1st “Research Bites” in Tasmania

 in Activities / Australia / Research Bites / Tasmania  tagged 2015 / Research Bites / SRAP / Tasmania by

The first Research Bites (RB) organized by the Tasmania delegation of the Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific association (SRAP-IEAP) was held on December 14th, 2015, in Hobart, at the prestigious Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS, University of Tasmania). The event was organised by our members Paula Conde and Waldo Nuez, both IMAS staff, and had the participation of eight Spanish researchers currently based in Tasmania.

First Research Bites of the SRAP-IEAP in Tasmania, Australia. Credit: Waldo Nuez-Ortin.

First Research Bites of the SRAP-IEAP in Tasmania, Australia. Credit: Waldo Nuez-Ortin.

It was a highly interactive meeting where the speakers described their backgrounds and research interests, followed by questions and discussion. The following topics were covered:

  1. Raúl Ortega: PhD candidate, Plant Science (University of Tasmania). Control of flowering time in chickpea.
  2. Estrella San Rodriguez: Research fellow, Chemistry (University of Tasmania). Expertise in separation science for the development of new analytical methods for different applications.
  3. Lara Marcus: PhD candidate, IMAS (University of Tasmania): Trophic ecology of whale sharks.
  4. Beatriz Contreras: PhD candidate, Plant Science (University of Tasmania). Flowering times in legumes.
  5. Carmen Fernandez-Martos: Research fellow, MENZIES (University of Tasmania). Understanding dementia.
  6. Fernando Arce: PhD candidate, IMAS (University of Tasmania). Inference of foraging success in a top Southern ocean predator.
  7. Waldo Nuez: PhD candidate, IMAS (University of Tasmania) and CSIRO. Sustainable feeding strategies for Atlantic salmon.
  8. Paula Conde: Research fellow (University of Tasmania) and CSIRO. Oceanic carbon cycle.

The event ended up with a mini-tapas festival at the Hobart’s iconic waterfront with views to the Derwent Bay. We are also happy to announce that new Spanish researchers have arrived in Tassie, meaning that a new event will be organised soon to learn more about the activities of the Spanish scientific community in this remote part of the world.

Congratulations to all participants to the first Research Bites of the SRAP-IEAP association in Tasmania!

Angel.Lopez-Sanchez

About Angel.Lopez-Sanchez

A/Prof Ángel R. López-Sánchez is an astrophysicist and science communicator working at the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Macquarie University (MQ). He is a recognised expert in the study of how the gas is converted into stars in galaxies and how this affects galaxy evolution. He graduated in Theoretical Physics at the University of Granada (2000) and completed his PhD Thesis in Astrophysics at the prestigious “Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias” (IAC, Spain) and the University of La Laguna (Spain) in 2006. He moved to Australia in 2007, joining CSIRO “Astronomy and Space Science” to perform radio-interferometric observations of gas-rich galaxies at the Australian Telescope Compact Array. In 2011 he joined the Australian Astronomical Observatory and Macquarie University combining instrumentation support, research, lecturing, and outreach. He was appointed as a full-time research academic at the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at Macquarie University in May 2023. He is the president of the association of Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific (SRAP), the vice-president of the Astronomical Association of Córdoba (AAC, Spain), representative in the Andalusian Astronomy Network (RAdA), and member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the Spanish Astronomy Society (SEA), and the Australian Astronomy Society (ASA). He is a globally-recognised science communicator, with visibility in Spanish and Australian printed, broadcast, and social media. He is also a passionate amateur astronomer that uses his own equipment for capturing the beauty of the Cosmos. His stunning astronomy time-lapse videos and photos have received +1/2 million views in YouTube and have been seen in TV channels in USA, Australia and Spain, science museums worldwide, and textbooks.