The Australasian Region of the International Biometric Society has awarded two inaugural scholarships for students intending to undertake a full-time fourth or honours year of study in statistics, mathematical statistics, biostatistics or biometrics. Scholarships are A$1000 for one-year.

There were 15 applicants, 4 of whom were from New Zealand, while most Australian states were also represented (NSW 4, Vic 3, SA 2, Qld 1, WA 1).

John Reynolds, regional President of the IBS, remarked, "All 15 were very strong applications and we feel the future of biometrics and biostatistics in Australasia is going to be in very capable hands. Several applicants had near-perfect academic records, so it was a very competitive field. The two recipients of awards were from the University of Melbourne."

See http://www.statsci.org/ibc/ for further details.

Prof Hal Caswell (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts) is a visiting Maclaurin Fellow with a 3 month tenure. He has been in New Zealand since December 2003, and working with a number of different colleagues in Auckland and Wellington on the development and analysis of matrix models for spatially structured populations. As a result of his attendance at the 3rd International Wildlife Management Congress at the University of Canterbury, he participated in a workshop organized by the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries to develop plans for using population models to guide policy on reducing the by-catch of albatross and other seabirds in New Zealand waters.