Australian mathletes have won two gold medals at the International Mathematics Olympiad in Germany, this week, for only the second time.

The mathstars were Andrew Price (Melbourne) and Sampson Wong (Sydney) picking up gold, with other teammates picking up one silver, two bronze and an honourable mention.

Australia finished 23rd out of 104 nations. The top positions were taken out by neighbours China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and North Korea. New Zealand finished 66th.

Well done to the team, you have made Australia proud! More info and the full medal tally is available at the Australian Mathematics Trust site.

(Source & Image: Australian Mathematics Trust)

Ever wanted to represent Australia? You may have thought that being a cricket, netball or athletics star is the way to  go.

For some top students their scientific knowledge has become their passport to don the Green and Gold and compete for Australia.

The International Science Olympiad is a program where top science students compete in a range of subject areas. This year the Physics students will head to Mexico, Chemistry students to the UK, Biology students to Japan and Infomatics students to Bulgaria.

Last year Australia picked up two gold, six silver and four bronze medals. Good luck to this year’s Olympians and let’s see if we can do better!

(Source: Brisbane Times | Image: Brisbane Times)

‘Anything is possible when you follow your passion…’ That’s the message from the new campaign from the South Australian Government designed to encourage students to study maths and science and look to future careers in the field.

The campaign includes an interactive website, career ambassadors and a competition to win an ultimate worksite visit.

SA Deputy Premier, Kevin Foley announced, “We need more students thinking about careers in science, engineering and technology, as well as the mechanical, electrical and construction trades.” Adding, “Choosing the right subjects in the final years of high school is a vital prerequisite to working in these dynamic sectors.”

South Australia has a high demand for these industries, particularly due to defence, research, information technology and mining sectors.

This is an excellent resource for anyone considering their future. This campaign has the same core goals as EngVibe, so we’re big fans. Check it out, the main site is here:

 www.TheresMoreToIt.com.au

Overall, this is an outstanding initiative by the SA Government.

(Source: SouthAustralia.biz | Image: TheresMoreToIt)

Engineers Australia and Chief Executive Women (CEW) have announced a scholarship to support and develop female engineering leaders. The scholarships are to be used for professional development for women who hold engineering degrees.

There are four scholarships available, one to be awarded to a female engineer in each of four regional groups: NSW/ACT, VIC/TAS, QLD and WA/NT/SA.

Scholarship

Each scholarship is for $5,000 towards leadership development activities or programs.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply:

• You must be an Australian Citizen or have Permanent Resident status
• You must have a recognised engineering qualification and a minimum of five years experience post qualification
• You must be currently working in Australia
• You must be female

Submitting an application

To apply for this scholarship, you need to provide the following information:

• Your CV (maximum 2 pages)
• An essay addressing the topic of “Looking Forward, Looking Back”, as related to your engineering careers, previous experiences and leadership aspirations (maximum 2 pages)
• A proposal for the use of the scholarship funds to assist your leadership development (maximum 1 page)
• A reference from your current employer supporting your application (maximum 1 page)
• Specify which Regional award you are applying for

To apply, forward your application to: CEW WIE Scholarship Program, c/o The Executive Officer, Chief Executive Women, Level 12, 37 Bligh Street, Sydney.

Applications close:  31st May 2009

(Source: Engineers Australia | Image by LynasUK)

Queenslander Rhys Parry has been awarded a TJ Ryan Memorial Medal and a $2000-a-year scholarship - one of the highest awards for secondary students.

The award, which was selected on academics, leadership, community and cultural participation, will assist Rhys as he heads to Griffith Uni to study a Bachelor of Engineering.

“I’m very maths-science orientated,” said Rhys who chose engineering ahead of other options including medicine or humanities.

A high-achiever, Rhys already has his next major goal in mind - a university medal. We have no doubts he’ll get there.

(Source: Ipswich News)

Simone Liddy, a 22 year old graduate from Charles Darwin University has been named the recipient of the Young Achiever Award for the NT.

Simone was the first indigenous student to graduate from the university’s Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Studies program.

Congrats to Simone, it is excellent to see young science types being recognised at this level!

(Source: NT News)

James Willcox, a seventeen year old student from the Hunter School of Performing Arts has had the NASA experience with another round on the horizon.

The youth astronaut program involved a science and engineering challenge held in California. This challenge involved the design and build of Mars Rover-type model vehicle capable of going over rough terrain. No easy task.

For James one of the highlights of the trip was the chance to see the neutral buoyancy lab used for astronaut training.

After impressing the staff at NASA, James has been invited back in a teaching role. This is hopefully the next step towards a career as an astronaut. Big goals, good luck to him.

Source story from the Herald.

Each year students throughout Australian get a chance to put engineering concepts to work through the Australian International Model Solar Challenge – an event where teams go head to head through the construction and racing of model solar cars.

One such team was Jack O’Toole, Daniel Reed and Jason Streat from St Matthews Central School who won a spot at the Australian International Model Solar Car Championships in Hobart. Their car took two months worth of lunch breaks, after school work and of course, balsa wood.

Events of this type are a great exposure to engineering and scientific concepts for students in a fun and interactive way.

For more info about the St Matthews Central team have a read of the article from the Mudgee Guardian. For more info about the Model Solar Car competition have a look at the website.

Wollongong local Michael Donovan has picked up the prize for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year for 2008.

Michael is a 24 year old engineering fabrication TAFE student currently undertaking an apprenticeship with AGi Engineering. His win follows the receipt of the NSW Training Award earlier this year. 

Sounds like a worthy winner with the Wollongong Training and Employment manager Dean Mortimer summing it up – “He’s a good apprentice and a good guy.”

Well done to Michael. Story from the Illawarra Mercury.

Were you jumping around the lounge playing Nintendo Wii games the other day? Did you turn around to your fellow Wii Sportsman and say, “What’s the next step after these motion-controlled games? I reckon we should try and make a console that uses your brain to control the game.  We’ll be millionaires!”

Well, you are too slow. This article covers an Australian company, Emotiv Systems, who have done exactly that.  CEO and co-founder Nam Do says, “Our vision for the future communications between man and machine is that it’s not going to be limited to conscious control, but non-conscious interaction will play a big part.”

Can’t beat them to market, why not join them: Senior C / C++ Software Engineer / Architect - Sydney,  Research Scientist - Sydney