s
The gift of education: how the community helps QUT February 2010
alumni magazine
contents
Profiles
VOLUME 13 NUMBER 1
Regulars
NEWS ROUNDUP 2 RESEaRch UPDatE 18
alUmNi NEWS 21
KEEP iN tOUch 23-24 laSt WORD
by Vice-chancellor Professor Peter coaldrake
- See inSide back cover
Our cover
Kate Brand, pictured with daughter Ada, is a beneficiary of the generosity of the QUt community.
She was the inaugural winner of the John F. lynch Scholarship in Engineering.
See pages 4-6 for more stories.
editor ian Eckersley p: 07 3138 2361 e: ian.eckersley@qut.edu.au contributors
Nadia Farha, Sandra hutchinson, mechelle mcmahon, Sharon thompson, Niki Widdowson, Rachael Wilson
images Erika Fish design Richard de Waal
lin ks
alumni magazineQUt Links is published by QUt’s marketing and communications Department in cooperation with QUt’s Alumni and Development Office. Editorial material is gathered from a range of sources and does not necessarily reflect the opinions and policies of QUT.
cRicOS No. 00213J
7 3 20 10
Designing houses for bushfires
Possum skin coat tells of extraordinary journey Parties and voters turn to women
arctic ice holds key to climate change
Research
13 1 17 19
Girls’ violence on the rise
No pie in the sky garden
industrial designer receives australia-china accolades aussie horror
flicks a lure for tourists
Features
4 5 16 9
Philanthropy helps young women Bequests benefit from artistic passion independent music Project – what a jam!
Quality care from QUt health clinics
In focus
churchill Fellowship winner liz Skitch travelled to Japan to study children’s theatre.
Page 15.
5 7
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Professor Kerry Carrington shocked people when she revealed a link between cyber-bullying and an increase in violence among young women.
QUT’s head of justice Professor Kerry Carrington gained nation-wide coverage when she revealed a link between cyber-bullying and an increase in violence among young women.
The results are also featured in her book Offending Youth:
Sex, Youth and Crime, which was published last November.
Professor Carrington, pictured above, has collected 47 years of data and can confirm, contrary to general academic opinion, young women are fast catching up to boys in violent crime.
She said her data backed up anecdotal reports that violence among girls was increasing.
“There’s been a long-running dispute whether it was happening, but this data shows a pattern of statistics that point to a clear trend,” Professor Carrington said.
“And it is not just in Australia but across Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States as well.”
Professor Carrington said there were different theories about why this was the case, including treating girls’ crime equally with boys’ crime and increasing female participation in what used to be traditional masculine roles, but these did not adequately explain the recent sharp increase.
“Increases in violence began when girls began moving into drug and street cultures in the 1980s, but the most significant increases in violence were in the past decade,” she said.
“Girls are taking to cyber space, e-technology and mobile phones with a passion and evidence shows girls are more likely to use these to bully.
“These technologies massively inflame conflict between girls. Increasingly, girls are bashing other girls and videos of these are being put onto YouTube.
“Bullying used to cease at the end of the school day, but now it follows you home and can escalate overnight.”
Professor Carrington said a long-standing reluctance to accept increasing violence between girls meant there were few specific programs to address it.
“The majority of rehabilitation programs focus on boys’
delinquencies which may not be as effective in dealing with violent girls,” she said.
Professor Carrington said from 1960 to 2007, the ratio of young women to young men appearing before the NSW Children’s Courts for criminal matters has narrowed from about one in 14 to one in four and girls continued to narrow the gap in violent crime.
“Boys’ crime rates are falling in overall terms, but within that, rates of sexual violence are an increasing concern,” she said.
“Girls’ crime rates are increasing overall and girls’
violence, usually directed towards other girls, is increasing.”
- Rachael Wilson
Girls’ violence on the rise
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news round-up…
NEwS oF NEw AppoINtmENtS, UNIvERSItY SUccESSES, AchIEvEmENtS oF StAFF ANd StUdENtS, ANd coRpoRAtE EvENtS.Stronger Smarter Institute
QUT’s Stronger Smarter Institute has received a $16.4 million grant from the Australian Government to continue its work on successful strategies for Indigenous education. The funding was announced during the institute’s inaugural Stronger Smarter Summit in Brisbane last year.
The institute is a partnership between Education Queensland and QUT and is led by Dr Chris Sarra – a QUT education graduate, pictured above, who was Queensland’s nominee for this year’s Australian of the Year.
The institute has received funding from the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, the Queensland Government, the Telstra Foundation and the Sidney Myer Fund.
More top teachers
QUT academics dominated the 2009 Australian Awards for University Teaching, winning three individual prizes and a programs prize. The Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) gave Awards for Teaching Excellence to Dr Robyn Nash (Faculty of Health), Dr Martin Murray (Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering) and Dr Margaret Lloyd (Faculty of Education).
The university also won an award for services supporting student learning, through its equity scholarships scheme.
Two QUT lecturers – Professor Des Butler from the Faculty of Law and Associate Professor Chris Collet from the Faculty of Science and Technology – also won ALTC teaching fellowships last year.
New Dean of Health
Professor Andrew Wilson, pictured right, has been appointed as the new Executive Dean of Health. He was previously Deputy Director-General, Policy, Strategy and Resourcing, with Queensland Health and has also been a professor of public health at the University of Queensland.
Q150 Time Capsule
A time capsule containing messages from Queenslanders about life in 2009 has been buried in the grounds of Old Government House on QUT’s Gardens Point campus. The capsule was part of the Q150 celebrations commemorating the State’s 150th birthday and will be opened in 2059.
Precinct builders
Leighton Contractors has won the tender to build the new $205 million Science and Technology Precinct at Gardens Point campus. Demolition work is already underway, with the precinct due for completion in 2012. It will include two multi-storey towers for learning and research, food and retail spaces, and a swimming pool and gym.
Walkley winner
QUT journalism alumnus Michael Best has won his industry’s most prestigious honour – a Walkley Award – for his contribution to a Seven News television story on police corruption. Mr Best, pictured above, and three colleagues won the award for best investigative journalism in any medium at the 54th annual Walkleys in November.
Grey nomads “winging it”
A QUT Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety (CARRS-Q) study has found that many older drivers who take to the road are ill-prepared for their dream trip around Australia.
The study found that while 92 per cent of those surveyed (631 travellers aged 55 and over) towed caravans, only about 50 per cent of them had “extensive towing experience” and most had little experience in driving on unsealed or narrow bitumen roads.
The CARRS-Q findings prompted a call for free driving and safety education at places where these travellers congregated – such as caravan parks – as they were keen to address their lack of information and experience once they had experienced life on the road.
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IT’S bushfire season and Ian Weir is expecting to be busy on the phone with journalists to once again talk about if and how people, houses, bush and firestorms can be reconciled.
Dr Weir, who lectures in QUT’s School of Design, pictured above, unwittingly became one of Australia’s experts on
“fireproofing” houses after dedicating 10 years of his life to “elevating and celebrating” the heathlands of Western Australia where he grew up.
“Heathlands are fire-prone but quickly regenerate after fire, which is just as well as they have amazing biodiversity which has been recognised by UNESCO,” Dr Weir said.
“Botanists say this landscape has never been glaciated;
they’ve found 78 unique species and in some areas there are only 100 individual plants left.”
Dr Weir views bushfires as an opportunity for a whole new way of thinking about architectural design and as a stimulus for creativity rather than fear.
For his PhD research he worked with botanists to design better ways to live in the midst of a wild landscape while preserving and respecting the beauty and intricacy of the native ecosystem.
Dr Weir’s first heathlands house, pictured above right, won two awards last year for timber engineering and construction innovation with the owners choosing a smaller house and
spending around $70,000 on design features to make it
“bushfire responsive”.
“No house can be bushfire proof,” said Dr Weir. “Bushfire responsive means the house responds to conditions of bushfire, collecting water and regulating sprinklers powered by using solar energy. It’s designed to protect itself, even when the owners are away.
“It is clad in reinforced cement sheeting and is heavily insulated. Electronically-operated shutters control sun exposure, act as fly screens and in the event of fire protect the glazed windows and doors from radiant heat and fire-borne projectiles.”
Following the 2009 Victorian bushfires, Dr Weir was asked to design houses for that state’s conditions using similar principles.
“My houses have a fire-resistant retreat, which also contains the wet areas for everyday use – laundry, toilet or bathroom – but are sealed and ventilated to give the residents two hours’ sanctuary,” he said.
“Some people say we have a right to clear the land for fire safety but that’s a flawed assumption. Instead, I believe we need to find completely new ways to live with our fire-prone landscapes.”
- Niki Widdowson
The tragic Victorian bushfires gave Ian Weir the opportunity to design fire responsive houses.
Bushfire
response
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learn 4 Live and learn
YOUNG women from rural and remote areas will be given the chance of a QUT education, thanks to the generosity of philanthropist Laurie Cowled.
The former Sydney banker, who is now a writer based on the Sunshine Coast, has donated land to QUT which will be sold to fund scholarships for women who may not otherwise have access to a university education.
She said she and her late husband, Ron Macnamara, had always vowed they would leave their estate to charity, and after his death she decided that she wanted to donate the land straight away.
“I could have just made a will saying where I wanted my estate to go upon my death,” she said.
“No – I wanted to be able to see who I could help before I turned 110: that’s my use by date!
“To see an enthusiastic young woman thrive in her chosen field of study and to know I gave her a helping hand is thrilling.”
Ms Cowled received an official “thank you” last year during a lunch in her honour at Old Government House, where guests included students who had received scholarships from QUT’s Learning Potential Fund.
It is a perpetual fund for disadvantaged students and is supported by the community.
Ms Cowled herself was raised in rural New South Wales and strongly believes all women should have the opportunity to gain as much education as they want.
“I believe that education is a fundamental right for everyone, whether or not the family can afford it, or if the person is living in the country or the city,” she said.
“By giving a helping hand through the Cowled Gift, I hope students are inspired to aim higher, follow their dream and know they are supported by someone eager to advance their cause.”
Ms Cowled’s gift to QUT will allow six Cowled Learning Potential Fund Scholarships and one Laurie Cowled PhD Scholarship to be offered every year to women who want to study education, architecture, science or creative arts.
It will also fund the Fostering Executive Women Award, which will enable a QUT Faculty of Business postgraduate alumnus to complete a leadership course with the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program.
- Sharon Thompson
The generosity of the QUT community has helped students achieve their goals and provide world-class university facilities and resources.
Philanthropist Laurie Cowled, left, with scholarship recipient Jessica Quinn.
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ART is a passion for Shane and Sally Thompson and one which they hope will last forever.
Their extensive collection – which includes works by Jon Molvig, Tony Tuckson and Robert Klippel – is destined for QUT where it will be enjoyed by future generations, following the Brisbane couple’s decision to bequeath 150 artworks worth an estimated $1 million.
“Sally and I are both graduates of institutions with historical links to QUT,” Mr Thompson said. “We married not long after graduation and have collected contemporary art ever since.”
Mr Thompson graduated from architecture in 1979 (when QUT was QIT) and these days is principal of BVN Architecture – one of Australia’s largest architectural practices, with offices in Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney, and a staff of more than 275.
Mr Thompson was involved in the university’s Cultural Precinct advisory committee and has a high regard for the QUT Art Museum and the university collection.
“There’s a strong resonance between QUT’s contemporary collection and our collection so it’s a fitting union,” he said.
The Thompsons, like fellow collector William (Monty) Howard, were also motivated by a desire to have their works expertly cared for and publicly accessible.
Mr Howard had family links to QUT and gave 49 works to the QUT Art Museum in 2007, including paintings by Archibald Prize winners Judy Cassab, Ray Crooke and Clifton Pugh. He passed away last year and bequeathed more prints and paintings to the university.
Renowned artist Betty Quelhurst was another avid supporter of the museum. During her lifetime she donated numerous works as well as $300,000 to acquire contemporary Australian works by women.
The Thompsons are now members of QUT’s 1849 Society – an important group of people who have advised QUT that they have included a bequest to the university in their will. The year 1849 is significant because it is the year QUT’s first predecessor institution began as The Brisbane School of Arts. Members are kept informed of university activities, developments and events.
Visit www.giving.qut.edu.au for details on how to be part of the society.
- Mechelle McMahon
Passion A passion TO LAST FOREVER
One couple’s passion for art is leaving a lasting legacy through a $1 million bequest.
THE G IF T O F ED AT UC
IO N THE G IF T O F ED AT UC
IO N
Shane and Sally Thompson
QUTLINKS FEBRUARY ’10
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THE passionate interests and vision of one of the world’s great philanthro- pists is helping shape QUT’s built environment and its engagement with the world as well as some of its research.
Irish-American Chuck Feeney, pictured, founded The Atlantic Philanthropies to support capacity building, infrastructure and research projects across the globe.
The foundation most recently gave QUT a
$25 million Founding Chairman’s grant to com- plete the university’s fundraising campaign for the new $205 million Science and Technology Precinct at Gardens Point campus.
QUT’s presence in the thriving Kelvin Grove Urban Village has also been boosted by At- lantic, which was a major contributor towards the flagship Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, and the Centre for Physical Activity, Health and Clinical Education.
In other health areas, the foundation has also awarded two grants totalling more than
$10 million to the Faculty of Health so that QUT experts can work with their Vietnamese counterparts to improve the quality of public health teaching and the standard of nurse training in Vietnam.
And, appropriately, the QUT-based Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies has also benefited. Grants have been used to establish a centre chair, organise a conference on charity law reform and research philanthropy by high net-worth individuals.
Atlantic has made an $AU250 million in- vestment in research across south-east Queens- land’s institutions in the past decade.
“The contribution that The Atlantic Philan- thropies has provided is really like the glue that has helped put together the relationships between the institutes and universities and the State Government,” QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake said.
“We are forever grateful for that contribu- tion – it’s been fantastic.”
Did you know?
The community took QUT to heart last year with record donations and bequests pouring in.
The university received about $30 million in support, including cash and in-kind donations, bequests, corporate sponsorship and government grants.
People were keen to support areas including vital health research, scholarships and student assistance programs, building programs and cultural endeavours.
Sussess Engineering success
GRADUATE engineer and mother Kate Brand was the inaugural winner of the John F. Lynch Scholarship in Engineering for the final year of her course at QUT.
The scholarship supports students with a particular interest in water conservation and management and a capacity to contribute to the future of the engineering industry.
Now a graduate engineer specialising in mine water management for Klohn Crippen Berger, Ms Brand was already working for the company during her last two years of study. She combined that double workload with caring for toddler Ada.
“The scholarship made a huge difference,” she said.
“My daughter was able to go to daycare more often at a time when her grandma was not well, and I was able to cut down the amount of work hours I was doing and devote more time to studying, and my daughter and husband.”
John F. Lynch, an engineering alumnus of Central Technical College (one of QUT’s predecessor institutions), built many iconic structures across Queensland, including the public grandstand at Doomben racecourse, hotels and taverns for Castlemaine Perkins, and the Eumundi Brewery.
The memorial fund in his honour provides scholarships for engineering students with an interest in water management and conservation – an area he was passionate about.
- Mechelle McMahon
Aid
Atlantic aid
Kate Brand with her daughter Ada.
THE G IF T O F ED AT UC
IO N THE G IF T O F ED AT UC
IO N
An Indigenous skull on a family mantlepiece
prompted an extraordinary journey.
Sussess
Cloaked in
gratitude
A RARE, hand-crafted cloak envelops John Danalis not only in possum skin, but in a rich and absorbing story.
The patchwork of skins depicts, in figures and symbols of the Wamba Wamba Clan, the story of a returned ancestor. It also tells of John Danalis’ extraordinary journey from ignorance to a profound appreciation of Australia’s first people.
The cloak was presented to him by Wamba Wamba elders from northern Victoria after John, pictured, returned the skull of one of their ancestors which had been displayed on his family’s mantelpiece throughout his childhood.
John’s epiphany began in 2005 when he mentioned to his QUT creative writing class that his family had had the skull – called Mary – since an uncle “souvenired it” from the banks of the Murray River in the late 1960s.
“My fellow students recoiled in horror and disbelief. Their reaction was so strong I was jolted into a painful rethink of my family’s actions,” John recalls.
Obsessed with the idea of returning the remains to the clan but unsure how to proceed, John sought the help of QUT’s Oodgeroo Unit.
His awakening and subsequent quest to return, with reverence and dignity, the skull of the long-dead man are detailed in the book Riding the Black Cockatoo, published in June, 2009.
The book details with excoriating honesty how John’s unconscious prejudices and assumptions were challenged every time he met an Aboriginal person involved in the repatriation process. Yet the Aboriginal community accepted and forgave his family and presented him with the cloak made from 30 possum skins in the tradition of the cloaks of the traditional owners of Victoria and New South Wales.
“Traditionally, each person received a possum skin cloak in childhood,” John says.
“As they grew, skins were added so that the cloak literally grew with them. The cloak owner’s story, maps of their country, and personal totems were incised into the skin with oyster shells that were then rubbed with ash mixed with goanna fat to provide vivid illustrations. The cloak went with them from birth to the grave.”
Only five original cloaks remain in existence and three of those are in the British Museum.
Riding the Black Cockatoo was chosen within a few weeks of publication to be on the booklist of Year 10 students in Britain. It is one of seven “texts from different cultures” which includes literary classics such as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.
- Niki Widdowson
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A STELLAR group of professional musicians and producers are forming a constellation worth watching at QUT.
Leading the way is award-winning music producer and musician Mike Howlett, pictured above, who was last year ap- pointed head of music at QUT.
Dr Howlett received a Grammy award for his work producing award-winning British band Flock of Seagulls. He also produced platinum and gold selling albums and had a string of Top 10 UK hits with bands including Gang of Four, OMD, Martha and the Muffins and Berlin.
Dr Howlett has played bass guitar on 22 commercially released albums and still performs with cult legend Gong – the second act to be signed to Virgin Records in the 1970s.
Dr Howlett was responsible for bringing together the members of English rock trio The Police, ran his own record label and was chairman of Britain’s Record Producers Guild.
Born in Fiji, Howlett spent his teenage years in Australia, leaving for the UK in the 1970s as bass player with The Affair, a Sydney group who won a UK trip from the Hoadley’s “Battle of the Bands” competition.
In addition to Howlett, two famous Australian musicians are
set to join the music discipline this year as project mentors.
Solo artist, guitarist and singer Ed Kuepper, a founding member of influential punk band The Saints and a current member of the Bad Seeds, will mentor students.
Robert Forster joins his Go-Betweens colleague John Willsteed who currently works as a music lecturer.
“These recent appointments underpin a powerful new direction for the Bachelor of Music program at QUT, which is connecting students with the highest level of industry mentors to assist them in developing their own distinctive creative voices,” music professor Julian Knowles said.
“For far too long, the business of developing musicians in universities has been disconnected from the realities of practice. QUT will lead the way in turning this trend around”.
Another formidable addition is Michael Smellie, former global COO for Sony/BMG and Asia Pacific head of BMG music company. He has been appointed as an Adjunct Professor at QUT to formalise a relationship with the Institute of Creative Industries and Innovation and the Independent Music Project.
- Rachael Wilson
Hitting the right note
International and local musicians
are merging their talents with
QUT’s music program.
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A record recording
BRISBANE rock royalty, QUT alumni and mad-keen musos didn’t miss a beat when they recorded 150 hours of non- stop music to help celebrate Brisbane’s birthday.
Believed to be the world’s longest jam, almost 900 musicians, 10 million musical notes and a massive 12-bar blues contributed to the musical feat, which took place at the newly acquired QUT Gasworks Studio, a professional recording studio decked with the latest technology run by the music program.
Dreamed up by QUT’s Independent Music Project, The Big Jam featured musicians, production professionals and students tag-teaming for six days until the final musicians and a portable sound recorder were driven to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens River Stage in the back of a Chevrolet.
Among QUT alumni adding their talent to The Big Jam were songstress Tara Simmons and members of rock band Drawn From Bees and metal act Wren.
They were joined by well-known local musicians Ed Kuepper (The Saints), John Willsteed (The Go-Betweens) and Asa Broomhall, as well as QUT music professors Andy Arthurs, Phil Graham and Julian Knowles, and Vice- Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake.
At the finale, Big Jam musicians were joined on stage by more than 385 young string players, members of QUT orchestra Deep Blue and other local musicians for an enormous 12-bar blues – the classic chord progression for improvisation – kicking off a concert for Brisbane’s 150th birthday celebrations.
Making music a day job
AN ambitious project is bringing together a diverse group of researchers to help independent musicians play the industry and make a living by doing what they love.
The Independent Music Project (IMP), an initiative of QUT’s Institute for Creative Industries and Innovation, involves more than 20 researchers from music, creative industries, business, information technology, law and education who will join with artists and industry and government representatives to gain a better understanding of the changing music industry.
Project director Professor Andy Arthurs said the music industry was undergoing the most radical changes it has faced in almost a century.
“New digital technologies have made the production, distribution and promotion of recorded music accessible to anyone with a personal computer or mobile device,”
Professor Arthurs said.
“People can now make high-quality digital copies of music and distribute them globally within minutes.
Established record companies are struggling to make sense of the new industry terrain.”
Professor Arthurs said one of IMP’s major drives was to investigate new ways to help musicians – and others working in the industry – take advantage of this changing environment.
“In Australia, many of the avenues that provided employment for musicians have either disappeared or dramatically changed,” he said.
“The media no longer provides the music-related employment that it used to and new legislative pressures on inner-city and suburban venues have also diminished the number of performance spaces that musicians can work in.
“The internet has also turned the industry on its head, but new sectors have opened and there are opportunities for the enterprising musician, such as composing music for computer games, ringtones and sound-enabled toys.”
IMP was launched last September during the week-long, 150-hour jam at the QUT Gasworks Studio, which featured almost 900 local musicians.
- Rachael Wilson
Hitting the right note
QUT music student Alexandra Cole performs at The Big Jam.
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MARY Crawford virtually predicted the rise of Anna Bligh as Queensland’s first elected female premier and the installation of Kristina Keneally as Premier of New South Wales.
The Federal Member for Forde from 1987 to 1996, Dr Crawford’s PhD research found that when the going got tough or uncertain, political parties and voters seemed to think it was time to turn to a woman.
Dr Crawford’s work showed that when a political party’s fortunes became uncertain they were likely to turn to a woman as has happened in New South Wales with the rise of Kristina Keneally as its first woman premier.
“One has to ask how bad things are for the party when you have women elected as both the premier and deputy premier in NSW,” Dr Crawford, from QUT’s School of Management, pictured above, said.
She also forecast the election of Anna Bligh because female politicians tended to attain high office in times of great upheaval and difficulty.
“Anna Bligh’s victory in her own right came at a time when the global financial crisis and drought, floods and wild storms were impacting on Queensland,” she said.
“The electorate installed her at a time of great political
dilemma: there was a need for large government expenditure to assist those affected by the weather, at the same time as the State’s revenues took a dive.”
Dr Crawford said Germany’s Angela Merkel, Margaret Thatcher and Joan Kirner were also examples of this phenomenon.
“Angela Merkel has been re-elected in the face of the global financial crisis, global warming and terrorism; Margaret Thatcher became prime minister when Britain’s economy was seen as being in decline; and Joan Kirner became premier of Victoria in 1988 when the Labor government was in deep crisis not knowing what to do to resolve the difficulties of the state’s financial institutions,” she said.
“Political novice Maxine McKew’s stunning achievement of unseating a prime minister was the result of a strong desire for change.
“This phenomenon could occur either because voters realise they need an alternative way of looking at things and are willing to try new people, or they feel they have nothing to lose because things are so bad so they will give a woman a turn.”
- Niki Widdowson
A former federal politician who is now lecturing at QUT has shed some light on the battle of the sexes at the ballot box.
Auxiliary
P o wer
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LINDY Osborne was probably destined for life as an aca- demic ... even though it wasn’t originally part of her life plan.
The QUT lecturer had built a name for herself with one of the State’s top architectural firms, but switched to teaching two years ago.
“My father was an academic and my brother and sister work in universities and they all wanted me to as well ... but I was on a different path,” she said.
Those paths merged, however, as her architecture work started focusing on designing education spaces.
Ms Osborne, pictured right, worked on buildings at Griffith University and the University of Queensland and was the senior architect on the $550 million South Bank Education and Training Precinct in Brisbane.
“Becoming an academic wasn’t something I planned on - it just seemed to happen,” Ms Osborne said.
“I started off doing hospital design and worked on a teaching hospital, which led to designing teaching spaces.
“I specialised in designing university and teaching spaces, and then started teaching part-time at QUT. When I was of- fered a full-time position for 2008, I decided it was my chance to be surrounded by students and really get excited about architecture again.”
Ms Osborne was employed under QUT’s Early Career Aca- demic Recruitment and Development program (ECARD) - which includes a one-year development program that fast-tracks university careers and is particularly beneficial for people making the transition from industry to academic life.
“I knew about teaching but I didn’t fully understand the research and service part of life for an academic - ECARD was excellent because it filled the gaps,” Ms Osborne said.
“It was a very supportive environment and it equipped me for that transitional period from working in industry to academia. That really served to build my skills and confi- dence, and validate that I’d made the right decision.”
Ms Osborne said receiving a QUT Vice-Chancellor’s Performance Award had been one of the highlights of her first year of teaching.
Over the next few years she plans to expand her focus to include research and has enrolled to study her PhD at QUT.
“I want to focus on the shift from physi- cal learning environments to virtual learning environments, and what that means for the design of space and buildings,” she said.
QUT’s director of Human Resources, Graham MacAulay, said QUT was the only university in Australia with a dedicated Early Career Academic Recruitment and Development (ECARD) program for those new to academia.
“This program is opening the door to new opportunities for young academics who are keen
to work their way up the university career ladder,” he said.
The one-year development program provides academics with a comprehensive suite of skills, knowledge and abilities to ensure a successful academic career, while providing support and opportunities to develop strong networking and collabo- rative relationships.
- Mechelle McMahon
An architect-turned-teacher is one of the fresh new talents being supported by a QUT career development program.
Academic
designs
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12
AFTER taking eight years to complete a Bachelor of Property Economics at QUT, Andrew Northcott is well on the way to building a national recruitment powerhouse with two of his companies expecting a combined turnover of about $38 million for the next financial year.
The 25-year-old started his labour hire business, Labour Solutions Australia (LSA), with just $800 in 2004, while working from his mother’s living room.
Mr Northcott, pictured, said he “fell into the labour hire business” after hiring himself and his mates out to various employers looking for blue collar workers.
In March 2007 and operating from serviced offices in Milton, Mr Northcott sold part of the business to family friend and managing director of Consolidated Pastoral Company Ken Warriner.
Since then, he has been on a huge learning curve and his business has emerged strongly from the global financial crisis to record a staggering 500-600 per cent growth rate in the 2009 financial year.
“Throughout 2008 and 2009 the business has matured from its infancy stage and we are starting to reap the rewards from our focus on developing our internal systems, process and human capital,”
Mr Northcott said.
The business now services the horticulture, manufacturing, food processing and construction industries on the east coast, while a franchise division was recently launched.
“LSA Recruitment has been in the pipeline for two and a half years and allows independent recruiters to run their own businesses with the backing of a national brand and network of experienced business owners,” Mr Northcott said.
“This business model is entirely scalable and we are aiming to have 150 franchisees nationally within two years as well as rolling out this business to international markets.”
Mr Northcott chose to complete his degree at QUT because the way subjects were taught suited the way he liked to work.
“Elements of the course certainly helped me run the business but the commercial experience far outweighs the theory,” he said.
Mr Northcott who finished his degree in 2009 said it “was finally good to have that piece of paper”.
He is now a guest lecturer at the QUT Faculty of Business.
- Nadia Farha
A labour hire business is paying off for a QUT graduate.
Rich rewards
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A LOVE of gardening and the desire to bring communities closer together led to a seed of an idea for QUT Bachelor of Design student Forrest Gillham.
It took a semester of research plus another semester of design development for Mr Gillham, pictured, to create Sky- Farm – a mini-greenhouse set within a window frame.
“Sky-Farm utilises an aeroponic system where plants can grow in an air or mist environment without the use of soil,” he said.
“A pump and sprinkler system creates vapours out of a nutrient-rich solution and sprays the dangling plant roots.
“Benefits include having fresh herbs and vegetables available at your fingertips, the attractive design, faster plant growth, the fact it is easy to use and low-maintenance, and, most importantly, that it improves indoor air quality and passively cools the area.”
Mr Gillham said his innovation utilised existing window space and ultimately was a scaled up version of a window box commonly seen in Europe.
“There used to be a day when neighbours talked to each other over the backyard fence but now because of more security and higher density living, neighbours no longer interact,” he said.
“Sky-Farm allows these neighbours to connect because it utilises a common area to produce fresh herbs and vegetables that everyone can share.
“It can also be customised to suit any building and easily incorporated into any setting either at home, in classrooms, the office or at cafes.”
Sky-Farm was an example of the type of product Mr Gillham aimed to create which embodied “positive development” design.
“Positive development adds social and ecological value to environmental improvements which go beyond remediation and restoration,” he said.
“Sky-Farm will also help architects, building designers and developers obtain a higher Green Star rating on certain buildings.”
Mr Gillham anticipates high demand for his innovation which he hopes will be specified in buildings throughout Australia and possibly worldwide within five years.
He and two other Bachelor of Design graduates have formed a company called Cradle Designs to market their ideas. He is also planning to travel overseas next year to gain more experience in the industrial design area.
- Nadia Farha
Design alumnus Forrest Gillham is reaching high with his innovative, air-based window gardens.
Farm
Michael Bonning
While doctors look after our health, who is looking out for theirs? The answer is Dr Michael Bonning.The QUT alumnus spent five weeks on a fact finding mission to the UK, US, Norway and Canada researching ways Australia could better protect the health of its doctors.
“Doctors’ health is a huge issue, especially taking into account the high workload, the pressure of the job and the transference issues that can occur,” Dr Bonning said.
“In pushing for the need to take a proactive approach to the health of our medical workforce, I needed a vehicle to help take the initiative in this area.”
So last year, Dr Bonning, pictured above, applied for a Churchill Fellowship to study methods for promoting wellbeing within the medical profession.
“The thing about the Churchill Fellowship is that it opens doors. It gives you access to world-leading experts,” he said.
During his overseas trip, Dr Bonning researched best practice programs that were being undertaken to protect and enhance doctors’ health.
“For example I looked at the way workplaces support doctors and how this results in doctors having less sick days, better job satisfaction, and higher productivity,” he said.
“These practices are not only feel-good measures, but they also have economic benefits.
“If we can look after the health and wellbeing of our
ChurChill FEllOWShiP
From health science to creative industries, a prestigious award is opening doors for dedicated QUT graduates.
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doctors, we are more likely to retain doctors in the profession which has got to be a positive outcome for the Australian community.”
Dr Bonning graduated from QUT with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Biochemistry) and an honours degree in microbiology in 2004. In 2008 he was named the university’s Outstanding Young Alumnus.
Since leaving QUT, Dr Bonning’s workload has been heavy, yet fulfilling. He has completed a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery at UQ and is now working as a resident medical officer at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
“At the moment I am in obstetrics and gynaecology and while I enjoy a number of specialties I feel that procedural physician training might be my direction,” he said.
Dr Bonning is also a Lieutenant in the Royal Australian Navy and holds a number of appointments including being on the board of directors of beyondblue: The National Depression Initiative; chair of the Queensland Health – Residents and Registrars Reference Group; a member of the National Doctors’ Mental Health Project advisory committee and is involved with the AMA Doctors in Training at a federal, state and branch level.
He is a member of QUT’s Alumni Board.
In 2009 Dr Bonning was also named in The Australian as one of 10 Emerging Leaders in Health.
- Sandra Hutchinson
Liz Skitch
Children’s theatre is a powerful art form which can overcome language barriers and be shared between cultures – and QUT graduate Liz Skitch has made it her mission to research how this can be done.Liz, who is a freelance actor, comedian and writer and director for her theatre company deBASE productions, pictured, was recently a recipient of the Churchill Fellowship, and travelled to Japan to look at one of their oldest and most popular children’s theatre company groups, Kazenoko.
She followed Kazenoko as they toured schools, interviewed members of the group and researched how they adapt their work for an international audience – Kazenoko shows tour the world.
She also attended an International Children’s Theatre Festival in Okinawa, where she was able to observe how theatre companies from other countries adapt their work for a Japanese audience.
“It was a wonderful experience, just an absolute gift to be able to focus 100 per cent on the research – I have been to Japan many times and love the country, but in the past I have been working or travelling whereas this time I was able to submerge myself in the theatre world completely,”
Liz said.
“Being awarded The Churchill Fellowship was an honour and opened doors for me in Japan that I otherwise wouldn’t have had access to.
“I spent time with Kazenoko Theatre Company in Kyushu and Kazenoko Tokyo.
“They were incredibly welcoming, and we were able to learn a lot from each other.
I ran workshops with their actors sharing my skills in comedy and clown and
ChurChill FEllOWShiP
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learnt from them about the theatre-making processes that they have developed over their 60 year history as a company.
“Going to the Kijimuna International Children’s Theatre Festival was a really valuable experience too, and I have come back home with recommendations for Australian theatre makers touring their work to non-English speaking countries.
“Music, physicality and editing or translation are some of the methods that can be employed to overcome the language barrier, enabling children from all over the world to enjoy theatre from other countries.”
From here on, Liz will share her findings with theatre companies, festivals and organisations that support and foster theatre for young people and children in Australia, and is looking forward to more international touring and cultural exchange in the future.
In 2010, Liz will be creating a new piece of children’s theatre titled Hurry Up and Wait, which is a co-production between Queensland Theatre Company and deBASE productions.
- Sharon Thompson
THE clinics are open to the university’s alumni and other members of the general public, and provide discounted services in podiatry, optometry, wound healing, psychology, family therapy and counselling, nutrition and exercise.
QUT Health Clinics manager Allison Vautin said they offered the community the best of both worlds – quality care and affordable prices – and also played a vital role in helping train the health professionals of the future.
“Our clinics are staffed by experienced students who work under supervision,” she said.
“They have a real passion for what they do and are able to take time with their clients to ensure they receive the best possible care.”
A standard adult podiatry appointment costs just $20, a one-hour counselling or psychology consultation is only $30, a 1.5hr initial visit to the wound healing clinic is $75 and eye check-ups are free.
The QUT Health Clinics are housed in a purpose-built building at 44 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove and houses a high
standard of facilities and technology, thanks to the university location.
“For example, our optometry consultation rooms are equipped with the latest in visual field analyser equipment and podiatry patients will have access to the latest treatment technologies,” Ms Vautin said.
She said having several services under one roof helped make life a bit easier for people who needed care across several areas, particularly if they were elderly or had a young family.
“People who have diabetes usually have to see a podiatrist for their feet and an optometrist for their eyes, they need wound healing advice for diabetic ulcers and there can be counselling involved too ... here, all of that is in the one building,” she said.
For more information, visit www.healthclinics.qut.edu.au or call 07 3138 9777.
- Mechelle McMahon
Looking after your body doesn’t have to cost you a fortune, thanks to the QUT Health Clinics at Kelvin Grove in Brisbane.
health
Family
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COMBINING a childhood love of drawing, a dream to become an artist and a passion for scientific experiments, Dr Chao Zhao has carved out a remarkable career as an industrial designer.
Since graduating from QUT with a PhD in industrial design in 2008, the Chinese-national has returned to his homeland taking up the influential role of deputy head of the Industrial Design Department of Tsinghua University.
It is this cross-cultural educational connection that saw Dr Zhao, pictured inset, receive the inaugural 2009 Australian China Alumni Association’s Research and Innovation Award in recognition of the significant contribution he has made in his area of expertise.
Dr Zhao has a decade of experience designing new products ranging from express trains to mobile phones, time recorders, printers, air-conditioners, fingerprint recorders and biotechnology instruments.
“I love every product which I have designed,” he said.
“They are like my children - every one has their own particular character.
“My favourite one, I think is the bathroom ceramics design
‘Series-elegant’.
“Its concept is inspired by the traditional symbol of Chinese culture – bamboo. This design redefines the concept and feature of bathroom products.”
Dr Zhao said when embarking on designing a new product, it was vital to engage in research from the users’ perspective.
“I believe that design research and practice should involve not only socio-technical aspects but also socio-cultural dimensions to be the dynamic elements,” he said.
“These dynamic factors play an important role to inspire the new design ideas and link the aesthetics and technology together.”
“Studying in Australia has enriched my cultural experience. I would like to tell Chinese students who want to study abroad that QUT has a unique university value – it is a university for the real world.”
Boasting a wide-scope of product designs has led to Dr Zhao receiving numerous awards throughout his career including four prestigious China Red Star Design Awards.
“I just can’t believe that I have been selected for this award.
I am shocked and so thankful and appreciate this great honour so much,” Dr Zhao said.
- Sandra Hutchinson
A QUT industrial design graduate is spreading goodwill back home in China.
Fine design
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Health savings through better hand hygiene
QUT Associate Professor Nick Graves, pictured above, has been awarded a $500,000 Federal Government grant to reduce hospital infections through better hand hygiene.
Professor Graves, from QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, is working with a number of state and territory health departments and other health organisations to evaluate the impact of the National Hand Hygiene Initiative on reducing healthcare-associated infections in hospitals. A recent study by Professor Graves published in the Australian journal Healthcare Infection, found infections caught in hospitals cost the Australian healthcare system more than 850,000 lost bed days a year.
Toxic tunnels
A new study has found a toxic cocktail of ultrafine particles is lurking inside road tunnels in concentration levels so high they have the potential to harm drivers and passengers. The study, which has been published in Atmospheric Environment, measured ultrafine particle concentration levels outside a vehicle travelling through the M5 East tunnel in Sydney.
Study co-author and director of QUT’s International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Professor Lidia Morawska, said road tunnels were locations where maximum exposure to dangerous ultrafine particles in addition to other pollutants occurred.
Under the limit
A program created by researchers from QUT which has more than halved the number of drink driving offences by the most serious repeat offenders has won a national award.
The Under the Limit (UTL) rehabilitation program developed by QUT’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety - Queensland (CARRS-Q) was announced as a 2009 Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards winner by the Australian Government.
Budding business
The largest Australian study ever undertaken of budding entrepreneurs has made some surprising findings, including questioning the value of business plans. The QUT study is tracking the development of 1400 new and young firms in Australia. The million-dollar four year study, which is now at the halfway mark, is analysing and tracking a wide range of different businesses from around Australia but is combining the academic brainpower of six universities in three countries. Business academic experts from Australia, the United States and Singapore, are involved in the study, led by internationally-renowned entrepreneurship expert, Professor Per Davidsson and Associate Professor Paul Steffens, both from QUT’s Faculty of Business. The study is sponsored by the National Australia Bank and BDO.
Solar flare
Residential solar systems in Queensland can pay for themselves within seven years if households are smart about their electricity usage, research by QUT has found.
As part of an economic study into residential grid-connected photovoltaic systems, engineer- ing expert Dr Kame Khouzam, pictured, concluded solar power had the potential to make money in the long-term.
The key to achieving a return was adopting smart energy-use practices. Installing a minimum of a 1.5kW solar system was essen- tial to making the most of securing the premium electricity rate.
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Horror show
Who would have thought Australian horror films could be a boon for the local tourism industry?
QUT Creative Industries lecturer and researcher, Dr Mark Ryan, stirred great debate in the Australian and international media last year when he examined the growing horror movie industry in Australia and whether they chased potential tourists away or created “dark” drawcards.
Dr Ryan, pictured, recently completed his PhD which looked at the domestic horror movie industry and asserted that Australia’s rich, unique landscape often served as a major character in the genre’s films.
“Horror films hold up a mirror to the dark aspects of a given culture, or underlying cultural fears and anxiety, and in the case of Australian films it is often about a hostile landscape, nature taking its revenge, and also of a fear of outsiders,” Dr Ryan said.
“Often, in Australian horror, the victims are foreigners, backpackers, or outsiders from the city, and one of the key themes emerging within the horror genre is that Australia is a dangerous place for a holiday.”
Dr Ryan said this theme had been explored in Aussie fright flicks such as Wolf Creek, Rogue, Storm Warning, Lake Mungo, Long Weekend and Dying Breed.
“Wolf Creek is an example of using landscape as a character - this vast, endless scope with near-complete isolation, and the sense of foreigners coming in to that. But the landscape is also portrayed as a dangerous and alien entity which is out to get ‘Aussie’
characters that don’t belong,” he said.
“Blackwater is another Australian horror film about nature getting revenge; in that case it was a killer crocodile. In Picnic at Hanging Rock it was a supernatural force. It is certainly a recurring theme.”
Dr Ryan said horror movies with a distinctly Australian flavour were also effective when shown to international audiences.
“To a lot of countries, Australia is still a bit of a mystery and the idea of the outback, this huge expanse of land, is in itself haunting,” he said.
Dr Ryan is now working on a book about the Australian horror industry and continuing his research in the area.
- Sharon Thompson
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IN A lab on Gardens Point campus, infinitesimally small particles from Arctic clouds that could hold the key to understanding the rapid melting of Arctic ice and its effect on the world climate are being analysed by aerosol scientist Professor Zoran Ristovski.
You can’t see them but they are there, unique particles painstakingly collected several metres above the Arctic and stored on minute sticky plates for analysis at QUT’s International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health.
Professor Ristovski, pictured above, was one of 36 international scientists invited to take part in the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS) last year to study the formation and nature of clouds in the Arctic and their role in global ecology.
These tiny particles are responsible for the formation of clouds and fog droplets. Without them clouds and fog would not be able to form.
“The Arctic is under focus by climate scientists because the melting of the ice and the increase in temperature is more marked there than anywhere else,” Professor Ristovski said.
“Our expedition was really a race against time because the current predictions are that at this rate of melting Arctic ice will have disappeared by 2100.
“Part of the Arctic Ocean’s sea ice melts every year in the
summer but a core part, the perennial ice, remains intact. The problem is that more perennial ice is melting each year and less area re-freezes when winter returns.”
He said clouds were crucial to this process because when the sun’s rays fell on the ice in winter, 90 per cent of them were reflected back by the ice and would not cause significant ice melting.
“But in summer, when it is cloudier, the clouds act like a blanket and hold in the heat from the sun,” Professor Ristovski said.
“As more of the ice melts, the sun’s rays are falling on more ocean surface than ice and so instead of being reflected back, 90 per cent of the rays are absorbed by the sea, thus warming it. This warm water could change currents such as the Gulf Stream which warms Europe’s shores so Europe could have an ice age yet the melting of Greenland’s glaciers would raise sea levels.”
Professor Ristovski said his week aboard the Swedish icebreaker, Oden, had given him months of fascinating work to supply his part of the puzzle of the Arctic climate chain and the role microscopic sea life plays in the world’s future climate.
- Niki Widdowson
Cloud A scientific research voyage to study summer clouds in the Arctic Ocean could provide land
some answers to climate change questions.
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jULIE mANNIoN, ALUmNI RELAtIoNS mANAgER
alumni NE w S
ch ap ter an d g ro up ne w s
Recent alumni events
n Alumni Service Awards Three Alumni Service Awards were presented at the 2009 Alumni Board AGM and Volunteer Reception held at Old Government House. Over 70 Alumni, QUT Staff and QUT volunteers participated in the AGM and acknowledged the service of Dr Graham Drummond, Michael Ryan and Teresa Handicott, pictured left, top to bottom, to the QUT community over many years. Dr Drummond has supported the university and in particular QUT Alumni through a number of high level boards and committees. Mr Ryan has also shown his commitment to QUT through membership of Alumni Board for over eight years. Ms Handicott was recognised for her support particularly via the QUT Law Faculty and her role as Chair of the QUT Faculty of Law Founders’ Scholarship Fund Sub- Committee. QUT thanks and recognises these dedicated volunteers.
n Golden Graduates Reunion 2009 QUT’s Golden
Graduates celebrated 50 plus years since graduation from QUT’s predecessor institutions including the Queensland Teacher’s Training College and Brisbane Kindergarten
Training College and the Central Technical College in November. The event is the largest reunion celebrated at QUT with over 500 past graduates coming together at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Golden Graduates morning tea is sponsored by AVEO Live Well and Malouf Group Pharmacies.
n Alumni events help networking
In the last quarter of the year, the Alumni Office hosted over 20 successful Alumni events across Australia. Both Sydney and Melbourne held events in September and October and the annual Honorary Doctorates’ Luncheon and Career Mentor Scheme Reception were also held in October.
Internationally, London, Los Angeles, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, China and Dubai all held events in 2009.
n Launch of AlumniNet Community 2010
AlumniNet is a new online networking tool allowing you to communicate with your fellow alumni and QUT. QUT Alumni will be inviting you to join AlumniNet by email in 2010. To register your most up-to-date email address, please contact us at alumni@qut.edu.au.
Upcoming Alumni Events
n International Events
Malaysia Alumni will host an Alumni Reception on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at Hotel Nikko at 7:30pm in conjunction with the international graduation ceremony also held at Hotel Nikko at 2:00pm on Sunday, March 28.
Singapore Alumni will host their Alumni Reception on Monday, March 29, 2010 at the Marriott Hotel at 7:30pm with the international graduation held on Tuesday, March 30 at 8:00pm.
The Outstanding Alumni Awards Ceremony will be held at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 7:30pm.
The Golden Graduates Reunion will be held at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre on Saturday, November 6, 2010 at 9:45am.
For more information on activities and other QUT Alumni Chapters and Groups, click on the Chapters link at: www.alumni.qut.edu.au or visit the QUT Alumni Facebook page.
Join Our Alumni E-Newsletter
for special offers, alumni events and activities, QUT and alumni news.How to contact the alumni office: Web www.alumni.qut.edu.au E alumni@qut.edu.au P +61 7 3138 4778 Fax +61 7 3138 1514 Mail QUT Alumni GPO Box 2434, Brisbane Q 4001, Australia
Alumni services and benefits
On the address sheet with this issue of QUT Links, you will find details outlining various services and benefits that are now available exclusively to QUT Alumni, including NAB@work, which offers a range of retail banking and wealth management benefits, discounts at the QUT Bookshops, Library Membership (including borrowing and online databases) and performances at the QUT Gardens Theatre.
Are you moving interstate?
If you are moving interstate to Sydney or Melbourne, the QUT Alumni groups would be glad to welcome you. Getting involved with the alumni is a great way to stay connected and network with other alumni. For more information, contact the alumni office at alumni@qut.
edu.au and we’ll help you get connected.
New Alumni groups
The Alumni program at QUT continues to grow with more than 24 alumni chapters and groups now established worldwide.
Some of the recently established groups include: UAE Alumni and the Vice Chancellor’s College of Excellence.
For more information about all of the chapters and groups, visit the alumni website at www.alumni.qut.edu.au.
Cloud land
Left to right, Carmel Pryde, Jennette Lavis OAM and Bailey Pashley.QUTLINKS FEBRUARY ’10
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Colleagues hail former popular lecturer
Indigenous advocate
QUT PhD graduate Dr Mick Adams has been appointed a member of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Research Committee for 2009-2012.
The research committee’s major role is to advise and make recommendations on research grant applications and funding for health and medical research projects, programs, scholarships, fellowships and infrastructure support. The Federal Government allocated more than $700 million in the 2009 Budget to fund such projects.
Dr Adams, pictured, a descendent of the Yadhiagana people of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, graduated from QUT in 2007 in indigenous male health and has been working in the health industry for more than 30 years.
Heritage award
Old Government House continues to receive accolades with QUT’s restoration and adaptation of the property last year receiving the grand award at the National Trust of Queensland Bendigo Bank Heritage Awards.
As well as the John Herbert Memorial Award, QUT also received two gold awards in other categories for the five- year, $15 million painstaking restoration of the 1862-built sandstone house at Gardens Point Campus which was opened to the public in June to mark Queensland’s 150th anniversary.
QUT historian and Old Government House curator, Dr Katie McConnel, received the Governor’s Heritage Award for her development of a multi- media, interpretative, touch-screen display which shows visitors the life and times of Queensland’s first 11 governors and their families who lived in the house from 1862 to 1910.
Global links
QUT is forging a growing reputation as a “global university” thanks to international exchanges such as those facilitated by Professor Jay Yang, from the School of Urban Development.
Prof Yang, pictured, was the first QUT international alumnus to be
appointed as a full professor at the university and is a member of the United Nations’ Sustainable Building and Construction Initiative think tank.
Late last year he led a visit to China of 10 QUT property and construction students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, to study the booming construction industry there.
THERE has been a chorus of praise for former QUT School of Civil Engineering senior lecturer Robin Black who died recently after a long battle with leukaemia.
Mr Black, , will be remembered as a bright, creative lecturer and mentor who was always pleased and motivated to help his students and colleagues, according to many of those with whom he worked in a long and distinguished career.
He was also an “unselfish colleague who led in the development of engineering education,” QUT’s former head of Civil Engineering and Acting Dean of Faculty, Emeritus Professor Keith Wallace said.
Mr Black passed away on August 13, 2009, aged 69.
Mr Black’s engineering career centred on hydrology and hydraulics and included working on the Mareeba-Dimbulah irrigation project in far north Queensland.
He arrived at QIT on February 5, 1968 as a lecturer and in the early years covered any subjects required, regardless of whether they were in his field.
In 1972, he completed a Master of Engineering Science at the University of Queensland and was appointed senior lecturer in fluid mechanics and hydraulic engineering at QUT – a position he held until his retirement in July 1999.
“Over the following 31 years he made a major contribution to teaching and course development within Civil Engineering and across the faculty,” Professor Wallace said.
Mr Black was also a member of the peak industry body Engineers Australia. After he retired from QUT he worked energetically and enthusiastically with Engineering Heritage Australia (EHA) - Engineers Australia’s peak heritage body.
Mr Black leaves behind his wife Robyn, two sons, Chris and Ian (a distinguished QUT civil engineering graduate) and four
grandchildren. - Nadia Farha
