Flinders alumni shine with recent recognition in national rural awards and the Australian Space Awards, while First Nations poets join an Adelaide Festival Centre initiative, a grant helps Aboriginal health care student and innovative physics teaching gets explained in a global podcast.
Rural-spirited graduate shines for farmers
Flinders University occupational therapy graduate Meg Clothier (BHthSci/ MOccT), has won the 2020 Shine Award, in the ‘Spirit’ category.
Now in their fourth year, the Shine Awards are an annual initiative by News Corp’s rural newspaper The Weekly Times that recognise the achievements and contributions of rural women making a difference in communities.
Ms Clothier is a farm caretaker who established the Two Young Nomads initiative with her husband Oliver, caretaking properties for farmers free of charge to enable them to take a break from their everyday lives and get some well-deserved time off.
Engineering alumnus wins space award
Silentium Defence, which was co-founded and is led by alumnus Simon Palumbo BEng(CompSys) ’06, was awarded Defence Business of the Year at the inaugural Australian Space Awards.
Silentium Defence is a global leader in the design and deployment of passive surveillance systems, including for the defence and space sectors.
The Australian Space Awards were created by Space Connect to showcase Australia’s best and brightest space businesses and professionals and are open to all businesses operating in Australia that support the space industry across 22 categories.
Artists share poetry at festival event
Associate Professor Simone Ulalka Tur and Dr Natalie Harkin are among First Nations artists featuring in a new Adelaide Festival Centre initiative, Our Words, which presents original poems by Indigenous poets from across Australia.
Recorded for online presentation and also appearing live as part of the Celebrating OUR MOB 2020 exhibition at Adelaide Festival Centre, these works share the words of some of Australia’s most talented writers in their own voice and performance.
Associate Professor Tur is presenting her work titled Dedication, Dr Harkin’s piece is titled Weaving Lessons: On Genocide. Find out more
Grant helps Aboriginal Health Care student
Ngarrindjeri woman Brooke Vanzati, from Murray Bridge, has been awarded a grant to support her study by Flinders University Rural Health SA. The $2000 bursary is open to any Aboriginal Health Professional, Practitioner or Worker who is currently working in an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service in rural or remote South Australia.
Ms Vanzati, who is studying part-time while working full-time as an executive assistant at Moorundi ACCHS in Murray Bridge, says the bursary will enable her to purchase a laptop, printer and relevant stationery to complete her Certificate IV in Aboriginal Primary Health Care, which she hopes to complete in May 2021.
Podcast explains LEGO links to physics teaching
Physicsworld.com invited Associate Professor Maria Parappilly to contribute to its Physics World Stories Podcast, explaining to journalist Andrew Glester her reasons for using LEGO in fun and creative ways to communicate physics in the classroom. The podcast episode – Physics and LEGO: An enduring love affair – is now live at https://physicsworld.com/a/physics-and-lego-an-enduring-love-affair/