A Griffith University researcher is helping save the planet in a new study that maps global nutrient production from farms worldwide.
PhD candidate Eloise Stephenson is co-author on the paper, led by Dr Mario Herrero at CSIRO and published in the inaugural issue of The Lancet Planetary Health.
The study found small and medium farms produce more than half of the food globally, and produce the vast majority of food and nutrients in low income countries.
Ms Stephenson, who works within Griffith’s School of Environment, said planetary health – also described as one health or eco-health – is a relatively new term coined to describe how to make the world a healthier place.
PhD candidate Eloise Stephenson.
“This paper provides a breakdown of global agriculture and nutrient production by farm size and this information is critical for promoting healthy diets in the face of population growth, urbanisation and climate change,” she said.
“We need a greater focus
Category: Griffith University Feed
Griffith community celebrates one year until GC2018
The Gold Coast is celebrating one year until the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018).
To mark this special occasion Griffith University joined the community at a gala event at Surfers Paradise Beach, with appearances from our elite athletes and internship students.
Elite athletes Madi Wilson and Emma McKeon in the new Griffith University Aquatic Centre at Gold Coast campus.
Griffith’s new $16 million Aquatic Centre has also been opened as part of the celebrations.
Vice Chancellor and President Professor Ian O’Connor said Griffith University had been a part of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games journey from its early stages and was proud to work with the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) as the official University partner for the Games.
“Through our partnership, Griffith is able to offer students unique and meaningful internships with GOLDOC, as well as sporting and academic scholarships, staff secondments and research opportunities,” he said.
“The Commonwealth Games provide a wonderful
Symphony in a Day inspires young musicians
Young musicians rehearse the 2016 Symphony in a Day concert
Fifty young musicians from Queensland Conservatorium and around Brisbane will rehearse and perform an entire symphony in a day on Sunday, April 9.
Following on from last year’s successful events, Symphony in a Day (SIAD) is the brainchild of 22-year-old clarinet student Jessica Hort, who brought the event from Melbourne to Brisbane in early 2016 when she began her master’s degree.
“My friend Hank-Clifton Williamson (flute) and I came up with the idea when we were completing our bachelor of music in Melbourne, basically to act as an extra learning platform for musicians wanting to gain more experience playing in an orchestral environment,’’ Jess said.
Clarinet student Jessica Hort brough SIAD to Brisbane.
“Queensland has been blessed with one of the best youth orchestras in the country. Comprised of pre-eminent young musicians, SIAD bridges the gap between a youth and professional orchestra.”
The students will perform
Josh’s visit inspires Indigenous law students
Barrister Joshua Creamer (second, left)with Griffith law students Isiah Banu, Murray Porter and Lydia Ross.
By journalism intern Monique Gilmore
Work experience is essential in preparing for a career in law.
This was the advice given to Griffith Law School’s Indigenous students by prominent barrister Joshua Creamer during a recent visit to Nathan campus.
The 2013 Arts, Education & Law Young Alumnus of the year wants the law students to continue pursuing their degrees and then work in whatever area of law in which they are most interested.
“Get as much work experience while you’re studying as possible. It helps build your confidence and ability to communicate at all different levels of the legal field,” Josh said.
Griffith University has one of the country’s highest numbers of Indigenous students with 968 students enrolled in 2016 and 118 graduations.
“Griffith also has a large proportion of Indigenous law students with more than 60 currently enrolled,” Eddie Synot from
Researchers uncover prehistoric art and ornaments from Indonesian ‘Ice Age’
Griffith University archaeologists Associate Professor Adam Brumm, who with Indonesian colleagues led the excavations that yielded the new findings, and Dr Michelle Langley, who analysed the recovered ornaments and art objects.
Griffith University archaeologists are part of a joint Indonesian-Australian team that has unearthed a rare collection of prehistoric art and ‘jewellery’ objects from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, dating in some instances to as early as 30,000 years ago.
The Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution (ARCHE) team, based in Griffith’s Environmental Futures Research Institute, together with Indonesian colleagues, have shed new light on ‘Ice Age’ human culture and symbolism in a paper published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The study was co-led by Associate Professor Adam Brumm, an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow and Dr Michelle Langley, who also holds a fellowship from the ARC, and is the country’s leading expert in the study of ancient
Griffith rises up young uni rankings
Griffith University continues to make its mark on the global stage with the release of the latest Times Higher Education Young University Rankings.
Previously known as THE 150 Under 50 Rankings, the Young University Rankings sees Griffith rise from 48th to be now placed 35th among 200 similarly-aged institutions.
This impressive rise follows last month’s QS Subject Rankings in which Griffith placed in the top 100 institutions worldwide in 11 subject areas with Hospitality and Leisure Management ranked in the top ten.
Griffith began life in 1975 with 451 students enrolled at its Nathan campus. Today it hosts more than 50,000 students across five campuses in southeast Queensland as well as online.
Vice Chancellor and President Ian O’Connor said the result highlights the institutional commitment Griffith has to excellence in research and teaching.
“It is also the product of hard work by all our staff, students, alumni and partners which combine to produce remarkable outcomes,” Professor O’Connor
Gold Coast Centre for Coastal Management studies cyclone ravaged region
Griffith University researchers have travelled to north Queensland to assess the impacts of Cyclone Debbie for vital coastal resilience modelling.
A team from the Griffith Centre for Coastal Management, which sits within the new Cities Research Institute, has looked at the impact of storm surge on coastal communities and will now use the data to improve future strategies.
Senior research fellow Dr Serena Lee and PhD candidate Gaelle Faivre took measurements of the landward extent of the rush of seawater that occurs as a result of surge. They will work in partnership with the Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation.
Visiting key data sites in Mackay and the Whitsunday Coast, the researchers were looking for debris lines and watermarks on buildings.
“Everyone is understandably focused on cleaning up and removing debris after the event, but to us as a scientist, that’s important data,” Dr Lee said.
Griffith researchers assess key data sites.
“Storm surge is
Tourism offers potential passport to peace
While terror and conflict have made cities like Cairo, Istanbul, Tehran, Kabul and Baghdad no-go zones for holidaymakers, tourists still retain a crucial role in fostering peace and preventing bloodshed.
This is one of the key messages of the Global Sustainable Tourism Dashboard published online today to mark 2017 as the United Nations International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
The interactive dashboard, created by tourism researchers at Griffith University and the University of Surrey, monitors and analyses data on the aspects of tourism that most influence and affect sustainable development around the world.
EXPLORE: Global Sustainable Tourism Dashboard
The seven areas are poverty alleviation, equality of travel, carbon emissions, resource efficiency, gender equity, protected areas and security.
“The dashboard is telling us that there are conflict zones and we should not go there,” Professor Susanne Becken, (pictured), Director of the Griffith Institute for Tourism, said. “But it is also telling us it is safe to
Research Centre for Human Evolution makes top 10 Science stories of 2016
Griffith University’s Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution has once again made the Science list of top 10 stories for the year.
It is the second time in three years the centre, officially launched last year, has made the impressive international Science Magazine list.
Making the sixth spot was the world-first Aboriginal genome research conducted by Professor David Lambert’s group. Among the team recognised is author Sankar Subramanian, who was responsible for a lot of the analysis, PhD student Joanne Wright and Dr Michael Westaway, who all contributed to the Nature paper when it was published last year.
The research showed how DNA studies put new twists on the timing of human migrations out of Africa – but genetics alone were not enough to tell the full story. The internationally collaborative work received global recognition.
In 2014 Adam Brumm and Max Abert were also listed in the magazine’s top stories.
View the list here https://www.sciencenews.org/article/top-science-stories-2016
Griffith University wins big at the Financial Planning Australia Awards
Griffith University continues to cement its place at the forefront of the financial planning sector, with three students taking out the major categories at the 2016 FPA Awards.
Masters student Cody Harmon was named the FPA Financial Planner of the Year, undergraduate Bradley Aleckson was crowned University Student of the Year, and Griffith Business School alumnus Cynthia Sercombe was announced as Paraplanner of the Year.
The victory is particularly sweet for Tupicoffs paraplanner Cynthia, as it’s the first time the awards have recognised paraplanning as its own profession in the awards. “As a paraplanner you just learn to accept that you’re not going to be rewarded, it’s the financial planner that wins awards usually,” she explains. “So it was just really nice to be able to have some recognition for the back office work that gets done. And I was stoked to hear that I won!”
She says one thing