Top Ten newsworthy events for the ISR during July

1. Jim Reeves commenced as General Manager ISR in the middle of July. Jim spent the last six years as Manager of Brisbane Water - one of Australia’s largest water utilities. Brisbane Water was at the epicentre of the drought and broke new ground in demand and supply side initiatives in water conservation. Jim also managed a very large investment program in waste water treatment, with Brisbane now having the most modern and environmentally sound waste water treatment processes in Australia. He has spent the last few weeks orienting himself to QUT, talking to a large number of our stakeholders and members, and familiarising himself with the work of the institute. I look forward to working with Jim on ways to improve the value of the institute to our members and partners both inside and outside the University.

2. The handover of ownership of the Samford Ecological Research Facility (SERF) to QUT will be completed some time in August after the Moreton Bay Regional Council finalises the approval. An official celebration, highlighting the achievements of the Marks family will be organised as part of the handover.

3. Go to the ISR website to see the latest edition to our greenhouse gas calculators. It provides easy to use information for Queensland landholders to develop their own footprint.

4. Javi Navarro Garcia, a Research Assistant at ISR, has just completed a great article for the cotton industry on life cycle analysis and environmental pollution. Should you wear cotton or polyester? Javi's project is funded by both the Australian Greenhouse Office (now Dept Climate Change) and Cotton Research & Development Corporation.

5. A Qld Consortium which includes ISR members has been short-listed as potential leaders in the development of a National Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis based out of Brisbane under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme. More news on this later as negotiations continue.

6. The next round of ARC Linkage grants is fast approaching. Please complete the Notice of Intent (NOI) to ensure the Research Office can assist you in the development of these important proposals. ISR can provide support in developing these proposals.

7. I have just returned from a hectic but successful trip to the US, working with Michigan State University in the development of greenhouse gas reduction strategies in agriculture which will potentially be used in the creation of carbon offsets across the US. I also gave presentations at the Joint Global Change Research Institute in Washington DC and at Microsoft Research in Seattle.

8. Professor Gini Lee (BEE) has been working with our Adjunct Professor Hugh Lavery in the sustainable development of the Airlie Beach foreshore. This week a large group of design students and tutors from France will accompany Gini and Hugh in the first stages of this project.

9. Professor Jim Tiedje, from Michigan State University, is one of the world's foremost terrestrial microbiologists will be visiting ISR on 12 August. Jim's work has just been highlighted in one of the latest editions of Science magazine, the world premier scientific impact journal. He will be giving a seminar on the role that microorganisms play in the development of sustainable energy sources. This will be followed by a Q&A workshop with specialists in his research field. Exact time and location will be provided in a separate email.

10. The recent delivery of reports by Ross Garnaut and Penny Wong on emissions trading has set the scene for the delivery of a carbon pollution reduction scheme in Australia within the next 2-3 years. ISR are a one-stop shop in many areas of research directly applicable to emissions trading, including energy management, offsets, development of procedures and protocols, verification of emissions and reductions, economic and legal analysis of international and national legislation.