Recent media reports of a dengue fever ‘plague’ in northern Queensland are an overstatement of what periodically occurs in that State, according to a senior Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic and member of the Institute for Land, Water and Society. “I don’t see dengue fever marching south from tropical Australia as a great plague, but rather gradually moving with the fluctuations and movements of climate change over many years,” says Professor Kevin Parton. “My work on Ross River fever, a similarly mosquito-borne disease endemic to parts of southern Australia, shows that the virus is present in humans across NSW – which would surprise many people. It becomes more common in certain weather conditions, hence the appearance of an ‘outbreak’. Sure, take public health precautions such as use insect repellent, fix fly screens and tip out standing water around your house, but some current reports are a little sensationalist.”

Local and international scientists specialising in condensed matter and materials will converge on Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga this week for the 33rd Annual Condensed Matter and Materials Meeting.  Organising committee member, Associate Professor Trevor Finlayson, said it's an opportunity for scientists to discuss current research and future directions. “Over 100 people are attending and the program will include a session on ‘soft matter’ – an interdisciplinary field featuring studies of biomaterials,” he said. The program includes topics important to Australian science, such as the status of the international Avogadro project, a collaborative project to establish a new standard for mass, and an update on Synroc, the Australian-discovered artificial mineral with the potential to successfully process radioactive waste materials. “Condensed matter and materials scientists are important because their research leads to new applications of materials with improved properties for the benefit of society,” Professor Finlayson said.

The success of new student accommodation at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga has led to a decision to build more student facilities. The University has appointed Joss Construction to develop an additional 60 rooms at CSU at Wagga Wagga later this year. The beds will be on top of the 200 new rooms which have been under construction by Joss since the middle of 2008. “The additional beds will help CSU meet the additional demand from dentistry and oral health students for accommodation,” said Executive Director of CSU Division of Student Services, Mr Andrew Callander. In the current project, 10 modular concrete and corrugated iron buildings are being built to provide self-catered accommodation, with open plan kitchens and living areas, dedicated study facilities and high quality data networks. The work is part of a large scale project for 600 new beds on CSU campuses. Eighty beds will be ready for Orientation Week, 40 rooms will be completed three weeks later and the remainder will be occupied in the following weeks. “Temporary accommodation arrangements will be made for the students who have been allocated the new rooms,” said Mr Callander.

New buildings at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Orange and Wagga Wagga are rapidly taking shape as the University prepares to welcome the inaugural students in its new dental and oral health therapy courses in 2009. After receiving hundreds of applications from across Australia and overseas, CSU is preparing to fill 40 places in the Bachelor of Dental Science program starting at Orange and 20 places in the Bachelor of Oral Health (Therapy/Hygiene) program starting at Wagga Wagga. “We are thrilled with the calibre of applicants,” said Associate Professor in Oral Health Barbara Taylor. “The student selection process has been very competitive, particularly for dentistry as it included an online questionnaire and interview.” “We had a diverse and skilled applicant pool and are confident this will result in a committed student group,” added the Head of the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, Professor Ward Massey. Work on the dentistry buildings in Orange and oral health therapy facilities at Wagga continued over Christmas, as well as progress in the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment such as dental chairs and clinical software.

Communities and regions where mining occurs will be severely affected by the downturn in the Australian mining sector due to the global financial crisis. Mr Tom Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of the Western Research Institute (WRI) at Charles Sturt University at Bathurst, says that with the current contraction of the Chinese economy, the largest customer for Australia’s mineral resources, Australia will face increasing and probably prolonged reduction of revenue from mining. “Our studies indicate that mining jobs create economic multipliers of four to six in surrounding community economies, or more in some instances,” he said. “That means for each mining job lost you can have four to six other jobs lost in a community. This is because mine wages and local spending are so high. Other industries typically have multipliers of around two to three or even less, so mine jobs are very hard to replace.”

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is one of the most significant advancements in our understanding of the natural world, according to the Dean of the Faculty of Science at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Nick Klomp. “This breakthrough in scientific understanding still affects many facets of modern life, despite first being published 150 years ago.” CSU will lead the regional scientific communities in celebrating Darwin’s 200th birthday during the week commencing Monday 9 February. Events will include presentations to visiting high school classes on Tuesday 10 February in Albury and Wagga Wagga and celebrations by scientific communities around the two regional centres on Thursday 12 February, complete with birthday cakes. More public events celebrating the life of Darwin and the theory of evolution will be held later in 2009, including discussion of his seminal work, On the Origins of Species, published in 1859.

The planned State visit to Australia and to Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Saturday 14 February by His Excellency the President of Timor-Leste, Dr José Ramos-Horta, has been postponed due to the ongoing natural disasters in Australia, including the devastating bushfires in Victoria. The Acting Vice-Chancellor of CSU, Professor Lyn Gorman, said that the University has been advised by representatives of the President that, after consultation with the Office of the Governor-General of Australia, the visit will be postponed to a mutually convenient time later this year. Professor Gorman said, “We fully understand the position of the President and thank him for his wishes for the victims of the Victorian bushfires. We thank the President for his commitment to reschedule his visit later in the year and look forward to welcoming him at that time. Given that this visit was to be the inaugural event of CSU’s 20th anniversary year, the celebrations will now begin with the Official Opening Ceremony at CSU at Wagga Wagga on Thursday 12 March.”

Bigger and better is an apt description for the new Sutherland Laboratory, which will be opened at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga on Tuesday 17 February. The building is a teaching and learning facility for the CSU School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences and serves a range of Schools within the Faculty of Science. Classes in the multipurpose laboratory will include microbiology, plant science and animal nutrition. The laboratory complex was damaged in a fire at the University in 2007. “With the immediate and future needs of students in mind, the $1.05 million construction project began in the middle of 2008 and is ready in time for the imminent return of students in 2009,” said Head of the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Associate Professor John Kent.  The new facility will accommodate 72 students with a preparation room, solvents room, wash-up area and incubator room.

A beach-side holiday was not on the minds of two Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturers as they headed north to the tropics and Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) second largest urban centre, Lae, in January. Dr Peter Rushbrook from CSU’s School of Education in Wagga Wagga and Dr Peter Wilson from the University’s School of Teacher Education in Bathurst spent a fortnight at the Balob Teachers’ College in Lae. Amid a frustrating dial-up internet service, earth tremors, the city’s notorious security problems and potholes, the educators worked with lecturers from the College, including teaching subjects from CSU’s Master of Education. “This was my third trip to the country and I greatly admire the PNG spirit,” said Dr Rushbrook. “PNG is the ‘Land of the Unexpected’.” His travel companion, Dr Wilson said, “our work at the Balob Teachers’ College reminded us how well resourced we are in Australia which we take for granted. College staff were keen to get our support for their institution’s move to become the Lutheran University in 2010.” Eager to return to PNG, Dr Rushbrook said, “there is something about working and living on the edge, using your wits to make things work in adverse or challenging conditions”.