Alumni Profiles

Malcolm Feeley Distinguished Chair

“Over the past thirty years, the movement for privatisation of prisons has made substantial gains in the US, Great Britain, and Australia. As of 2010, over thirty states in the US have at least one private prison and many more privately operated jails; Great Britain has at least eleven private prisons; and Australia has at least seven.”

Professor Malcolm Feeley, Professor in law in the University of California, Berkeley has been awarded one of two Fulbright Flinders University Distinguished Chairs in American Political Science. Malcolm will come to Australia for five months to undertake research into privatisation in the criminal justice system in Australia as part of a comparative study he is undertaking of the subject in the US, England and Australia.

“I am engaged in a policy history of the role of entrepreneurs in developing the modern criminal justice system in the United States, England, and Australia,” Malcolm said.

“I am particularly interested in the role of private contractors in operating prisons and private police. I have examined private contractors in supplying police services and running jails and prisons in the United States (and to a lesser extent England and the Continent), and the next obvious place to look is Australia—New South Wales is reported to have the highest proportion of prison inmates held in private prisons than any other single jurisdiction in the world.”

Malcolm has a BA in Political Science and English from Austin College Texas; an MA in Political Science and Sociology of Law from the University of Minnesota; and a PhD in Political Science, University of Minnesota. He has an eminent teaching career and has published widely. He has received many awards including being appointed as a Russell Sage Foundation Fellow; and the Silver Gavel Award, American Bar Association. He has had a term as President American Law and Society Association. He has also been awarded numerous fellowships and grants.

Richard Ziolkowski Distinguished Chair

Richard received the Sc.B. degree in physics, magna cum laude with honours, from Brown University (1974), and the M.S. (1975) and Ph.D. (1980) degrees in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was awarded an honorary doctoral degree (Doctor Technish Honoris Causa) from the Technical University of Denmark in 2012. Richard was a member of the Engineering Research Division at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from 1981 to 1990 and served as the leader of the Computational Electronics and Electromagnetics Thrust Area for the Engineering Directorate. He joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona as an Associate Professor in 1990, and was promoted to Full Professor in 1996. Richard was selected by the Faculty to serve as the first Kenneth Von Behren Chaired Professor for 2003-2005. He currently is serving as the Litton Industries John M. Leonis Distinguished Professor. Richard holds a joint appointment with the College of Optical Sciences. He also is a Distinguished Adjunct Professor to King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Richard’s research interests include the application of new mathematical and numerical methods to linear and nonlinear problems dealing with the interaction of acoustic and electromagnetic waves with complex media, metamaterials, and realistic structures. He has been a plenary, keynote and invited speaker at numerous professional society events

Richard is an IEEE Fellow (1994). He was the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) Vice President in 2004 and President in 2005. He has served as a member of the IEEE AP-S Administrative Committee (AdCom), and as a member and the Chair of the IEEE Electromagnetics (Technical Field) Award Committee. For the URSI (International Union of Radio Science) Society he has served as Secretary of the US Commissions B and D and as the Chairperson of the US Commission B Technical Activities Committee. Richard served as a Member-at-Large of the URSI U.S. National Committee (USNC). He is currently a member of the URSI International Commission B Technical Activities Board. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America (2006). Richard has served as a Co-Chair of the 2008, 2010 and 2012 SPIE Europe Conferences on Metamaterials. He has been a member of the International Advisory Committee (IAC) of several meetings including iWAT, ISAP, ISAPE and MAPE. He was the general co-Chair of iWAT 2012 in Tucson, AZ. Richard also was the Technical Program Committee Chair for the 2008 Metamaterials Congress and has been a member of the Steering Committees for the 2009-2014 Metamaterials Congresses. He served on the Editorial Board of the Elsevier journal: Metamaterials, and is now serving on the Editorial Board of the journal: EPJ Applied Metamaterials. He is also a member of the American Physical Society (APS) and the Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, Sigma Xi, and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. Richard has received several teaching awards at the University of Arizona and also holds the title of Sensei in Matsunoryu Goshin Jujitsu (Nidan rank) and in Kajukenbo (Nidan rank).

There has been a paradigm shift in recent years in the research of materials and their physical properties. This trend can be traced primarily to the development of metamaterials, which are artificial media whose responses to electromagnetic, acoustic, and thermal stimuli can be tailored for specific applications. Metamaterials have proven exotic physics properties and unusual engineering applications. Richard will be investigating a variety of metamaterial-engineered structures to control the radiation, scattering and absorption of electromagnetic and acoustic waves in systems that are interest to DSTO and its customers.

Dr Belinda Russon Professional Scholars

Belinda is a passionate adult education activist and is the CEO of Australia’s oldest indigenous education provider, Tranby.

Belinda’s Fulbright Professional Scholarship in Vocational Education and Training (VET) will examine the positive emotional, cultural and social factors associated with Indigenous learners in the VET sector, which contribute to resilience, self-motivation and academic success. Belinda will collaborate with Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and will evaluate the proven success of U.S. College leadership and mentoring programs. Findings from her research, will be used to engage and retain indigenous students across the Australian VET sector leading to higher graduation rates. Belinda seeks to promote the positive benefits of VET education and the inarguable impact that the acquisition of job-related and technical skills have on the lives of Indigenous learners and their communities. Her Fulbright Scholarship is a means to start a dialogue on the value of adult education and to create further opportunities for Indigenous adults in Australia.

Dr Sally Ursula Jane Salmon Professional Scholars

Ursula’s research is into providing quantitative, scientific bases for environmental management decisions, particularly regarding issues of water quality and water resource sustainability. Ursula started on this path through studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Sydney. After a final year exchange in Sweden, Ursula entered into postgraduate studies in a multidisciplinary Swedish research program on the environmental impact of mining. In 2004 Ursula returned to Australia to take up a postdoctoral project on the acidic lakes that can form after open cut mining. Since this time, Ursula has worked on a range of research and contract projects, usually in close collaboration with industry and government stakeholders, and in all cases with the aim to quantify how surface waters, groundwater, and/or soils will evolve, under either continued current conditions or changed external forcing.

Since mid-2012, Ursula has worked on incorporating environmental isotopes into regional groundwater models for water resource assessment. The large and inaccessible nature of aquifer systems means that they are difficult to characterize; this in turn introduces uncertainty into flow models. Environmental isotopes that decay or accumulate over time, such as radiocarbon (14C), are widely used as tracers of groundwater “age”. Ursula has been working on ways to incorporate the isotopic tracers directly into groundwater models. If successful, this will result in improved groundwater model predictions and resource management tools. Furthermore, as the age-ranges that environmental isotopes are valid for can be tens or hundreds of millennia, the same tools allow investigation into what climatic conditions must have been in the past in order to create the isotopic concentrations that exist today.

Ursula will work with Prof. Steven Gorelick and colleagues at Stanford to incorporate additional environmental tracers into a modelling framework that has already been developed, in order to make the method more robust. This modelling tool will then be used to produce an analysis of paleoclimate, over the last 40,000 years or more, using data from a relatively data-rich Australian case study site. The time at Stanford and visits to other institutions will link Ursula to forerunners in the relevant fields in America, and facilitate continuation of collaboration on this and other topics upon her return to Australia.

Andrew Tyndale Professional Scholars

“Around the world and throughout Australia, the infrastructure used to deliver social services (education, aged care, social and affordable housing, disability accommodation and delivery of health services) is in need of significant investment, both to update existing capital items and to meet the new demand of a growing and aging population.”

Mr Andrew Tyndale, Director and Founder of Grace Mutual Limited, has won one of two inaugural Fulbright Professional Scholarships in Non-Profit Leadership, sponsored by the Origin Foundation and supported by the Australian Scholarships Foundation. Andrew will go to The Milken Institute in the U.S. for four months, to further his research in social investment.

“Social Investment is a new field in which commercial investment is directed to investments which generate a good social outcome. They may include employment, community enterprise, environmental or social inclusion,” Andrew said.

His focus is on mechanisms to attract wholesale capital into the infrastructure necessary to deliver social services such as affordable housing, aged care, disability accommodation, education and health. Through his project he will research developments in the US that may be applied in Australia.

“Over the next 5 years in Australia, it is estimated that more than $100 billion is needed for aged care and housing alone. There is a general, global acceptance that governments cannot fund these needs, and there is considerable thought being given to the problem at State and Commonwealth levels. Much is based on work being done in the UK and the US to develop ways to attract commercial funding (primarily pension savings funds) into this sector,” Andrew said.

Andrew’s goal will be to write up a number of initiatives, using his technical finance skills and knowledge of the social sector to assess the compatibility and likelihood of success in Australia. Then he will work with government, investors, financial intermediaries and the social sector to implement them.

Andrew has a Hon, BComm in Business Administration from Queen’s University in Canada. He has been an investment banker for 30 years: 26 years in a competitive commercial environment, and 4 years in a not-for-profit vehicle that he founded. Together with his wife, Philippa, he has also had extensive involvement, over almost three decades, in the charitable sector, both in domestic welfare and international development. His interests include travel, skiing, rugby and trekking.

Emma Barrett Postdoctoral Scholars

Emma grew up with her family in the grounds of the scenic Gladesville Psychiatric Hospital, established in 1838, on the Parramatta River in Sydney, Australia. Inspired by her mothers work there as a psychiatrist, Emma pursued a career in Psychology with a keen interest in the treatment of psychological trauma. During her Masters degree in Forensic Psychology she worked with a number of individuals within prison settings, most of whom had experienced serious trauma (often in their childhood) and were suffering from anxiety or depression, and substance misuse. It was at this time when Emma recognised an ever-growing need for psychological treatments to address both mental health and substance use disorders in an integrated fashion.

Emma completed her PhD at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales. Combining her clinical and research skills, she worked on a world-first randomised controlled trial of an integrated treatment for adults with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder. During her PhD candidature, Emma recognised the alarmingly high rates of childhood trauma among individuals with PTSD and substance use disorder and that these comorbid (i.e. co-occurring) disorders tended to develop during adolescence. These individuals, however, did not receive any treatment until much later in life, if at all. By adulthood the disorders and related harms were well established and it was clear that the chronic disability associated with the conditions may be reduced with effective early intervention. With a view to pursuing research in this area, Emma sought to improve her knowledge and skills in adolescent mental health at the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Mental Health and Substance. She was successful in obtaining a competitive Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Centre and her passion for research into mental health and substance use comorbidity has continued to thrive.

To date, Emma’s research has contributed significantly to improving the understanding of comorbid PTSD and substance use and the related harms. She has published articles in leading peer-reviewed journals and her research has received national and international recognition at over 60 major scientific conferences. Most notably, in 2014 she was awarded the College of Problems on Drug Dependence (CPDD) Early Career Travel Award to present her research on mental health and substance use outcomes associated with child trauma at the CPDD Annual Meeting in Puerto Rico. In recognition of the quality and significance of her research, Emma has received a total of 15 travel grants and awards for scientific excellence. Emma is delighted to be awarded the Fulbright Scholarship as it will provide her with an unparalleled opportunity to work closely with leading comorbidity experts in the US to increase her knowledge and clinical skills, and to improve treatment options for individuals exposed to trauma.

During her time on a Fulbright Scholarship at the Medical University of South Carolina, Emma aims to develop and test an integrated psychological treatment for co-occurring traumatic stress and substance use among adolescents. She will work closely with international experts in this area to share knowledge, advance clinical research and foster strong, long-lasting research collaborations. Given the severe and chronic mental health consequences associated with trauma, research on the development of effective, theory-driven treatments for adolescents is of paramount public health importance. Upon her return to Australia, Emma will share her experiences and new knowledge, maintain the cross-national collaborations, and will strive to become a recognised leader in comorbidity research.

Dr Sean Martin Postdoctoral Scholars

Sean is a National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) Early Career Research Fellow, based in the Freemason Foundation Centre for Men’s Heath at the University of Adelaide. Sean’s current research interests centre on urological epidemiology, specifically how urological symptoms relate to other chronic diseases.

For his Fulbright Scholarship, Sean will be examining in detail the socio-cultural & demographic influences on the high level of urological dysfunction seen in disadvantaged urban communities, a noted public health concern in both the USA and Australia. This work will be based out of the New England Research Institutes (Boston), world-renowned for their work in health disparities, in association with local collaborators at Harvard and Massachusetts
General Hospital.

Dr Harley Scammell Postdoctoral Scholars

Harley is a postdoctoral researcher in the ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET) at the University of New South Wales.

For his Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship, Harley will work with world-renowned theoretical physicist Professor Subir Sachdev at Harvard University to further the under-standing of the mechanisms behind superconductivity – an exotic quantum phase of matter. Superconductors, along with quantum computers and modern transistor devices, are quantum systems positioned at the forefront of modern technology. The principle behind all such technologies is the manipulation of quantum states of matter in order to send and receive information and energy at the lowest possible energy cost. Energy costs lie at the heart of our current technological limitations as well as our global environmental issues. By the completion of the Fulbright program, researchers around the world will be able to benefit from the results of Harley’s research into superconducting systems.

Rachelle Peta Cole Postgraduate Students

Rachelle is a language teacher, community leader and commentator who works on educational disadvantage, second language learning and Australia’s relationship with Asia. She is currently the Head of Languages at Glenroy College in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, having recently completed Teach for Australia, a program that attracts high achieving graduates into the teaching profession to teach at disadvantaged schools. In addition to teaching, Rachelle has taken on leadership positions in a number of community organizations. She is an Advisor to the Language Barrier, a not-for-profit organisation promoting second language learning through web stories, and the co-founder of the Australia Indonesia Youth Association, an organization to help build links between young people from Australia and Indonesia (AIYA). Under her stewardship AIYA grew to become the leading organization for youth links between both countries, with representation in eleven cities across Australia and Indonesia. In addition to teaching and her community activities, Rachelle also regularly writes about education policy and Australian youth engagement with Indonesia, a country in which she has lived for several years. She has degrees in International Relations and Asian Studies with first class honors from the Australian National University and the University of Sydney, as well as a Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Secondary) from the University of Melbourne.

During the term of her Fulbright Scholarship, Rachelle is planning on studying a Masters of Arts (Education) at a leading education school in the US. She plans on studying with scholars who work on language teaching, both English as an additional language and second languages. During the term of her Fulbright, Rachelle plans to focus on the role that technology and innovative teaching methods can play in improving engagement and proficiency in second language learning, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. She will return to Australia following her scholarship year and utilize her skills in a leading teaching position with the long-term objective of advising government on language and education policy.

Sytske Hillenius Postgraduate Students

“When I visited Australia a year ago, I was surprised to find I was already familiar with a large number of the tunes popular there. Their music comes out of a Celtic tradition from immigrants and prisoners shipped to Australia, similar to the influx of Irish settlers in the Appalachian region of the United States where my own Folk music background originates.”

Ms Sytske Hillenius, a recent Graduate from the College of Charleston, will spend 18 months in Australia to examine the musical and social history of folk dance and music in Tasmania.

Conducted in collaboration with the Folk Dance community in Tasmania and the University of Melbourne, Sytske’s research will focus on Celtic musical traditions and their influence on Tasmanian music as well as the multicultural influences on the traditions from the many immigrants to Tasmania.

“The project will examine the musical and social history of a transplanted but now assimilated tradition–Celtic folk dance and music–in Tasmania, the destination of many of the earliest settlers and convicts in Australia,” Sytske said.

“I will also investigate current musical practices and how they have been affected by and interact with the Global Celtic Sound–music stemming from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Brittany that has become globalized through colonization and media development.”

Sytske will have conversations between musicians and dancers within the community about their own understanding of the traditions and what influences them personally. To share the results of her work, Sytske will develop a website for the community and a printed tune book.

Sytske has a BA in Arts Management and in Music from the College of Charleston. She has received several scholarships including a Presidential Scholarship from the university, and a Global Links Scholarship from the Asia Pacific Foundation. She is a skilled violinist and she has volunteered in various capacities with local music groups – including marketing, website design, and volunteer coordination. She is a violin teacher as well as an active performer. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, dancing and playing music with friends.

Michael Raitor Postgraduate Students

Michael completed his B.S. in Biomechanical Engineering at Stanford University in June of 2017. His undergraduate research in the CHARM Lab focused on haptic feedback for medical devices. Michael will use his Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship to spend 10 months at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) working with Professor Nigel Lovell. At UNSW, Michael will develop a wearable system to monitor gait and falls in patients during their daily lives. This system will be used to answer fundamental biomechanical questions such as how gait changes with age and how falls naturally occur. Additionally, this system will be used for long-term monitoring to warn patients when they are at an increased risk of falling so that a medical intervention, such as balance training, can be given.

Michael will use the time in Australia to create new professional networks in the fields of biomechanics and medical devices, and begin a collaborative research project between Stanford University and UNSW focused on preventing fall-related injuries.

Rebecca Erin Smith Postgraduate Students

“I create music partly because I have this innate ability to see the potential of it in its most elemental state and to direct its progress into a fully-fledged work of art, and partly because of necessity.”

Ms Rebecca Erin Smith, a musician from Western Australia has won a Fulbright Scholarship to go to the Manhattan School of Music to undertake a two year Master of Music degree.

“The masters course which I plan to undertake is designed to target specific areas of my skill set that, as they stand, are impeding full realisation of my compositional potential. The specialised courses I intend to partake in are instrumentation and orchestration, form and analysis, and operatic and collaborative composition.”

“My specialised interests lie in the realm of collaborative mediums; specifically opera, theatre, installation, dance, and film composition. It is my greatest aspiration to establish a career in this area of music composition,” Rebecca said.

“The masters degree I have chosen to undertake offers unparalleled educational and practical experience opportunities in these specific areas. This course is designed to encourage and assist the development of individual’s creative output, whilst equipping students with the knowledge and skills essential for the fullest development of their creative gifts.”

Rebecca has a BA with first class Honours in music from the W.A Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). She has won awards and prizes including the Western Australian Barbara MacLeod Scholarship and Dr Harold Schenberg Music Prize, Marvin Hamlisch Scholarship in Composition from the Juilliard School and a Manhattan School of Music Scholarship. She is a member of the Golden Key Honour Society. Her interests include dressmaking and musical improvisation and she is an active member of the Perth indie-pop contemporary music scene.