15 August 2008
From Monday 18 August to Friday 19 September Monash University will celebrate the great minds and innovative thinking that generates leading-edge research through Monash Research Month.
Over the past 50 years, Monash researchers have been the driving force behind innovations that have impacted on millions of people around the world. Monash researchers have created lives, saved them and improved their quality with innovations such as IVF and anti-flu drug Relenza.
Research Month was established to celebrate research achievements, recognise the significant contributions made by staff and research students, and show the wider community why research matters.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Research) Professor Edwina Cornish said she was proud of the quality and impact of the University's research.
"When Monash was created 50 years ago its vision was to be a first class research university," Professor Cornish said. More than that, it would be a university that reached out, engaged with its community and made a difference to Australian industry.
"Research Month allows us to share our achievements. We don't want the knowledge we create to remain locked up. We want it to have an effect on the lives of Australians and people around the world."
A wide range of events and programs have been developed for Research Month, including public lectures and seminars, information sessions for future research students, and professional development opportunities for current researchers.
The public lecture series will be a feature of the celebrations:
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Australia's unrecognised resources boom - languages for Australia's future - 19 August. Emeritus Professor Michael Clyne will argue that utilising and strengthening bilingualism produces more flexible thinking and problem solving skills and will lead to a more creative, dynamic and innovative society.
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Fighting fat - tackling childhood obesity - 20 August. Facilitated by television personality Sigrid Thornton, an expert panel will discuss the obesity epidemic and threats to long-term health increasing the risk of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. It will ask what can be done to stem the tide.
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Here today, here tomorrow? Securing the future of our food - 27 August. Presented by Dr Cary Fowler, recently seen on 60 Minutes. Would you survive if wheat or rice could no longer be produced? Growing evidence suggests climate change could seriously threaten agricultural production and the diversity of crops around the world. The opening of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault deep inside an Arctic mountain in February 2008 marked a turning point to ensuring the crops that sustain us will not be lost.
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Keeping Melbourne on the move - learning from international experience - 28 August. Countries around the world face similar transport problems to Melbourne . Economic and population growth make congestion a significant challenge. Join Sir Rod Eddington as he reflects on his international experience and recent report to the Victorian Government outlining an $18 billion blueprint to improve links between Melbourne's eastern and western suburbs.
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Am I a murderer? An insight into genocide - 10 September. Who are the people mobilised to commit mass murder? Are there attributes that drive individuals to kill innocent civilians or does war transform ordinary people into perpetrators of extreme violence? Does each of us have a genocidal gene and are any of us immune? Join Mark Baker as he considers how research has treated the subject of genocide by comparing perpetrator, bystander and victim behaviour during the Holocaust with the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and present day Darfur.
To find out more about research at Monash or to register for one of the many events on offer, visit the Research Month website.
For more information contact Shaunnagh O'Loughlin, Media and Communications on +61 3 9903 4843 or Anne-Lee Hakkennes, Marketing Manager, Research, on +61 3 9903 2204.
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