The Australian Academy of Science is proud to partner with the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers to create a bold new Australian government-supported program to transform how mathematics is taught in Australian schools.

The Minister for Education and Training, the Hon. Simon Birmingham, today announced that the Academy and AAMT have been awarded a $6.4 million contract to develop and promote new maths resources for school students and teachers, from Foundation to Year 10.

Advances in the physical, mathematical and biological sciences in the past 20 to 30 years underpin $330 billion a year of Australia’s economic output.

These advances also support more than 1 million Australian jobs, or 10 per cent of total employment.

These findings are presented in a new report commissioned by the Office of the Chief Scientist and the Australian Academy of Science and produced by the Centre for International Economics (CIE).

Academy Vice-President and Secretary Physical Sciences Professor C. Jagadish was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in the Australia Day honours, for his distinguished service to physics, engineering and nanotechnology, and to education and his executive roles at national and international science advisory organisations. 

Australia’s world-leading climate and environmental science capability is facing an uncertain future with the news of more major job cuts at CSIRO, according to the Australian Academy of Science. 

The announcement comes on top of cuts of more than $20 million to climate and environmental science in the 2014-15 Federal Budget. Media reports indicate that up to 300 positions in the organisation will change, mainly within the Oceans and Atmosphere and Land and Water divisions.