Historian and lexicographer Dr Amanda Laugesen, BA (Hons) ’97, PhD ’01, is Director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre, which is co-funded by ANU and Oxford University Press Australia and New Zealand to research Australian English and edit Oxford’s Australian dictionaries. Its main research project is the Australian National Dictionary, a dictionary of Australian words and their origins. February is always a busy time for Centre staff, as dictionary projects are often in their copy-editing stage. Here Dr Laugesen reflects on a typical day in which the search for new words continues.

They say never judge a book by its cover, but what if it has two covers? Surely that means something special, right?

What do the symbols in the crest on Wright Hall mean? Evana Ho reports.

You can enjoy the best stories from across the ANU community wherever you are. Scroll through the ANU Reporter website to watch videos, listen to audio and read bonus stories, such as these:

November 2018 marks the centenary of the end of the First World War, as Australian National Dictionary editor Dr Amanda Laugesen, BA (Hons) ’97, PhD ’01 explains.

A new modelling tool gives a better understanding of how effective welfare payments are, write Associate Professor Ben Phillips and Professor Matthew Gray.

The Australian Government appears to have shelved the tax cuts to big business because it believes there are no votes in a policy that the electorate perceives as just benefiting big business.

Alexandra Catling indulges in her passion for scientific research on a trip to south east Asian forests. And discovers leeches.

In this edition, we’re delighted to share the campus love story of Amy and David who met when they were both doing science degrees.

A passion for gender equity brought two eminent people together to deliver this year’s inaugural Foundation Day lecture – former ANU Chancellor Emeritus Professor Peter Baume AC and ANU Alumna of the Year Dr Susan Ryan AO. Here are edited extracts of their speeches.

Her career has taken her far and wide around the world, not following a typical path. Ross Peake reports.

Dr Jodie Ward, BSc (Hons) ’03, PhD ’07, discusses her path from a childhood fascination with zoology to leading the way in DNA identification for missing persons. Eva Medcalf reports.

Dr Matthew Brookhouse, BSc (Forestry) ’97, PhD ’08, loves to peer back through time by examining the growth rings from trees. Yes, he’s a dendrochronologist. And he’s made an amazing discovery about a Henry VIII portrait. Ross Peake reports.

Studies of Thai literature in English are few and far between due to the scarcity of Thai literature in translation. Emily Hazlewood reports.

Dr Karen Fox, PhD ’09, explores tales of path-breaking women in the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

Archives come to life to inform the restoration of a significant piece of landscaping history. Amy Jarvis and Jack Dunstan report.

Amy Chin-Atkins, BSc ’92, PhD ’98, and David Atkins, BSc ’93, EMPA ’18, PhD ’98, began dating when they were studying science.

A gift of 120 Indigenous artworks features huge, stunning canvases, as Jane Faure-Brac reports.

ACT Scientist of the Year Dr Rose Ahlefeldt, B Phil (Hons) ’08, PhD ’13, is working with crystals that may one day be used to store quantum information in the next generation of computers. Will Wright reports.

A new book reveals the fascinating interaction between Christian missionaries and the Anindilyakwa-speaking people of Groote Eylandt, the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria, as Adam Spence reports.

While many of us struggle to remember which bottles or plastics are recyclable and which bin they can go into, an ANU academic has turned her mind to recycling entire vehicles. Rebecca McKenzie-McHarg reports.

The whole time Tabitha Carvan is speaking to Professor Paul Martin, she feels she’s getting a headache. Should she see a doctor about it – or a psychologist?.