Congratulations to Mark Castalanelli on the recent submission of his thesis. Mark investigated the biology and systematics of Trogoderma species, with special reference to morphological and molecular diagnostic techniques for identification of Trogoderma pests. An outcome of his study will be a new molecular diagnostic method for the identification of Trogoderma. Mark is currently employed with the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia and is interested in pursuing a career in bioinformatics.

Expected hot on Mark’s heels are Paul Royce, Steven Coventry and Rachel Powney and we wish them the very best as they complete the final stage of their PhDs.

Congratulations must also go to our students who were finalists in three of the four Science Committee Awards at the Science Exchange:

• Wayan Mudita (for Collaboration)
• David Savage (for Science Excellence), and
• Sharon Van Brunschot, who won the Science Committee Award for Innovation.

Congratulations must also go to:

• Brian Garms (Board Award for Best Student Poster)
• John Weiss (Board Award for Best Student Oral Presentation), and
• Rebecca Zappia (People’s Choice Award for Best Poster).

During the Science Exchange the students continued to receive positive feedback from a number of their peers and researchers, which highlights how successful the postgraduate courses have been.

Enrolments in the postgraduate courses in plant biosecurity have now closed for 2011. A total of 20 students have enrolled this year, which means numbers have doubled in 12 months.

The curriculum was collaboratively developed by five of our participant universities. The continued success of the curriculum hinges on the continued presence of the CRC, the linkages forged between the CRC and universities teaching the courses, and the continued support of government agencies that are enrolling their staff in the courses. If you are still thinking about enrolling I encourage you to talk to some of our current students and hear first hand of how enjoyable the courses are.

More information is available on the postgraduate curriculum [1] website.  

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