Dental practitioners across regional Australia have welcomed Commonwealth Government funding of $65.1 million for the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Dentistry and Oral Health announced in last week’s Federal Budget. A dentist practising in the NSW inland city of Wagga Wagga, Dr Kathleen Matthews has congratulated the University for “deservedly winning the funding for the CSU dental school. As a local practitioner I am personally excited at the prospect … and see this as a unique opportunity for a regionally based ‘community of practice’ to be formed, not only for the benefit of local and visiting health professionals and educators, but for the oral and systemic health of our population”. CSU Vice Chancellor Ian Goulter says, “Our plan for dental education in inland NSW will rely heavily on the participation of existing dental practitioners in our regional communities in the clinical education program”.

Are frogs hypersensitive indicators of the slightest environmental change, or robust little beasts battling almost insurmountable odds? Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Wagga Wagga City Council will host a public lecture to address this question, to be given by CSU lecturer Dr Skye Wassens. In 1980 a series of reports documented a sudden, catastrophic decline among the world’s frog populations. The mystery surrounding frog disappearances has seen researchers looking desperately for answers but, 27 years on, frog populations are disappearing faster than ever. Just what is it about frogs that make them so difficult to conserve? Entitled The Search for the Smoking Gun: Unravelling the Myths and Misconceptions of Global Amphibian Declines, the lecture will provide an insight into the world of frogs, attempt to seek out the causes of frog disappearances, and discuss strategies for preserving frog populations in the Riverina.

Two Charles Sturt University (CSU) teams have been recognised for innovative workplace safety initiatives. The Wagga Mutual Credit Union Safety Awareness Award programme supports safety conscious community members to promote safety awareness. The CSU School of Biomedical Sciences team worked with the Division of Facilities Management to investigate and minimise exposure to airborne microbes causing mould in the building. CSU Facilities Management installed timers and ceiling vents to prevent moist air stagnating and causing respiratory problems. The CSU Division of Facilities Management team sought approval for a replacement truck which incorporated a hydraulic lifting platform. The number of daily manual handling lifting operations were dramatically reduced and this will also reduce the incidence of manual handling injuries and enable safer movement of materials around the Wagga Wagga Campus. Both teams won cash prizes of $150.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) are embarking on a collaborative hydrology project of global significance in Wagga Wagga. Based on CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus, the proposed Water, Agriculture, Technology and Environment Research (WATER) Centre for Food Security will develop strategies and programmes to ensure adequate, sustainable water supplies for agriculture and research while protecting the environment. CSU School of Environmental Sciences Professor Shabaz Khan says the work of the WATER Centre relates to all countries sharing concerns on managing water resources for food security and alleviating poverty while preserving the environment, through research, education and training. Two UNESCO representatives, Professor Siegfried Demuth from France and Mr Giuseppe Arduino from Indonesia, will visit CSU Wagga Wagga Campus for the launch of the WATER Centre. Professor Khan says, “The Centre will work on national and international water problems by seeking local solutions for global impacts on water quality issues”.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will help show the value of agricultural research to regional Australia during a one day workshop on Wednesday 30 May. About eighty senior high school students from throughout the Riverina will meet with scientists of the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation to see what it is like to work in agricultural science. The students from years 10 and 11 will do hands-on experiments, looking at applied research that is being used to solve problems currently affecting primary industries. The students will also be given an insight into interesting career choices that many would not have come across before. The EH Graham Centre is an alliance between the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) and its students are fostering greater understanding and tolerance during a time when religious differences dominate the global scene. A public discussion, Jesus and Muhammad, is an initiative of the CSU Islamic Students Association and Christian Fellowship and will be held on Wednesday 30 May. According to CSU’s Dr Ata Rehman, the aim of the forum is to encourage unity between the Christian and Muslim faiths, open dialogue and clear up misconceptions held by each religion. Guest speakers will include Dr Muhammad Abdulla, Director of the Griffith Islamic Research Unit and Mr Samuel Green, who has a degree in theology and 15 years experience in Christian Muslim dialogue. Christian Fellowship member Richard Wilson believes much of today’s tensions are due to people misunderstanding the similarities between the two religions, adding there is a lot of ignorance around, and ignorance creates fear.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) adjunct lecturer is shedding new light on dark matter, which makes up most of the Universe. Dark matter remains a mystery with no convincing theory ever having been put forward to explain its existence, according to Dr Allan Ernest from the CSU School of Computing and Mathematics. He says scientists struggle to explain dark matter and they need to use ideas that involve new, ‘made-up’ physics or as yet unknown, undiscovered particles. Dr Ernest says, “My theory uses well known physics and ordinary particles. When applied, ordinary matter can be made invisible by putting it into the right ‘state’, producing the dark matter halos of galaxies in the early universe. It’s a hypothesis that seems to be able to explain almost all of the observations of dark matter”. Dr Ernest along with Dr Matthew Collins will present the theory at the upcoming 18th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation in July.

Professor Lyn Gorman has been appointed the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at Charles Sturt University (CSU). In making the announcement on Thursday 3 May, CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Goulter congratulated Professor Gorman and said, “I look forward to working with Professor Gorman in achieving the University Strategy 2007-2011 over the coming years”. Professor Gorman, who was previously the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and acting DV-C since June 2006, began her career at CSU in 1991. “I love what I am doing. I enjoy the opportunity for engagement with the Divisions, but I also remain involved with the Graduate Certificate in University Leadership and Management, which I sponsored when I was Dean of the Faculty, and also in developing online resources through my work as the presiding officer of the NSW HSC Online project’s Board of Management.”

The newly appointed Director of the National Wine & Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Wagga Wagga Campus, Dr Thomas Henick-Kling, says he wants to enhance the recognition of the NWGIC as a national and international leader in grape and wine quality research. Dr Henick-Kling is a wine microbiologist with commercial and experimental winemaking experience in Germany and Australia. He also headed the wine research and extension program at Cornell University in New York State, USA, for 20 years. Other aims include improving collaborations with other research groups from Australia and overseas, and increasing CSU’s research capacity in wine flavour chemistry and wine microbiology. According to Dr Henick-Kling, “Together with our industry and research partners, the NWGIC will develop the knowledge and train the workforce that the Australian wine industry will need to continue its success into the next 50 years”.