April 23, 2015
New professors to pitch their ‘Big Ideas’ at festival
UOW’s newest professors will come together to share their research that could change the world.
From left: Professor Antoine van Oijen, Professor Daniel Hutto, Professor Huijun Li, Professor Sue Bennett, Professor Judy Raper, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Professor Robin Warner, Professor Madeleine du Toit, Professor Clive Schofield (Master of Ceremonies).
From using seaweed to delve into our understanding of the human brain, to creating a ‘green’ form of nuclear power, some of UOW’s newest professors will come together to share their research that could change the world at the second UOW Big Ideas Festival on Tuesday 25 August.
An initiative by UOW’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor Judy Raper, the festival will see 12 of UOW’s recently promoted and appointed professors sharing their research with the public and industry at UOW’s University Hall.
Interactive research stalls, live music and networking drinks will cap off two sessions of short 10-minute talks at the Big Ideas Festival.
Professor Marie Ranson, from UOW’s Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health will speak about her work on deciphering which tumours are the really dangerous, or metastatic, ones, based on their genetic markers.
“‘You've got cancer’ is not something any of us want to hear. Determining the genetic changes seen in metastatic versus non-spreading cancer will allow a quick safety check of a tumour which can help doctors stratify risk and guide their treatment choices”, Professor Ranson said.
“I am also working to develop cell culture systems using cancer tissue to rapidly test how well cancer cells actually respond to a particular treatment. These systems could be used to help steer decisions for effective personalised treatments”.
Other researchers on the program include, Professor Robin Warner, who will discuss the political momentum building on a high seas conservation agreement, as well as Professor Marc in het Panhuis, who will show that jelly-type materials can be combined with 3D-printing to manufacture softer and edible robots.
Big Ideas Festival
Tuesday 25 August | 5pm – 9pm
UOW University Hall
Register to attend this free event.
Full list of topics and speakers
• Avoiding the Great Australia Bite
Professor Andy Davis
• The Last Great Frontier of Ocean Governance
Professor Robin Warner
• I am Titanium
Professor Madeleine du Toit
• Green Nuclear Power
Professor Huijun Li
• When are Children to Blame for Their Actions?
Professor Marc De Rosnay
• Taking Cancer Personally
Professor Marie Ranson
• Getting Medieval? The Middles Ages in Modern Politics
Professor Louise D’Arcens
• Tendrils of Human Thought from Within a Seaweed Brain
Professor Robert Kapsa
• You Can’t Handle the Truth
Professor Daniel Hutto
• 3D Printing Robots in Jelly
Professor Marc in het Panhuis
• The Dangerous Idea of the Digital Native
Professor Susan Bennett
• The Molecular Machines of Life Under the Magnifying Glass
Professor Antoine van Oijen
Media contact: Bernie Goldie, +61 2 4221 5942 or +61 412 454 124.