“Big, bad fires in NSW”

Emerita Professor Mary O’Kane AC FRSN FTSE Hon FIEAust

Chair, NSW Independent Planning Commission

Date: Wednesday, 5 May 2021, 6.30pm AEST 
Venue: Zoom Webinar
Video presentation: YouTube video

Summary:  As noted in the NSW Bushfire Inquiry, “The 2019-20 bush fire season was extreme, and extremely unusual. It showed us bush fires through forested regions on a scale that we have not seen in Australia in recorded history, and fire behaviour that took even experienced firefighters by surprise. The total tally of fire-generated thunderstorms in south-eastern Australia since the early 1980s increased from 60 at the end of 2018-19 to almost 90 at the end of the 2019-20 bush fire season – an increase of almost 50% in one bush fire season. Fire-generated thunderstorms are extremely dangerous phenomena that produce extreme winds, lightning, tornadoes and black hail.  The season showed us what damage megafires can do, and how dangerous they can be for communities and firefighters. And it is clear that we should expect fire seasons like 2019-20, or potentially worse, to happen again.”

This talk will examine the nature of the 2019-20 bushfires, why they were so extreme, and why they are likely to happen again.

Mary O’Kane is Chair of the NSW Independent Planning Commission, a company director, and Executive Chairman of O’Kane Associates, a company advising governments and the private sector on innovation, research, education and development. She was NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer from 2008-2018; Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide from 1996-2001 and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Adelaide from 1994-1996. Before that, she was Dean of Information Sciences and Engineering at the University of Canberra.

Mary has served on several boards and committees in the public and private sectors, especially related to energy, engineering, ICT and research. She is currently Chair of the boards of Aurora Energy Pty Ltd and Sydney Health Partners. She also carries out reviews in a wide range of fields in many countries. She recently was one of the two leaders of NSW Bushfire Inquiry.

Professor O’Kane is a Companion of  the Order of Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia, a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW and the recipient of the 2020 Royal Society of NSW Medal.  

“Particle radiation therapy and human space exploration: commonality in challenges and solutions”

Professor Anatoly Rosenfeld
University of Wollongong

Date: Thursday, 15 April, 6.30pm AEST
Venue: RSL Mittagong, Nattai/Joadja Rooms (face-to-face)
Entry: No charge
All are welcome. 

Summary: Particle therapy is advantageous for the treatment of solid tumours when compared with conventional therapy with electron and X-ray beams. This is due to highly localised energy deposition at the end of the ion range, known as the Bragg peak (BP), and the sharp dose fall-off at large penetration depth. Heavy ions have further advantages over protons and lighter ions in treating deep-seated, radio-resistant tumours by producing an increased radiobiological efficiency (RBE) in the stopping region at the BP while preserving the normal tissue surrounding the tumour. Our better understanding of radiobiology of heavy ions led recently to multi-ion therapy opening new horizons in better cancer treatment.

While heavy ion radiation is efficiently killing cancer, it is a major obstacle for human space exploration. This is due to the increased risk of cancer in astronauts through space radiation in comparison to the terrestrial radiation environment. Risk prediction in space radiation environments is challenging due to the mixed particle radiation field, especially of charged particles of high energy and charge (HZE) in galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and protons from solar particle events (SPE). It can be quantified in terms of probability for radiation exposure induced death (REID) from cancer.

Australia is on the way to taking a world-leading role in cancer treatment with radiation therapy including particle therapy. The same applies to space exploration. This is reflected in the building of the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research in Adelaide and the planned National Particle Therapy and Research Center (NPTRC) with heavy ion and proton therapy facilities at Westmead Hospital in Sydney. The Australian Space Agency recently announced the Moon to Mars initiative which is a $150 million investment to grow the space industry and enhance international collaboration with ESA and NASA. It will partner with NASA in the Artemis human exploration program to the Moon and later to Mars.

This lecture will address innovations in cancer treatment with heavy ions, as well as challenges in space explorations for future Moon and Mars human missions. These human activities, cancer treatment and space exploration, while appearing completely unrelated, have a strong commonality in that they both rely on their ability to accurately monitor ion radiation fields. The Centre for Medical Radiation Physics at UOW is a world leader in the development of radiation sensors.

Professor Anatoly Rosenfeld was is a Founder and Director of Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP) at University of Wollongong which is a largest education and research multidisciplinary medical radiation physics centre in Asia-Pacific with 18 academics and postdocs, 20 adjunct fellows from hospitals and industry and more than 65 postgraduate students.
His scientific interest and expertise is in a field of radiation semiconductor sensors development and their applications for advanced medical radiation dosimetry and space radiation. Many radiation sensors developed at CMRP under his leadership were successfully implemented in practice of radiation oncology in Australia and overseas to improve confidence in cancer treatment with radiation.

Professor Rosenfeld served as Chair of International Solid State Dosimetry Organization (ISSDO) and Member of IEEE Radiation Instrumentation Steering Committee. He was elected General Chair of the IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium (NSS) and Medical Imaging Conference (MIC) 2018, which was held in Australia for the first time in that year and attracted nearly 2000 delegates and 70 industrial companies. Professor Rosenfeld has initiated particle therapy research in Australia and is a Member of National Particle Therapy Treatment and Research Centre Steering Committee. He is a member of the International Committee on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) Committee on a new microdosimetry report and a member of Space Medicine Committee of Australian Space Agency. He has published more than 400 peer review papers and hold 18 patents in a field of radiation detectors for medical and space applications with two his inventions have been commercialised.

[email protected]

Presented by

Her Excellency the Honourable
Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of NSW

“Australia and the Dickens Boys”

Thomas Keneally AO DistFRSN

Date: Thursday, 15 April 2021, 6.00pm AEST
Venue: Zoom Webinar
Video Presentation: YouTube Video

Image credit: Tom Keneally in the Tom Keneally Centre at Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts. Photo by Helen White.

 About the talk: Australia was the British Hades where unpromising young men were sent to find the other half of their souls. In the curious second wave of transportees were the unsatisfactory sons of the gentry. We follow Plorn and his experiences in early Australia — Plorn being Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens, scion of the well known Charles Dickens, who arrived in Melbourne in the late 1860s during the last years of his father’s life. What happened to Plorn and why? What is the importance of historical fiction and how is it written — at least, how and why is it written by Thomas Keneally?

About the speaker: Thomas Keneally AO DistFRSN was born in Sydney in 1935 to Irish parents. He became a prolific writer with a deep knowledge of and reverence for history, especially of the working class and people oppressed because of ethnic or class background. Two good examples are The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, whose protagonist is an indigenous man, and Schindler’s Ark, about a hero of the Holocaust, a book that became the Oscar winning film, Schindler’s List. Nationally and internationally, Tom Keneally has become a most significant figure in Australian literature and culture. It is no wonder he has been named an Australian Living Treasure.

 With his first novel published in 1964, he now has a list of close to sixty novels and non-fiction works. Novels include The People’s Train, Daughters of Mars, Napoleon’s Last Island, and The Crimes of the Father. Tom’s love of history led to non-fiction titles including The Great Shame, Australians and The Commonwealth of Thieves as well as his most recent novel, The Dickens Boy and four convict-era mysteries, including The Soldier’s Curse and The Unmourned, with his daughter Margaret.

Literary prizes begin at home with the Miles Franklin Award and the Booker Prize. Internationally he has won the Los Angeles Times Prize, the Mondello International Prize, the Helmrich Award (US), the Trebbia International Prize (from the Czech and Slovak governments) and the University of California Gold Medal.

Tom has been made a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library, an Officer of the Order of Australia, a National Living Treasure, and is now the subject of a 55 cent Australian stamp! In 2014 he received an Irish Presidential Distinguished Service Award for his services to Irish culture worldwide. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW, Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal Society of Literature. He has honorary doctorates from Rollins College (US), Fairleigh Dickinson (US) and from the National University of Ireland, the University of Queensland, the Catholic University of Australia, the Western Sydney University, University of Technology Sydney, the University of New South Wales, the University of Wollongong and the University of South Australia. He has held academic posts at New York University and the University of California.

Tom lives with his wife, Judith, in Manly (Sydney) and is still writing.

About [email protected]: In late 2019, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of New South Wales and Patron of the Royal Society of NSW, invited representatives of the Society to discuss how the Governor might open Government House to a series of public events based on important and/or influential ideas. Her Excellency’s proposal was that the Royal Society of NSW and other organisations might devise a series of lectures, to be held at Government House, and known as [email protected] on topics of our choice for an invited audience of our Members and Fellows, together with others to be invited by Her Excellency. This is the second in the [email protected] series, the first being held in May 2020.

“Antarctica, this ain’t no mirage: the value of art in disseminating scientific information”

Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger
Contemporary Artist

Date: Wednesday, 7 April 2021, 6.00pm AEST (preceded by the Annual General Meeting)
Venue: Zoom Webinar
Video Presentation:YouTube Video

About this Event

In this talk Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger will explore just one of the islands she has investigated and, through her art, has raised awareness about the impact that our contemporary society is having on these often-idealised environments. Through the use of her time-based installations, photography and sculptures, along with her paintings and drawings, Lea works to make science more accessible to the community at large.

In January 2017 Lea travelled to Antarctica. This journey was unusual, not just because it was with a not-for-profit organisation, no room service or cabin attendants, but also as it was in many ways in the footsteps of the adventurer explorer. Her journey here resulted in artworks and exhibitions that have been seen across Australia in universities and art galleries, with her goal to bring the plight of the remote into the lives of the everyday person.

Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger is an Australian contemporary artist who disseminates her research and artistic vision, as an ‘artist at large’ by presenting her response and advocacy for environmental issues. Her investigations into evolution, contemporary society, and the impact of tourism on island environments has seen Lea do onsite examinations through immersive residencies or eco-tourism inquiries in; the South Shetland Islands specifically Deception Island (Antarctica) 2017, the Faroe Islands (The North Sea) 2015, the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) 2014, Lord Howe Island (NSW Australia) 2014 & 2015 and in 2021 an Artist at Sea residency with the Schmidt Ocean Institute. Lea creates artworks and installations that examine a window into the impact of the Anthropocene and contemporary consumerism on the viewed utopian destination. Lea has disseminated this research and her unique perspective through lectures, paper presentations and peer reviewed journals.

Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger has exhibited widely including solo exhibitions at Edith Cowan University Western Australia, and Griffith University, Queensland, and group exhibitions including Sculpture by the Sea (Sydney and Cottesloe), the Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing and the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize. Internationally her work has been shown at the Venice Summer Academy, Stunning Edge Exhibition Taiwan, the New York Hall of Science, Galway International Arts Festival Ireland, the SVA (the School of Visual Arts) at the Flatiron Building in Manhattan and the NYABF at the MOMA annexe PS1, New York.

Date: Wednesday, 7 April 2021, 6.00pm AEST
Venue: Zoom Webinar

This notice provides information about the:

• 154th Annual General Meeting and Council Elections
• 1292nd Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture

Annual General Meeting

Rule 4(c) of the Society's Rules requires that an Annual General Meeting (AGM) must be held in April of each year.

Business of the Annual General Meeting

The formal business of the Annual General Meeting, including the election of Council Members, will be conducted via an electronic ballot, in accordance with Rule 18.

Members, Fellows and Distinguished Fellows, who are financial in 2021, will receive an email from the Society's Returning Officer, via the electronic balloting company, Election Buddy. This email will include a unique ballot link that provides a random, secret access key for each voter. Voter anonymity is assured by ballot settings which ensure that voter choices cannot be linked to any voter.

The ballot will run from 18 March 12.00p m AEDT to 6 April 12.00pm AEST and will address:

• Procedural Business:
  • Confirmation of the Minutes of the 153^rd Annual General Meeting
  • Confirmation that the Annual Report of Council and the Financial Statements for 2020 be received (Link to be provided)
  • Confirmation of the proposed Auditors for 2021
• Election of Office-bearers and Council members, namely the:
  • President — from a field of two (2) candidates
  • Vice-President — from a field of two (2) candidates
  • Eight (8) Councillors — from a field of fourteen (14) candidates.

 Please note that for each of the positions of Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian, and Webmaster, only a single nomination was received. Accordingly, these Office-bearers will be declared elected at the AGM without the need for a ballot.

The results of the ballot will be announced by the Returning Officer at the AGM on 7 April 2021 and will be posted on the website on the following day.

The Ordinary General Meeting will commence immediately following the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting.

Relevant Documents

The Agenda for this meeting and Minutes of the previous AGM are available on the Meetings page of this website.

The Annual Report from Council and Financial Statements for 2020 are available on the Governance page.

It is suggested that Members and Fellows read these documents in advance of the commencement of the ballot.

Election of Office-Bearers and Ordinary Members of Council

Listed below are the nominations for the incoming Council received by the Secretary by 5.00pm AEDT on Friday, 5 March 2021.

For the Council Election, there are candidates who are standing for more than one position. In such circumstances, Rule 16(e) states that when a person stands for election in several offices (President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian, Webmaster, Councillor), that person shall be deemed elected to the first office considered for election in the order specified, if successful, and shall be deemed ineligible for subsequent offices.

For those Office-bearer and Councillor roles where there are more nominees than available positions, an election is required. For roles where there are the same number or fewer nominees than there are available positions, the candidates will be declared elected at the AGM without the need for a ballot.

In all cases, candidates have been invited to provide an optional statement outlining how their expertise and experience fit them for these roles and will benefit the Society. These statements are available through the links below and also are provided as information on the electronic ballot form.

Ordinary General Meeting 

The 1292^nd Ordinary General Meeting will follow the Annual General Meeting and includes a live, video-streamed Open Lecture.  

The Agenda for this meeting and Minutes of the previous OGM will be available on the Meetings page of this website.

“Antarctica, this ain’t no mirage:
the value of art in disseminating
scientific information”

Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger
Contemporary Artist

In this talk Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger will explore just one of the islands she has investigated and, through her art, has raised awareness about the impact that our contemporary society is having on these often-idealised environments. Through the use of her time-based installations, photography and sculptures, along with her paintings and drawings, Lea works to make science more accessible to the community at large.

In January 2017 Lea travelled to Antarctica. This journey was unusual, not just because it was with a not-for-profit organisation, no room service or cabin attendants, but also as it was in many ways in the footsteps of the adventurer explorer. Her journey here resulted in artworks and exhibitions that have been seen across Australia in universities and art galleries, with her goal to bring the plight of the remote into the lives of the everyday person.

Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger is an Australian contemporary artist who disseminates her research and artistic vision, as an ‘artist at large’ by presenting her response and advocacy for environmental issues. Her investigations into evolution, contemporary society, and the impact of tourism on island environments has seen Lea do onsite examinations through immersive residencies or eco-tourism inquiries in; the South Shetland Islands specifically Deception Island (Antarctica) 2017, the Faroe Islands (The North Sea) 2015, the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) 2014, Lord Howe Island (NSW Australia) 2014 & 2015 and in 2021 an Artist at Sea residency with the Schmidt Ocean Institute. Lea creates artworks and installations that examine a window into the impact of the Anthropocene and contemporary consumerism on the viewed utopian destination. Lea has disseminated this research and her unique perspective through lectures, paper presentations and peer-reviewed journals.

Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger has exhibited widely including solo exhibitions at Edith Cowan University Western Australia, and Griffith University, Queensland, and group exhibitions including Sculpture by the Sea (Sydney and Cottesloe), the Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing and the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize. Internationally her work has been shown at the Venice Summer Academy, Stunning Edge Exhibition Taiwan, the New York Hall of Science, Galway International Arts Festival Ireland, the SVA (the School of Visual Arts) at the Flatiron Building in Manhattan and the NYABF at the MOMA annexe PS1, New York.

Notice of the 1st Annual General Meeting of the RSNSW Hunter Branch

Date: Wednesday, 31 March, 5.00pm AEDT
Venue: Collaborative Teal Room, X201, NUSpace, University of Newcastle (Hunter St) and via Zoom live-streaming
Entry: No charge
Only financial Members and Fellows of the RSNSW Hunter Branch are eligible to attend.

Notice is hereby given of the 2021 Annual General Meeting of the Hunter Branch of the Royal Society of NSW.

Due to social distancing restriction imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the capacity of the room is limited to 36 people.  For those unable to be accommodated, or to attend physically, access to the meeting will be provided via Zoom. 

An agenda for the meeting is available online.

Amongst the business of the meeting is the Election of the Branch Committee for 2021-2022.  Nomination forms and further information is available from the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

“Stewardship of Country:
From Past to Future – Australian Stewardship of Country”

Presented jointly by the
Royal Societies of Australia and
Inspiring Australia Victoria

Date: Wednesday, 24 March, 6.00–8.00pm AEDT
Venue: Live streaming on the RSA Facebook page
Enquiries: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
Entry: No charge for Facebook livestreaming.  Paid registration is required for participation as a Zoom panellist.
All are welcome

Stewardship of Country, presented by the Royal Societies of Australia and Inspiring Australia Victoria, is a series of three webinars that aim to generate a discussion of landscape and environmental stewardship bridging Indigenous, scientific, economic and social perspectives with supporting ideas for practical action and public good. This initiative represents a fruitful collaboration between the Royal Society of Victoria, the Royal Society of Queensland and the Royal Society of New South Wales with support from the CSIRO.

Stewardship describes a deep relationship between people and place. In modern Australia, it is increasingly proposed as the next step of transition for a culture emerging from its colonial, extractive relationship to the landscape. The transition to stewardship may require we reorganise around the unique characteristics of the country, undertake significant regeneration of damaged ecosystems and deprioritise constant economic growth in favour of an enduring sufficiency gathered from a prosperous and biologically diverse environment. This series poses a fundamental question – who are we becoming as Australians faced with an increasingly unpredictable and challenging future?

 Webinar 3: From Past to Future – Australian Stewardship of Country takes us to a broad view of the past to define our approach to the future. We range from the natural history of our continent's diverse landscapes and species, including the traditional approaches taken by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to support that diversity, to redefining our relationships with the living world to better rise to the challenges we must collectively face to secure our country's future.

This event will feature four presentations by:

• Dr Anne Poelina, Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council and University of Nore Dame (Keynote)
• Professor Kingsley Dixon, Curtin University
• Dr Michelle Maloney, Australian Earth Laws Alliance, Griffith University
• Mr Barney Foran, Charles Stuart University.

with panellists:

• Dr Mark Stafford Smith, CSIRO Honorary Fellow
• Ms Verity Morgan-Schmidt, Gheerulla Creek Consulting
• Dr Tyson Yunkaporta, Deakin University.

Stewardship of Country will be conducted online as a Zoom webinar. Each event will be livestreamed on the Societies Facebook page free of charge; paid registration is open to those who would like to submit questions and engage in the session as audience members.

“The general development of the Sydney Basin Coast and its recent history since the last ice age”

Dr Howard Brady

Date: Thursday, 18 March, 6.30pm AEDT
!--Video Presentation: YouTube Video
--> Venue: RSL Mittagong, Carrington Room (face-to-face)
Entry: No charge
All are welcome. 

Summary: In 2009/2010 Howard Brady examined reports prepared for the Shoalhaven City Council by the Snowy Mountains Engineering Consultants (SMEC). SMEC was asked to examine the effects of a 90cm sea-level rise on Shoalhaven area properties sited either on headland cliffs or on dune systems adjacent to beaches. His reports, very critical of the SMEC reports, were based on his own field work, on aerial photographs of the Shoalhaven Coast taken since WWII, and also on geological studies by scientists at New England University and the University of Wollongong. Dr Brady’s talk will cover the general development of the Sydney Basin Coast and its recent history since the last ice age.

Dr Howard Brady was involved in Antarctic geological research during 1974-1982 and he was also US Navy catholic chaplain to McMurdo and South Pole Stations for the 1974 and 1975 summer seasons. In 2011, Howard was awarded the Alumnus Scientist of the Year Award by Northern Illinois University for his geological contributions to Antarctic Research. Howard is a member of the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences and an Emeritus Member of the Explorers Club of New York. Dr Brady has Diplomas in Philosophy and Theology, and two postgraduate degrees in Antarctic science. He is currently an accredited reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for its forthcoming report due in 2021.

“Stewardship of Country:
Resilience, regeneration and escaping the iron law of business-as-usual”

Presented jointly by the
Royal Societies of Australia and
Inspiring Australia Victoria

Date: Wednesday, 10 March, 6.00–8.00pm AEDT
Venue: Live streaming on the RSA Facebook page
Enquiries: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
Entry: No charge for Facebook livestreaming.  Paid registration is required for participation as a Zoom panellist.
All are welcome

Stewardship of Country, presented by the Royal Societies of Australia and Inspiring Australia Victoria, is a series of three webinars that aim to generate a discussion of landscape and environmental stewardship bridging Indigenous, scientific, economic and social perspectives with supporting ideas for practical action and public good. This initiative represents a fruitful collaboration between the Royal Society of Victoria, the Royal Society of Queensland and the Royal Society of New South Wales with support from the CSIRO.

Stewardship describes a deep relationship between people and place. In modern Australia, it is increasingly proposed as the next step of transition for a culture emerging from its colonial, extractive relationship to the landscape. The transition to stewardship may require we reorganise around the unique characteristics of the country, undertake significant regeneration of damaged ecosystems and deprioritise constant economic growth in favour of an enduring sufficiency gathered from a prosperous and biologically diverse environment. This series poses a fundamental question – who are we becoming as Australians faced with an increasingly unpredictable and challenging future?

 Webinar 2: Resilience, regeneration and escaping the iron law of business-as-usual focuses on untangling the knots in our system confounding beneficial change, from the fixed thinking enforced by our political culture to the slow-changing traditions of agricultural land management and business practices founded in European soils and ecosystems. We also look at how business, entrepreneurship and private property have an effective role to play in conserving and rebuilding ecosystems and biodiversity.

This event will feature four presentations by:

• Dr Nicholas Gruen, CEO, Lateral Economics (Keynote)
• Ms Carolyn Hall, The Mulloon Institute
• Ms Jody Brown, La Trobe Station
• Mr Nigel Sharp, Odonata.

with panellists:

• Dr Mark Stafford Smith, CSIRO Honorary Fellow
• Ms Verity Morgan-Schmidt, Gheerulla Creek Consulting
• Dr Tyson Yunkaporta, Deakin University.

Stewardship of Country will be conducted online as a Zoom webinar. Each event will be livestreamed on the Societies Facebook page free of charge; paid registration is open to those who would like to submit questions and engage in the session as audience members.

“What are the best options for growing Australia’s mental health through the COVID-19 recovery?”

Professor Ian Hickie AM FRSN FASSA FAHMS FRANZCP
Co-Director, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney

Date: Wednesday, 3 March, 6.30pm AEDT
Venue:Zoom webinar
Video Presentation: YouTube Video
!-- Venue: Zoom webinar. Click here for help in getting started with Zoom
Enquiries: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
Entry: No charge
All are welcome.  -->

Summary: The concept of building the ‘mental wealth’ of Australia, namely, the collective cognitive and emotional resources of our citizens, was increasingly being adopted nationally (and internationally) prior to the COVID19 pandemic (1). Although the range of public policy options, operative right across the life span, was being scoped, formal implementation had not proceeded. While Australia has been spared the worst direct physical health effects, and social disruption, associated with the pandemic, it would be a mistake to think that we do not still face many economic and social challenges that are likely to have major effects on our collective mental health and wellbeing.

Formal dynamic systems modelling (DSM) by our team at the Brain and Mind Centre of the University of Sydney (2, 3) has indicated not only the extent to which Australia’s mental health may be adversely impacted, but also which sets of economic, education, social and mental health policies may be most relevant in these very different circumstances. These are choices that need to be made urgently (and implemented) – like the variations in JobKeeper, JobSeeker and education funding. Whether those most at risk of bad mental health outcomes – namely, young people and women in casual work, are actually supported at this time, has major long-term ramifications.

By using formal simulations,and making the likely impacts of different choices more transparent (what works, what does harm, what is just ineffective), DSM offers a more empirically-based way of approaching this area of complex decision making.

1. Beddington, J., Cooper, C., Field, J. et al. The mental wealth of nations. Nature 455, 1057–1060 (2008).
2. Road to Recovery—Restoring Australia’s Mental Wealth
3. Road to Recovery, Part 2—Investing in Australia's Mental Wealth

 Professor Ian Hickie is Co-Director, Health and Policy, at The University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre. He is a NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow (2013-2017 and 2018-22), having previously been one of the inaugural NHMRC Australian Fellows (2008-12). He was an inaugural Commissioner on Australia’s National Mental Health Commission (2012-18) overseeing enhanced accountability for mental health reform and suicide prevention. He is an internationally renowned researcher in clinical psychiatry, with particular reference to medical aspects of common mood disorders, depression and bipolar disorder. He is now focused on the development of real-time personalized and measurement-based care systems for use in partnership with young people and their families. These systems promote early intervention, use of new and emerging technologies and suicide prevention. In his role with the National Mental Health Commission, and his independent research, health system and advocacy roles, Professor Hickie has been at the forefront of the move to have mental health and suicide prevention integrated with other aspects of health care (notably chronic disease and ambulatory care management).

“Stewardship of Country:
The Common Ground –
A Convergence of Traditions”

Presented jointly by the
Royal Societies of Australia and
Inspiring Australia Victoria

Date: Wednesday, 24 February, 6.00–8.00pm AEDT
Video presentation: Facebook video
!-- Venue: Live streaming on the RSA Facebook page
Enquiries: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
Entry: No charge for Facebook livestreaming.  Paid registration is required for participation as a Zoom panellist.
All are welcome -->

Stewardship of Country, presented by the Royal Societies of Australia and Inspiring Australia Victoria, is a series of three webinars that aim to generate a discussion of landscape and environmental stewardship bridging Indigenous, scientific, economic and social perspectives with supporting ideas for practical action and public good. This initiative represents a fruitful collaboration between the Royal Society of Victoria, the Royal Society of Queensland and the Royal Society of New South Wales with support from the CSIRO.

Stewardship describes a deep relationship between people and place. In modern Australia, it is increasingly proposed as the next step of transition for a culture emerging from its colonial, extractive relationship to the landscape. The transition to stewardship may require we reorganise around the unique characteristics of the country, undertake significant regeneration of damaged ecosystems and deprioritise constant economic growth in favour of an enduring sufficiency gathered from a prosperous and biologically diverse environment. This series poses a fundamental question – who are we becoming as Australians faced with an increasingly unpredictable and challenging future?

Webinar 1: The Common Ground — A Convergence of Traditions focuses on the convergence of knowledge traditions, acknowledging the capacity for traditional European farming practices to adapt, the remarkable advances in the ecological sciences based on European classification systems, and the complex Australian Indigenous knowledge systems developed and maintained over a truly astonishing stretch of time, offering a deep cultural understanding and relationships with "country" to help us determine our common future in Australia.

This event will feature four presentations by:

• Adjunct Associate Professor Mary Graham of The University of Queensland (Keynote)
• Professor Peter Bridgewater of the Australian National University, the University of Canberra and Beijing Forestry University
• Mr David Pollock of Wooleen Station
• Mr Justin O’Brien, Dr Chris Brady and Mr Peter Christopherson of Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation.

with panellists:

• Dr Mark Stafford Smith, CSIRO Honorary Fellow
• Ms Verity Morgan-Schmidt, Gheerulla Creek Consulting
• Dr Tyson Yunkaporta, Deakin University.

Stewardship of Country will be conducted online as a Zoom webinar. Each event will be livestreamed on the Societies Facebook page free of charge; paid registration is open to those who would like to submit questions and engage in the session as audience members.

“The five islands off Port Kembla — an historical and ecological study”

Dr Kevin Mills
Botanist and Ecologist

 Date: Thursday, 18 February, 6.30pm AEDT
!--Video Presentation: YouTube Video
--> Venue: RSL Mittagong, Carrington Room (face-to-face)
Entry: No charge
All are welcome. 

Summary: To follow.

Dr Kevin Mills is a botanist and ecologist and has lived in the Illawarra for over 40 years. He has studied the region’s rainforests for many years and is currently working on various projects in the region, including studies of all offshore islands on the South Coast, a review and field study of the ferns of the south coast, and various rare plant surveys. He has authored or co-authored several books on plants including Native Trees of Central Illawarra, Rainforests of the Illawarra District and Native trees of the NSW South Coast. He is continuing his rainforest studies here and on Norfolk Island, where he is a regular visitor and on which he has also written extensively. He is involved in the rehabilitation of habitat on the Five Islands Nature Reserve off Port Kembla and the regeneration of rainforest at the Minnamurra Rainforest Centre in Budderoo National Park. Kevin is also a long-time member of the South Coast Regional Advisory Committee for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The looming global food crisis: challenge and opportunity

The Honourable John Anderson AO FTSE 

The Chaikin Oration is presented by the NSW Division of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE)

Date: Thursday, 25 February 2021, 12.40pm (AEDT) 
Venue: Zoom Webinar (Registration required)
Entry: No charge

Summary: There is no doubt that the world’s ability to provide enough food for future generations is under stress. The jury is out on changing rainfall patterns, where fertile lands of today may become hostile deserts, whether population growth will continue, and on other impacts which will add to the food pressures. To add to the challenge, there are voices asking for the elimination of methane generating animals, inorganic fertilisers and GM food. Australia is fortunate in having world leading expertise both in food production and on analysis of the threats, and is well positioned to make a vital contribution.

John will inform us on the challenges of the looming global food crisis, both technical and political, and how Australia should respond and is already responding. He will consider:

• How Governments and leaders need to show direction and leadership on these issues. As has been demonstrated during the COVID19 Pandemic, good policy and practical measures have accrued from blending scientific expertise with pragmatic politics.
• The agricultural sector is under pressure to come up with answers: Australian agriculture is very capable of developing new practices and technologies to supply enough food to feed a world affected by global influences. What is being done and planned?
• Responding to the World’s problems and demands will surely create huge commercial opportunities for Australian agriculture, providing the correct decisions are taken.
• In our more immediate neighbourhood, what is Australia doing for our South East Asian and Pacfic Island neighbours?

The Honourable John Anderson AO FTSE is a sixth-generation farmer and grazier from North- West New South Wales, who spent 19 years from 1989 in the Australian Parliament. This included six years as Leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime Minister as a member of the reformist government led by John Howard.  He is Chair of the Crawford Fund, an Australian registered NGO established by ATSE with a focus on global food and nutrition security.

Royal Society of NSW 2020 Student Award Presentations 

Matthew Donnelly, UNSW (Sydney)
Sajad Razavi Bazaz, UTS 
Daniel Fox, ANU 
Philippa Specker, UNSW (Sydney)

Date: Wednesday, 3 February 2021, 6.30pm AEDT
Venue: Zoom Webinar.
Video presentation: YouTube video

The evening’s program comprises four short talks presented by PhD Candidates who have been awarded the Society's Jak Kelly Award and the Royal Society of NSW Scholarships for 2020.  Follow the links to read a summary of each presentation and a brief biography of the presenter. 

Mr Matthew Donnelly (Jak Kelly Award) — Controlling how electrons move in silicon at the atomic scale 

Mr Sajad Razavi Bazaz (Scholarship Winner) — 3D printed micro-engineered systems for life science research 

Mr Daniel Fox (Scholarship Winner) — Molecular Mechanisms of Inflammasome Activation by Enterotoxins of the Foodborne Pathogen Bacillus cereus 

Ms Philippa Specker (Scholarship Winner) — Improving the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in refugees: The important role of emotion regulation 

Presentation Summaries and Brief Biographies of the Presenters

Controlling how electrons move in silicon at the atomic scale
Mr Matthew Donnelly, PhD Student, UNSW (Sydney)

Silicon is one the most important materials in the modern world due to its use in the integrated circuits that make up the computers and phones we use every day. We use silicon to build computers because it is a semiconductor — a class of materials in which we can control how electrons move at the micro and nano scale.

Mr Donnelly’s work focusses on manipulating silicon at the ultimate limit — a single atom — and how we can use this control to fabricate quantum computers, machines that promise to solve a new generation of computational problems. In particular, he will demonstrate how controlling a phenomenon known as quantum tunnelling is critical in this process, and how novel fabrication techniques are bringing these machines one step closer to reality.

Matthew Donnelly is a PhD candidate in the group of Prof. Michelle Simmons within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation at UNSW (Sydney). His research investigates monolithic donor structures in silicon and their application in spin-based quantum computing. In particular, he is focussed on using 3D fabrication techniques to precisely control tunnel rates and other parameters critical to the operation of spin qubits.

3D printed micro-engineered systems for life science research
Mr Sajad Razavi Bazaz, PhD Student, University of Technology Sydney

Scaling down high-cost and demanding facilities into tiny, multi-functionalised microchips has revolutionised research areas — a technology referred to as microfluidics. Microfluidics is a science that allows the manipulation of minuscule fluid samples, ordinarily in the range of microliters, within networks of channels ranging from tens to hundreds of micrometers. Microfluidic systems are promising tools for the advancement of chemical and biological research with evident benefits. Improvements such as reduced reagent consumption, higher sensitivity, modelling of in vivo microenvironments, rapid processing, detailed spatial resolution, process integration, and automation have been achieved over the past three decades. 

In recent years, additive manufacturing, particularly 3D printing, has gained significant traction, being named the third industrial revolution. Due to the expanding use of microfluidic systems in laboratories, 3D printing has emerged as an alternative method to the traditional, costly fabrication process. The ability to fabricate structures ranging from a few microns to several centimeters is a complex process that can only be accomplished by taking advantage of 3D printing methods. Rapid prototyping provides an opportunity to adopt a “fail fast and often” strategy, motivating the researchers to utilise 3D printers in the field of microfluidics. In this fabrication method, a physical object is fabricated from a virtual model by designing the object via computer-assisted design (CAD) software, converting the design into the 3D printer language, and printing with a 3D printer in a single process.

The modularisation of microfluidic devices using additive manufacturing enables researchers to fabricate integrated microfluidic devices for various applications. Among all these different applications, research in life science technologies has shown significant promise. Not long ago, microfluidics was a burgeoning technology on the fringe of practical applications; now, it is coming of age in the life sciences and being recognised its enormous potential.  This presentation will showcase the use of 3D printed micro-engineered systems in research in the life sciences.

Sajad Razavi Bazaz is a PhD candidate in the a School of Biomedical Engineering of the University of Technology Sydney. His main research focus is to develop functional 3D-printed micro-engineered microfluidic devices for life science research. During his PhD journey, he has been able to develop a new functional 3D printing method for the fabrication of microfluidic devices. Toward his goals, Sajad and his colleagues have established a start-up company to develop 3D printed microfluidic devices for selective sperm selection in the IVF market.

Molecular mechanisms of inflammasome activation by enterotoxins of the foodborne pathogen Bacillus cereus
Mr Daniel Fox, PhD Student, Australian National University

Bacillus cereus is a clinically important and neglected human foodborne pathogen. This Gram-positive and rod-shaped bacterium is found ubiquitously in the environment and in undercooked and processed food products. Ingestion of B. cereus endospores often leads to germination and propagation of viable vegetative cells in the human gastrointestinal tract, which can lead to emetic and diarrheal syndromes largely depending on the production of enterotoxins. Of concern is the potential for B. cereus to cause often-fatal extra-gastrointestinal disease in immune-compromised patients, including systemic bacterial septicemia, ocular infections, anthrax-like pneumonia, cutaneous gas-gangrene-like infections, and infections of the central nervous system. 

B. cereus secretes multiple toxins, including the tripartite toxins haemolysin BL (HBL) and non-haemolytic enterotoxin (NHE). Our lab has previously made the important observation that HBL induces activation of the cytosolic inflammasome sensor NLRP3, which subsequently promotes the production of inflammation and host cell death. However, of particular interest is that B. cereus isolates which lack HBL can cause inflammation and disease in humans, suggesting that other non-redundant virulence factors are critical in the pathogenesis of this pathogen. My work has identified that NHE of B. cereus is also able to induce activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and cell death via a mechanism targeting the plasma membrane of host cells. I found that the subunits of this toxin assemble to form a functional pore, which drive the efflux of cytosolic potassium from the host cell. This toxin kills cell types from multiple lineages and host origin, highlighting its functional repertoire in different host species. Moreover, my findings suggest that both NHE and HBL operate synergistically to induce inflammation in the host. Overall, my results highlight that multiple virulence factors from the same pathogen exhibiting conserved function and mechanism of action can be exploited for sensing by a single inflammasome, ultimately leading to increased capacity of the host to detect and defend against naturally-occurring genetic variants. 

Daniel Fox first started his research career as an undergraduate summer research student in the laboratory of Prof. Si Ming Man, in late 2017. Daniel went on to pursue and complete a first-class Honours degree in Medical Science in Prof. Man’s lab in 2018, where he published work in the Journal of Molecular Biology and Nature Microbiology, both as a co-first, and co-author. He began his PhD in 2019, continuing in Prof. Man’s lab, where he continued to characterise the innate immune response to clinically important, and neglected human foodborne pathogens. Since starting his PhD, Daniel has been selected to present his work at conferences both in China and the USA, has published first-author work in Nature Communications, and Cell Research, and has won two grants from the Gretel and Gordon Bootes Medical Research Foundation, totalling $23,500 AUD. He hopes to continue to advance his work in innate immunity as a medical researcher in the future.

Improving the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in refugees: The important role of emotion regulation
Ms Philippa Specker, PhD Student, UNSW (Sydney)

The psychological presentation of traumatised refugees is complex and presents a global challenge to public health. There are currently an estimated 80 million refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people worldwide and this number is steadily growing. Refugees encounter multiple and severe forms of trauma, such as war exposure, torture, imprisonment, and witnessing the murder of loved ones. Then, after fleeing danger, refugees also experience ongoing stress due to family separation, visa insecurity and socio-economic difficulties. Owing to these experiences of persecution and displacement, refugees experience greatly elevated rates of psychological disorders. In particular, as many as 1 in 3 refugees suffer from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Although psychological treatments for PTSD exist, they were not designed to address the psychological complexities of refugee experiences. In particular, many refugees have difficulties managing intense and unresolved emotions including fear, grief, anger, disgust, sadness, and guilt. While emotion regulation difficulties have been linked to psychopathology among other populations, very little research has investigated whether emotion regulation difficulties may be implicated in the development of mental illness among refugees. Such research may be crucial in facilitating the improvement of psychological treatment for refugees. 

This talk will discuss emerging research on the role of emotion regulation in the development and maintenance of PTSD among refugees. pa will discuss findings from her PhD research, including quantitative and experimental studies with refugees, to highlight how emotion regulation skills training may aid in the resolution of PTSD symptoms.

Philippa Specker is a PhD candidate enrolled in the combined PhD/Master of Psychology (Clinical) Program at UNSW. pa’s research is in the area of emotion regulation and refugee mental health, and seeks to understand how exposure to traumatic events impact on an individual’s capacity to utilize emotion regulation strategies to manage psychological distress. Her research aims to advance knowledge regarding mechanisms underpinning trauma-related psychopathology, and inform the development of effective and tailored interventions for survivors of persecution and displacement. Philippa has published three peer-reviewed papers in leading journals including the European Journal of Psychotraumatology and Clinical Psychology Review, and has presented her research at three national and five international conferences. In recognition of her contribution to the field of traumatic stress through research, clinical work and community advocacy, Philippa received the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies’ Outstanding Student Achievement Award (2020) and was shortlisted for the Australian-American Postgraduate Fulbright Award (2020). Philippa is also a Clinical Psychology Registrar at the Refugee Trauma and Recovery Program, where she delivers evidence-based treatment for refugees suffering from PTSD.

“Dispelling climate change myths—how ocean physics can help explain surprises in the modern-day climate record”

Professor Matthew England FRSN FAA
Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney

Date: Wednesday, 9 December, 6.30pm AEST
Venue: Zoom Webinar
Video Presentation: YouTube Video

Summary: Certain aspects of the climate record are often seized upon in an attempt to disprove the threat of human-caused climate change. Notable examples include the decade-long slowdown in global surface warming that occurred in the early 2000’s, as well as recent surface cooling and sea-ice expansion around Antarctica. This talk will describe how ocean and climate dynamics can explain these behaviours of the coupled climate system, and how the threat of anthropogenic climate change remains as real as ever.

Professor Matthew England  is a Scientia Professor of Ocean & Climate Dynamics at the University of New South Wales who has previously held ARC Laureate and Federation Fellowships. He was the founding Director of the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre (CCRC) during 2006-2013. In 2014 England was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, and in 2016 as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW and was the winner of the Society's most prestigious award, the James Cook Medal, in 2019.

“Planetary Health—Safeguarding Health in the Anthropocene Epoch”

Professor Tony Capon
Professor of Planetary Health and
Director, Sustainable Development Institute
Monash University

Date: Wednesday, 2 December 2020, 6.00pm AEDT
Venue: Zoom Webinar
Video Presentation:YouTube Video

Summary:  The rise of the global threat of pandemic viral disease is not the only issue confronting the modern world. There are a bundle of major related problems stemming from man’s successes in building a more comfortable existence. It is now apparent to many scientists that the drive to modify, utilise and control the resources of our planet, especially over the past few hundred years, is affecting the health of our planet.  Planetary Health is a new field of inquiry that links a multiplicity of disciplines which observe changes in the well-being of life on Earth.

In this presentation, Professor Capon will introduce the findings of the Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health report, “Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch, and canvass their implications for the protection and promotion of future human health and wellbeing.“ To respond effectively to the health challenges of the Anthropocene, human societies need to grapple with the global transitions that are currently shaping our lives–demographic, epidemiological, food, energy, urban, economic, cultural and ecological. Humanity can chart a safe, healthy and prosperous course ahead by addressing unacceptable inequities in health and wealth within the environmental limits of the Earth. However, this will require the generation of new knowledge, the implementation of wise policies, decisive action and inspirational leadership.

Professor Capon’s presentation will be supported by a panel moderated by the Hunter Branch vice-chairman, Laureate Professor John Aitken, and consisting of Dr John Van Der Kellan, the president of the NSW branch of Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), and Ms. Georgia Brown, a medical student who is an the main mover in Code Green, the climate action arm of AMSA (Australian Medical Students Association).

Professor Tony Capon directs the Monash Sustainable Development Institute and holds a chair in planetary health in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University. A public health physician and authority in environmental health and health promotion, his research focuses on urbanisation, sustainable development and human health. He is a former director of the International Institute for Global Health at United Nations University (UNU-IIGH) and has previously held professorial appointments at the University of Sydney and Australian National University. He is a member of the Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health that published its report Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch in 2015, and the International Advisory Board for The Lancet Planetary Health.

Two of his recent publications are:

• ‘Advancing Planetary Health in Australia: focus on emerging infections and antimicrobial resistance.’ Hill-Cawthorne et al. BMJ Global Health (2019)4(2) e 001283
• ‘Human Health on an Ailing Planet’ - Historical Perspectives on Our Future.’ Dunk JH et al. NEJM, 2019, 381(8):778-782

This page lists the Calendar of Meetings for the
Royal Society of NSW in 2021.

Please check this page regularly since the program is under ongoing development.

Last update: 1 October 2021

Follow the links below for meetings held by the Society in Sydney, in Newcastle by the Hunter Branch, in Mittagong by the Southern Highlands Branch, and in western NSW by the Western NSW Branch.

• Sydney Meetings
• Hunter Branch Meetings
• Southern Highlands Branch Meetings
• Western NSW Branch Meetings

Sydney Meetings 2021

Please note that the program in the table below lists events that are scheduled as monthly Ordinary General Meetings and the Annual Forum of the Royal Society and Four Academies. In addition to these events, there are three named lectures, associated with the Society’s 2020 Awards, that remain to be scheduled:

• Clarke Lecture — Distinguished Professor Michelle Leishman (Macquarie University)
• Liversidge Lecture — Professor Richard Payne FRSN (University of Sydney)
• Poggendorf Lecture — Professor Angela Moles FRSN (UNSW Sydney)

together with another lecture in the [email protected] series, and the Society’s contributions to Science Week 2021 in the latter half of the year.

Return to the top of page

Hunter Branch Meetings

The Hunter Branch Event Program for 2021 is still under development, with the table below being updated on a regular basis.

Return to the top of page

Southern Highlands Branch Meetings

The Southern Highlands Branch Event Program for 2021 is still under development, with the table below being updated on a regular basis.

Western NSW Branch Meetings 2021

Return to the top of page

The Western NSW Branch Event Program for 2021 is still under development, with the table below being updated on a regular basis.

“Relativity revealed: Einstein’s discoveries, the origin and shape of the universe”

Ian Bryce

Date: Wednesday, 18 November 2020 at 6.30pm AEST
Venue: Mittagong RSL, Carrington Room 
Enquiries: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
All are welcome

(*) This event will be the branch’s first face-to-face event since March.  Due to social distancing requirements, however, attendance is limited to at most 30 people.  Please register for this event with Hubert Regtop, Chair, Southern Highlands Branch of the Royal Society of NSW at the email address above. 

Ian Bryce graduated with a BSc in physics from Monash University, Melbourne, in 1970, followed by Engineering in 1972. He has long experience as an aerospace engineer with Telstra, Optus, and Hawker de Havilland, on aircraft, spacecraft and launch vehicle projects. As Chief Engineer for the Asia Pacific Space Centre, he worked closely with the Russians on a proposed spaceport on Christmas island. With Aerospace Concepts, he developed complex methodologies for risk analysis of weapons and rocket tests at Australia’s test site at Woomera. Ian lectured at several universities in space sciences. This includes 7 years at University of NSW, where he created a subject Space Vehicle Design. He has moved to applying the methods of science to human welfare, including a methodology called Measuring Morality. Ian teaches NSW Primary Ethics, and is active in the Skeptics (Challenge Coordinator) and Humanist societies.

“Where have all the ulcers gone — long time passing?”

Professor Adrian Lee FRSN and
Professor Thomas Borody FRSN
UNSW Sydney (1) and
Centre for Digestive Diseases (2)

Date: Wednesday, 11 November 2020, 6.30pm AEDT
Venue: Zoom Webinar.
Video presentation: YouTube video

This is the first presentation in the series Great NSW Discoveries, a sequence of presentations documenting past and present discoveries that have made a difference. In it, Emeritus Professor Lee and Professor Borody will tell little known stories of the essential contributions by RSNSW Fellows to one of the greatest medical advances in our times. The presentations will be introduced by Emeritus Professor Robert Clancy AM FRSN and the discussions will be rounded out by Emeritus Professor The Honourable Peter Baume AC DistFRSN.

Summary: In 1982 Robin Warren and Barry Marshall at the Royal Perth Hospital described the presence of squiggly bacteria in the gastric mucosa of patients with Peptic Ulcer Disease (PUD).Helicobacter pylori was on the map! They would deservedly be awarded the Nobel Prize for their discovery, which would change the world – medicine would never be the same again. It is not possible for even the modern generation of gastroenterologists to appreciate the way PUD dominated the lives of both patients and doctors 50 years ago — surgical lists were full of patients for gastrectomy, medical wards with patients with uncontrolled pain and complications. Twenty percent of men had a Duodenal Ulcer. Emergency rosters meant bleeding or perforated ulcers. Yet today, PUD is rarely seen – a recent analysis of the impact of H. pylori and its eradication over 25 years in Australia shows a saving of 19,000 deaths, and $10B in costs.

Warren and Marshall would have struggled to develop their ideas without the professional support of Professor Adrian Lee, with a long history of study of “squiggly” bacteria in the gut. His experience in the growth of these bacteria, their role in animal models, and his contributions to diagnosis, vaccine development and the link to cancer, added to the biology and broad understanding of these bacteria, enabling interpretation of the Perth discovery in a biological context. Warren and Marshall understood the importance of eradication to prove causation, but were unable to develop sterilising therapy, so only an association could be claimed. Professor Tom Borody carefully trialled a series of antibiotics to develop the first effective antibiotic combination, enabling for the first time, proof of causation of duodenal ulcers. This began a long sequence of contributions to our understanding and treatment of PUD by Borody including addition of PPI’s, and development of “escape” therapy. He worked with the Newcastle group to develop the first “near-patient” “yes/no” test, and identified a role for the host response in conditioning outcomes of the “host-parasite” relationship.

Adrian Lee will discuss Adventures with spiral bugs and Helicobacter.  Adrian’s adventure began in 1967 at the Rockefeller University in New York when he did a post doc with Rene Dubos one of the grandfathers of the gut microbiome. Moving to UNSW in 1969 as a lecturer in Medical Microbiology, he continued his interest in the bacteria of the mouse intestinal tract concentrating on the spiral/helical bacteria that colonised gut mucus. He also worked on the spiral pathogen, Campylobacter jejuni, and then on the organism that Barry Marshall and Robin Warren had grown from gastric biopsies using his culture techniques. Later, he developed the first animal models of Helicobacter pylori infection including the first vaccine studies and demonstration of H.pylori -induced gastric malignancy. For ten years, he travelled the world trying to convince clinicians to treat H.pylori infection. Progressing to Professor of Medical Microbiology in 1990, he also worked as a WHO consultant in medical education. In 2000, he left his beloved spiral bugs to cross to the dark side at UNSW becoming Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) with a brief to improve the quality of teaching. Retiring in 2006, he carried out consultancies in tertiary education and now writes about his squiggly bugs and runs a choir.

Tom Borody will discuss How we cured Helicobacter pylori infection in Australia.  Professor Borody is a world renowned medical doctor from Australia with over 40 years experience in clinical research and practice, including at the St Vincent Hospital in Sydney and at the Mayo clinic in the US. In 1984 he established the Centre for Digestive Diseases in Sydney, overseeing its growth into an active clinical research institute with 65 employees. Professor Borody is most famous for his ground-breaking work developing the triple therapy cure for peptic ulcers in 1987, which has saved hundreds of thousands of lives, and the Australian health system more than $10 billion in medical care and operations. Professor Borody is a leader in the clinical microbiota dating back to 1988 when he started performing what is now called Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT). He holds over 150 patents in areas such as; treatment of Helicobacter pylori, Crohn’s disease, bowel lavage, IBS and FMT. 

“After COVID-19:
Creating the Best of Times from the Worst of Times”

Date: Thursday, 5 November 2020, 8.50am – 4.30pm
Venue: Live streaming from Government House, Sydney.
Report and Videos: Forum Report and YouTube Playlist

Summary

One hundred years after the 1918 Spanish flu claimed more than 50 million lives, pandemics remain on the list of major global risks. They are difficult to predict and invariably alter the course of history in ways we cannot foresee. The impact of this year’s COVID-19 pandemic spread quickly well beyond the people it infected, creating massive shifts across society and all sectors of the economy.

The pandemic has exposed the social and economic vulnerabilities of today’s highly leveraged and interconnected world. It has also compounded prevailing existential risks for Australia, including the impact of climate change, a decade of household income stagnation, and an erosion of critically important political institutions that underpin national prosperity and our free, open, democratic society.

The Royal Society of New South Wales will again join with the four Learned Academies of Australia to stage our annual Forum in Government House, Sydney, on 5th November under the gracious Vice-Regal Patronage of Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of New South Wales. The Forum will examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has become a wake-up call for all of us to drive a wide-ranging, national program that will create a more resilient, self-sufficient and prosperous Australia.

Transformations achieved already during the pandemic include escalations of telemedicine, automation, and digital commerce and communications, to name but a few. These show us what is possible when the wrecking-ball of a virus exacts its human and economic toll. Our challenge now is to take these transformations further and build the society and institutions we envisage for a much better future.

The Royal Society of NSW acknowledges the generous support of Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of New South Wales, the NSW Government Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer, and the New South Wales Smart Sensing Network.

Program

The complete program, containing abstracts of the presentations and brief biographies of the presenters, is available as a pdf document.