Weighing the Earth with a Nobel Laureate

Science in Public on 28 February, 2013

 

 

 

Launch: Friday 1 March 2013, 9-10.30am

Albert Park College, 83 Danks St, Albert Park, Victoria

Do you weigh more in Melbourne or Canberra?

What does our planet weigh?

Australia’s 2011 physics Nobel Laureate, Professor Brian Schmidt, is today launching the start of a national physics experiment that everyone can participate in.

School students and the public will follow Galileo to measure local gravity. They’ll measure the weight of the Earth, and discover that your weight changes (just a little) as you travel around Australia.

Brian Schmidt will introduce Year 9 students at Albert Park College to the experiment first performed by Galileo, and together they’ll make the first contributions to a new map. Over the year, the Australian Institute of Physics hopes to involve thousands of people around the country. Read More about Weighing the Earth with a Nobel Laureate

Video gaming addiction can control your thoughts

Science in Public on 25 November, 2012

A psychology researcher from Canberra has collected some of the first scientific evidence that video gaming can be addictive in a way similar to gambling and alcohol. “People who spend an excessive amount of time playing video games are powerless to stop themselves from thinking about gaming,” says Olivia Metcalf, who did the research for […]

L’Oréal recognises three young scientists from Melbourne and Christchurch for their life-transforming work

Science in Public on 22 August, 2012

The $25,000 L’Oréal Australia and New Zealand For Women in Science Fellowships for 2012 have been awarded to three remarkable young women scientists from Melbourne and Christchurch. It’s the first time the Fellowships have been open to New Zealand.

Find below brief profiles on the 2012 Fellows. Below each is a link to their full citation.

New treatments for blood cancers

Science in Public on 21 August, 2012

Dr Kylie Mason Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research/Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia Dr Kylie Mason has set herself the goal of developing new ways of treating diseases that are considered incurable. Working as a clinician …

More efficient solar cells with quantum dots

Science in Public on 21 August, 2012

Dr Baohua Jia Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia The global race to develop high efficiency, low cost solar energy is fierce. And Baohua Jia and her colleagues are front runners. Conventional solar cells are efficient, but thick a…

Giving patients more control of their lives

Science in Public on 21 August, 2012

Dr Suetonia Palmer University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand Dr Suetonia Palmer is challenging the status quo for kidney disease treatment and helping millions of people with chronic kidney disease take back control of their lives. Working from te…