The Society was delighted to learn that Distinguished Fellow, Professor Brian Schmidt AC FRS DistFRSN FAA FTSE, Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University was inducted as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) on 11 October 2023.

The ATSE citation reads as follows:

Vice Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt is a leading educator, communicator, innovator and astronomer. He is a leader of immense community standing.

In 2011, Brian jointly won the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating – a breakthrough in understanding our cosmos that lends weight to the existence of “dark energy”.

Through his leadership as Vice Chancellor of the Australian National University, Brian has been a powerful voice for STEM research, innovation and education in Australia. He has championed diversity, built stronger commercialisation capability at Australia’s national university, and fostered greater collaboration with leading international universities.

Professor Schmidt, who has been Vice-Chancellor of ANU since 2016, steps down from this role at the end of 2023 to return to his research and teaching in astrophysics within the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics as a Distinguished Professor.

The Council of the Society extends sincere congratulations to Professor Schmidt on this further recognition of his outstanding career and extensive contributions to Australian education, research, and innovation.