ON THE MOVE
campusreview.com.au
SURGICAL MOVE
FOR TECH WHIZZ
Dr Gough Lui,
from Western
Sydney University’s
MARCS Institute for
Brain, Behaviour &
Development, has been appointed as the
first biomedical engineer-in-residence at
WSU's Clinical School at Liverpool Hospital.
Lui will be involved in six projects that
focus on the surgical application of robotics.
“This could ... free up experienced
surgeons from the burden of watching
trainees, while opening up more training
opportunities to reduce the time to
proficiency,” Lui said.
“I can see this role being a vital link
between clinicians and researchers that will
potentially bring a lot of good ideas into
reality and avoid missed opportunities.”
MATTER OF FACT
PROFESSOR
The American dictionary website,
www.merriam-webster.com, regularly
features words that are trending in
dictionary searches. One recent example
was gaslighting – not in the sense of
the outdated mode of illuminating
our city streets, but in the more recent
definition of ‘manipulating someone
psychologically into questioning their
own sanity’. This usage arose out of the
name of a 1938 play, and subsequent
film, Gaslight, where a man convinces his
wife that she is going insane by making
the lights in their house flicker and dim
unexpectedly. But why the revival of
interest in the term? A quick look at online
media shows that the #MeToo movement
is at least partly responsible. Gaslighting
has become widely used to describe, in
general, any controlling behaviour by men
towards women, and more particularly
the strategy used by powerful males to
discredit their accusers – thus adding
psychological abuse to the claims of
physical and sexual misconduct. It’s no
wonder that people are having to resort
to dictionaries to work out what this
curiously derived word is about. Let’s
hope that the connection with Victorian
technology isn’t indicative of a slide
back towards Victorian values in men’s
treatment of women.
Written by Dr Adam Smith,
convenor of the Editing and
Electronic Publishing Program at
Macquarie University.
28
After decades as a
respected journalist,
Stan Grant will
explore new territory
as professor of global
affairs at Griffith University.
With an extensive understanding of
international correspondence and a history
that includes working at the ABC and CNN,
the best-selling author is set to highlight
the global issues impacting Australia and
also inquire into the circumstances of our
own cultures.
“I would also like to broaden the discussion
about Indigenous issues, to place them in
a much more internationally and globally
historical context,” Grant said.
'BIG MAN' LEAVES
BIG IMPACT
Edith Cowan University
chancellor Dr Hendy
Cowan, grandson
of the institution's
namesake, has decided
to retire after 14 years.
Cowan, who is highly regarded for his
dedication to the role, is the longest-serving
chancellor in the university’s history, having
chaired 83 council meetings, attended
more than 100 graduation ceremonies, and
presented around 70,000 graduands with
their testamurs.
Described as “a big man” by colleagues,
Cowan was not only big statured but big in
his support of colleagues and others.
Kerry Sanderson, former governor of
Western Australia, will take over the role
in 2019. She will be Edith Cowan's first
female chancellor.
FOR SHE’S A
GOOD FELLOW
Professor Lynne Bilston
has been elected a
fellow of the Australian
Academy of Health and
Medical Sciences.
Bilston, a senior research scientist with
NeuRA, has a great reputation within the
scientific community. Her work in the
development of national guidelines for the
safe restraint of children in motor vehicles
has impacted the lives of many Australians.
“I am honoured to be elected as a fellow
of the AAHMS and to be recognised for the
important research being undertaken by
myself and my team at NeuRA,” she said.
NeuRA CEO Professor Peter Schofield
said Bilston's “election as a fellow to the
academy will ensure that important work
like this can continue”.
WONDER WOMEN
OF BUSINESS
A new chief operating
officer and academic
dean have been
appointed at the
Australian Institute of
Business: Jo Thomas
(top) and Professor
Ingrid Day, respectively.
Thomas has a
background in iconic
Australian companies
such as iSelect and
Compare the Market, and Day’s previous
roles include being executive director of
teaching, learning and student experience
in the Faculty of the Professions at the
University of Adelaide.
AIB chief executive Paul Wappet said,
“We are thrilled to welcome these two
innovative women to AIB’s leadership team.”
NEW HEAD FOR
SPORTING BODY
UniSport Australia, the
national peak body for
university sport, has
appointed Mark
Sinderberry as its new
chief executive officer.
Sinderberry was the founding chief
executive of the ACT Brumbies Rugby team
in 1995, and spent six years as group CEO
of English premiership club Saracens and
four years as CEO of Perth's Western Force.
"I am delighted to be joining UniSport ...
with the opportunity to build on the work
that was commenced under Don Knapp
and the UniSport board to fully develop and
implement the divisional and national sports
model,” Sinderberry said.