gci annual report 2014

ANNUAL REPORT 2014

CONTENTS

VICE CHANCELLOR’S REPORT ......................................................................................................................... 4

DIRECTOR’S REPORT ........................................................................................................................................ 6

THE GLOBAL CHANGE INSTITUTE’S STRATEGIC DIRECTION ......................................................................... 8

DELIVERING THE OUTCOMES .......................................................................................................................... 9

GCI SNAPSHOT ................................................................................................................................................. 10

Where We Work ............................................................................................................................................ 10

Our People .................................................................................................................................................... 11

DISCOVERY ........................................................................................................................................................ 12

Healthy Oceans............................................................................................................................................. 14

Food Systems ............................................................................................................................................... 18

Clean Energy ................................................................................................................................................. 20

LEARNING .......................................................................................................................................................... 22

ENGAGEMENT ................................................................................................................................................... 26

SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS ............................................................................................................................... 32

PUBLICATIONS .................................................................................................................................................. 34

OUR PEOPLE ..................................................................................................................................................... 38

Our Staff ....................................................................................................................................................... 41

Awards .......................................................................................................................................................... 44

PROJECT FUNDING 2014 .................................................................................................................................. 45

COLLABORATIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 46

ANNUAL REPORT 2014 | 3

VICE CHANCELLOR’S REPORTThroughout 2014 GCI people played pivotal roles in projects that signpost ways to tackle highly complex challenges, within the broad and interconnected themes of food systems, healthy oceans, clean energy and sustainable water.

GCI staff contribute to UQ’s consistent position well-inside the top 100 of widely recognised global university rankings, and particularly our stature within the global top 15 for environment-related subjects.

Crucially, the focus on scientific rigour is accompanied by dedication to what I call ‘excellence-plus’ – the translation of great research into beneficial societal, environmental and economic outcomes.

This report showcases many fine examples. GCI people are helping quadruple UQ’s solar generation capacity to above five megawatts, and are working to create the largest experimental solar array in the Southern Hemisphere, at UQ’s Gatton campus. The discoveries made through this facility are likely to have valuable applications for Queensland, elsewhere in Australia, and globally.

Building on UQ’s record of partnering with global institutions as well as local communities to conduct outstanding tropical marine research, the Capturing

Coral Reef and Related Ecosystems Services project established two pilot sites. With one site in the Philippines and the other in Indonesia, this project’s concern for coastal eco-businesses has strong implications for hundreds of millions of people in East Asia and the Pacific who subsist on less than $2/day, and for the natural systems on which they depend. In another development targeting food security and sustainable community enterprises, GCI was enlisted to implement the first project of the Alliance for Agricultural R&D for Food Security, an Australian-Swiss partnership focussed on Africa.

Additionally, GCI scientists and professional staff delivered an innovative Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to foster global appreciation of coastal ecosystems. Tropic 101x was one of the first UQx courses offered as part of edX (the world’s largest non-profit MOOCs consortium), and in 2014 attracted more than 8000 learners from more than 180 countries.

“When it comes to engagement, the institute has excelled. US president Barack Obama tweeted about GCI research, stating that 97% of climate change researchers believe it is caused by human activity.”

4 | GLOBAL CHANGE INSTITUTE

As if to underscore GCI’s flair for marrying quality research with mass engagement, US President Barack Obama said during a speech at UQ in November that he had tweeted a UQ study by GCI researcher, John Cook, to his 31 million Twitter followers.

It is essential for an organisation with GCI’s bold ambitions to lead by example, and so I was particularly pleased to witness the Director, Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, receive the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Award for Climate Change. Ove is one of the world’s most cited academic authors on climate change, and sets a masterful example for younger researchers who aim not only to explain why changes are occurring, but also to drive changes towards positive outcomes.

The university has great confidence in Ove and his team, and GCI’s five-year budget and strategic plan have gained approval, giving GCI a solid platform for continuous stellar achievements into the future.

I congratulate and thank Ove and all GCI staff and supporters for a highly productive 2014, and I look forward with a sense of excitement to the outcomes they will produce in years ahead.

PROFESSOR PETER HØJVice-Chancellor and President The University of Queensland


DIRECTOR’S REPORTIn 2014, the Global Change Institute (GCI) truly lived up to its name in terms of education, engagement and discovery. Safe in the knowledge that a new five-year strategic plan had received university executive approval, along with funding to match, the institute was enabled to strive towards impact across its four program areas.

“At the close of 2014, GCI had 25 research projects on its books with a total value of $43 million.”

Professor Hoegh-Guldberg

By the close of 2014, GCI had 25 research projects with a total value of $43 million. This outstanding success has been driven by the dedication and drive of GCI staff and associates. The majority of these funds has gone directly to our research collaborators in UQ’s schools and faculties.

Projects such as the coral reef mapping being undertaken as part of the Catlin Seaview Survey continue to attract scholars, papers and opportunities across UQ faculties. Our researchers have now explored the reefs of more than 20 countries, collecting a visual record of more than 750 kilometres of coral reef leading to the discovery of six new species of coral. More than 600,000 images have now been captured and are being analysed for structure and health as well as being made available to the public and scientific community through the Catlin Global Reef Record. This project has provided funding for six PhD and four postdoctoral research fellows for UQ.

This project alone raised the profile of GCI and UQ across the planet. With

more than 80 billion media impressions, five major documentaries plus hundreds of articles (Time Magazine twice), the project has ensured a strong spotlight on the enormous innovative character of UQ.

I’m also thrilled with the progress of the Capturing Coral Reef and Related Ecosystem Services (CCRES) project. Tasked with unlocking the natural wealth of coastlines in the East Asia-Pacific region, the project launched two project sites in 2014. The first in the Philippines, the second in Indonesia. These will provide a platform from which we can undertake on-the-ground education and engagement – helping to improve food security and sustainable livelihoods for at risk communities. Again, this project has brought in research funds and opportunity to UQ staff across campus.

The year also saw construction commence on the Southern Hemisphere’s largest experimental solar photovoltaic systems research facility at Gatton. This will enable research into improving solar efficiency, integration of solar technologies and connectivity


PROFESSOR OVE HOEGH-GULDBERGGlobal Change Institute, Director

with the national grid, placing UQ at the forefront of renewable energy research. This unique and highly visible infrastructure has already attracted additional projects, many of which will bring millions of dollars to The University of Queensland and its effort to be a leader in clean energy.

The institute has continued to build its reputation in international education. GCI was one of the first institutes of the university to offer a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The eight-week online course Tropic 101x was launched in March. Nearly 9000 people from across the globe signed up for the course. More than 95% of participants rated the course as better than average, with one-third of them stating it was the best they had ever taken. In 2015, we aim to build on the success of Tropic 101x with Denial 101x, a new course featuring Sir David Attenborough. You can read more about this in the education section of this report.

Aside from research and education, 2014 saw the institute and its staff engage with researchers, celebrities, international

policy and decision makers, even royalty. Through the institute’s events program, we hosted close to 40 events connecting with thousands of UQ staff, members of the public, not-for-profit organisations, donors and government representatives. Our inaugural Challenge of Change lecture was hosted by former Governor of Queensland, Penelope Wensley AC.

The institute launched its College of Experts. A panel of 65 of the university’s best and brightest minds, covering a range of topics, to provide strategic input and support on global change issues. Over the course of the year, the college received further requests for membership. Personally, it has been a great pleasure to see the vigorous and enthusiastic conversations between fields as diverse as law, journalism, engineering and biology.

Recognition for our research and ability to practice what we preach came in many forms in 2014. GCI was ranked the 34th most sustainable university building in the world, and I was honoured by His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II of Monaco with a Climate Change award,

which I accepted on behalf of my GCI staff and colleagues – which I am donating to The University of Queensland.

On an administrative front, 2014 saw several staff changes across research and professional ranks. To continue the institutes’s remarkable momentum, we have created a new Deputy Director role, which we expect to be filled by late 2015, providing additional support and leadership.

I hope you enjoy reading this report as we are particularly proud of our achievements nationally and globally in 2014. The institute is gaining recognition for its ability to leverage the capability of UQ research staff, linking them with international networks to help address the major challenges of our time. We look forward to further expansion in the coming years.


THESE OUTCOMES WILL BE ACHIEVED BY:

Leading, collaborating and influencing through leveraging high-impact research to address global issues.

INNOVATION: to undertake high impact, ‘game-changing’ research that will influence and change the way we think and act with regards to our global resources.

SOLUTIONS: to bring a whole-of-system approach to the design of innovative solutions to address these global change challenges.

GLOBAL EDUCATION: to captivate and educate the global community on global change issues.

CHAMPIONS: to develop a network of champions to advocate on global change issues.

INFLUENCE: to achieve impact as a ‘change enabler’ by supporting decision-makers to address global challenges through changes to institutional and industry behaviours, policies, planning and practices.

INSPIRATION: to create the climate for – and development of – a community of practice to raise an awareness and understanding of the issues facing the world under global change drivers.

THE GLOBAL CHANGE INSTITUTE’S STRATEGIC DIRECTIONGCI acts as a think-tank in which ideas can flourish and expand. Success is measured through the following outcomes:


Partners

Colla

bora

tors

UQ

Mechanisms

Mechanisms

Outcomes

Outcomes

Outcomes

Outcomes

Outcomes

Outcomes

MECHANISMSGCI will use the skills and capabilities of UQ, our partners and collaborators to address key questions relating to sustainable communities through the following mechanisms:

Creating solutions and tools that meet the needs of end-users.

End-users adopting research outcomes into solutions and policy.

GCI researchers being involved in public debate.

Engaging with alumni and collaborators to build a network of champions.

Publishing innovative, high-impact research.

Developing learning programs.

Raising awareness and building an understanding of the global challenges.

Developing strong linkages to government and industry through involvement in boards, forums and strategic partnerships.

Incubating ideas, creating forums and stimulating initiatives that influence policy makers.

Establishing a reputation for independent and highest quality research and policy advice.

Developing and maintaining a leadership culture for researchers.

Stimulating and coordinating large-scale research programs funded from a variety of sources.

DELIVERING THE OUTCOMES


GCI SNAPSHOTOUR WORK

FOOD SECURITY: 4 projects worth $855,000

INTERNAL SCHEMES: 4 projects worth $98,979

CLEAN ENERGY: 4 projects worth $22,110,000

COLLABORATIONS: Gladstone Waters Research Partnership and SEQWater Strategic Research Partnership worth $750,000

HEALTHY OCEANS: 13 projects worth a total of $17,129,315

PUBLICATIONS: 2 Book chapters 2 Conference papers 58 Journal articles

WHERE WE WORK

Brisbane, Collinsville, Copenhagen, Dubai, East Timor, Florida, Gatton, Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii, Heron Island, Indonesia, Japan, Melbourne, Nairobi, Palm Springs, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Stockholm, Sydney, The Hague and Washington.


OUR PEOPLE

UQ VALUES

Pursuit of excellence Supporting our people

Mutual respect Independent thinking

Honesty Creativity

Diversity Accountability

WORKFORCE

NEW STARTERS IN 2014: 7.60 Academics 7.82 Professionals

TOTAL WORKFORCE (INCLUDING CASUALS): 12.1 Academics 19.8 Professional staff


DISCOVERYTHE GLOBAL CHANGE INSTITUTE WAS LAUNCHED IN 2010, BUT HAS ALREADY EARNED AN ENVIABLE GLOBAL REPUTATION AS A CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH ACROSS SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES RELATING TO MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENTS AND DISCIPLINES.GCI RESEARCHERS HAVE DEVELOPED NEW MODELLING SYSTEMS TO MORE ACCURATELY PREDICT THE IMPACT OF SEA LEVEL RISE ON COASTAL COMMUNITIES, CONCLUSIVELY DEMONSTRATED SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS AROUND THE CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE BEING HUMAN INDUCED AND CAPTURED A VISUAL RECORD OF MORE THAN 750 KILOMETRES OF THE WORLD’S CORAL REEFS FOR SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS.


HEALTHY OCEANS


OCEAN AUTHORITYProfessor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Director of UQ’s Global Change Institute was the Coordinating Lead Author on Chapter 30 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Assessment Report. The chapter, which focuses on the ocean, found that human intervention with the climate system was occurring and therefore posing considerable risks to human and natural systems. The assessment report is considered to be the most comprehensive analysis of climate change ever undertaken and provides the underlying science for policy and decision makers around the globe.

MAPPING THE WORLD’S CORAL REEF SYSTEMSThe Catlin Seaview Survey team has been advancing our knowledge of the world’s coral reefs by creating the first comprehensive baseline record through high-resolution 360-degree imagery. Our researchers are capturing, analysing and assessing the state of coral reefs 30 times faster than previous methods using specially developed panoramic camera systems mounted on an underwater scooter, the SVII.

Since the project began in 2012 on the Great Barrier Reef, the team has documented the coral reefs of the Caribbean and Bermuda, and in 2014 the reef systems of South-East Asia. To date, more than 500,000 images have been captured across more than 750 km of shallow reefscape in 21 countries. These images are freely available to anyone through the Catlin Global Reef Record – an online open access database. During these expeditions, the team also explored deeper sections of the reef, the so-called ‘mesophotic zone’ (30-150 m depth),

with more than 200 manned dives and over 50 remote operated vehicle deployments, collecting more than 8000 coral specimens.

The project’s enormous success has led to scholarship and fellowship funding of $1.6 million to support five postdoctoral positions and six PhD positions, attracting total project funding of $3.1 million, which includes provision for 4.5 professional UQ staff.

In 2014, Catlin Seaview Survey’s UQ-based project team enabled the safe and successful research delivery program to four out of six Coral Triangle countries and marine protected areas across Indonesia, Philippines, Timor Leste and Solomon Islands.

Undertaking research in this region required extensive preparation and planning. The project support and research teams needed to be both persistent and creative in their approaches to secure the necessary permits and establish appropriate partnerships.

2014 SHALLOW REEF STATISTICS

� 5 expeditions in 4 countries

� 221 km of reef surveyed

� 130 transects covered

� More than 100,000 scientific images

� Around 145 dives conducted with more than 300 research hours underwater

� 4 major Marine Protected Areas

� Evaluated the suitability of the SVII to detect fish diversity, abundance and size in comparison with standard fish monitoring methods


A RISING TIDE – FOUR-YEAR RESEARCH PROJECT CONCLUDES. More than 80% of Australians live within 50 km of the coastline and 6% of residences are within 3 km. Added to this, population growth along Australia’s coastal regions is increasing. A rapid increase in the sea level poses a serious yet poorly understood threat to coastal Australia. Combined with periodic storm surge, rain inundation and tidal effects, sea level rise is set to dramatically increase the number and scale of extreme events, as well as drive profound changes to the geomorphology of coastal Australia.

The Australian Sea Level Rise Partnership (ASLRP) was a four-year project that concluded in December 2014 and was established to provide

the research necessary for Australia to adapt to many of the challenges presented by rising sea levels. This includes drawing on expertise from the full spectrum of relevant disciplines, including law, geomorphology, business and economics, conservation and urban planning, policy, coastal ecology, engineering, sustainability and human geography.

As well as multi-disciplinary, ASLRP was multi institutional, a collaboration between GCI, the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education, and CSIRO.

OUTCOMES � More than 20 peer-reviewed publications and books addressing the challenges of rapid anthropogenic sea level rise for Australia were produced from the ASLRP project.

� A new approach to modelling coastlines was also developed that increases the accuracy to address error in previous modelling techniques.

� A full report of the research themes and outcomes from ASLRP can be found on the GCI website.

Researchers from the Catlin Seaview Survey team conducted two additional expeditions to the Great Barrier Reef and one to the Red Sea, involving both deep and shallow reef dives. In December, the shallow reef team successfully surveyed 32 sites at 14 reefs across 59 km in the Great Barrier Reef, while the deep team photographed 18 long-term monitoring plots and retrieved all 21 temperature loggers deployed since 2012. Samples were also collected for ongoing biodiversity and connectivity work.

The team’s world-class researchers are collaborating with international institutions to foster shared learning opportunities and access cutting edge technology. Through collaborations and engagement with influential organisations such as the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the University of California, the Catlin Seaview Survey team are accessing advanced computer-based methods

of analysing data. This enables rapid analytical ability as they are achieving in 12 months what would have previously taken 30 years. The automated analysis looks at three main areas: identifying coral patterns and textures; providing insights on habitats and the role they play in the ecosystem; identifying coral reef coverage; and, examining three-dimensional structure of coral reefs.

The project exemplifies the pursuit of excellence in marine research, demonstrating UQ’s credibility in coral reef science and providing academic development for researchers. Building on the seven scientific papers published in 2014, data sets gathered by Catlin Seaview Survey are expected generate multiple papers as results continue to be analysed and documented.


CANDIDATES BOOK | 17

UNDERSTANDING THE VALUE OF CORAL REEFSThe Capturing Coral Reef and Related Ecosystem Services (CCRES) project officially began on 6 November 2013 leading into a dedicated year of scoping and preparations.

Key activities over the year included detailed planning for the implementation of research activities at pilot sites; development of major partnerships and collaborations across the region; establishment of activity teams to work on-ground; development of the stakeholder networks required for the outreach components of the activities; and major announcements and launches of the pilot sites in South East Asia.

Some of the year’s highlights include:

� The World Bank and The University of Queensland (the CCRES Project Executing Agency) signed off on the Head Agreement, which triggered the commencement of the CCRES Project. The agreement signified start of the project’s efforts to unlock the economic and social value of marine ecosystems. It seeks to give an incentive to local communities, businesses and policy makers to preserve them (and their services) for future generations.

� Pilot sites were established in the Philippines and Indonesia, along with a new office in Manila provided by the University of Philippines (UP) Marine Science Institute (MSI) at UP’s Dillman campus in Quezon City, Manila.

“More than 80% of Australians live within 50 km of the coastline and 6% of residences are within 3 km.”


FOOD SYSTEMS


“Progressing research and breeding results through to millions of smallholders is essential. Today, plant science often fails to create impact at scale. However, solutions are within reach, and the private sector plays a central role.”

PATHWAYS FOR SUSTAINABLE INTENSIFICATION OF AGRICULTUREIf as expected the global community needs to increase its agricultural production by as much as 70% over the next 40 years to meet predicted demand, strategies for the sustainable intensification of agriculture are urgently needed.

GCI’s ‘Pathways for Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture’ workshop in November 2014 had two main goals: to outline the magnitude of the challenges ahead, and to present strategies that might begin to address the inherent issues.

Attended by leading researchers from Australia and abroad, the three-day workshop heard that while global demand for food grows, increasing competition for production resources, along with the uncertainties of climate

change place additional pressures on agriculture.

Indeed, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that food-security issues in one region can cause knock-on effects in diverse and often unexpected ways, including political and economic disruption.

Factors compounding the challenge in Australia, Africa and Asia include slowing productivity gains for major grain crops, increasing land degradation and commercial imperatives which focus on high-value food production systems at the expense of genetic diversity and increased risk of disease.

Workshop facilitator and member of GCI’s College of Experts, UQ’s Associate Professor Daniel Rodriguez said practices such as relay cropping were something that could be adopted relatively quickly around the world.

Dr Rodriguez, whose background includes crop eco-physiology and systems modelling, said trials were

under way in Australia’s northern grain growing region to develop a sustainable intensification option for maize growers using relay cropping. As part of the trial, mungbeans had been sown into standing crops of maize before harvest of the primary crop. This type of relay cropping seeks to maximise the benefits of natural resources such as rainfall, sunshine and soil nutrients.

Attendees heard there were many practical changes to farming practices that were likely to improve yield. Measures such as increasing weeding frequencies; fine-tuning the timing of crop sowing, improved use of fertilisers, stubble retention and reduced tillage were all know to offer significant improvements.

Sustainable intensification, it was noted, had to evolve and was likely to take varying paths in different regions. The workshop agreed that identifying and quantifying benefits and trade-offs should remain a focus for research with the aim of informing actors and policy.

MATCHING DEMAND WITH SUPPLY IN AFRICAThe Global Change Institute is a member of the Alliance for Agricultural R&D for Food Security, along with the Syngenta Foundation and the Crawford Fund. In 2014 the alliance announced its first project. It set out to ensure that new crop varieties better meet the needs of African smallholders and their customers. The project’s official launch took place on World Food Day, 16 October 2014, at the World Food Prize meeting in Iowa, USA.

The new initiative brings together the Australian International Food Security Research Centre (AIFSRC) in ACIAR*, the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) and the Crawford Fund.

Speaking in connection with the launch, SFSA Director Dr Marco Ferroni said, “Progressing research and breeding results through to millions of smallholders is essential. Today, plant science often fails to create impact at scale. However, solutions are within

reach, and the private sector plays a central role.”

The alliance will work with African partners to encourage market development, economic growth and investment in plant breeding programs.

AIFSRC Director Mellissa Wood said the project partners shared important common goals and wanted to help more smallholders adopt high-yielding seeds and other agricultural technology.”

“We believe that by teaming up we can achieve better outcomes for smallholders than if we worked separately,” she said.

The Global Change Institute is managing the project.


CLEAN ENERGY


REDUCING THE ENERGY DEMAND OF MEAT PROCESSINGMany meat-processing sites in regional and remote parts of Australia currently rely heavily on diesel fuel and off-the-grid power generation, which are both major costs in production. These costs can be substantially reduced by using more sustainable energy resources, which have the flow-on environmental advantages of reducing emissions and waste streams.

GCI was commissioned on behalf of the Australian Meat Processor Corporation (AMPC) to look at the feasibility of taking a red meat processing facility off the electricity network and powering it from renewable resources. The project considered not only using solar for the generation of electricity, but also how the meat processing operations’ waste streams could be recycled to generate heat and steam that could be re-used in processing.

OUTCOMESThis report has been submitted to AMPC for its consideration.

FUTURE OF SOLAR IS BRIGHT AT GATTONIn December 2014, the Global Change Institute completed construction of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest solar PV systems research facility at Gatton. The 3.275 megawatt array comprises more than 37,000 thin-film photovoltaic panels, installed over 10 hectares on what was once a campus airstrip.

The advanced technology photovoltaic (PV) modules from First Solar will produce enough clean energy to power more than 450 average Queensland homes and will displace the equivalent of 5600 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

The development is funded by a $40.7 million Federal Government Education Investment Fund program grant administered by the Department of Education.

The Gatton project is part of research collaboration between UQ, the University of New South Wales, First Solar and AGL PV Solar Holdings Pty Ltd, an affiliate of AGL Ltd.

The UQ Solar initiative, managed by GCI, seeks to better understand the cost efficiencies of solar technologies to improve the integration of solar energy into the electricity grid, paving the way for future large scale solar systems to be connected.

“The UQ Solar initiative, managed by the Global Change Institute, seeks to better understand the cost efficiencies of solar technologies to improve the integration of solar energy into the electricity grid, paving the way for future large scale solar systems to be connected.”

CLEAN APPROACH TO OLD TECHNOLOGYAlong with renewable energy company RATCH Australia, GCI was awarded $350,000 from the Federal Government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to deliver seven reports as part of the Collinsville project.

The key objective of this project was to look at how existing infrastructure

could be re-used in a more sustainable manner using renewable energy. These reports examine the economics as well as mechanical and electrical engineering issues involved in converting a coal-fired power station with existing transmission and distribution structure into a hybrid solar-thermal-gas power station. The project also looked at the possible re-use of other infrastructure.

OUTCOMESIn line with recommendations from the reports, RATCH is not proceeding with the project at this stage for economic reasons. The reports are published on the ARENA website.

LEFT: An aerial view of the former landing strip reveals more than 37,000 solar modules at the Gatton Solar Research Facility.


LEARNINGTASKED WITH CAPTIVATING THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ON GLOBAL CHANGE ISSUES, GCI DELIVERED STRONGLY BY EDUCATING ON ISSUES OF SUSTAINABILITY TO A HUGE ONLINE AUDIENCE. GCI IS ENORMOUSLY PROUD OF ITS SUCCESS IN COORDINATING A MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSE (MOOC) FOR UQ, WHICH WAS AMONG THE FIRST FOUR EVER UNDERTAKEN BY THE UNIVERSITY.


GCI staff travelled to Europe and America to film interviews with experts for MOOC number two (Denial 101x) scheduled for release in 2015.


ONLINE COURSES ATTRACT THOUSANDSThis year saw the launch of UQ’s first Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs. The close collaboration with Edx (online organisation based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and governed by MIT and Harvard) puts UQ in a group of only 10 universities, including Harvard, MIT, and University of California Berkeley. The Global Change Institute was quick to recognise the value of this medium, both as a resource for students and as an outreach tool for UQ.

Researchers from five of UQ’s laboratories contributed to the development of the MOOC ‘Tropic101x: Tropical Coastal Ecosystems’. The MOOC included lecture writing, filming, quiz creation, and testing of online media.

More than 8000 students from 175 countries enrolled in the course. Of the students who completed our

exit survey, 95% gave it a positive review and 29% said it was the best MOOC they had ever taken. Not only was the feedback positive, numerous students were excited to share with us the ways in which they would continue to use our course content:

“I will use the TCEs updated information through the coral reefs environmental education I support within the MPA in Cozumel, Mexico”

“I plan to incorporate some of the material into a class I will be teaching in the fall for OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at the University of Arizona.”

The trial course raised interest in other GCI projects and citizen science, with 87% of respondents saying they would be interested in receiving more information about citizen science opportunities in the future. One student

even said they were considering pursuing a Masters Degree at UQ because of this particular MOOC.

The positive momentum generated with this course will be leveraged by re-launching an upgraded version of Tropic101x in 2015. In the meantime, students can still continue to access course materials. UQ professor Sophie Dove has even used Tropic101x as part of her on-campus teaching.

Through the success of Tropic101x, GCI has established a close working relationship with UQx – The University of Queensland’s specialist MOOC department. The prestige of the institution and researchers created opportunities for the MOOC team to interview some of the world’s leading scientists and science communicators including Sir David Attenborough, science historian Naomi Oreskes and Ben Santer – the convening lead author of the first IPCC report to affirm human influence on Earth’s climate.


TROPIC101x

8000+ENROLLED

COUNTRIES

ENROLMENTS FROM

TOP COUNTRIES:

1. USA

2. AUS

3. INDIA

VERIFIED ENROLMENTS (minimum of $100)

MEDIAN AGE:40

20

SUBSCRIBERS

ON YOUTUBE

HOW DID TROPIC101x COMPARE TO OTHER MOOCS YOU HAVE TAKEN?

POSITIVE REVIEWS

NEGATIVE REVIEWS

NEUTRAL REVIEWS


ENGAGEMENTTHE GLOBAL CHANGE INSTITUTE SEEKS TO DELIVER GAME-CHANGING RESEARCH AND INNOVATION TO ADDRESS MAJOR GLOBAL CHALLENGES RELATING TO CLIMATE CHANGE, SUSTAINABILITY AND POPULATION GROWTH. TO ACHIEVE THIS, IT SEEKS TO FORM STRONG PARTNERSHIPS DOMESTICALLY AND ABROAD ACROSS MULTIPLE SECTORS. THE YEAR SAW NEW LINKS FORMED WITH ORGANISATIONS SUCH AS GOOGLE AND THE WORLD BANK. THE INSTITUTE ALSO ACTS AS A HUB OF KNOWLEDGE, DRAWING TOGETHER EXPERTISE AROUND PARTICULAR TOPICS. THIS EXPERTISE IS SHOWCASED THROUGH A SERIES OF EVENTS THAT HELP ENSURE STUDENTS THROUGH TO CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY AND POLICY MAKERS REMAIN ENGAGED IN MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE.


The inaugural Challenge of Change lecture series attracted a crowd of hundreds to The University of Queensland to hear a keynote presentation by former QLD Governor Penelope Wensley AC.


FOCUS ON FOODTo celebrate World Food Day on 16 October – and recognise the depth of research being undertaken at The University of Queensland – GCI worked with UQ’s Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation and the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences to coordinate three events to mark the occasion.

More than 400 people participated in World Food Day celebrations, kicking off with a food industry networking breakfast. More than 60 invited guests joined our panel of experts from the bush-food industry and UQ researchers to discuss how native foods will play a critical role in food security as the global population increases.

A public morning tea followed, at the new UQ bush food garden located at the Hartley Teakle Building, with Indigenous chef Dale Chapman. More than 300

people attended this event. Dale cooked a unique array of local bush tucker flavours including Bunya nut pesto, Wattle seed damper, Lemon Myrtle cheesecake and crocodile sausages.

To wrap up the day, entries in the 2014 World Food Day Poster competition were judged at a special student presentation session. The World Food Day Student Poster Competition saw entries from participants from a range of disciplines across the university present on a variety of topics linked to food systems.

Top: The 2014 World Food Day student poster competition winners with our expert judging panel.

UQ EXPERTISE HARNESSED IN NEW THINK-TANKOn 6 February, GCI officially launched the College of Experts group. The purpose of the College of Experts is to provide a peer network to support the institute’s advancement of knowledge and innovation, and contribute to its policy and advocacy agenda. The college is responsible for highlighting emerging issues and trends; identifying

new opportunities for research; working with the institute to establish new initiatives; moderating proposal assessments; and participating in advocacy campaigns.

The college is chaired by Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence and is made up of 65 members. Some are doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, while others are professionals of national and international standing drawn from the university’s research community.

“The purpose of the College of Experts is to provide a peer network to support the institute’s advancement of knowledge and innovation.”


GCI PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION GCI launched its inaugural amateur photography competition on 1 July, resulting in a flood of more than 200 impressive images. Entries documented everything from wildlife to urban landscapes. The entrants were encouraged to express their creative talents by capturing photographs of the natural and built environment where they work, study or play. As well as providing a rich visual record of the natural environment, the photos reflect humanity’s duty of care to the world we share.

1 Michelle Achlatis

2 Roz Bannan

3 Aaron Chai

4 Claire Backhouse

5 Josie Fraser

1 2

3 4

5


“Australia needs to recognise that its scientists are a vital national asset, a strategic asset, that can be used in the interests of national security.”

CHALLENGE OF CHANGE INAUGURAL EVENT BRAVE NEW WORLD TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE

More government funding is needed if Australian scientists are to successfully tackle climate change.

That was the message of Hon. Penelope Wensley, when she presented the Inaugural Challenge of Change Lecture in November.

Ms Wensley said the government needed to provide more support and scientists needed to band together if we were to tackle climate change.

“I find it hard to believe we are still debating the science about the greatest challenge facing the human population. For almost a quarter of a century scientists have been warning about the changing climate,” she said.

In her lecture, ‘Braving the Future: Strengthening Australian Science to Influence Global Change’, Ms Wensley also pointed to growing population, food security, biodiversity loss and water as significant pressure points.

She cited research that food production would need to increase by 60% for a global population of nine billion people within four decades; species were becoming extinct before they could be named; and two out of three people would be under water stress by 2050.

“It’s very hard at times not to feel overwhelmed and pessimistic about the future ... but we must be galvanised into action and be prompted to be brave.”

“Australia needs to recognise that its scientists are a vital national asset, a strategic asset, that can be used in the interests of national security. A resource that can enable Australia to influence world affairs and influence global change.”

While Ms Wensley warned Australia risked being left behind without better funding, she congratulated the Global Change Institute on its research into environmental change and solar energy.

“I thank the Global Change Institute for its voice of courage, for giving reason its due place in the swirling and at times confusing debates that surround international efforts to deal with change.”

Image: Hon. Penelope Wensley delivering the inaugural Challenge of Change Lecture in November 2014.


USING GCI AS A LIVING LABORATORY The Global Change Institute is the flagship sustainability project for The University of Queensland, an example of best practice in sustainability and the hub for the university’s initiatives in sustainable education and research. The building was established as a research tool for innovative building systems and continues to attract far-ranging interest from the general public, school students, international visitors, and others.

‘Living Building’ tours with an average of 20 participants were conducted each week to highlight GCI’s research and to demonstrate how buildings can consume fewer resources and contribute more to the regeneration of environment and society.

Hassells, the building architects, regularly visited the building throughout the year to showcase its infrastructure to their clients, architecture students, peers and industry. The building has also become a popular destination for school groups to learn more about sustainability with school teachers choosing to bring their students through the building to supplement their coursework.

“The building has also become a popular destination for school groups to learn more about sustainability with school teachers ...”


SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS


CHINESE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES – UQ ASIA PACIFIC FORUMIn collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), UQ recently hosted the inaugural CASS-UQ Asia-Pacific Forum. The forum, which coincided with the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane, focussed on ‘Cooperation and Innovation in the Asia-Pacific’ and brought together international leaders in government, business and education to discuss themes of significance to the broader Asia-Pacific region. The aim of the forum was to facilitate greater understanding between Australia and China on bilateral, as well as regional and international affairs, and enhance and strengthen collaboration and relations between the two countries as well as representatives from the region as a whole. Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke delivered a keynote address, which was followed by several panel sessions. GCI Sustainable Water Program Director, Eva Abal, was a panelist in a session on Innovation in Energy and Environment. Eva stressed the importance and need to understand the nexus between energy and the environment, and between energy and water.

SOLAR ENERGY – LETTER OF INTENTGCI’s Paul Meredith and Craig Froome travelled to Chile to meet with researchers from the Chile Solar Energy Research Centre (SERC), a government-supported partnership of six universities. SERC is planning to build a large solar research facility in the Atacama Desert. GCI staff were able to share advice and knowledge from the current development of Australia’s largest solar research facility at UQ’s Gatton campus. As a result, a letter of intent was signed to progress research collaborations relating to SERC’s projects, using the knowledge GCI has developed from its clean energy initiatives.

INAUGURAL 2014 ASIA-PACIFIC SOLAR RESEARCH CONFERENCEThe Clean Energy team headed to Sydney for the inaugural Asia-Pacific Solar Research Conference hosted by the Australian PV Institute. The conference provided a unique opportunity to combine the annual research reviews of Australia’s key solar research groups, as well as the 9th Aseanian Conference on Dye-Sensitised and Organic Solar Cells, representing researchers from around the region. GCI’s Paul Meredith, Craig Froome and Vince Garrone, and UQ’s Liam Byrnes, Lianzhou Wang and Paul Burn brought solar research expertise from UQ to the three-day event at the University of New South Wales. Arranged in different streams, Paul presented in the Dye-Sensitised and Organic Solar Cells stream, and Craig and Vince presented in the Australian PV Institute’s Annual Research Review stream. The Australian PV Institute also launched a new short film starring GCI that highlights the bright future of solar in Australia.

IMPROVING RESEARCH IMPACTIn September, early career researchers were invited to the Global Change Institute to learn about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and how science is used in this process as well as how UQ research can help. The workshop was held with Professor Phillip Boyd, professor in marine biogeochemistry at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania.

FOOD SYSTEMSIn June 2014, GCI hosted a workshop to plan the ongoing strategic direction for the Food Systems Program. The workshop used a dynamic systems analysis approach to define the focus for the program. This approach is used to define the problems faced by food systems globally; the relationships between the system behaviour and structure; the patterns or trends of behaviour; and, the intervention points that could change the trajectory of the system towards the desired future trend. The Food Systems Program ultimately developed its strategic plan around the intervention points defined in the dynamic systems analysis.

IUCN WORLD PARKS CONGRESSScientists and decision-makers involved in protected area management gathered in Sydney at the World Parks Congress in November. Sydney Olympic Park played host to 4000 delegates from more than 160 countries.

It was a busy and exciting time for the Catlin Seaview Survey team. On Friday 14 November, Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg presented at the Plenary session, Under Water Earth held a seahorse hunt in Sydney Harbour and more than 100,000 high-definition images from the Great Barrier Reef were launched in the Catlin Global Reef Record.

The congress ended with a VIP event hosted by Catlin Group Limited and attended by key people form IUCN, government, protected area management, Google, NOAA and others. The event was also used as a platform to announce our partnership with the Waitt Foundation to survey the Great Barrier Reef from 24 November to 6 December.

SCIENCE INTO POLICYResearchers from across the university were invited to a workshop in June to hear a brief overview of how government policy is developed and the role of science in that development.

The workshop was split into two sessions including ‘Public Policy Development/ A Case Study: how science was used in the Moreton Bay Marine Park Zoning Plan Review’. The second was ‘Understanding the Role of Science in Policy Development – Reef Water Quality Protection Plan and other GBR related initiatives.’

Such workshops are a core part of GCI’s engagement strategy to ensure projects and scientific outputs lead to game-changing impact that reaches beyond research publications.


PUBLICATIONS

� Abraham, J, Cook J, Fasullo J, Jacobs P, Mandia S, and Nuccitelli D. (2014) Review of the consensus and asymmetric quality of research on human-induced climate change. Cosmopolis, 2014 1: 3-18.

� Adams-Hosking C, McAlpine C, Rhodes J, Moss P, and Grantham H. (2014) Prioritizing regions to conserve a specialist folivore: considering probability of occurrence, food resources, and climate change. Conservation Letters.

� Atwood T, Hammill E, and Richardson J. (2014) Trophic-level dependent effects on CO2 emissions from experimental stream ecosystems. Global Change Biology, 20 11: 3386-3396.

� Atwood T, Hammill E, Srivastava D, and Richardson J. (2014) Competitive displacement alters top-down effects on carbon dioxide concentrations in a freshwater ecosystem. Oecologia, 175 1: 353-361.

� Baldock T, Golshani A, Callaghan D, Saunders M, and Mumby P. (2014) Impact of sea-level rise and coral mortality on the wave dynamics and wave forces on barrier reefs. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 83 1: 155-164.

� Bayraktarov E, Bastidas-Salamanca M, and Wild C. (2014) The physical environment in coral reefs of the Tayrona National Natural Park (Colombian Caribbean) in response to seasonal upwelling. Boletin de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras, 43 1: 137-157.

� Bayraktarov E, and Wild C. (2014) Spatiotemporal variability of sedimentary organic matter supply and recycling processes in coral reefs of Tayrona National Natural Park, Colombian Caribbean. Biogeosciences, 11 11: 2977-2990.

� Bayraktarov E, Pizarro V, and Wild C. (2014) Spatial and temporal variability of water quality in the coral reefs of Tayrona National Natural Park, Colombian Caribbean. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 186 6: 3641-3659.

� Bayraktarov E, Alarcon-Moscoso J, Polanco A, and Wild C. (2014) Spatial and temporal distribution of the invasive lionfish Pterois volitans in coral reefs of Tayrona National Natural Park, Colombian Caribbean. PeerJ, 2014 1: e397.1-e397.15.

� Bell J, Saunders M, Leon J, Mills M, Kythreotis A, Phinn S, Mumby P, Lovelock C, Hoegh-Huldberg O, and Morrison T. (2014) Maps, laws and planning policy: working with biophysical and spatial uncertainty in the case of sea level rise. Environmental Science and Policy, 44 247-257.

� Bender D, Diaz-Pulido G, and Dove S. (2014) Warming and acidification promote cyanobacterial dominance in turf algal assemblages. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 517 271-284.

� Bode M, Tulloch A, Mills, M, Venter O, and Ando A. (2014) A conservation planning approach to mitigate the impacts of leakage from protected area networks. Conservation Biology, 29 3: 765-774.

� Brown C, Abdullah S, and Mumby P. (2014) Minimizing the short-term impacts of marine reserves on fisheries while meeting long-term goals for recovery. Conservation Letters, Early View.


� Brown C, and Mumby P. (2014) Trade-offs between fisheries and the conservation of ecosystem function are defined by management strategy. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 12 6: 324-329.

� Brown C, and Trebilco R. (2014) Unintended cultivation, shifting baselines, and conflict between objectives for fisheries and conservation. Conservation Biology, 28 3: 677-688.

� Brown C, Saunders M, Possingham H, and Richardson A. (2014) Interactions between global and local stressors of ecosystems determine management effectiveness in cumulative impact mapping. Diversity and Distributions, 20 5: 538-546.

� Cook J, and Jacobs P. (2014) Scientists are from Mars, laypeople are from Venus: an evidence-based rationale for communicating the consensus on climate. Reports of the National Center for Science Education, 34 6: 3.1-3.10.

� Cook J, Bedford D, and Mandia S. (2014) Raising climate literacy through addressing misinformation: Case studies in agnotology-based learning. Journal of Geoscience Education, 62 3: 296-306.

� Diaz-Pulido G, Nash M, Anthony K, Bender D, Opdyke B, Reyes-Nivia C, and Troitzsch U. (2014) Greenhouse conditions induce mineralogical changes and dolomite accumulation in coralline algae on tropical reefs. Nature Communications, 5 3310.1-3310.9. doi:10.1038/ncomms4310

� Fang J, Schönberg C, Mello-Athayde M, Hoegh-Guldberg O, and Dove S. (2014) Effects of ocean warming and acidification on the energy budget of an excavating sponge. Global Change Biology, 20 4: 1043-1054.

� Eidens C, Bayraktarov E, Hauffe T, Pizarro V, Wilke T, and Wild C. (2014) Benthic primary production in an upwelling-influenced coral reef, Colombian Caribbean. PeerJ, 2 e554: 1-22.

� Gonzalez-Rivero M, Bongaerts P, Beijbom O, Pizarro O, Friedman A, Rodriguez-Ramirez A, Upcroft B, Laffoley D, Kline D, Bailhache C, Vevers R, and Hoegh-Guldberg O. (2014) The Catlin Seaview Survey - kilometre-scale seascape assessment, and monitoring of coral reef ecosystems. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 24 S2: 184-198.

� Hamylton S, Leon J, Saunders, M, and Woodroffe C. (2014) Simulating reef response to sea-level rise at Lizard Island: a geospatial approach. Geomorphology, 222 151-161.

� Hoegh-Guldberg O. (2014) Early transcriptional changes in the reefbuilding coral Acropora aspera in response to thermal and nutrient stress. BMC Genomics,15 1.

� Hoegh-Guldberg O. (2014) Coral reef sustainability through adaptation: glimmer of hope or persistent mirage?. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 7 127-133.

� Kaniewska P, Anthony K, Sampayo E, Campbell P, and Hoegh-Gulberg O. (2014) Implications of geometric plasticity for maximizing photosynthesis in branching corals. Marine Biology, 161 2: 313-328.

� Karako-Lampert S, Zoccola D, Salmon-Divon M, Katzenellenbogen M, Tambutte S, Bertucci A, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Deleury E, Allemand D, and Levy O. (2014) Transcriptome Analysis of the Scleractinian Coral Stylophora pistillata. Plos One, 9 2.

� Krueger T, Becker S, Pontasch S, Dove S, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Leggat W, Fisher P, and Davy S. (2014) Antioxidant plasticity and thermal sensitivity in four types of Symbiodinium sp. Journal of Phycology, 50 6: 1-13.

� Lechner A, Raymond C, Adams V, Polyakov M, Gordon A, Rhodes J, Mills M, Stein A, Ives C, and Lefroy E. (2014) Characterizing spatial uncertainty when integrating social data in conservation planning. Conservation Biology, 28 6: 1497-1511.

� Leon J, Heuvelink G, and Phinn S. (2014) Incorporating DEM uncertainty in coastal inundation mapping. PLoS One, 9 9: e108727.1-e108727.12.

� Madden E. (2014) Minimizing the cost of keeping options open for conservation in a changing climate.Conservation Biology, 28 3: 646-653.

� McClenachan L, Neal B, Al-Abdulrazzak D, Witkin T, Fisher K, and Kittinger J. (2014) Do community supported fisheries (CSFs) improve sustainability? Fisheries Research, 157 62-69.

� Mills M, Nicol S, Wells J, Lahoz-Monfort J, Wintle B, Bode M, Wardrop M, Walshe T, Probert W, Runge M, Possingham H, and McDonald Madden E. (2014) Minimizing the cost of keeping options open for conservation in a changing climate. Conservation Biology, 28 3: 646-653.

� Mills M. (2014) The Value of Using Feasibility Models in Systematic Conservation Planning to Predict Landholder Management Uptake.Conservation Biology, 28 6: 1462-1473.


� Mills M, Alvarez-Romero J, Vance-Borland K, Cohen P, Pressey R, Guerrero A, and Ernstson H. (2014) Linking regional planning and local action: towards using social network analysis in systematic conservation planning. Biological Conservation, 169 6-13.

� Moon K, Adams V, Januchowski-Hartley S, Polyakov M, Mills M, Biggs D, Knight A, Game E, and Raymond C. (2014) A multidisciplinary conceptualization of conservation opportunity. Conservation Biology, 28 6: 1484-1496.

� Nuccitelli D, Cowtan K, Jacobs P, Richardson M, Way R, Blackburn A, Stolpe M, and Cook J. (2014) Comment on “Cosmic-ray-driven reaction and greenhouse effect of halogenated molecules: Culprits for atmospheric ozone depletion and global climate change”. International Journal of Modern Physics B, 28 13: 1482003.1-1482003.16.

� Oxenford H, Rodriguez-Ramirez A, Samper-Villarreal J, Smith S, Tschirky J, Weil E, and The PLOS ONE Staff. (2014) Correction: Caribbean-wide, long-term study of seagrass beds reveals local variations, shifts in community structure and occasional collapse. PLoS One, 9 5: e98377-e98377.

� Rosic N, Ling E, Chan C, Lee C, Kaniewska P, Edwards D, Dove S, and Hoegh-Guldberg O. (2014) Unfolding the secrets of coral-algal symbiosis.The ISME Journal, 9 844-856.

� Sale P, Agardy T, Ainsworth C, Feist B, Bell J, Christie P, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Mumby P, Feary D, Saunders M, Daw T, Foale S, Levin P, Lindeman K, Lorenzen K, Pomeroy R, Allison E, Bradbury R, Corrin J, Edwards A, Obura D, Sadovy de Mitcheson Y, Samoilys M, and Sheppard C. (2014) Transforming management of tropical coastal seas to cope with challenges of the 21st century. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 85 1: 8-23.

� Sawstrom C, Beckley L, Saunders M, Thompson P, and Waite A. (2014) The zooplankton prey field for rock lobster phyllosoma larvae in relation to oceanographic features of the south-eastern Indian Ocean. Journal of Plankton Research, 36 4: 1003-1016.

� Silverman J, Schneider K, Kline D, Rivlin T, Rivlin A, Hamylton S, Lazar B, Erez J, and Caldeira K. (2014) Community calcification in Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef: a 33 year perspective. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 144 72-81.

� Singh-Peterson L, and Lawrence G. (2014) Insights into community vulnerability and resilience following natural disasters: perspectives with food retailers in Northern NSW, Australia. Local Environment.

� Spann K, Baturcam E, Schagen J, Jones C, Straub C, Preston M, Chen L, Phipps S, Sly P, and Fantino E. (2014) Viral and host factors determine innate immune responses in airway epithelial cells from children with wheeze and atopy. Thorax, 69 10: 918-925.

� Tallis H, Lubchenco J, Adams-Hosking C, Kark S, Beger M, Butt N, Di Fonzo M, Giakoumi S, Guerrero A, Maggini R, Martin T, Mills M, Renwick A, Polsenberg J, Shanahan D, Wilson K, Carwardine J, Corrigan C, Watson J, and Klein C. (2014) A call for inclusive conservation. Nature, 515 7525: 27-28.

� Tonk L, Sampayo E, LaJeunesse T, Schrameyer V, and Hoegh-Guldberg O. (2014) Symbiodinium (Dinophyceae) diversity in reef-invertebrates along an offshore to inshore reef gradient near Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. Journal of Phycology, 50 3: 552-563.


� Tulloch A, Tulloch V, Evans C, and Silverman J, Schneider K, Kline D, Rivlin T, Rivlin A, Hamylton S, Lazar B, Erez J, and Caldeira K. (2014)Community calcification in Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef: a 33 year perspective. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 144 72-81.

� van Tussenbroek B, Cortes J, Collin R, Fonseca A, Gayle P, Guzman H, Jacome G, Juman R, Koltes K, Oxenford H, Rodriguez-Ramirez A, Samper-Villarreal J, Smith S, Tschirky J, Weil E, and The PLOS ONE Staff.(2014) Correction: Caribbean-wide, long-term study of seagrass beds reveals local variations, shifts in community structure and occasional collapse. PLoS One, 9 5: e98377-e98377.

� Verheggen B, Strengers B, Cook J, van Dorland R, Vringer K, Peters J, Visser H, and Meyer L. (2014) Scientists’ views about attribution of global warming. Environmental Science and Technology, 48 16: 8963-8971.

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

� Garrone V, Hibbert M, Mayer J, Froome C, Goodwin S, and Meredith P. (2014). Technical requirements for the connection of a MW-scale PV array with battery storage to an 11kV feeder in Queensland. In: Proceedings of the 2014 Asia Pacific Solar Research Conference. SRC 2014: Asia-Pacific Solar Research Conference, Sydney, NSW, Australia, (1-9). 8-10 December, 2014.

� Griffiths A, and Linnenluecke M. (2014). Resilience and slack: the climate changing advantage of nations, industries and firms. In: econtur, CLARR 2014: Scientific Documentation. CLARR 2014: International Conference on Regional Climate Adaptation and Resilience towards Climate Adapted and Resilient Regions, Bremen, Germany, (9-13). 24-25 February, 2014.

BOOK CHAPTER

� Cook J. (2014). How has the carbon tax affected the public ‘debate’ on climate change?. In John Quiggin, David Adamson and Daniel Quiggin (Ed.), Carbon pricing: early experiences and future prospects (pp. 49-64) Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing.


OUR PEOPLEGCI STAFF RANGE FROM PROFESSIONAL TO ACADEMIC AND EVEN VOLUNTEERS. THEIR SKILLS COVER A MULTITUDE OF DISCIPLINES SUCH AS ECONOMICS AND MARINE BIOLOGY THROUGH TO ECOLOGY AND LAW. IN 2014 THE INSTITUTE INITIATED THE COLLEGE OF EXPERTS TO CAPTURE THE BREADTH OF RESEARCH SKILLS ACROSS THE UNIVERSITY AND FOCUS THEM ON GLOBAL CHALLENGES.


COLLEGE OF EXPERTSGCI launched the College of Experts in 2014. The primary purpose of the College of Experts is to provide a peer network to support the institute’s advancement of knowledge and innovation, and contribute to its policy and advocacy agenda. The college is responsible for highlighting emerging issues and trends; identifying new opportunities for research; working with the institute to establish new initiatives; moderating proposal assessments; and, participating in advocacy campaigns.

There are 65 members of the college, drawn from among the best and brightest researchers at The University of Queensland. Some are doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, while others are professionals of national and international standing drawn from UQ’s research community.

GCI coordinated a series of four incubator breakfasts throughout the year, along with a keynote address in November.

“There are 65 members of the college, made up of some of UQ’s best and brightest academics.”


OUR STAFF

ACADEMIC STAFF

HOEGH-GULDBERG, Ove Director GCI / ARC Laureate Fellow

ABAL, Eva Program Director, UQ Water

MEREDITH, Paul Director – UQ Solar

ADJUNCT STAFF

DEWS, Geoffrey Adjunct Professor

D’OCCHIO, Michael Adjunct Professor

DUTHIE, Malcolm Adjunct Associate Professor

HOOTEN, Anthony Adjunct Associate Professor

LESSLIE, Robert Adjunct Associate Professor

MUIR, Paul Adjunct Lecturer

QUIBILAN, Miledel Adjunct Fellow

SKIRVING, William Adjunct Senior Lecturer

TANZER, John Adjunct Professor

VERON, John Adjunct Professor

VILLANOY, Cesar Adjunct Associate Professor

WHITE, Michael Adjunct Professor

AFFILIATED ACADEMIC STAFF

DOVE, Sophie Associate Professor

HONORARY STAFF

CALDWELL, Margaret Honorary Professor

GOMEZ, Edgardo Honorary Professor

LEON PATINO, Javier Postdoctoral Research Fellow

LING, Edmund Honorary Fellow

MUTAFOGLU, Konar Postdoctoral Research Fellow

PERSLEY, Gabrielle Adjunct Associate Professor

POLOCZANSKA, Elvira Honorary Professor

REEF, Ruth Honorary Fellow

WAGNER, Liam Honorary Fellow


PROFESSIONAL STAFF

CLAXTON, Michelle Program Officer (Research)

BOYCE, Jackie Communications Officer

DE SILVA, Nicola Executive Assistant

DODGEN, Tanya R Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) Project Coordinator

FOGARTY, Peter Program Officer & Executive Assistant

FOSTER, John Senior Executive Manager

FROOME, Craig Program Manager (Clean Energy)

HARPER, Adam MOLONEY, Anna Manager, Communications & Engagement HARRIS, David Research & Special Projects Manager

HENRY, Krystle Engagement Officer

POWER, Siobhan Administration Assistant/Reception

RICHARDS, Samantha Senior Finance & HR Officer

SAMPSON, Kristen Project Officer (Research)

WHITE, Jason Finance and Operations Manager

RESEARCH STAFF CASUAL

BROUGH, Leighton UQ Solar Research Technician

CLAYTON, Gemma Casual Research Assistant

HEATHERINGTON, Craig Casual Field Technical Officer

HOSKING, Christine Postdoctoral Research Fellow

MCAVOY, Susan Casual Research Assistant

MELLO ATHAYDE, Matheus Casual Research Assistant

O’SULLIVAN, Jane Adjunct Lecturer

PANTOS, Olga Honorary Fellow

REYES NIVIA, Maria Casual Research Assistant

TARUC, Siham A K

RESEARCH ACADEMIC

BONGAERTS, Pim Postdoctoral Research Fellow

CANTO, Robert Casual Research Assistant

COOK, John Climate Communication Fellow

GONZALEZ RIVERO, Manuel Postdoctoral Research Fellow

NEAL, Benjamin Postdoctoral Research Fellow

OUR STAFF


RODRIGUEZ-RAMIREZ, Alberto Postdoctoral Research Fellow

SAUNDERS, Megan Postdoctoral Research Fellow

SHABANI, Behnam Postdoctoral Research Fellow

SIEBECK, Ulrike Senior Research Fellow

WILD, Phillip Postdoctoral Research Fellow

RESEARCH PROFESSIONAL

DALTON, Peter Catlin Seaview Survey Field Technical Officer

GARRONE, Vince Technical Operations Manager, UQ Solar

GREEN, Susie Catlin Seaview Survey Project Officer (Research)

HAZELL, Rachael Catlin Seaview Survey Communications and GCI Engagement Officer

NAYLOR, Sara Catlin Seaview Survey Project Manager

STEPANOFF, Shari Caitlin Seaview Survey Project Officer (Admin)

TAYLOR, Abbie Catlin Seaview Survey Project Officer

SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

KING, Melanie Senior Advisor (CCRES)

PHD SCHOLARS

BROWN, Kristen

BRYANT, Dominic

KIM, Catherine

RADICE, Veronica


AWARDS The Global Change Institute received plenty of recognition in 2014 for its design, sustainability and functionality. The accolades include:

� World Architecture News 2014 Sustainability Awards – Winner, Public Building and Urban Design

� 2014 BPN Sustainability Awards, Winner, Public Building and Urban Design

� 2014 BPN Sustainability Awards, Finalist, Innovation of the Year

� 2014 WAN Awards, Short Listed, Sustainable Building of the Year

� 2014 Australian Steel Institute National Steel Excellence Awards, High Commendation for Steel Excellence in Buildings, Large Projects

� 2014 Australian Institute of Landscape Architects National Awards – Award for Planning in Landscape Architecture

� 2014 Australian Steel Institute Queensland and Northern Territory Steel Excellence Awards – Winner for Steel Excellence in Buildings, Large Projects

� 2014 AMX Innovation Award for Sustainability

� Aside from building awards, GCI Director Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg received the Climate Change Award from His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II of Monaco.

(L-R) Ted Danson, Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Mrs Caroline Pollock, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco and Dr Sylvia Earle.


Thematic Area Funding Agent Project Funding Dollars

CLEAN ENERGYUQ Education Infrastructure Funding

UQ Solar PV Array $21.7 million

HEALTHY OCEANS

ARC Linkage – NOAA

Next Generation Satellite Tools for understanding change in coral reef ecosystems due to multiple global and local stressors

$4.5 million

Underwater Earth Inc. XL Catlin Seaview Survey $6 million

Underwater Earth Inc. Global Reef Record $700,000

CSIROMarine and Coastal Carbon Biogeochemistry Cluster

$380,000

Conservation International

Supporting Coastal Conservation and Community Development in Kaimana Papua, Indonesia

$27,000

Dept. of Climate Change & Energy Efficiency

Climate Change Adaptation for Natural Resource Management in East Coast Australia

$940,000

Great Barrier Reef Foundation

Coral Health $50,000

Great Barrier Reef Foundation

Resilient Reefs $15,000

World Bank/CEF Capturing Coral Reef and Ecosystem Services $6.5 million

FOOD SYSTEMSSyngenta Foundation/Crawford Fund ACIAR

Demand-led plant variety design for emerging markets in Africa

$800,000

SUSTAINABLE WATER UQ Water Initiative UQ Water Initiative $180,000

TOTAL $42.5 million

PROJECT FUNDING 2014


COLLABORATIONSA special thanks goes to all of the supporters, collaborators and partners of the Global Change Institute. Tackling global change issues requires an inter-disciplinary approach and a multi-institutional effort to deliver real impact.

GCI would like to thank the following organisations:

DOW CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING INNOVATION


GLOBAL CHANGE INSTITUTE

The University of Queensland St Lucia | QLD 4072 | Australia

T +61 7 3443 3100 E [email protected] W gci.uq.edu.au

gci annual report 2014

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