GES News as it was - May 2008
GES shares piece of Nobel Prize
16 October 2007
Five scientists in the Monash School of Geography & Environmental Science have been part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with the former USA Vice-President Al Gore. Professor Neville Nicholls is a Lead Author of the IPCC Fourth Assessment of Climate Change being progressively issued through 2007, and is still involved in writing the final part of the Assessment (the “Synthesis” report – to be issued in mid-November). Professor Amanda Lynch and Ms Lisa Alexander, a PhD student in GES, were Contributing Authors, and Professor Nigel Tapper was an Expert Reviewer. Dr Petteri Uotila analysed the output of climate models used in the IPCC reports. The former Head of School, Professor Chris Cocklin (now located at James Cook University) was also an Expert Reviewer. Some of these people have been involved in earlier IPCC Assessments also. The IPCC process of assessing the current state of knowledge about climate change is exhaustive and exhausting, and all these people have spent long hours over many years, contributing to improving our understanding of global warming.
18 October 2006
From left: Faculty of Arts Dean Professor Homer Le Grand, 1000th Arts PhD awardee Dr Akiko Yamane, School of Geography and Environmental Science Graduate Research Coordinator and Dr Yamane's PhD supervisor Dr Priya Rangan, and Associate Dean (Graduate Research) Associate Professor Denise Cuthbert. The Faculty of Arts last week celebrated the awarding of its 1000th doctorate.
At a graduation ceremony last Thursday, Dr Akiko Yamane received a PhD for her thesis, 'Rethinking climate change and vulnerability in Sri Lanka'.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Edwina Cornish, Faculty of Arts Dean Professor Homer Le Grand and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Research Training) Professor Max King were among those who attended a celebratory reception at the Clayton Staff Club after the graduation.
Dr Yamane took a break from her position as Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at the California State University, Fresno, in the US, to attend the ceremony and reception and was overwhelmed to receive such recognition.
"I realise there have been 999 others in the Faculty of Arts who have all done very fine work in having their doctoral thesis submissions accepted, and I was just the lucky 1000th," she said.
Dr Yamane said she considered the high international standing of the faculty's School of Geography and Environmental Science, where she studied, had been instrumental in her obtaining such a prestigious position so early in her career.
Faculty of Arts Associate Dean (Graduate Research) Associate Professor Denise Cuthbert said the faculty awarded doctorates in diverse areas, including the traditional arts and social disciplines and in newer interdisciplinary fields such as Indigenous studies and women's studies.
"The 1000th PhD is great milestone, especially considering that the faculty's first intake of students only took place in 1961," she said. "It is interesting to note that Dr Yamane's topic of climate change has a strong history within the faculty."
Monash first awarded higher degrees in 1963. In 1966, Professor Michael Clyne was awarded the Faculty of Arts' first doctorate for his thesis on the linguistics of Melbourne's German community. Just two years later, in 1968, Dr Edward Derbyshire was awarded a PhD for his research on glacial morphology and climate change in Tasmania. Associate Professor Cuthbert acknowledged the efforts of all those who had contributed to the 1000 doctoral theses.
"As a supervisor, I am aware of the hundreds of hours of supervision time that goes into one PhD completion, and I would like to thank staff for their dedication and rigorous intellectual support of PhD candidates over the past 40 years," she said.
The Faculty of Arts is calling for applicants for PhD and Masters by Research programs, and scholarships are available for suitably qualified applicants. The deadline for scholarship applications for study in 2007 is 31 October. Inquiries should be directed to ARGS @arts.monash.edu.au .
The School of Geography and Environmental Science has been ranked No. 1 in the latest benchmarking comparison of leading Geography Schools in Australia, which was based on 2003 data. This reflects the success of the School in winning research grants, producing peer-reviewed research publications, and in achieving completions of theses by higher-degree research students. The School intends to maintain this position though continuous high-level activity across all of these areas