Sand slug research wins award

Monash PhD student Ms Rebecca Bartley has been named the Young Water Scientist of the Year under a Federal Government program.

Part of the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program, the award highlights the key role the water-related CRCs play in training young scientists.

Based in the CRC for Catchment Hydrology at Monash, Ms Bartley (pictured) won the award, with a $2000 prize, for her research into the destructive effects of sediment on Australian waterways.

For her research, she collected data from sand slugs (sediment that settles in one place) from streams in Tasmania, Victoria and NSW, examining the amount and source of the sediment and the geological structure of the catchments.

She said these factors directly related to how badly waterways were affected and how quickly they could recover.

Her findings will help identify rivers with slugs that threaten fragile downstream ecosystems and streams requiring rehabilitation. They will also identify potential risks to infrastructure such as bridges and dams.

CRC for Catchment Hydrology director Professor Russell Mein was delighted with Ms Bartley's success.

"This is a prestigious honour which is awarded not just for excellent science but for its applications to industry," he said.

---

Student wins cover design award

Monash visual communication student Mr Huy Truong has won the prestigious international Print magazine cover design competition.

Mr Truong (pictured) has been awarded the prize for best student cover design by the respected New York graphic design magazine for his design inspired by surrealist artist Magritte.

It is the second successive year that a Monash student has won the award, with Monash graphic design student Mr Ben Wundersitz winning the award last year.

Mr Truong said the cover design reflected the brainstorming process used to create the design.

"In my design, brainstorming is represented by the image of a bowler hat, or 'brain', symbolising the experience and wisdom of previous designers," he said.

As part of his prize, Mr Truong's design was featured on the cover of the January/February issue of Print magazine this year.