Latest Alert can be read by RSNZ
members on the web: http://www.rsnz.org/news/sciencealert.php
Contents:
1. Recognition of Young Scientists
2. The Charles Darwin Theatre
Project
3. Professor Paul Callaghan Awarded
Blake Medal for Leadership
4. Fusionz Listings: Science and
Technology Jobs
5. COST: Cooperation with Australia
and New Zealand
6. Advanced Biology Training
Course, US Mcmurdo Station, Antarctica
7. Functional Plant Biology Papers
Freely Available Online
8. Our Changing World on Radio New
Zealand National Tonight
9. Asia-Pacific Regional Space
Agency Forum, November, India
10. National Trout Centre Virtual
Field Trip - Next Week
11. Teacher Fellow Follows the Orca
1. RECOGNITION OF YOUNG SCIENTISTS
Comment by Professor Tom Barnes,
Royal Society Academy Councillor and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research),
University of Auckland
Try searching on Google for
"Young Scientist Award" and you will get about 1.3 million hits. When
I did this last week, hits number 2,3,4 and 5 led me to descriptions of the
MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year awards run by the Foundation for
Research, Science, and Technology.
The MacDiarmid awards were the only
awards in the top ten aimed at young researchers who are still undertaking or have
just completed PhD study, selected on the basis of a submission of their work
in a competitive judging process.
A search for schemes similar to the
MacDiarmid awards but under different names gave similarly slim pickings. For
example, "Early Career Award" gave over 17 million hits. I have to
admit that I didn't investigate every single hit, but the vast majority described
research grant programmes for early career scientists. The scheme closest to
the MacDiarmid awards appeared to be the Presidential Early Career Awards in
Science and Engineering (PECASE) administered through NIH, NSF, and other
funding agencies in the United States. But this again is somewhat different to
the MacDiarmid awards, as PECASE targets researchers further along in their
career.
Those of us who had the privilege
of attending the MacDiarmid Awards dinner this year will know that the people
who gain these awards are very special. The posters we saw showed beyond doubt
that our young scientists are doing work of the highest quality, much of which
is not only what might be considered to be 'blue skies' work but is at the same
time very relevant to our needs as a country. The quality of the work was
clearly matched by the commitment and confidence of the award recipients at the
dinner, who all spoke superbly and inspired the audience with their enthusiasm
for their chosen fields and their understanding of science.
In order to ensure our competitive
edge on the international stage it is crucially important that we in return
inspire highly talented young people like these to pursue careers in research.
They are not only clearly brilliant researchers and innovators but they are
also already superb contributors to New Zealand. In the future they will
clearly be some of the most influential ambassadors and leaders that New
Zealand science could have.
The MacDiarmid awards are an
excellent way of identifying and celebrating the achievement and potential of
our young scientists, and encouraging them at a crucial point in their chosen
careers. I was surprised at the paucity of similar systems in other countries.
Clearly New Zealand has stolen the march on many others internationally, and the
instigation of these awards through the Foundation deserves hearty congratulation.
Let's now ensure that these wonderful young people have the research resources
they will need to reach their full potential.
2. THE CHARLES DARWIN THEATRE
PROJECT
2009 is the bi-centenary of the
birth of Charles Darwin. To commemorate this event, a New Zealand theatre
company is preparing to produce a play about Darwin which will run in
conjunction with public debates and lectures organised by the Royal Society of
New Zealand.
It is planned that the Wellington
performances will take place in Te Papa at the beginning of 2009, travelling to
other main cities in the following weeks: Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North,
Napier, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin.
The play will give an
"essentialised" picture of Darwin's life, showing in dramatic form
much that is unknown by most people and that needs to be understood for anyone
to make an informed judgement concerning Darwin's theory. The play will be
aimed at all who are interested in the origin and consequences of his theory
and will not take sides but let individual characters give the different sides
of the debate. A depiction of the complex forces working in Darwin over the
twenty years in which he held back speaking out about his theory makes for a
fascinating human study. His own gradual loss of faith in religion is
contrasted with the Christian belief of his wife, Emma. Audiences will come out
of the play knowing much more about Darwin the man and the origin of his theory
and greatly stimulated to think over the pros and cons of the theory as it
relates to our own times.
The producers of the play are glad
to hear of any interest among the science community for hosting debates or from
companies willing to be sponsors to individual performances or events
surrounding the play.
Enquiries through glenda.lewis@rsnz.org
3. PROFESSOR PAUL CALLAGHAN AWARDED
BLAKE MEDAL FOR LEADERSHIP
Professor Callaghan became the
third recipient of the Blake Medal at a special ceremony at Government House in
Wellington.
Six Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader
Awards were also presented at the event, which recognised the developing leadership
potential of Shelly Campbell, Annette Fale, Andrew Grant, Steven Hall, Tim
O'Connor and Dr Justin Vaughan.
Professor Callaghan has shown
outstanding leadership over 30 years as a scientist, a teacher, a science
administrator and communicator. He has taken on a role as a leader in science
and science education in New Zealand and internationally. He has had a significant
role in leading the establishment of New Zealand's performance based research
funding system for tertiary institutions. Professor Callaghan has also led the
development of science communication to the wider public and has taken it as an
almost personal crusade to de-mystify science and convey the relevance and excitement
of science for all of society.
4. FUSIONZ LISTINGS: SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY JOBS
This week, Fusionz has 3 vacancies
for jobs. The latest jobs are
Applied Researcher in Vertebrate
Pest Control and Wildlife Management:
Christchurch
Research Associate, Insect Science:
Auckland
Post Doctoral
Fellow,Biomorphodynamic Modeller: Hamilton
More at http://fusionz.rsnz.org
5. COST: COOPERATION WITH AUSTRALIA
AND NEW ZEALAND
A new pilot scheme between COST
(European Co-operation in Science and Technology) and Australia and New Zealand
has been given the green light.
The scheme will provide around 20
travel grants to support the travel and subsistence costs of scientists
travelling from the EU to Australia or New Zealand and vice versa. The COST
programme aims to boost cooperation between nationally funded research activities.
This pilot scheme hopes to address the lack of funding for travel, which is one
of the major practical barriers to global research.
It will focus on five main areas:
medical and health research; agriculture, biotechnology and food;
nanotechnology; information and communications technology; and environment and
climate change. The New Zealand scheme will also focus on forestry. Further
details of the implementation will be arranged by the COST Office with the
dedicated partner institutions.
The scheme will cover a test phase
from July 2007 to July 2009. Following this, a report will be presented for
evaluation and further decisions.
Further information on the decision
to create the pilot scheme is available from the noticeboard section of the
COST website at: http://www.cost.esf.org
6. ADVANCED BIOLOGY TRAINING
COURSE, US MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA
This Advanced Biology Training
Course starts in January 2008 for 1 month and is held at the US McMurdo Station
in Antarctica.
The emphasis will be on integrative
biology, with laboratory and field-based projects that will be focused on
studying adaptations in extreme environments. Modern laboratory facilities for
experimental work, sophisticated operational support for field collection, and
offering the course in Antarctica make this course unique. A diverse teaching
faculty will offer students the possibility of working with a wide range of Antarctic
organisms (bacteria, algae, invertebrates and fish), as well as working at
different levels of biological analysis (molecular biology to whole organisms).
This National Science
Foundation-sponsored course will accommodate 20 students and is open to all
nationalities and to applicants from any country. Applications are invited from
graduate students currently enrolled in a PhD programme, postdoctoral-level
researchers, and faculty members who are interested in the biology of Antarctic
organisms. Applications are particularly encouraged from scientists who do not
have any prior Antarctic field experience. One goal of this training programme
is to provide new investigators with insights into the logistical issues of
undertaking research in Antarctica and to encourage new ideas for unique
biological research on organisms living in extreme environments in Antarctica.
The application deadline is 15
August 2007. Please see http://antarctica.usc.edu/
for further details.
7. FUNCTIONAL PLANT BIOLOGY PAPERS
FREELY AVAILABLE ONLINE
Special Offer: All FPB papers
2005-2007 now freely available online.
For a limited time only, all papers
published in FPB through 2005-2007 are available free online, from any
computer, in any country, day or night. Now is the time to browse the FPB
archives and enjoy full access to your favourite papers, or find some
undiscovered gems.
Visit the website at http://www.publish.csiro.au/journals/fpb
8. OUR CHANGING WORLD ON RADIO NEW
ZEALAND NATIONAL TONIGHT
9.06 p.m. Thursday 2 August 2007.
Dacia Herbulock and Veronika Meduna, Tel (04) 474 1736,
ourchangingworld@radionz.co.nz
The programme visits Mt John
Observatory in the MacKenzie District to hear about a proposal to establish the
world's first protected starlight reserve here in New Zealand. It will protect
the area's dark nighttime skies from light pollution, and preserve viewing opportunities
for stargazers and professional astronomers alike.
Veronika Meduna spends some time
stomping around in the mud at Pauatahanui Inlet, the largest estuarine wetland
left in the lower North Island. She meets with volunteers who work to protect
this unique ecosystem.
Justin Gregory brings us part two
of his tour of the Wellington city landfill. He sits down to talk about the future
of rubbish, including the potential for a true zero-waste policy.
Auckland's Mercy Ascot Hospital is
looking at introducing a robot to do some of its most complicated surgeries
within the next three months. It's called the da Vinci system and it's the
first of its kind in New Zealand. Louise Wallace checks it out with one of only
two local doctors trained in its use - urological surgeon, Chris Hawke.
Our Changing World airs every
Thursday evening after the 9.00 p.m. news. Shorter features broadcast at 3.45
p.m. on Tuesdays to Fridays.
9. ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL SPACE
AGENCY FORUM, NOVEMBER, INDIA
The 14th Session of the
Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) will take place in Bangalore,
India on 21-23 November 2007.
The main themes of the meeting are:
Earth Observation (environmental monitoring, disaster mitigation);
Communications Satellite Applications
(e-learning, medical advice to
remote areas); Space Education and Awareness (exploring ways to engage young
people in science through emphasis of the importance of space applications);
and Space Environment Utilisation. The meeting will also discuss next steps for
the Sentinel Asia project for sharing disaster information in the Asia-Pacific
region and using earth observation satellite data for disaster management in
the Asia-Pacific region. More information on the Forum is available at http://www.aprsaf.org
10. NATIONAL TROUT CENTRE VIRTUAL
FIELD TRIP - NEXT WEEK
Take your students on a field trip
without leaving the classroom, with fresh water ecology lessons at the
Tongariro National Trout Centre, Turangi.
New Zealand schools can register
and enrol classes in the LEARNZ virtual field trip programme. The programme
uses computers and deals with real people doing real jobs. Every field trip
links to curriculum activities and is supported by a range of online material.
All field trips are archived and can be enrolled in at any time.
Also, if you have a phone line your
students can talk with fish and ecology experts from the banks of the Tongariro
river and the shores of Lake Taupo. Your students can ask questions online and learn
about an internationally recognised New Zealand ecological area by reading
diaries and looking at the images and videos uploaded daily during the trip.
Information is available from the
LEARNZ homepage, http://www.learnz.org.nz/index.php
11. TEACHER FELLOW FOLLOWS THE ORCA
Kate Norton, 2007 New Zealand
Science, Mathematics and Technology Teacher Fellow is having an 'orcasome' time
on her 2007 fellowship.
Kate, a teacher at Point View
School in Howick, is being hosted by New Zealand's only Orca Researcher, Dr
Ingrid Visser.
Kate's project is to study the
diverse culture of orca in New Zealand and Argentina by gathering, interpreting
and analysing data to determine different orca behaviour; to make connections
from data obtained from particular Orca sightings and experiences around New
Zealand and build comparisons between Orca in New Zealand, Antarctica and
Argentina.
During the course of her project
Kate has had to become familiar with the various items of technology involved
in Orca research. Another aspect of Kate's project includes promoting the importance
of Whale conservation in schools and the use of science and technology in the
field of research and involvement with the Orca Research and Education Centre (http://www.orcaresearch.org/index.htm).