Royal Society of NSW News & Events

From Dr Susan Pond AM FRSN, President of the Royal Society of NSW On behalf of the Royal Society of NSW, I extend wholehearted congratulations to one of our Distinguished Fellows, Scientia Professor Michelle Simmons AO FRS DistFRSN FAA of UNSW (Sydney), on being awarded the Bakerian Medal and Lecture 2020 by the Royal Society. Professor Simmons has...

All online events from the Royal Society of NSW are recorded and are made available for subsequent viewing on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/royalsocnsw, as well as being curated on the Presentations page of this website (under the Publishing menu).  Amongst the most recent events are Music as a Superfood presented as part of the I...

The Society is pleased to introduce a new initiative titled Meet the Fellows comprising a series of 3-minute video interviews with Fellows, commencing with those who have been elected most recently.   Since the Fellowship category of membership was introduced in December 2013 to recognise individuals who are leaders in their fie...

“The Intimate History of Evolution: The Huxleys 1825–1975” A contribution to National Science Week Professor Alison Bashford FRSN FAHA FRHistS FBALaureate Professor of HistoryUNSW (Sydney) Date: Wednesday, 4 August 2021, 6.30 pm AEST  Venue: Zoom webinar.   Video presentation: YouTube video   Summary: At Life Maga...

The Society is pleased to announce the launch of its Twitter account today (3 August 2021) in this its bicentennial year.  The Society is now active on three social media platforms, Twitter (@royalsocnsw), YouTube (royalsocnsw), and Facebook (@royalsoc), with these to be followed shortly by a presence on LinkedIn.  Please consider followi...

During February and March of 2021, the Royal Societies of Australia in partnership with Inspiring Victoria presented an online symposium in three parts titled Stewardship of Country. These presentations aimed to elevate a broad range of perspectives, generating discussion on landscape and environmental management that bridges Indigenous, agric...

Ideas@theHousePresented byHer Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of NSW “Music as a Superfood: How music can help us live longer, sleep better, calm down, find flow, and feel happier”Greta J. Bradman Writer, broadcaster, psychologist, and performing artist Date: Thursday, 22 July 2021, 6.30pm AEST Venue: Zoom webinar. F...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW warmly congratulates one of its Fellows, Professor Kathy Belov AO FRSN of the University of Sydney, on being awarded the MJD White Medal of the Genetics Society of Australasia (GSA).  The award, which commemorates Michael White who proposed the formation of the Genetics Society in 1953, recognises e...

The Royal Society of NSW records with great regret the passing of one of its valued Fellows, Emeritus Professor Jim Kehoe FRSN, on 15 July 2021. A senior academic from the School of Psychology at UNSW, Jim became a Fellow of the Society in 2012 and contributed in many ways to the expansion of the society in the mid-2010s. He was an enthusiastic mem...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW warmly congratulates one of its Fellows, Professor Richard Kingsford FRSN of UNSW Sydney, on being awarded a Gold Medal by the Ecological Society of Australia (ESA) for 2021.  The Gold Medals awarded each year by the ESA recognise the impact of the work of leading Australian ecologists. Professor Ki...

The Society is delighted to announce that the NSW Government, through the Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer, is providing a three-year sponsorship for its ongoing operations.  In announcing the sponsorship, the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte, said “The Royal Society’s stated mission is more importa...

“ANSTO’s WOMBAT Project” Dr Helen Maynard-CaselySenior Instrument ScientistAustralian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Date: Thursday, 15 July  Venue: Via email circulation   Summary Dr Maynard-Casely was due to present this talk at the Mittagong RSL on 15 July 2021. Unfortunately, because of the updated COVID-19 restrictions a...

“Society as an information processing system, and the influence of the media” Dr Erik Aslaksen FRSNPhysicist, Engineer, and Author Date: Wednesday, 7 July 2021, 6.30 pm AEST  Venue: Zoom webinarVideo presentation: YouTube video  Summary: We are concerned about our environment, and rightfully so: the air we breathe, the water we ...

“Extreme bushfires and the age of violent pyroconvection” Professor Jason SharplesSchool of ScienceUNSW (Canberra) Date: Wednesday, 30 June 2021, 6.00 pm AEST  Venue:  Zoom WebinarVideo presentation: YouTube video (*) Note:  Please note the change to both the time of the event and the venue/format. The current uncertainty r...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW warmly congratulates one of its Fellows, Attila Brungs FRSN FTSE, on being named as the next Vice-Chancellor of the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Professor Brungs, currently the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) since 2014, has had a distinguished career in the aca...

“Burnout — the hottest issue” Max La Galle introduced by Dr Ken McCracken Date: Thursday, 17 June, 6.30 pm AEST Venue: RSL Mittagong, Nattai/Joadja Rooms All are welcome  Summary: Science has progressed beyond our wildest predictions in these 200 years and it is no wonder that young aspiring scientists these days are now walking in t...

The Society is pleased to note the awards listed in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours List to Society Fellows: a Companion of the Order to Australia (AC) to Emeritus Professor Kurt Lambeck AC DistFRSN FRS FAA, Members of the Order of Australia (AM) to Professor Gilles Guillemin AM OM (Fr, Chevalier) FRSN and Mr John Hardie AM FRSN, and a Medal...

The Royal Society of NSW is delighted to learn that one of its Fellows, Professor Hala Zreiqat AM FRSN FAA FTSE FAHMS, has been awarded a 2020-21 Fulbright Senior Scholarship.   Professor Zreiqat is a professor of biomedical engineering at The University of Sydney and Director of the Australian Research Centre for Innovative BioEngin...

The Royal Society of NSW records with great regret the passing of one of its valued Fellows, Emeritus Professor Roger A. Layton AM FRSN on 5 June 2021.   Professor Layton was the father of modern marketing in our region, starting in 1967 with his appointment as the first Chair of Marketing at UNSW. He was Head of the School, of Marketing ...

“Murray-Darling Basin turmoil:past, present, and future” Professor Richard Kingsford FRSNProfessor of Environmental Science Director, Centre for Ecosystem Science, UNSW (Sydney) Date: Wednesday, 2 June 2021, 6.30pm AEST  Venue: Zoom webinar Video presentation: YouTube video Summary:  The Murray-Darling Basin is Australia's most devel...