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Thursday 29 October 2009 at 1.30 pm,
Effects of Drought on Stream Insects and its Ecological Consequences
Professor Andrew Boulton
Ecosystems Management, University of New England and Editor "Marine and Freshwater Research"
Abstract
The three forms of drought (meteorological, hydrological and groundwater) affect stream insects in complex ways, with ecological repercussions such as altered food webs and organic matter processing pathways. This talk explores the effects of changes in hydrological connectivity during drought and a ‘drought intolerance score’ to assess the selective impacts on stream insects in Australia.
Thursday 17 September 2009 at 1 pm,
From fish ear stones to nanomaterials – Things you can do at the Australian Synchrotron
Dr Peter Kappen
Department of Physics ,Bundoora
Postdoctoral Fellow and Synchrotron Community Liaison
Abstract
Synchrotrons are large machines producing very intense beams of light, called synchrotron light. This light has unique properties, such as exceptional brightness and tuneable wavelengths, and it offers great opportunities to go beyond what we can do in the lab.
The Australian Synchrotron is one of the world's most recent synchrotrons, giving many possibilities to boost our research output. In particular, La Trobe is a "Foundation Investor" of the Australian Synchrotron, meaning that we have easy access routes to a variety of synchrotron methods.
In this presentation, I will discuss a range of synchrotron research examples showcasing how synchrotron methods can give insight into the macroscopic and microscopic chemistry, structure, and crystallography of materials. Studies presented will include the chemistry of heavy metal contaminants in environmental systems, the structure of iron inside carbon nanotubes, the distribution and chemistry of calcium in fish ear stones, and others. These examples can be transferred directly to almost any area of interest.
I will also address how to get beamtime at the Australian Synchrotron, what a synchrotron proposal is, and what "Foundation Investor access" means in practical terms.
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