About us

Science is important to everyone—not just those who study it. It helps us make sound decisions for our health, our environment and our life. Every single day. There’s so much to be curious about, but often it’s hard to find answers that are both trustworthy and interesting.

Our goal at the Australian Academy of Science is to fill that need by providing accurate and engaging content in a way that everyone can access. We have the experience to do it. With a strong and passionate team of scientists, science communicators and journalists working collaboratively, we publish current, interesting and understandable information covering the breadth of science.

As the Australian Academy of Science, we have access to Australia's most renowned scientists to assist us by ensuring that our science is accurate. Especially in this period of fake news and mis-represented science, we view our scientific independence as our most valuable asset. The content we publish is rigorously reviewed by Fellows of the Academy and other experts in the specific scientific field. As our scientific understanding increases and new discoveries are made, our content will reflect the latest knowledge.

Social media is increasingly becoming the way we consume news. Science is competing in a crowded world of mainstream media: sensationalised headlines, multimedia and clickbait. How do we compete? We join.

We have strengthened our online presence—especially on Facebook—because that’s where people go for news, information and entertainment. We’ve also made our content more accessible on mobile devices and we’ve broadened our audience. You’ll see more internationally relevant content, as we promote the value of Australian science to the world.

We hope that you will be a part of our journey, and share and enjoy our content online.

Our history

The Academy has a long history of increasing science literacy and awareness amongst the public, from direct communication and public lectures to online websites and media. This project is another chapter in this journey, continuing on from Nova—an initiative that started in 1997.

Nova, the Academy’s flagship science information website for adults and senior school students, was one of the first science communication sites in Australia. Over the years, more than 400,000 people, including teachers, have accessed the published scientific information, finding understandable answers to complex questions.

With the support of Telstra, Nova saw a significant refresh in 2015 with a rich supply of photos, infographics, videos, animations and interactive elements. In 2017, this website evolved to become the key public outreach website of the Australian Academy of Science. With the Academy name and logo, the website continues to act as a repository for past Nova content and as an ever-growing record of the new content being published on social media.

Teachers

School students find our content fascinating (and occasionally useful for cramming!), but if you're interested in science and mathematics specifically developed by experts for school students and teachers, find out more about the Academy's award-winning education programs: