Physical Scientist of the Year - Mark Cassidy
The Premier's Science Awards
The Premier's Science Awards recognise the significant achievements of WA's leading scientists, science communicators and educators and we are very proud that, out of six awards available, four have been awarded to UWA staff!
Western Australian Scientist of the Year
Professor David Blair - Professor of Physics at The University of Western Australia
David Blair has worked for many years on the worldwide quest to detect gravitational waves. Alongside many students and colleagues at UWA, he has developed a very sensitive detector and the first sapphire clocks. Professor Blair is currently developing the gravitational wave observatory facility near Gingin and the exciting public facility, The Gravity Discovery Centre.
Western Australian Young Scientist of the Year
Dr Kristen Nowak - Research Fellow for the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research
Dr Nowak researches rare muscle disorders, which can sometimes lead to complete paralysis at birth. She has made world-first discoveries into the genetics of these diseases, helping to make Perth a global leader in diagnosing these muscle disorders. Dr Nowak is dedicated to finding a therapy for patients with actin-caused muscle diseases.
Premier's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching: Tertiary
Professor Paul McMenamin - Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning), Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and School of Anatomy and Human Biology at The University of Western Australia
Professor McMenamin uses innovative methods, such as body painting and model building, to teach clinically important aspects of human anatomy. His role in the medical faculty is to inspire colleagues to strive towards excellence in their teaching and learning with the aim of producing better health professionals for WA.
Premier's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching: Secondary
Mr Warwick Mathews - Teacher at Shenton College
Mr Mathews is currently on a part-time secondment to UWA's Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, where he is producing learning resources for the Primary Industry Science Project.
Mr Mathews is a passionate educator with a remarkable capacity to create a sense of excitement and discovery. His work has been critical to the success of the science program at Shenton College, initiating programs including the student research vineyard, wine science, and the participation in UWA's scientists in school program and the international biotechnology competition, the sanofi-aventis International BioGENEius Challenge of Western Australia.
Carrick Awards
Three outstanding teaching and learning programs at The University of Western Australia have been recognised with 2007 Carrick Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning.
UWA staff have a well-deserved reputation for excellence and quality teaching and we are particularly proud of winning three out of the 14 available institutional awards.
The following UWA programs were recognised:
- Flexible Learning and Teaching category: Teaching on the Run aims to improve the learning experience for medical students and trainee doctors in clinical care, professionalism, communication and patient-centred care.
- Innovation in Curricula, Learning and Teaching category: Clinical Learning Embedded in Rural Communities delivers a uniquely rural brand of clinical education, which is integrated in approach, case-based in teaching method, and firmly located in the generalist tradition of rural medicine.
- Services Supporting Student Learning category: Lectopia (previously known as the iLecture System) is a lecture capture, publication and management system that is recognised internationally as a leading educational technology and an example of technology-assisted learning best-practice in higher education.
Learning and Teaching Performance Fund
The quality of the University's teaching is reflected in our ongoing high rankings in the government's Learning and Teaching Performance Fund. The performance indicators used to allocate the Learning and Teaching Performance Fund for 2008 ranks the University as the top-ranked University in Western Australia and fourth nationally. While we are happy with this performance, we are committed to further enhancing the educational experiences of our students and are keen to allow more students to enjoy the UWA experience.
Research funding success
The University's teaching is conducted in an environment enriched by a commitment to research and scholarship so that students are exposed to the latest research findings and are given opportunities to learn from members of leading research teams. The University is considered to be one of the nation's top research universities. This is reflected in the University's recent success in securing Australian Research Council funding grants totalling $13.5M, three times the amount allocated to any other WA university.
Physical Scientist of the Year - Mark Cassidy
Anchoring enormous oil and gas platforms on relatively unstable seabeds and ensuring the efficiency of pipelines three kilometres or more under the sea is work that has seen an outstanding young researcher based at The University of Western Australia named Physical Scientist of the Year.
Professor Mark Cassidy in UWA's School of Civil Engineering is Director of the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS), one of the three leading centres in the field worldwide.
UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson said Professor Cassidy's achievement in winning one of only three prestigious Prime Minister's Science Prizes was fitting recognition of outstanding research for the benefit of the wider community.
As oil exploration heads into deeper oceans, Professor Cassidy's latest work involves investigating how to design and protect the pipelines that will carry resources from under-sea, up the continental shelf and onto land.
'We're in the right place at the right time,' he said. 'The epicentre of the industry is moving from the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea to Australia and Asia. There are new issues, and spiralling costs and problems, to deal with as new oil fields are opened up in the deep ocean.'
Professor Cassidy is heading an initiative to resolve these challenges, bringing together a range of collaborating institutions to address the complexities of constructing pipelines to carry oil and gas over rugged and sometimes moving terrain in powerful ocean currents.
