THE AUSTRALIAN SYNCHROTRON PROJECT Ramona Sarkis, Santa Maria College

About the Project  Name of the project: MX1 (Macromolecular crystallography)  Description: Analysing blue lysosome crystals that were previously grown at CSIRO and harvested at the Australian Synchrotron  Results: Diffracted images that enabled us to determine the protein structure

The Experience What made the experience unique?  Being able to learn from the experts themselves  The placement in a working environment  Viewing the synchrotron machine

What I think of this type of learning  Enables students with a deep, meaningful understanding of actual science  Engages and captures a students purpose for learning  Exposes the facts and myths of science based work  Encourages students to thoroughly enjoy science not only as a subject, but as a career  Aids in the education of science as well as the appreciation for it

My View  What I liked: -Being put in a non-class room environment -Exposure to science as a career -Solving problems that demanded a high level of thinking  What I think of science and scientists now: -There is a link between all the science subjects as well as mathematics -Scientists do not just work in laboratories that have grey fuzzy hair, but also experience the world -Important to society as they are the reason to why human beings are well and healthy today

Acknowledgements  Growing Tall Poppies -CSX, Director Prof. K. Nugent -Santa Maria College, Dr. Barone-Nugent -AKORN, Georgene Bridgeman -Australian Synchrotron -Catholic Education Office Melbourne -CSIRO