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Australian French Association for Science and Technology (Victoria) Inc

News

Items of Interest

Pacific-Europe Network for Science & Technology

A Pacific-Europe Network for Science & Technology (PACE-Net) has recently been established with the objective of fostering a regional dialogue between the Pacific and Europe on science and technology.

For details, please refer to the FEAST-France page of this website.

Cooperative Professional Development

On 6 October 2009, the French Ambassador to Australia signed two Memoranda of Understanding with Australian universities in relation to cooperative professional development.

For information on the two important initiatives so launched, please refer to the Graduates & Students Forum on this website.

The Science of Climate Change : Questions and Answers

The Australian Academy of Science has issued a new booklet, The Science of Climate Change : Questions and Answers, which aims to address the confusion created by contradictory information in the public domain. It sets out to explain the current situation in climate science, including where there is consensus in the scientific community and where uncertainties exist. Based on a series of key questions, the publication has been prepared by Academy Fellows and other Australian scientists with internationally recognised expertise in climate science.

To read and/or download a copy of the booklet free of charge, visit the Australian Academy of Science website.

AFAS FEAST-France Fellow wins Innovation Award

On 3 July 2009, AFAS FEAST-France Fellow Micah Atkin was presented with the INNOVIC International Next Big Thing Award™ 2009 for his handheld medical diagnostic system, a low-cost testing system built to enable anyone to perform laboratory quality tests quickly and easily.

The system is the size of a mobile phone and the test strips about the size of a credit card. Most test results take about 2 minutes rather than hours in a laboratory. The testing options are endless, but our first priority was to create a test for tuberculosis. This disease kills over two million people a year. Over 90 million tests are done annually, but the accuracy with the current century-old method of testing is less than 50 per cent.

Ms Joss Evans, CEO of INNOVIC, the not-for-profit organisation that runs the International Next Big Thing Award™ said the handheld medical diagnostic system has the potential to save millions of lives.

Further background on Micah Atkin and his diagnostic system is available by reference to an article which appeared in The Australian newspaper of 18 July 2009.

Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration

With 2009 marking thirty years since the first meeting of AFAS Victoria, the focus of that year's Annual Reception for Members was to celebrate this significant anniversary. Some 60 members and guests gathered at the St Kilda premises of the Alliance Française de Melbourne to join in the gala event, with the guest-of-honour being the Honorary Consul-General for France.

Prior to the Annual Reception, a brief review was presented of some key achievements over the years by AFAS Victoria, a PDF copy of which (1.1MB) is available for download. As a complement to this presentation, a dispay of past newsletters and documents was put together for perusal. Additionally, copies of selected minutes and newsletters from the first years of the association have been made available to members for reference by logging in to the Members' Zone.

The evening also provided an appropriate occasion for the election as Honorary Life Member of John Acton, in recognition of his long years of service to the Association in the role of President.

For further details regarding the Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration, please refer to the supplementary
event summary.