Australian National University

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The Australian National University


Motto	Naturam Primum Cognoscere Rerum (Latin: "First, to know the nature of things")
Established	1946
Type	Public
Chancellor	Dr Allan Hawke
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Ian Chubb AC
Staff	1,441
Undergraduates	8,100
Postgraduates	4,382
Location	Canberra, ACT, Australia
Campus	Urban, 350 acres/1.4km²
Affiliations	Group of Eight, APRU, IARU, AURA, ASAIHL
Website	www.anu.edu.au

The Australian National University, or ANU, is a public university located in Canberra, the national capital of Australia. Founded in 1946 by the Australian Government as Australia's only research-only university, ANU was created with a mandate for "postgraduate research and study, both generally and in relation to subjects of national importance to Australia" and was intended to strengthen Australia's research efforts at the highest levels. In 1960 undergraduate education was added to the ANU by amalgamation with the Canberra University College. ANU is the only university in Australia with a constitution and structure dictated by an Act of the Commonwealth Parliament; all other Australian universities were established by State or Territory parliaments. The University is governed by a 15 member Council.

ANU is regarded as Australia's (and the Southern Hemisphere's) leading University, and has been ranked as such by various independent sources. ANU was ranked 16th in the world and first in the Southern Hemisphere by The Times Higher Education Supplement in 2004 ^[1], whilst in 2005^[2] it slipped to 23rd (second in the Southern Hemisphere) before again being placed as 16th in the world (first in the Southern Hemisphere) in 2006. Also in 2006, Newsweek^[3] named ANU 38th in the world in its Top 100 Global Universities List (again, the top ranked university in Australia).

ANU is particularly strong in research, and is a member of Australia's Group of Eight, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy and the exclusive International Alliance of Research Universities.

1 History
2 Academic structure
3 Campus
- 3.1 Precincts
4 Prizes
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

Students eat lunch at ANU

The ANU was built around and by a group of Australian scholars who had already achieved international distinction, including a leader in radar development and nuclear physics, Sir Mark Oliphant; the discoverer of the benefits of penicillin, Sir Howard Florey; eminent historian, Sir Keith Hancock; and renowned economist and public servant, Herbert ‘Nugget’ Coombs.

A new generation of Australian researchers rapidly earned a reputation for excellence for their work done at ANU. The University also broadened its research base and introduced new disciplines as it pursued a vigorous expansion program.

In 1960, ANU began offering undergraduate degrees, beginning another era of national leadership — this time based on excellent teaching.

The University’s reputation as a centre of excellence in both teaching and research was progressively built by a range of academic leaders. Professor Manning Clark made his mark as an eminent historian; Professor Bart Bok moved from Harvard to lead astronomy at ANU; and the University’s first female professor, Hanna Neumann, was a significant mathematician and scholar as well as an important role model for female scientists.

The University today is characterised by quality — supported by a unique concentration of effort in the fundamental disciplines — the national recruitment of students, accessible infrastructure and important cross-disciplinary collaborative links between scholars.

With approximately three per cent of the total academic staff in Australia, the ANU continues to perform well, and in many areas outperforms other, larger universities. For example, a ranking of researchers who have made fundamental contributions to their discipline in the last 20 years, ISIHighlyCited, identifies 21 ANU researchers within the 50 Australians named at the top of their field. The ANU has far more Fellows of the Royal Society of London than any other Australian university and many of its research staff and teaching programs have been ranked among the world’s best.

ANU graduates hold top positions in government, business and academic fields, both locally and abroad.

On the evening of the 27th of February 2007, much of the ANU was damaged during a Supercell storm. This left up to sixty buildings damaged, including the JB Chifley Building, housing the main library, along with many more.

[edit] Academic structure

The academic structure of the ANU is made up of three parts: The Institute of Advanced Studies, The Faculties and the University Centres.

[edit] The Institute of Advanced Studies

The Institute is focused on post-graduate education and research and comprises nine research schools and a research centre:

Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Australia's premier university center for astronomical research, the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) is based at the Mount Stromlo Observatory. RSAA runs ANU's telescopes at the Siding Spring Observatory, in NSW. On Thursday 20 April 2006 it was reported that the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics would build the world's most powerful telescope^[4]. This project is a collaboration between an elite international group of research institutions which also includes the University of Arizona, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Harvard University. [1]

Research School of Biological Sciences

The Research School of Biological Sciences (RSBS) is one of Australia's leading biological research centres. Research is carried out in significant areas such as agriculture, environment, health and technology. [2]

Research School of Chemistry

The Research School of Chemistry (RSC) extends our fundamental knowledge in chemistry concentrating on areas of national importance. The RSC's outstanding performance is recognised around the world. [3]

Research School of Earth Sciences

The Research School of Earth Sciences (RSES) is one of the top ten, university geoscience programs in the world. [4]

Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering

The Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering (RSISE) contains the Department of Information Engineering and the Computer Sciences Laboratory. [5]

The remains of the ANU 500MJ generator

Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies

The Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS) is Australia's leading centre for research and postgraduate training on the Asia Pacific region. Priority research areas include Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Southwest Pacific. [6]

Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering

The Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering (RSPhysSE) is Australia's foremost physical sciences and engineering research facility. Research ranges from the fundamental to the applied, including both experimental and theoretical work. The school's primary research areas are: materials science and engineering; lasers, nonlinear optics and photonics; nanotechnology and mesoscopic physics; physics of atoms, molecules and the nucleus; plasma physics and surface science; physics and the environment.[7]

Research School of Social Sciences

The Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS) is the leading Australian institution for theoretical and empirical research in the social sciences. The following programs exist within the school: Demography & Sociology, Economics, History, Law, Philosophy, Political Science and Social & Political Theory. [8]

The John Curtin School of Medical Research

The John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR) was formed in 1948 as a result of the vision of Nobel Laureate Howard Florey and Prime Minister John Curtin. Two of Australia's Nobel Prizes have been won by research performed at John Curtin. [9]

The Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies

Enjoying a reputation as a leader in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration The Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies (CRES) includes economists, hydrologists, historians, ecologists, anthropologists and soil scientists. High quality research is undertaken into many natural resource and environmental issues. [10]

[edit] The Colleges

ANU's seven Colleges combine research with research-led teaching and are responsible for undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

ANU school of art

ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences

The ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences consists of over 20 teaching and research disciplines in the fields of arts, humanities and social sciences. The College is particularly strong in Political Science. Also part of this college is the ANU School of Music.

ANU College of Asia and the Pacific

The ANU College of Asia and the Pacific focuses on study relating to Asia and the Pacific region, and is the leading school of Asian Studies in Australia.

ANU College of Business and Economics

The ANU College of Business and Economics carries out teaching and research in the closely related fields of business and economics.

ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science

The ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science comprises the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology (which in turn combines the Department of Engineering and the Department of Computer Science and the Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering.

ANU College of Law

The ANU College of Law, established in 1960, is one of Australia's top law schools. The College is a leader in International Law and Public Law.

ANU College of Medicine and Health Science

The ANU College of Medicine and Health Science is home to the newest of ANU's schools, the ANU Medical School. The school's foundation was announced on April 10, 2001, and the first intake of students was in February 2004.

ANU College of Science

The ANU College of Science is the largest of the ANU's Colleges, and is widely considered to be the leading institution of scientific education in Australia, and one of the finest in the world.

[edit] University Centres

The University Centres are organisational structures that can draw from both the Faculties and the Institute.

[edit] Campus

Mount Stromlo after the fires: remains of the old administration building with the dome of the Farnham telescope

The ANU's main campus is located in, and occupies most of the Canberra suburb of Acton. The campus covers 1.45 km² (350 acres) adjoining native bushland, Black Mountain, Lake Burley Griffin, the suburb of Turner and the city centre. Eight of the university's nine affiliated halls and colleges are located on campus, while Fenner Hall is located on Northbourne Avenue in the nearby suburb of Braddon. The halls and colleges are:

With over 10,000 trees on its "green" campus, the ANU was awarded the Silver Greenhouse Challenge Award at the annual Australian Engineering Excellence Awards in 2003.

The Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) is located away from the main campus in Acton, at the Mount Stromlo Observatory, near Weston Creek in south Canberra. RSAA also runs the Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran, New South Wales. Since the destruction of Mount Stromlo's telescopes in the Canberra bushfires of 2003, this is ANU's only telescope site. The university also runs a coastal campus at Kioloa on the South Coast of New South Wales dedicated to field work training, and a North Australia Research Unit in Darwin in the Northern Territory.

Students on all campuses are represented by the ANU Students' Association. Representation for postgraduate students is provided by the Postgraduate and Research Students' Association (PARSA), a member of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations.

[edit] Precincts

The ANU campus is divided into eight precincts, with three on the west side of Sullivans creek, and five on the east side.

The west side precincts are:
- Dickson Precinct - located in the west, it includes five of the residential colleges - John XXIII, Burgmann, Ursula, Burton & Garran and Bruce.
- Linnaeus Precinct - located in the centre west, includes the Hancock library
- Daley Precinct - located in the north west, includes the gym and Willows Oval

Located on the east side of Sullivans creek are:
- Kingsley Precinct - located in the north, includes Union court, the Chifley library, Toad Hall, Drill hall gallery and AD Hope building
- Baldessin Precinct - located in the north east, includes the Faculty of Asian Studies, Crawford School of Economics and Government[13], and the School of Art and the School of Music.
- Ellery Precinct - located in the centre, includes the Law building and HC Coombs building.
- Liversidge Precinct - located in the south east towards Acton Peninsula, includes University House, Lennox House and Sir Roland Wilson Building
- Garran Precinct - located in the south, includes everything south of South oval including the John Curtin School of Medical Research.

Map of campus - clickable with key to ANU buildings

[edit] Prizes

The university sponsors various prizes. The list includes:

Phoenix Prize for spiritual art
The university has also been the recipient of a number of teaching awards. These include:

Dr. Richard Baker:

1996 ANU Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence
2002 ANU Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence
2002 Finalist in National Teaching Awards - individual category
2003 Team leader of the winning course in Australian Awards for University Teaching - institutional category “Large, first year classes” category
2006 Carrick Award [14]

Dr. Alastair Greig: