SCIENCE NEWS
Australia's first female Nobel Prize Winner
White Hat congratulates
Dr Elizabeth
Blackburn on becoming Australia's first female
Nobel Prize Winner.
Readers of our site will know that we have predicted that she would
become a Nobel Prize winner for some time and that Elizabeth
Blackburn has long been on our list of
200 Significant
Australians and 100
Important Living Australians despite the National Trust Living
Treasures list passing over her and people like Fields Medal winner
Terry Tao in favour of
minor media presenters. Congratulations Dr Blackburn from those thousands who
like you studied science at the University of Melbourne. |
Australian 2009 International Future Energy
Challenge winners announced
White Hat congratulates the two Florida engineering
undergraduates who won the Australian 2009 International Future
Energy Challenge with their invention to maximize the energy output
of wind turbines.
Click here for details. |
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Australian Brothers create Google Wave
White Hat congratulates the Danish-Australian
brothers Lars and Jens Rasmussen. Building on the work of the
Australian team that developed Google Maps, Lars and Jens
created an interface to which they initially gave the very Australian name of Walkabout. It has recently been launched
under the name Google Wave. For more information about
Australian inventions go to
The White Hat
Guide to Australian Inventions. |
SCIENCE NEWSFrom the White Hat Melbourne Newsletter No.313 of 20th May 2009
Those of you interested in research, science, mathematics, engineering or education may be forgiven if you are not aware of a speech given recently which White Hat regards as possibly one of the most significant in this area in the last 30 years. You are unlikely to be aware of it because the mainstream Australian media gave it scant attention, and we have searched the ABC news website in vain for any reference to it. If there are science teachers or researchers out there feeling jaded or undervalued, do yourself a favour. Put aside half an hour to listen to President Obama’s speech to the National Academy of Sciences. Click here to subscribe to the White Hat Melbourne Newsletter and receive alerts like these.
ENVIRONMENT NEWS
Giant Soft Drink Manufacturer Admits its Bottled
Water is Just Tap Water
A giant soft drink manufacturer has
admitted that its popular bottled water product is just tap water.
According to one commentator "Modern schooling encourages
students to adopt an attitude on things to do with the environment,
their body and other such issues and to question accepted attitudes
- that is a good thing. At the same time modern schooling has
downgraded the teaching of core skills such as formal logic, science
and mathematics which enable students to critically analyse such
issues, and replaced them with 'discussion' - that is a bad thing.
Promoters and advertisers have spotted the gullibility chasm this
has created for people wanting to 'do the right thing' and quickly
moved to fill it with high-margin products and philosophies of
dubious value or, often, demonstrably no value".
more information >> |
Australian Invention wins International Award
White Hat congratulates the two Australians, Phil
Ashworth and Dr. Graham Robertson whose invention for baiting
commercial long lines underwater is expected to save many thousands
of seabirds each year from becoming accidently hooked and drowned by
the fishing activities of coastal tuna and swordfish vessels
worldwide. The World Wildlife Fund announced in Viga, Spain, that
the invention had won their 2009 award to reward innovations from a
field of 71 competitors from 27 countries. The award aims to
minimise ‘bycatch’ (unintended and wasted wildlife casualties of
commercial fishing) by rewarding and inspiring individuals and
companies who create what they adjudge to be best inventions that
achieve that purpose. The next award will be made in 2011. For more
information about Australian inventions go to
The White Hat
Guide to Australian Inventions. |
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