NCV Formal Dinner – 4th October 2012

On 4th October the NCV community gathered for the 2012 Spring Formal Dinner.  Formal Dinners are an important part of life at NCV, where the community hears from a distinguished person in the university or wider community.  Earlier in the year we had heard from barrister Ms Angela Pearman and ecologist Professor Richard Kingsford. For the Spring Dinner the Speaker was Dr Kevin Cullen, who is the current CEO of NewSouth Innovations (NSI), the commercialization arm of UNSW.

Kevin has had a long career in research commercialization. Prior to joining NSI, he was Director of Research and Enterprise at the University of Glasgow. Kevin has also worked for Procter & Gamble in the UK and Belgium, in the fields of technical brand management, product development, and technology development. In addition to his significant commercial experience, Kevin holds a PhD in physical-organic chemistry from the University of Edinburgh. More recently, Kevin has been involved in the development of new approaches to improve knowledge exchange to the benefit the economy and society. In particular, Kevin led the launch of the Easy Access IP initiative, designed to significantly increase the flow of knowledge from the university into the economy and society.

At the dinner Kevin spoke about the challenges in quantifying the outputs of research and assessing the university’s “impact” in the broader society. He also challenged the understanding of university commercialization departments as solely aiming to produce revenue streams from academic research. Kevin also gave some reflections on his own career, following his trajectory from PhD student to industrial chemist and eventually to technology transfer professional. Kevin’s talk sparked a number of interesting questions, and was warmly received by the NCV community. After his address, Johann van Hensbergen, himself a PhD student in industrial chemistry, moved an excellent vote of thanks to Kevin for sharing his wisdom with the NCV community. 

During the evening attendees were also able to hear a beautiful piano recital by resident Serena Ma.  Serena is currently completing her Bachelor of Commerce / Bachelor of Laws combined degree at UNSW, but continues to play piano at a high level in addition to her studies.  At the dinner Serena played Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1. It was a wonderful performance. Additionally, residents were also treated to a fabulous performance by the NCV Band and Choir, who sang the Queen hit “Somebody to Love”. The choir and band raised the roof and set the tone for a fabulous final Formal Dinner for 2012.

NCV Formal Dinner – 4th October 2012

NCV Oct Formal Dinner

 On the 13th October the NCV community gathered for the final Formal Dinner for 2010.  So far in 2010 we had heard from former UNSW Deputy Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor Dr Jessica Milner-Davis and prominent Australian businessman and actuary Dr Ian Pollard.  This time it was the scientists’ and engineers’ turn to have the spotlight.

On 13th October the NCV community welcomed eminent physicist Prof. Michelle Simmons from UNSW’s School of Physics. Prof. Simmons is currently the Director of the Centre for Quantum Computing Technology and the Director of UNSW’s Atomic Fabrication Facility. Her research involves the development of novel electronic devices at the atomic scale.  Michelle spoke of her research group’s investigations into the development of quantum computing technology, with its promise of providing an exponential increase in processor speeds. The mixed audience of scientists and non-scientists could clearly appreciate the significance of Michelle’s research and its implications in a wide variety of fields which depend on ever-faster computers. Libin George, PhD student in the School of Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications moved an excellent vote of thanks expressing the community’s appreciation for having heard from such a distinguished scientist.

During the evening the NCV community was also fortunate to hear two pieces performed by resident Elina Yasumoto.  Elina is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Music, and is currently completing her Juris Doctor degree in UNSW’s Faculty of Law.  Elina played two pieces at the dinner, Franz Liszt’s “Gondoliera” and Australian composer Miriam Hyde’s “Study in Blue, White and Gold”.  They were fabulous performances.

NCV Oct Formal Dinner

NCV Formal Dinner

Three times each year NCV residents gather for a Formal Dinner.  These events involve a three course meal, a musical item (or two) and a speech on a topic of interest to a higher education community. The evenings typically go into the night as residents enjoy coffee and conservation, not to mention a photograph or two!

At the last Formal Dinner, the guest speaker was Dr Jessica Milner Davis.  Dr Davis is currently an Honorary Associate in the School of Letters, Art and Media at the University of Sydney, where she pursues research in the broad field of humour studies.  Prior to this, Dr Davis was a long-standing member of the UNSW Council, during which she also served as Deputy Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor. Dr Davis was also a former President of the UNSW Alumni Association and a former member of the New College Board.

At the NCV Formal Dinner, Dr Davis spoke about three remarkable English women who were pioneers in science and mathematics, one of whom was her paternal grandmother.  The talk provided a fascinating insight into times past, with Dr Davis showing many early photographs.  It was particularly interesting to hear how the number of women completing science degrees had evolved over the last century, and how the various policies around women in universities had evolved for the better.

  At the dinner we were also fortunate to have resident Kevin Phang play the guitar for us.  Kevin is a completely home-grown guitarist, having picked up the instrument while a resident at NCV.  On the night, Kevin demonstrated his skills by playing the famed Mason Williams tune “Classical Gas”, and the Andy McKee composition “Drifting”.

NCV Formal Dinner