Australian National University

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Coordinates: 35°16′35″S 149°07′14″E / -35.276370, 149.120489

The Australian National University
Motto:	Naturam Primum Cognoscere Rerum ("First, to learn the nature of things")
Established:	1946
Type:	Public
Chancellor:	Dr Allan Hawke
Vice-Chancellor:	Professor Ian Chubb AC
Staff:	3,600
Undergraduates:	8,100
Postgraduates:	4,382
Location:	Acton, 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, commonly abbreviated to ANU, is a public research university situated in Canberra, Australia. It was established by an act of the Parliament of Australia on August 1, 1946, with the legislated purpose of conducting and promoting research in Australia.^[1]

The university is consistently ranked among the top universities in Australia and the world on several international surveys, including the Newsweek Top 100 and the annual Times Higher Education Supplement rankings. Its notable staff and alumni include five Nobel laureates. The university is governed by a 15-member council. The university is a member of several university alliances and cooperative networks, including the Group of Eight (Australian Universities), the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy and the International Alliance of Research Universities.

[edit] History

Union Court is located in the centre of the campus

The ANU is the only Australian university to be established by an act of federal Parliament.^[2] The Australian National University Act 1946-47 was introduced into parliament by the then Prime Minister, Ben Chifley, and Minister for Post-war Reconstruction, J.J. Dedman. The bill was passed on 1 August 1946 with support from Opposition Leader Robert Menzies. A group of eminent Australian scholars were involved in the infancy of the ANU, 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. ^[3]

After its establishment, the university conducted research and provided only postgraduate education. The former Canberra University College was amalgamated into the Australian National University in 1960, as the School of General Studies, to provide for the education of undergraduate students.

Academic leaders have included Professors: Manning Clark (historian); Bart Bok (astronomer) and Hanna Neumann (mathematician). Notable alumni include current Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd.

[edit] Academic structure

Previously, the academic structure of the ANU was made up of three parts: The Institute of Advanced Studies, the Faculties and the University Centres. However, since 2006 ANU has tried to coordinate its academic units that conduct research and teaching in similar disciplines or area studies into a more unified umbella. This newly established academic units are called "The Colleges", which are currently comprised of 7 Colleges.

[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.

• 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. The college is a leader in Economics.^{[citation needed]}

• 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. The College is an academic leader in International Law and Public Law, ranking first in both subject areas compared to other Australian universities.^{[citation needed]}

• 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 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.

[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 [2]

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.

• Research School of Biological Sciences [3]

Research is carried out in areas such as agriculture, environment, neuroscience, visual sicence, health and technology.

• Research School of Chemistry [4]
• Research School of Earth Sciences [5]

The Research School of Earth Sciences (RSES) is one of the top ten university geoscience programs in the world.^{[citation needed]}

• Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering [6]

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

The remains of the ANU 500MJ Homopolar generator designed by Mark Oliphant

• Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies [7]

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

• Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering [8]

The Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering (RSPhysSE). 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.

• Research School of Social Sciences [9]

The Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS) concentrates on 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.

The John Curtin School of Medical Research

• The John Curtin School of Medical Research [10]

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 Nobel Prizes ( John Carew Eccles in 1963 and Peter Doherty and Rolf M. Zinkernagel in 1996) have been won by research performed at John Curtin.

• The Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies [11]

The Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies (CRES) includes economists, hydrologists, historians, ecologists, anthropologists and soil scientists. Research is undertaken into many natural resource and environmental issues.

[edit] University Centres

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

• Asia Pacific College of Diplomacy
• Crawford School of Economics and Government is a leading professional policy school in Australia and in the Asia-Pacific region. It focuses on postgraduate teaching and research in public policy, political science and economics with special emphases on economic policy, environmental policy, social and education policy, political and economic development, democratisation, regional cooperation and regionalism especially in the Asia-Pacific.
• Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute
• Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research
• Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics
• Centre for Cross-Cultural Research
• Centre for Mental Health Research
• Centre for the Public Awareness of Science
• Humanities Research Centre
• National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health
• National Graduate School of Management
• Mathematical Sciences Institute (joint with The Faculties and the Institute)
• The National Europe Centre

[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:

• Bruce Hall [12],
• Ursula Hall [13],
• Fenner Hall [14],
• Burgmann College [15],
• John XXIII College [16],
• Burton & Garran Hall [17],
• Toad Hall [18],
• University House [19],
• Graduate House [20]
• UniLodge

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 [21], 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:

• 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 [22]

Dr. Alastair Greig:

• National teaching prize winner in Social Science category in 1998

Dr. Baker & Dr. Greig co-teach SRES 1001 in the Forestry building.

[edit] International reputation

In 2006, London's Times Higher Education Supplement and Newsweek^[5] ranked ANU 16th and 38th in the world respectively, - both indices ranking it as the top university in Australia and the Southern Hemipshere.

[edit] See also

• Australian National University Student Association
• List of Australian National University people
• National University Theatre Society
• NICTA - national information and communication technology research centre, co-founded by ANU
• Official Openings by the Monarch in Australia
• University of Canberra
• Woroni - the ANU student newspaper

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Group of Eight website