For a community that loves its smartphones and obligingly updates the operating system when we are advised a few times each year, why are we prepared to live with an operating system for our research that hasn’t been updated in 30 years?
For a community that loves its smartphones and obligingly updates the operating system when we are advised a few times each year, why are we prepared to live with an operating system for our research that hasn’t been updated in 30 years?
The President of the Australian Academy of Science, Professor Chennupati Jagadish, said the Australian Government cannot build a stronger, more resilient nation with a stagnant research and development system that relies on decades-old settings.
Over the past two decades, a significant drop in R&D is leaving Australia more exposed to external pressures and shocks, as well as increasing sovereign vulnerability. There are serious consequences for national well-being, security and prosperity.
The Australian Academy of Science welcomes the release of the final report of the Pathway to Diversity in STEM Review.
“It is pleasing to see that the review has highlighted leadership, governance, cultural transformation and inclusive workplace environments as important priorities for improving diversity in the STEM sector,” Academy President Professor Jagadish said.
While there is a slight increase in Government investment in R&D from 2022-23 to 2023-24, there is much still to be done if we are to see a full turnaround in the decades-long downward trend in R&D investment. Australia’s investment remains well below the OECD average.
Today, the Australian Academy of Science celebrates seven decades of serving the nation as the home of science.
Today we celebrate our 70th anniversary since the foundation of the Australian Academy of Science.
Our country has a deep reservoir of talent within the sciences, including some of the world’s most eminent researchers and professionals.
I would also like to begin by acknowledging the Gadigal clan of the Eora Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are gathering today.
The Australian Academy of Science also acknowledges and pays respects to the Traditional Owners and the Elders past, present and emerging of all the lands on which the Academy operates, and its Fellows live and work. They hold the memories, traditions, cultures and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia.
The Academy is pleased to announce the 2024 recipients of the Graeme Caughley Travelling Fellowship, Selby Fellowship and Rudi Lemberg Travelling Fellowship which will support four researchers in travelling both to Australia and overseas.
© 2025 Australian Academy of Science