Media releases

Celebration of Australian science at the Academy showcase

20 April 2012

Detecting explosives with light, embedding immune protection in human skin, and new drugs for asthma are just some of the exciting talks on offer at the Australian Academy of Science’s annual celebration, Science at the Shine Dome, from 2–4 May.

This feast of science will bring more than 300 senior scientists and science leaders of the future to Canberra, to showcase the achievements of some of Australia’s brightest minds.

Twenty-one high achievers from all fields of science will be admitted as new Fellows of the Academy and will speak on their ground-breaking research, including:

• Rapid detection of explosives using light
• Why we are failing to communicate science effectively
• Herbicide resistance in weeds
• Discovery of breast cancer cells of origin
• Embedding immune protection in the outer layer of the skin

Winners of the Academy’s 2012 career and early-career researcher awards will be presented with their medals and speak about their award-winning work, including:

• How bacteria acquire antibiotic resistance
• New drug targets for asthma leading to clinical trials
• Ancient tree-dwelling heavyweight marsupials
• New measurement tools using light at the nanoscale

The final-day symposium, 100 years of Antarctic Science, celebrates a century of Australian Antarctic endeavour. It features international and national guest speakers: Dr Charles Barton, who is the only person to have reached the planet’s north and south magnetic poles; Dr Steven Rintoul, a climate researcher who recently returned from the Southern Ocean, and; Professor Tim Naish from the University of Wellington, who researches the evolution of ice sheets and ocean levels as climate has changed over the millennia.

Further information and program: www.science.org.au/sats2012/

New Fellows: www.science.org.au/events/sats/sats2012/nfs.html

Award winners: www.science.org.au/events/sats/sats2012/awards.html

Symposium: www.science.org.au/events/sats/sats2012/symposium.html

Media may arrange to interview speakers through Mona Akbari.
Twitter: @Science_Academy #ShineDome2012