Royal Society of NSW News & Events

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW was delighted to learn of two Fellows of the Society who have recently received prestigious awards. Professor Maria Kavallaris AM FRSN FAHMS was a member of a team from the Faculty of Medicine at UNSW (Sydney) who was awarded the ANSTO Eureka Prize for Innovative Use of Technology, for the development of a hi...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW extends its warmest congratulations to two of its Fellows who have been awarded major prizes in the chemical sciences and engineering. Scientia Professor Rose Amal AC FRSN FAA FTSE from UNSW Engineering has been awarded the 2021 Chemeca Medal by the Australian and New Zealand Federation of Chemical Engineers ...

A number of Society Fellows are amongst the Finalists of the 2021 Australian Museum Eureka Awards—the country’s most comprehensive national science awards, honouring excellence across the areas of research and innovation, leadership, science engagement, and school science. Presented annually in partnership with some of the nation’s leading scientif...

The Society is saddened to learn of the death on 6 September 2021 of Mr Edric Chaffer, a former President of the Society. He was 88 years old. Edric Keith Chaffer was one of the longest-serving stalwarts of the Society, dedicating much of his life to its well-being. Joining as a student in 1954, he later served on Council for many years and was Hon...

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 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...

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...

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...

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 ...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW extends a warm welcome to new Members and Fellows elected at the 1294th Ordinary General Meeting on 5 May 2021 and trusts that each will enjoy and benefit from their membership of the Society. New Members Mr Philip BaileyMr Jordan GacutanMr Brian Spilsbury New Fellows (including laudations)  Professor Jo...

From time to time, the Society and its Fellows and Members are mentioned, or are published, in the media, or in other sources or outlets. The Society is pleased to inform readers that summaries of such mentions, together with links either to the original sources, or to news items that include links to original sources, are now published on the In t...

The Royal Society of NSW is delighted to learn of the recognition of two of its Fellows and one of its Distinguished Fellows as new Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science, elected in May 2021.  They are Professor Sue Coppersmith FRSN FAA and Professor Hala Zreiqat  AM FRSN FAA FTSE FAHMS who were elected as Fellows of the Academy, a...