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NewsRecent news stories of interest to Monash-based synchrotron users. To be kept informed of synchrotron related news and events at Monash, join our mailing list. Latest news12/11/2009 - This years' Nobel Prize winner to give plenary presentation at BSR & MASR 2010 The Biology and Synchrotron Radiation (BSR) and Medical Applications of Synchrotron Radiation (MASR) meetings are being held in Melbourne in February 2010. BSR Chair Jose Varghese (CSIRO) and MASR Chair Rob Lewis (MCSS Director) are pleased to announce that the joint opening plenary presentation will be given by Prof Ada Yonath of the Weizmann Institute, Israel. Prof Yonath shares this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz for their work on the structure and function of ribosome, a component of the cell that translates genetic information and synthesizes protein. We are delighted to welcome Prof Yonath to Australia so soon after the award of the prize. To register, please visit www.bsr2010.org or www.masr2010.org.
12/11/2009 - Exciting Opportunities at ANSTO ANSTO is planning an expansion of its accelerator facilities in Sydney, funded through the government's Education Infrastructure Fund. As a result we have two new research positions to fill (Physicist / Senior Physicist / Instrument scientist), specialising in Accelerator Mass Spectrometry and Ion Beam Analysis. A further four technical positions will be advertised shortly. Details can be obtained by clicking the Vacancies link on ANSTO's website. 26/10/2009 - Congratulations to the ARC Centre for Excellence in Coherent X-Ray Science CXS, in collaboration with Santa Maria College in Northcote, have been awarded the Schools First State Impact Award for Victoria for their program Growing Tall Poppies - the aim of which is to encourage more students, and particularly girls, to the study of physics. See www.schoolsfirst.edu.au and the press release on the CXS website for additional details. 01/09/2009 - MCSS Vacation Scholarships Applications for Vacation Scholarships, for undergraduate students to participate in research projects at MCSS, are now invited. Details of projects are available at www.adm.monash.edu.au/scholarships/opportunities/vacation-schols.html. All applications must be made online at sssd.adm.monash.edu.au/vacation-scholarship/. Projects for students with a Biomedical sciences background are available in the area of "Application of synchrotron radiation to biomedical science, imaging and therapy" and projects for students with a Physics or Engineering background are available in the area of "Development of novel x-ray detectors". Additional enquiries can be made to Dr Karen Siu or Dr John McDougall. 19/08/2009 - Special session on Electronics and Systems for Patient Diagnosis at the 2009 ISIC conference Dr Ronny Veljanovski, Project Manager for the Detectors Stream of the CRCBID and a member of the Technical Program Committee for the International Symposium for Integrated Circuits (ISIC) has organised a special session on Biomedical Electronics and Systems for Patient Diagnosis at the 2009 ISIC conference. The session will consist of a series of presentations on topics related to patient diagnosis. The focus will be on biomedical imaging applications such as x-ray based computed tomography (CT) using hybrid pixel detector technology. To find out more visit the conference website at http://www.isic2009.org. The special session is http://isic2009.org/session_8.asp. 19/08/2009 - New in-house x-ray detector microchip tested successfully MCSS and the CRCBID have fabricated their second in-house x-ray detector microchip (an electronics miniaturised chip) and it is yielding promising results. The lessons learned from the analysis of this microchip are providing further optimisations for the next generation chip, with which we aim to provide better quality data from detected x-rays. This will, in turn, lead to improved contrasting images. The main issue with current x-ray detector systems is that image contrast can be poor, particularly when differentiating between soft tissue and other similar structures within the body. Smart, fast custom microchips may provide a way to achieve higher contrast ratios, which will yield improved cancer diagnosis. Dr Ronny Veljanovski, Project Manager for the Detectors Stream of the CRCBID, says that, "our microchip design and implementation skill set has grown over the last few months with the employment of key microchip engineers and the procurement of industry standard electronic design automation tools such as those from Cadence Design Systems and Synopsys. These tools have a commercial value that run into the $millions and are used by many multinationals in the IT and microchip field. MCSS and CRCBID are now equipped with world class microchip infrastructure and are ready to tackle the most complex of designs in the x-ray detector arena. Microchips and micro-electronics are a pervasive enabling technology and are at the heart of the modern electronics and IT world in which they can be found in computers, medical equipment and cars to name a few." 17/08/2009 - TARDIS archiving raw protein crystallography data TARDIS is a multi-institutional collaborative venture that aims to facilitatie the archiving and sharing of raw X-ray diffraction images from the protein crystallography community. The establishment of TARDIS has been led by Associate Professor Ashley Buckle of the the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Monash Univeristy and is featured in the July newsletter of the Australian National Data Service. Whereas other databases make processed data available, TARDIS aims to foster the sharing of raw data for both the scholarly record as well as improving methods of image analysis and data processing. 06/08/2009 - Nano research hits gold When it comes to cancer research, finding the location of cells is thwarted by a lack of high-resolution imaging methods that can reveal the location of implanted stem cells within a living body. However this is set to change thanks to the work of Dr Chris Hall from the Monash Centre for Synchrotron Science. 03/08/2009 - Applications for AINSE Research Awards are now open The Lucas Heights Science and Technology Centre is devoted to supporting activities and research in a wide range of disciplines especially those which incorporate Australia’s national research priorities. Areas of particular interest include:
To find out more about the AINSE Research Awards visit the AINSE Research Awards 2010 webpage. This contains an on-line application form and links to other key documents which are vital to creating a valid application:
The closing date for applications is 15th September, 2009. 06/05/2009 - New imaging and therapy beamline announced Monash University has led a successful funding bid to use the Australian Synchrotron to research and potentially treat human diseases such as cancer. The National Health and Medical Research Council and the Victorian Government have announced $14.7 million for a major upgrade to the imaging and therapy beamline at the Australian Synchrotron, enabling it to become one of the most advanced medical beamlines in the world. To find out more view the following press releases:
07/04/2009 - International Synchrotron Access Program The new International Synchrotron Access Program (ISAP) is now available. The aim of this program is to provide travel funding for Australia based researchers to access overseas synchrotron facilities for experiments that cannot be performed at the Australian Synchrotron. Information on how to apply for travel funding can be found at http://www.synchrotron.org.au/content.asp?Document_ID=5403. Applications received after the 31st March will not be considered until early June. 18/02/2009 - Australian Synchrotron User Advisory Committee The Australian Synchrotron has set up an independent User Advisory Committee to provide advice to the Australian Synchrotron Director on issues from a user prespective. Two Monash researchers - Don McNaughton and Matthew Wilce - are representatives on the committee and Roland De Marco is the Chair. Feel free to express any concerns you may have about the Australian Synchrotron to these Monash representatives, or any other committee member. For a complete list of these and profiles of the members, click here. 06/02/2009 - The Australian Synchrotron Helps Monash Researchers Fight Against Malaria A team of Monash University researchers led by Professor James Whisstock has made a major breakthrough in the international fight against malaria, which claims the life of a child across the world every 30 seconds. For the full story visit www.lightsources.org/cms/?pid=1003253. More news13/01/2009 - The Australian Synchrotron's New Travel Process for Interstate and New Zealand Users Recently, there has been a change in procedure for all interstate Australian Synchrotron users. Travel will now be handled differently, please refer to this page for details. The Australian Synchrotron will continue to book accommodation but flights will not be booked. Users must apply for funding and once approved then book their own flights and ground travel. 13/01/2009 - Monash / CSIRO Collaborative Research Support Scheme Identifies Synchrotron Research as a Priority Area The Collaborative Research Support Scheme (CRSS) is jointly funded by Monash University and CSIRO to encourage the development of collaborative research between the two organisations in priority areas. The scheme underwent an extensive review recently, with a number of changes being implemented for the next round - Round 5 (for funding in 2009 through to 2011). The priority areas identified for round 5 includes projects utilising synchrotron facilities. The guidelines have now been finalised and can be found here. A call for expressions of interest will take place early in 2009, at which time an application form will be placed on this website. Applicants will be given 8 weeks to prepare a 4 page expression of interest which will need to be submitted both electronically and in hardcopy to the Monash Research Office. Any questions about this scheme should be directed to either:
Kylie Thoroughgood
Elaine Osborn 12/01/2009 - NSRRC Announces New Beamline From the 2009-2 cycle (May to August), a Small/Wide Angle X-ray Scattering endstation located at the BL23A beamline for structural characterization with soft matter and nanoparticles will be open to all users at Taiwan's National Synchrotron Radiation Research Centre (NSRRC). All users are invited to apply for beamtime through the NSRRC website. For more information about the beamline please visit http://www.nsrrc.org.tw/www/eng/endstation/17b3/saxs/
26/09/2008 - Monash Student Wins a Place at Synchrotron School in Japan Monash University Postgraduate student Radha Maganti from the School of Chemistry is one of only ten Australian students who won funding to attend the Cheiron Synchrotron School, held at the Japanese light source, SPring-8, for 10 days from the 29 September 2008. The Cheiron School aims to provide basic knowledge as well as perspectives of synchrotron radiation science and technology for PhD students, young scientists and engineers who wish to pursue their career in a field requiring synchrotron radiation and join a synchrotron radiation facility in the Asia Oceania region. The comprehensive curriculum will include lectures by leading scientists, including Professor Rob Lewis, Director of the Monash Centre for Synchrotron Science (MCSS) and expert in medical uses of synchrotrons and detector development. Professor Lewis is delighted that a Monash University student was selected to attend the prestigious school. “Radha will gain invaluable experiences, which will kick-start her scientific career involving synchrotron radiation” Professor Lewis said. “With the Australian Synchrotron located adjacent to the Clayton Campus, Radha will have access to this amazing technology at her doorstep, enabling her to excel in her chosen research field”. Radha is excited about the chance to travel to Japan, and learn about synchrotron radiation at the world’s largest synchrotron radiation facility. “It’s such an amazing opportunity to learn about synchrotron radiation and how I can make the most of this great technology in my own research” Radha said. The school is held annually under the auspices of the Asia-Oceania Forum for Synchrotron Radiation Research (AOFSRR).
17/09/2008 - Cross-Country Collaboration Gives Students Synchrotron Experience Monash University undergraduate students made the most of a cross-country collaboration with Curtin University, by taking part in an experiment at the Australian Synchrotron earlier this month. Perth scientist, Professor Roland De Marco from Curtin University enabled Monash students to gain hands on experience with the powder diffraction beamline, as his colleagues and students watched from Perth. Professor De Marco is researching the nature of corrosion in the mild steel pipes that carry oil and gas from the ocean deeps to the surface. The importance of understanding mild steel corrosion is profound, as corrosion causes leakages, which results in costly repairs and environmental complications. Using the high brilliance of synchrotron light, Professor De Marco can view the chemistry of the metal surface in its fluid environment. "What I want to do is to develop new materials to bind to the surface that will prevent corrosion of the mild steel," says Professor De Marco. This cross-country collaboration is a world-first; no two universities have collaborated in this way at an undergraduate level using a synchrotron. The initiative was made possible thanks to Professor De Marco, Doctors Kia Wallwork, Karen Siu and Rosalie Hocking. |
