Royal Society of NSW News & Events

The Royal Society of NSW records with great sadness the passing of one of its Fellows, Emeritus Professor Robin King FRSN FTSE, and his wife Penny in a tragic accident that occurred on Monday, 25 July 2022.  On that day, Penny and Robin set out for a walk at the northern end of Moonee Beach on the Central Coast of NSW.  They wer...

A number of Society Fellows are amongst the Finalists of the 2022 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...

An international team, including Society Fellow Professor Eddie Holmes FRS FRSN FAA of the University of Sydney, has determined that the earliest cases of COVID-19 arose in a wholesale fish market in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Their results linked these cases to bats, foxes, and other live mammals infected with the virus being sold in the ...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW extends its warmest congratulations to Emeritus Professor Bill Sherwin FRSN of UNSW Sydney on being awarded the 2021 Australian Museum Research Institute Lifetime Achievement Award. Professor William (Bill) Sherwin is a molecular ecologist who has dedicated almost 40 years to scientific research, applying mat...

Most face-to-face events and all online events conducted by the Royal Society of NSW are recorded and made available for subsequent viewing on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/royalsocnsw. There were two events, held in July 2022, for which recordings are now available. On 6 July 2022, Professor Hugh White AO FASSA, Emeritus Professor of Strat...

Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC), an Australian startup company with state-of-the-art research and atomic manufacturing facilities in Sydney, founded by Society Distinguished Fellow, Scientia Professor Michelle Simmons AO FRS DistFRSN FAA of UNSW Sydney, has just announced the world's first integrated circuit at the atomic scale. This technical brea...

Most face-to-face events and all online events conducted by the Royal Society of NSW are recorded and made available for subsequent viewing on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/royalsocnsw. There were two events, held in June 2022, for which recordings are now available. The first of these was the presentation by Professor Anne Twomey AO at the...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW extends its warmest congratulations to two of its Fellows who have received awards from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology Division in May 2022.  Dr Tristan Reekie FRSN, of UNSW Canberra, and Professor Elizabeth New FRSN, of the University of Sydney, hav...

The Society is delighted to note the awards listed in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours List to Society Fellows: a Companion of the Order to Australia (AC) to Emeritus Professor Anne Green AC FRSN FTSE, an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) to Professor Mary-Louise McLaws AO FRSN, and an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) to Pamela Ann Griffit...

The Royal Society of NSW is delighted to learn of the recognition of four of its Fellows as new Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science, elected in May 2022.  They are Professor Katherine Belov AO FRSN FAA  (Biologist, University of Sydney), Professor Marcela Bilek FRSN FAA (Physicist, University of Sydney), Professor Emma Johnston A...

Most face-to-face events and all online events conducted by the Royal Society of NSW are recorded and made available for subsequent viewing on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/royalsocnsw. There were three events, for which recordings are available, held in April and May 2022.  On 6 April, the Society marked its return to face-to-face eve...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW is delighted to learn that Emeritus Professor Brynn Hibbert AM FRSN, of UNSW Sydney and a former President of the Society, has just been recognised as an Emeritus Fellow of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).  His appointment reflects his standing as a scientist and his continu...

In the event that you were unable to attend this fascinating lecture, "Are weeds becoming new native species?", delivered by the Professor Angela Moles FRSN of UNSW Sydney, and the RSNSW Poggendorff Lecturer for 2020, that was jointly presented by the Royal Society of NSW and UNSW Sydney in the Palm House of the Royal Botanic Garden on We...

All online events from the Royal Society of NSW are recorded and made available for subsequent viewing on our YouTube channel, youtube.com/royalsocnsw. There were three events, for which recordings are available, held in March 2022.  In the first of these, the award winners of the Royal Society of NSW Student Awards for 2021 presented a s...

The Society's 1302nd Ordinary General Meeting held in the Gallery Room of the State Library of NSW marked an important milestone — the return to face-to-face events after two year's of exclusively online events imposed by pandemic restrictions.  An audience of over 50 people enjoyed the opportunity to once again meet with fellow Society member...

The electronic ballot for the 2022 Council Elections of the Royal Society of NSW closed at noon on Tuesday, 5 April 2021. There were 222 ballots submitted by 670 eligible voters, representing an overall return of 33.1%. The outcome of the election is as follows. For the election of four (4) Council members There were 840 votes tallied with 12 ...

The Royal Society of NSW, an inclusive learned institution founded on the principles of liberal democracy, encourages discourse and the free exchange of ideas that respect religious, political, and cultural freedoms. The Society condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a brutal assault on such values and on the Ukrainian people. It presents a re...

The Royal Society of NSW warmly welcomes 11 new members to the Society's ranks, effective from 2 March 2022. Fellows Professor Igor Aharonovich Professor Clive Baldock Professor Anthony Cunningham Professor Roy Green Professor Renee Elmina Leon Professor Tuan Van Nguyen Dr James RenwickProfessor Shawn Ross Biographical information about the new Fel...

Society Fellow, Professor Steven Simpson AC FRSN FRS FAA has been awarded one of the Australian Academy of Science's two highest honours — the 2022 Macfarlane Burnet Medal and Lecture — for his research that has led to a groundbreaking approach to nutrition.  Professor Stephen Simpson, from the University of Sydney, has revolutionised the scie...

Council Member and Society Fellow, Professor Kathy Belov AO FRSN, has just been appointed as the interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney.  Her term will extend from 2 April until the arrival in July of Professor Emma Johnston AO FRSN FTSE as the substantive replacement for Professor Duncan Ivison FRSN FA...