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STRICTLY SPEAKING | SYZYGY
Syzygy Syzygy is one of those rare words in English, like hymn and myth, that has no vowel – or rather where the letter‘ y’ takes the place of a conventional vowel. It has come to prominence in the media recently to describe the conjunction of heavenly bodies that occur during eclipses( literally it means‘ yoked together’). Despite the obscurity of the word, it also applies to some very common astronomical events – full and new moons are also instances of syzygies. It is used in other types of combination too. In biology, a syzygy can be the joining together of two organisms, in mathematics a group of functions whose products cancel each other out, and in classical verse it refers to the combining of different metric feet. Another literary application is what’ s known as phonetic syzygy, where a consonant is repeated throughout a passage( though not necessarily, as with alliteration, at the beginning of successive words). A famous example of phonetic syzygy is the sequence of‘ m’ sounds in Tennyson’ s lines: The moan of doves in immemorial elms / And murmuring of innumerable bees. So syzygy has quite a broad appeal that extends beyond its use by stargazers and vowel-deprived Scrabble players.
Written by Dr Adam Smith, convenor of the Editing and Electronic Publishing Program at Macquarie University.
NEW ENGINEERING DEAN FOR USYD
The University of Sydney will welcome Professor Willy Zwaenepoel as the new dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies on 15 June 2018. Zwaenepoel is an experienced leader in experimental computer science research, with a focus on distributed systems and operating systems.
Vice-chancellor and principal Dr Michael Spence said Zwaenepoel would bring valuable international experience to the university.“ In particular, Professor Zwaenepoel’ s expertise in commercialisation will be of great benefit to the faculty and indeed the wider university as we seek to broaden our external engagement,” he said.
NOBEL WINNER HEADS TO UNSW
UNSW Sydney has appointed its first parttime Nobel Laureate, Sir Fraser Stoddart, to the School of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science. Stoddart was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year for the design and synthesis of molecular machines. He is currently head of the Stoddart Mechanostereochemistry Group at Northwestern University in Illinois.
“ I am excited at the prospect of being able to spend a considerable amount of time each year in Australia at a world-class university such as UNSW Sydney,” he said.
NEW MED SCHOOL WELCOMES BOSS
Clinician and scientist Professor Jonathan Craig will be the inaugural vicepresident and executive dean of the Flinders University College of Medicine and Public Health. Craig is associate dean for research in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney, and president of the Australia and New Zealand Society of Nephrology. He has led the implementation of best-practice guidelines relating to chronic kidney disease and was awarded the International Distinguished Medal of the National Kidney Foundation( USA).“ I’ m very pleased to be joining Flinders … in the newly established college structure, [ and for the ] opportunity to lead the medicine and public health disciplines while maintaining my interest in research and clinical activity,” Craig said. He will start his new role in Adelaide on 30 April.
FINNISH EXPERT TO START AT UNSW
Finland’ s leading education expert Pasi Sahlberg will join UNSW as professor of educational policy. Vice-chancellor Ian Jacobs said Sahlberg was a sought-after public speaker, and his research on education policy and equity was highly regarded around the world.
Professor of practice Adrian Piccoli said Sahlberg has the potential to instigate positive change in the sector:“ Dr Sahlberg’ s work on enhancing our understanding of international education has helped shift education policy focus around the world, including in Australia, from standardisation and educational segregation to equity and inclusion.”
BOND PICKS NEW MEDICINE DEAN
Bond University has announced that Professor Kirsty Forrest will be dean of medicine at its Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine in 2018. Forrest is deputy head of medicine at Bond, and a consultant anaesthetist at Gold Coast University Hospital.
“ My priority as dean of medicine will be to ensure that we continue to lead the country in our student-centred approach to education,” she said.“ Bond University and its Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine has bold plans for growth, expansion and innovation in the pipeline, which I relish the opportunity to contribute to.”
IT’ S CURTIN FOR TOP RESEARCHER
NHMRC senior research fellow Professor Archie Clements has been appointed vicechancellor of health sciences at Curtin University. He is currently director of the Research School of Population Health, and professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the ANU.
Vice-chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said:“ Professor Clements is not only an internationally recognised researcher, he has demonstrated leadership in learning and teaching, innovation, and community and stakeholder engagement, which will position him well to lead this highly regarded faculty at Curtin.”
Clements has received over $ 28 million in research funding and authored more than 190 peer-reviewed publications.
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