Royal Society of NSW News & Events

The June 2024 issue of the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of NSW will be published online on 28 June. The issue contains the contents of last November's Forum, "Our 21st Century Brain," (25 papers, presentations, and discussions), 2 papers, and 6 PhD Abstracts, as well as the 2024 Awards notices. Robert Marks FRSN Editor

Society Vice-President, Emeritus Professor Peter Shergold AC FRSN FASSA, has been appointed as Chair of the new, independent Board of the Australian Research Council (ARC). The new ARC Board, the implementation of which arises from recommendations from the independent review of the ARC Act 2001, led by Professor Margaret Shiel, AO (Vice-Chancellor ...

The Royal Society of NSW warmly welcomes 10 new members to the Society's ranks, effective from 5 June 2024. FellowsProfessor Eric Pui Fung ChowMr Warwick GiblinDr Julian HuppertProfessor Timothy RobertsProfessor Frances RosamondProfessor Gerd SchmalzDr James Weaver Biographical information about the new Fellows will be available on the Fellows page...

An audience of more than 50 people, who attended the Society's 1322nd Ordinary General Meeting held in the Dixson Room of the State Library of NSW on 5 June 2024, enjoyed an outstanding presentation on “RNA and me: from the origins of life and nanomedicine to building an RNA ecosystem” delivered by Professor Pall Thordason, Director of the UNSW Syd...

The Society is delighted to learn of the awards to the following Society Fellows and Members who appear in the 2024 King's Birthday Honours List. The following have been honoured as Officers of the Order of Australia (AO). Emeritus Professor Suzanne Joan Hand AO FRSN, Emeritus Professor at UNSW Sydney, for distinguished service to palaeontolog...

Most face-to-face events and all online events conducted by the Royal Society of New South Wales are recorded and made available for subsequent viewing on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/royalsocnsw. On Wednesday, 1 May, the Royal Society of NSW held its 1321st OGM and Open Lecture online. Scientia Professor Kaarin Anstey FRSN FASSA FAHMS, Deputy ...

The Royal Society of NSW warmly welcomes 26 new members to the Society's ranks, effective from 17 April 2024. FellowsProfessor Christopher ArmstrongProfessor Andrew BakerProfessor Lyria Bennett MosesProfessor Michael BlumensteinProfessor Trevor BrownProfessor David CurrowProfessor Alan DavisonProfessor Peter GrayProfessor Victoria HaskinsProfessor ...

Professor Craig Simmons FRSN FAA FTSE, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Engineering, Science, and the Environment at the University of Newcastle has recently been announced as the new Chief Scientist of South Australia. He will take on a three-year term in this past-time role while continuing as Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcast...

Most face-to-face events and all online events conducted by the Royal Society of New South Wales are recorded and made available for subsequent viewing on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/royalsocnsw. On 11 February, an audience of more than 30 people attended the second meeting of the Hunter Branch's program of events for 2024 at the Newcastl...

An audience of more than 60 people, who attended the Society's 1320th Ordinary General Meeting held in the Metcalfe Theatre of the State Library of NSW on 17 April 2024, enjoyed an outstanding conversation and a lively discussion on “Putting the 'Civil' Back in Civil Society” by Professor Kristy Muir, CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, and Emeritus...

At the Society's 157th Annual General Meeting, held on 17 April 2023, the results of the 2024 Council elections were announced. The election was conducted by electronic ballot over three weeks from noon on 25 March until noon on 15 April.  Some 200 ballots were submitted by 691 eligible voters, corresponding to a return rate of 29%. Proce...

On April 8, a column in the New York Times contained a live link to a 2016 paper in the Journal & Proceedings of the RSNSW. The linked paper was “The Curious Economist: William Stanley Jevons in Sydney,” by Ian Castles. The column (which requires subscription access) was “The Economic Luminary Who Loved Solar Eclipses. Inspired by science,...

Society Member, Maria MacNamara MRSN, has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA) — the national peak body for the Australian space industry. The SIAA, formed in 1992, works closely with Australian governments, international partners, academia, and industry to advance Australia’s space ind...

The Society’s 2023 Awards for Students and Early Career Researchers were presented at a ceremony held at the Whitlam Institute at Western Sydney University on 13 March 2024. Each of the award winners was introduced and interviewed by the renowned ABC science journalist and presenter of the ABC Science Show, Robyn Williams AM FRSN FAA, on their rese...

Professor Anthony Weiss AM FRSN FTSE, the McCaughey Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology of the University of Sydney, and Professor Anita Ho Baillie FRSN, the John Hooke Chair in Nanoscience, also at the University of Sydney,  have been named as winners in the Academy of Science (AAS) Honorific Awards for 2024.  Professor Ant...

The Council of the Society was delighted to learn that Fellow, Professor Johannes le Coutre FRSN, of the UNSW School of Chemical Engineering, was recently elected as a Fellow of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology (IAFoST) for his outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the global food industry. At UNSW Sydney, where P...

Voting in the RSNSW Council Elections for 2024 will commence on Monday 25 March at noon and will continue for three weeks, closing at noon on Monday 15 April. This precedes the Society's Annual General Meeting, to be held in the Metcalfe Theatre of the State Library of NSW, commencing at 6.00 pm AEDT on 17 April. Full members of the Society, i.e., ...

The Society’s 2023 Awards for Students and Early Career Researchers were presented at a ceremony kindly hosted by Western Sydney University (WSU) at its Parramatta South Campus in Rydalmere on the evening of Wednesday 13 March 2024. The evening was introduced by Professor Clare Pollock, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost of WSU, with the awa...

Most face-to-face events and all online events conducted by the Royal Society of New South Wales are recorded and made available for subsequent viewing on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/royalsocnsw. Three events have been posted to YouTube from late February into early March 2024. On 21 February, an audience of more than 60 people attended t...

The ninth in the series of Ideas@theHouse events — joint presentations of Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of New South Wales, and the Royal Society of New South Wales — was held on the evening of Wednesday 6 March 2024 in the Ballroom of Government House Sydney. Acclaimed actor and theatre director, John Bell AO OBE, ...