Eleven ceremonies to draw 10,000 for 2006 summer graduation season

Dec 08, 2006

About 2,500 graduands out of an eligible 3,093 will attend 11 graduation ceremonies to be conducted from Monday 11 December to Friday 15 December at the University of Wollongong.

The University will play host to more than 10,000 people during the week including the graduands, their families and friends.

There will be two ceremonies a day and an extra evening ceremony on Wednesday 13 December.

Media please note: The Media Unit will issue regular updates throughout the week providing details of any special graduands of interest.

Monday morning’s ceremony is for Science and Commerce and the Occasional Address will be given by Professor Peter Quinn, Premier’s Fellow and Professor of Astronomy, University of Western Australia.

A few photo/filming opportunities might be:

• Two PhD students who have done ground-breaking research in nanotechnology.Yanzhe Wu (for his research on inherently conducting polymer based devices for use with the cochlear implant); and Orawan Ngamna (for her research on inherently conducting polymer nanoparticles)

• Kira Westaway will receive a PhD for her research into reconstructing past climates and environments of Indonesia to understand the Flores ‘Hobbit’. The discovery of the new human species (nicknamed the ‘Hobbit’) triggered world headlines

• One of the University’s long-standing casuals, Katie O’Neal, is graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree. Her parents and grandmother are coming out from the United States to see her graduate (Katie’s actually an Australian and not a US citizen).

Monday afternoon’s ceremony is for the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences and will feature Professor Mary Chiarella, Centre for Health Services Management, Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, University of Technology, Sydney, delivering the Occasional Address.

• An interesting doctorate is Annaliese Dowling (for her study of the structure and function of obese children’s feet and implications for shoe design).

• Stephanie Frey is graduating with a Bachelor of Nursing – she is an international student from Germany who has been successful in obtaining one of just two very competitive new graduate registered nurse positions in the Emergency Department of Wollongong Hospital for 2007. Her family are expected to attend in ‘traditional dress’.

For more information, contact:

media@uow.edu.au
University of Wollongong
Ph: (02) 4221 5942; fax (02) 4221 3128