Finalists for the Australian heat of the British Council’s FameLab are announced. The winner of the explain-your-research-in-three-minutes presentation will compete in the world final at the Cheltenham Science Festival in June. Last year UTS’s Nural Cokcetin was runner-up. The local finalists will pitch at UWA on May 10. They are: Taryn Laubenstein–JCU, coral reef studies. Zane Stromberga–Bond U, histamines and overactive bladder. Toby Hendy-ANU: “poking plants.” Richard Charlesworth-UNE, coeliac disease diagnosis. Pegah Maasoumi – ARC Centre for Exciton Science, solar windows. Mortaza Rezae–Curtin University and Autism CRC, community mobility for individuals with autism spectrum. Muthu Vignesh Vellayappan–Monash U, “heart saving sandwiches. Vanessa Pirotta–Macquarie U, drones to study whales. James Wong–UWA, how kangaroos breathe. Khandis Blake –UNSW: sexy selfies? Ben McAllister–ARC Centre for Engineered Quantum Systems: “organ experiment: shining a light on a dark matter.” Anisa Rowhani-Farid–QUT, open science and data sharing in health and medical research

Gary Willgoose (University of Newcastle) is appointed a commissioner of the Independent Planning Commission, the state’s peak development authority. Professor Willgoose is an authority on mine rehabilitation.

 Robert Mun will be the Australian Research Council’s new ED, Engineering and Information Sciences. He will join the council next month from the Defence Science and Technology Group in the Department of Defence. His research background is in technical engineering.

Ashley Goldsworthy is the inaugural patron of the Business Higher Education Round Table.  The appointment recognises his career-long encouragement of business-university collaboration.

Fadi Charchar is the new dean of graduate studies at Federation University. He researches cardiovascular genomics there.

The Human Frontier Science Programme has announced 2018 awards including funding for Australians, largely from the University of Queensland.  Alexandrov Kirill (UoQ), Claudia Vickers, Adam Claridge Chang (originally ANU now National University of Singapore), Taras Plakhotnik (UoQ),  Ryan O’Handley (UniAdelaide), Ian Parish (Peter MacCallum Centre Cancer Centre).

Swinburne U aspro Emma Sherry is the new president of Tennis Victoria. She researches the role of sport in community development.

Matthew Rockloff from CQU has $1m from the Victorian Government to research emerging gambling products and consumer behaviour.