PRESIDENT'S NOTES
5 May 1999
Dear Fellow
For those of you who attended the Academy’s annual general meeting, it was good to see you. Those who could not come have missed an excellent meeting, with many fine presentations from our recently elected Fellows, award winners and symposium speakers.
With best wishes,
Brian D O Anderson
NEW FELLOWS
Twelve scientists have been elected to the Fellowship. They are Andrew Gleadow, Jennifer Graves, John McKenzie, Barry Marshall, Colin Masters, Gerard Milburn, Michael Paddon-Row, Nhan Phan-Thien, Colin Rogers, Kenneth Shortman, Dimitrie Stephenson and Robert Watts. There is more information on them in the press release at www.science.org.au/academy/
media/newfel99.htm.
SYMPOSIUM
This year’s symposium was on the topic, ‘Sunken treasure? Australia’s coasts and oceans’. Details of speakers and their presentations are in the AGM program, available at www.science.org.au/academy/agm.htm.
BURNET LECTURE
I had pleasure in presenting the Burnet Medal to Max Bennett. His Burnet Lecture was on ‘The individuality of single synapses’. We hope to print a summary in a forthcoming Newsletter.
OTHER MEDALLISTS
I also presented the Lyle Medal to Ernest Tuck, the Jaeger Medal to John Philip and the Hannan Medal to Tony Guttmann. Among the younger scientists, Pawsey Medals went to Martijn de Sterke and Raymond Volkas while the Gottschalk Medal went to Michael Parker.
ELECTION OF FELLOWS
Council is considering a change to our rules to permit election of Fellows by postal ballot rather than a ballot of Fellows attending the annual general meeting. This will allow the admission of Fellows within weeks of their election. The proposed change to the Bye-Laws will be submitted to a postal ballot of the Fellowship after the July meeting of Council.
INVESTMENT POLICY
Council has also accepted the Finance Committee’s advice that the expression of our investment policy should be revised. As a result, after July, the Council will be proposing to you that the relevant Bye-Law be simplified so that it remains appropriate as circumstances change, and that the details from various Council resolutions on investment policy and procedure be embodied in a new Standing Order. Changes to Standing Orders require resolutions at two successive meetings of Council, while keeping Bye-Laws up-to-date requires reference to the Governor-General in Council, a procedure that is overweight for matters of detail.
NEW CORRESPONDING MEMBERS
Sir Ronald Oxburgh and Professor Bertil Andersson have been elected Corresponding Members of the Academy. Sir Ronald is Rector of the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London; Professor Andersson is Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry at Stockholm University. More details will be in the next Newsletter.
NEW FELLOWS’ SEMINAR
Eleven recently-elected Fellows were able to participate as speakers in the first of these seminars. The audience, including their proposers, other Fellows and family members found the presentations a fascinating conspectus of Australian science today. I appreciate the effort the speakers took to present their work and their fields of research in essentially lay terms. This allowed us to appreciate in a very short time what they are doing.
PMSEIC AGENDA
I attended a meeting of the Steering Committee for the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council on 25 March. On the agenda were dryland salinity, the Wills review of medical research, international science facilities and the nexus between research and industrial innovation. The Steering Committee comprises non-ministerial members and develops potential agenda items for the Prime Minister’s approval.
MEETING WITH SENATOR MINCHIN
On 14 March I met with Senator Minchin whose portfolio of Industry, Science and Resources covers some areas of great importance to us, including innovation policy and support for international activities. Our discussions covered options for government promotion of innovation, including tax concessions, science education, and the need to help universities develop their skills in technology transfer. Senator Minchin was also our AGM dinner speaker.
MEETING WITH DR KEMP
On 6 April I met the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Dr David Kemp. Our discussions focused on the plight of basic research in our universities, and the need for policies that will allow excellent research to flourish in the evolving university system.
ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN FORUM
Our Secretary (Science Policy), John White, is developing a proposal for an Anglo-Australian forum on higher education policy and management aimed at fostering exchanges of views between those responsible for managing and funding higher education research in science.
REPORT ON MEDICAL RESEARCH
The Secretary (Biological Sciences), John Young, led a group of Council members who prepared the Academy’s response to the draft report of the Wills Committee on medical research. A copy has been placed on our Internet site at www.science.org.au/policy/statemen/wills.htm.
NATIONAL COMMITTEES
The National Committees are an important part of the Academy’s contribution to the development of scientific disciplines in Australia. The Secretaries are currently reviewing the role of National Committees. The National Committees for Radio Science, Chemistry and Crystallography have each met in the last three months. I have mentioned some of their activities in earlier notes. Copies of the minutes of their meetings are available from Rachel Douglas on 02 6247 3966.
DEATHS
I note with regret that two Fellows have died recently: Professor Herbert Green on 16 February and Sir Robert Price on 8 March.
DIARY
1 June 1999
Deadline for nomination of candidates for Ordinary Election if Proposers wish to take advantage of support from the Academy’s secretariat in preparing documentation. Certificates, and details of the reduced documentation required of Proposers, are available from Jo Justin at fa@science.org.au or (02) 6247 5777.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
July 15-16, 1999
National Academies Forum Symposium on Scholarship, Intellectual Ownership and the Law (National Library of Australia).
OFFICE BEARERS OF THE ACADEMY
President, Professor Brian Anderson
phone (02) 6279 8667, fax (02) 6279 8688,
email brian.anderson@anu.edu.au
Secretary (Physical Sciences), Professor Kurt Lambeck
phone (02) 6249 5161, kurt.lambeck@anu.edu.au
Secretary (Biological Sciences), Professor John Young
phone (02) 9351 4600, johny@physiol.usyd.edu.au
Secretary (Science Policy), Professor John White
phone (02) 6249 3578, jww@rsc.anu.edu.au
Foreign Secretary, Professor Michael Pitman
phone (02) 6247 7636, pitman@science.canberra.edu.au
Treasurer, Professor Athel Beckwith
phone (02) 6249 3234, beckwith@rsc.anu.edu.au
