CANCER - It's time to get personal

One of Australia’s leading researchers in brain injury has taken up the role of Pro Vice Chancellor for UniSA’s Division of Health Sciences.

Professor Robert Vink joined UniSA in early 2014, coming from the position of Head of School of Medical Sciences and Chair of Neurosurgical Research at the University of Adelaide.

Prof Vink completed his PhD on nuclear magnetic resonance studies of energy transduction at Griffith University in 1986. He was awarded a Doctor of Science – which recognises the highest standard of research – by the University of Adelaide last year. His Doctor of Science thesis uncovered the critical roles of magnesium and the neuropeptide substance P in central nervous system injury.

UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says Prof Vink will provide strong innovative leadership in health education at a time when UniSA is making significant investments in the new West End health precinct.

“Bob is an example of the high quality staff that UniSA attracts to its teaching and research. His passion for education is matched by a world view that reflects our culture of enterprise,” he says.

Dr Laura-Anne Bull has been appointed to the newly created position of Pro Vice Chancellor for Student Engagement and Equity, a role designed to underpin a student-centred approach to education at UniSA. Dr Bull joins UniSA from the Australian National University.

“This important new position will lead initiatives to ensure that our university students are fully engaged and supported, not only to learn within their core area of study but to benefit from their whole university experience,” says UniSA Vice Chancellor, Professor David Lloyd.

“I know Laura-Anne’s experience as an academic and her outstanding track record both nationally and internationally in leading strategy to enhance student services and support gives her a very complete perspective of students’ needs – a skill set which we are pleased to have at UniSA.”

Dr Bull says she is looking forward to making important contributions in the new role of Pro Vice Chancellor for Student Engagement and Equity.

“I want to work with staff and students from across the University and with the wider community to position UniSA as a leading light for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, for students from diverse backgrounds and those from regional communities,” she says.

“UniSA has a strong history of equity and diversity and I want not only to maintain that tradition but to enhance it.”

Former OzAsia Festival Director Jacinta Thompson is the new Executive Director of the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, following the retirement of inaugural director Elizabeth Ho.

The Centre was established in 1997 in honour of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke and is the flagship for UniSA’s intellectual engagement with the community.

UniSA’s Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says the appointment is a coup for the University and the Centre.

“Jacinta has extensive experience in high profile roles, engaging the community in the exploration and appreciation both of diverse cultures and across a broad spectrum of the arts” Prof Lloyd says.

“Her expertise will be particularly relevant in furthering the University’s community engagement as a university of enterprise and I warmly welcome her to UniSA.”

An alumna of UniSA, Thompson says she is thrilled to join the Hawke Centre and the University.

“I greatly admire and value the work of the Hawke Centre and I am thrilled to be part of this unique and vital centre that is devoted to generating ideas and solutions to achieve cohesive, sustainable societies,” Thompson says.

UniSA has appointed internationally recognised expert in Australian public law and human rights, Professor Wendy Lacey, as its new Dean of Law.

Prof Lacey has been with UniSA’s Law School since it was founded in 2007.

UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says he is delighted with the appointment of someone who has proven herself internationally and locally.

“Wendy brings a real commitment to the University, but also a depth of experience, research and knowledge in her field,” Prof Lloyd says.

“I am very pleased that after a worldwide search, we found the best candidate for the job here at UniSA.”

Prof Lacey says she is looking forward to further building the reputation of the UniSA Law School in Australia and globally.

“It will be an exciting challenge to lead the School at this time of great opportunity and growth,” Prof Lacey says.

Urban researcher Professor AbdouMaliq Simone joined UniSA earlier this year as Director of the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding.

For the past three decades, Prof Simone has worked with practices of social interchange, cognition, local economy and the constitution of power relations that affect how heterogeneous African cities are lived in.

“I joined the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding
as a vehicle to demonstrate the near uselessness of considerations
about identity in a context that would seem to amplify their importance,”
Prof Simone says.

“The most important word in the title of the centre is ‘and’ – it is about the complexion and politics of relationships, for identity only emerges from the dynamics of relation.

“This is most demonstrable in cities, which clearly give the impression of specific and unyielding social and spatial divides. But these divides are possible only because of the forces applied and generated through the relations of things, people, times, materials, designs, signs, and thought, all of whose characteristics continuously shift and become something else than they are at any given time.”

Professor Mary Carskadon is UniSA’s new Director of the Centre for Sleep Research.

Prof Carskadon joins UniSA part-time while also serving as Director of the Chronobiology and Sleep Research Centre, which is part of Brown University in the USA.

Prof Carskadon began her role at UniSA in early 2014.

“I look forward to leading our scientific and education efforts within the School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy and energising our engagement with students, the University, the city, and the global sleep research community,” Prof Carskadon says.

Professor Susannah Radstone took up the position of Dean of Research and Research Education in the Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences in late 2013.

Prof Radstone joined UniSA from the UK where she was most recently a Professor of Cultural Theory in the School of Arts and Digital Industries at the University of East London.

Renowned Swedish researcher in polymer chemistry Professor Mats Andersson is the new South Australian Chair in Energy at UniSA’s Ian Wark Research Institute.

Prof Andersson joined UniSA under a South Australian Research Fellowship that is backed by the state government and designed to develop expertise and leadership in this important field.

He was recently ranked by Thomson Reuters as among the world’s top 100 scientists (number 54) in the field of materials science. Prof Andersson’s research focus is on the development of new materials for energy capture specifically in photovoltaics and the printing of this type of material for polymer electronics.

Prof Andersson has most recently held the position as Professor in Polymer Chemistry at Chalmers University of Technology. At Chalmers his research group consisted of more than 15 PhD and post-doctoral students.

“My main research focus is on developing a new type of cheap solar cell and South Australia is a perfect place for this technology,” Prof Andersson said.

Deborah Heithersay began as the University’s inaugural Director: Advancement in January.

In the new role, Heithersay is overseeing fundraising and alumni relations focusing on building the connections between the University’s more than 170,000 alumni and sourcing private funding support for the University’s growth agenda.

Dirk Mulder joined UniSA at the end of 2013 as the new Director: UniSA International, coming to UniSA with extensive experience in leading marketing and international education initiatives across the university sector, most recently at Curtin University.

Professor Stephen Dobson has joined UniSA’s School of Education.

The Professor of Education comes from Hedmark University College in Norway.

After 30 years in Scandinavia, he says he was attracted to UniSA by the opportunity of a professorship with a primary weighting towards assessment and evaluation.

“Australia, and not least South Australia, is a place where many exciting things are happening in this field,” Prof Dobson says.

A new media artist, writer and curator has joined UniSA as a Professor of Art.

Professor Simon Biggs joined UniSA as a Professor of Art in the School of Art, Architecture and Design, after almost 30 years of living and working in the UK and Europe where his work has been widely presented, including at Tate Modern (London), the Institute of Contemporary Arts (London), Glasgow Centre for Contemporary Arts (Glasgow), Akadamie der Künste (Berlin) and the Pompidou Centre (Paris).

Opened just over a decade before the start of WWI, UniSA’s Brookman building has been given a facelift recently which includes a special tribute to the Anzacs.

In collaboration with the UniSA alumni association, the renovation includes a commemoration to the students and staff from the School of Mines and Adelaide Technical High School who were involved in WWI and WWII.

Transparent panels etched with images of Australian soldiers and including the names of alumni involved in the wars now take pride of place in the building.

UniSA Chancellor Dr Ian Gould says the refurbishment breathes new life into one of the state’s important historic buildings and at the same time draws attention to the great sacrifice made by many of the young men who once walked the halls of the Brookman.

“The Anzac honour boards serve as a reminder of their sacrifice but also of the great loss society endures in the face of war,” Chancellor Gould says.

The two honour boards list the names of 310 WWI soldiers from the School of Mines and the WWII boards holds 105 names of soldiers who attended Adelaide Technical High School.

UniSA’s Institute for Choice was launched in Sydney earlier in the year. The Sydney-based research institute brings together the highest concentration of academic expertise in choice behaviour research globally.

For more details about the new Institute, visit the website.  

UniSA has a new partnership with global IT giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) which will see UniSA become home to a new HP Innovation and Collaboration Centre. As part of the partnership, a new four-year Honours degree program in IT and business informatics will be launched next year, coupling leading-edge training and education with internships in HP for students. A $5.5 million State Government grant will help UniSA establish the new Centre.

UniSA will be a key player in a new partnership with Hills Limited to put South Australia at the forefront of innovative product design and technology expertise for a wide range of industries, from aged care and health to security and safety. The partnership, together with Flinders University, will see the development of two new innovation centres in South Australia underpinned by a $5 million co-contribution from Hills Limited and the State Government.

At UniSA’s graduation ceremonies in March, NASA Administrator Major General Charles Bolden was awarded an honorary doctorate, acknowledging his inspirational military and space career, and his worldwide advocacy for access to education. During his visit to Adelaide, he shared his story with 1000 local school students including Belle Hope and Nicholas Haley (pictured right).

You can watch Major General Bolden receive his honorary doctorate on UniSA’s YouTube channel. 

UniSA awarded an honorary doctorate to best-selling author Sir Terry Pratchett, OBE in May. The award to Pratchett acknowledges his enormous contribution to literature and creative writing. UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd, pictured with Pratchett, travelled to England to present the award.

UniSA honoured editor and publisher Dr Anne Summers for her lifetime of fighting for women’s rights by awarding her an honorary doctorate in March. UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says Dr Summers is an inspiration to all graduates on what can be achieved through scholarship and commitment to ideas and change over a long period of time. 

Internationally renowned South Australian winemaker and business leader Wolf Blass AM received an honorary doctorate from UniSA for his contribution to the community. Throughout a 60-year career in wine production, he has built one of Australia’s most awarded and successful wineries and wine brands. He met with UniSA students during his visit, including marketing student Therese Sjostrom (pictured).

Dame Jane Goodall visited Adelaide in May to receive an honorary doctorate from UniSA during a special public lecture hosted by Zoos SA as part of Dr Goodall’s 80th birthday speaking tour. The award recognises her enormous contribution to science, to primatology and more broadly to animals and conservation globally. 

Professor Angel Lopez, Adjunct Professor with the Centre for Cancer Biology, was recently elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

Election to the fellowship is one of the most significant honours for a scientist in Australia.

Prof Lopez has been recognised for his research on cytokines and growth factors and how they contribute to leukaemia.

A student project has seen a splash of colour added to City West’s George Street. The colourful streetscape  was launched in February.

You can see more of the revamped road on UniSA’s YouTube channel. 

UniSA’s O-Week finished up with the Gear Up music festival in late February, featuring a range of national music acts including San Cisco, Alpine, Pond, Miami Horror DJs and Deep Sea Arcade. 

Team UniSA-Australia rider Jack Haig accepts the Cycle Instead Young Riders Jersey at the 2014 Santos Tour Down Under in January.

A new Campus Connector shuttle bus service began running between Magill and Mawson Lakes earlier this year. The free bus service is for staff and students travelling between the two campuses.
Go to the Campus Facilities website for more information about the bus service. 

UniSA in partnership with the M2 Academy launched a suite of new degree programs in Singapore in a purpose built new campus which opened in July. 

UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd hosted a reception for more than 40 alumni at the Brisbane Town Hall in January. It was a lively gathering with recent graduates and alumni from antecedent institutions attending.

UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd and High Commissioner to London Alexander Downer attended a special alumni event at Australia House in London in June.