Lumen Autumn 2025 - Flipbook - Page 4
Welcome
By Jessica Gallagher
Time. For most of us it is often a rare
commodity. There is barely enough of it.
I remember days when I was younger
that seemed to last forever. Now, as a
professional and a parent, they tend to race
past. Life can be a juggle. I am sure I am
not alone.
How we perceive and value time
forms the basis for this issue of Lumen.
The meaning of time, its pertinence and
importance, varies widely between
individuals, professions and areas
of research.
In this issue we explore these disparities
by examining different perceptions and
values of time across our faculties
and communities.
We invite a physicist and a philosopher
to address the same questions on the topic
from their varying professional points of
view. Does time actually exist?
We ask a student and a centenarian to
share their perspectives from their different
stages of life.
An Olympian discusses her race against
the clock. An eminent forensic pathologist
examines the importance of time of death.
And we explore the very beginning, and
end, of human life as our researchers
explain some of the work underway to
push those boundaries.
We present new writing on the theme,
from a literary lion of our University;
explore movies on the topic; and Elder
Conservatorium Director Anna
Goldsworthy writes for us on how her
grandfather’s metronome has gently
measured the tempo of her music and
her life.
We also solve a mystery as we unmask
the perpetrators of another historic campus
prank, this one from the 1950s! You’ll be
amazed by what they did.
About Lumen
Welcome to the Parnati/Kudlila (Kaurna for
Autumn/Winter) issue of Lumen, 2025.
Lumen is the University of Adelaide’s peak
magazine – for and about the University. It
is published bi-annually and distributed via a
print edition and email to more than 100,000
recipients.
Our thanks to our many contributors this
issue – faculty, staff and alumni.
Editorial team
Last year we celebrated our University’s
150th. It was a time for reflection on what
we have achieved.
This year we are ever mindful of the clock
ticking as we move our University forward
to its next evolution.
The new Adelaide University is now
less than a year away, and our Chancellor
explains how we are working to ensure this
new iteration honours our past while
ensuring our future.
It’s a big job – one which embraces
culture, curricula and change as well as the
vital needs for research and teaching of the
highest level.
The importance of community is also
explored in this issue in our letters pages
where contributors write to us of how their
time at our University changed their world.
There are more prizes to be won in this
issue as well – including aged wines from
our Waite campus.
I hope you enjoy this issue of Lumen!
Professor Jessica Gallagher is the University’s
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President
(External Engagement).
Lumen Editor: Mark Douglas
(lumen@adelaide.edu.au)
Photographic Editor: Isaac Freeman
Layout: Cath Dew
Contact us
If you have feedback about the magazine, or
would like to send a letter to the editor, you
are invited to contact us in these ways:
By email: lumen@adelaide.edu.au
Online: adelaide.edu.au/lumen
By post: Lumen, The University
of Adelaide, SA 5005
We’d love to hear from you.
Donations and bequests
If you wish to make a donation to the
University, or discuss a potential bequest,
please contact us in one of these ways:
By phone: +61 8 8313 5800
By email: development@adelaide.edu.au
By post: Development, 250 North Terrace,
The University of Adelaide, SA 5005 Australia
Views expressed by contributors in Lumen
are not necessarily endorsed by the
University of Adelaide, the publisher.
CRICOS provider number 00123M.
Australian University Provider Number
PRV12105.
Acknowledgment of Country
We acknowledge the Kaurna people, the
traditional custodians of the Adelaide Plains
and the land on which the University of
Adelaide’s campuses at North Terrace,
Waite and Roseworthy are built.
We acknowledge the deep feelings of
attachment and relationship of the Kaurna
people to Country, and we respect and
value their past, present and ongoing
connection to the land and cultural beliefs.
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Adelaide ISSN 1320 0747
Registered by Australia Post No 56500/00097
Material from Lumen may be reproduced
without permission, with acknowledgement
of its origin.
Sustainability
Lumen is printed on paper from recycled and
sustainably grown sources. The plastic cover
is fully compostable.
