MAKE IT HAPPEN. COURSES AT THE. UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. Bachelor of Agriculture. Bachelor of Biomedicine. Bachelor of C
COSMOS special report
CAREERS IN SCIENCE
The answers to some of the world’s most challenging problems lie in cross‑disciplinary research.
World-class expertise and knowledge all in the one place. Our Research Institutes are taking new directions, applying new ways of thinking, and bringing together the best minds from over 50 disciplines. From energy and sustainability, to biotechnology and neuroscience, we’re all working together to make a positive contribution to the world and provide cutting‑edge opportunities for the next generation of researchers.
A Global Research Powerhouse
researchinstitutes.melbourne.edu
WELCOME
Lead the way louise lister
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CONTENTS 2 .... Population
Dealing with a growing population
6 .... Sustainable cities
Reducing our environmental impact
10 .... Energy
Finding clean, reliable power
12 .... Healthy communities
Combating disease
16 .... Security
Protecting our people
18 .... Frontiers
Keeping up with the latest
20 . .. Global citizens
Travel while you study
22 .... Colour your career
What employers want
24 . .. Stars of science
Learn from the best
E STAND ON A number of incredible thresholds this century: from manipulating DNA, the genetic codebook of life, to building materials atom-by-atom with nanotechnology; from developing sentient computers to harnessing the fusion energy that powers the Sun. Nobody can truly predict what this century will bring: that’s what makes science such a fascinating human endeavour. But it takes real people – their ideas and their discoveries – to create that future. Some of those great advances will be made by young people who are today just beginning their careers. Nevertheless, the impact will be felt by all of us. You see, science isn’t just a career: it’s a way of changing the world. In this Cosmos special edition we’ve created for the University of Melbourne, you will find a suite of ways that you can change the world – not just by making dramatic advances, but also by helping solve some of the difficult challenges we will face this century. We review six of these challenges in this special edition, from sustainable living (p6) and population growth (p2) to new sources of power (p10) and security (p16).
Some of the most important, most revolutionary and most useful scientific and technological advances have been made by scientists asking very basic questions – only to find something extraordinary. Take Elizabeth Blackburn, who won this year’s Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for identifying a key molecular switch in cellular ageing: she earned both her Bachelor of Science and her Masters of Science at the University of Melbourne. It’s also where Peter Doherty – the 1996 winner of the same high accolade, for work describing how the body’s immune cells protects against viruses – is on staff, along with three other Nobel laureates. Each year, we know a little bit more about the world, and a little bit more about this immense universe around us. Why not join this incredible journey, and make the future a better place?
Wilson da Silva Editor
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COSMOS www.cosmosmagazine.com Published by Luna Media Pty Ltd ACN 111 760 984 ABN 53111 760 984 PO Box 302 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 Australia Phone: 02 9310 8500 Email:
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PUBLISHER: Kylie Ahern EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Wilson da Silva EDITOR: Sara Phillips DESIGNER: Valter Di Cecco SUB–EDITOR: Jacqui Hayes EDITORIAL INTERNS: Katie Silver, Alissa Jenkins Images unless otherwise credited, courtesy of the University of Melbourne.
COSMOS SPECIAL REPORTS are produced by Luna Media Pty Ltd, a boutique publishing house in Sydney, Australia. Copyright © 2009 Luna Media Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner or form without written permission. Printed in Australia by Offset Alpine Printing Pty Ltd. The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the editor or publishers. Luna Media uses 100% GreenPower and our printers conform to the ISO-14001 environmental management standard. This issue went to press on 11 November 2009
Careers in Science
POPULATION
With an exploding global population, the world’s resources look increasingly finite. Solving the resultant problems is going to take some very creative thinking.
T
he global population will swell from 6.5 billion today, to more than nine billion in the next 40 years, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Already, our planet is feeling the pinch from the teeming multitudes of human beings. If the population grows by another third again within our lifetimes, the planet could be stretched to breaking point. Rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide is today one of the most talked about results of human activity, and it is likely to stay a hot topic for the foreseeable future. As developing countries such as India and China become wealthier, their consumption and thus their environmental footprint grow as well.
Organisation says in 2009, 1.02 billion people went hungry. And this number is predicted to get worse in the coming years. “Trends indicate that in the next 30 years our globe will need to produce 50% more food from the same land and water resource base to feed a rapidly increasing world population. To meet these challenges there will need to be a global research and education effort on the scale not seen before,” says Professor Rick Roush, Dean of the Melbourne School of Land and Environment at the University of Melbourne. Water will pose a problem in the future as well, and not just in developing nations. Australian cities including Sydney and Melbourne are planning for increased populations
“The water industry is likely to have a skills gap of approximately 40,000 people by 2018.” China has recently eclipsed the USA as the largest single biggest source of climate-changing carbon dioxide. All these new people will need something to eat, too. The United Nations Food and Agriculture
by building desalination plants and others are looking at recycling sewage to save precious water. But the Australian Water Association says that more engineers, particularly, need to be
trained to design and operate these plants. “We are likely to see 20 to 30% of a skilled and experienced workforce retiring in the next five to 10 years. As a result, the water industry is likely to have a skills gap of approximately 40,000 people by 2018,” says spokeswoman Edie Nyers. Farmers will be called upon to reassess what crops they grow in Australian conditions and increasingly pay for water usage. “There needs to be an increased realisation that it’s not using less water per se, it’s using it in the best way,” says Chris Bennett, Chief Executive of Irrigation Australia. A recent study by the Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture has shown that there are about 2,000 agricultural science graduates required per year in Australia, but the 12 universities that teach agriculture are only producing about 800 graduates annually. As cities expand into farmland, water dries up and climate change bites, there will be increased pressure for agricultural scientists to come up with better solutions and more efficient crops.
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