Safety-conscious staff at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will be honoured when the annual Wagga Mutual Credit Union Safety Awareness Awards are presented on Thursday 11 November. Six staff, including a lecturer, a laboratory manager and a security officer, will receive an award during the ceremony from 3.30pm to 5pm in Joyes Hall at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The awards in 2010 have focussed on staff who have used the official hazard reporting system at CSU, or have shown good occupational health and safety practice in offering solutions to potential hazards which range from road safety on campus, lighting and a washing machine with an electrical fault.

A researcher exploring consumer attitudes and taste preferences for food and wine is among the Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff recognised for their contribution to the University. CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann will present his annual Awards for Excellence at a ceremony in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 28 August. Associate Professor Anthony Saliba from CSU’s School of Psychology and National Wine and Grape Industry Centre has been recognised for his research into how we interpret sensory experiences to make decisions. “I'm passionate about research because it gives us answers, it allows us to achieve things like prolong life, increase happiness and allows us to make informed decisions about our future,” said Professor Saliba. More than 100 people are expected to attend the ceremony at CSU in Wagga Wagga to see more than 30 awards presented to individual staff members or teams for outstanding achievements in teaching, sustainability, research, innovation, leadership performance and professional excellence.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is set to host its 33rd annual Vintage Dinner in Wagga Wagga on Friday 12 November. CSU Winemaker, Mr Andrew Drumm, says while the overall quantity of fruit harvested was down due to rain, the fruit is of higher quality, with a lot more hand-harvesting this year. “The harvesting of grapes by hand is a more delicate procedure to mechanical harvesting and therefore leads to a superior product,” Mr Drumm said. Up to 270 guests are expected to attend the Vintage Dinner. Wines from various vintages will be provided including the hand-harvested 2010 Rosé, the award-winning 2007 sparkling wine, and the 2010 Moscato, the first commercial crop off the Muscat vines at CSU in Wagga Wagga. Entertainment will be provided by the Italian-born classical/pop singer Mr Antonio Villano. His performances include The Elder Park Christmas Carols, The Australian Tour Down Under, The Adelaide Carnivale, Italian festivals and charity events. Tickets are on sale for $60 from Ms Karen Jamieson on 02 6933 2221. Pre-dinner drinks will be held from 6.45pm with dinner served in the Convention Centre at CSU in Wagga Wagga from 7pm.

Pharmacy students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange and Wagga Wagga will meet with industry and employer groups over pizza at a state-wide videoconference on Wednesday 7 August. The annual evening “jobs hookup” will include representatives from the Society of Hospital Pharmacists Australia and Professional Pharmacists Australia, says Pharmacy program leader at CSU in Orange Dr Maree Simpson. “We run a jobs hookup with our third-year and fourth-year students each year, to help them get a sense of the options available to them after graduation, and to help establish the professional and industry connections that can kick-start their careers,” she said. “Not all pharmacists go on to work in a ‘high-street’ pharmacy. Many go into hospital pharmacist roles, or into associated careers, and rural and regional hospitals offer many opportunities in those fields. A hospital pharmacist could work in an outpatient dispensary, in intensive care, recovery, or in coronary care providing medications and conducting medication reviews. It’s a really varied and valuable job, and the jobs hookup is a great opportunity for students to ask questions of the people who are often the ones recruiting into these fields.”

As 2010 draws to a close, the lectures and exams are at an end for many students at Charles Sturt University (CSU). However a group of social work students is preparing to embark on a trip to India later this month. “This first trip to India by social work students at Charles Sturt University aims to give the students valuable international field experience working with social workers in villages between the major metropolitan centres of Mumbai and Pune in the country’s south,” said Dr Bill Anscombe, senior lecturer from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga. “The local social workers are very skilled at field work and work in a variety of challenging situations. It is a great opportunity for our students to see and experience international social work. The 19 students from Charles Sturt University will assist the local staff with reporting and monitoring, and experience reality there and learn about development programs.” The itinerary includes field trips to orphanages, mobile health vans, disability services, a leprosy disability institution, as well as providing opportunities to learn about micro-credits and micro-finance programmes, women’s empowerment programmes and child protection programmes. During the trip the students plan to donate to building accommodation at an orphanage in the Malvali-Lonavala district.

Already well known for its locally produced wine, cheese and olive oil, Charles Sturt University (CSU) can add lavender to its repertoire. Known as Riverina James, the lavender was bred by Dr Nigel Urwin, a lecturer in animal genetics and gene technologies at the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga. “Riverina James is a garden ornamental bred as a sturdy, fast growing and water-wise plant,” Dr Urwin said. “It emits a strong and pleasant fragrance from its green foliage and is a plant suitable for hedges as well as for cut flowers due to their long vase life.” Riverina James is one of five new lavender varieties bred by Dr Urwin at CSU with four others developed specially for the essential oil industry to be high oil yielding varieties. Riverina James is produced and marketed by Plant Growers Australia and is on sale through Plant Plus in Wagga Wagga and will be available next year from Bunnings as part of their Lavender Patch collection.

The addition of a basketball hoop to encourage recycling in the Dining Room for Charles Sturt University (CSU) students living on campus in Wagga Wagga is proving popular. The brainchild of the Catering team within the University’s Division of Student Services, the students are able to shoot goals using recyclable items. “The students have enthusiastically embraced the concept of using the recycling bin a lot as a result of the new basketball hoop,” Catering Team Leader, Mr Toby Perry, said. “The rate of recycling by the students has increased substantially. So much so, that the Division of Student Services may have to organise an additional recycling pick-up.” Also contributing to the initiative is CSU Green which was established in 2008 to promote sustainable practices at CSU. “As a result of its success in the Dining Hall, it is hoped that the idea will be extended to other student spaces next year including in the Noshpit, the student canteen area in Wagga Wagga, and at the Gums Café at the University’s Thurgoona site,” CSU Green Manager Mr William Adlong said.

One way mirrored glass, software to record computer key strokes and eye tracking technology might sound dark and mysterious but it’s all part of a new laboratory set to improve computing research at Charles Sturt University (CSU). An upgrade to the so-called Digital Library Usability Lab at CSU in Wagga Wagga will be officially opened on Wednesday 7 August. The Lab will be used to examine the way that people interact with computers, media devices and the Internet. Lecturer with the University’s School of Information Studies Dr Asim Qayyum said eye tracking - where eye movements are recorded on many types of screens including computer monitors, tablets or mobile phones - is a well established research technique. “It can help researchers find out exactly where people are looking, how their gaze moves around a website or media device and which presentation techniques are most effective,” said Dr Qayyum. “This will add a new dimension to our research evaluating existing computer applications and may lead to the development of new and more user-friendly systems.” The Lab is joint project between CSU’s School of Information Studies and Division of Library Services.

An astronomer and Aboriginal researcher will highlight thousands of years of serious star gazing when he discusses the astronomical knowledge and traditions of Aboriginal Australians next week at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga. Dr Duane Hamacher from the University of NSW in Sydney will explore the relationship between astronomy and calendars, navigation, food economics and social structure in the lives of the first Australians. The free public lecture will be the first event in Albury as part of National Science Week for 2013, which is being coordinated by the Astronomical Society of Albury-Wodonga in conjunction with CSU. The event starts at 7pm on Tuesday 13 August in the CD Blake Lecture Theatre, CSU in Albury-Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.