Calendar of Meetings 2024

Venue: Metcalfe Theatre, State Library of NSW

Topic: Productivity: what it is, and why it matters
Emeritus Professor Roy Green FRSN
University of Technology Sydney 

Venue: Metcalfe Theatre, State Library of NSW

Resilience before Readiness — “… for the want of a horseshoe nail”
Vince Di Pietro AM CSC FRSN FRAeS FAICD
Independent Consultant,
Former Aviation Fleet Commander, Royal Australian Navy, and
Former CEO, Lockheed-Martin Australia

Venue: Strangers’ Room, Parliament House, 6 Macquarie Street, Sydney

After Dinner Speaker
Dr Saul Griffith FRSN

Venue: Government House, Sydney (by formal invitation) and live-streaming

Shakespeare on politics: what can we learn?
John Bell AO OBE
Former Artistic Director, Bell Shakespeare

Venue: Western Sydney University, Parramatta South  Campus

Dr Jaime Alvaraado-Montes, Ms Sasha Bailey, Mr Jayden McKinnon
Dr Jacinta Martin, Dr Ahbimanu Pandey, Dr Shoujin Wang 

Venue: Concord Golf Club, 190 Majors Bay Road, Concord

Exploring major discoveries and theories in physics, mathematics, biology, and chemistry
A joint presentation of the Australian Institute of Physics, the Teachers’s Guild of NSW, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and the Royal Society of NSW

Speakers: Professor John Mattick (UNSW Sydney), Dr Renee Graham (U. Newcastle),
Professor Kate Jolliffe (U. Sydney), Associate Professor Richard Garner (Macquarie)

Venue: Zoom Webinar

Brain Health Equity: a new frontier for healthy longevity
Scientia Professor Kaarin Anstey FRSN FASSA FAHMS

Venue: Maps Room, State Library of NSW (Mitchell Building, Shakespeare Place)

On the history of Russian conflict with Ukraine
Emer. Professor Dennis Reinhartz (1) and Emer. Professor Robert Clancy AM FRSN
(1) University of Texas, Arlington
(2) Royal Society of NSW and University of Newcastle

Venue: Metcalfe Theatre, State Library of NSW

RNA and me: from the origins of life and nanomedicine to building an RNA ecosystem
Professor Pall Thordason
Director, UNSW RNA Institute
UNSW Sydney

Venue: Zoom Webinar

Social Justice and Health Equity
Professor Sir Michael Marmot CH FRCP FFPHM FMedSci FBA
Professor of Epidemiology and Director, UCL Institute of Health
University College London

Venue: Government House, Sydney (by formal invitation) and live-streaming

W x 3 — The World Wide Web (we weaved)
Julie Inman Grant
eSafety Commissioner
Australian Government

Venue: Metcalfe Theatre, State Library of NSW

Our Housing Crisis: Dissolving Barriers and Delivering Solutions
A panel convened by Medy Hassan OAM FRSN

Venue: Zoom Webinar

HECS-HELP: History, effects, international comparisons, and the University Accord
Emeritus Professor Bruce Chapman AO FASSA
Australian National University

Venue: Metcalfe Theatre, State Library of NSW

Topic: History of the Royal Society of NSW and Book Launch
Dr Anne Coote

Venue: Union, University and Schools Club, 25 Bent Street Sydney

Inequality in Australia
Dr Ken Henry AC
Chair, Nature Finance Council
Former Secretary to the Treasury
Former Chair, National Australia Bank

Venue: Government House, Sydney (by formal invitation) and live-streaming

The Big Thaw: Who governs Antarctica’s Ice
Professor Tim Stephens FAAL
Professor of International Law
University of Sydney

Venue: Zoom webinar

Australian Immigration Policy and the Federal Election
Dr Abul Rizvi PSM
Former Deputy Secretary, Department of Immigration

Venue: Government House, Sydney (by formal invitation) and Live Streaming

Theme: Threats to Democracy

Venue: Metcalfe Theatre, State Library of NSW

Social media and smartphones for youth: What’s the story?
Scientia Professor Helen Christensen AO FASSA FAHMS
The Black Dog Institute, UNSW Sydney

Venue: Hunter Theatre, Cameron Street, Broadmeadow NSW

Exploring the Holographic
Dr Martina Mrongovius

Venue: The King Street Room, NEX Newcastle Exhibition and Convention Centre, Newcastle West

Conservation, Frogs, and Citizen Science
Honorary Professor Michael Mahony AM

Venue: The University Conservatorium, Laman Street, Cooks Hills, Newcastle, NSW 2302

Are you what you eat? Discovering the science of personalised nutrition
Laureate Professor Clare Collins AO
College of Health, Medicine, and Wellbeing
University of Newcastle

Venue: The King Street Room, NEX Newcastle Exhibition and Convention Centre, Newcastle West

How can we afford the healthcare system of our dreams
Professor Francesco Paolucci

Venue: NOVA, 122 Faulkner Street, Armidale NSW 2350 and live streaming by Zoom

Women in STEM

Insights from my journey thus far as a woman in STEM
Dr Amy Moss
University of New England

Diversity, access, and inclusion in Earth science
Dr Marissa Betts
University of New England

Venue: RSL Mittagong, Carrington Room

Topic: Ten novels that changed the world
Susannah Fullerton OAM FRSN

Venue: RSL Mittagong, Carrington Room

The antiquity of life: Oldest (3.7 billion years old) stromatolite fossils discovered in Greenland
Professor Alan Nutman
University of Wollongong

Venue: RSL Mittagong

Webb’s wondrous window on the Universe
Professor Fred Watson, Astronomer-at-Large

Venue: RSL Mittagong

Latest advances in radiation therapies for cancer
Distinguished Professor Anatoly Rosenfeld
University of Wollongong

Venue: RSL Mittagong

Getting technological advances into the clinic — Things I wish I’d known 20 years ago!
Distinguished Professor Gordon Wallace
University of Wollongong

Venue: RSL Mittagong

Topic: Space Race 2.0
Dr Brad Tucker
Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Australian National University

Venue: RSL Mittagong

Biodiversity, bilbies, and battling extinction
Dr Carolyn Hogg
University of Sydney

Venue: RSL Mittagong

Secrets of Ageing with Resilience
Scientia Professor Gordon Parker
UNSW Sydney

Venue: RSL Mittagong

The Chemistry of Social Anxiety
Professor Michael Kassiou
University of Sydney

Venue: RSL Mittagong

Community Resilience and National Readiness
Vince Di Pietro AM CSC FRSN
Independent Consultant,
Former Aviation Fleet Commander, Royal Australian Navy, and
Former CEO, Lockheed-Martin Australia

venue: Wagga Wagga campus (Riverina Playhouse), Charles Sturt University and live-streaming

Parasites, Australia’s silent threat—
coincidence, nature’s hand, or policy complacency

Professor Shookoofeh Shamsi
Professor of Veterinary Parasitology
Gulbali Institute
Charles Sturt University

Venue: Port Macquarie campus (The Theatre, Building 802, Room 233/7, Major Innes Road), Charles Sturt University and live-streaming

Out of Africa Arabia: how ancient human history gave us modern lifestyle diseases
Professor Alan Cooper
Professor of Evolution and Environmental Change
Gulbali Institute
Charles Sturt University

Venue: Orange campus (Building 1008), Charles Sturt University and live-streaming

Onsite molecular testing methods and devices for healthcare and agriculture
Professor Muhammad Shiddiky
Rural Health Research Institute
Charles Sturt University

Venue: Wagga Wagga campus (Riverina Playhouse), Charles Sturt University and live-streaming

Adapting to change—invasive plants and pests take up the challenge
Professor Leslie Weston FAA
Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water, and Environment
Charles Sturt University

Venue: Dubbo campus, Charles Sturt University and live-streaming

Equity within the Academy: Rethinking the ‘why’ of higher education
Professor Sarah O’Shea
Dean, Graduate Research
Charles Sturt University