Humanities & Social Sciences
2018 Macquarie University Alumni Awards – Adam Hills
CATEGORY: ARTS AND CULTURE Ah, Adam Hills. We all know and like this cheeky and talented comedian, but many may be surprised to learn that beneath the jokes is a sensitive soul with a humble heart. Genuinely thrilled to receive this award from Macquarie University, Hills says, “This award means more than I can express, especially when I consider the calibre of people who hav...
The gift of reading
Most of us take the ability to read for granted, but it’s something too many school children have difficulty with – and something their parents cannot always afford to change. It’s heartbreaking to see children struggling with something so fundamental to achieving in all areas of life. At the Macquarie University Reading Clinic, experts know what these children need and what works –...
Fighting cancer on the beaches
In 2017, Fight on the Beaches chose Macquarie as one of two research beneficiaries of funding to find a cure for one of the world’s greatest killers. Macquarie’s Professor Gilles Guillemin from the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, is the lead researcher benefiting from the extraordinary support of Fight on the Beaches. Professor Guillemin, an a...
A shared wisdom
The Ngukurr Wi Stadi Bla Kantri (meaning ‘we study the country’ in Kriol) research team is a unique collaboration between Ens, Ngandi Elder Cherry Wulumirr Daniels, the Yugul Mangi rangers, Ngukurr School and community members from the remote Aboriginal community of Ngukurr. The team is discovering new species; finding new populations of threatened species; preserving culturally signifi...
Power and the past
“Events from the distant past can still offer an insight into the modern world,” enthuses Dr Karin Sowada, an expert in the interaction between Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean during the Early Bronze Age (3100–2000 BC). Citing the economic development of five land and sea routes out of China, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Department of Ancient History’s Sowada says, ...
It’s about time
Timing is everything, and nowhere is this more so than in the groundbreaking work of Dr Kira Westaway, Director of ‘Traps’ MQ Luminescence Dating Facility. “Dating has become a game changer. It goes from being a rock to something significant in our understanding of human history,” says Westaway. “There are no records for prehistory, but with the light-sensitive dating method opti...