DEEP Graduations and movements
There have been some exciting changes of staff within DEEP over the new year.
NEW ROLES WITHIN DEEP
Tristan Derham- PhD Candidate, now Research Associate – Policy Hub (Training and Education)
Tristan recently completed a PhD at the University of Tasmania, his thesis addressing the ethics and ecology of rewilding. Now guiding the Education and Training functions of CABAH's Policy Hub, Tristan is supporting academics in diverse fields to engage with policy-making processes, as well as directly investigating policy issues, such as conservation translocations and rewilding.
Matt Fielding- PhD Candidate, now Research Associate – CABAH Policy Hub (Communication and Engagement)
After submitting his PhD thesis in early April, Matthew Fielding has started a Research Associate role within DEEP and CABAH. He'll be working with Tristan Derham to launch a CABAH Policy Hub, which aims to help CABAH researchers develop their skills in policy engagement. Matthew will be taking on Communications and Engagement, a role that focuses on engaging with stakeholders to foster the nexus between public policy and research undertaken within CABAH.
DEPARTURES
Stefania Ondei- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, now Academic Assistant in Pyrogeography and Landscape Change, UTas.
Matthew McDowell- Research Fellow, now Research Fellow, Monash University.
Tom Botterill-James- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, now University of Canberra. Tom is working on modelling invasive species, especially deer.
Carley Fuller- PhD Candidate, now Environmental Consultant RMCG Hobart
Carley submitted her thesis in December and started working for an environmental consultancy called RMCG, from their Hobart office, in March. She is continuing to work on land-use planning and GIS issues, but she is also using her undergraduate training as an agronomist working to improve the sustainability of agricultural practices across southeast Australia. So far, she has worked with Victorian catchment management authorities on their regional strategies, national agricultural R&D groups on prioritising levy-funded projects, and a threatened species legislative review. She is hoping to keep a foot in the door with research and warmly welcomes the DEEPers to keep in contact.
Lucile Leveque- PhD Candidate
Lucile is taking the long-awaited opportunity to return home to France to spend time with family after completing her PhD. While taking time off she is also working as an administrative assistant for the International Biogeography Society.
MEDIA APPEARANCES
Yee Von Teo spoke at TEDx Hobart on the 12th of February.
"Whenever I mention my research, I often get reactions like 'drones and wildlife? I don't think so,' or 'not a fan of drones'. It was then I decided to tell the public more about wildlife monitoring and drone surveys - how researchers carry out their field studies with minimal disturbance and behavioural impacts on the animals; how drones can provide higher efficiency and accuracy data sets for biodiversity planning; etc.
The emerging use of drones in wildlife science has been driven by their value as convenient remote-sensing devices, which enable the collection of high-resolution aerial images in a timely, repeatable, and efficient manner. The future use of drones is likely to transform the way field biologists collect ecological and conservation information in coming years.
It was a great, albeit nerve-wracking experience to present on the TEDxHobart stage. I was delightful to receive positive remarks from the audience regarding my PhD research. Special thanks to all TEDxHobart committee members and other amazing speakers. I am also grateful to the Hobart/Nipaluna community for being such a beautiful audience! "
NEW MEMBERS
DEEP has had two new PhD students Maria Alejandra Gutierrez-Zorrilla and Laura Cardona Perez start in the last 6 months (both from Colombia), as well as a new Honours student Rachel Mirk. ¡bienvenida Alejandra, Laura y Rachel!
NEW ARRIVALS
DEEP has welcomed three babies in the past 6 months. We would like to congratulate Cristian, Rebecca and Matthew and their partners and wish them the best over the next few months.