AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY FOR BIOPHYSICS Newsletter 2002/3

ASB News

Congratulations to Cris dos Remedios and Frances Separovic on their election to the IUPAB Council, Cris as Vice-President and Frances as a Council Member. This is a great effort on their behalf and a tribute to their status in the international biophysics community. It also enhances the standing of the Australian biophysics community, as apparently this is the first time there have been two members from one country on the IUPAB Council. A report on the IUPAB Congress by Frances is included below.

1. ASB 2002 Conference

Thanks to those of you who replied regarding dates, potential speakers and themes for ASB2002. As many of you will be attending the Australian Health & Medical Research Congress (http://www.asnevents.net.au/congress/), which will be held the week of November 25-29th, we will hold our meeting on the Friday and Saturday of November 29th and 30th. Pease note these dates in your diaries. Talks will be held in the Small Lecture Theatre of the School of Biochemistry, University of Melbourne. This theatre is fully equipped for slide, overhead and PowerPoint presentations. The organizing committee consists of Paul Gooley (Chair), David Keizer (Secretary), Frances Separovic (Treasurer), Ray Norton, Geoff Howlett, Leanne Tilley, Cyril Curtain and Terry Mulhern. We have invited Professor Art Palmer from Columbia University who has accepted. Professor Palmer is well known in the NMR community for his contributions to developing methods for understanding protein and macromolecular dynamics. Professor Frank Caruso has also been invited and has accepted. He will be joining the University of Melbourne as a Federation Fellow to continue his research in nanotechnology. We will keep you updated as the program develops.
 

2. Bob Robertson Award: Call for Nominations

As advised previously, 2002 will see the inauguration of an invited lecture at our Annual Conference in honour of Sir Rutherford (Bob) Robertson's contribution to biophysics in Australia, as well as to Australian science generally. Awardees will be presented with a medal and a cheque at the Annual Conference and will present a lecture at that conference.

Nominations are now called for. A copy of the Conditions of this Award will be circulated in a separate email. Here's an excerpt with some of the key information:

Eligibility Criteria & Application Procedure

1. Nominees should have been members of the Society for at least two years immediately preceding their nomination.
2. Nominations should be sent to the ASB Secretary by the advertised closing date (not less than 4 months before each conference).
3. Nominations should consist of a covering letter summarising the achievements of the nominee, a Curriculum vitae including a complete list of publications, and two confidential referees reports sent direct to the Secretary. Referees should address the specified selection criteria in a report of 2 pages or less. Nominators should seek the approval of the nominee prior to submitting a nomination.

1. Quality and impact of published work in journals of high international reputation
2. Service to the biophysics community
3. Excellence in teaching of biophysics

We look forward to receiving your nominations over the coming month. The closing date will be July 26th.

3. ASB 2004 in Perth?

Boris' full contact details are at the end of this newsletter. His email is bmartinac@receptor.pharm.uwa.edu.au

4. AAS National Committee for Biophysics

Herewith a summary of the outcome: The meeting at AAS on Tuesday led to a number of proposals, which will be collated by Bruce MacKellar, circulated to current NC chairs for comment, then presented to the AAS executive in mid-June. The biggest changes suggested are in the biological sciences and flow largely from the almost total lack of activity of several committees in this area.

It was suggested that the current committees be reorganised as follows:

• Biomedical Sciences
• Plant & Animal Sciences
• Medicine (to provide an AAS voice in this field)
• Nutrition
• Psychology
• Microbiology & Immunology to be asked if they want to be grouped in this way or would prefer to join others.

Ad hoc subcommittees with limited lives and well-defined goals would be formed to deal with specific issues, drawing on members of as many NC's as needed.

The issue of ICSU subs was discussed. Some larger societies like ASBMB would prefer to take over these subs and become the adhering body directly, without AAS involvement. I made it clear ASB did not wish to do this.

All of the above are proposals only, but in my view they don't weaken the role of biophysics in AAS. Provided we remain active and committed to any NC we're on then we can expect to retain membership and continue to be heard.

If you have any comments or questions please direct them to Cris (crisdos@anatomy.usyd.edu.au).

Meeting Reports & Other News

XIV INTERNATIONAL BIOPHYSICS CONGRESS

I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in IUPAB 2002, the 14th International Biophysics Congress in Buenos Aires, despite the 40 hr trip via Los Angeles and the closure of the banks in Argentina. There was general agreement that the Congress was a great success. The organisers managed to put on an exciting meeting even though the financial situation in Argentina at this time gave rise to a large number of difficulties for the locals and relatively few for visitors. There were about 800 participants, 52% from Latin America, with a large number of students who gave an additional vibrancy to the proceedings. The plenary sessions were held in the magnificent medical auditorium at the University of Buenos Aires. Peter Moore's lecture on the structure of the ribosome was a highlight for me, as were the sessions on membranes, protein structure and the acetylcholine receptor. A detailed report on the conference will be published separately in IUPAB NEWS.

Both Cris dos Remedios and I succeeded in being elected to IUPAB Coucil which held the 48th Council Meeting in Buenos Aires. The IUPAB Officers and Council for 2002-2005 are:

President: J. Garnier (France)
Past-President: I. Pecht (Israel)
Vice-Presidents: C. G. dos Remedios (Australia) and I.C.P. Smith (Canada)
Secretary General: F.G. Parak

New Task Forces were formed as follows: Bioinformatics (Convenor J. Garnier); Capacity Building and Education in Biophysics (Convenor J.R. Grigera); NMR in Biological Sciences (Convenor G. Govil); and Biomedical Spectroscopy (Convenor I.C.P. Smith) with a major aim being to bring Biophysics to all parts of the globe. Note that the 15th International Congress, will be held in Montpellier, August 27 - September 1, 2005 and I hope to see you there.

Upcoming Events

1. 6th Asia-Pacific Congress on Animal, Plant & Microbial Toxins

This conference, covering all aspects of toxinology, will be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine and will be preceded by a specialist workshop relevant to the field of tropical medicine on Sunday, July 7.

For further information please email convention@optushome.com.au or check the congress web site: http://www.pharmacology.unimelb.edu.au/pharmwww/avruweb/ozist.htm.

2. XXth ICMRBS Conference

Contact XXth ICMRBS Conference, 1201 Don Diego Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87505 Tel: (505) 989-4735 Fax: (505) 989-1073 office@ICMRBS.org Web site: www.ICMRBS.org

3. ComBio2002

4. Forthcoming conferences in Europe

• 4th EuroBiophysics Congress run by EBSA in Alicante, July 2003 (http://eurobiophysics2003.umh.es/index.html)
• ESF EuroConference in Bionanotechnology, July 9-13, 2003 in Granada (web site not yet up)
• BBS meeting "Recent innovations in biological solid state NMR" in Oxford, September 2 -3 2002 (http://www2.bioch.ox.ac.uk/~eliz/NMR/index.html)

Notices & Special Reports

1. European Biophysics Journal

It may be of interest to ASB members to see that the whole of the ASB Special Issue of EBJ is currently the FREE SAMPLE copy of the journal on line (http://link.springer.de/link/service/journals/00249/tocs/t2031001.htm).

Also, the TECHNIQUES SECTION is always free and one paper is currently available, with more to come.

Note that the issue available on-line covers the ASB2000 meeting (it took a long time for some people to send in papers and revise them, we waited for them, hence the delay).

Philip Kuchel is now an Editor of EBJ.

International News

We are exploring the possibility of joint meetings with biophysics societies in Asia and Europe. More news as these discussions progress. If you have any suggestions on this idea please contact Ray Norton.

FASTS

1. FASTS' Newsletter

IN SUMMARY

1. BRENDAN NELSON AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB

The FASTS' Forum "Science and mathematics education: Across the spectrum" is most timely. Education has been a been continually in the news headlines since the election, and this major address is an opportunity for the Minister to unfold his plans for reform and revitalisation.

I said in our media release announcing the Forum:
"We believe that the whole education sector is hungry for action, and will listen with great interest to the Minister's address at the National Press Club.
"Minister Nelson has signalled quite clearly in public statements and in conversations with FASTS that he intends to be an education innovator."
The Minister's address will be complemented by speakers from industry and education, speaking on broad issues such as:

Are we equipping young people with the right skills for the workforce or for the next generation of scientists and innovators?
Are we equipping young people with the skills to become well-informed citizens?
What role is there for Vocational Education and Training in this?

Mr Steve Balzary, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Professor Bob Breakspear, Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
Professor Iain McCalman, President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities
Ms Kathy Rankin, Australian Business Limited
Ms Leisa Ridges, President, Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations
Professor Tony Moon, Chair, ACDS Education Project

www.fasts.org

See commentary by Cyril Curtain below.

2. MINISTER'S NEW SCIENCE ADVISER

He will be based in Dr Nelson's Sydney office, and will assist with science inputs to Ministers Nelson and McGauran.

3. DR BARLOW'S REQUEST

Could you please consider this request within your Society, and then send on to him the most outstanding papers within your sector? These could either go to FASTS, or directly to Dr Barlow at:

Office of Dr Brendan Nelson MP
Suite 8
12-16 Tryon Rd
LINDFIELD NSW 2070

Also, please see request by Melissa Little below.

4. WORKSHOPS FOR MEMBER SOCIETIES

The workshops would deal with a set of practical problems which confront all professional or learned Societies. Our Presidents nominated some of these issues last year:

1. Delivering benefits to members
2. Finding, motivating and coordinating a volunteer workforce
3. Finding and working with professional help - the role of the executive officer
4. Communicating with members, including finding what members want
5. Influencing policy and raising the profile (including use of media)
6. Effective use of databases and accounting packages

We will be in touch with you shortly about the content and schedule of these workshops.

5. THERAPEUTIC GOODS COMMITTEE

Appropriate people would have expertise in microbiology, virology, biomedical engineering, biomaterials, pharmaceutical science etc.

A copy of the letter and details of the Committee are available from the FASTS' office. Our response must be submitted by May 2.

6. NEW PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE FOR SCIENCE

"Federal Science Minister Peter McGauran has welcomed the formation of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on 'Science and Innovation'.

"A dedicated Science and Innovation Committee has been championed by the Federation of Australian and Scientific Technological Societies and I congratulate FASTS on its advocacy which has resulted in this important initiative," Mr. McGauran said.

"The committee's work will expand the Parliament's knowledge and support for research and development."

7. SCIENCE MEETS PARLIAMENT DAY

8. OCCASIONAL PAPERS

If your Society would like to discuss how it could be involved in raising issues through publishing an Occasional Paper in this series, please contact the FASTS' Office.

Chris Fell. President
20 April 2002

2. Cyril Curtain at the National Press Club (along with Brendan Nelson)

The program consisted of three speakers in the morning, a luncheon address by the Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson, Minister for Education, Science and Training, followed by a panel comment on the Minister's speech.

The first speaker was Professor Ian Rae, in his role as Technical Director of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He felt that the current emphasis on courses with a strong and rising economic demand represented a long-term change, not a short-term phenomenon as once predicted by guru Barry Jones. He said, "Students are not going to take science and mathematics courses just because we elders think they should". This and a number of other pertinent comments gave the impression that he was more in touch with the wider community and its aspirations than most of the other speakers, including the Minister.

Ian Rae was followed by Steve Balzary, Director of Employment and Training, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. As might be expected, this speaker batted very strongly for the concept of "Employability Skills" developed out of a recent study commissioned by the Chamber and the Business Council of Australia. It was not altogether clear whether the personal attributes bundled into this concept went much beyond deportment and dress sense for girls and a deferential manner and short back and sides for boys.

The third speaker was Prof. Tim Brown, Dean Faculty of Science, ANU. Although his was a "top down" view, he argued strongly that most secondary maths and science teachers are trained in educational method out of context of their disciplines. He put this down to the favouring by the Australian educational establishment of generic intellectual skills over the acquisition of rigorous discipline-specific skills and knowledge. This session, chaired by Professor Sue Serjeantson, Executive Secretary of the Australian Academy of Science, produced the liveliest discussion of the three. An interesting comment from the floor was about a year 12 student who swapped physics for additional maths, because what was being taught in the course was "about physics" and not physics.

The Minister delivered an impressive political speech, with just the right balance of personal anecdote and wit. Whether one found anything new in it would depend on what newspaper one read. Predictably, he denied there was a crisis in higher education, although he implied there could be one if the Government's (managerial) prescriptions weren't accepted. It will be interesting to see if the members of the Minister's Higher Education Review Reference Group will beg to differ and if they do will it surface in the final report.

Those who watch the televised National Press Club lunches are accustomed to seeing all kinds of eminent characters roasted by press after their address. Unfortunately, this time the press pack seemed in an exceptionally mellow mood and the Minister was accorded the kid glove treatment usually reserved for the likes of the Dalai Lama. This might have been due to the journalists ' lack of knowledge of the real issues or Dr Nelson's charming, disarming manner: a manner that might carry him a long way in politics."

Full details of the Forum, including text of speeches, and comments by participants can be found on the FASTS website.

{Footnote: The Government is currently undertaking a review of Australian higher education. The purpose of the review is to ensure that 'Australia's higher education institutions are best placed to contribute to the nation's future'. See http://www.dest.gov.au/crossroads/}

3. Request from Melissa Little

Dear Biological Sciences Cluster Presidents,

As your representative on FASTS, I would like to enlist your help. FASTS is currently updating their policy document. This document is distributed to Government and is probably the most important document that FASTS produces. What the Policy Committee would like to include within the 2002 document are some brief story pieces from our science and technological researchers highlighting

i) breakthroughs / success stories
ii) missed opportunities, particularly if they illustrate a solvable error in national policy and
iiii) people stories, especially if relating to the brain drain.

How can you help?

If you can think of such a story from within your society, could you please pass this message on to those involved. What we need is brief (one paragraph) narratives. It will be important to receive these by the end of May. These can be emailed to FASTS itself (fasts@anu.edu.au) or to members of the policy committee who are listed on the FASTS website.

FASTS contact details:

Mr Toss Gascoigne
Executive Director
Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies
PO Box 218
DEAKIN WEST ACT 2600
AUSTRALIA
Phone: +61 2 - 6257 2891 (work); +61 2 - 6249 7400 (home)
Fax: +61 2 - 6257 2897
Mobile: 0408 704 442
Email: fasts@anu.edu.au (Toss Gascoigne)
Web address: http://www.FASTS.org
FASTS' ABN: ABN 71 626 822 845

Job Vacancies and Notices

Ray Norton
President, Australian Society for Biophysics.
May 28, 2002 ASB Council

ASB Council