The International Centre for Water for Food Security (IC Water) at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host a seminar by the head of Murrumbidgee Irrigation this week as part of its mission to work closely with key stakeholders to find solutions to national and international water problems. Murrumbidgee Irrigation Managing Director, Mr Brett Tucker, will present Murrumbidgee Irrigation's take on the current water situation in Australia: Reinventing century old schemes at Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 21 October. Mr Tucker said there’s little doubt that the face of irrigation in the Murray-Darling Basin has changed with the prolonged drought, combined with changes to climate patterns, leading to unprecedented low water availability. “In this environment the key challenges for Murrumbidgee Irrigation include the integrated management of water and energy, and developing effective strategies for mitigating diversification and investment risk,” he said. IC Water is leading a SAM-ET project, funded by National Water Commission, in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area to map out actual water, soil moisture and land use and land cover classification using high spatial resolution satellite imagery.

An edible oils researcher with Charles Sturt University (CSU), Dr Rodney Mailer, has been named the winner of the 2009 Farrer Memorial Medal. Industry & Investment NSW Director-General Dr Richard Sheldrake presented the prestigious award to Dr Mailer at the 28th International Society for Fat Research Congress dinner in Sydney on Monday 28 September. Dr Richard Sheldrake said Dr Mailer’s award recognises his outstanding contribution to edible oils research in Australia, in particular his work on canola and olive oil. "Over the last 30 years Dr Mailer has become internationally recognised for his work on variety breeding and quality testing," Dr Sheldrake said. "Dr Mailer has been involved with the release of 22 canola cultivars, which have at times made up 50 per cent of Australia’s $600 million canola crop. His studies on olive oil quality, harvest timing, irrigation and storage have earned Dr Mailer international recognition for his major contribution to the development of the Australian olive industry.” Dr Mailer is an Adjunct Professor with the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga. He is currently a Principal Research Scientist with Industry & Investment NSW and the E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation.

A leading public intellectual and author will be in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday 22 September to pose probing questions about climate change and economic growth. The free public lecture by Professor Clive Hamilton, AM, Charles Sturt University Vice-Chancellor’s Chair and Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE)  will examine Australia’s pre-occupation with economic growth and question whether the need to halt climate change will be sacrificed for short term prosperity. Professor Hamilton founded ‘think-tank’ The Australia Institute and was its executive director for 14 years until 2008. He has published widely, including books Growth Fetish (2003), Scorcher: The Dirty Politics Of Climate Change (2007) and more recently, The Freedom Paradox (2008), a look at the meaning of freedom and morality in the modern world. In 2009, Professor Hamilton was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for services to public debate and policy development, particularly in the fields of climate change, sustainability and societal trends. Professor Hamilton’s public lecture, ‘Growth Fetishism and the Climate Crisis’ is hosted by Charles Sturt University and Wagga Wagga City Council.

Staff and students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) successfully flew the flag at the inaugural cycling race Tour de Timor held recently in Timor Leste (East Timor). CSU student Mr Neil Van der Pleog from Mount Beauty in Victoria won the 450-kilometre race around the country. CSU students and staff also provided extensive physiotherapy services for competitors throughout the tough event. Started by President Dr Jose Ramos-Horta in the capital Dili, the five day event took cyclists through the nine regions of Timor before returning to Dili.  At the hilliest stage of the race, riders climbed to 1 850 metres. Two third year Bachelor of Physiotherapy students Mr Tom Bidstrup and Ms Rachael McLeod and physiotherapy lecturer Mr Tim Retchford from the School of Community Health at CSU at Albury-Wodonga provided physiotherapy services for the 350 competitors. Many of the riders were international participants who were attracted to Timor Leste for the gruelling US$75 000 event. “The Tour de Timor coincided with the celebration of the 10 years since East Timor's independence vote,” said Mr Retchford. “Locals lined Dili’s streets up to 10 deep to cheer the riders as they crossed the finish line.”

An artist and Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has been named as a finalist in Australia’s richest design prize. PhD student Mr Rohan Nicol from Wagga Wagga is one of 10 finalists in the prestigious Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award. With his entry, Peppered Sunlight Mr Nicol will compete for the first prize of a $30 000 grant and a trip to Milan to attend the Salone del Mobile furniture fair in April 2010. The prize is dedicated to recognising and rewarding excellence in design, improving and promoting awareness of design and improving the commercial success of talented Australians. Peppered Sunlight is a large pendant light inspired by ‘dappled light that filters through trees’. Through the School of Visual and Performing Arts at CSU at Wagga Wagga, Mr Nichol is researching a financially sustainable model of studio-based craft and design practice by engaging with the Australian manufacturing industry in regional Australia. Read more here.

A consortium led by Charles Sturt University (CSU) based in Australia, has developed the nation's first framework for early child education and care services for the Australian federal government. Sub Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Education, Professor Jennifer Sumsion will discuss Belonging, Being and Becoming - Early Years Learning Framework at a public lecture to be presented at 4.30pm on Wednesday 9 September at CSU’s Burlington site. “Since late 2008 and for over six months we consulted with teachers, parents and various private and government agencies on how the framework could best support the learning of young pre-school children and enhance the professional practice and status or early childhood educators,” Professor Sumsion said. Read more about the Early Years Learning Framework here.

Studying for a career in social work in the Riverina is a lot easier thanks to a new agreement that comes into force from Tuesday 1 September. A state-wide agreement between TAFE NSW and Charles Sturt University (CSU) will enable local people interested in a career in social welfare to more easily articulate from TAFE to university studies. The agreement provides Riverina students with a seamless progression between a range of Diploma of Community Services courses at TAFE NSW Riverina Institute and the Bachelor of Social Science (Social Welfare) at CSU. Charles Sturt University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Goulter said, “I welcome this example of Charles Sturt University working more closely with the TAFE sector as an important step in helping increase opportunities for higher education, particularly for people who live in rural and regional Australia. Riverina Institute’s relieving Director Ms Joy Stocker says the agreement is a very positive step toward addressing shortages of qualified community services staff in rural NSW.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is proud to reveal its latest buildings at Orange. More than a library, the new Learning Commons at CSU at Orange is a student-centred space equipped with a range of learning and social areas. The new facility caters for a range of study options from group study pods through to quiet individual study areas.  A mix of computing and multimedia equipment supports group and individual learning.  As well as the new Learning Commons at CSU at Orange, a brand new lecture theatre featuring video conferencing facilities has been built. New student accommodation is currently under construction as the University prepares for more students at Orange in 2010.  

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic is taking her wide knowledge of the management of invasive weeds to an audience of government and business representatives, academics and volunteers. Professor Leslie Weston is the keynote speaker at the NSW Weeds Conference 2009 on Tuesday 15 September in Narrabri, NSW. Professor Weston will earlier outline her research into the management of invasive weeds and development of natural plant products as pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or insecticides at a seminar at the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 3 September. The EH Graham Centre is a collaborative alliance between CSU and the NSW Department of Industry and Investment. ‘Factors involved in the establishment of invasive weed species - is allelopathy involved?’ is the topic of her seminar at the EH Graham Centre. Professor Weston joined CSU in 2008 as the Strategic Research Professor of Plant Biology.  She is based at the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga.