News in Brief

Professor Andrew Thompson is one of three non-European scientists that have been invited to speak at the COST 2nd Annual Conference on 'Apicomplexan parasites in the post-genomic era' in Beatenburg, Switzerland. He will discuss his team's work on the molecular ecology of enteric protozoan parasites; and how the research on in vitro cultivation of protozoa can enhance studies on gene expression. COST is an intergovernmental framework for European cooperation in the field of scientific and technical research.

Professor Igor Bray has been appointed as a member of the ARC College of Experts, a position he will hold until December 2005.

Professor Goen Ho has been elected to serve on the International Water Association (IWA) Strategic Council as a specialist in small water and wastewater system. This is a two year appointment to the 35 member council, which draws on the expertise of the best water researchers across the globe.

Professor Andris Stelbovics, Pro Vice Chancellor Research Murdoch University, has been elected Fellow of the prestigious American Physical Society (APS). The election recognises his seminal contributions to electron-atom collision theory, including co-development of the convergent-close-coupling method. The APS Fellowship Program was created to recognize members who may have made advances in knowledge through original research and publication or made significant and innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology. They may also have made significant contributions to the teaching of physics or service and participation in the activities of the Society. Each year, no more than one-half of one percent of the then current membership of the Society are recognized by their peers for election to the status of Fellow in The American Physical Society. The American Physical Society publishes the world's most prestigious and widely read physics research journals and has more than 40 000 members.

Professor Bill Loader has been awarded the ARC Professorial Fellowship for five years commencing in 2005. The Fellowship is a very prestigious award and provides opportunities for outstanding researchers with proven international reputations to undertake research that is both of major importance in its field and of significant benefit to Australia. Professor Loader will use the Fellowship to develop a comprehensive analysis of attitudes towards sexuality in Judaism and Christianity in the Hellenistic Greco-Roman Era. The work will provide information about a formative period which continues to influence attitudes towards sexuality in many communities today. Professor Loader has more than three decades of experience in theological research and has been teaching at Murdoch University since 1986. He is currently the Professor of New Testament at the University and from 1998 to 2003 he was the Head of the School of Social Inquiry.

Murdoch University has just appointed Professor Vassilios Agelidis as its inaugural Chair of Power Engineering. Professor Agelidis joins Murdoch from the University of Glasgow where he has been the research manager for the Centre for Economic Renewable Power Delivery for five years. In this new role Professor Agelidis will lead the establishment of a world class education and research centre in power engineering including new undergraduate/postgraduate and industrial training programs.

After a worldwide search, Murdoch University has appointed Professor Neil Loneragan as the new Chair in Fisheries Science. After completing his PhD studies at Murdoch University, Professor Loneragan joined CSIRO Marine Research in Brisbane, where he spent 14 years. During his last two years with CSIRO, he was the Research Group Leader for the Northern Fisheries and Ecosystems group, a large group focussed on understanding the dynamics of fisheries in northern Australia, particularly the Northern Prawn Fishery and their interactions with the marine ecosystem. In his new role, he will be looking to enhance collaboration in Sustainable Fisheries research and develop postgraduate courses that will enhance research and management of aquatic resources.

Professor Michael Durey has joined a group of outstanding scholars who are recognised as having achieved the highest distinction in scholarship through Fellowship of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. Professor Michael Durey is a historian at Murdoch University, a scholar of international repute whose thirty-year career has been devoted to investigating the history of radical political thought in Britain, Ireland, and the United States. His Transatlantic Radicalism and the Early American Republic won the 1998 SHEAR Book Award for History.

Professor Steve Halls has been appointed as a new member of the Environmental Protection Authority. This is one of the most prestigious Government appointments that an environmental professional can attain in Western Australia. Murdoch now has five Environmental Science experts involved in significant Government bodies including:

• John Bailey as Chair of the Conservation Commission;
• Jane Chambers as a Board member of the Swan River Trust;
• Jenny Davis as a member of the Conservation Commission; and
• ynnath Beckley as a member of the Marine Parks and Reserves Authority.

Murdoch University has had almost continuous membership of Government authorities such as the EPA for the last 20 years.