Australian National University

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

The Australian National University
Latin: Australiana Populus Universitas
Motto:	Naturam Primum Cognoscere Rerum ("First, to learn the nature of things")
Established:	1946
Type:	Public
Chancellor:	Kim Beazley
Vice-Chancellor:	Professor Ian Chubb AC
Staff:	3,600
Undergraduates:	8,100
Postgraduates:	4,382
Location:	Acton, ACT, Australia
Campus:	Urban, 350 acres (1.4 km2)
Affiliations:	Group of Eight, APRU, IARU, AURA, ASAIHL
Website:	www.anu.edu.au

The Australian National University, commonly abbreviated to ANU, is a public teaching and research university located in Canberra, Australia, the federal capital city. This university was established by an act of the Parliament of Australia on 1 August 1946, with the legislated purpose of conducting and promoting research in Australia.^[1]

The university is consistently ranked as the best university in Australia by many worldwide university ranking systems, including the Shanghai Jiao Tong University^[2] and the annual Times Higher Education Supplement^[3] rankings. Its notable staff and alumni include five Nobel laureates.

This 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.

History

The ANU is the only Australian university to be established by an act of the Federal Parliament.^[4] The Australian National University Act 1946-47 was introduced into parliament by the then Prime Minister, Ben Chifley, and the Minister for Post-war Reconstruction, J.J. Dedman. The bill was passed on 1 August 1946 with support from the 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; the eminent historian, Sir Keith Hancock; and the renowned economist and public servant, Herbert ‘Nugget’ Coombs.^[5]

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 structure

The university is split into seven colleges and the Institute of Advanced Studies. The colleges undertake both undergraduate teaching, postgraduate studies and research. The Institute of Advanced Studies comprises nine research schools which focus exclusively on research.

The Colleges

ANU School of Art

The university's seven Colleges combine research with research-led teaching and are responsible for undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

• 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 are the ANU School of Music and ANU School of Art.

• 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. The College houses a great number of scholars working on Asia-Pacific outside the region.

• ANU College of Business and Economics

The ANU College of Business and Economics carries out research and teaching in accounting, finance, statistics and economics. The college is a leader in economics research in Australia.^{[citation needed]}

• ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science [1]

The ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science comprises the School of Computer Science, the School of Engineering and the Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems. Some staff and postgraduate students from the two schools are also affiliated with the Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering which exists within the college as part of the university's Institute of Advanced Studies.

• ANU College of Law

The ANU College of Law, established in 1960. The College is an academic leader in several areas including International Law, Tort Law, Constitutional Law and Public Law, having been ranked first in these subject areas compared to all other Australian universities.^{[citation needed]}

ANU School of Medicine

• ANU College of Medicine and Health Science

The ANU College of Medicine and Health Science is home to the newest of university's schools, the ANU Medical School, which runs a four-year postgraduate entry course. The school's foundation was announced on 10 April 2001, and the first intake of students was in February 2004. These students completed the course in November 2007, with the first graduate students entering the Australian workforce as medical interns in January 2008. Notable Deans : Professor Paul Gatenby (2004-2008, leading immunologist & founding dean), Professor Nicholas Glasgow (2008-current).

• ANU College of Science

The ANU College of Science is the largest of the university's Colleges.

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 university'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.^[6] 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 science, neuroethology, health and technology.

• Research School of Chemistry [4]
• Research School of Earth Sciences [5]^[7]

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) exists within the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

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 (1973-2007) [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. It was combined with the School of Resources, Environment and Society (SRES) to form The Fenner School of Environment and Society in 2007^[8].

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,
• 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
• Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems
• 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

Rankings

The Australian National University is consistently ranked as the best in Australia.

The following publications ranked universities worldwide.

The corresponding rankings within Australia are:

The Times Higher Education Supplement consistently ranks the Australian National University very highly. In 2007, its position 16th in the world and the best in Australasia, and placing it higher than Stanford University and Cornell University on the overall ranking.^[13].

The 2008 Shanghai Jiao Tong University rankings place ANU as the 59th university in the world.

Both ranking systems use research output as a key determinant of quality. ANU ranks highest on research compared to other Australian universities.

Campus

Mount Stromlo after the fires: remains of the old administration building with the dome of the Farnham telescope

The university's main campus occupies most of the Canberra suburb of Acton. The campus covers 1.45 square kilometres (360 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],
• UniLodge Davey [18]
• UniLodge Kinloch [19]
• Toad Hall [20],
• University House [21],
• Graduate House [22]

With over 10,000 trees on its 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 university'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. The Australian National University Union provides representation to all students in the provision of catering and retail services as well as functions amenities.

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

Sir Roland Wilson Building at ANU.

• 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 [23], 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

Online Systems and Services for Teaching

In 2009 the ANU introduced a new framework to bring together the online systems and services used for teaching and learning. 'WATTLE' (Web Access To Teaching & Learning Environments) commenced with a pilot of Moodle for selected courses in first semester 2009. The system is being used to support flexible and distance education courses as well as conventional on campus education. Green ICT Strategies (COMP7310), is the first flexible course to use the system.

Notable graduates

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.

See also

• Australian National University Student Association
• Australian National University Union
• List of Australian National University people (notable alumni, faculty and chancellors)
• NICTA - national information and communication technology research centre, co-founded by ANU
• University of Canberra
• Woroni - the ANU student newspaper
• Group of Eight (Australian Universities)
• List of forestry universities and colleges

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Australian National University

• Australian National University
• Group of Eight
• Australian University Directory