Whilst on a driving holiday around southern parts of Western Australia, I took the opportunity to run a STELR professional learning session in Esperance. The Esperance Anglican Community School has been requesting a session for some years, but unfortunately their remoteness has made it difficult to help up until now. Head of Science, Cheryl Bottrell hosted the session which was...
CSIRO is again running the Indigenous STEM Awards to recognise the Achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander STEM Professionals and students, as well as schools, teachers and mentors working in Indigenous STEM Education. There are 12 awards in seven categories and nominations are open from 2 September 2019 until 27 September 2019. For further details and nominations, go to the CSIRO...
Do you know a science and technology entrepreneur? Someone who has commercialised technology? Or someone who had led the adoption of technology? Each year the Academy of Technology and Engineering recognises the contributions by dedicated individuals who have shared their vision and knowledge with others to apply technology for the benefit of Australia. There are three categories of awards: Clunies Ross Entrepreneur of...
Every year one of STELR's principal sponsors, the Australian Power Institute (API), awards bursaries to up to 25 students who have commenced engineering degrees in fields related to power engineering. The bursarys provide a cash grant as well as valuable opportunities including paid vacation work in member companies, networking events and advice regarding job applications and interviews. Peter Pentland attended the...
A British start-up company, called Arborea, has developed a type of green solar panel that does not produce electricity. Instead, the panels, which contain micro algae, diatoms and phytoplankton, clean carbon dioxide from the air while producing biomass that can be used for food production. The company claims that a panel that has the same surface are as a tree, can...
Back in December 2018, STELR News called for expressions of interest for a study on the durability of CSIRO’s printed flexible solar panels in a ‘non-laboratory’ environment. STELR has collaborated with CSIRO and Stanford University to conduct the study, which has a secondary aim to develop awareness of this next generation solar technology. Thin, flexible solar panels are gaining attention worldwide as...
Electricity Safety Week 2019 will be held 2-6 September in NSW & QLD primary schools. Registrations now open for NSW & QLD primary schools to receive free electricity teaching resources. Primary schools in New South Wales and Queensland are encouraged to get involved in Electricity Safety Week 2-6 September 2019. This annual educational program delivered by Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy, Essential Energy and...
The STELR team made a brief visit to Darwin last week to participate in CONASTA 68. As well as having a trade display, we hosted a session outlining all the new STELR resources. We ran activities with the equipment packs (including Sustainable Housing and Electricity and Energy and outlined the new teaching resources which are available for downloading from the STELR...
Deakin University is conducting a large-scale study into teaching and learning cosmology in high schools around Australia. The aim of the study is to map student knowledge and develop resources and innovative teaching strategies to provide students with authentic experiences in the topic. The researchers are calling for teachers of Year 10 (science), Year 11 (Physics) and Year 12 (Physics) who...
A new housing project being undertaken in Knutsford, Fremantle, is combining the use of renewable energy, 21st century water use, sustainable building and sustainable landscape design. All the buildings will be fitted with solar panels which charge a shared battery used by all the residents, reducing or even eliminating reliance on the electricity grid. Electric vehicle chargers will also be provided....
