More than Þfty enthusiastic members and their guests attended SUGUNA '95 in Whistler, British Columbia, August 24-27. They were not disappointed. Although the preceding three weeks had seen more rainfall in western B.C. than usual for this time of year, the weather was perfect throughout the meeting. Thus, the usual well-attended sporting events received enthusiastic support (more later), and the (?fool) hardy even exerted themselves on mountain bikes; the opportunity to test one's coronary arteries at altitude was unrivalled..
The program itself was superb-an eclectic mix with something for everyone. We were fortunate once again to be joined by University of Sydney representatives in the persons of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Don McNicol, and Lorraine Phelan, Head of the University's external relations department. With much regret, the members present were told that Don had accepted the Vice-Chancellorship at the University of Tasmania; this was to be his last SUGUNA meeting in his current role, but hopefully not his Þnal meeting. We wish Don and Kathie all the best as they take up the new appointment. Don's support and counsel have been of great help in the early days of SUGUNA.
Social events were, as usual, full of the good fellowship, reminiscences, and relaxed atmosphere that help make SUGUNA meetings such a magnet for the glitterati and their attendant lensmen. Friday night's barbecue in the convention center featured traditional cookout fare with the added pleasure of limitless bottles of Aussie wine. The traditional Saturday night banquet, complete with lamb and even more Aussie wine rounded out the SUGUNA experience. And, as expected, the words on everyone's lips as they left were "What are the dates of next year's meeting?"
Professor Don McNicol led off the first session on Thursday evening with "Recent Developments at the University of Sydney." These included a description of the University's entry into the quality assessment arena with descriptions of research and other aspects of the role our alma mater is playing in tertiary education in Australia and the Southeast Asian region. Don then presented information about a new College that has just been incorporated into the University, and about an exciting development project spearheaded by the University of Sydney.
The new College of Rural Management was previously the Orange Agricultural College. The campus is located in the central west of NSW, a diverse, temperate farming region where agricultural activity comprises pastoral enterprises, orchards and limited cropping. The College has a strong focus on agribusiness and agricultural management, which includes research and education for sustainable agricultural systems and the effective integration of production agriculture within the globalized agribusiness system.
The College has a long experience of distance education, and its external graduate programs by coursework are noted for their flexibility. The external programs in sustainable agricultural land management take an applied approach, developing students' levels of knowledge and the skills needed to evaluate complex situations and develop appropriate management strategies. Provided course requirements can be accommodated, the College welcomes applications for coursework programs from students based overseas.
The development, described in detail by the Vice-Chancellor, is the Australian Technology Park. The University of Sydney initiated this project and has been joined by two other institutional partners-the University of New South Wales and the University of Technology, Sydney. The University is committed to this development which is to be established at Redfern on the site of the old railway workshops. In 1994, the Australian Technology Park (ATP) was endorsed by the New South Wales State Government and plans are underway for the location of a number of specialist research facilities at the site. At approximately 160,000 square meters and with an expected 6000 researchers and support staff it will be the largest urban research park in the world.
The next speaker, Harry Orton, graduated from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering in 1966 and a Masters of Applied Science from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver) in 1969. After graduation, he worked at BC Hydro, the major electrical power utility in British Columbia, as an electrical research engineer where he helped build one of the largest utility based research centers in North America.
Harry is an outdoorsman, working on the Whistler Mountain Ski Patrol in his spare time and enjoying canoeing, mountaineering, mountain biking, hiking, fly fishing and cross-country skiing. His presentation was a beautifully illustrated introduction to the Northwest coastal region of North America. Harry showed examples of the scenic beauty of the area with its mountains, glaciers, mountain lakes and wildfowers. The audience's appetite was now whetted because we knew that the delights of this area were to be ours for the next three days.
To close out the formal program for the frst evening, Geoffrey Atkinson attempted to educate us with "Marketing-Why is it so?" Geoff received his Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney in 1971. He has spent the subsequent years in a number of high-level marketing positions in Australia, Europe and the USA and is currently the Senior Manager of Corporate Marketing Services for the Amway Corporation in Michigan.
Geoff's presentation provoked a good deal of participation, with audience members revealing their innermost dietary and interpersonal secrets (I never eat at McDonalds but I love people who do!), their opinions on famous marketing errors (If I'd been Coca Cola management, I never would have done it!) or their opinions concerning the relationship between marketing and mind control (That's not marketing, that's sneaky!). All in all a very stimulating presentation.
Friday morning. The air was crisp and clear - perfect for an early morning stroll before the morning session.
Ernest Newbrun led off with the age-old question. The meeting room was packed! Erni, Professor Emeritus of Oral Biology and Periodontology at the University of California, San Francisco, presented very interesting data supporting the concept of bacterial transmission of dental caries (tooth decay). He showed how mothers or other caretakers can transmit the disease to their offspring, and how sharing toys, pacifiers (dummies), baby bottles can also play a role. The take home message was: brush and floss-especially if you kiss.
Jenny Green from the Department of Chemistry at Arizona State University then renewed hope for the older audience members. Jenny, who received both her B.Sc. (Hons) [1983] and Ph.D. in physical chemistry [1987] from the University of Sydney before undertaking postdoctoral research at Purdue, enthralled us with some aspects of life preservation.
Her presentation described the role played by the simple sugar, trehalose, in preserving cell membranes during periods of dehydration that they usually would not survive. Seeds, spores, some crustaceans and certain soil-dwelling insects produce this sugar that has apparently been responsible for allowing survival in a dehydrated state for up to 120 years. The mechanism by which trehalose produces its effect may be as simple as by the formation of a glass that facilitates suspension and preservation of biological processes.
The question period following Jenny's presentation was lively. The possibility of applying this research to experiments currently being conducted by other audience members was broached. Topics discussed ranged from using trehalose in cryogenics to employing it as an adjunct to cell culture.
Bill Lockwood spoke next. Although Bill's B.S. in human biology is not from Sydney University, but from the lesser known Stanford University (same initials, anyway), he is a longtime friend of SUGUNA. Bill is a Vice-President at Piper Jaffray, Inc. in Portland, Oregon. His exposé of derivatives was of great interest to the audience, particularly since a large number of fund portfolios incorporate them into their investment strategy. Bill described tracking methods used in evaluating bond funds and showed how misleading reliance on a single index could be. Overall, Bill's presentation was a testament to conservative investing-hopefully a lesson that Robert Citron from Orange County, California and Barings bank have learned by now!
Malcolm Campbell, who received his Ph.D. in physics from Sydney University in 1963, regaled us with his experiences in hydroxyl radical research. Measuring this elusive smog-eater has taken Malcolm to Antarctica, to the Caribbean, up in NASA aircraft, and all over the USA. His techniques and equipment are reliable and unique. And, he proved the old adage "Study physics and see the world".
Bright and early on Saturday the group convened for the morning session. Nobody seemed too much the worse for wear after the previous evening's festivities but a few stragglers were duly noted.
Gillian Beattie graduated from Sydney University in 1961 with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry and Microbiology. In the intervening 30 years, Gillian has worked in a variety of disciplines in several research laboratories in three countries. For those in the audience who expected a travelogue of those experiences when reading the title of Gillian's presentation, she soon brought them to pancreatic reality. Her research is devoted to finding the ultimate treatment (?cure) for people afflicted with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
Gillian took us through the often disappointing and always difficult task of attempting to transfer insulin-producing cells from the islets of Langerhans to various species in such a way as to maintain the cells' ability to produce the hormone in quantities large enough to be useful. In addition, Gillian is involved in gene therapy that is designed to introduce genes with specific roles into fetal cells.
Gillian's enthusiasm and certainty that the full fruits of her research are just around the corner have delayed her retirement. The audience was just as convinced by her presentation that SUGUNA will not have to wait too long to have the results of that research presented to us in the near future.
Graeme King left Sydney University in 1969. He has a Masters degree in Civil Engineering and an Arts degree from the University of Alberta. He credited the type of problem-solving education he received at the University of Sydney with allowing him to design the revolutionary pipeline he described in his presentation.
Sulfur is extracted from sour gas at Shell's Caroline plant in the picturesque foothills of the Canadian Rockies. The task presented to Graeme was to design a pipeline that could transfer the liquid sulfur 42 km to Shantz where it could be loaded into railcars and transported to Vancouver. The major problem was that sulfur freezes at around 115°C, so it had to be kept warm and moving over this long distance in the extremes of Canadian weather.
Graeme showed construction photos that demonstrated what a mammoth task it had been to traverse some very rough terrain. When asked why the construction had not all been completed in the warm summer months, Graeme replied that since they had to reroute some rivers temporarily, they were forced to wait until after the salmon run. Even keeping the pipe warm during construction required innovative methods. All in all a monumental task.
Hosen Kiat graduated M.B., B.S. from Monash University in 1978. Subsequently he undertook a cardiology fellowship at Westmead hospital which is a teaching hospital of the University of Sydney. His affiliation was further solidified by his marrying Vicky Sheppeard, a Sydney University Medical School graduate. His SUGUNA qualifications are, therefore, solid gold. Hosen is the Director of Nuclear Medicine research at UCLA.
Hosen showed the audience the value of nuclear cardiac scans in evaluating coronary artery disease. The reliability of the test and its ease of use were far greater than the most common noninvasive test, treadmill ECG. In people with no known coronary artery disease, the sensitivity and specificity of the nuclear evaluation are both approximately 90%. The technique can even be used acutely in the emergency room for evaluation of patients with chest pain. Hosen's data are now so extensive that he can predict reliably the possibility of a cardiac event even in patients up to 100 years of age.
Clifford Kwan-Gett brought a variety of educational experiences to the search for a reliable artificial heart. He received a B.Sc. and B.E. from Sydney University before undertaking his medical training. During medical school he spent a year working as a PMG engineer designing telephone test equipment. After graduation in 1963, he spent two years as a resident medical officer in Tasmania, then joined the Artificial Organs Division at the Cleveland Clinic. The following year he left for the University of Utah to start the Artificial Organs Laboratory there.
Cliff took the audience through the step-by-step process that resulted in a progression of artificial hearts and ventricular assist devices. On a lighter note, Cliff described how he would cure the silastic material in his wife's oven after she had finished cooking for the evening. He subsequently realized that defects in the material were due to the adsorption of cooking oils onto the material.
At the 5th annual meeting of SUGUNA at Whistler, Bill Lew who has performed yeoman's service over the past five years in running our organization as Executive Secretary announced he was stepping down. He has functioned pretty much as a one-man operation, writing the Newsletter, arranging for speakers at the meetings, soliciting donations from Qantas, wine and beer merchants, etc. as well as getting out the mailings. It will be hard to follow in his footsteps as he gave so much time and effort to SUGUNA and we owe him a great debt of gratitude.
At the business meeting, the members elected three persons to take over the operations that Bill had been doing so capably. Erni Newbrun will serve as the new Executive Secretary, Gerry Bassell will serve as Editor, getting out the Newsletter and Gillian Beattie will keep up the membership list, collect annual dues of $25 (a real bargain these days!) and send out the mailings. Accordingly please send your dues for 1995, if you have not yet paid them, to Gillian Beattie 13615 Sagewood Drive, Poway, CA 92064. Send any newsworthy items to Dr. Gerry Bassell 6505 E. Central, Ste 239, Wichita KS 67206-1924. Francis Testoni was elected to replace Serena Hyslop as member-at-large of the Executive Committee. Serena will be leaving North America to take up a position in New Zealand. We are also looking for speakers for 1996 and future meetings. Other SUGUNA members are interested to know what you are doing, about your research, work, hobbies and interests. That is what makes SUGUNA different from so many of our own more narrow professional organizations. Please drop a line to Erni Newbrun 1823 8th Ave., San Francisco CA 94122 and let him know the title of your lecture, that he won't have to bug you.
Mark your calendars for Aug 15-18, 1996 for the next annual meeting at Western Washington University, Bellingham, where Dr. June Ross will be our local arrangements chairperson.
Erni Newburn, President
Jill Ker Conway, whose most recent book commanded premium bids at the last SUGUNA auction, spoke recently in Sydney at a luncheon for Chief Executive Women. Conway, herself Chief Executive of Smith College from 1974-1985, advised the audience to become familiar with football tactics as a means of reversing the lack of strategic thinking evident in women's education. "Go take a course in corporate strategy-watch those wretched football games every weekend. Learn the language and learn to think about how they are being conducted because that's the way that the men you are working with will have been taught to think. If they haven't, they will pretend they have" Conway said.
Mrs. Conway, when asked by Renata Kaldor, a fellow of the University Senate, to describe the qualifications needed by the next vice-chancellor, replied that someone should be sought who had built an organization and who was an innovative problem solver. When Helen Lynch, a former Westpac executive, urged Conway to return to Sydney and consider the position, the audience cheered.
Remember, if you don't have an @ next to your city name on the address label you haven't paid your dues and this is the last mailing you will receive. The benefits of membership are worth much more than the $25 annual dues. The newsletter, a T-shirt, access to a substantial Qantas discount, and much more. Above all, you will be a member of the largest Australian University alumni association in North America with over 1000 members. Please send your check today before you forget.
Gillian Beattie
SUGUNA Membership Secretary
13615 Sagewood Drive
Poway, CA 92064
Would anyone who attended the Whistler meeting who would like to contribute photographs to the official SUGUNA album send them to Bill Lew (3131 SW Fairmount Blvd, Portland, OR 97201). The story of how Edie lost the Lew family camera does not bear retelling!
All the participants looked impressive posing for the ofÞcial photographer on the first tee. However, this was the easy first step as the real work and humor came as the brave and daring groups tried to progress the ball down the fairway to the evasive green. Not to mention the smaller and more elusive hole.
The award for endurance went to John Stevens for "most strokes per hole" but he managed to get back into grace at the auction by outbidding all for the Greg Norman autographed cap. Thanks John.
Second prize went to the team of David Coggins, Graham King, John Burke, captained by Steve Ludvik. John Burke was elected MVP from this group - pretty impressive as it was his first official round of golf.
The winning team included Bill Lew, John Stevens and Boyd Grier, and was captained by Bill Lockwood. Bill Lew was elected MVP due to his steady performance and "when needed" shots.
A special accolade to the "B" team for bravery as they played in front of Gerry Bassell, which may have contributed to their coming in second. Let me explain. Gerry won the award for the most birdies, literally. We can report that the Canadian Goose is out of the Veterinary Hospital and the doctor said will make a complete recovery. The goose has officially declined to press charges against his assailant as it was widely held that the bird's encounter with Gerry's ball off the 12th tee was an accident. There was ample proof that Gerry couldn't deliberately hit the ball straight even if he'd wanted.
The man from Hewlett Packard, not surprisingly, was precise and won the prize for the longest ball sunk (30´). Congratulations David Coggins. The Greg Norman emulation award for longest drive went to Francis Testoni who said he got his power from rubbing the rolled-up autographed Norman poster kindly donated by Mr. Norman and auctioned off at great cost to David Coggins.
Many thanks to all the contestants and gallery for the good, bad and ugly and we hope next year's group at Bellingham can have as much enjoyment.
Francis Testoni
Golf Coordinator and Canadian Goose Resuscitator
More than twenty hardy souls turned out for the annual SUGUNA Invitational. The round-robin format levelled the playing surface so that even novices had a chance to win a few games.
The weather was perfect-cool and sunny with only a breath of wind. At the end of the day, Boyd Grier and Edie Lew had captured the men's and women's crowns, respectively. The remaining players were heard to mutter: "Wait till next year!"
We have booked a lovely site on the Western Washington University Campus for SUGUNA for August 15 to August 18, 1996. The room rates shall be for a single room (one person) $27.50 and $19.50/person in a double room (two persons) per night. Bathroom facilities are shared between two rooms. The housing is delightful, recently completely renovated and restored, and opened last year. It has an elevator and many conveniences.
Details of meals are in the process of being worked out, but will include our usual evening arrangements.
Address: Prof. June R.P. Ross
Department of Biology
Western Washington University
Bellingham, WA 98225-9160
Phone (360) 650-3000
Fax (360) 650-3148
June Ross was the 1995 SUGUNA Meritorious Awardee. June graduated from Gosford High School where she was an active and successful swimmer and hockey player and captain of the school.
At the University of Sydney, she completed her B.Sc. with 1st class honours in geology; then, went on to complete her Ph.D. in geology. During this time, she was a Teaching Fellow and, for one term, suddenly was a lecturer when one of the faculty went to Cambridge on leave.
Following completion of her Ph.D. thesis, she went to Yale University as a postdoctoral fellow on an American Association of University Women's Fellowship having had to decline the 1851 Exhibition Scholarship to Cambridge. Both awards came at the same time and the decision was a difficult one to make. However, she met her future husband at Yale so her decision to go to Yale was a most fortunate selection.
She stayed on at Yale with a Research Fellowship in the Biological Sciences and this was the beginning of her endeavors that came to be divided between biostratigraphic and paleontologic studies and marine zoological/ecological studies on invertebrate organisms.
In 1974, she was awarded the D.Sc. from the, University of Sydney for her research into the evolution of bryozoans and for various related biostratigraphic studies. Her research has taken her in a number of directions and presently she is collaborating with her husband on worldwide sea level changes through geologic time. She talked about some of this work at SUGUNA at Stanford. June's studies have taken her to several parts of the world-United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Ukrainia, Scandinavia, Estonia, China, Japan, and New Zealand. She has held a number of National Science Foundation research grants.
June has taught in the Humanities program at Western Washington University in an experimental project to see if scientists were as competent as historians or English faculty in presenting literary and philosophical ideas.
She has used her excellent chemistry background from the University of Sydney to work in lignin chemistry and clay mineralogy at the Georgia-Pacific paper pulp mill research laboratory in Bellingham. This was an exploration into another field when it appeared that anti-nepotism rules at Western Washington University would not be changed so as to allow two members of the same family both to have permanent positions. This exploration at Georgia-Pacific was short-lived because an unexpected opening in the Biology Department due to the death of a biologist led to her being selected to fill the vacancy and the changing of the anti-nepotism rules.
At Western, where June is a Professor in Biology, she has had a number of 'Firsts'. First woman to be president of the Faculty Senate and first and only woman to receive the Paul and Ruth Olscamp Award for Outstanding Research at Western Washington University. She has published about 120 scientific articles in refereed journals and coauthored two books.
In her 'spare time', she organized with her husband the Planned Parenthood clinic in Bellingham. She served for nine months as the volunteer clinic director and executive director until funding for permanent clinic personnel was available. She was treasurer of the Paleontological Society for six years and has just completed a three-year term as President of the International Bryozoology Association. In 1986, she hosted the International Bryozoology Association conference in Bellingham for about 100 registrants from nineteen countries.
In 1979, realizing how limited are the opportunities for Australian women to gain experience overseas, Charles and June endowed a fellowship with the American Association of University Women for an Australian woman scientist to come to the United States for postgraduate studies. They have also endowed a fellowship in the Biology Department at Yale University; a teaching assistantship in Biology at Western Washington University; and a scholarship in Biology and Geology at WWU. June fits well the category of 'active achiever'.
The award was made at the SUGUNA meeting at Whistler, British Columbia. Dr. John Stephens, Palo Alto, California, delivered the citation. Professor Don McNicol, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney, presented the award.
In accepting the award, June expressed her gratitude to SUGUNA and its members for the honor accorded her. In a subsequent communication, she recognized the support of her husband Charles in the many endeavors and accomplishments that ultimately resulted in her receiving this recognition.