The Royal Society of Tasmania – 2015 Launceston Lecture Series

Mr Martin George, Physicist, Astronomer, Manager of the Launceston Planetarium

will present The Science of Light in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk
2.00 pm Sunday 23rd August 2015
Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students
Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania
To assist us with the organization of this event
RSVP by Thursday 20th August 2015:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798

Light has fascinated people through the ages. It is essential in our daily lives, but for most of human history it has been poorly understood. Over the past few centuries, important breakthroughs were made, with astronomy playing an important role. The nineteenth century saw the discovery that light can be used to study the makeup of objects, from those on Earth right out to distant stars and galaxies. Martin George will describe how we have come to know so much about light and in particular how we measured its great speed: the fastest speed there is!

Mr Martin George is a physicist, astronomer and Fellow and former President (2005-2006) of the International Planetarium Society  the world body of planetarium professionals. He is also Manager of the Launceston Planetarium, which forms part of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston, Tasmania. He is a member of several astronomy-related professional organisations, including the International Astronomical Union. He makes frequent appearances on radio and television, in particular ABC radio, to discuss astronomy and space research.

The Royal Society of Tasmania, Northern Chapter, 2015

Excursion – Tuesday, 18th August 2015

Tour of the Maritime Simulator Australian Maritime College,

UTAS Campus, Newnham, Launceston

Meet at the Main Entrance, AMC, 10.45am

Note: tour will last approximately half an hour.

Limited places – Please RSVP by Friday 14th August 2015:

Email  cj.bardell@bigpond.com  or  telephone  6362 3102

This state-of-the art suite of facilities offers real-time maritime simulation technology that includes a full-mission ship’s bridge, a tug simulator and six ship operations bridges. It is used for research and investigation into port development, ship manoeuvring, and improving ship and port safety and efficiency.

It is also bridges the gap between practical and theory as an effective aid for training and competency assessment of ship masters and deck officers. They learn about ship-handling, passage planning and the use of radar, electronic charts, automatic identification systems and automatic radar plotting aids. If necessary all eight bridges can be made interactive.

The simulator database includes most Australian and New Zealand ports, as well as areas of Europe, Malaysia, and Indonesia. AMC also provides regular pilot simulation training to maritime organisations such as TasPorts, Newcastle Ports Corporation, Rio Tinto, Port Kembla, Southport (NZ), TT Line, Woodside Energy and Port Nelson.

Dr John Batten Visiting Orthopaedic Surgeon, LGH. Senior Lecturer UTAS will present

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: The Evolution of Joint Replacement Surgery in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk 2.00pm Sunday 26th July 2015

Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students
Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania
To assist us with the organization of this event
RSVP by Thursday 23rd July 2015:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798

Joint pathology, particularly arthritis, has defied any effective intervention for several thousand years. Over the last 100 years, the treatment of major joint disease has evolved from rudimentary surgery to the modern joint replacement, now considered to be one of the most successful surgical interventions ever developed. The presentation will track the evolution of joint replacement surgery from ancient times until the present day, highlighting the enterprise, innovation, persistence and the research of clinicians and scientists over this time.
Dr John Batten is a Visiting Orthopaedic Surgeon for the Launceston General Hospital, and Visiting Medical Officer for St Vincents and St Lukes Private Hospitals, with special interests in Paediatric Orthopaedics and Arthroplasty. He currently holds the positions of Councillor and Chair of the Court of Examiners for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and Chair of the Speciality Orthopaedic Clinical Advisory Group for the Federal Department of Health. Dr Batten is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of Tasmania, and has formerly held many administrative positions including President of the Australian Orthopaedic Association and Chair of its National Joint Replacement Registry.

Professor Margareta Lutzhoft, Professor of Nautical Studies, AMC, Launceston will present Human-Centred Design and Maritime Simulation in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk
2.00 pm Sunday 28th June 2015
Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students
Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania

To assist us with the organization of this event
RSVP by Thursday 25th June 2015:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798

Maritime simulators are getting increasingly realistic, and are used for many types of studies. But is technical realism enough? Humans certainly have an impact on the quality of the results and the applications possible. At present, simulators are useful for teaching, research and development work, but only with due consideration to the limitations. We will discuss studies of fatigue, human-machine interaction, ice navigation, team work and port development. The outcome should be increased effectiveness, efficiency, user satisfaction and maritime safety. The focal point, of course, is the human element and the human contribution to the maritime sociotechnical system.

Professor Margareta Lutzhoft is a master mariner, trained at Kalmar Maritime Academy in Sweden. After leaving the sea, she studied for a Bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science and a Master’s in Computer Science. In December 2004 she received a PhD in Human-Machine Interaction. Between 2006 and 2013 she worked as Associate Professor at Chalmers University of Technology, leading the research in the Maritime Human Factors research group at the Department of Shipping and Marine Technology, within the Lighthouse Competence Center. Presently she is holding a position as Professor of Nautical Studies at the Australian Maritime College. Her research interests include human-centered design, the effects of new technology and resilience engineering. She is a frequent guest lecturer on maritime human factors, risk and safety for medical, nuclear and similar industries.

From Spiny Ant-Eater to Promiscuous Spiky Baby Killer: An Incomplete Natural History of Echidnas presented by Associate Professor Stewart Nicol, in the Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk, 2.00pm Sunday 24th May 2015
Admission: $6 General Public, $4 Friends of the Museum and Students
Free for members of The Royal Society of Tasmania

To assist us with the organization of this event
RSVP by Thursday 21st May 2015:
Email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au or telephone 6323 3798

Assoc. Prof. Nicol will discuss the controversies provoked by the arrival of the first specimens of echidnas and platypuses in Europe at the end of the 18th century, and some of the larger than life personalities involved. It wasn’t until 1884 that the debate about their mode of reproduction was fully settled, and surprisingly little work was done on the field biology of the echidna until recently, and it was not until 1986 that it was shown that the echidna is a “classical” hibernator. Studies of echidnas in the wild have shown surprising interrelationships between hibernation and reproduction, and explain why male echidnas have such large testes. Recent observations provide a possible explanation of why males mate with females that have not yet completed their hibernation, why females may re-enter hibernation when pregnant, and while they continue to mate when pregnant. Assoc Prof. Nicol will also provide new information on the unusual properties of echidna milk.

Stewart Nicol, was born in Launceston and attended Launceston High School and Launceston Matriculation College before studying zoology and geology at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, obtaining first class honours in Zoology in 1968. After a brief period as a teacher at Launceston College he returned to Hobart as Demonstrator in Physiology in the Medical School and completed a PhD on the  thermal physiology of the potoroo in 1978. He eventually became Head of Anatomy & Physiology and Deputy Dean of Health Science, but his research interests were mainly in the physiology of native mammals and in 2007 he transferred to the School of Zoology. Since 1990 his principal research interest has been the biology of the echidna and he has published over 50 papers on various aspects of their biology, ranging from haematology, respiration and hibernation to reproduction, maternal care, olfactory  communication and milk composition, as well as several book chapters. He retired in 2012 but continues with his research.