Monday 15 August 2022
Highlights from day three of National Science Week
Researchers, experts, and other interesting people available for interview around the country.
- NSW: Unstable internet connection: why we’re addicted to dopamine
- TAS: How an astronomer is helping an ecologist eavesdrop on bats and bitterns – Swansea
- VIC: How hydrogen could create jobs and cut carbon dioxide
- WA: In a pickle: making food go further
- NSW: The future of the Antarctic envisaged by artists and scientists – Wollongong
- WA: Inside a modern-day Noah’s ark conserving Western Australia’s threatened plants
- VIC: Saturn up close – Ballarat
- QLD: Making waves: a century of Australian coral reef science
Read on for more on these, including event contact details.
Also today:
- SA: Kindy kids meet marine creatures at the Marine Discovery Centre
- QLD: Cyber, artificial intelligence, and STEM Punks: summit explores our future defence force
Coming up tomorrow:
Cancer art, the sound of colour, and how real is virtual reality? – see a preview of Tuesday’s highlights.
National Science Week 2022 runs from 13 to 21 August. Media kit at www.scienceinpublic.com.au. Or visit the National Science Week website for more events and activities: www.scienceweek.net.au.
For general Science Week media enquiries:
Tanya Ha: tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863
Jane Watkins: jane@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0425 803 204
More about the event highlights
Unstable internet connection: why we’re addicted to dopamine – online
Too much dopamine is making us miserable, according to US psychiatrist Dr Anna Lembke.
In the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, Dr Lembke argues that social media is a drug and we are addicted to its 24/7 stimuli.
People need dopamine to be healthy and happy, but recent research shows that compulsively chasing pleasure can lead to overconsumption.
In this online event for National Science Week, Dr Lembke will explain how we can overcome the problem to form genuine connections.
Monday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/addicted-to-dopamine
Media enquiries: Siân Davies, sian@articulatepr.com.au, 0402 728 462; or Sasha Haughan, sasha@articulatepr.com.au, 0405 006 035
Dr Anna Lembke available for media interviews (via telephone or online).
How an astronomer is helping an ecologist eavesdrop on bats and bitterns – Swansea, TAS
Sounds reveal the secret lives of bats and bitterns. Ecologist Dr Lisa Cawthen and radio astronomer Dr Jim Lovell have combined their differing expertise and skills to track Tassie wildlife by the noises they make.
They’re involved with the CallTracker project, eavesdropping on wildlife and deciphering their calls.
Lisa is a renowned expert on Tasmania’s bats. Born and bred in Perth, Tasmania, she loves to make the case for the state’s poorly understood wildlife and bust the myths about bats.
Jim also grew up in Tasmania, and has worked for UTAS, CSIRO and NASA using radio telescopes to study quasars. He recently started working with Lisa and other wildlife monitoring experts, applying his expertise to develop innovative acoustic monitoring approaches and to coordinate the CallTrackers project.
CallTrackers is a new project using audio recorders to survey for bats and the threatened Australasian bittern. They’re looking for people to get involved in the project and make a contribution to real science.
Monday 15 August. Event details: https://www.scienceweek.net.au/event/presenting-ping-chirp-squeak/swansea-1
Lisa Cawthen lcawthen@gmail.com and Jim Lovell jejlovell@gmail.com are available for media interviews.
Sound recordings available.
Hydrogen energy 101 – Hawthorn, VIC
Hydrogen is a promising solution to tackle climate change and it will also create jobs across a range of sectors. But what is hydrogen? How is it applied in daily life? Why is it important? And, most importantly, how does it impact your future?
Ask the experts at the Victorian Hydrogen Hub at Swinburne University of Technology.
Monday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/lunch-and-learn-hydrogen-101/hawthorn
Media enquiries: Breck Carter, breckcarter@swin.edu.au or 0402 015 037
Dr Kim Beasy, Victorian Hydrogen Hub Research Fellow, is available for media interviews.
In a pickle: making food go further – Girrawheen, WA
On average, Australians waste about one in every five shopping bags full of food. How can science, microbes and glass jars help save food and the planet?
Perth sustainability educator Kath Moller shares her expertise in pickling, food safety, and preserving fresh produce in glass jars.
Discover the reasons for the steps involved, from selecting the produce to preserve, to hearing the jar lids pop down as a vacuum seal forms, keeping food safe and shelf-stable until opened.
There will be discussions about recipes, preparation of the food, and demonstration of filling the jars, and hot water bath processing to obtain a vacuum seal.
Monday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/preserving-and-pickling-with-kath-moller-girrawheen-library/girrawheen
Media enquiries: Girrawheen Library, 08 9342 8844
Saturn up close – Ballarat, VIC
Saturn is at opposition on Monday 15 August. This occurs when Saturn is closest to the Earth, with the sun on the other side of Earth. It’s literally the best time to see the ringed planet through the telescope at Ballarat Municipal Observatory and Museum.
Visitors to the observatory will learn about Saturn, the sun, and observing the night sky.
Saturday 13 to Saturday 20 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/saturn-up-close/mt-pleasant
Media enquiries: info@ballaratobservatory.org.au
The future of Antarctica envisaged by artists and scientists – Wollongong, NSW
What will the Antarctic look like in the future? Ask a team of artists and scientists who have been there for their research.
Antarctica affects the global climate and climate change is affecting Antarctica. For most people, it’s an alien landscape, but it’s also full of life and a vital barometer for climate change.
‘Another Antarctica: Envisaging Antarctic Futures’ is an interactive exhibition that presents Antarctic science, policy and different perspectives in a gallery space. It brings researchers and artists together to imagine potential futures for this important ecosystem. Guests will learn about Antarctic research with a series of interactive presentations and workshops within the gallery.
Date: Monday 15 August – Sunday 23 October. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/antarctic-futures/wollongong
Exhibition website: www.uowblogs.com/eco-antarctica
Media enquiries: Kate Mayhew, kmayhew@uow.edu.au or 0475 388 887.
Artist and curator Dr Brogan Bunt and scientists Dr Melinda Waterman and Georgia Watson are available for media interviews.
Making waves: a century of Australian coral reef science – South Brisbane
In the face of climate change and other threats, can we save Australia’s many colourful reefs?
These reefs include those on the fringe of the Queensland coast, forming labyrinths in the Torres Strait and Coral Sea, and meandering along the Kimberley and Ningaloo coastlines.
Australia’s coral reefs are some of the longest, oldest, most biodiverse and pristine on the planet – some 17 per cent of all the world’s coral reefs. Four are World Heritage-listed: the Great Barrier Reef, Lord Howe Island, Ningaloo Reef and Shark Bay.
Coral reefs also hold great cultural and spiritual significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have been caring for Sea Country for tens of thousands of years.
This exhibition at Queensland Museum explores 100 years of Australian coral reef science to find out how local scientists have been at the forefront of reef conservation and advocacy, making large ripples across the globe by supporting scientific research on coral reefs, and are protecting precious reefs for generations to come.
Reef scientists available for media interviews.
From Friday 12 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/making-waves-a-century-of-australian-coral-reef-science/south-brisbane
Media enquiries: media@qm.qld.gov.au
- Kylie Hay, (07) 3153 4450, 0434 565 852 (Monday to Thursday)
A modern-day Noah’s ark: conserving Western Australia’s threatened plants – Kensington
The south-west of Western Australia is renowned for its rich plant diversity. This diversity, combined with the loss of a large proportion of the original vegetation, has led to this area being recognised internationally as a biodiversity hotspot. The Western Australian Seed Centre, Kensington, is a key pillar in conserving some of WA’s most threatened plants.
See inside this critically important seed bank at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions to discover how biologists collect seeds of some of Western Australia’s most threatened plant species, prepare them for storage and – most importantly – retrieve stored seeds and get them ready for replanting back in the wild.
Monday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/a-modern-day-noahs-ark-conserving-western-australias-threatened-plants/kensington
Media enquiries: alan.gill@dbca.wa.gov.au