The Royal Society of New South Wales Medal

On this page:

• About the Medal
• Recent Medal Winners
• Recipients of the Royal Society Medal

About the Medal

The Society's Medal is awarded from time to time to a member of the Society who has made meritorious contributions to the Society’s administration, organisation, and endeavours.

The Society's Medal was the first initiative of the Society to recognize its members' contributions, deriving in concept from the Society's Money Prize of 1882.  It was awarded for published papers from 1884 to 1896, together with a money prize of £25, but was discontinued from 1897 to 1942.  In 1943, it was revived (without the money prize) as an award for a member of the Society who had made meritorious contributions to the advancement of science, including administration and organization of scientific endeavour and for services to the Society.

Nominations for the RSNSW Medal close on 30 September of each year. The application procedure for this medal is described on the nomination form. Each application must comply with the conditions of the award and consist of a completed nomination form together with supporting documentation as specified on the form. Completed nominations should be sent to the email address listed on the nomination form.

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Recent Medal Winners

2020: Emerita Professor Mary O’Kane AC FRSN FTSE Hon FIEAust

Emerita Professor Mary O’Kane was appointed as the first New South Wales Chief Scientist and Engineer in 2008 and remained in the position until 2018. Prior to that she was Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Adelaide from 1996 to 2001. From 1994 to 1996 she was Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Adelaide. From 1989 to 1993 she was Dean of the Faculty of Information Sciences and Engineering at the University of Canberra.

Early on, as the New South Wales Chief Scientist and Engineer, she established a relationship between her office and the Royal Society of New South Wales which, in essence, provided the Society with access to the State Government. She was a strong supporter of the Society, providing funding for the publication of the Journal and Proceedings. Later she provided funding and hosted the Four Societies Lecture when it was the Royal Society's turn to organise this event. She also instigated an awards mechanism for the Society, by which the Science Deans of NSW and ACT universities came together under her chairmanship to make recommendations for the Society’s prizes and scholarships. She advocated for the Society in government and also was a strong supporter of the Royal Society of New South Wales and Four Academies Forum held annually at Government House, Sydney.

2019: Emeritus Professor Brynn Hibbert AM FRSN

Emeritus Professor David Brynn Hibbert AM FRSN was the second incumbent of the Chair of Analytical Chemistry at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.  His research interests are in electroanalytical chemistry and chemometrics and metrology in chemistry.  He has published approximately 250 papers, five books and holds several patents. He is past Chair of the Analytical Division of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, Secretary of the Analytical Division of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, was a Council member of the Australian Academy for Forensic Sciences and was President of the Society during 2016-17.

As a Council member of the Royal Society of NSW, Vice-President and President he has contributed strongly to every aspect of the Society’s governance. He was key in establishing the reputation of the category of Fellow when it was introduced in 2012, and has continued this work as Chair of the Fellows and Members Assessment Committee to this day.

As President, he continued to provide momentum to the Society’s growth through a most effective, good-natured leadership style that encouraged the contribution of the entire membership and fostered the collegiate nature of the Society to great effect.  Continuing as Vice-President (immediate Past-President), he has brought wisdom and good judgement to many important issues considered by Council.

In the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, Emeritus Professor Hibbert was made a Member of The Order of Australia for significant service to science in the discipline of chemistry, to professional societies, and to sport through illicit drug profiling.

Emeritus Professor Hibbert is a worthy recipient of The Royal Society of NSW Medal.

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2017: Dr Donald Hector AM FRSN

Dr Hector was President of the Society from 2012 to 2015. Under his presidency, the Society undertook major strategic initiatives that rebuilt its membership, invigorated its programs, including the now annual Forum, and modernized its back-office processes. Dr Hector’s infectious enthusiasm and his approach of leading by doing, combined with his scientific, managerial and administrative skills, have helped move the Society forward to new endeavours, reinforcing the Society’s position as a leader in the intellectual life of New South Wales and the country.

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List of Recipients of the Royal Society of NSW Medal

Year & Recipient

Year & Recipient

1884    W.E. Abbott 1886    S.H. Cox 1887    J. Seaver 1888    Rev. J.E. Tenison-Woods 1889    T. Whitelegge               Rev. J. Mathew 1891    Rev. J. Milne Curran 1892    A.G. Hamilton 1894    J.V. De Coque               R.H. Mathew 1895    C.J. Martin 1896    Rev. J. Milne Curran 1943    E. Cheel (Botany) 1948    W.L. Waterhouse (Agriculture) 1949    A.P. Elkin (Anthropology) 1950    O.U. Vonwiller (Physics) 1951    A.R. Penfold (Applied Chemistry) 1953    A.B. Walkhom (Palaeobotany) 1954    D.P. Mellor (Chemistry) 1955    W.G. Woolnough (Geology) 1956    W.R. Browne (Geology) 1957    R.C.L. Bosworth (Physical Chemistry)  1958    F.R. Morrison (Applied Chemistry) 1959    R.C.L. Bosworth               Ida A. Brown 1960    T. Griffith Taylor 1961    A. Bollinger 1962    H.W. Wood 1963    R.S. Nyholm 1964    F.D. McCarthy 1965    F. Lions 1966    H.A.J. Donegan 1967    A.F.A. Harper 1968    H.H.G. McKern 1969    R.J.W. Le Fevre

1970    J.A. Dulhunty   1971    J.L. Griffith 1972    W.H.G. Poggendorff 1973    R.L. Stanton 1975    W.H. Robertson 1976    E.K. Chaffer 1977    J.W. Humphries 1978    M.J. Puttock 1979    A.A. Day 1980    M. Krysko v Tryst 1981    W.E. Smith 1982    W.B. Smith-White 1984    R.S. Vagg 1985    D.J. Swaine 1986    S.C. Haydon 1988    R. Bhathal 1989    J.H. Loxton 1990    F.L. Sutherland 1991    D.E. Winch 1992    W.G.K. Ford 1993    H.G. Royle 1994    E.C. Potter 1995    G.C. Lowenthal 1996    P.M. Callaghan 1997    E.D. O'Keeffe 1998    D.F. Branagan 1999    D.J. O'Connor 2000    P.R. Evans 2001    P.A. Williams 2003    C.F. Wilmot 2007    G. Brown DistFRSN 2012    J. R. Hardie FRSN 2014    The Hon Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO DistFRSN 2017    D. C. Hector AM FRSN 2019   D. B. Hibbert AM FRSN 2020   M. O’Kane AC FRSN

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