Citations and awards in three faculties

Flinders University academics and researchers from the faculties of Science and Engineering; Education, Humanities and Law; and Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, are celebrating a string of accolades in recent weeks.

Among them was a Verco Medal and a Birdlife Australia citation, the DL Serventy Medal; best student paper presented at an international education conference and shortlisted articles in the Bragg UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing, and the Rural Doctors’ Association of Australia (RDDA) Student of the Year Award presented in Canberra last month.

Professor David Day, from the School of Biological Sciences, received a prestigious Royal Society of South Australia (RSSA) Verco Medal. The medal, awarded for distinguished scientific work published by a Society fellow, was presented by outgoing RSSA president Professor Michael Bull. Flinders palaeontologist Professor John Long was elected as incoming RSSA president.

Professor Sonia Kleindorfer, also from Biological Sciences, was honoured with BirdLife Australia’s (formerly the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union) DL Serventy Medal, the highest citation for members who have made outstanding contributions to publication in the science of ornithology in the Australasian region.

Since completing a PhD on the ecology of acrocephalid warblers at the University of Vienna, Professor Kleindorfer has been studying the behavioural ecology of Australian avifauna and expanding her research on Darwin’s finches. The internationally recognised ornithologist has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications in more than 50 journal titles.  

From the Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law, space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman and third-year creative writing student Susan Double were shortlisted for the Bragg UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing.

Ms Double’s feature about Australian naturalist Edith Coleman, entitled Beautiful Contrivances was overall runner-up and all the six shortlisted entries are included in The Best Australian Science Writing 2016 publication.

Dr Gorman’s article, Pluto and the human gaze, was published on her blog Space Age Archaeology. Susan Double’s project about the 1927 discovery of the pseudocopulation (or ‘false-mating’) pollination syndrome in an Australian native orchid was supported by lecturers Ms Katy Cavanagh and Dr Danielle Clode, from the School of Humanities and Creative Arts.

Last month, School of Education PhD candidate Philip Townsend received the Best Paper Award at the 15th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning (MLearn) held in Sydney on 24-26 October.

At the largest international conference on mobile and blended learning, Mr Townsend presented his paper on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teacher training, Theory of Enhancement of Professional Learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Pre-service Teachers in Very Remote Communities through Mobile Learning.

Mr Townsend has a Cooperative Research Centre – Remote Economic Participation / Remote Education Systems scholarship.

From the School of Medicine, Darwin medical school student Claire Chandler last month received the Telstra Health Rural Doctors’ Association of Australia (RDDA)  Student of the Year Award for 2016.

During her studies with Flinders, Claire has been involved with the National Rural Health Student Network and is doing an internship at Alice Springs Base Hospital after a range of clinical placements including remote Indigenous communities of the Warruwi, Jabiru, Gunbalanya and Lajamanu, and Palumpa Community and Humpty Doo Family Practice as part of her scholarship with the John Flynn Placement Program.

 

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