Pollock Award and Lectureship in the Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Pollock Award and Lectureship in the Physical Sciences and Mathematics

About the Award

The Pollock Award and Lectureship is awarded for distinguished research in any area of the Physical Sciences and Mathematics, excluding the Chemical and Earth Sciences, conducted mainly in New South Wales. Recipients may be resident in Australia or elsewhere. 

The Pollock Memorial Lectureship was first awarded in 1949, sponsored by the University of Sydney and the Society, in memory of J.A. Pollock, Professor of Physics at the University of Sydney (1899 – 1922) and a member of the Society for 35 years. In 2023, the Council designated it the Royal Society of NSW Pollock Award the Lectureship.

Pollock Award and Lectureship 2024

The Pollock Awards and Lectureship in the Physical Sciences and Mathematics for 2024 has been awarded to Professor Nalini Joshi AO FRSN FAA FAustMS who holds the Chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of Sydney.

Nalini Joshi has made groundbreaking contributions to the mathematical modelling of nonlinear systems; particularly, innovative methods involving transcendental functions and Painlevé equations. Her research clarifies complex behaviours across various scales, significantly impacting fluid dynamics, nonlinear optics, and lattice theory. Recognised nationally and internationally, she is an Officer of the Order of Australia and has received multiple prestigious awards, including the George Szekeres Medal. She has supervised 18 PhD students and guided over 30 early career researchers from across the world, earning the Eureka Prize for her commitment to mentoring. Joshi also founded the SAGE initiative, promoting gender diversity in STEM fields.

Fellow Nalini Joshi

Pollock Memorial Lectureship 2021

The Pollock Memorial Lectureship for 2021 has been awarded to Professor Geraint Lewis FRSN FLSW, Professor of Astrophysics in the Sydney Institute for Astrophysics in the School of Physics of the University of Sydney. An outstanding researcher, Professor Lewis focuses on cosmological mysteries. Through exquisite and extensive observations with the world’s largest telescopes coupled with synthetic universes generated on immense supercomputers, he hunts for the dark side — the dark matter and dark energy that shape the cosmos. With significant discoveries that confront our ideas on the formation and evolution of galaxies, he has published extensively in international journals. His passion for cosmology and physics is reflected in his teaching and student supervision, as well as an extensive outreach program that brings the mysteries of the universe to diverse international audiences.

Geraint Lewis

Pollock Memorial Lectureship 2017

The Pollock Memorial Lectureship for 2017 was awarded to Professor Andrea Morello FAPS FRSN, the Professor of Quantum Nanosystems inthe School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW Sydney. Professor Morello is an internationally recognised leader in quantum science and technology who has invented and demonstrated all of the fundamental building blocks of a silicon quantum computer, thereby laying the foundations for its practical manufacture.

List of Past Recipients of the RSNSW Pollock Award and Lectureship

Year & Lecturer Year & Lecturer
1949    T.M. Cherry
1952    H.S.W. Massey
1955    R. vd R. Woolley
1959    Sir Harold Jeffreys
1962    F. Hoyle
1965    F. Seitz
1969    A.R. Sandage
1972    L. Schwartz
1975    J.T. Wilson
1978    R.N. Bracewell
1981    E.E. Salpeter
1984    R.S. Pease
1995    D. Mills
2001    M. Bilek
2006    B. Josephson
2009    B. Schmidt
2013    M. Simmons
2017    A. Morello
2021    G. Lewis
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