Former Australian of the year and mental health advocate Professor Patrick McGorry and Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel are among 21 leading scientists to be elected to the Australian Academy of Science.

The six women and 15 men have made outstanding contributions to a range of scientific areas including agriculture, advanced communications and cancer research. 

Academy of Science President, Professor Andrew Holmes, congratulated all of the new Fellows elected this year for making significant and lasting impacts in their scientific disciplines.

Former Australian of the Year and mental health advocate Professor Patrick McGorry and Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel are among 21 leading scientists to be elected to the Australian Academy of Science. 

The two high profile Australians join researchers who have made outstanding contributions to a range of scientific areas including agriculture, advanced communications and cancer research. 

The Australian Academy of Science is urging all parties to prioritise science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education before Australia goes to the polls on July 2nd.

Releasing an election statement today, the Academy has emphasised the need for science and innovation to be at the heart of economic and social policy.

Delivered 9 am Wednesday 25 May 2016, Shine Dome, Canberra

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Australian Academy of Science President, Professor Andrew Holmes AM PresAA FRS FTSE

Fellows of the Academy, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Before we begin the proceedings, I would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the traditional owners of the land on which we meet—the Ngunnawal people of the Wiradjuri Nation. It is upon their ancestral lands that the Australian Academy of Science is built.

The Australian Academy of Science is conducting a formal review of Australia's needs and capabilities in the area of climate science.

"Australia is the custodian of climate science in the Southern Hemisphere," Academy President Professor Holmes said in his annual address at Science at the Shine Dome 2016.

A Prime Minister’s Prize-winning epilepsy specialist, an internationally recognised astrophysicist, a geotechnical engineer and a Southern Ocean climate scientist have joined the Council of the Australian Academy of Science.

The new members have been elected to join Council for three-year terms that commence after the Academy’s Annual General Meeting, held as part of Science at the Shine Dome in Canberra this week.  

Retiring members of the Academy’s Council have been honoured and new members appointed, following the Australian Academy of Science’s Annual General Meeting today.

Leading physicist and academic Professor C Jagadish has retired as the Academy’s Secretary Physical Sciences and Deputy President; materials scientist Professor Jim Williams has stepped into the role.

Other retiring Council members are ordinary members in the physical sciences, Professor Bob Vincent, and Professor Brain Schmidt and ordinary member of the biological sciences, Professor Peter Koopman.

The Australian Academy of Science has published its 2015 Annual Report, featuring highlights and summaries of the Academy's achievements over the year.

Fully online for the first time, the Annual Report outlines activities and achievements under five key themes: excellence in science, international engagement, scientific literacy, influential voice, and operational excellence.

Endorsed today at the Annual General Meeting of the Academy, the report also features video introductions by the President and Chief Executive.

Groups of PhD students were given 24 hours to come up with innovative start-up ideas yesterday, pitting their designs against others in the Australian–French Entrepreneurship Challenge.

Forty-eight students from a range of institutions and research backgrounds participated in the challenge and took advantage of the workshops and expert mentoring on offer. Participants are displaying resilience, creativity, teamwork and a willingness to take risks as they brainstorm and refine their ideas, ready to pitch.

Former Academy President Professor Brian Anderson and polymers pioneer Professor David Solomon have been recognised with Australia's highest honour, Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia, in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Professor Anderson AC received the award for eminent services to information and communications technology, to engineering and higher education, as an academic, researcher and author, to professional scientific associations and as a mentor of young scientists.

© 2025 Australian Academy of Science

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