Introduction and overview
[ Research Review 0307 ]
Welcome to the 2007 edition of Research Review, an annual review showcasing the quality and impact of research at the University of Melbourne.
In the pages ahead we bring you features and insights into a range of projects by Melbourne researchers, many undertaken in collaboration with other leading organisations, local and international.
Among those featured are Dr Lyndell Brown and Associate Professor Charles Green, chosen by the Australian War Memorial as the nation’s official war artists to produce works portraying the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We examine a novel technique enabling vital new organ tissue to be grown in a special bio-chamber in the body, developed by scientists from the University of Melbourne and the Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery. The discovery has huge ramifications for the thousands of people worldwide whose survival depends on heart transplants.
And we look at the issue of climate change in three features dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, managing nuclear waste knowledge, and the effects of climate change on the grape industry.
There are many other stories featured in this Review, from among more than 6000 staff and higher degree research projects underway at the University of Melbourne.
2007 is proving to be a particularly dynamic year for the University of Melbourne, with significant developments in the implementation of the Melbourne Model, based on six broad undergraduate programs followed by a professional graduate degree, research higher degree or entry directly into employment.
The University’s Growing Esteem strategy also sees changes in research management, with a greater emphasis on scale and focus and on the strengthening of cross-disciplinary and collaborative research. Our strategies include appointing a new leadership group called Future Generation Professors, setting five priority areas for internal investment in cross-disciplinary research, and a stronger focus on working with prestigious research institutes and with industry. (See the ‘Research Performance and Key Statistics’ section of the magazine).
A highlight of 2007 was the launch of the ‘dreamlarge’ campaign. Television and cinema viewers Australia-wide and international visitors to dreamlarge.edu.au are seeing the University in a new light. The dreamlarge campaign highlights the benefits to individuals and society at large of a well grounded education. It challenges us all to realise our potential through broad education. It asks us to recognise that we are global citizens and can be part of the solution to the large-scale issues facing humanity. It celebrates Australia’s intellectual capacity, and in particular that of the University of Melbourne, one of the world’s leading universities.
I encourage you to read this edition of the Research Review to sample some of the exciting research that is being undertaken at the University of Melbourne. Further information on these projects is available via the contacts listed on the inside back cover.
Professor John McKenzie
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
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