Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Professor Jessica Meeuwig

Director, Centre for Marine Futures

"Exploring WA’s Unique Marine Environment - A View From Below"

Thursday 25th June 2009
6pm, at the University Club

Light refreshments provided.  Please RSVP by Monday 22nd June to Kate Bath, telephone (+61 8) 6488 5552 (bookings essential). 

WA’s marine environment is vast and unknown and there are more unique species here than anywhere else on the planet. It is subject to significant pressures in terms of fishing , offshore oil and gas exploration and production, and climate change. Please join Professor Meeuwig as she explains how we can pull back the blue curtain to understand the impact of human activities on the sustainability of our oceans. 

Professor Jessica Meeuwig is the Centre for Marine Futures’ inaugural Director. Jessica is a marine scientist who works in the areas of fish ecology and modeling. As Deputy Director of Project Seahorse, an international conservation NGO, Jessica worked in SE Asia on the science and management of reef fisheries.  Since coming to Perth, Jessica has worked for the WA Department of Environment and Conservation and the Australian Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts in policy/planning positions. At UWA, Jessica was part of the research team that delivered the Natural Heritage Trust funded "Marine Futures" project prior to being appointed as Director of the new Centre.

Professor Martin Fey

Professorial Fellow

“Life in earth: restoring it with chemistry”

Thursday 1st October 2009
6.15pm, in the University Club

Light refreshments provided.  Please RSVP by Wednesday 30th September to Kate Bath, telephone (+61 8) 6488 5552 (bookings essential).

Large areas of land around the world, including Western Australia, are drastically disturbed by mining and industry. Sustainable rehabilitation requires that soil be recreated from piles of waste so that new ecosystems are functionally stable. Real soil is full of life and to achieve this state may require as much chemistry as is involved in the process that produced the waste initially. Paradoxically, organic amendments, besides being more costly, may be less environmentally sound than the use of synthetic chemicals to build soil fertility. 

Professor Fey has authored or co-authored about 60 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has presented papers at international conferences in the UK, France, Poland, New Zealand, Mexico, USA, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Tanzania, Germany and Brazil. In 2000 he convened the 5th International Symposium on Environmental Geochemistry in Cape Town, and formerly served as editor of the South African Journal of Plant and Soil and on the editorial board of Applied Geochemistry. He has worked closely with several South African agricultural, industrial and mining companies, has consulted on soil problems with maize production in the Congo, has visited Kenya regularly to advise on soil problems in the tea industry and has investigated bauxite deposits in Guyana. 

Awards include the BP scholarship in Agriculture, the Soil Science Society of South Africa medal for best conference paper (four times) and the Fertilizer Society of South Africa’s Silver Medal for Research (ca 1990) and Gold medal (2007) for teaching, research and extension activities. 

Professor Fey served on the South African Soil Classification Working Group and the National Research Foundation evaluation panel for Earth Sciences. His recent research activities have included dryland salinity and water quality in the Western Cape, evaluating soils as protectors of groundwater quality, using coal ash for liming acid soils and writing a technical book on the soils of South Africa. His current appointment includes some teaching but focuses on research into the rehabilitation and reuse of bauxite processing residues and other mining wastes.