Lieutenant Commander David Goble, RANR, receiveshis award from Vice Admiral David Shackleton.

Academic receives naval commendation

Monash psychology lecturer Mr David Goble was recently awarded a naval commendation for his work in leadership training with the Royal Australian Navy.

The navy's highest-ranking officer, Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral David Shackleton presented the commendation.

Mr Goble, who holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander, has served in the RAN Reserves for 18 years and now manages the training of Reserve personnel who crew the navy's Fremantle class patrol boats.

He has also taught leadership skills to the junior officers at the RAN College in Jervis Bay Territory.

He also brings his experience in leadership to his work at Monash, where he teaches 'Leadership theory and practice' to second and third-year psychology students.

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Geophysicist wins award

Monash researcher Dr Michael Asten has received the CSIRO medal for outstanding research in developing a cheap method of measuring rock density from the air.

Dr Asten (above) initiated the research, known as Project Falcon, in 1991 when he was principal geophysicist in BHP's exploration department.

Project Falcon led to the development of the airborne gravity gradiometer (AGG), which uses military technology from nuclear submarines.

By accurately measuring rock density from the air, AGG enables surveyors to quickly identify areas where metal rich ores are likely to be present. Previously, the only way to measure rock density was by doing a ground survey.

BHP now uses AGG in Australia and overseas to search for minerals such as lead, zinc, copper and iron ore.