Presentations on vaccines and driver safety

In April and May, the Academy’s public speaker series presented well-attended talks on two very different topics: a needle-free way to deliver vaccines, and young driver road safety.

The University of Queensland’s Professor Mark Kendall presented his highly innovative work on the ‘nanopatch’ — a device that delivers vaccines without the need for refrigeration or a needle. And Dr Bridie Scott-Parker from the University of the Sunshine Coast provided fascinating insights into her research on reducing the death and injury toll among young drivers.

Science stars of tomorrow is being presented as part of the Academy’s 60th anniversary year celebrations and aims to bring some of the rising stars of science directly to the general public. The ABC’s Louise Maher and Professor Robyn Williams FAA, and former Climate Commissioner Professor Tim Flannery FAA, are chairing the series.

Upcoming lectures include:

• Seeing the woods for the trees: understanding venom evolution as a guide for biodiscovery, by Associate Professor Bryan Grieg Fry (1 July)
• Extreme events: the new normal, by Dr Lisa Alexander (5 August)
• Metal-TCNQ organic semiconductors: emerging applications in catalysis, sensing, flexible electronics and antimicrobial dressings, Professor Vipul Bansal (2 September).

The talks are livestreamed and made available in the days following the lecture on the Academy’s YouTube channel. Tickets are $6, and Fellows can attend for free using a discount code. Please contact the events team if you have any queries.