies or to collect or return equipment please see Amanda or Tarun Rajan.

Acting Vehicle Manager

Sarah Collison will be the acting vehicle manager from the 4th October till the 31st October 2016 as Tarun will be away on a course. Sarah will be able to provide vehicle inductions, but may not be able to conduct one on short notice. Please endeavour to provide her with sufficient notice to schedule any inductions.

Sorry about the inconvenience and we appreciate your co-operation.

MQMarine Modelling Workshop

Attached is details of the MQMarine Modelling Workshop, a 1 day workshop on 7th November, being run at SIMS.

mq_marinemodellingworkshop

MQMarine Talk by Patrick DeDeckker 21.10.2016

Spectacular Australian deep-sea canyons: their formation, associated biota, physico-chemical processes and past environmental changes

talk-by-p-dedeccker

NCCARF Natural Ecosystems Network Funding

Travel awards valued at $500 are available for students, early career researchers or practitioners to attend conferences, meetings or events between November 2016 – June 2017. The travel awards are open to Network members currently enrolled in full time or part time post-graduate study at an Australian Institution or working in an environment related field. More information is available at https://docs.google.com/a/mq.edu.au/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScWjKLyQDJAatAe3p3-MEgjxz6a17oGUlQnL03t4hdDHlQ8_A/viewform or contact Nadiah Roslan <nadiah.roslan@jcu.edu.au> for more information.

Publish or Perish

A thought provoking article that suggests that Higgs would never have discovered the boson or won the Nobel Prize under current university bibliometric practice:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/14/higgs-boson-publish-or-perish-science-culture?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Outlook

Plant of the Week

For this week, Lavender (Lavandula), a popular garden plant from the Mediterranean and also a close relative of Australian Mint Bushes (Prostanthera) and Coast Rosemary (Westringia).

UFAW (The International Animal Welfare Science Society) update for 2016-17 – meetings, grants and awards

The UFAW annual international meeting is being held over three days at Royal Holloway, University of London on the 27-29^th June 2017 and is on the topic of ‘Measuring animal welfare and applying scientific advances – Why is it still so difficult?.  Closing date for abstracts is 30^th November.

There are also several awards available:

• the UFAW animal welfare student scholarships (stipend now increased to a maximum of £2000),
• the UFAW Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Animal Welfare Science,
• the UFAW Young Animal Welfare Scientist of the Year award
• the UFAW animal welfare research award (up to £50,000 for an innovative animal welfare research project)

and

• the HSA Dorothy Sidley student scholarships (stipend now increased to a maximum of £2000),
• the HSA Humane Slaughter award,
• the HSA special travel award ( up to £10,000 for travel or study visits)

Further details on all can be found on the UFAW http://www.ufaw.org.uk/grantandawards and HSA http://www.hsa.org.uk/grants–awards/grants–awards webpages. If you wish to apply for any of these grants, you will need to do so through the local contact, Culum Brown <culum.brown@mq.edu.au>.

ufaw-ar-2016

hsa-newsletter-march-2016

ufaw-symposium-royalh-2017-flyer-oct-16

Asthma Symposium

When: 13 October

What: Includes new research on severe refractory asthma being presented by the Woolcock Institute’s Helen Reddel, for the first time in Australia, as well as several other contemporary asthma topics and projects. Booking link

Cost: Less for students if you email Anthony Flynn, AFlynn@asthmafoundation.org.au

Casual Research Assistant level 5.1 

To assist and manage all general administrative functions and basic laboratory duties in the pre- and post-cruise preparations undertaken by Chief Scientist, Dr Leanne Armand (Marine and Coastal Phytoplankton Laboratory). Assistance with all administrative reporting between the Marine National Facility, Custom agents and Freight companies, the Australian Antarctic Division, Geoscience Australia, AQIS, the MQ Research Office and other external universities involved in the mission.

The position will be normally 2-3 days a week, but up to 5 days in some weeks in 2016 (early Nov – mid Jan. 2017.)

And then ~2 days a week from 1^st March 2017.

(total 380 hours)

Please see the detailed position description for further details. Applications close the 21st October, to <leanne.armand@mq.edu.au>.

aad-4333-research-assistant

Providing Content for Department Matters

While we encourage anyone who has information relevant to the Department to send in articles for Department Matters, it would really help if you could please adhere to the following submission guidelines:

1. Please write any submissions in 3rd person.  Personal references that work in emails don’t work in the context of the Newsletter.
2. Forwarding emails with masses of text is unhelpful.  Please edit long information circulars down to the key points, and again remove any personal references (make 3rd person).  The editor doesn’t necessarily understand the content like you do, so if you don’t do this, you may not get the message you want across.
3. CoB on Thursday of the week in question is the deadline for guaranteed inclusion in that Friday’s newsletter.  Anything later than that may not make it in until the following week.

Thank you very much for your understanding.

New Publications

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