An environmental research team from the University of Canberra has moved to the University of New England in Armidale. The 12-person Riverine Landscapes Research Lab team, headed by Professor Martin Thoms, was attracted by UNE's growing reputation for research excellence. The team studies various areas of environmental change across Australia using different methods. They have all adapted well to Armidale and find it a friendly town with a good lifestyle that is supportive of their work and families.

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By JOSH PATERSON
MEET Tarmac, Tugboat, Muz, Chopper,
Mons, Bruce-o, Pest, and The Raj, the
newest prized recruits to the academic staff
at the University of New England (UNE).
Their official title is The Riverine
Landscapes Research Lab team.
Unofficially, they are a close knit group of
environmental scientists who love nothing
more than to give each other a nickname
and a ‘bit of stick’to lighten the mood.
Headed by Professor Martin Thoms, the
research lab consists of a multicultural
group of scientists who left the University
of Canberra (UC) to make Armidale their
new home.
The soon to be 12-strong team was lured
toUNEbyitsgrowingreputationforexcel-
lence in research.
The team consists of Martin ‘Tarmac’
Thoms, Stephen ‘Tugboat’ Chilcott,
Murray ‘Muz’ Scown, Michael ‘Chopper’
Reid, Munique ‘Mons’ Webb, Bruce
‘Bruce-o’ Murray, Celeste ‘Pest’ Harris,
Rajendra ‘The Raj’ Shilpakar, and will
soon be joined by an American, an
Englishwoman, a second Nepalese and a
SouthAfrican.
Between the group they are working
acrossAustralia from the Kimberley to the
Narran Lakes, ranging in areas from envi-
ronmentalchangeinbillabongstostudying
floodplain vegetation dynamics using
satellite remote sensing.
The ‘lab’ as Prof Thoms refers to them,
have taken toArmidale like ducks to water
and look forward to contributing to UNE’s
international reputation in research with
their work.
The team have worked together for a
number of years with the newest additions,
Stephen Chilcott and Bruce Murray, start-
ing in 2008.
Prof Thoms said the decision to move
operations to UNE was simple as UC was
narrowing its research scope.
“It was a no-brainer really, the research
focus at UC was narrowing and becoming
more experimental, but with our group we
look at entire landscapes and entire river
systems as well as undertaking experimen-
tal work and all the bits in between,” he
said.
“We have people looking at individual
waterholes and billabongs so we try and
have the whole scale of research covered.”
The ‘lab’told The Express they’ve found
Armidale to be a smaller but better version
of Canberra which has made the transition
all the smoother.
“It’s a friendly place, good night life plus
plenty of sport, it’s much like a smaller ver-
sion of Canberra really,” Mr Scown said.
“I really like it here, it’s a good mixture
of the country and university lifestyle. It’s
friendly but it’s also a lively place,” Ms
Webb said.
For Mr Shilpakar who is Nepalese, the
most attractive thing about Armidale is
what it offers his family.
“Compared to Canberra the living cost
for a family is much better. It’s also better
for the kids’ education to be in a smaller
town because there is less distraction as
well as lots of opportunities for them to get
involved with sport,” he said.
Each member of the team travels regu-
larly around Australia and overseas as part
of their work.
“We are going to conferences in Poland
and the USA later this year,” Prof Thoms
said.
“Most of the team went to Nepal and
India last year and a few years back the
entire lab went to Dundee in Scotland for a
conference.”
Armidale’s Riverine Research Lab team,(from left) Stephen‘Tugboat’Chilcott,Michael‘Chopper’Reid,Munique‘Mons’Webb,Rajesh‘The Raj’
Shilpakar,Celeste‘Pest’Harris,Bruce‘Bruce-o’Murray,Martin‘Tarmac’Thoms and Murray‘Muz’Scown
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