To say the new Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Australia has hit the ground running may be an understatement.

 

On his second day in his new position, Professor Tim Wess, from the United Kingdom, represented CSU during a visit to the University by Her Excellency the Honourable Quentin Bryce AC, CVO, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.

 

During his initial days in Australia, Professor Wess also got a thorough taste of the geographical expanse of CSU by travelling 2 000 kilometres in a fortnight, visiting Albury, Bathurst, Dubbo, Canberra and Orange from his base in Wagga Wagga.

 

Professor Wess has spent the past decade at Cardiff University in Wales where he was Head of the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences and a former University Pro Vice-Chancellor of Estates.

 

He received an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and undertook his PhD studies in biophysics at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

 

On the research front, Professor Wess was most recently part of a team from two UK universities to develop a new way to read fragile, rolled up, historical documents by scanning parchment with X-rays.

 

Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in the UK, the four year project has been described by Professor Wess as making it “possible to read the unreadable”.

 

Read more about the EPSRC research project here or listen and watch an audio slide show, ‘Reading the Unreadable’ here.   

 

Professor Wess now leads one of largest University faculties in Australia. There is a staff of over 500 and more than 9 000 students in the Faculty of Science. It covers seven Schools in diverse disciplines ranging from veterinary science to dentistry and oral health; nursing to environmental science; allied health and medical sciences to forensic biotechnology; and agricultural, animal and wine sciences.

 

On his role at CSU, Professor Wess said, “I’m delighted to join Charles Sturt University.

 

“It has the regional focus on industry, healthcare, education and above all the people of the region.  But so much of what we do can be applied elsewhere. 

 

“The proposed medical school based in regional Victoria and NSW is a case in point; it will serve the region and our model for high retention of trained staff will apply in other regional, remote and rural areas.”

 

And as Professor Wess settles into his new job, he will soon be joined by his partner and their three teenage children in the regional city of Wagga Wagga. Read more about Professor Tim Wess on CSU News here.