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Lumen Winter 2006 THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE MAGAZINE WINTER 2006 INSIDE: Engineered for success Saving business millions The Stuart Case Still raising controversies A passion for heritage The heritage working group International achievers Our high-fliers in Asia Digging up the past Analysing ancient DNA LIFE IMPACT—THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE LUMEN - The University of Adelaide Magazine Registered by Australia Post No 56500/00097 MESSAGE FROM THE VICE-CHANCELLOR niversity of Adelaide graduates make an impact in many fields of endeavour. Politics is one such field, and the University Ucongratulates law graduate Julie Bishop on her elevation earlier this year to the Federal Cabinet and the Ministry of Education, Science and Training. She describes her time at Adelaide in this issue of Lumen. In recent years, the University has attracted some outstanding, world-renowned scholars as it invests heavily in international talent. Among them is Federation Fellow Professor Alan Cooper, recruited from Oxford University, who has specialised expertise in molecular biology, especially ancient DNA. The building of a new facility in collaboration with the Department for Environment and Heritage will make Adelaide an international centre for large-scale research into the effects of climate change, bio-security and animal and human evolution, and Professor Cooper’s work is the subject of the feature story in this issue. The new ancient DNA facility is an example of the numerous partnerships in which the University is engaged. Others highlighted in this issue include: our partnership with The Smith Family to give students from disadvantaged backgrounds better opportunities to pursue tertiary education; our partnership with Qantas to give early career researchers the chance to benefit from international travel and collaboration; and the Proteomics Centre, a partnership between the School of Molecular and Biomedical Science and the Hanson Institute in the fight against cancer. Partnership in a different sense underlies the new Heritage Appeal. The University of Adelaide is the custodian of a significant built heritage and the Heritage Appeal aims to help us preserve and transmit this heritage to coming generations. It is being made possible by the men and women who have so generously given of their time to lead the Heritage Foundation Working Party, and this issue recognises their commitment. We also acknowledge those who give to the University through volunteering in a story about the work of the Volunteer Committee, established in 2004 to coordinate the diverse volunteer activities that take place across the University. These are some of the Adelaide graduates and Adelaide research featured in this issue of Lumen. They reaffirm the inspiring impact that our University continues to make, and of which we can truly be proud. PROFESSOR JAMES A. McWHA Vice-Chancellor and President winter 2006 THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE MAGAZINE lumen contents WINTER 2006 Digging up the past A passion for heritage 2 Ancient DNA centre to answer important 16 We profi le the members of the Heritage evolutionary questions. Foundation Working Party. FEATURE STORY Overhauling education Volunteering advocate 6 New Education Minister looks forward to the 19 Lindsay McWha talks about her challenges of her role. belief in volunteering. Engineered for success Have knowledge, will travel 8 Water distribution systems research 21 Research into age-related diseases to benefi t is big business. from Qantas travel partnership. 10 Rubbing shoulders 22 Graduate Achievers with celebrities • Family builds a web of success. • Our high-fl iers in Asia. Adelaide scientist attracts world attention for morphine research. The Stuart Case Adelaide pioneers 12 Still raising controversies. 27 Dr Ruby Davy – Australia’s fi rst woman Doctor of Music. Anti-cancer partnership Building bridges 14 $3 million new proteomics centre. 30 New chapter established in Sydney. The Lumen masthead is derived from the University of Adelaide motto “Sub Cruce Lumen”—the light (of learning) under the (Southern) Cross. Lumen Online: www.adelaide.edu.au/lumen Executive Editor: John Edge Editorial Committee: John Edge, Ben Osborne, Nicole Stones and Kim McBride Contributors: Candy Gibson, Lana Guineay, Kim McBride, Robyn Mills, Ben Osborne, Nicole Stones Photography: Barr Smith Library, Adam Bruzzone, Development and Alumni Offi ce, Candy Gibson, Robyn Mills, Offi ce of Ms Julie Bishop, Ben Osborne Front Cover: Randy Larcombe Design: Chris Tonkin Pre-press & Printing: van Gastell Printing Editorial Enquiries: Marketing & Strategic Communications Offi ce • Phone: +61 8 8303 5174 • Fax: +61 8 8303 4829 The University of Adelaide SA 5005 Australia, CRICOS Provider Number 00123M Copyright © 2006 The University of Adelaide ISSN 1320 0747 • Registered by Australia Post No 56500/00097 Views expressed by contributors in LUMEN are not necessarily endorsed by the University of Adelaide. No responsibility is accepted by the University, editor or printer for the accuracy of information contained in either the text or advertisements. Material may be reproduced without permission from LUMEN with acknowledgment of its origin. THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE MAGAZINE lumen page 1 lumen feature story lumen page 2 winter 2006 lumen feature story When Alan Cooper was a youth in New Zealand, exploring caves and using bones of the giant extinct moa bird to dig through rockfalls, he had little idea this would lead to an international career. THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE MAGAZINE lumen page 3 lumen feature story wenty years down the track, Australia’s past and better manage colder environments such as Tasmania, the zoology professor heads a its future. mountains in New Guinea, Antarctica Tnew world-leading research unit To the layperson, ancient DNA is of course, and possibly certain marine at the University of Adelaide, which best described as genetic material from environments. hopes to answer some of Australia’s the past which has been preserved. It “A common mistake is to think that most important evolutionary questions. is DNA which has been left behind in we’re getting DNA from things like Professor Cooper has spent the past bones, teeth, droppings and even dirt. dinosaurs à la Jurassic Park, which year establishing the Australian Centre Australia’s extreme heat, compared died out over 65 million years ago. for Ancient DNA, due to be officially to Europe and North America, Obviously we’re not, and the upper opened on 24 July, 2006. makes ancient DNA research much limit for survival under ideal deep He was lured from Oxford more difficult as it accelerates the frozen conditions is probably only University in early 2005 after degradation of genetic material. about half a million years. However, winning a prestigious ARC Federation Professor Cooper and his team hope we can use the ancient genetic Fellowship and joining the University’s to work with specimens in Australia information to study much older School of Earth and Environmental dating back 60,000 years. events, by combining with the fossil Sciences. “Radiocarbon dating (a method used record and extrapolating backwards.” The new hi-tech centre will provide to obtain age estimates on organic Ancient DNA can be used to study a research facility for ancient DNA materials) is only effective up to about how populations and species have studies in the southern hemisphere, 60,000 years,” he said. “Even to get changed over time in response to helping scientists to understand to this age, we’ll need to focus on major environmental events, such as lumen page 4 winter 2006 lumen feature story Alan Cooper - heading up world-leading ancient DNA facility at Adelaide. FAR LEFT: Godfrey’s Landing, Coorong National Park (photo courtesy of Adam Bruzzone). Preserved DNA records in the Coorong can tell us a lot about past environmental changes. “For example, our work on we look there are preserved DNA permafrost-preserved megafauna in records. These records can tell us a Alaska and Canada showed the last lot about past environmental changes glacial ice age around 22,000 years and also provide information about ago resulted in the decimation of the pre-Aboriginal and pre-European bison population and many other environments. species.” “On a world scale, Australia’s But it’s global warming that has experience with ancient DNA is scientists worried as the world enters not high. But there are some very the 21st century. important evolutionary questions down “Part of our research will involve here, involving issues such as climate analysing ancient DNA records to change, the evolution of the unique reveal the likely responses of species Australian biota, and the origin of and populations to major climatic Aborigines. changes—in this case global warming.” “We are also studying the evolution Australia’s climate makes it and spread of humans around difficult to recover ancient DNA the world, as part of the National This facility will put from the extinct giant marsupials of Geographic’s Genographic Project. the mainland, but Professor Cooper We’re examining samples from Australia on the believes Tasmania could still yield Neandertals and the ‘hobbits’ from some fascinating discoveries. Flores.” international map “Tasmania has still got a lot of Professor Cooper said the Centre material buried in its caves. We are for Ancient DNA would offer world- very quickly working with some of the cavers in the leading technology, providing north-west of Tasmania and hope to Australian and international scientists recover DNA from some of the giant
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