Emeritus Professor Kurt Lambeck AO FAA FRS—awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science for transforming our understanding of our living planet
Professor Noel Cressie FAA—2018 Moyal Medal and Lecture, Macquarie University, for outstanding contributions to statistics, especially in statistics for spatial data and in environmental statistics.
Professor David Celermajer FAA FAHMS—Elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
Professor Anne Kelso AO FAA FAHMS—Elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
Professor John Miners FAA FAHMS—Elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
19 August 1944 to 20 September 2018
Professor Jacob Israelachvili was a prominent physicist, chemical engineer, material scientist and inventor of the Surforce measuring device. He was elected to the Academy in 1982 for his work developing original and path-breaking experimental techniques for measuring intermolecular forces. This work led to the discovery and elucidation of fundamental molecular interactions in complex colloidal and biological systems and at interfaces. This aided in the development of technological applications including the creation of biocompatible surfaces, development of new types of structured materials and soft biomaterials, and diagnosis of pathological membranes and tissues.
Professor Israelachvili, with his family, moved from Canberra to Santa Barbara in 1986, to take up an appointment as professor at the University of California (UCSB) in the Department of Chemical Engineering Material Science and BioMolecular Science and Engineering Programs, where he led the Interfacial Sciences Lab for more than 30 years. In 2017, he became a Professor Emeritus, and continued as a research professor at UCSB. Professor Israelachvili received the Academy’s Pawsey Medal in 1977 and the Mathew Flinders Medal and Lecture in 1986. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1988, and was a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) and then elected as a member in 2004. He received many prestigious international prizes, awards and accolades.
24 April 1940 to 3 October 2018
Professor John Chappell was a geoscientist, elected to the Academy in 1992 for his major contributions toward understanding late Quaternary sea level changes based on raised coral reefs in Papua New Guinea and elsewhere. John used stable isotopes and radiometric dating to establish links between sea level, global ice volume, and past climates, contributing substantially to the astronomical theory of ice ages. John also worked on the late Quaternary history of coasts, reefs, and estuarine lowlands, and on high resolution analysis of lowland environmental histories. He developed predictive models of the effects of future sea-level changes on these important environments and made major contributions to measuring and understanding erosion, soil production and landscape evolution as well as prehistoric interactions between climate, the biota and humans.
Professor Chappell worked at the Australian National University from 1967 and was appointed Head of the Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology at the Research School of Pacific Studies from 1990–2000. In 2001, he joined the Research School of Earth Sciences as Professor. After he retired in 2005, he retained the position of Emeritus Professor at the ANU while living in Dunedin, New Zealand.
John was a very active contributor to the Academy and generously gave his time to serve on numerous committees, including sectional committees, National Committees for Geography and for Quaternary Research (1993–2007); international exchange programs to Asia and Europe (1993–2000); and the Academy’s International-biosphere Program in the early 1990s.
Welcome to our new Honorary Editor for the newsletter, Professor Yuri Estrin. A world leader in materials science, Professor Estrin is Honorary Professorial Fellow at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University, and Adjunct Professor at the School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, University of Western Australia.
Many thanks to our previous Honorary Editor Professor Hans Bachor, who is now the Academy's Secretary Education and Public Awareness.
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