PRESIDENT'S NOTES
15 December 2003
Dear Colleague,
I am pleased to report a recent focus, both within the Academy and more broadly, on science education and awareness.
Following the success of Primary Investigations, the Academy has been exploring ways to further contribute to primary science education in Australia. I am delighted to advise that, with the financial support of the Australian Foundation for Science, we have initiated an exciting new project linking the teaching of primary science with the teaching of primary literacy. The most effective outcomes will be achieved by working collaboratively with the Commonwealth, States and Territories and, to this end, all were involved in a successful first meeting held at the Shine Dome in early December, hosted by John McKenzie, Secretary, Education and Public Awareness. There is much work to be done to develop a national project of this scale and I will keep you informed of progress.
Science education and awareness also featured as an agenda item for the November meeting of the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council. I was pleased to chair a Working Group on this topic and to present our recommendations to the meeting. Our Working Group looked at the continuum of science education experience in Australia and proposed recommendations accordingly. In the area of primary science education, the Working Group agreed that the Academy’s primary science and literacy project was an exciting way forward for science in our primary schools and endorsed this as one of five recommendations. Marian Heard, the Academy’s Manager of programs in education and public awareness, was one of the presenters. We shall watch with interest to gauge what impact the presentation and accompanying report has on science education in Australia. The report is available at:
http://www.dest.gov.au/science/pmseic/documents/Science Engagement and Education.pdf
With best wishes for a happy festive season,
Jim
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2004 ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS
Senior awards
The 2005 Flinders Medal for research in the physical sciences
Professor Ron Ekers, FAA, CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility
The Craig Medal for research in any branch of chemistry:
Professor Alan Bond, FAA, Monash University
The Hannan Medal for research in pure mathematics
Professor Hyam Rubinstein FAA, University of Melbourne
The Lloyd Rees Lecture honours the contributions by the late Dr A L G Rees, FAA, to science, industry and education
Professor Peter Hannaford, FAA
The Graeme Caughley Fellowship sponsors ecologists to visit scientific centres and deliver lectures in countries other than Australia or New Zealand
Professor Richard Shine, FAA, University of Sydney
The Mawson Medal and Lecture for research in the earth sciences
Professor Michael Sandiford, University of Melbourne
Junior awards (researchers under 40 years)
The Fenner medal for research in biology (excluding the biomedical sciences):
Dr Gregory Edgecombe, Australian Museum
The Pawsey Medal for research in physics:
Professor Marcela Bilek, University of Sydney
The Gottschalk Medal for research in the medical sciences:
Associate Professor Melissa Little, University of Queensland
The Dorothy Hill Award for research by female scientists in the earth sciences:
Dr Susan Wijffels, CSIRO Marine Science, Hobart
The Frederick White Prize for research in the physical, terrestrial and planetary sciences
Dr Matthew England, University of New South Wales
The LeFèvre Memorial Prize for research in chemistry:
Dr Cameron Kepert, University of Sydney
Other awards
The Selby Fellowship sponsors distinguished scientists to visit scientific centres in Australia and to deliver public lectures:
Professor David Pritchard, MIT, Cambridge
The Rudi Lemberg Fellowship sponsors distinguished scientists to visit scientific centres in Australia and to deliver public lectures:
Professor G Charles Dismukes, Princeton University
The Conservation of Endangered Species Award offers support for research on endangered Australian vertebrate species:
Mr M Morgan, Australian National University
Dr J Melville, Museum Victoria
The Maxwell Ralph Jacobs Awards promotes research in forestry:
Ms Anna Smith, University of Tasmania
Ms Julianne O'Reilly-Wapstra, University of Tasmania
Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF)
Dr Chung-Duk Kim, Chairman of KOSEF, visited the Academy on 11 November 2003 to discuss cooperative programs. The Academy hosted a working lunch and dinner for Dr Kim in Canberra. (For further information see the Academy’s Newsletter Number 57, August-November 2003, page 6 at http://www.science.org.au/newsletters/aas57.pdf)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Professor Yongxiang Lu, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, visited the Academy on 13 November 2003.
The Academy hosted a working lunch and dinner for Prof Lu and members of his delegation. The Governor-General, Major-General Michael Jeffery, and Mrs Marlena Jeffery, attended the dinner. (For further information see the Academy’s Newsletter Number 57, August-November 2003, page 7 at http://www.science.org.au/newsletters/aas57.pdf)
KAST
I recently visited Korea to attend the opening of the new building for the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) and presented the paper entitled “Science and the Transformation of Agriculture – Improving Health and Quality of Life” at the 2003 KAST Multilateral Conference.
Academy- National Science Foundation (NSF) Summer Program
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has started to advertise its Summer program in Australia for US graduate students in science and engineering. The program, recently launched by the Minister for Science, the Hon Peter McGauran, is being managed by the Academy.
The program will last eight weeks from June/July to August and will allow twenty US students to travel to Australia on an annual basis to conduct research in laboratories and to initiate personal relationships with their Australian counterparts. (For further information see the Academy’s Newsletter Number 57, August-November 2003, page 10 at http://www.science.org.au/newsletters/aas57.pdf)
NANOTECHNOLOGY BENCHMARKING PROJECT
The Academy's ARC funded Australian nanotechnology benchmarking project featured recently at the Sir Mark Oliphant Conference "Scaling Down to a Nano Materials World" in Melbourne in the first week of December. Chris Warris (Research Officer with the Academy) presented the paper. Leading Australian and International nanoscience experts were present in the audience and heard an assessment of Australia's nanotechnology capability and our standing relative to the rest of the world. Feedback received from the delegates attending the conference was positive and constructive and will be incorporated into the final report, which will available soon on the Academy's website.
FOR THE FELLOWSHIP
Australian citizens resident overseas: Election as Ordinary Fellows.
In February 2004, the Fellowship will be invited to vote on proposed changes to the Bye-Laws that would permit Ordinary election of up to four persons in any one year, starting in 2005, of Australian citizens who are not normally resident in Australia. The proposal is that up to two persons in physical sciences and up to two persons in biological sciences, eminent in respect of scientific discoveries and attainments, could be elected by the Fellowship. The proposed changes to the Bye-Laws, considered at the December meeting of Council, take into account matters raised by Fellows in discussion at the AGM 2003 regarding the need to undertake such elections with the utmost discretion.
Descriptors for Sectional Committees.
Council at its meeting on 8 December 2003 considered the rubrics for Sectional Committees and resolved to simplify the descriptors as:
Sectional Committees
SC1 Mathematical Sciences
SC2 Physics and Astronomy
SC3 Chemistry
SC4 Earth and Planetary sciences
SC5 Applied physical and engineering sciences
SC6 Plant Sciences
SC7 Animal Sciences
SC8 Molecular and cell biology
SC9 Clinical and health sciences
SC10 Environmental and evolutionary biology
SC11 Information and communication sciences
The name changes do not have any effect on the current round of elections. Council agreed that it is important that a comprehensive list of disciplines for each Sectional Committee be retained in a working document for Chairs of Sectional Committees and Council; The Secretaries will continue to work with the Chairs of Sectional Committees with a view to refining the working document.
DIARY DATES 2004
18-22 January. Second Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Conference, Dunedin New Zealand (http://sky.fit.qut.edu.au/~chenp/APBC2004/).
28 January. Deadline for nominations for the Dan David Prize (http://www.dandavidprize.org).
29-31 January. Australian Synchrotron: A Workshop for Potential Users (http://www.synchrotron.vic.gov.au/whats_new/user_workshops.asp).
2 February. 18th Australian Conference on Microscopy and Microanalysis, Geelong Victoria (http://www.deakin.edu.au/events/acmm18/).
2 February – 1 March. Applications for the next assessment round of the Department of Education, Science and Training's Competitive Grants component of the Innovation Access Program – International Science and Technology, for international research and development cooperation. Information and guidelines are available at http://www.dest.gov.au/science/iap, by email: mailto:ist@dest.gov.au or by phoning (02) 6240 5014.
8-11 February. Third Australian Soilborne Diseases Symposium (http://www.plevin.com.au/ASDS2004/).
9-13 February. 17th Australian Geological Convention, Hobart Tasmania (http://www.17thagc.gsa.org.au).
28 February. Deadline for applications for Visiting Fellowship for a Senior Academic Woman in Engineering and Information Sciences at the Australian National University (http://www.rsise.anu.edu.au/nieis/VF.html).
26-28 March. Commercialisation Forum and Fair of Ideas, Sydney (http://www.kca.asn.au).
30 April. Deadline for applications for the Cambridge Australia Trust Scholarships (http://www.anu.edu.au/cabs/scholarships/cambridge/cambridge-apply.html).
5-7 May. Science at the Shine Dome, incorporating the Annual General Meeting.
COUNCIL MEMBERS (www.science.org.au/fellows/council/)
President, Jim Peacock
phone (02) 6246 5250, fax (02) 6246 5530
mailto:jim.peacock@csiro.au
Secretary (Physical Sciences), Bruce McKellar
phone (03) 9344 5122, mailto:b.mckellar@physics.unimelb.edu.au
Secretary (Biological Sciences), John Shine
phone (02) 9295 8120, mailto:j.shine@garvan.org.au
Secretary (Science Policy), Michael Barber
phone (02) 6276 6388, mailto:michael.barber@csiro.au
Secretary (Education and Public Awareness), John McKenzie
phone (03) 8344 6407, mailto:dean@science.unimelb.edu.au
Foreign Secretary, Kurt Lambeck
phone (02) 6125 5161, mailto:kurt.lambeck@anu.edu.au
Treasurer, Ian McDougall
phone (02) 6125 4136, mailto:Ian.McDougall@anu.edu.au
