The University of Western Australia

Staff from across the University were recognised at state, national and international levels in 2011. Achievements included:

• Internationally recognised geotechnical engineer and research leader at UWA’s Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems, Winthrop Professor Mark Randolph, was elected to the prestigious Royal Society.
• The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) awarded its Prix d’Excellence to Winthrop Professor Carlos Duarte, Director of the UWA Oceans Institute.
• Winthrop Professor Tom O'Donoghue, a Gaelic language enthusiast and education expert at UWA’s Graduate School of Education, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
• One of the world's most cited plant scientists, Winthrop Professor Harvey Millar, a Chief Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at UWA, won the 2012 Fenner Medal for distinguished research in biology by a scientist under 40.
• Winthrop Professor and Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health at UWA, Helen Milroy, was among a group of the first Indigenous people to be presented with the 2011 World Council for Psychotherapy’s Sigmund Freud Award.
• Associate Professor Kevin Pfleger was honoured with an Australian Museum Eureka Prize for his work on improving the way pharmaceuticals act on the human body.
• Associate Professor Kevin Pfleger and Winthrop Professor Susan Prescott’s work in child health was showcased among Australia’s best research projects in the National Health and Medical Research Council’s 10 of the Best Research Projects.
• Western Australia’s 2012 Rhodes Scholarship was awarded to UWA medical researcher Rachel Paterson. Vinay Menon was awarded a 2012 Australia-at-large Rhodes Scholarship.

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Throughout 2011, The University of Western Australia continued to confirm its standing as one of Australia’s leading research-intensive universities. Highlights included:

• The University launched a state-of-the-art geochemical facility, the Advanced Geochemical Facility for Indian Ocean Research.
• The School of Electric, Electronic and Computer Engineering launched the WA node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility.
• A $24.25 million Centre of Excellence in the History of the Emotions was opened.
• A refurbished Centre for Sleep Science will address the causes of sleep disorders which cost the Australian community $10 billion a year.

UWA also launched three new Cooperative Research Centres (CRC):

• CRC for Water Sensitive Cities
• Plant Biosecurity CRC
• CRC for Polymers

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The University of Western Australia is committed to being a high-quality, student-centred teaching university, and a high performing research-intensive university, with an international focus for its activities and standards. In 2011 the University and its staff were recognised for their commitment to providing a learning and teaching environment that encourages students to achieve international excellence.

• The high standard of teaching at UWA was again recognised in the national Australian Learning and Teaching Council teaching awards for 2011.
• Deputy Director of the UWA Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health Dr David Paul won the award from the Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education Network.
• Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the establishment of a $31 million international mining centre based at UWA to provide education and training services to developing countries.

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International engagement enables UWA researchers to access global networks, leading technologies and unique research infrastructure.

It is the University’s ambition to be among the top 50 universities in the world by the year 2050.

• Prime ministers, presidents, the Australian Governor-General and the Duke of Edinburgh headed the list of hundreds of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting visitors to the Crawley Campus.
• UWA hosted a delegation of ambassadors to the United Nations and the visit of more than 30 senior government officials from across Africa to showcase its energy and minerals research, including geothermal energy.
• Three major Chinese companies joined UWA and 15 other Chinese and Australian science and industry partners to develop new international collaborative approaches to energy and mining research.
  

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The University enjoys generous support from the community, corporations and individuals. 

• Equipment at the cutting-edge of DNA sequencing was generously donated to the University businessman and philanthropist Charles Morgans.
• Construction of a major $112 million medical research facility began. It is part of the expansion of the QEII Medical Centre into one of the largest medical, research and education facilities in Australia.
• Construction began on UWA’s $6.2 million Sciences Centre in Albany. The sciences facility will house UWA's Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management, the Rural Clinical School of WA and associated research, teaching and training programs.
• A new professorial chair in metocean engineering and offshore foundations has strengthened education and research in Western Australia.
• A multi-million-dollar investment by Chevron Australia has significantly boosted gas processing research at UWA.

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The University continued to engage with the wider community to establish strong links and cement its position as a leading intellectual and creative resource to the communities it serves.

• The University of Western Australia celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Act of Parliament which established the first free university in the British Empire.
• Western Australia joined a global network of 85 Regional Centres of Expertise to promote sustainability.
• Twenty-five high schools from WA’s Mid-West, Gascoyne and Kimberley joined a program run by UWA to give students the opportunity and incentive to attend university.

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Key appointments during the year included:

• Professor Paul Johnson was appointed UWA Vice-Chancellor from January 2012.
• Winthrop Professor Phillip Dolan was appointed Dean of the UWA Business School.
• Winthrop Professor Carlos Duarte was appointed Director of the Oceans Institute.
• Winthrop Professor Jonathan Carapetis was appointed Director of Perth’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.
• Winthrop Professor Eric Moses was appointed Director of the Centre for Genetic Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
• Ms Jennifer O'Neil was appointed Director of the UWA Albany Centre.

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