Our researchers at the Sydney Writers' Festival

It is heartening to see a number of our researchers involved in the Sydney Writers' Festival. The Festival plays an important role in the culture of Sydney, and Australia. Our researchers get the chance to reach beyond the grounds of the University and engage in lively discussions with the wider community. If you can snare a ticket, get along to some of their sessions.
Professor Jill Trewhella
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

• Stories of O: Fiona Giles

  

  At this Sydney Writers’ Festival Fiona Giles chats with Susan Johnson and Nikki Gemmell about female sexuality through the human life cycle. Giles explains what it means to 'queer breastfeeding' and how a Shakespearean protagonist might have the potential to destroy cancer cells.

• Sons of Clovis: David Brooks

  

  David Brooks appears in several events at this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival including creative writing workshops. Here, Brooks discusses his new book Sons of Clovis, and explains how hoaxes like the Ern Malley affair can liberate the writer.

• OccupySWF: Simon Tormey

  

  Simon Tormey appears at OccupySWF with authors Loretta Napolen, Chad Harbach and Sydney University’s John Keane to discuss the shifting tides of politics. Tormey explains how Bono, Public Enemy, an enigmatic Mexican rebel and you are part of a new political paradigm.

Linkage projects

Sydney’s extensive research breadth and depth offers potential partners access to leading researchers in many fields. Through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Scheme our researchers are given the opportunity to collaborate with government and industry leaders, and gain new knowledge through interdisciplinary engagement. Through ARC Linkage and our reputation for innovative research, Sydney’s long-lasting partnerships continually benefit the broader Australian community, industry and the world.
Professor Jill Trewhella
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

• Story of the reef

  

  Iain McCalman is working with Silentworld, using history to preserve the Great Barrier Reef.

• Locusts and robots

  

  Steve Simpson is working with the Australian Plague Locust Commission to understand locusts.

• Smart grids

  

  Branka Vucetic is working with AUSGRID to improve smart grid communication.

• Empowering teachers

  

  Janette Bobis is working with the Catholic Education Office to improve maths teaching.

• The cane toad march

  

  Rick Shine is working with the North Coast community to stop cane toads in their tracks.

International collaborations

At Sydney we are committed to extending the reach of our research through global partnerships. Our researchers are actively pursuing global challenges through strong ties with China and South-East Asia, Europe and the United States. We attract international research talent to work with our researchers and first class facilities, consistently garner international funding and are always looking for ways in which our research can make a difference on the world stage.
Professor Jill Trewhella
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

• Quantum science

  

  Quantum physicist Dr Michael Biercuk spearheads a US-funded international collaboration investigating error suppression in quantum systems. When searching for scientific expertise, he explains, one shouldn’t be constrained by borders.

• Innovation and entrepreneurship

  

  The Innovation and Enterprise program is educating entrepreneurs through an innovative research-led teaching program complemented by international outreach activities that bring the real world into the classroom.

• Mathematics and biology

  

  Combining mathematics and biology Associate Professor Mary Myerscough, Associate Professor Madeleine Beekman, Postdoctoral Fellow Timothy Schaerf and PhD Student James Makinson employ computer algorithms in an effort to understand the social interaction of Apis florea – the red dwarf honey bee. Assuming no one eats your research first.

China

Australia enjoys strong links with China in specific areas but there are many emerging areas for exchange, such as the growing tourism exchange, research collaboration, and education. The University of Sydney already has a broad-based academic exchange with China which provides an important foundation for expanding and diversifying our interactions. Through our China Studies Centre, we are committed to broadening understanding between our two cultures through our academic links, conversation and the development of solutions to common problems that will enhance interactions in spheres beyond academia.
Professor Jill Trewhella
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

• Sydney and Fudan partnership tackles childhood obesity

  

  In 30 years, obesity – particularly child obesity – has become a major health challenge in China. A collaboration between Fudan University and Sydney Medical School, is looking at new ways of delivering health messages to new mothers, to tackle the escalating problem.

• The Dragon's will: a new understanding of Chinese influece

  

  A specialist in Asia-Pacific security, Chinese defence and foreign policy, and global and regional arms control and nonproliferation issues, Associate Professor Yuan is a welcome addition to the University of Sydney’s growing International Security and Chinese Studies programs.p>

• Sydney funding support for China Studies

  

  The China Studies Centre’s funded research programs support research on China and Chinese culture for CSC academic members within the University of Sydney. Applications for the next round open on 1 August 2011.

Regional and rural engagement

Sydney has a strong tradition of rural and regional engagement. Our researchers are continuing and strengthening this tradition through partnerships that work towards solutions to problems that affect both city and country. Sydney is committed to identifying more opportunities for engagement with areas outside of Australia’s major cities through research, outreach, student placement and professional development.
Professor Jill Trewhella
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

• Tracking lead in the blood of Broken Hill

  

  The Broken Hill Department of Rural Health (UDRH) has a long-standing partnership with health groups in the town to monitor and reduce the amount of lead in the blood of the town's children

• Securing the world’s food supply

  

  The Plant Breeding Institute is continuing work begun in the 1920s by working closely with growers to track and prevent cereal rust outbreaks in Australia and across the world.

• Planning for climate change

  

  Nicole Gurran and her colleagues at the Planning Research Centre are helping coastal councils prepare for climate change. They are identifying its potential effects on growing coastal areas and helping them address these concerns through policy and planning.

Social inclusion

Sydney strives to provide an open, inclusive and equitable environment in which its staff and students can thrive. Through its research, teaching and community engagement programs Sydney seeks to actively contribute to the creation of an Australian society where individuals, regardless of their backgrounds and circumstances, have the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
Professor Jill Trewhella
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)

• Dr Susan Goodwin: working to increase social inclusion

  

  Sydney is establishing a collaborative research group, working with non-Government and philanthropic communities to network, share research expertise and develop policy to address social inequity and foster social inclusion. For example, Dr Susan Goodwin’s collaborative research with the ARC, UNSW, Housing NSW and TAFE and in close partnership with two housing communities in SW Sydney aims to remove barriers and provide programs that overcome entrenched social exclusion and disadvantage.

• Dr Belinda Smith: Thompson Fellow

  

  The Sydney Equity Research Fellowships provide carers, female academics and people with disabilities opportunities to focus on their research programmes so as to advance their research careers, such as Dr Belinda Smith, Thompson Fellow, who is exploring the role of law in challenging and reinforcing gender equity in the workplace. For eight straight years Sydney has been cited as an Employer of Choice for Women, by the Australian Government.

• Dr Reuben Bolt: first Indigenous Health Sciences PhD

  

  Dr Reuben Bolt is the first Indigenous student to graduate with a doctorate degree from the Faculty of Health Sciences. His research into Aboriginal identity is set to deepen the way Indigenous people are understood in Australia and the rest of the world.

More about social inclusion at Sydney.

Early career researchers

• Tracking down Alzheimer's disease

  

  Despite being in the early stages of his career, Dr Lars Ittner recently led a team that made a major breakthrough in Alzheimer research by finding an underlying cause of the disease at a cellular level.

• Reading children in early modern culture

  

  Arriving at Sydney through an ARC Grant, Dr Edel Lamb is exploring what and how children read in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

• First Christopher Heyde medalist

  

  Dr Anthony Henderson has won the first Christoper Heyde Medal, awarded to outstanding early career mathematicians.

Researchers as global citizens

• Gender and constitutional design

  

  When constitutional law expert Professor Helen Irving turned her attention to the literature of constitution making, she found a glaring omission – women.

• New plant to improve biofuels

  

  A new pilot biomass processing plant gives researchers an opportunity to improve biofuel production, taking it a step closer to becoming a commercially viable, sustainable energy source.

• Fieldwork in Chernobyl

  

  Artist Merilyn Fairskye discusses her work at the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, site of the 1986 nuclear disaster.