Raising the Bar Perth 2024

What is the effect of ambient heat on human performance? Prolonged exposure to heat can have detrimental effects on mental performance as well as physical ability. In some cases, prolonged heat exposure can result in death. In this talk, Associate Professor Karen Wallman discusses the effects of heat on the human body and what measures can be undertaken to reduce this impact. The effects of heat exposure will considered in respect to athletes on the sporting field, workers on a mining site and surgical staff in a burn surgery.

There is still much to learn about the deepest parts of our oceans, from surprise squids to submersibles, temperature changes, and the age of water in trenches. Dr. Jessica Kolbusz from the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre explains in this talk why the unseen movement of the deepest waters in our oceans is an important component of the interconnectedness of our atmosphere and oceans. For example, how melting ice in our poles reaches such depths? How do fish survive in the hadal zone under the physical pressure of the ocean above them, and what extremes can they withstand? Despite their minimum and maximum liveable depths, can the oceans' circulation provide answers to questions about species population connectivity? Will our changing oceans have a similar impact on them, and if so, on what timescale?

Professor Allan Rechtschaffen famously said, “if sleep does not serve an absolutely vital function, then it is the biggest mistake the evolutionary process has ever made.” But just how important is sleep for young people’s mental health? In this talk, Dr. Cele Richardson, an expert in sleep and mental health, discusses the key processes influencing adolescent sleep and explores how sleep treatments may offer exciting new possibilities for tackling mental health problems in young people.

Professor Mayowa Babalola unravels the complex dynamics of modern work life, where ethics, family, and AI intersect. Drawing from his extensive research in organisational psychology, leadership, and behavioural ethics, he explores how leaders balance people and profit, as well as work and family life, shaping workplace culture and employee well-being. He also discusses how family relationships and work outcomes influence each other. As technology continues to evolve, he introduces artificial intelligence, examining its potential impact on workplace behaviours and strategies to address emerging challenges. This talk offers a thought-provoking look at how we can thrive in a world where the boundaries between work, family, and technology are increasingly blurred.

Tracy Redhead, a versatile musician, composer, and researcher with nearly 30 years of experience, discusses how AI is reshaping music, from dynamic playback systems to the evolving role of data in music creation. She also explores the future of transmutable music.

What if we could use marine bacteria as tiny superheroes in the fight against plastic pollution? Working with UWA colleagues, Anna teaches the fastest-growing bacterium in the world to eat certain types of plastic in seawater conditions. The marine bacteria then turn some of the plastic degradation products into bacterial fat, which can be harvested as a biodegradable plastic alternative. Anna also hunts for natural bacteria in Perth’s Swan River Estuary to learn more about microbial plastic degradation in our oceans. In this talk, Anna explains how synthetic biology turns marine bacteria into the superheroes we need in the fight against plastic pollution.

Under extreme gravity, space and time defy our intuition. They bend and morph into one another, giving rise to one of the most enigmatic phenomena in the Universe: black holes. Join UWA Space Director and Astrophysicist Danail Obreschkow for a journey through the discoveries and mysteries surrounding these dark objects.

Increasingly food producers are being asked to account for or reduce their impact on the environment, and several technologies offer solutions to this challenge. In this talk, Dr Heather Bray discussed a few of the technologies in development to help you decide whether they should be on your plate.

Perth is a (sub)urban city characterised by a high-density urban core and low-density housing in the middle and outer rings. But things are changing, and changing rapidly, especially in morphological terms. Perth is now characterised by a dynamic evolving mosaic of (sub)urban landscapes: ‘blandscapes’; ‘blendscapes’; ‘brutalscapes’; and, ‘brutopianscapes’. This raises questions as to whether we are living in a suburban dream or nightmare.

The South West of Australia is facing reduced rainfall and higher temperatures, impacting both the environment and threatened species. Assisted colonisation, the introduction of a species outside its native range for conservation, has been suggested for decades in response to climate change, but few have tried it. In this talk, Nicki Mitchell describes the early results of world-first trials to reduce the extinction risk of a critically endangered freshwater tortoise.