Robert Menzies legacy continues to shape the nation

Media releases, Menzies Foundation

Menzies Foundation

Young leaders from Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide awarded Menzies scholarships to study in US, UK, and Australia

The effect of diet on brain function; whether virtual reality can be used for rehabilitation of arm movements following traumatic brain injury; how chemotherapy damages nerves; and the role of engineering in sustainable development—these are just some of the issues being tackled by this year’s crop of Menzies scholars.

Five of the scholarships were presented on Thursday 24 November  2011 in Melbourne.  Find hi-res images from the night here and background information here.

Each year the Menzies Foundation provides scholarships for graduates to pursue studies in the allied health sciences, engineering, law, and medical research. This year nine such scholarships have been awarded.

The five 2011 Menzies scholars are:

  • Ms Jane Galvin, Senior Occupational Therapist at the Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. Jane’s two-year Menzies Research Scholarship in the Allied Health Sciences will help her undertake a PhD on the possibility of using virtual reality for the rehabilitation of arm movements in children following traumatic brain injury.
  • Mr Matthew Pase, a tutor in psychology at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, is also an Allied Health Sciences scholar. His PhD will look at whether diet can counter the slowing of brain function with age.
  • Ms Brittany Coff, a water resources engineer with Sinclair Knight Merz in Adelaide, has won a Menzies Memorial Scholarship in Engineering which will take her to Cambridge University to undertake an MPhil in Sustainable Development.
  • Mr Ananth Dev Tayal, an electrical engineer from Perth now employed by Energy Australia in Sydney, is another engineering scholar off to do an MPhil in Sustainable Development at Cambridge.
  • Ms Eleanor Mitchell, a lawyer from Adelaide and currently Associate to Justice Jayne Jagot of the Federal Court, has won a Menzies Memorial Scholarship in Law to undertake a Bachelor of Civil Law at Oxford University.

Four other Menzies scholars this year received their awards earlier, and are already overseas. They are:

  • Dr Susanna Park, from Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, who won an NHMRC/RG Menzies Fellowship. Susanna has taken up a postdoctoral fellowship at University College London where she is working on the damaging impact of chemotherapy on nerves.
  • Mr Luke Raffin, a Melbourne lawyer interested in the operation of the Children’s Court, won a Menzies Scholarship to Harvard University to study for a Master of Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government.
  • Ms Angela Lopes has also won a Menzies Scholarship to Harvard. An aerospace engineer by training and interested in issues to do with climate change, Angela has worked as a business strategy consultant at Port Jackson Partners in Sydney. She is undertaking an MBA at the Harvard Business School.
  • Ms Julia Smith, a geographer, is another Menzies Harvard scholar. She is interested in education access and international community development, and is studying for a Masters in International Education Policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

The Menzies Scholarships to Harvard are awarded in association with the Harvard Club of Australia and the Australian National University.

For further information, please contact Niall Byrne or Tim Thwaites at Science in Public (03) 9398 1416 or visit www.scienceinpublic.com.au/menzies