News

In 2019 the Faculty of Science is launching a tiered mentoring program for all Bachelor of Science students. A key component of this is The First Year Mentoring Experience, a peer mentoring program designed to support commencing Bachelor of Science students as they transition into tertiary study.

Greater freedom of movement and investments in human rights and social opportunities can help protect humans from environmental threats like rising sea levels, new research says.

Dr Hall was one of six early career researchers awarded a 2018 Victoria Fellowship in Physical Sciences by VESKI at an awards ceremony on 24 October.

Ms Harcourt was honoured for her seminal work in integer linear programming and other contributions to the mathematical and statistical sciences.

Some Australian birds can control their temperature and avoid overheating by reflecting near-infrared wavelengths of sunlight, regardless of their feather colour

As the Hubble Space Telescope prepares to mark its 30th year, what can we expect from its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope?

A new software tool predicts landslide boundaries two weeks before they happen

Associate Professor Stephen Leslie, Dr Damjan Vukcevic and Dr Allan Motyer are part of the team that has published the world’s largest genetic study on humans.

Ms Alison Harcourt, an 88 year-old statistician who works at the School of Mathematics and Statistics, was featured on the ABC 7.30 program on Monday night.

Senator for Victoria, James Paterson, launched the new ARC Training Centre for Chemical Industries at the University of Melbourne on Friday 21 September.

Seven University of Melbourne staff members and associates have been selected to participate in the Homeward Bound global leadership initiative for women in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine).

Associate Professor Wai-Hong Tham has been awarded the 2018 David Syme Research Prize - one of Australia’s oldest annual research awards - for her work towards a malaria vaccine.

This is the first time I participated in the 3MT contest and I am amazed by how much I have learned in the process. Based on feedback from the judges and other participants, my talk has “evolved” a lot during the three rounds of competition. I feel like I have gained a great amount of clarity about my research, and this is very useful for my career and my PhD.

From 2 – 11 July 2018, the Faculty of Science hosted a group of students and a travelling academic from the College of Environmental Science & Engineering at Peking University for a week-long study tour.

Professor Karen Day, Professor David Gardner, and Professor Stuart Wyithe from the Faculty of Science have been awarded the title of Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor by the University of Melbourne.

New economic modelling shows a US$23 trillion loss in global GDP, with the economies of many countries collapsing, if we allow global temperatures to rise by 4 degrees by 2100

It’s the urban age for people – and for other species too – so it’s time to start planning for all the plants and animals that call our cities home

Professor Antoinette Tordesillas teams up with former Chief Scientist of Australia and Group Chief Scientist of Rio Tinto Ltd. Professor Robin Batterham to develop a new software tool that can predict landslide boundaries two weeks in advance.

The way Australia’s sleepy lizard reacts to water shortages gives us an insight into the effects of climate change on animals.

Professors Jon Barnett and Madeleine van Oppen were among those awarded Laureate Fellowships by the Australian Research Council, with five Future Fellowships also awarded to Faculty of Science researchers.

Science and Technology Australia (STA) has announced its 10 inaugural STEM Ambassadors, who will who will work to build deeper understanding by federal parliamentarians of the impact of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in Australia.

Congratulations to Dr Andrew Weeks and the Burramys Genetic Rescue Team for their nomination as a finalist in in the Research Innovation Category of the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.

New evidence has raised concerns about the possibility of feral cats preying upon the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum, with a cat detected on cameras at two nest boxes used by the possums.

A new paper by Dr Sharmila Sur and Prof Kevin Walsh has found that tropical cyclones are forming further from the equator as the planet warms, bringing new regions into the zone of the intense storms, including parts of eastern Australia.

The Faculty of Science recently hosted a group of students and a travelling academic from Peking University on a week-long study camp.

As soon as exams were over for the Semester, 11 enthusiastic Faculty of Science students hit the road for the Science Delivery Winter Roadshow.

The FREO2 low pressure oxygen system is live and has assisted a child in Mbarara, Uganda for the first time.

Professor Madeleine van Oppen has helped edit a coral bleaching book, aimed at an academic audience.

Twice a day, every weekday – millions of us spend time in cars, buses, trains and trams commuting. Although many of us hate it, the experiences of our daily journeys are transforming life in our cities

Applications for the Faculty of Science John McKenzie Early Career Researcher (ECR) Award are now open. The award provides seed funding of $20,000 for early career researchers with an academic appointment in one of the Faculty’s seven Schools and aims to assist awardees to establish their research program, particularly in the Faculty, but also more broadly with partners external to the University of Melbourne.

To celebrate 50 years of the July Lectures in Physics, we look back at four physics discoveries that have changed the world.

There are only two female northern white rhinos left in the world, but the species could soon make a comeback thanks to assisted reproductive technologies and a little help from their southern cousins.

Researchers have discovered the workings of wood-making cells inside trees, settling a century-old debate about how plants make bark and wood.

Physicists have successfully run the largest quantum computing simulation to date, a key step in becoming quantum-ready.

Professor Sue Thomas, CEO of the Australian Research Council, and representatives from major chemical companies, industry groups and partner universities joined University of Melbourne staff for a breakfast hosted by the ARC Training Centre for the Chemical Industries at the Woodward Conference Centre on Thursday.

Dr Angela van de Wouw (School of BioSciences) and Dr Shu Kee (Raymond) Lam (Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences) received the prestigious ICM Agrifood Award at the ATSE Innovation Dinner, recognising their contribution to the Australian agriculture and food sector.

For the first time, researchers have examined the long-term effects of removing tonsils and adenoids in childhood, finding the operations are associated with increased respiratory, infectious and allergic diseases.

Melbourne researchers have been collecting blowfly samples from across Australia as part of the fight against flystrike.

Scientists are looking inside plant cells to learn how wood is formed and how that process can help develop materials for the future.

Inspired by how bees make collective decisions, researchers are exploring how crowdsourcing techniques may help intelligence analysts produce the best-reasoned analysis from the available data.

Sarah Dickson-Hoyle has recently been awarded the Future Forests Fellowship from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, where she will complete her PhD studies in place-based fire management under the supervision of Dr Lori Daniels, a disturbance ecologist.

Artificial lights have brightened the night in cities across the world and urban wildlife is being forced to adapt – but what happens when, after 3.5 billion years of evolution, light invades what should be darkness?

A breeding experiment to genetically adapt quolls to resist toxic cane toads could lead to a new tool to help endangered creatures from corals to Tasmanian Devils.

Professor Rachel Webster and Professor Lloyd Hollenberg from the School of Physics have been elected as new Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science for their outstanding contributions to science and scientific research.

Hawaii’s Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes - but what does this recent eruption tell us about what’s going on deep underground?

Two research projects, both from The Waterways Ecosystem Research Group (WERG) in the School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, have been recognised in the 2018 University of Melbourne Excellence Awards.

Professor Frances Separovic was the featured guest of the most recent Eavesdrop on Experts podcast. Speaking with presenter Dr Andi Horvath, she reflects on the road she has travelled, from school in Broken Hill to Deputy Director of the Bio21 Institute.

MySwan, a long running citizen sciences project from the School of BioSciences, is now available as an app for download on iOS and Android.

Associate Dean (International), Associate Professor Alex Johnson, recently received the 2017-18 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, at Virginia Tech.

Earth’s transition from a volcanic state to modern plate tectonics created super-stable rocks that are the source of much of our mineral wealth.

University of Melbourne alumna Dr Marie Clark has taken part in a 3-week voyage to Antarctica as part of the Homeward Bound program, an initiative to nurture the leadership and strategic capabilities of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

China’s Zhangjiajie UNESCO Global Geopark looks like a scene from Avatar, but it wasn’t created by computers; water, time and tectonics combined to create this other-worldly wonder.

The gender gap for women working in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) is likely to persist for generations, unless we take proactive steps.

Professor James McCaw was recently featured on ABC Radio National discussing the importance of mathematical modelling of infectious diseases.

Passengers onboard the First Fleet received a harsh introduction to their new home’s climate before they even landed. Their diaries and letters reveal just how hard it was.

Physicists have demonstrated how, using light, a diamond layer and quantum mechanics, they could potentially “light up” our molecular insides for more powerful MRIs.

A small group of proteins are associated with the most severe strains of malarial infection and their discovery is a step towards a vaccine against the deadliest forms of the disease.

Professor Stephen Hawking changed the way we understand the universe and leaves a legacy of theory ranging from black holes to the quantum effect on time.

Male moth antennae act like sieves, separating female sex pheromones from environmental dust.

Master of Environment student Ashley Fletcher got a taste of the highs and lows in the battle to implement a global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when she represented the University of Melbourne at the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Germany in November.

The first female chemistry professor in Victoria, Frances Separovic forged her career against the odds, and has just been named a ‘trailblazer’ on the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.

Is water a commodity or a right? Cape Town could be the first of many cities around the world to experience the reality of water demand far outstripping supply

Using 3D scanning, researchers are peeking under the preserved skin of Tasmanian tiger specimens to reconstruct its growth and development

New software based on statistical probability principles is helping forecast our flu season, and could also identify the level of threat of a bioterrorist attack

Nature could offer better protection for our coastlines than hard, grey concrete - as we face the effects of climate change like rising sea levels

CRISPR, biology’s methodological wunderkind, is becoming synonymous with the controversial field of human gene editing. But it’s revolutionising much wider scientific discovery too.

Far from being a biodiversity wasteland, urban environments are home to some of Australia’s most threatened species

A new report argues that changes are needed for a consumer-focussed smart meter rollout.

Pioneering women zoologists and explorers played an instrumental role in natural history collections around the world

Land clearing has all but wiped out Key’s matchstick grasshoppers in Victoria, but there is hope for this uniquely Australian insect

Over the recent summer holidays, four maths students from the Faculty of Science undertook a Trading internship at Optiver, a leading technology driven trading firm based in Sydney.

In this podcast, Jane Dyson, Glyn Davis and Craig Jeffrey discuss the plight of unemployed young people in India.

University of Melbourne’s Creswick campus is one of two new private land partners included in the Creswick Heritage Walk, which was launched in December.

Sienna Cancer Diagnostics has hosted Master of Biotechnology Industry Projects for the last three years. Read this story from Sienna on how our Biotech students are helping them deliver on their strategic goals.

Master of Science (BioSciences) student Grace Boxshall was the 2017 recipient of the Muriel Ramm Science Bursary, which is helping support her living costs during her research project on variable toxicity in species of Agaricus mushroom.

Master of Biotechnology student Ruchir Raman has written an article that was published in the respected Taylor & Francis journal GM Crops & Food.

Some of the technological innovations of 2017 sound more like sci-fi, but according to the brains behind a few of them, the future is still full of surprises