Author Archives: memberpost

SA Event: Teach for Australia – Innovative pathways for outstanding science graduates

Posted on by
Reply

Brought to you by The Tall Poppy Campaign and Teach for Australia:

Event: Teach for Australia – Innovative pathways for outstanding science graduates
Monday 20 February, 2012
Royal Society Room at the SA Museum, North Terrace
12:30pm – 1:30pm (Lunch Included)

Speakers: Adam Buxton, Teach for Australia
Tessa Mudge, Alumni and Associate at Teach for Australia

Places are strictly limited and priority will be given to current SA Tall Poppies and Alumni, but all TP.SA friends and supporters are very welcome!

For more information please do not hesitate in contact myself or TP.SA State Manager Rachel Crees (Rachel.crees@sa.gov.au)

We look forward to seeing you there on Feb 20th

Grant Mills
Outreach Officer South Australian Tall Poppy Campaign
Australian Institute of Policy and Science
& the Tall Poppy Campaign
Tel: (08) 8207 8734
Fax: (08) 8207 8700
Mob: 0424 026 869
Email: grant.mills@sa.gov.au
Web: http://www.aips.net.au
Hours: Monday and Wednesday

The sky’s the limit for users of theSkyNet

Posted on by
Reply
Thanks to Pete Wheeler, UWA for sending in this article:
Thanks to a new initiative called theSkyNet, you don’t need a supercomputer to help collect data for the next generation of radio telescopes.

This ambitious citizen science project uses a global network of privately owned computers to process astronomical data arriving from galaxies, stars and other distant objects located across the universe.

WA’s Science and Innovation Minister, John Day, launched theSkyNet in September 2011.

The project soon attracted almost 20,000 hits to theSkyNet.org website, and nearly 3,000 members in the first day. A few weeks later, the website surpassed 100,000 hits and 5,000 members.

Members sign up and donate their spare computing power to theSkyNet, an activity which is not only rewarding, it’s also fun. Members receive “credits” for processing data and donating time on their computer, which earns them trophies they can share with their networks through Facebook. Users participate in the project as individuals but can also form or join alliances to help process data as a group.

There are also some very real-world rewards on offer, with the most attractive being the opportunity to visit the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in the Mid-West of Western Australia. This remote and radio-quiet site is home to several next generation radio telescopes and is earmarked as the potential site for the proposed Square Kilometre Array.

With support from the WA State Government, theSkyNet is an initiative of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), a joint venture of Curtin University and The University of Western Australia.

According to ICRAR’s Outreach and Education Manager, Pete Wheeler, the project aims to involve people in the discovery process while also raising awareness of radio astronomy and providing a real resource that astronomers can use to advance our understanding of the universe.

“This is a very exciting project for us as it’s a unique opportunity to bring our research and public outreach activities together and get the public involved in science,” he said.

“We were hopeful that the name of the project would generate interest, but the level of interest and uptake we experienced so soon after launch was beyond our wildest expectations.”

So far, theSkyNet has been using data collected by the Parkes radio telescope in New South Wales to refine the system and demonstrate that the results produced by theSkyNet are scientifically useful and accurate.

Next, theSkyNet will use a reprocessed version of this data to create a new catalogue of radio galaxies before moving on to larger data sets in preparation for the enormous volumes of information that will flow once telescopes such as the CSIRO’s Australian SKA Pathfinder come online in the next couple of years.

ICRAR Director, Professor Peter Quinn, said: “Radio astronomy is a data intensive activity and as we design, develop and switch on the next generation of radio telescopes, the supercomputing resources processing this deluge of data will be in increasingly high demand.”

At any one time, around 4,000 machines around the world are online and contributing to theSkyNet. On average, the network is performing one million processing tasks per day, placing theSkyNet on par with a supercomputer with between 15 and 20 TFlops of computing power. The cost to build a single supercomputer with this sort of capacity is currently around $1.5 million.

Rather than the cost and years of planning needed to build and run such a machine, theSkyNet runs with only minimal cost and has appeared virtually overnight. Using the power of the Internet to connect people to the excitement of scientific discovery makes cost effective, efficient and environmentally sensible use of readily available computing resources that might otherwise be wasted.

This type of community computing is especially useful when the time taken to process the data is not an issue. Rather than using valuable supercomputing time in facilities such as the iVEC Pawsey Centre in Perth, data that can be processed in “slow time” can be off-loaded to a distributed network like theSkyNet.

“The key to theSkyNet is having lots of computers connected, with each contributing only a little, but the sum of those computers can achieve a lot,” Professor Quinn said.

For further information and to sign up, visit theSkyNet website at www.theSkyNet.org

Grant Round Open for Inspiring Australia – Unlocking Australia’s Potential

Posted on by
Reply

The Federal Government’s Unlocking Australia’s Potential grants are about inspiring people with science.

$5 million is available across three categories for projects delivered over the next three years.

Projects will represent a national mix of activities involving a variety of audiences, geographic locations and scientific topics. The grants round aims to inspire a program that focuses on priorities such as – but not limited to – youth, Indigenous communities and regional Australia.

Applications are sought in the following categories:

  • Up to $5,000; typically for individuals or small organisations.
  • Up to $45,000; for high impact science engagement projects at regional or national level.
  • Up to $500,000; for organisations and partnerships delivering high impact, nationally significant projects.

Each category will have the same eligibility and selection criteria and grant selection process, but with different levels of detail required.

Grant applications will be assessed by an independent selection committee, with successful projects expected to be announced by May 2012. Applications must be submitted online between now and 29 February (4:00pm AEDT) 2012.

Comprehensive guidelines are available or you can call 02 6270 2803 for more information.

Apply online by 29 February 2012

Guidelines, Frequently Asked Questions and How to Apply can all be found here.

Past President and Life Member Profile: Alison Leigh

Posted on by
Reply

From Alison Leigh:

I didn’t grow up dreaming that one day I would be …. the Editorial Director of the World Congress of Science Producers. No such thing existed. Now it does and like the best things in life – it evolved.

I emigrated to Sydney from the UK in 1988 – bicentennial year; fully expecting my on-screen career as a BBC TV and radio reporter /presenter to continue to flourish here. Wrong. I was “too old” and “too English”. Yikes! What to do? Try my hand at producing? My current affairs credentials landed me the job of Producer, Media Watch, with the task of getting series one to air. Next thing I know after that baptism of fire, I’m being courted by the Executive Producer of “Quantum”- to be the Series Producer – i.e. day to day manager of that show. Saying yes to that job changed my life – and my focus.

For several years I was Series Producer and then Executive Producer of the ABC TV Science Unit. This gave me the privilege of being closely involved in the development, production and commissioning of dozens of science TV programs in addition to Quantum:  Hot Chips, What’s your poison?, The Future Eaters to name a few. I was also closely involved in the development of major initiatives that have enhanced the celebration and understanding of science in Australia such as National Science Week and of course, our very own ASC – I was a founding member. We were a small group then and now look how far we’ve come.

As Executive Producer of the ABC TV Science Unit, I used to represent the ABC at a small somewhat chaotic annual get together of science producers and broadcasters hosted each year by one or other public broadcaster somewhere in the world.

My great good fortune is that just as I left the ABC in 1998 to go freelance, the science broadcasters decided that their annual get together, or congress as it was now called,  should become a professional conference. In 1999, they asked me to be the programmer of the event, the role I’ve held ever since.

The World Congress has grown into a unique forum of presentations and discussions, where television producers and executives from all over the world come back year after year to catch up with world trends in science and factual programming, to talk passionately about program-making, and to be inspired. The convivial and informal atmosphere creates lasting friendships which lead to binding business relationships and co-production partnerships, and the all important deals to be made down the track.

It’s not a full time job:  in addition to my Congress commitments, I freelance as a science and health writer when the project interests me enough. Everything from scripts for TV series and documentaries to health articles for magazines  and most recently I co-authored the book “Eight steps to happiness” to accompany the ABC TV series “Making Australia Happy”.

But it is my dream job. Fancy being paid to watch science films and science television, to keep abreast of innovative and exciting trends in the industry, to keep in touch with some of the smartest most creative people on the planet and even to travel to exotic places to meet them all face to face. Can’t be bad. Yet if it hadn’t been for some racist and ageist attitudes way back when, it might never have happened!

Atmospheric Sciences on the Rise

Posted on by
Reply

Thanks to Craig Macaulay, CSIRO for contributing this article:

Once a year Australian atmospheric scientists gather for a research review centred on a real singing ‘canary’ – the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Monitoring Station.  The Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station was established in 1976 to monitor and study global atmospheric composition; the Bureau manages the station and its research is jointly managed by the Bureau and CSIRO. This year’s annual Cape Grim science meeting at the Bureau of Meteorology from November 15-17 was combined with the 5th Annual Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research Workshop with a focus on the science of atmospheric composition.

The timing could not have been more appropriate coinciding with a series of releases on carbon and greenhouse gas emission figures from the International Energy Agency (http://www.iea.org/press/pressdetail.asp?PRESS_REL_ID=426) and the World Meteorological Organisation (http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/press_releases/pr_934_en.html)

Both activities brought together more than 90 researchers from New Zealand and Australian research agencies and universities. The Workshop also included the Annual Priestley lecture, which was given this year by Dr Stephen E. Schwartz (Brookhaven National Laboratory).

This meeting provided a much needed forum for atmospheric composition researchers from different disciplines (in-situ observations, remote sensing observations, modelling) to share ideas, enhance collaboration and develop a coordinated regional approach to characterising atmospheric processes in Australasia.  A major outcome of this meeting is the decision to continue this forum into the future and to investigate during 2012 the establishment of a co-ordinated atmospheric composition research group.

Melita said there is energy to bring researchers more closely together through collaboration to benefit from the expanding  and emerging infrastructure and tools  that are providing  increasing opportunities observations, modelling and assessments. These include the Australian Community Climate Earth System Simulator, new observation sites such as the Tropical Atmosphere Research Station at Gunn Point and Australia’s new research vessel, the RV Investigator that will be commissioned in June 2013.

Joy of Chocolate: Event Review

Posted on by
Reply

Thanks to Rebecca Rose for sending in this event review…

The Joy of Chocolate event held on the 16th of November was a great night. We had a good turn out. Galit gave an interesting overview of the chocolate life cycle and patiently answered the avalanche of questions that ensued. We learnt how the beans were fermented, dried and pounded to a paste. What the difference was between cocoa powder, cocoa butter and cocoa solids (though technically I think by this stage they are termed ‘cacao’) and all about the tempering and refining process that makes silky smooth chocolate. Galit had an array of show and tell items and we were all tempted with samples of cocoa beans and chocolate buttons from different single source locations. The highlight of the evening for me however, was her amazing gananche samples. The lime and basil white ganache and the leatherwood honey milk chocolate ganache had people sneaking back for seconds and thirds… it was just too good!

When energy counts in a changing climate

Posted on by
Reply

From Craig Macaulay, CSIRO:

While recent political activity has centred on the passing of the Clean Energy Bills, 170 delegates from 50 countries were meeting (http://www.csiro.au/news/Securing-energy-supply-in-changing-variable-climate.html) away from the limelight in conversations centred on a closely-related subject, energy and climate.

With Australian science heavily engaged at the research coalface in all forms of energy generation, CSIRO has sought to bridge the international gap at the interface with climate through its support of the first International Conference on Energy and Meteorology on the Gold Coast last week.  (http://www.icem2011.org/ICEM2011_Final_Programme.pdf)

The conference brought together scientists, engineers, planners, and insurers to review  the scope for related lines of research that will re-enforce risk management and energy security in weather, seasonal variability and global and regional climate change, as outlined broadly in this interview with the ABC’s World Today program – http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2011/s3358909.htm

The pace of growth in renewable energy and community attitudes towards it, food and biofuel production, forecasting to maximise energy generation, and support for decision-making were common themes in a week that the International Energy Agency also released its 2011 report.

CSIRO Energy Group leader, Bev Ronalds, provided an opening keynote, outlining what she described as a ‘rainbow’ of options for Australia’s energy mix through to 2050, and the conference closed with a keynote from Energy Tansformed Flagship Director, Alex Wonhas.

Convenor, CSIRO’s Alberto Troccoli, said he hoped that from among the extensive range of presentations given, there would be a wealth of seeds sown to generate collaborations and relationship to further bridge the energy and climate sectors, with CSIRO as a potential leader in the process. The Climate & Atmosphere theme of CSIRO was a major sponsor of the event.

The Transit of Venus

Posted on by
Reply

From Nick Lomb:

The transit of Venus on 6 June 2012 will be the last opportunity for all of us to see this rare and significant astronomical event. It is of special importance to Australians as James Cook’s first voyage that led to the colonisation of the country by the British was to observe the 1769 transit from Tahiti. Australia will be one of the best places from which to view the 2012 transit for it will be visible from beginning to end from most of the country.

To give people an appreciation of the long history behind transits of Venus, I have written a book, ‘Transit of Venus: 1631 to the present’ that is published by NewSouth Publishing in association with Powerhouse Publishing and is available from 1 November 2011. The book relates some of the adventurous journeys undertaken by astronomers to view past transits and explains why the astronomers regarded the transits of such great importance that they were willing to risk their lives to observe them. The book has numerous illustrations including some beautiful original illustrations of the 1874 transit from the archives of Sydney Observatory.

More information at http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/publications/publications_item.php?id=254 and at https://www.unswpress.com.au/isbn/9781742232690.htm.

Dr Nick Lomb

Phone: 03 9570 8418
Mobile: 0403 892 778
Email: nrl@bigpond.com

 

Timing is everything

Posted on by
Reply

From Craig Macaulay, CSIRO:

Depending on where you source your news, the November 18 release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on weather extremes (http://ipcc-wg2.gov/SREX/) attracted a mixed response in Australia.

This can be partly attributed to the leaking of a draft report earlier in the week, a pre-empting of the report outcomes based on documents held by the BBC but more particularly the timing of the release by the IPCC’s Chris Field at 1.30 pm in Kampala, Uganda – 9.30 pm on Friday evening AEST, a time convenient for US and European media but when most Australian newspapers had been put to bed.

Contributing through the CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship, Kathy McInnes was the only Special Report co-author on the ground in Australia and accessible. The other Australian co-authors, Neville Nicholls from Monash and John Handmer from RMIT, Melbourne, had been in Uganda and were en route back to Australia.

The full report can be found at – http://ipcc-wg2.gov/SREX/ – and a separate assessment of the treatment can be found in The Conversation by former CMAR scientist Roger Jones – http://theconversation.edu.au/spinning-uncertainty-the-ipcc-extreme-weather-report-and-the-media-4402

 Extremes report key findings

For Australia, it is very likely that there has been an overall decrease in the number of cold days and nights and an overall increase in the number of warm days and nights,

There is low confidence that any observed long-term (i.e., 40 years or more) increases in tropical cyclone activity are robust, after accounting for past changes in observing capabilities.

It is likely that there has been an increase in extreme coastal high water related to trends in mean sea level in the late 20th century.

It is likely that anthropogenic influences have led to warming of extreme daily minimum and maximum temperatures on the global scale. There is medium confidence that anthropogenic influences have contributed to intensification of extreme precipitation on the global scale. It is likely that there has been an anthropogenic influence on increasing extreme sea levels via mean sea level contributions. There is low confidence in attribution of changes in tropical cyclone activity to anthropogenic influences.

It is virtually certain that increases in the frequency and magnitude of warm daily temperature extremes and decreases in cold extremes will occur through the 21st century and it is very likely that the length, frequency and/or intensity of warm spells, including heat waves, will continue to increase over most land areas.

IPCC terms | Virtually certain:  99-100% probability | Very likely:  90-100% probability | likely:  66-100% probability | About as likely as not:  33 to 66% probability | Unlikely:  0-33% probability | Very unlikely:  0-10% probability | Exceptionally unlikely:  0-1% probability

 

Virtual Farm Project

Posted on by
Reply

By Julian Cribb

Here is an Australian science communication project with potential to make a difference to human history.

It’s called the Virtual Farm and it proposes the universal sharing of the word’s food production knowledge in real time and at lightspeed, in order to prevent famine and food insecurity.

I have lately been discussing it with leading European banks, the Vatican, the Gates Foundation, key NGOs and aid agencies and certain heads of state.

I’m looking for highly talented science communicators, especially with skills in IT and virtualisation, and a strong sense of commitment to the human future, to help make it a reality.

Read a text only version of the Discussion Paper here or email me for a full copy.

If you’re interested, please contact:

Julian Cribb FTSE

jcribb@work.netspeed.com.au

Julian Cribb & Associates

ph +61 (0)2 6242 8770 or 0418 639 245