Bulletin

Issue: July 2005

People

Tsunami scholarship helps environmental research

International students seriously affected by the Boxing Day Tsunami disaster are being given a helping hand to continue their study at La Trobe University.

The University has established a $1 million Tsunami Relief Scholarships program to assist existing students with study costs. It is also providing five new full postgraduate scholarships targeting students from south-east India, eastern Sri Lanka, the Phuket region in Thailand and Aceh Province in Indonesia. The scholarships hope to attract students to study subjects of particular relevance to reconstruction to help re-build these communities.

For Ali Shareef from the Maldives, the support program has made all the difference to his study experience on the Bendigo campus this year. Mr Shareef, who comes from the city of Male said the past few months had been very difficult for himself and his family.

His family survived the tragedy, but the subsequent economic effects on the region affected the source of income that had funded part of his study in Bendigo.

To complete his PhD in Science, he has received assistance from the University to meet the costs of renewing his visa and some of his tuition fees.

His PhD, in an area of environmental research of increasing interest, examines chemicals known as Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, EDCs, most commonly found in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, detergents and in polycarbonate plastics used in the food and beverage industry. EDCs have been linked to abnormalities in the sexual development of aquatic animals and wildlife.

Mr Shareef has developed methods to analyse EDCs in drinking water, rivers, municipal and industrial effluents and he is also studying their fate in soils and sediments.

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