Volume 3 Number 8
QUT’s fabulous Chancellor Billions will be watching Striking gold on the Internet
The Electronic Age
http://www.qut.edu.au
A university for the real world
This edition of QUT Links features several stories about QUT alumni who have found ways to business success through the Internet and other forms of electronic communication.
Electronic commerce has become an academic subject in its own right as well as an increasingly important reality in the business world.
Indeed, this year QUT will offer electronic commerce as a major within the Bachelor of Information Technology program. The Faculty of Business also offers units in the area.
Perhaps more significantly, however, the “e-revolution” has wrought radical change in the way in which we do our business as a university in teaching, research and services to students and staff.
When I first came to the old QIT in the early 1980s, I didn’t even have a computer on my desk.
Today, like virtually all academic and administrative staff, I use a computer for an extraordinary range of functions, to send e-mail, to read the library catalogue, to get my pay advice, even to vote in elections for staff representatives.
For many of our students, electronic communication is almost second nature.
QUT prides itself on having one of the country’s most advanced and student- friendly university Web sites, which is the portal to a vast array of electronic services and information, including individualised timetables and booklists and the ability to nominate tutorial times.
Increasingly, the university is moving towards using the electronic medium to deliver the actual content of courses through e-mail lists and electronic discussion rooms as well as on-line course materials.
The “virtual university” will never replace the interpersonal interactions that are such an important part of university life. But electronic communication creates enormous possibilities for universities to enrich the experience of both students and staff.
Professor Dennis Gibson Vice-Chancellor
QUT Links is published by the QUT Corporate Communication Department, in co-operation with the QUT Alumni Relations Unit.
Design and production by QUT Publications Unit.
Edited by Colleen Ryan Clur.
Photography: Tony Phillips, Suzanne Prestwidge.
Cover picture: Sherran Evans, University of Technology, Sydney.
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Coming up...
1 1
Dr Hirst shines on as QUT Chancellor
2 2
In brief...
4 4
Olympic challenge for broadcasting expert
5 5
Bianca’s art unites two worlds
6 6
Entrepreneurs strike gold on-line
7 7
E-Revolution challenges met head-on
8 8
Graduates recall their golden era
10 10
Witra aims high in Indonesia
Construction giants receive top awards
11 11
Cutting-edge genetic research forges ahead
12 12
Electric bike offers clean transport alternative
13 13
Managing change in the workplace brings key players together
14 14
Statistical research will help hospitals make better decisions
15 15
Unusual route to film-writing success
16 16
Maricha marries music and management
17 17
President’s column ... expanding our links Search on for outstanding QUT graduates
18 18
Alumni news ... at home
Renown artist Verlie Just mourned
19 19
Alumni news ... international
QUT’s on-line community is expanding
20 20
Alumni calendar of events for 2000
21 21
Keep in touch. . .
Cover:
Steve Mitchell
CONTENTS
Avanti stainless steel cappuccino cup and saucer set with
laser engraved QUT logo $29.00
Dr Hirst shines on as QUT Chancellor
P
opular Chancellor Dr Cherrell Hirst epitomises the style of the Queensland University of Technology – hard- working and forward-looking.Dr Hirst was recently reappointed to her position for a second five-year term, and her eagerness to continue
representing QUT in this honorary capacity is typical of her generosity.
Apart from her frequent and demanding appearances as ceremonial head of QUT, she is a medical doctor and director of the Wesley Hospital’s Breast Clinic in Brisbane.
It would probably come as a surprise to many to learn that her QUT job comes with no salary. As she puts it herself, “chancellors of Australian universities are volunteers”.
Addressing a QUT graduation ceremony shortly after her reappointment, Dr Hirst described herself as one among many volunteers who served the university.
“I am certain that the community has no idea just how many volunteers from
the community work within the universities of this country,” she told graduates.
“Within QUT alone I have counted more than 100. Every one of these people give of their time and energy freely – they receive no reimbursement whatsoever – and through their contribution they make our universities richer places.”
Dr Hirst spoke to QUT Links about her sense of excitement at being reappointed Chancellor.
“I never cease to be impressed with people right across this institution, no matter what work they’re doing or what level they’re working at, because there is such a strong commitment to learning and to QUT itself,” she said.
The respect she accords her
colleagues is mirrored by the respect she has won from them.
QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Dennis Gibson has developed a close working relationship with the Chancellor and he is thrilled she is staying on to head QUT in its second decade as a university.
“Cherrell’s reappointment has been greeted with enthusiasm and pleasure across QUT,” he said.
“She has been most approachable and generous to us with her time and has worked hard for the university.”
First approached in mid-1990 by the State’s Minister for Education to join the fledgling university council, Dr Hirst said she hadn’t previously contemplated serving in such a role.
“But I’ve always been totally committed to learning, not just
academic learning, but lifelong learning,”
she explained.
She added an education degree to her medical qualifications shortly before she was offered the QUT Council position.
“I didn’t hesitate for a second when the Minister called, but it was a bit of a steep learning curve because I didn’t really know much about QUT or the higher education sector,” she said.
QUT Chancellor Dr Cherrell Hirst
Dr Hirst, who was elected Chancellor in 1995, said she was optimistic about QUT’s future.
“We’ve come through the first 10 years very well. We’ve learnt a lot together and, justifiably, we’re no longer defensive about our position,” she explained.
“Over the next decade we can concentrate on proving we’ve got what it takes for key stakeholders inside and outside of the university.”
She said careful strategic and financial management had placed QUT in a strong, competitive position.
Dr Hirst has three key aims for the university over the next five years.
“We need to continue working on increasing the visibility of QUT outside of the university – what we do, the issues and challenges we face, our engagement with the broader
community and our overall contribution to society,” Dr Hirst said.
“Internally, we’ll be working harder to increase the sense of belonging among staff and students, as well as increasing their commitment to the university’s overall mission and its progress.
“And, at the broadest level, I believe the higher education sector needs to change the attitude of governments to university funding via the community.
This will ensure the standard of Australian universities does not fall further due to lack of funding.
“Universities are not just another public institution to be starved of resources – they represent the nation’s creative future.”
“She has been most approachable and generous to us with her time and has worked hard for the university.”
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In brief...
GARDENS POINT CULTURAL PRECINCT TAKES SHAPE An exciting arts development for Brisbane is unfolding on QUT’s Gardens Point campus.
Dr Sue-Anne Wallace, the new director of the QUT Cultural Precinct initiative, said the precinct would incorporate The Gardens Theatre and the soon-to-be-opened QUT Art Museum.
She said a $1.5million injection from the State Government, as well as sponsorship from other organisations, had boosted the initiative.
“The Precinct and Art Museum will be officially launched later this year, and we will have commercial ventures coming on stream too. The Gardens Theatre is already proving a popular and versatile venue,” Dr Wallace said.
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EXTRA MOOT COURT OPENS A new moot court has been opened at Gardens Point campus to cater for the expanding programs conducted by the Faculty of Law and the Bar Practice Court.
The moot court was opened late last year by the President of the Queensland Industrial Court, David Hall.
Dr Sue-Anne Wallace
Melanie Simpson
PARTNERSHIP FORGED A state-of-the-art laboratory designed to detect pesticide traces in food and
environmental contaminants in soil and water was launched late last year by QUT and chemical giant Rhône-Poulenc.
Operated by Rhône- Poulenc Rural Australia Pty
Ltd and located within QUT’s School of Physical Sciences, A-QUanT Laboratories will conduct world-class research on agricultural chemicals.
Rhône-Poulenc’s
investment is worth $1million to QUT over the next five years.
IT PROGRAM EXPANDS Students from all over the world are now able to study a Web-based master’s degree from QUT without leaving home.
The Master of Information Technology (Professional) has been offered internationally at QUT since Semester One, 2000 to meet international demand.
QUT LAUNCHES ONE-STOP STUDENT CENTRES
QUT has launched one-stop student centres, making it easier and faster for new students to navigate the university’s administrative system
Students will be able to lodge student administration forms, check and change their enrolments and pay student fees all at one location on each campus after the phasing in of Student Centres on all three campuses.
The state-of-the-art Gardens Point centre was officially opened on February 18 by one of the Dean’s Scholars from the Faculty of Science, Melanie Simpson.
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HONORARY DOCTORATES AWARDED
QUT has presented honorary doctorates to a number of industry and community leaders over the past few months.
Late last year awards went to Queensland business leader Frank Haly AO for his contribution to the business world and to QUT, and to acclaimed writer and palaeo-environmentalist Dr Mary White for her contributions to science.
Early this year honorary doctorates were presented to Queensland’s inaugural Insurance Commissioner Graham Hughes, to the World Bank’s head of mental health and nervous system disorders, Dr Harvey Whiteford, to Grameen Bank founder Professor Muhammad Yunus, and to Australia’s highest-ranking indigenous police officer Inspector Colin Dillon. Dr Whiteford and Mr Dillon are both QUT graduates.
BRIAN JOHNS AT QUT Former ABC managing director Brian Johns has joined QUT’s School of Media and Journalism.
QUT head of Media and Journalism Professor Stuart Cunningham said Mr Johns would be appointed as an adjunct professor.
He said Mr Johns’
appointment would add strength to the School and would confirm for students that they were studying at a leading institution.
Mr Johns said his appointment would provide him with a solid base for continuing his work, particularly in the area of digital broadcasting.
SUMMER PROGRAM BOOMS More than 2,200 students took the option of fast- tracking their studies via QUT’s rapidly expanding summer program during 1999/2000.
The summer program – run from November to February – is a slightly shortened “semester” of 12 weeks that is proving increasingly popular with local and international students.
This past summer QUT offered a record 188 units across its eight faculties.
CARSELDINE GROWING Demand from local businesses for expert writers and speakers has prompted QUT to offer the popular Bachelor of Business (communication major) at the university’s Carseldine campus from this year.
Dr Harvey Whiteford
NURSING STUDY TO ‘GO BUSH’
QUT’s School of Nursing will conduct a year-long study to determine if sending nursing students to the bush for clinical practice
encourages them to later work in rural Queensland.
A $16,000 QUT grant will fund part of the travel costs of sending final-year nursing students to work in rural health centres.
IT’S A MOUTHFUL
QUT has launched Australia’s first Bachelor of Engineering degree which specialises in Infomechatronics.
The new, four-year degree is a joint initiative of the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering and the Faculty of Information Technology and will be offered at the Gardens Point campus.
JUDITH MCLEAN APPOINTED TO QTC HELM
The Queensland Arts Minister, Matt Foley, has appointed QUT Academy of the Arts lecturer Judith McLean as the new chair of the Queensland Theatre Company.
Ms McLean is the co- ordinator of QUT’s Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of
Education course.
Currently the chair of Arts Queensland’s Cultural Advisory Council and a former deputy chair of the Theatre Fund of the Australia Council, Ms McLean has also been a TN! Theatre Company board member.
She is also part of a Government-appointed steering committee which is reviewing programs of assistance to arts bodies across the State.
“This is an important time for QTC as it moves into the new century and faces the challenges of artistic vibrancy and financial stability,” Ms McLean said.
Judith McLean
Olympic challenge for broadcasting expert
4
F
rom what he terms “humble beginnings” in the Brisbane suburb of Deagon, Steve Mitchell will be part of the team broadcasting the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games to an estimated 2.5billion people.A former Queensland Institute of Technology (QIT) electrical engineering graduate, Steve is the director of technical operations for the Sydney Olympic Broadcasting
Organisation (SOBO), host broadcaster for the games, responsible for 1,800 staff.
Steve heads a team of industry professionals charged with the acquisition and operation of broadcast equipment and personnel to cover the 30 sports venues and about 40 sports and disciplines for the games.
Steve is not new to Olympic Games coverage. In 1989 he was part of the Seven Network planning group for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and he was one of two technical operations managers for Seven for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
The technical proficiency which landed Steve these pivotal roles first developed during his student days.
Steve gained entry to QIT in 1974.
“QIT provided a solid base of knowledge and research discipline that gave me the confidence and ability to tackle whatever I wanted to try,” he said.
His first job was with an electrical and electronics distributor.
He later landed a job with the Seven Network in Brisbane. After receiving a grounding in television technical operations, he progressed to a
managerial planning and logistic role in outside broadcasts.
About three years ago, with changes in Seven Network company policy, Steve decided to accept a redundancy package and look for new challenges.
Providence was on his side. Not long after leaving Seven, SOBO was
established in Sydney to begin
preparations for the Olympics coverage.
b y N o e l G e n t n e r
I wouldn’t have an understanding of the task ahead,” Steve said.
But, much like the athletes who have trained so hard for Olympic glory, Steve and his team are ready and prepared to deliver the goods.
“Timing is everything,” Steve said.
“I applied, and was accepted, for the role of director of technical operations.”
He is aware of the challenge ahead.
“If I didn’t say this worries me, and causes me some very anxious moments,
Steve Mitchell
5
A
s a young Aboriginal artist, Bianca Beetson has accepted what many are still coming to terms with – what it means to be “from two worlds”.A QUT visual arts honours graduate, Bianca is a contemporary artist and regional indigenous project officer with Access Arts.
She said she grew up in a Brisbane
“white society” environment, and had little connection with her own indigenous heritage and culture.
This, she said had caused her an identity crisis for many years.
“I didn’t think I belonged in white society because I was too brown, and I didn’t feel fully comfortable there. But then I never could fully connect with indigenous culture because I was too white,” Bianca said.
“I have finally achieved a balance between the two, and I’m accepted by both for whatever reasons, and this enables me to draw on them both.
“I now have the knowledge, the energy and the information to exist in both worlds, which is an advantage.”
The two worlds are particularly apparent in her art, with the inspiration for some pieces based on particular places and scenes in Brisbane.
“I call Brisbane ‘my dreaming’, because it’s where I grew up, and with the use of various techniques and hot, pink, vibrant colours and materials, I often give my work an indigenous identity,” Bianca said.
“Sometimes I mix ochre with an acrylic paint, or use stencils. I combine modern materials in an indigenous context.”
She said only some people understood Aboriginal art.
“It’s a long educational process – even people working in the industry most of their lives still don’t really fully understand it.
“Part of the role I’m trying to play in my work is trying to put indigenous concepts into Western terms,” she said.
Bianca says she has fond memories of her time at QUT. She graduated with a BA (visual arts) degree in 1995 and completed her honours in 1998.
“If it had not been for my taking those three years to go to university and take the initial degree, I know I would never have done anything with my art.
“I followed my dream, although at the time I thought it was an unrealistic dream to pursue, but it paid dividends and I have never looked back.”
Bianca said that her job enabled her to give something back to the
community, but she would like to have more time to share her stories through her art.
“Eventually I would like to be in a position where I can just focus on my art and perhaps have a studio where people can come and work with me, not so much in a collaborative way, but in a way that involves mateship and bondship,” she said.
Bianca’s art unites two worlds
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Bianca Beetson
Entrepreneurs strike gold on-line
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M
ost people look at the world and ask, “Why?”Entrepreneurs look at the world and ask, “Why not?”
These are the people who see a gap in the market and, armed with bravado, business skill and a taste for hard work, take a risk to transform a business dream into reality.
QUT lecturer Damian Hine, who teaches entrepreneurship in the Faculty of Business, said it was all about “seeing windows of opportunity”.
“And that’s dependent on either having technical skills in that area or business acumen,” he said.
“A lot of the time, people assume entrepreneurs are risk-takers, but successful entrepreneurs tend only to take calculated risks, based on either their technical knowledge or knowledge of the marketplace.”
Malcolm Burrows was in an Internet class during his MBA at QUT in 1998 when his business idea struck.
The HR consultant who had worked with mining companies realised the Internet was the perfect vehicle for bringing the scattered mining and resources industries together.
His idea was to provide a “virtual meeting ground”, where mining companies could recruit, where suppliers and companies could strike deals and where people could buy the latest information about potentially lucrative mining strikes, around the world.
“From the first moment that I stepped into the lecture room and saw the Internet on the big screen, I was excited,” Malcolm said.
“I was sitting in my lecturer, Wayne Bucklar’s, class thinking, ‘this is exactly what we need in the resources industry’.”
That idea has developed into a business-to-business and boutique communications and information business called yesresources.com.
The yesresources.com site is a total information and communications service, or portal, for the mining industry.
There are five business units: an Internet Service Provider for the resources industry; web design and hosting; business-to-business trading;
web-based advertising; and boutique information and database products.
Among the boutique information products is a daily strike report and the flagging of all mining and resource discoveries throughout the world. BHP Minerals has become the first subscriber and many other companies are coming on board.
Malcolm’s portal also features a daily and searchable project report outlining major mining projects being undertaken, providing a forum to link project developers and suppliers.
Eighteen months after establishing yesresources.com Limited, Malcolm has solid plans to go global.
In five years, he hopes to open offices in Europe, Canada and the US, and to attain a prestigious listing on the NASDAQ.
Malcolm admitted his plan was ambitious. But he has already raised almost $2million from 150 shareholders without a public listing, and is gearing up for another capital injection. The company plans to list on the Australian Stock Exchange later this year.
“My passion is making companies run efficiently,” Malcolm said.
“I’m definitely an entrepreneur. I have a traditional view of business that if you have a good product, at the right price and in the right place, it will sell.”
Michael Wernicke, who launched Queensland Web design and Internet development company Speedwell Media in 1997, also sees himself as an
entrepreneur.
He ascribed the success of the company, which he co-founded with his brother Stephen, to his business flare
Malcolm Burrows
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b y C o l l e e n R y a n C l u r
E-revolution challenges met head-on
T
he electronic revolution is transforming business at an astonishing speed and this rapid change underlines the need for all professionals to engage in lifelong learning.This was a message delegates took away with them from the first alumni forum held this year by QUT’s School of
Accountancy at the Gardens Point campus.
One of the speakers at the forum was QUT graduate Andrew Brodie, the director for Queensland and overseas services of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. Andrew was part of a high-profile panel which discussed the challenges facing professional associations in the new millennium.
He said the institute’s main responsibility was to deliver education programs to members who wanted to make entry into the profession. The institute also ensured members were provided with on-going continuing professional education.
“The way we communicate with members has been revolutionised by electronic communication,” Andrew said.
However, electronic communication would never fully replace face-to-face forums which gave members the opportunity to network, he said.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants takes an active role in the School of Accountancy. Andrew is a member of the School of Accountancy Advisory Committee which assists the school in promoting its academic activities to the broader community and
in creating useful links to the business community. Andrew Brodie
rather than to any technical IT know-how.
In three years, Speedwell Media has designed Web sites and created Internet solutions for some of the country’s top organisations, including Top 400 companies, Federal and State
Government departments, such as the Australian Defence Force and Tourism Queensland, small businesses, and charities such as the Endeavour Foundation.
After graduating from QUT in 1995 with double degrees in IT and
surveying, Michael worked with surveying firm Heilbronn and Partners.
Within six months, he had an IT management job, and after a year-and-a- half he had recognised the commercial opportunities in Web design.
But the real impetus for Michael came after he visited his uncle in Germany in 1996.
His relative had built up a thriving textiles company which employed 120 people and had an annual turnover of
$25million.
“I was really impressed by his success,” said Michael.
“I had decided by then that I wanted to do something for myself.
“One night, in about September 1996, Stephen and I were sitting at my place and we agreed that the Internet was a growing concern.
“So we decided to start an Internet development company together.”
Three years later, Speedwell Media is a thriving business with 30 staff, and with major expansion planned for the next six months.
Michael Wernicke
Graduates recall their golden era
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T
he inaugural – and hugely successful – Golden Graduates’ Gathering was held at Gardens Point campus late last year.It proved to be a day for reminiscing and gave alumni the chance to renew acquaintances formed more than half a century ago.
Around 600 people attended, including 360 special guests who had graduated at least 50 years ago from one of three QUT predecessor institutions – the Queensland Teachers’ Training College, Central Technical College and the Brisbane Kindergarten Training College.
Eager to renew old friendships, many golden graduates arrived at the assembly point – the Kidney Lawn outside old Government House – well before the official 9am commencement.
The special guests, aged from their late 60s to well into their 90s, enjoyed recalling their student days.
VIP of the day was Mrs Alma Petrie who, at 97, is QUT’s oldest known surviving graduate. Alma joined in with the “youngsters” in a tour down memory lane.
Loving every minute of being on campus, the sprightly Alma sought out old friends.
“I’m anxious to see three teachers (from the 1920s) I have not seen for years, but I send Christmas cards to them,” she said.
A student at the Central Technical College in 1918, Alma was invited to become a teacher in the art department of the college following graduation in 1922.
She was a reluctant teacher at first.
“I really thought I would like to be a commercial artist,” Alma explained.
She taught at the college for five years and was offered a relieving teacher position in Warwick, where she stayed for 10 years.
Alma admitted there was an incentive to stay in Warwick – she was on £15 a week “and that was good in those days”.
During World War Two, Alma returned to the college for a brief period, but not for long. When an opportunity arose for a teaching transfer to Maryborough she took it and was
there for two years before she returned to the college again and got married.
“I just kept coming back,” Alma said.
Husband and wife golden graduates Lynn and Rodney Ruhle said they both looked back on their time at the Teachers’ Training College at Kelvin Grove as “the good days”.
Although both attended the college in 1948-49, the couple did not meet there.
“We met on the teaching staff of the Milton State School about 11 years later and I still remember when I came into the staff room, he said, ‘I have seen you somewhere before’,” Lynn said.
Although it’s more than 50 years since Lynn graduated, she said “we didn’t have the insecurity that young people have today”.
“If we wanted to go on and be a teacher we would be a teacher,” she said.
Rod, now 71, said he had enjoyed his two years at the Teacher’s Training College, Kelvin Grove.
“In those days, the boys and girls were separate, and there just seemed to be more fun when the boys were together,” Rod said.
“We met on the teaching staff of the Milton State School … and I still remember when I came into the staff room, he said, ‘I have seen you somewhere before’.”
From left: Iris Dunn, Joan Muir and Jean Schaumburg reminisce at the Golden Graduates gathering.
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Semi-retired Bob Froud, 75, said he took nine years to complete his Central Technical College architecture course at the Gardens Point campus.
He began his CTC course in 1937, but World War Two interrupted his studies.
“We had to do the courses at night in those days, and I worked during the day in an architect’s office in the city,”
Bob said.
“At half-past-five we would leave the office, tear down and grab a pie and a custard tart at Adams cake shop and eat them coming down George or Albert streets.
“Learning in those days was much the same, only we didn’t have the facilities that they have now.”
After completing his courses, Bob occasionally did some tutoring and lecturing which “gave us a few pounds, shillings and pence”.
Bob still keeps in touch with work through the clientele his practice built up over the years.
Ivy Sexton, 76, and Grace Warren, 75, had not seen each other for more than 50 years when they met at the Golden Graduates gathering.
They had both studied home economics at Kelvin Grove.
Ivy said that, because of the war, the army took over much of the campus area.
She recalled that some classes were held on verandahs.
“It was a bit rough, but still most enjoyable,” Ivy said. “There was always a lot going on and, sometimes, we would cook for the Red Cross – it was good basic training.”
Both later took up teaching positions in regional centres.
Ivy, however, stopped teaching after she married.
“Employers in those days didn’t like their married staff returning to the work force,” she said.
“Learning in those days was much the same, only we didn’t have the facilities that they have now.”
Golden Graduates are led on a tour of the Gardens Point campus by university staff and volunteers.
Witra aims high in Indonesia
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s a young woman in Jakarta in 1988, Witra Sekarasri assisted QUT at an education exhibition providing information to Indonesian students interested in studying in Australia.It sparked her own ambition to study at QUT and a year later she successfully applied for an Australian International Development Bureau scholarship to study at the university.
Just five years after helping out at the exhibition, she graduated from QUT with a Master of Business
Communication.
Today, Witra has her own Jakarta- based training and development consulting firm.
Although she has worked with customers from various industries, her main clients have been those from the
mining, oil and gas, manufacturing and service industries.
Her work has taken her to remote areas, such as mining sites and oil rigs in Kalimantan, Sumatra and Sulawesi – well away from cosmopolitan Jakarta.
“I find working with my clients interesting, challenging and rewarding,”
she said.
“It is a never-ending learning process – I always learn about my clients’
industry before delivering training.”
Witra has also contributed to the development of the Australian alumni network in Indonesia and in 1999 she helped organise the IKAMA (Australian Alumni Association) dinner which was held in Jakarta for 650 people.
She wants to continue to develop her business, but she has an even bigger long-term ambition.
“My vision is to establish a business school, because Indonesia, with a population of 220 million, needs good quality training and education.”
D
eputy Premier Jim Elder has presented prestigious QUT awards to two leaders in the construction industry in recognition of their lifelongachievements.
A Distinguished Constructor Award was conferred posthumously on the late Sir Leslie Thiess late last year.
Thiess Contractors Pty Ltd emerged as the country’s largest construction, mining and engineering company after
A Construction Hall of Fame has been designed and will be built at QUT next year to showcase the names of all Distinguished Construction Award winners.
The award winners are judged by a panel of their peers, including senior academics from QUT, and a range of Queensland industry leaders.
Construction giants receive top awards
it became the first Australian entity to win a major contract on the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric Scheme in 1958.
A second Distinguished Constructor Award was presented to the national president of the Master Builders Association, Jack Hutchinson.
His company, J Hutchinson, has undertaken key construction projects in Queensland, including the Brisbane Arcade, Tatersall’s Club, Brisbane and the Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island.
Mr Elder presented the awards in The Gardens Theatre Foyer at QUT’s Gardens Point campus on December 16.
Sir Leslie’s son, Geoff Thiess, accepted the award on behalf of his father.
QUT’s Dean of the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering, Professor Weilin Chang, said QUT had established the Distinguished Constructor Awards in 1998 as a way of giving back to an industry which had offered strong support to tertiary education.
Witra Sekarasri
Geoff Thiess, son of the late Sir Leslie Thiess
Jack Hutchinson
S o l u t i o n s
Researchers have won major grants and have attracted widespread attention for projects including the diagnosis of infectious diseases, gene research and the development of new vaccines in plants.
These projects were highlighted at a two-day symposium held at QUT’s Gardens Point campus in March to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Centre for Molecular Biotechnology (CMB).
Associate Professor Phillip Morris, from QUT’s Co-operative Research Centre for Diagnostic Technologies, told the CMB symposium that QUT researchers were developing a simple, cheap method to test DNA for disease-related genes, such as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy.
“These tests can be used by pathologists to test for many diseases that currently require sophisticated and expensive DNA analysis,” Professor Morris said.
School of Life Sciences researchers also addressed the symposium on the discovery of a new gene that could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment for prostate cancer.
The new gene, known as KLK4, was identified and cloned over the past 18 months by a research team headed by Associate Professor Judith Clements.
Professor Clements and her team recently won a five-year grant worth more than $1million from the National Health and Medical Research Council to further investigate the role of the KLK4 gene in prostate cancer.
Professor Clements said the gene could, in time, hold the key to more effective and accurate tests to detect prostate cancer, as well as more successful treatments.
“The KLK4 gene is similar to the prostate-specific antigen gene, which is used in the PSA test for prostate cancer,”
Professor Clements said.
“The current PSA test is not very good at discriminating between cancer and simply a benign enlargement of the prostate, which is relatively common in men. The test also doesn’t discriminate between aggressive cancers which are immediately life-threatening and those cancers which grow more slowly.”
In another ground-breaking project, Faculty of Science research director Professor James Dale is heading a QUT team assessing whether vaccines for human viruses,
including Japanese encephalitis, can one day be produced in banana plants.
Professor Dale said the concept of an edible vaccine might give developing nations affordable protection from potentially fatal viruses.
“I think the concept of an edible vaccine is fantastic. Now whether you can actually get a good immune response is very debateable – it is still very early days,” Professor Dale said.
Solutio n s
Cutting-edge
genetic research forges ahead
Scientists from QUT’s School of Life Science are engaged in cutting-edge gene research in both agriculture and medicine.
an overview of research initiatives undertaken by QUT
Professor Judith Clements and PhD student Steve Myers ... working on the KLK4 gene.
S o l u t i o n s
Powered by six batteries, the QUT electric motorbike requires no petrol or oil, and produces no sound, smell or pollution.
The bike has the equivalent power of a standard 250cc bike and travels at speeds of up to 90 kmh.
Electrical and mechanical engineering undergraduates developed the bike over the past two years, under the supervision of Dr Kame Khouzam and Dr Keith Hoffman (pictured above) from QUT’s School of Electrical and Electronic Systems Engineering and Dr Vladis Kosse from the School of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Medical
Engineering.
Dr Hoffman said the bike had been registered.
“Driven at moderate speed, the bike will travel 50km before it needs recharging, which takes one hour in QUT’s lab or about two hours on a home charger,” Dr Hoffman said.
“This makes an electric motorbike an ideal second vehicle for the family, and perfect for driving to the shops or to work.
“There is a market for electric vehicles in Australia and we hope smart business developers will see the opportunity to develop this into a commercial product.”
Dr Khouzam said the need for alternatively-powered vehicles was becoming important so that existing pollution levels and the reliance on conventional energy resources could be reduced.
“On a global scale, the transport sector uses almost one third of the energy needs of a nation and contributes more than 40 per cent of a nation’s pollution,” Dr Khouzam said.
“Experts estimate that we will run out of oil in 40 years’ time and deplete our natural gas reserves within 75 years.”
QUT plans to develop electric motorbikes constructed of lighter, carbon-fibre composite materials, which will increase the range – distance travelled before recharging – and allow faster operating speeds.
New, more efficient, drive systems will also be designed and tested on the new concept bike.
The researchers have also developed an electric car and a new recharger to lessen the time it takes to recharge electric vehicles.
Dr Khouzam, Dr Hoffman and Dr Kosse are looking for sponsors and more undergraduate and research students to become involved in the project.
Engineering student Andrew Macaulay leads the team of students which developed the bike. The project was funded by the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering.
QUT students and academics have developed Queensland’s first registered electric-powered motorbike.
S o l u t i o n s real problems
an overview of research initiatives undertaken by QUT
S O L V I N G
Electric bike
o f f e r s c l e a n t r a n s p o r t a l t e r n a t i v e
Solutio s
S o l u t i o n s
QUT, the Department of Main Roads and the Queensland Audit Office have banded together for an 18-month study investigating how to
successfully manage culture change in organisations.
Masters student Jenny Waterhouse will study culture change within the Department of Main Roads, which has restructured in recent years.
Rise in research grants bodes well for QUT
QUT has secured its place as one of the nation’s top universites in educational research after securing a record number of ARC Large Grants.
QUT is the only university in Australia to be awarded a total of four of the highly-coveted Australian Research Council grants for educational research for 2000.
Overall QUT has more than doubled its ARC Large Grants, to bring the total number for the university from four in 1999 to nine in 2000.
Managing change
i n t h e w o r k p l a c e b r i n g s k e y p l a y e r s t o g e t h e r
Solutio n s
QUT management lecturer and team leader for the project, Dr Kerry Brown, said the study highlighted the close working relationship between QUT’s School of Management and various government departments.
“Jenny works for the Queensland Audit Office, but they have allowed her transfer to Main Roads to complete the
research,” Dr Brown said.
“The study looks at the transition from traditional public administration to a new public management model, which has a more strategic approach and which focuses on managing relationships between workers.”
Collectively, the nine large grants represent a total of
$1million over three years in funding research for the university.
QUT Vice-Chancellor Dennis Gibson has paid tribute to the high calibre of research being conducted at QUT, particularly in the Faculty of Education.
“This university has secured four – or 24 per cent – of the 17 education grants awarded to Australia’s 12 universities,”
Professor Gibson said.
QUT also secured 21 Strategic Partnerships with Industry – Research and Training (SPIRT) scheme grants for 2000.
an overview of research initiatives undertaken by QUT
The QUT, Department of Main Roads and Queensland Audit Office team looking at workplace change.
S o l u t i o n s
The study of biostatistics – statistics devised specially for health research – is booming, and QUT researchers are at the forefront of the field.
A team from the School of Mathematical Sciences has won a
$295,000, three-year Strategic Partnerships with Industry – Research and Training (SPIRT) grant to undertake
biostatistics research for Brisbane’s Prince Charles and Princess Alexandra Hospitals.
Researchers will develop new statistical models to improve the recording and interpretation of key data on patients, medical procedures, drug use and research in the two hospitals.
Including in-kind support, the study is worth about
$750,000 over three years.
Senior lecturer Dr Kerrie Mengersen will lead the research team, which includes Head of School Professor Tony Pettitt, senior lecturer Dr Rodney Wolff and a consortium of staff from the Prince Charles and Princess Alexandra hospitals.
Dr Mengersen said the study of biostatistics was a booming field in statistics.
“Hospitals are being pushed to better justify their clinical and administrative decisions, by using data. This is called evidence-based medical practice,” Dr Mengersen said.
“In order to do that they need to gather the data and, in order to understand the data, they need statistical methods.”
The team will develop new statistical techniques which are tailored to the needs of the health sector, such as measuring and comparing two medical techniques or different drug regimes, predicting rare health outcomes or producing projections of hospital activities or outbreaks.
“We will develop statistical methods that are more appropriate for the type of problems that are faced in hospital research, because most statistical methods are not very good at predicting rare events,” Dr Mengersen said.
“For instance, it’s very difficult to predict the likelihood of a rare event, such as death after heart surgery.
“Biostatistics also allows researchers to better predict the survival rate of patients after cardiac surgery, to predict risk factors for patient outcomes, to compare two types of heart valves or to predict the risk of infection in hospitals.
The study complements the quantitative modelling being conducted by the Queensland Health Care Research Group (a joint venture between Qld Health and QUT), within QUT’s Centre in Statistical Science and Industrial Mathematics.
As a part of the study, the QUT researchers will conduct clinics with hospital staff to provide advice on the statistical component of hospital research projects.
Dr Mengersen said QUT researchers would also benefit from improving their knowledge of medical procedures.
A senior research assistant, research assistant and PhD scholarship holder will be recruited for the research team.
The School of Mathematical Sciences has secured half of all the latest ARC SPIRT grants awarded for maths research across Australia.
The school has won four of eight SPIRT grants for maths, representing approximately 25 per cent of the dollar value of all SPIRT grants won by QUT.
S o l u ti ons
Statistical research
will help hospitals make better decisions
S o l u t i o n s real problems
an overview of research initiatives undertaken by QUT
S O L V I N G
Fiona Stephens ... working in statistical modelling in health.
Unusual route to film-writing success
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D
uncan Kennedy has established himself as a top-notch screenplay writer after earning $US1million for his feature film, Deep Blue Sea, which was released in Australia and around the world late last year.Duncan, who is based in Los Angeles, studied industrial design at QIT
(a QUT predecessor institution), and won a medal for academic excellence in 1988.
“I always wanted to get into film and my way in began with my studies at QIT,” said Duncan during a recent trip to Brisbane.
He squeezed in a tour of QUT’s Gardens Point campus during his visit to the city.
He said he had been struck by the many changes on campus. The
“D Block” where he had studied industrial design was gone – replaced by a state-of-the-art complex which houses the School of Architecture, Interior and Industrial Design.
He said an early hero had influenced his choice of study.
“An influential figure in my life was Joe Johnstone, a designer who worked on the Star Wars films, and who later became a major director,” he said.
“Joe Johnstone also studied industrial design and he was my role model,”
Duncan said.
Duncan said there were strong architectural and design considerations in Deep Blue Sea, an action thriller about killer super-sharks.
“Most of the things I do have a design aspect. When I sent out the script of Deep Blue Sea to studios I included detailed perspectives.
“I’m always sketching out what I write, and the rendering and design skills I learnt at QUT have proved to be invaluable,” he said.
Duncan moved to Los Angeles 11 years ago and began working at the Warner Brothers-Roadshow studio at Coomera as a set dresser on the Mission Impossible series.
Later he studied cinematography at the University of Southern California (USC) while at the same time he worked on set design on the Terminator Two and Maverick movies.
“The design skills I learned at QUT equipped me for Terminator Two and Maverick. Then, as I developed my career as a scriptwriter, I began to blend what I had learned at QUT and USC.
“The previous story I sold was set on a space station and I also did a lot of drawings with that script.”
Duncan is keeping very busy writing a Hollywood TV series, but he aims to become a director.
“You take things a step at a time in this business,” he said.
“For me, writing is a means to an end.
If you really want to see your ideas portrayed in full on screen, then you have got to direct.
“Directing is my ultimate aim, but you have to take a series of steps to get there.”
While Duncan is generous in
attributing his success to his training, it is doubtless his talent and imagination which have made him a rising Hollywood talent.
Duncan Kennedy
Picture courtesy of The Courier-Mail
Maricha marries music and management
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M
aricha Miles used to dream about meeting the superstars of screen, stage and music.Now, as an orchestra manager for the famed Juilliard School in New York, Maricha is living her dream, working with legends like triple Grammy Award winning conductor Leonard Slatkin and internationally-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman.
The Juilliard School is one of the world’s most prestigious music, dance and drama schools, and shares its home, the Lincoln Center, with the world- famous New York Philharmonic Orchestra and Metropolitan Opera.
“Every performance at Juilliard is big,” Maricha said.
“We always have world-renowned instrumentalists, conductors and composers working with the students and I have had the opportunity to work with people like Itzhak Perlman, Leonard Slatkin, conductors James De Priest, Kurt Masur, Robert Spano, and conductors John Corigliano and Peter Schickele.”
Last year Maricha worked on a gala event with many Juilliard graduates, including Kevin Kline, Christine Baranski and Christopher Reeve.
“When I lived in Australia these were people I only read about – now I’m working with them. It’s wonderful.”
As orchestra manager, Maricha assigns musicians to parts, schedules and manages the orchestra’s rehearsals and performances, and also assists with planning, which includes selecting repertoire, and recruiting conductors and soloists.
At only 25, it was Maricha’s unquenchable passion for the arts, her QUT degree specialising in arts administration and an enviable work history that landed her the job at the Juilliard School.
Maricha graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (drama) majoring in Arts Administration in 1994.
She had worked with the Queensland Performing Arts Trust, Youth Music Australia, the New Zealand Opera, the Brisbane International Film Festival and the Queensland Philharmonic
Orchestra, before joining Juilliard.
“I think I was successful in landing the position because of a combination of things: my degree, my musical
background and my work experience,”she said.
“My degree essentially prepared me by introducing me to business in the arts; my background in music helps me understand where the artists are coming from, and having the ability to read
music and scores is very useful; and the work experience is also desirable and necessary.”
Part-way through her Masters in performing arts administration at New York University, Maricha will research summer music festivals, such as Tanglewood and Aspen, and investigate opportunities for similar programs in Australia.
Her research could bring her back to Australia, she said.
“But, if I was offered opportunity to manage the Metropolitan Opera or the New York Philharmonic, it wouldn’t take me long to answer ‘yes’.”
Maricha Miles
Web. QUT alumni are able to “chat”
through the QUT On-line Community.
Amongst other activities, you can log your business card, CV, and discuss issues.
I look forward to participating in many alumni activities during 2000 and to representing the alumni during my second year as President of the QUT Alumni Board.
President’s column … expanding our links
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Alan Chambers President
QUT Alumni Board
L
ast year QUT celebrated 10 years as a university and 150 years of education and service by its predecessorinstitutions. It was also a year in which the university sought to connect with members of its alumni.
As the new century starts, the QUT Alumni Board aims to further
strengthen the links between the university and its alumni, including graduates from QUT and its predecessor institutions.
Throughout 1999, various events, such as the journey of the QUT train throughout regional Queensland, provided opportunities for alumni to renew old friendships and make new contacts.
During the year, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dennis Gibson, enjoyed meeting with alumni overseas in Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong, Bangkok and India and interstate in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Brisbane alumni gathered at a variety of events, including breakfast and lunch functions, theatre evenings and cocktail parties.
One of 1999’s highlights was the Golden Graduates function in October.
Graduates who had completed their studies 50 years ago or earlier, attended this gathering at which they reminisced, toured the university and enjoyed an outstanding performance of
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s
Dream by students from the Academy of the Arts.
The achievements of some of our alumni were recognised through the Outstanding Alumni Awards, which is growing in significance in the
community. I invite all alumni to attend the Outstanding Alumni Awards ceremony to be held later this year.
Keep your eyes out for the dates for QUT Alumni events in Brisbane, as well as interstate and throughout the world.
(See the Alumni Calendar of Events on page 20 or check QUT’s What’s On site on the Web.)
One way you can connect with the university is through attending the opening night of performances of the Academy of the Arts at The Gardens Theatre. Opening nights will be QUT alumni evenings. If you haven’t been to one of the Academy performances, I can assure you that you will be delighted at the professional standard and innovative productions.
The Australian Universities
International Alumni Convention 2000, to be held in Kuching in Malaysia in August, will provide a wonderful opportunity for some of QUT’s alumni to meet. If you are in the region between August 24 and 27 please consider attending this exciting event.
Another way of connecting with other alumni is by e-mail and on the
please nominate that person now for the 2000 QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards.
All graduates of QUT, QIT, BCAE, Central Technical College and their predecessor institutions are eligible.
DO YOU KNOW AN OUTSTANDING QUT GRADUATE?
QUT has produced some outstanding graduates in many fields.
If you know a graduate who has made a significant contribution to a profession and to the community,
Search on for outstanding QUT graduates
For more information about the Outstanding Alumni Awards, or to obtain a nomination form, e-mail Jill Dale at [email protected]. or call her on (07) 3864 2821.
Nominations close on Friday, May 26.
Alumni news ... at home
18
QUT ALUMNI KEEP IN CONTACT Alumni reunions proved to be so successful in 1999 that they will be repeated later this year.
Melbourne
An evening function for 30 alumni was held at RMIT University in Melbourne last April. It was hosted by Vice-Chancellor Professor Dennis Gibson and Development Office head Dr Daniel
McDiarmid.
Canberra
About 20 alumni met Professor Gibson and Alumni and Development Services head Julie Mannion at a cocktail function on July 9 at University House, Australian National University.
Sydney
Professor Gibson was delighted to welcome 80 Sydney alumni to a cocktail reception held on December 2 at the Wentworth Hotel in the heart of Sydney.
Professor Gibson presented QUT Foundation certificates to John Coburn and Lou Klepac.
For future dates and locations visit the Alumni Web page www.qut.edu.au/draa/alumni or check the Alumni Calendar of Events in the next issue of Links.
Vice-Chancellor’s breakfasts Professor Gibson regularly hosts Vice-Chancellor breakfasts in Brisbane for small groups of alumni.
Last year he met with graduates from across QUT’s eight faculties.
Professor Gibson said he enjoyed the opportunity of meeting and talking to graduates from Brisbane and across Australia.
Deans’ breakfasts Last year Dean of Built Environment and Engineering Professor Weilin Chang, Dean of Business Professor Sandra Harding and Dean of Health Professor Ken Bowman also hosted breakfasts for graduates.
The deans said the events were an excellent way to maintain links with industry and discuss QUT’s plans.
Theatre evenings
Alumni came in large numbers to special Academy of the Arts productions at QUT’s recently refurbished theatre at Gardens Point campus. During 2000 alumni will be invited to opening nights. To check performance dates visit QUT’s Web site at http://www.qut.edu.au.
If you would like to be added to the alumni events invitation list please e-mail Jill Daleat [email protected] or call (07) 3864 2821. When replying please include your business contact details.
Career mentors’ reception A reception was hosted last October by Chancellor Dr Cherrell Hirst for mentors who had assisted 237 final-year students during 1999.
Journalism student Brendan Smith and mentor Dana Sanders from Channel Nine’s Extra program addressed the event.
They were presented with a Certificate of Participation and Certificate of Appreciation respectively by Alumni Board president Alan Chambers.
New disciplines to become involved in the scheme last year were accounting, journalism, public health, communication, international business, marketing and psychology.
If you would like further information regarding the Career Mentor Scheme call (07) 3864␣ 2647, e-mail
[email protected] or visit http://www.qut.edu.au/draa/
alumni/alumni_mentor.html
Renowned artist Verlie Just mourned
R
enowned artist and QUT alumnus, Mrs Verlie Just OAM, died on January 10, 2000 after a heart attack.Verlie graduated from the Central Technical College Art Branch in 1940 and had a long and colourful career.
She was widely known for her art and also for her Town Gallery and Japan Room.
Verlie returned to her old CTC stomping grounds
(now QUT Gardens Point campus) last October for the Golden Graduates’ gathering, which she attended with her husband, Arnold, himself a CTC graduate.
Survived by Arnold and their daughters Jeraldene and Janene, Verlie’s memory will live on in her art, her gallery, and in the people whose lives she touched.
The new Gardens Theatre was opened last year.
Picture courtesty of The Courier-Mail
19
Hong Kong
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dennis Gibson, hosted an alumni cocktail party attended by over 40 graduates at the Hong Kong Convention Centre last October. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake presented Joseph Kwan (DipArch, 1976) with an Outstanding Alumni Award for Excellence in Contribution to the Community at the event.
The Inaugural Alumni Dinner was held in Hong Kong in March at the Regal Hong Kong Hotel. Professor Coaldrake and QUT Chancellor Dr Cherrell Hirst hosted the event and Mr Simon Lee, Commissioner – Qld Trade & Investment Office was a special guest of honour at the reception.
Alumni news … international
Singapore
A large number of Singapore alumni enjoyed a special free screening of the Australian film Paperback Hero and post-movie refreshments at the Golden Village Marina in October. A special thanks to all alumni and friends who helped organise this fun event.
The annual Dinner Dance was held at the Oriental Hotel in Singapore in March. Guests were
“dressed to kill” at the evening of fun, games and good food.
About 140 people danced the night away at the event sponsored by Avex Trax, CMS, Hui & Kuah, Pacific Wave, Qantas and Rosemount Wines.
Taipei
Some 25 alumni and guests enjoyed a buffet dinner at the Howard Plaza Hotel in Taiwan last October. Professor Gibson was delighted to meet with the alumni, some of whom had travelled long distances to attend the dinner, despite the recent earthquake damage in the region.
and personal information is only accessible by registered users and the site is password-protected.
Whether you wish to get your free e-mail, post your resume, be an on- line mentor, or find a lost friend, make sure you register and come back often. This is your Alumni On- line Community.
As a first time user, visit: http://
www.qut.onlinecommunity.com/ and use your alumni ID (a unique identifier
O
ne of the most excitingcommunication developments is the emergence of on-line communities – places where people with similar backgrounds, interests and
experiences gather to exchange ideas and information.
Parts of the QUT Alumni site, including the On-line Directory, Chats and Discussions, and the Networking Circle areas will be accessible to alumni only. Proprietary
found above your name and address details on the fly sheet accompanying this magazine).
If you have discarded the fly sheet, just enter your surname and submit without providing your ID.
It will take about two days to verify your details and provide registration.
For more information, contact Leesa Watkin on (+61␣ 7)␣ 3864 1837 or e-mail [email protected]
QUT’s on-line alumni community is expanding
QUT alumni contacts in Taiwan are Kevin Chen, e-mail [email protected]; Jennie Lu, e-mail [email protected];
Samantha Hsu, e-mail [email protected];
Irene Cheng, e-mail [email protected] Bangkok
QUT alumni in Bangkok enjoyed the opportunity of meeting with Professor Dennis Gibson at a special reception held last November.
QUT alumni contact in Bangkok is Achara Sae-Ting, e-mail address
[email protected] Jakarta
QUT alumni gathered at the IKAMA Dinner in November in Jakarta. A special thanks to Witra Sekarasri who helped to organise a table of QUT graduates at the function. QUT alumni contact in Indonesia is Witra Sekarasri, e-mail [email protected]
From left: Professor Peter Coaldrake, Joseph Kwan and Julie Mannion
