Presented by Associate Professor Darren Croton on 5th October 2012.

Black holes are amongst the most bizarre objects predicted by Einstein's theory of General Relativity. Many people may not realise that our own galaxy hosts a supermassive black hole at its centre that is three million times more massive than our own Sun! In this talk Associate Professor Darren Croton discusses the physics of black holes and their formation, how they can grow to become so massive, active black hole "quasars" in the distant universe and the unexpected impact that a supermassive black hole can have on the evolution of an entire galaxy. We will finish by side stepping into the exotic world of wormholes, the black hole's tormented cousin.

Melbourne has one of the most pristine, pure and safe drinking water supplies in the world. Swinburne's Professor Ian Harding (Environment and Biotechnology Centre) discusses the quality issues that may arise from changing our source water.



DataBlitz on 'Water futures' was held on 30 September 2011.

To mitigate climate change requires a combined transition in energy technology, urban design and behaviour change in relation to consumption.



DataBlitz on 'Low Carbon CRC' was held on 31 August 2012.

The emergence of smart grids together with smart meters, and ubiquitous information and communication technologies, promises new financial and environmental efficiencies in the energy market and the overall economy. This talk will argue that in order to realise the full potential of smart meters and achieve the envisioned efficiencies, new add-value software solutions are required to support and automate energy management that can deliver tangible benefits to both the consumers and suppliers.



DataBlitz on 'Low Carbon CRC' was held on 31 August 2012.

Presented by Prof. Karl Glazebrook on 9th September 2012.

On Sep 17th 1912 Vesto M. Slipher at Lowell Observatory measured the first redshift of a galaxy and established their large velocities, this laid the groundwork for Hubble's discovery of the expansion of the Universe. One hundred years later we have measured close to 2 million galaxy redshifts (about one third of these measured in Australia) and this has been fundamental to our understanding of the structure of the Universe. In this public lecture, Professor Karl Glazebrook will tell the story of how galaxy redshift surveys have transformed our picture of cosmology and what the future might entail.

Presented by Prof. Karl Glazebrook on 9th September 2012.

On Sep 17th 1912 Vesto M. Slipher at Lowell Observatory measured the first redshift of a galaxy and established their large velocities, this laid the groundwork for Hubble's discovery of the expansion of the Universe. One hundred years later we have measured close to 2 million galaxy redshifts (about one third of these measured in Australia) and this has been fundamental to our understanding of the structure of the Universe. In this public lecture, Professor Karl Glazebrook will tell the story of how galaxy redshift surveys have transformed our picture of cosmology and what the future might entail.

The inaugural Barbara Dicker Oration delivered by Prof Patrick McGorry AO. Mental health research is an important priority, and this presentation explores where are we at today and what can we hope for in future and the importance of public support.

Immigration detention of asylum seekers must be abolished. It is harmful, expensive and destroys the human rights reputation of Australia.



DataBlitz on 'Refugees' was held on 27 July 2012.

Key to untangling the asylum seeker policy knot is increasing humanitarian settlement intake. Can Australia support an increased intake of humanitarian migrants? What does the evidence tell us and what do refugee migrants have to say about their settlement experiences?



DataBlitz on 'Refugees' was held on 27 July 2012.

Media representations affect societal views regarding refugees. Sudanese refugees have been represented negatively in the Australian news media. This presentation discusses findings of the Au Sud media project, an ARC Linkage funded project that aims to influence media discourses around the Sudanese.



DataBlitz on 'Refugees' was held on 27 July 2012.