Professor Peter Newman and Dawesville MLA Zak Kirkup with Peel president Judy de Vis and  founder Hazel Butorac at the Peel MALA summer school.
Camera IconProfessor Peter Newman and Dawesville MLA Zak Kirkup with Peel president Judy de Vis and founder Hazel Butorac at the Peel MALA summer school. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

WA Scientist of the Year 2018 Peter Newman kicks off MALA’s summer school

Jill BurgessMandurah Coastal Times

Opening speaker Professor Peter Newman, in his lecture Hope for Your Grandchildren, said people must show hope, not blind optimism but a choice that could lift their sights to see better options and help deliver them.

The Curtin University Professor of Sustainability and last year’s WA Scientist of the Year said there were a few signs of change that might allow for a better future.

He also outlined the agenda around three new projects – the trackless tram, lithium valley and songlines and sustainability.

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Today, in a first for WA, Australia and the summer school, Dr Ruey-Leng Loo’s Research in Personalised Nutrition and Health looked at plans to position WA as the global leader of precision medicine with the launch of the Australian National Phenome Centre, based at Murdoch University.

Other lectures at the Fishtrap Theatre this week include Research and Conservation of Marine Mammals off WA, marine ecologist Dr Chandra Salgano-Kent (Wednesday, 9.30am), Watery Science: Caring for our Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance, Peel-Harvey Catchment Council program manager Dr Steve Fisher (Wednesday, 1pm), Ecotourism: A Potential Jewel in our Crow, Professor Lynn Beazley (Thursday, 9.30am), Music, Evolution and the Harmony of Souls, Professor Alan Harvey, (Thursday, 1pm), Forensic Science: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, forensic toxicologist Professor Robert Mead (Friday, 9.30am) and Burrup Art: The Oldest Continuous Record of Man on Earth, architect and artist Susan Swain (Friday, 1pm).