Jean Garling Room
Mitchell Building, State Library of NSW
1 Shakespeare Place, Sydney

EXHIBITION NOW OPEN

Opening Hours: Monday 2-5 pm; Thursday 3-6 pm; Sunday 2-5 pm until 31 March 2022, with a break from 21 December 2021 to 9 January 2022 over the holiday period.

About the Exhibition: This Exhibition begins a year of celebrations to mark the Society’s contributions to the intellectual life of NSW over 200 years. It is the perfect moment to reinforce our commitment to enriching lives through knowledge and inquiry. As we think about our future, we are informed by our history.

NEXUS has two meanings: a central or focal point; and a connection or series of connections linking two or more things. From the beginning, the Society has epitomised both meanings, as a forum for ideas and discovery, exposing us to the latest research and promoting awareness of some of the major issues confronting humanity. With 200 years of history, the exhibition can only showcase a fraction of the Society’s archives and achievements in telling the story of its Origins, Ideas, Advances, and Impacts.

Highlights of the exhibition include: 

• Letters from Professor Sir T W Edgeworth David, Antarctic explorer, on sun thaw line observations and arranging a presentation on the British Antarctic Expedition (1907 – 1909) led by Sir Ernest Shackleton
• Two original letters, including one with box-kite illustrations, of Lawrence Hargrave, a noted aviation pioneer and the first in Australia to fly (attached to four box kites of his own design), who published 23 papers on aeronautics in the Society’s Journal & Proceedings.

“Managing psychological distress in times of stress: the stress of COVID-19 and all that”

Professor Richard Bryant AC FASSA FAA FAHMS
Scientia Professor of Psychology &
Director, Traumatic Stress Clinic
UNSW (Sydney)

Date: Wednesday, 1 December 2021, 6.30 pm AEDT 
Venue: Zoom Webinar
Video Presentation: YouTube video
All are welcome

 Summary: Australia has a long tradition of dealing with environmental challenges, including seasonal impacts of bushfires, floods, drought, and severe storms. These events can result in marked deterioration in the mental health of Australians. This pattern has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen a significant increase in mental health problems across the nation. This has sparked calls both in Australia and globally for novel approaches to manage mental health problems in the wake of these mass events.

This review will describe a body of work that has mapped many of the key mechanisms that promote better mental health after adversity. It will also describe work that has harnessed this evidence to develop brief mental health programs that can be readily disseminated to people in times of need. Controlled trials will be reported that have evaluated the extent to which these programs can improve mental health, and how this approach points to a re-think of how mental health is managed by governments.

Richard Bryant is a Scientia Professor of Psychology at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Professor Bryant’s research has focused on the nature and treatment of stress reactions. He has identified key genetic, neural, and psychological factors underpinning stress reactions and strategies to manage them. His assessment and treatment protocols have been translated into over 15 languages and used in many countries. Professor Bryant has written 6 books, 75 book chapters, and 670 journal articles. He has worked with the World Health Organization to develop programs to manage stress reactions and has adapted these to manage mental health problems during the pandemic. This program has been shown to reduce anxiety, depression, and anxiety, and is being evaluated across Australia, Europe, and India.

AIP Postgraduate Awards 2021

Jointly sponsored by the:

Australian Institute of Physics,
Royal Society of NSW, and
Royal Australian Chemical Institute

Date: Tuesday, 9 November 2021, 2.00 pm AEDT 
Venue: Zoom Webinar
Entry: No charge
All are welcome. 

Summary: The NSW Branch of the Australian Institute of Physics will hold its Annual Postgraduate Awards event on Tuesday, 9 November 2021 by Zoom from 2:00 pm.

Each University in NSW and the ACT has invited a postgraduate physics nominee to compete for the AIP NSW Postgraduate Medal and the RSNSW Jak Kelly Prize.

These awards have been created to encourage excellence in physics postgraduate work, and all nominees who participate in the Postgraduate Awards Day will receive a special award recognising the nominee’s high standing.

Students will make a 15-minute online presentation on their postgraduate research in Physics, and the presentation will be judged on the criteria (1) content and scientific quality, (2) clarity and (3) presentation skills as included in the judges’ criteria.

For further information, including the list of postgraduate presenters for the afternoon, please access the program schedule from the AIP NSW Branch website.

 

POWER AND PERIL OF THE DIGITAL AGE

Dates: Thursday and Friday, 4–5 November 2021, 9.00 am–12.30 pm AEDT
Venue: Live streaming and subsequently on YouTube
Cost: No charge.
Registration: Please register now through the Public Sector Network portal.
Brochure: The brochure is available in two forms:
(a) an abridged document (pdf: 5.8 MB) providing just the program, and
(b) a complete document (pdf: 6.2 MB) providing the program, abstracts, and speaker biographies.

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

Register now

Summary

We are at a moment in time when we must acknowledge and address the inexorably rising tide of data use and digital services. History will categorise the early decades of the 21st Century as the digital age, the age of prodigious development and use of digital technologies that enable us to transfer and access information easily and swiftly.

So much so that digital interaction is a defining characteristic of modern human life. Societies, economies, and political processes are infused and connected by the ubiquitous use of smart machines and software that process and communicate information to us in ways that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.The pace of digitisation was already fast by the end of 2019 before COVID-19 emerged.

The pandemic broke through cultural barriers and enabled implementation of digital strategies in a matter of days or weeks rather than years. Digital technologies and supercomputer simulation are central to dealing with the pandemic itself, as well as being the primary driver of productivity in almost every other aspect of society.

Almost all companies, governments, and organisations across the world are increasingly taking advantage of the benefits associated with data analytics and simulation, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things to solve problems never solved before, to undertake projects in five days that would have taken five years.

Problems such as those embodied in the United Nations General Assembly’s Sustainable Development Goals and their achievement by 2030. Tangible benefits include greater social connectivity, learning opportunities, information access and usage, versatile working and transport, and greater access to entertainment, news forms of banking and finance.

Unlocking the power of the digital age also brings peril, associated with concerns about data security, state-based and transnational crime, and terrorism, complexity, privacy, social disconnection, media manipulation, manipulation of the truth, communities left behind, national defence, and market vulnerabilities, outstripping rule-making and regulatory structures.

This year, the Royal Society of NSW in partnership with the Learned Academies - Health and Medicine, Humanities, Science, Social Sciences, and Technology and Engineering, has chosen “Power and Peril of the Digital Age” as the theme for their annual Forum.

Our goal is to have a grown-up conversation about digitisation and the use of data. It will be framed around the future life of a child born on the first day of the Forum, 4 November 2021. This child will be born into a world of increasingly complex digital systems that hold great value and vulnerability.

Starting with a technological framing, the Forum will explore several major aspects which will impact the journey of that child as we approach 2030 and beyond. We will explore aspects of technology, health, defence, and security in a digital age, and the changing nature of industry as the world and society evolves.

Finally, our annual Forum will be a call to arms for the host Societies to focus on challenges identified during the two days that must be addressed for Australia to remain a prosperous, successful, and safe democracy in the digital world.

Program: Day 1 (Thursday, 4 November, 9.00 am – 12.30 pm)

Time	Session	Subject and Speakers
09:00–09.20		Welcome and Acknowledgement of Country Susan Pond AM FRSN FTSE FAHMS President, Royal Society of New South Wales and Chair, Forum Program Committee
		Official Opening Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC Governor of New South Wales
		Introduction to the Moderator and Rapporteur Susan Pond AM FRSN FTSE FAHMS President, Royal Society of New South Wales
		Moderator and Rapporteur Ian Oppermann FRSN FTSE Chief Data Scientist, NSW Government and Industry Professor, University of Technology Sydney
09.20–10.00	1.1	Science and technology underpinning the digital age: past, present, and future
		Cathy Foley AO PSM FRSN FAA FTSE Australia's Chief Scientist Australian Government
		Hugh Durrant-Whyte FRS FREng FAA FTSE NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer NSW Government
10.00–10.30	1.2	Digital lifetime of a child born today
		Frances Foster Thorpe Executive Director, Shaping Futures NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet
		Sue Bennett Professor, Deputy Director and Connected Child Co-Leader ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child University of Wollongong
10:30–10.40		Morning Tea
10.40–11.10	1.3	Avoiding a digital dark age
		Shawn Ross Director, Digitally-Enabled Research (Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)) and Professor of History and Archeology Macquarie University
		Theresa K D Anderson Social Informaticist, Connecting Stones Consulting and Research Fellow, School of Information Sciences University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
11.10–11.40	1.4	Health of our digital child
		Zoran Bolevich Chief Executive, eHealth NSW Chief Information Officer, NSW Health
		Louisa Jorm FAHMS Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Foundation Director, Centre for Big Data Research in Health UNSW (Sydney)
11.40–12.20	1.5	Safety and security of our digital child
		Dale Lambert PSM Chief, Cyber and Electronic Warfare Division Defence Science and Technology Group Australian Government Department of Defence
		Rory Medcalf Professor and Head, National Security College Crawford School of Public Policy Australian National University
12.20–12.30	1.6	Setting up for Day 2, including the Challenges
		Ian Oppermann FRSN FTSE Chief Data Scientist, NSW Government and Industry Professor, University of Technology Sydney

 

Program: Day 2 (Friday, 5 November, 9.00 am – 12.30 pm)

Time	Session	Subject and Speakers
09:00–09.20		Welcome and Acknowledgement of Country Susan Pond AM FRSN FTSE FAHMS President, Royal Society of NSW
		Recap of Day 1 Ian Oppermann FRSN FTSE Moderator and Rapporteur Chief Data Scientist, NSW Government Industry Professor, University of Technology Sydney
09.20–10.20	2.1	The light and shade of technology on our digital child
		Edward Santow Industry Professor, University of Technology Sydney (Immediate Past) Australian Human Rights Commissioner
		The Honourable Verity Firth Executive Director, Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion University of Technology Sydney
		Marc Fennell Journalist, Interviewer, and Maker of Things
		Aengus Tran Founder and Chief Executive Officer Harrison.ai
10:20–10.30		Morning Tea
10.30–10.40	2.2	Address by NSW Government Minister
		The Hon. Victor Dominello MP Minister for Digital and Minister for Customer Service Member for Ryde
10.40–11.30	2.3	Securing the future of our digital child
		Robert Hillard Managing Partner Deloitte Consulting Asia Pacific
		Angie Abdilla Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Old Ways, New Australia Professor of Practice, Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design, UNSW (Sydney)
		Toby Walsh FRSN FAA Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence UNSW (Sydney)
		David Pryor Senior Team Leader, Energy Security Safeguard NSW Department of Planning, Industry, and Environment
11.30–12.10	2.4	Future Australia
		Short Statements from Learned Academy Representatives
		Tony Cunningham AO FAHMS Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
		Richard Waterhouse FAHA FASSA Australian Academy of Humanities
		Toby Walsh FAA Australian Academy of Science
		Deborah Lupton FASSA Australian Academy of Social Sciences
		Annabelle Duncan PSM FRSN FTSE Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering
12.10–12.30	2.5	Wrap-up and Close
		Ian Oppermann FRSN FTSE Chief Data Scientist, NSW Government and Industry Professor, University of Technology Sydney

“With the Falling of the Dusk”

Professor Stan Grant

Vice Chancellor's Chair of
Australian-Indigenous Belonging
Charles Sturt University

Date: Tuesday, 19 October 2021, 1.00 pm AEDT 
Venue:  Zoom Webinar
Video Presentation: YouTube video
All are welcome

This meeting is presented jointly by Charles Sturt University and the Royal Society of NSW.

Summary:  The world is at a critical inflection point with rising authoritarianism and waning democracy. The world’s superpower, the United States, is waning and being challenged by a rising power, China. Not since the lead up to World War One have we seen such a fundamental shift in the global order. After two decades of terrorism, war, economic collapse, and now a devastating global pandemic what is to become of us? Renowned, award-winning journalist and Charles Sturt University Chair of Indigenous/Australian Belonging takes us on a journey through a world of change calling on three decades of front line reporting in Australia and around the globe. Stan explores questions of history and identity and argues the west may need to give up power to keep it.

About the speaker: Professor Stan Grant holds the CSU Vice-Chancellor's Chair of Australian-Indigenous Belonging at Charles Sturt University. He is is a highly respected and awarded journalist with a 30-year career that includes experience in radio, television news and current affairs with the ABC, SBS, and CNN.

Formerly, he was the ABC's Global Affairs and Indigenous Affairs Analyst. Stan Grant has been awarded three Walkley awards, two Peabody awards, four Asia TV awards, an Australian TV Logie award, an International Indigenous Trailblazer Award, two Australian Academy of Cinema Television awards, an Australian Heritage Literature award and an Association of International Sports Journalists award, among many others. He has also published four critically acclaimed and best-selling books on identity and Australian Indigenous history, and in 2019 wrote, and featured in, the full-length documentary film, The Australian Dream, which won the AACTA Award for best feature documentary in 2019.

 

“Privacy and Identity in an
AI world”

Professor Toby Walsh FAA FACM FAAAS

Scientia Professor of AI
School of CSE, UNSW (Sydney)

Date: Wednesday, 6 October 2021, 6.30 pm AEDT 
Venue: Zoom Webinar
Video presentation: YouTube video
All are welcome. 

 Summary: Artificial Intelligence is making great advances, many of which challenge our notions of privacy and identity. From face recognition to automated decision making, what are the most pressing problems and how should we navigate this future to ensure a prosperous, just, and sustainable society?

Professor Toby Walsh is a Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of AI at the University of New South Wales and Data61, and an adjunct professor at QUT. He was named by the Australian newspaper as one of the "rock stars" of Australia's digital revolution. He is a Fellow of the Australia Academy of Science and recipient of the NSW Premier's Prize for Excellence in Engineering and ICT. He appears regularly on TV and radio and has authored two books on AI for a general audience, the most recent entitled "2062: The World that AI Made".

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

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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.

Date	Event
Wednesday, 3 February  6.30pm AEDT	1290th Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture: 2020 Jak Kelly Award and RSNSW Scholarship Winner Presentations Venue: Zoom Webinar Controlling how electrons move in silicon at the atomic scale Mr Matthew Donnelly — Jak Kelly Award Winner PhD Student, Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology, UNSW (Sydney) 3D Printing for Microfluidics (TBC) Mr Sajad Razavi Bazaz — RSNSW Scholarship Winner PhD Student, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney Molecular mechanisms of inflammasome activation by enterotoxins of the foodborne pathogen Bacillus cereus Mr Daniel Fox — RSNSW Scholarship Winner PhD Student, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University Improving the treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in refugees: The important role of emotion regulation Ms Phillipa Specker — RSNSW Scholarship Winner PhD Student, School of Psychology, UNSW (Sydney)
Wednesday, 3 March  6.30pm AEDT	1291st Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture Venue: Zoom Webinar What are the best options for growing Australia’s mental health through the COVID-19 recovery? Professor Ian Hickie AM FRSN FASSA FAHMS Co-Director (Health and Policy), Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney
Wednesday, 7 April 6.00pm AEST	154th Annual General Meeting (6.00pm) 1292nd Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture (immediately following) Venue: Zoom Webinar Antarctica, this ain’t no mirage: The value of art in disseminating scientific information Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger Artist, exploring connections between science and art practice
Thursday, 15 April 6.00pm AEST	[email protected]: April 2021 Venue: Zoom Webinar Australia and the Dickens Boys Thomas Keneally AO DistFRSN
Wednesday, 5 May 6.30pm AEST	1293rd Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture Venue: Zoom Webinar (TBC) Big, bad fires in NSW Emerita Professor Mary O’Kane AC FRSN FTSE HonFIEAust Chair, Independent Planning Commission of NSW and former Chief Scientist and Engineer of NSW
Wednesday, 2 June 6.30pm AEST	1294th Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture Venue: Zoom Webinar (TBC) Murray-Darling Basin turmoil: past, present and future Professor Richard Kingsford FRSN Director, Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW (Sydney)
Wednesday, 7 July 6.30pm AEST	1295th Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture Venue: To be advised Society as an information-processing system, and the influence of the media Dr Erik Aslaksen FRSN Director, Systems Engineer, and Author
Thursday, 22 July 6.00pm AEST	[email protected]: July 2021 Venue: Zoom Webinar 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 and psychologist
Wednesday 4 August  6.30pm AEST	1296th Ordinary General Meeeting and Open Lecture Venue: To be advised An intimate history of evolution: From genesis to genetic with a scientific dynasty Professor Alison Bashford FRSN FAHA FBA FRHistS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, UNSW (Sydney)
Tuesday 24 August  Time TBA	2021 Clarke Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW  Venue: Macquarie University (C122, 25 Wally Walk) and live streaming - POSTPONED From bulldozers, pests, and pathogens to climate change and urban futures: the tough life of plants Distinguished Professor Michelle Leishman  Director, Smart Green Cities, Macquarie University
Wednesday, 1 September 6.30pm AEST	1297th Ordinary General Meeeting and Open Lecture Venue: To be advised Taking humour and laughter seriously: Exploring the multi-disciplinary field of humour studies  Dr Jessica Milner Davis FRSN Honorary Associate, School of Literature, Art and Media, University of Sydney
Wednesday, 6 October 6.30pm AEDT	1298th Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture Venue: To be advised Topic: Privacy and identity in an AI world  Scientia Professor Toby Walsh FAA FACM FAAAS School of Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW (Sydney)
Thur./Fri.,  4+5 Nov. 9.00am - 12.30pm AEDT	Royal Society of NSW and Learned Academies Annual Forum Venue: Live Streaming and subsequent availability on YouTube Topic: Power and Peril of the Digital Age
Wednesday 1 December 6.30pm AEDT	1299th Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture Venue: Zoom Webinar Managing psychological distress in times of stress: handling the stress of COVID-19 and all that Scientia Professor Richard Bryant AC FASSA FAA FAHMS — James Cook Medal Winner 2020 School of Psychology, UNSW (Sydney)

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Hunter Branch Meetings

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

Tuesday, 26 May Time: 5.30pm	Hunter Branch Meeting 2021-1 and Lecture Jointly with the University of Newcastle as part of the Looking Ahead — In Conversation Series Venue: University of Newcastle and Live Streaming On readying our region for low emissions technology Dr Alan Finkel AO FAA FTSE Former Chief Scientist of Australia
Wednesday 30 June Time: 4.00pm for 5.00pm	Hunter Branch Meeting 2021-2 and Lecture Venue: Noah's on the Beach Extreme bushfires and the age of violent pyroconvection Professor Jason Sharples Director, Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC UNSW Canberra
Wednesday 25 August Time: TBA	Hunter Branch Meeting 2021-3 and Lecture Venue: to be advised Royal Commission for Ageing and the care and welfare of the elderly Professor Kathy Eagar Director, Australian Health Services Research Institute University of Wollongong
Wednesday 29 September Time: TBA	Hunter Branch Meeting 2021-4 and Lecture Venue: To be advised Topic: To be advised Mr Nathan Towney Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Leadership) University of Newcastle

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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.

Thursday, 18 February Time: 6.30pm	Southern Highlands Branch Lecture 2021-1 Venue: RSL Mittagong, Carrington Room The five islands off Port Kembla — a historical and ecological study Dr Kevin Mills Botanist and Ecologist
Thursday, 18 March Time: 6.30pm	Southern Highlands Branch Lecture 2021-2 Venue: RSL Mittagong, Carrington Room The general development of the Sydney Basin Coast and its recent history since the last ice age Dr Howard Brady
Thursday, 15 April Time: 6.30pm	Southern Highlands Branch Lecture 2021-3 Venue: RSL Mittagong, Nattai/Joadja Room Particle radiation therapy and human space exploration: commonality in challenges and solutions Professor Anatoly Rosenfeld University of Wollongong
Thursday, 20 May Time: 6.30pm	Southern Highlands Branch Lecture 2021-4 Venue: RSL  Mittagong Burnout  — the hottest issue Professor Gordon Parker AO Scientia Professor of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney
Thursday, 17 June Time: 6.30pm	Southern Highlands Branch Lecture 2021-5 Venue: RSL Mittagong, Carrington Room Reach for the Skies Max La Galle Materials science student, UNSW (Sydney)
Thursday, 15 July Time: 6.30pm	Southern Highlands Branch Lecture 2021-6 Venue: RSL Mittagong (CANCELLED due to the July Greater Sydney Lockdown) Neutron scattering and the ANSTO WOMBAT project Dr Helen Maynard-Casely Instrument Scientist, ANSTO
Thursday, 19 August Time: 6.30pm	Southern Highlands Branch Lecture 2021-7 Venue: to be advised Topic: Transgenerational Epigenetics Alyson Ashe

Western NSW Branch Meetings 2021

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

Tuesday, 19 October Time: 1.00pm

Western NSW Branch Meeting 2021-1 Venue: Zoom Webinar With the Falling of Disk Professor Stan Grant Vice-Chancellor's Chair of Australian-Indigenous Belonging Charles Stuart University