Exploring the role of design in the natural and cultural heritage of inland NSW is on the busy agenda of Margaret Woodward as she settles into her new role as Head of the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Wagga Wagga. Formerly Head of Visual Communication at the Tasmanian School of Art in Hobart, Associate Professor Woodward started work at CSU on Monday 2 February as temperatures hit the early forties. “I’m excited to be at CSU in Wagga Wagga and to be living in inland NSW,” said Associate Professor Woodford. “I also look forward to seeing the city’s contrast to my previous workplaces in Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne and more recently in Tasmania. The city has a strong but different sense of place to Tasmania.” With a background in graphic design, the new Head of School has a research interest in the recently emerging field of interpretation design, the design associated with cultural and natural heritage interpretation found in historic sites, visitor centres and national parks.

The opportunities in Australia for growing perennial wheat are being investigated by Charles Sturt University (CSU) PhD student Ms Nicole Hyde. As part of a Cooperative Research Centre for Future Farm Industries project, Ms Hyde late last year began to investigate several key questions: Can perennial wheat regrow in following seasons? Can perennial wheat survive our hot, dry summers? How does perennial wheat survive and regrow? “Perennial wheat is being developed in the USA, Russia, China, Argentina and now Australia, by crossing annual bread wheat with various perennial grasses,” said Ms Hyde. “The result should be a perennial grain crop that has the potential to offer significant benefits in Australian farming systems, including improved soil structure, reduced dry land salinity problems, and the provision of feed for grazing during the critical break-of-season period. However perennial wheat has never before been grown in Australia, so we do not yet know if these benefits will actually be delivered.” Ms Hyde hopes to complete her PhD by late 2011.

With the start of Orientation Week at Charles Sturt University (CSU), the first students have taken up residence in the newly completed accommodation at Bathurst Campus. University officials are pleased that 120 new rooms were completed and ready to be occupied, and that another 80 rooms will be completed in the coming weeks. CSU’s Director of Student Services, Mr Andrew Callander, said the residences mark a new era in on campus living. “Besides being designed and constructed to be environmentally friendly and sustainable, the new residences come equipped with internet access and cable TV.” The complex consists of 10 modular concrete and corrugated iron buildings paired to enclose an open courtyard. Each block will house 20 students in self-catered accommodation with ‘open plan’ kitchens and living areas. The corrugated iron, which is light, strong, adaptable and durable, shields the internal concrete walls from the summer heat to enable the buildings to maintain a more constant temperature without the use of expensive air conditioning.

New students and supportive family members have flooded onto the Bathurst Campus of Charles Sturt University (CSU) to get their bearings at the start of Orientation Week 2009. During his welcome to new students on 16 February, Head of Bathurst Campus, Mr Col Sharp, said he was delighted by the energy the new students brought to the campus “It’s important that new students are welcomed and assisted with their transition to university life, and we are confident that CSU will be a positive and constructive experience for students as they build their careers.” On Tuesday, students formally enrol, are given information about their courses and subjects and meet teaching staff. On Wednesday 18 February, students attend information sessions about CSU’s online services, electronic communications, learning in an e-environment and how to access support and facilities in information technology, library and student services. Male and female students will also participate in separate compulsory seminars on personal well-being and safety. Thursday is ‘Market Day’ on the library lawn, which provides a feast of information for new students about local businesses and services that they might chose or need to use during their time in Bathurst. There are no formal sessions scheduled for Friday.

A leading Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic will lead a team of researchers contributing to the recently announced five-year, $30 million Australian Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. Professor Allan Curtis, a social researcher with the CSU Institute for Land, Water and Society is well known for his work in natural resource management and rural communities in South Eastern Australia. Professor Curtis says the project aims to improve Australia’s capacity to better manage ground water resources which are threatened by over-extraction and pollution. “While the Centre will examine issues around the sustainable harvesting of groundwater resources, including the interactions between surface and groundwater, there is an important contribution for social research in terms of engaging groundwater users in developing practices that make more effective use of groundwater; and developing innovative arrangements that lead to more sustainable use of groundwater,” he said. The new centre is a partnership of 20 organisations including the Australian Research Council and the National Water Commission, CSIRO and 12 universities. Professor Curtis, along with other CSU researchers including Dr Digby Race and Dr Maureen Rogers, will work to identify projects to be funded over the next six months.

As he prepares for the arrival of students from Monday 23 February, animation and special effects lecturer at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Mr Damian Candusso has been nominated for an international industry award for his work on the feature film, Australia. Mr Candusso is part of a five member team of sound effects editors nominated for a Motion Picture Sound Editors’ (MPSE) Golden Reel Award. The Australia team has been nominated in the category of ‘Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR in a Foreign Feature Film’. Other films nominated in this category include The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, In Bruges, Quantum of Solace, Slumdog Millionaire and Sukiyaki Western Django. The 56th Golden Reel Awards, hosted by the MPSE in Los Angeles on Saturday 21 February, is the industry’s precursor to the Academy Awards on Sunday 22 February. Mr Candusso is a lecturer at CSU’s School of Visual and Performing Arts. He took leave for the second semester in 2008 to work on Australia. Read more here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) may be the University of Inland Australia but that hasn’t stopped one of its students excelling at the recent Australian University Surfing Championships held at Narrow Neck on Queensland’s Gold Coast from Monday 7 to Wednesday 9 July. Ms Lisa Matuzelis, a ‘natural’ stance surfer (ie left foot forward) from Wollongong who is studying for a Master of Applied Science (Library & Information Management) by distance education, won a gold medal in the women’s body board event and a silver medal in the women’s short board (stand-up) event. The contest was held in excellent conditions with a solid three foot swell and good banks which offered both left and right hand breaks. “The competition was good and very close, and I am happy with my outcome, which was better than I expected,” Ms Matuzelis said. “I have enjoyed studying with CSU, and although at times it can be a little challenging studying by distance education, it does seem to get easier each year. The best part of being a distance education student is that I can still live near the coast and complete a degree from a university that is far from any beach.”

As part of Orientation Week at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Orange, academics at the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences will meet the 40 students they will spend the next five years teaching. “We are very excited about spending time with the students preparing them for the semester ahead,” senior lecturer Dr Sabrina Manickam said. “As well as theory-based learning, the students will experience hands-on dentistry in Session 2 in the simulation lab and clinical environments.” The introduction session is part of a full schedule of orientation events happening at five of CSU’s campuses this week. New students, including those living on and off campus, can participate in campus and library tours, attend compulsory academic information sessions and complete online enrolment as well as participate in a range of social activities.

The new $9 million Veterinary Clinical Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga has received a major design award shortly before its opening by the federal Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon. Bob Debus, in July. At the Australian Steel Institute Awards, Merit Architects, Wood & Grieve Engineers, Joss Construction and Southern Centre Engineering were awarded a High Commendation for the striking architectural steel design of the new building. Inside the building is the latest in surgical and medical facilities for large and small animals as well as a reproduction unit. With fourth year veterinary science students the first to benefit from the new facilities, the Centre is under the direction of Associate Professor Bryan Hilbert. He is supported by clinicians experienced in surgery, anaesthesia, radiography and reproduction. At the recent opening, Mr Debus told more than 180 guests that the veterinary science program at CSU is “serving the national purpose”.