THE GAZETTE

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

The University of Newcastle, N.S. W, 2308

VOL. 6, No. 3. December, 1972.

Professor B. Boettcher, foundation Pro·fessor of Biological Sciences, has kindly writtenthis article, which outlines proposed develop·ments in his department.

The new Department of Biological Scienceswill have its initial intake of first year studentsin 1973. However, these will not be its firststudents. Already two students have been en­rolled in the Departmen t as a part- time stud­ents working towards an M.Sc. qualification.

Although the Department anticipates a largeintake of first year student next year, it doesnot yet have its own building. The BiologicalSciences building has been designed and rec-.t1y the initial work on its construction was

.gun. But it will not be ready until the 1974student intake.

During 1973 the Department of BiologicalSciences will be sharing facilities with the Dep­artment of Chemistry. Practical sessions will be

.ven in the Chemistry 1 laboratories on the~vest level of the Chemistry building. Forty­

eight students will undertake practical work ateach session. The preparation and storage ofmaterials required in the practical sessions willoccur in the basement of the Chemistry build­ing. At the present time storage units, tables,desks, chairs, etc., are being put into the base­ment of Chemistry in preparation for the act­ivities to be seen there next year.

As well as utilising the area available in theChemistry basement, the Department is alsomaking use of the three laboratories at the rearof the Science Lecture Theatre. In these labor-

rie experimen tal material for the practicalasses will be prepared, and also the academic

staff members of the Department will be ableto have some small amount of space in whichto carry on their research activities.

The aim of the fust year course in Biology

•to provide a general framework upon whichrtl'ler biological knowledge can be built in the

future. The course is designed to be approp-riate to all university students, not just Sciencestuden ts, nor those students who will studyBiology further.

One has only to reflect on some of the bio­logical principles which have become commonplace in our daily lives during the last 50 yearsto recognise the necessity for an educated per­son to have an understanding of the basic prin·ciples in Biology. We have come to accept inour every-day life such things as blood trans­fusion, Rh groups, Rh disease of the new-bornand its prevention, modern anaesthetics, tissue(both heart and kidney) transplantation, imm­unization, antibiotics, food preservation, ster­ilization by gamma irradiation, animal and plantbreeding leading to increased food production,artificial insemination, reproduction controletc. etc. At this stage it is impossible to fore­cast what biological principles will be adopted

technologically into our daily lives in the nex t50 years but, hopefully, the fust year coursewill give the foundations for the understandingand appreciation of such adoption so that thestudents who undertake the course will betterhandle, and understand better, their daily lives.

The fust year course of lectures will comm­ence with a study of cells, the fundamentalunits of all organisms. Chemical reactions,which obtain energy for cells and which releaseenergy for utilization, will be studied. These arethe synthetic and metabolic reactions.

This will be followed by studying how cellsare united into tissues and organs, and how thefunctions of different org"Uls are coordinatedby nervous and hormonal control The princ­iples involved in studying heredity and evolut­ion will be dealt with, followed by the princ­iples of ecology or the inter-relationships bet­ween organisms and their environments. Prin­ciples in microbiology and immunology willbe studied.

The fmal series of lectures at the end of theyear will deal with human biology, where itwill be shown that the principles dealt withduring the year as applying to diverse sorts oforganisms apply equally well to man. A seriesof weekly practical sessions dealing with thesame sorts of topics will be given, and it isanticipated that there will be a weekend fieldtrip at some stage during the year.

The second and third year studies in Biologywill be divided into two parts. It is envisagedt11at Biology IIA and IIlA will deal with biol­ogical studies where the units being studiedare molecules or individual cells. Biology lIBand IIlB will deal with studies of wholeorganisms and also populations.

There will be no subject such as the trad­itional ones of Botany and Zoology. Such atraditional breakdown of Biology tends tohighlight differences between plants and anim­als, whereas our way of studying them willtend to highlight the similarities between plantsand animals. The chemical reactions by whichboth plants and animals obtain energy forcarrying out many different processes are fund­amentally the same. The laws of heredity whichcontrol the breeding of plants and animals arefundamentally the same. When studying theinteractions between organisms then the inter­actions between plants and animals are equallyas important as between organisms of the sametype.

At this stage it is not certain when the sub­jects Biology HA, lIB, IIlA and IIIB will beintroduced. Possibly, if sufficient students areinterested in these subjects, they will be offeredas from 1974. However, this depends on theamount of student demand for the subjects andalso on the assessment of the role of BiologicalSciences in the overall Science Faculty Course

Programme. (The above ideas are my own, andat this stage have not even been put to theBoard of the Faculty of Science for their comm­ents. If there is insufficient student demandfor courses in second year Biology to enable usto mount two viable second year Biology cour­ses, then a course basically what is envisaged asBiology HA will be the one introduced in 1974.The introduction of Biology fIB would thendepend on development within the Depart­ment).

The staff so far appointed to the Depart­ment are: -

Professor B. Boettcher, whose interests arein genetics and immunology, especially withregard to their application to humans;

Dr. R. Jones is at present in London doingpost-doctoral research work in the field of re­productive physiology, with special emphasison electron microscopy to study fme structuraldetail of spermatozoa;

Dr. J. Patrick is at present at Aberystwythstudying the uptake of nutrients by vascularplants;

Dr. R. Murdoch is at present at SydneyUniversity as a post-doctoral fellow working onthe biochemistry associated with reproduction,with particular emphasis on some of the enzy·mes involved.

Professor B. Boettcher

2 THE GAZETTE DECEMBER, 1972DECEMBER,1972 THE GAZETTE 3

A perspective view of the proposed Biological Sciences lmilding, work on which is now proceeding.

Work on Stage III of the Union, consisting of a fOllr-storey addition at the entrance, will startsoon and shollld be completed by the end of J 973, Building alterations are also to be undertalamill the kitchen area to ameliora te lack of space for studen ts a t meal times.

in the University of Illinois and Doctor ofPhilosophy in the University of WesternOntario.

Dr. A.K.M. Abdur Rahman has taken up hisappoin tment as Lecturer in Psychology. He holdstlte qualifications of Bachelor of Arts withHonours and Master of Arts in tlle Universityof Rajshahi, Bangla Desh, and Doctor of Phil­osophy in McGill University.

Dr. D.L.S. McElwain has begun duties asLecturer in Mathematics. He holds tlle degreesof Bachelor of Science in tlle University ofQueensland and Doctor of Philosophy in YorkUniversity.

Dr. Karl Johann Sehmalzl has taken up hi­appointment as Post-doctoral Research Fellowin the Department of Chemistry. He holds the

degrees of Bachelor of Science and Doctor ofPhilosophy in the University of Western

at the University of New South Wales throughthe Newcastle University College. He was ad­mitted a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of NewSoutll Wales in 1962 and in the same year be­came a partner in tlle law firm of Harris,Wheeler, Wil1iams and McKenzie. In 1965 hewas awarded the degree of LL.B. by the Uni­versity of London and in 1967 an M.A. degreefrom the University of Newcastle, where he wasrecently awarded his doctorate. In 1969, Mr.Lindgren joined the staff of tlte University ofNewcastle as Lecturer in Legal Subjects andwas promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1971,

Although Legal Subjects have long beentaught within Faculties of Economics andCommerce in Australia, this is tlle first appoint­ment to a full professorship in any such Faculty.

Dr. Pui Chi Ip has begun duties as Lecturerin Economics. Dr. Ip holds the degrees of B.S.

iOIl/Sociology /Psychology, includmg additionalaccommodation for language teaching and res­earcb $ 1,130.000; Ma thema tics/Classroomblock, to provide shared classroom accommod­ation of a minimum of 1.200 seats in theatres,lecture. tutorial and seminar rooms, as well asto house the Faculty of Mathematics.$1,060.000; Biological Sciences building,

720,000; Architecture exrension, $250,000and a Lecture Theatre for general use but withspecialized preparation areas for the Depart­ments of Geology and Physics, $190.000.

Professor Auchmuty added: "There are alsogrants of $75,000 for the re-organization of themain university building after so many depart­ments move out, $90,000 for minor works.$550,000 for site works and services and, fin­ally, $30,000 for forward planning for tlle nexttriennium. The sum of $200,000 has been rec­ommended towards extensions to the Union,which, with funds provided from the Union'sown resources. will result in a building prog­ramme of upwards of half a million dollars. Thesum of $280,000 is recommended for the com­pletion of the first stage of Edwards Hall bythe addition of 33 undergraduate and threetu tor places, togetller with a Warden's residence.

A "Accordingly, the entire capital buildingwrogramme comes to $4,575,000 and Witll re­

current grants of $21,200,000, an equipmentgrant of $1,200.000, a research grant of$120,000 and an estimated $55,00(1 'owardsthe running of Edwards Hall. the gra. . I tal for

_he triennium is $27,150,000."

APPO INTM ENTS

Dr. J.B. Biggs, B.A. (Tas.), Ph.D. (London),currently Professor of Educational Psychologyat the University of Alberta, has been appointedto the newly created Chair in Education andwill begin duties in mid-1973.

Professor Biggs is a First Class Honoursgraduate in Psychology at the University ofTasmania and took his Ph.D. at the BirkbeckCollege Within the University of London. He

s taught a1 the primary and secondary levelt the Hutchins School at Hobart, and sub­

sequently, at a secondary modern school atLuton in the United Kingdom, which providedhim with certification from tlle United King-

~m Mini try of Education. He tllen spentr years on the research staff of the National

oundation for Educational Research beforecoming back to Australia as a Lectu rer inPsychology at the University of New Englandfrom 1962-1966. He was witll the EducationalResearch Unit of Monash University beforeproceeding to Canada in 1969 as an AssociateProfessor of Educational Psychology at theUniversity of Alberta. He was promoted to aprofessional Chair at that university during tllecurrent year.

The Council of the University appointedDr. K.E. Lindgren, B.A. (N.S.W.), LL.B. (Lon­don), M.A., Ph.D. to tlle newly created Chairof Legal Studies.

Dr. Lindgren became an articled clerk onleaving school in 1957 and obtained fust placein New South Wales at the examinations of theSolicitors' Admission Board whilst concurr­ently proceeding to a Bachelor of Arts degree

The recommendations in the Fifth Reportof the Australian Universities Cornmiss'would ensure continued controlled develoment at the University of Newcastle during thetriennium 1973-75, and, except for some res­ervations in the capital building programme,the report was one which the university couldhappily welcome, the Vice-Chancellor said.

"The Commission has recommended re­current grants of 6,240,000 for 1973,$6,980,000 for 1974 and $7,810,000 for1975", Professor Auchmuty said. "Provisionis made in the recurrent grant for the develop­ment of Biological Sciences, the absorptioninto the University of the Newcastle activitiesand staff of the Sydney University Departmentof Adult Education and, in the third year of tlletriennium, if the building programme is pro­ceeding successfully, a start on the teaching ofSociology."

The building grants recommended: Edllcar·

third year lectures. First year lectures will beheld in the Science Lecture Theatre (HO I). Alsoon the lowest level are facilities for breedinganimals for class practical work. It is hopedthat in the 1976-78 Triennium tbe Departmentwill be able to obtain an animal house forexpanded animal facilities and to release therooms for animals on the lowest level of thepresent building. A lecturer and a demonstratorwill be also situated on tlle lowest level, andtlle rest of the space will be alloca ted to thestore, the plant room and toilet facilities.

The middle level of the building holds theoffices of the Professor, Associate Professor,Departmental secretary and the ProfessionalOfficer, tlle Professor's laboratory and a tutorialroom.

The top level of the building will be pre­dominantly for staff offices, laboratories andpost-graduate students. The top level is plannedso that there is common use of instrument andconstant temperature rooms to avoid duplicat­ion of costly equipment items in individuallaboratories.

On feature of special advantage in a Dep­artment of Biological Sciences, as opposed toindependent Departments of BotallY, ZoologaBiochemistry, Microbiology and Physiology,.that students can obtain instruction, guidanceand advice from people with complementaryintere ts. Furtller, at a senior student and res­earch student level, the equipment facilitiescan be shared. This permits a much widrange of equipment to be available for use aenables students to develop greater diversityand flexibility in their work than is possible ina single subject department of comparable size.Of course, the succcss of sharing equipmentdepends on the goodwill of l'vcrybody both inlending and looking after somebody else'equipment. Howcver, past expcrience has shownthat this is a very workable arrangement, withtremendous benefits to senior students and tostaff. For a young and small dcpartmen t this isan obvious benefit of creating a Department ofBiological Sciences, rather than a more spccial­ized single subject department. eCOMMITTEE'S REPORT

While many people appear to be concernedabout the lack Qf vocational prospects for uni­versity graduates, I think it can be truly saidthat in Australia at the presen t time there is anunder-utilization of university graduates. Mar.yposts which employ only graduates in overseascountries have no graduates in Australia. Auth­orities in charge of water supply or nationalparks would benefit greatly from having theabilities and advice of university graduates.Other states (I am not qualified to speakabout New South Wales at this stage) have fewgraduates in such positions. Consequently, itseems that the under-utilization of the resourcesof our graduates is something which should rec­eive careful attention in the next years to en­sure that our country benefits from the pot­ential offered in our graduates.

From the outset the Department of Biolog­ical Sciences is keen to attract exceptionalstudents for post-graduate study in the Depart­ment, following some of the interests of acad­emic staff members. Again, as with our grad­uates, it would appear that the threat of a lackof job opportunities is not so much one of alack of opportunities but a failure of manyorganisations to utilize the benefits of our res­earch specialists. For instance, many zoos (ifnot all) in the United States are run bydirectors who have Ph.D's.

The first sod for the building for the Dep­artment of Biological Sciences was unofficiallyturned by Professor Boettcher at a very impress­ive ceremony on Monday, 13th November,watched by the other members of the Depart­ment. The building is due to be completed bythe end of 1973 and has been designed by thearchitects who designed the present Chemistrybuilding. The building will have the same gen­eral external appearance as that building, bu t,instead of being seven bays long, it will be onlyfive bays long.

The building will be on three levels and isdesigned to cater for about 100 equivalent full­time students (E.F.T.S.). A fir t-year studentcounts as a quarter of E.F.T.S" since he spendsonly abou t a quarter of his time in BiologicalSciences. On the same basis a second year stud­ent counts as one third etc. Crystall ball gazingit seems not unlikely that the building will betoo small for the requirements by the 1976-78Triennium.

As with Chemistry, student laboratories willbe at the eastern end of each floor. A pair oflaboratories, each holding 24 students, will beseparated by a preparation room, an instrumentroom and the lift. The rest of the building willbe divided by two corridors.

On the lowest level the centre of the build­ing will hold a lecture theatre for about 60students, which will be suitable for second and

than one who was not trained in this sphere.I think our graduates can look for employ­

ment prospects in secondary school teaching,hospital research and diagnostic laborator­ies, government agencies, such as the Depart­ment of Agriculture and the Department ofHealth, research laboratories, such as those ofthe C.S.I.R.O., universities and other researchorganizations, and also in wineries, bu tter fac­tories, cheese factories, water supply authorities,etc. etc.

Professor Boettcher has received a gran tfrom the Australian Research Grants Committeeto continue some of his studies on AustralianAborigines in the Northern Territory, examin­ing their tribal structure and how this is beinginfluenced by the white man and the destruct­ion of their tribal lands, which are beingreplaced by a smaller and localized governmentreserve.

At the present time Dr. Jones is in Africastudying artificial insemination of the elephant.Although this may seem to be a rather esotericsubject, it is extremely practical for zoos andalso in countries where the elephant is used asa beast of burden. In Europe the number ofelephant handlers killed during breeding seasonsis exactly the same as the number of the bullelephants in captivity. It seems the bull ele­phants, during the breeding season becomeunaware of what else is in their vicinity exceptthe female, and a keeper, being brushed asideby a bull elephant's trunk, can suffer far moredamage than the bull elephant ever anticipated.This occupational hazard would be able to beavoided with the successful introduction of art­tificial insemination of elephants. In countrieswhere the elephant is used for work, it is im­possible to obtain work from the elephantsduring the breeding season. This causes a red­uction in the work output and is economicallyvery important.

Dr. Murdoch's w'ork is associated withattempting to maJce the reproduction of dom­estic animals such as sheep and cattle muchmore efficient, again with economic benefits.Dr. Murdoch's work on the uptake and utiliz­ation of nutrients by vascular plants also is in afield which has economic significance, since it isrelated to the artificial fertilization of areasunder intensive agriculture.

New students undertaking a Science degreecommonly look to see what vocational poss­ibilities there are associa ted with the coursethey are undertaking. As with all Sciencecourses, a degree majoring in Biology is notvocationally oriented. Any student graduatingafter majoring in Biology will have developedmany attributes common to all sorts ofscientists. He will be capable of independentthought, approaching a problem in any sphereand solving it synthesizing a report, making useof information from many different sources,and approaching topics and solving them usingscien tific method. In short, it is expected thata graduate would be able to handle efficientlyany task given to him. Of course, someonewith a background of experience and know­ledge in Biology would be expected to handlebiological tasks and problems more efficiently

It is anticipated that an ecologist will beappointed to the staff in the near fu ture, sothat the interests and capabilities of the staffmembers will permit them to give a well bal­anced course along the lines set ou t above. Allstaff members will continue their own researchalong their own lines of inteiest. It is an tic­ipated that they will interact With people withsimilar interests in the local community; al­ready Professor Boettcher is collaborating withstaff members at the Royal Newcastle Hospitaland the Blood Bank on research projects ofmutual in terest.

The Grear Hall of the Univenity is due to be completed early ill 1973.

Tile University's fountain has been removed from the Courtyard of tile Arts/Administration Buildingand relocated in the main plaza rum/ing towards the Library. Here the bushland setting is ideal.

business firms were classified by industry, theobject being to try and determine what app­roach to capital budgeting was made by variousindustry groups and further, to see what policydifferences may emerge as between differentindustry groups. Finally, firms were classifiedby size to test whether size had any significantbearing upon the capital budgeting methodsemployed.

THE GAZETTE

In the Preface Mr. Burke says the empiricalstudy was undertaken to investigate the rat­ionale which guided the actions of Australianmanagement with respect to capital budgetingdecisions and other related issues, The studysought to test three matters. First, to determ­ine whether the capital budgeting rationale ofoverseas controlled firms operating in Australiawas superior to firms owned locally. Secondly,

Work is proceeding on the COI/strucrion of a fountain in an area bordered by sections of the Engineer­hlg Complex. The fountain, a model Of w!li('h is pictured. will be the central feature ofCorlette Court,commemorating tile late Brigadier J.M.C. Corlette. Newcastle Division of tile lnstitution of EngineeersAustralia is providing tile Court witll the assistance of tile Faculty of Engineering.

a The drive for donations to the fund for the"vision of the main doors of the Great Hall

was closed by the Standing Committee at itsmeeting on 5th December. The Treasurer (Mr.R. Gibbins) reported that fund raising hadproduced .1872, The Committee decided toincrease Convocation's contribu tion towardsthe cost of the doors to $2000.

DECEMBER,1972

STAFF MEMBERS' BOOKS

The following speaker addressed the semin­ar: Dr. S. Sax. Director of Planning and Res­earch, N.S.W. Department of Health; ProfessorD.L. Wilhelm. Profes or of Pathology, Univ­ersity of N.S.W. and Professor F.O. Stephens,Associate Professor of Surgery, University ofSydney. The proceedings are available from theCashier, University of ewcastle. .S.W. 2308,for 60 cents plus 25 cents postage.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor J.1. Auch­muty, addressed a general meeting of Convoc­ation on 13th October. His subject was "SomeImplications of the Australian UniversitiesCommission's Report".

The Annual Dinner on 7th November wasattended by more than 100 members and theirguests and was the first function Convocationhad held in Edwards Hall, the new residentialcollege of the University. Mr. Justice Kerr, theChief Justice of New South Wales, was guestspeaker at the dinner. lie spoke on innovationsin legal education which might be introducedby a Faculty of Law at Newcastle and prisonreform.

The Graduation Ball Committee is invest­igating the staging of the next ball (March,1973) in the Great Hall instead of Newcastle

.,tyHall.• The Standing Committee is also planning a

preview" inspection of the Great Hall formembers of Convoca tion and their friends,with the Wine Information Bureau holding awine-tasting in conjunction,

Professor H.M. Lieberstein, of the Depart-

tEnt of Mathematics, is the author of A

rse in Numerical Analysis and Theory ofartial Differenrial Equations. The book on

Numerical Analysis was publi hed by Harperand Row, of New York, and Theory of PartialDifferential Equations was published by Acad­

.iC Press, of New York and London.

A Course in Nl1merieal Analysis aims to givethe student sufficient experience in Mathem­atical Analysis to enable him either to use iteffectively in scien tific and technological com­putations or to undertake fwther courses thatprepare him specifically for research in thesubject. Theory of Partial Differential Equationsis a text constructed in modular form (fourparts), beginning with the most elementarymaterial and finishing on a modern researchlevel.

A research monograph written by Mr. EJ.Burke, Senior Lecturer in Accounting, has beenpublished by TUNRA. The monograph, A Sur­vey of Capital Budgeting Practices by Aust­ralian Companies 1970- 71, is being distribu tedby the Faculty of Economics and Commerce.

DECEMBER,1972

ing Committee endorsed a draft letter, copiesof which will be sent to graduands in March toinform them about Convocation and its func­tion of maintaining relationships between grad­uates of this university. The letter tates: "Weare a self-governing body, with a Standing Com­mittee elected each year by the members.We are empowered by the University to speakto its Council on any matter whatsoever. Thuswe are able to exert real infiuence within thUniversity, and, to some extent, the comm­unity, should we wish to do so".

The committee listened to a progress reporton the scheme for the establishment of astudents' hostel offering low-cost accommodation. Mr. G. Martin, representing the Necastle International Students' Hostel Steeringorganisation, asked Convocation to support thescheme. He said action had been taken to setup a company limited by guarantee to controlthe hostel. Further, there was a possibility thatthe Department of Lands would agree to pro­vide the building site.

The Committee recorded its support for thestudents' hostel proposal, but postponed spon­sorship until the Memorandum and Articles ofAssociation of the operating company wereavailable for examination by members.

In the light of the successful seminar thatdealt with tl)e politics, problems and'prophec·ies associated with the establishment of a med­ical school in Newcastle, the Standing Comm­ittee decided to arrange for the speech notesto be published.

THE GAZETTE

The Standing Committee approved the foll­owing procedures for the submission by Con­vocation members of proposals to the Univer­sity Council:(l) Member or group of members must submit awritten proposal to the Standing Committee;(2) Standing Committee, at its next meeting,will receive the proposal and hear representat­ives of the proposers; (3) Standing Committeemembers shall vote to accept or lay aside theproposal (simple majority required); (4) Oncecarried, a Sub-Committee shall be formed todeal with the proposaL. The Sub-Committeeshall contain representatives of the proposers.The size of the Sub-Committee will be decidedby Standing Committee on the merits of eachcase; (5) The Sub-Committee shall give progressreports at each subsequent meeting of theStanding Committee; (6) The Standing Comm­ittee shall vote final approval of the proposalwith a simple majority; (7) Once carried, theWarden shall appoint a member or members ofStanding Committee to prepare and present theproposal to University Council or Senate.

The Membership Committee (previouslycalled the Graduates Afar Commi.ttee) hasmade suggestions on how interest in Convocat­ion might be promoted. As a result the Stand-

it to recruit various types of graduates).It was resolved that a semi.nar would be

staged at the university early in 1973 to con­sider the main problems associated with thegraduate employment situation in Australia.

The Standing Committee of Convocation ispresen tly looking closely at the career oppor;tunities available to graduates of the Universityof Newcastle. The investigation was promptedby remarks by the Appointments Officer (Mr.H. Floyer) at a meeting of the committee.

Mr. Floyer said the first destinations ofbachelor's degree graduates from the Univer­sity in 1972 subdivided into these main categ­ories: Teaching or teacher training 55.8 percent; private industry, commerce, professionalpractice 19.2 per cent; higher studies 7.3 percent; State public service, local government 6.6per cent; Commonwealth public service 0.7 percent. His own reaction to this analysis was dis­appointment beca,use the overwhelming maj­ority of graduates were employed in teaching.

Mr. Floyer said the range of jobs availableto Newcastle graduates was limited. Graduatesthemselves were depressed when they foundthey could not command jobs of their ownchoosing. A survey which Melbourne Universityhad conducted howed that the five most fin­ancially rewarding professions in Victoria ­dentistry, medicine, law, optometry and veter­inary science - were not catered for at theuniversity .

The Standing Committee elected Miss F.Burns and Messrs. J. Cornelius and E.1. Buck­man to a sub-committee and asked them togive attention to solving the frustrations beingexperienced by graduates who were seekingcareers.

Mr. Buckman later obtained informationfrom the Secretary of the Unive's:ty of SydneyAppointments Board (Mr. G.A. Xidd) on quest­ionaires which his board distrib.lted to stud­ents (to find out why they came tc. unive,rsityand the sort of careers they hoped to followwhen they graduated) and employers (to ascer­tain how easy or difficult they were findin3

CONVOCATION

Australia.Mr. RJ. Donaldson recently took up his

appointment as Lecturer in Architecture. Heholds the degree of Bachelor of Architecture inthis University. From 1966 to 1971 Mr. Don­aldson was attached to the local staff of theDepartment of Public Works. He worked inWeybridge, Surrey, for a fIrm of architectsfrom June, 1971, to March this year.

Dr. K.L. Murty has taken up duties in theDepartment of Metallurgy as a Post-doctoralResearch Fellow. He holds the degrees ofB.8c. with honours and M.Sc. in AndhkaUniversity (India) and M.S. and Ph.D. inComell University (U.S.A.). Before joining thisuniversity Dr. Murty was a Research Assistantwith the University of Berkeley.

Dr. RJ. Vaughan, has joined the staff ofthe Department of Mathematics as Lecturer.Dr. Vaughan holds the degrees of Bachelor ofScience, Master of Engineering Science andMaster of Engineering in the University of NewSouth Wales and Doctor of Philosophy in theUniversity of Adelaide. Before beginning dutiesat the university he was attached to the Res­earch Group in Traffic Studies, UniversityCollege, London.

4

The University's A rts/Drama theatre.Three hundred and fifteen people (members of tile academic and graduate staffs with their wives) att­ended tile University's Anniversary Dinner in Edwards Hall on the nigh t of 17th Novem bel'. It wasthe first anniversary dilmer to be conducted in tile hall and the biggest dinner for which the hall wascatered. The picture shows tables prepared for the dinner.

7

Dr. A.J. Chambers, Lecturer in MechanicalEngineering, and Mr. C. Wong, a final-yearstudent, took the Environmental MeasurementUnit to Bathurst recently at the request of TheScots School, which wanted pollution readingstaken in the precincts of the school. The visitreceived wide publicity in provincial and Syd­ney newspapers.

The Australian Institute of Steel Construct­ion is expected to be the first professional bodyto use the Great HalloI' the University for amajor conference. The Institute will conductits National Conference at the University inthe [ay vacation 1973. Eminent engineers willtravel from the U.K., Japan and the U.S.A. todeliver papers at the conference, which will beattended by more than 200 delegates.

Professor Donald Peterson is working withthe Department of Chemistry as a VisitingProfessor un til August, 1973. He is on sabbat­ical leave from California State University,Hayward, where he is a Professor of Chemistry.

Dr. Ross Robinson, Senior Lecturer inGeography, Wollongong University College, hasbeen awarded a Leverhulme Visiting Fellowshipto the University of HongKong for four monthsin 1973. Dr. Robinson did his undergraduatedegree at the University of Newcastle. TheLeverhulme award will enable Dr. Robinson toinvestigate aspects of turnround time in theport of Hong Kong and in other Asian ports.He is currently working with an ARGC granton simulation and queuing studies of the portsof Port Kembla and Sydney.

THE GAZETTE

Water Board.The Student Players has decided to present

Roots, a play by Arnold Wesker, early in 1973.

Mr. R.P. Laidlaw, Lecturer in English, will beProducer.

Mr. D. Shortie, Lecturer in Education. wasappointed Editor of Geographical Education. anacademic journal published annually by Aust­ralian, New Zealand and Papua-New GuineaGeography Teachers' Associations.

Professor C.D. Ellyett, Head of the Depart­ment of Physics, was elected Deputy Chairmanof Senate to serve for two years from 1stJanuary, 1973. He will succeed Professor L.N.Short, Head of the Department of Education.

The Deans of the faculties in 1973 and 1974will be: Applied Science, Professor E.O. Hall;Architecture, Professor J.J. Auchmutyj Arts,Professor K.R. Dutton; Economics and Comm­erce, Professor M.O. Jager; Engineering, Pro­fessor A.J. Carmichael; Mathematics, ProfessorH.M. Lieberstein and Science. Professor W.F.J.Pickering.

The University Council, at its meeting lastNovember, heard Mr. W.G. Derkenne, Memberelected by Convocation, elaborate upon hissubmission for the establishment of a Facultyof Law within the University. The Council sentMr. Derkenne's nine-page submission to thePlanning Committee, which will consider wheth­er or not the proposal should be suggested as apossible new development for the 1976-8triennium.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

DECEMBER. 1972

The Department of Economics is invitingenquiries and applications from scholars whf)wish to enrol for the Master of Commerce mEconomics by Coursework for 1973. Depend­ing upon qualifications; completion of thecourse requires one to two years' full-timestudy. Part-time elUolment may be allowed.The type of cr!l;rse offered is unique in theAustralian context, because of its stress oneconomics of industrial application to devel­oped and underdeveloped countries.

For the first time, the university was thevenue in 1972 for the Australian ChemicalEngineering Conference. Sessions were held inthe Engineering Lecttlte Theatre on 17th and18th August. About 150 delegates attendedand many were given accommodation inEdwards Hall.

The University's Senate has agreed thatpersons who satisfy the matriculation require­ments of the University of Newcastle and com­plete a three-year course at a teachers' collegeshould be granted credit towards a degree ofthe University. The decision means that in fut-

tie graduates of a teachers' college who havempleted a course approved for this purpose

\ ill be able to qualify for a degree in Arts,Mathematics or Science by passing in fivesubjects rather than the nine usually required.It is expected also that similar standing will be

tlanted towards a degree in Commerce.

Sir Alister McMullin was unanimously re­ected by the Council of the University for a

further three-year period as Chancellor. Dr.G.A. Edwards wa similarly re-elected DeputyChancellor for a further year.

Assoc. Professor K.F. Collis, of the Depart­ment o[ Education, attended the Second Inter­national Congress on Mathematics Educationat the University of Exeter, Essex, England,last August.

Miss Anne Burgess, who holds a Bachelor ofArts degree with Honours in History, is enrolledin the University of Notre Dame, South Bend,

diana, U.S.A. Miss Burgess, who was awardedLocal History Award by Newcastle City

Council, is studying for a Master of Arts degreein Religious Education.

Michael Nelson, formerly Member of theUniversity Council elected by students, is en-

e led at the University of Cambridge. He holdse degrees of Bachelor of Science (Technol­

ogy) and Bachelor of Arts and was acceptedas a student in the Bachelor of Theology Courseat Cambridge.

Mr. Greg Giles, enrolled in the Faculty ofScience, was elected President of tlle 21 stStudents' Representative council. Miss PamFreeland (Arts) was the only candidate for­warded for election as Secretary. Miss Sue-AnneAngus (Arts) similarly was the only candidatefor Treasurer. The 21st S.R.C. will functionfrom First Term 1973 as successor to thepresent Council.

The Legal Studies Staff of the Departmentof Commerce provided a lecture series for New­castle Division of the Institution of Engineers,Australia, entitled "Law and the Engineer".More than 30 engineers attended thelectures in the offices of the Hunter District

DECEMBER,1972

Printed by: -NEWEY & BEA TH PTY. LTD.10 Belford Street. Broadmeadow. 2292.

The projection booth at the rear of theseating area will be the main control point forsound and lighting in the theatre. An amplifier.sound mixer, tape deck and record player willbe installed in the booth, together with stageand auditorium dimmers. During a dramaticproduction the stage manager will be able tocontrol lighting and communicate with dressingrooms and projection booth from his office inthe wings. While lectures are in progress spers will be able to operate the lights and tH~

sound system from the lectern at the frontof the stage. In ter-house phones will connectthe projection booth. the ticket box and bothdressing rooms.

The theatre will be used by University dartmen ts as a venue for lectures between thehours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

After lecturing hours the theatre will prim­arily be used [or the teaching of drama, lang­uage and literature in the University. But it ishoped that it will also be possible for otherbodies, both in Newcastle and elsewhere, tomake use of the theatre from time to time forstage productions, musical recitals, film screen­ings and other cultural activities.

Applications for booking the tl1e~lre shouldbe .addressed to the Secretary, University ofNewcastle, 2308. Enquiries about the theatreand its facilities should be addressed to Pro­fessor A.M. Gibbs, Chairman of the TheatreCommittee, care of the University.

THE GAZETTE

NEW THEATRE

The University's Arts/Drama Theatre is ex­pected to be t'ompleted by February. 1973,and in full operation as a venue for stage pro­ductions soon afterwards.

The Theatre, whit'h will have a seating cap­acity of 250, will be air·conditioned cost app­roximately $200,000 and be equipped withdressing rooms, projection' booth, ticket box,stage manager's booth and basement workshopand excellent stage lighting, sound and comm­unication systems.

It will embody two main sections - theAuditorium (with tiered seating) and Stage/Dressing Rooms. The space underneath theAuditorium section has been developed for useas a workshop (scenery drops and other stageequipment can be stored there); a 16 mmprojector will be installed; seats will havewriting tablets for note-taking when the theatreserves as a lecture hall and these will fold ou tof the way for stage produt'tions.

The theatre will have a stage 75 feet wideby 25 feet deep, with a proscenium: 30 feetand a lo-foot removable forestage extendi'ng infront of the arch. The unorthodox width ofthe behind-curtain area allows for the handlingof scenery and compensates for lack of a fly.Two dressing rooms will be provided.

A sliding door folding into the wings willclose off the stage for lectures and supportblackboards and a screen for film shows.

Professor Knetsch is basically an economistwho has had experience in environmental andland use planning, notably as head of theSchool of George Washington University, U.S.A.He has recently spent a year in Malaysia asadviser on environmental planning to a Projectteam from Harvard University.

6

TI,e E'lCyclopedia of Geochemistry andEnvironmental Sciences, just off the presses ofVan Nostrond Reinhold, of New York, t'ontainsarticles by Assoc. Profs. A. Ritchie and S. St.J. Warne, of the Department of Geology. Theencyclopedia has been written by some 236international authors and provides the most upto date data on geochemistry and the environ­mental sciences. Dr. S. St. J. Warne contribu tedeight articles and Professor Ritchie one.

Professor A.M. Gibbs of the Department ofEnglish, is the author of Sir WilIiam Davenant:The Shorter Poems, and Songs from the Playsand Masques, published by the ClarendonPress, Oxford.

The edition is the first complete collectionof Davenant's shorter poems, and songs fromthe plays and masques, the last full collectionof his poems having been that included in theFolio of his works, published posthumously in1673. The text is based on collation of a widevariety of seventeenth century printed andmanuscript sources and is followed by a comm­en tary which aims to place the poems in theircontemporary literary and historical context.The poems are prefaced with a biographical,critical and textual introduction and a selectionof critical comments on Davenant by variouswriters from his own time to the nineteen thcentury. Contemporary musical settings of sev­eral of the poems, by William and Henry Lawes,John Wilson and others, are mcluded in anappendix.

The proceedings of the First AustralianConference on Combinatorial Mathematics areavailable from the Cashier of the University.Compiled as a 240-page book, the proceedingsconsist of papers presented at a conference atthe University of Newcastle in June, 1972.Both the conference and the book were spon­sored by TUNRA:

Son of a Female Universe, a companionvolume to the first book of poems by Or. N.C.Talbot, Poems for a Female Universe, has beenpublished by South Head Press. A third book,A Female Universe Rides Again will completethe fust cycle of Dr. Talbot's poems.

Dr. Talbot is Senior Lecturer in English.John Montefiore painted the dustjacket forSon of a Female Universe, which subdividesinto three sections - "I", "Tristan in theDistance" and "One of My Changes of Gar­ments".

The Departments of Geography, Economics,Commerce, and Ps}'chology have occupied newaccommodation in the Social Sciences building.Departments which remained in the Arts Ad­ministration building expanded into the spacevacated or moved into new locations in thebuilding.

As a result of proposals initiated by theBoard of Environmental Studies, a FuJbrightscholarship has been awarded to Professor J.L.Knetsch to enable him to spend some months inNewcastle in 1973 working in the environ­mental field.

8 THE GAZETTE DECEMBER. 1972

The Secretary, University of Newcastle, 2308, of

* Your change of address

* Changes in marital status

Staff was successful against Students in theannual golf match for the Vice-Chancellor'strophy held at Newcastle golf links on 1.September, 1972. •

The University has established a Board ofCommunity Programmes responsible to theSenate and consisting of about 25 people, in­cluding two representatives of the W.E.A. andthree community representatives.

Work on the construction of No. 2 Oval isprogressing and the new playing field is expect­ed to be ready for sporting activities in thesummer of 1973-74. The sports field is an ovalin shape, with 630 and 43D-feet diameters, andprovides facilities for athletics. All works assoc­iated with the project are estimated to costapproximately $60,000.

University Basketball club performed welllast year after two years' inactivity. In the localcompetition, all four mens' teams (A, B, C andCR grades) reached the semi-finals, while .two womens' teams (A, BR grades) only naJowIy missed out on the semis.

University's senior Rugby League team wonthe Newcastle Second Division premiership bydefeating Cardiff 15-11 at the InternatiOlSports Centre on 24th September, 1972.

Please advise

Groundsmen erect practice nets for cricket at No. J Oval. 171ere was a keen response to requestsfor students and members of staff to join University cricket teams this season.

* Names and addresses of other graduates who are not onthe mailing list for "THE GAZETTE"

Accapad (Accounts, Bursar's and Planner's)went in first and made ISO runs to defeat Artswhich scored 103, in the final of the lnter­faculty Cricket competition at University Ovalon 10th December. For Accapad, the highestscorers were S. Roxby (38), R. Swetnam (35)and G. Searles (27). T. Ryan took 2·21 andB. Murphy 2-28. Arts' best batsman was B.Murphy, who scored 33. C. Ware accumulatedIS and R. Laidlaw 13. R. Goodbody captured3 wickets for 28 and M. Edmonds 2 for 24.

For the first time the university was rep­resented in Inter-varsity skiing events in 1972.The Ski Club consisting of seven men and onewoman, went to Thredbo and competed from14th-18th August.

The University's Orienteering Teams turnedin outstanding performances last August to winthe Inter-varsity competitions. The women'steam (JiIl Marquet, Roslyn Ellis and RhonynEason won the Silver Boot and the men's team(Laiminos Kavalieris and Ray Dawes) wasawarded the Gold Boot.

provision of facilities.Professor Auchmuty said that the minimum

academic staff numbers of the Department ofCommunity Programmes would be four, includ­ing a Director whose salary would be in arange from Associate Professor to Professor.

SPORTING NEWS

NEW DEPARTMENT

11,e University Counci! gave Its consent tothe establishment of a new department at theUniversity to be called the Department ofCommunity Programmes.. The decision willmake the University responsible for activitiesin the field of adult education for the firsttime.

The Vice-Chancellor said that the Universitywould take over the staff and the work of theDepartment of Adult Education of the Univ­ersity of Sydney and develop this programmeso that the University's resources became relev­ant, and readily available to people in thecommunity.

Since 1970 a Committee appointed by theSenate of the University had considered thecontribution which the University could maketo both adult education and community devel­opment. Two views of the relationship bet­ween the University and the community hadbeen assessed.

The limited view of the University's role inadult education saw it in terms of the extensionof opportunity for members of the communityto receive instruction at, or near, the level ofUniversity undergraduate courses.

The wider perspective followed from anacceptance of the proposition that the res­ources of the Univcrsity had relevance to thecommunity and should be readily available.The University was now seen as having: Acommitment to the promotion of intellectualvalues and their expression in the search forsolutions to problems; a pool of specialisedknowledge; a capacity for undertaking researchand development on a wide range of problemshaving immediate inrerest to the community;a community which was interested in theatremusic and arts and facilities for the promotionof this interest.of Community Programmes could initially beexpected to develop its activities as follows: -

* Lecture programmes providing "refresh­er" courses for people who wish to main­tain contact with their special fields andpublic lectures for the promotion oflint­erest in fields related to the work ofUniversity.

* Research and development projects in­volving cooperation between the Uni­versity and the community.

* Promotion for theatre, musk and thearts by way of regular presentations ofplay, concerts, films and art exhibitionsin such University facilities as the GreatHall and the Arts/Drama Theatre.

Members of staff of the Department of Ad­ult Education of the University of Sydney whoare at present stationed in Newcastle (oneSenior Lecturer, two Lecturers and two Sec­retaries) would be offered appointments in thenew Department of Community Programmeswithout any loss of salary and with existingentitlement to long service and study leave.

The University had recognised its obligationto continue to provide courses in conjunctionwith the Workers' Educatiunal Association. Atpresent Sydney University cooperated with theW.E.A. to present 26 courses a year, the Dep­artment of Adult Education being responsiblefor academic aspects and the W.E.A. for pub­licity, enrolments, collection of fees and the