Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) first professional doctorate in gerontology and a family affair will highlight the three graduation ceremonies to be held next week in Albury. Margaret Gartrell will receive a Doctor of Health Science during the afternoon ceremony on Thursday 27 April, for her research into how older people cope with pain and its implications for nursing. Meanwhile Anne Nevins will be joined by her daughters Amy and Rachel as they all receive their arts, business and health degrees during the two days of graduation ceremonies on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 April. Over 500 graduates from the University’s five faculties will receive their degrees during the three ceremonies to be held in Albury-Wodonga, joined by their parents and friends from around Australia.

Rising energy costs and living and learning in a clean environment have continued to influence the design of the new School of Business building proposed for Charles Sturt University's (CSU) Albury-Wodonga Campus. "As with previous construction on our Thurgoona site, the University is looking to reduce the cost of energy used in large public buildings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy production," said Head of the Albury-Wodonga Campus, Professor Gail Whiteford. "One innovative feature of this building will be its insulation. Whereas most inland Australian buildings have their insulation inside, the new building will be like an 'esky', with insulation on the outside and the main support structures inside. This aims to reduce the fluctuation of temperature inside and drastically cut the need for heating and cooling, something we have learnt from our previous buildings." Plans for the $3 million, two-storey office building, which follows research by CSU staff into the existing buildings on the Thurgoona site, will be presented to Albury City Council next week. They will also be on public display during the Thurgoona Futures Festival to be held this Saturday 27 May on CSU's Thurgoona site.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer Dr Keith Nesbitt’s research on a design pattern for complex systems has won him a 12-month postdoctoral appointment to the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI) in Boston, USA. Dr Nesbitt, a lecturer in Information Technology at CSU, has been working in the relatively new field of science known as complex systems. The study of complex systems is about understanding indirect effects and the problems we find difficult to solve. They have causes and effects that are not obviously related. Examples of complex systems include beehives, ant colonies and even the stockmarket, as well as the human brain. NECSI, where Dr Nesbitt will be based, is an independent non-profit educational and research institution dedicated to advancing the study of complex systems. NECSI was established as a collaboration of faculty from Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Brandeis and other academic institutions. “I’m keen to take my research to the next level. That would be the ultimate goal: to try and understand what they call the theory of the mind”, said Dr Nesbitt.

Charles Sturt University graduate David Ford has won the Great Australian Story Challenge with his short film, A Little Bit of Magic. David graduated this year with a Bachelor of Arts (Television Production), and will now spend three months working with Australian Story at ABC TV. “I have a lot of respect for both the program and the ABC. I feel I have the capacity to make good stories, but it is also knowing how to work within a particular production environment. I don’t know where it will take me or what it will hold but it is looking optimistic.” A Little Bit of Magic tells the story of Cliff Armitage, who had an amazing career change since being involved in the gun control policy formation after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. David says making the film was a challenge “because I was doing the lighting, sound and camera, as well as producing and directing and researching”. Last year David filmed a travelogue documentary about his time spent at an African AIDS orphanage, which airs in July on cable TV in Australia, and later in New Zealand and Indonesia.

Is there such a thing as a balanced assessment of the “Intelligent Design -Creation Science” controversy? Professor David Goldney from Charles Sturt University (CSU) believes so. The well-known scientist and environmental consultant, who has lived and worked in the Bathurst community since 1972, is a committed Christian and an Adjunct Professor at CSU. Professor Goldney estimates almost half the world’s scientists are Christian on some level, but still accept the theory of evolution, including himself. “While I’m a Christian, I’m committed to Darwinian evolution and I think the ‘Intelligent Design’ argument is way off track. There’s a continuum of people, from ‘flat earthers’ to creation scientists, with the view that evolution leads only to atheism and proves there is no God. Somewhere in there might be some middle ground.” Three public lectures are planned for June, where Professor Goldney will “go through the range of creation stories that a Christian might look at and still remain an honest scientist with integrity and accept faith”.

An organisation aimed at lifting the profile of women in the Australian construction industry has honoured the work of a Charles Sturt University (CSU) distance education student with a national award. Fiona Shewring, who is studying for a Graduate Diploma of Vocational Education and Training (VET) at CSU, received an award from the National Association for Women in Construction. During the Association’s annual awards night at Sydney’s Town Hall at the end of May, Ms Shewring was presented the Acoustic Logic Consultancy Award. The annual event was attended by women managers, architects, developers and solicitors involved with the construction sector. The CSU student is employed by the Illawarra Institute of TAFE in Wollongong and during the past four years, has taught more than 100 women painting and decorating skills as part of TAFE NSW’s early pathways program known as Outreach. “The award for Fiona is a credit to her vocational training and work in breaking down the barriers within the trades sector for women,” said VET course coordinator Roslin Brennan-Kemmis.

The peak body for Australian agricultural scientists and technologists has honoured the life-time professional work of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Emeritus Professor Ted Wolfe. The Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (AIAST), representing professionals working in agricultural science and natural resource management, has made Professor Wolfe a Fellow of the Institute. He has a lengthy involvement with agricultural education at the University which in recent years has seen him lead international student exchanges between CSU and the University of Delaware, USA. Professor Wolfe has also been recognised for his work in building the agricultural capacity of countries like North Korea and Eritrea, visiting and building ties with both countries. He believes strongly in the benefit of these visits to scientific agriculture and to farmers, not only in the host country but also in Australia. “Following the recent run of poor seasons, the Australian agricultural sector deserves on-going community support for the valuable role it plays in food security, land care and earning export income,” said Professor Wolfe. Outgoing Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Science Professor Jim Pratley said this was a fitting and richly deserved reward for Professor Wolfe for his tireless commitment to agriculture and AIAST.

Diabetes is the fastest growing disease in Australia and a Charles Sturt University (CSU) research project that has run for the past four years aims to develop a cost-effective early warning system to detect diabetes in people living in regional Australia. CSU researchers are using simple blood and heart monitoring tests and eye and foot observations to compare known people with diabetes with "normal" people aged over 40 years to develop this system. "Rural Australians have poorer access to health services that could detect early symptoms of diabetes that affect their eyes, feet and hearts," said research team leader Dr Herbert Jelinek, based on CSU’s Albury-Wodonga Campus. The researchers will make their next round of observations of people in Albury-Wodonga starting next Monday 24 April for two weeks.

Videoconferencing will be a significant component of teaching in the future according to Charles Sturt University (CSU) mathematics lecturer Michael Kemp who spoke at a public seminar today about the challenges facing lecturers who are not always teaching in the same room as their students. “As the world evolves into a smaller place with email and videoconferencing becoming an everyday occurrence, Australia’s largest regional university CSU has trained their academics to use the latest technology and present lectures to students throughout NSW and across the country.” Having taught mathematics via videoconferences and forums during the past semester at CSU, Mr Kemp looked at his practices through a survey with students to present a public seminar on lessons learnt titled Lessons Learned About Remote Teaching.