Seventeen of Australia's leading scientists were honoured on 23 March by election to the Australian Academy of Science.
Election to the Australian Academy of Science recognises a career that has significantly advanced, and continues to advance, the world's scientific knowledge.
Scientific contributions of the 2011 new Fellows cover a wide range of specialities that include sperm function, nuclear fusion, quantitative genetics with applications in agriculture, the ecology and evolution of microorganisms, and advances in wave science with applications in optical fibres and photonic crystals.
Academy President Professor Suzanne Cory warmly welcomed the new Fellows.
'I congratulate all of our new Fellows on their stellar scientific achievements and this well-deserved recognition,' she said.
'I look forward to welcoming them at our annual Science at the Shine Dome event in Canberra this May, during which they will speak about their research.'
The new Fellows, elected from Australian universities and medical research institutions, are:
Professor Robert John Aitken FAA FRSE
distinguished for his work on mammalian sperm function, fertilisation and early embryonic development with applications in fertility treatments and contraception.
School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, NSW
Professor Marilyn Ann Anderson FAA FTSE
distinguished for her discovery of the role of protective proteinase inhibitors, specific for different insect gut enzymes, in female sexual tissues of flowering plants.
Department of Biochemistry, La Trobe University, Melbourne VIC
Professor David St Clair Black FAA
distinguished for his innovative research in organic chemistry and exemplary leadership in science diplomacy for Australian and world chemistry, fostering broad and inclusive interactions worldwide.
School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW
Professor Mark Blows FAA
distinguished for his work on the evolution of complex traits, that has overturned conventional thinking on key aspects of evolutionary change.
School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD
Professor Mahananda Dasgupta FAA
distinguished for her work on complex quantum interactions in collisions of heavy nuclei, that includes pioneering measurements of nuclear fusion with unmatched accuracy and precision.
Department of Nuclear Physics, Australian National University, Canberra ACT
Professor Michael Edward Goddard FAA
distinguished for his work in quantitative genetics, with innovative use of genetic markers and statistical genetic methods to reveal the genetic architecture of complex traits for agriculture.
Agriculture and Food Systems, School of Land and Environment, University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC
Professor Trevor William Hambley FAA
distinguished for his work in bioinorganic chemistry, crystallography and molecular mechanics, including multidisciplinary research on metal anti-cancer drugs.
School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, NSW
Professor Staffan Kjelleberg FAA
distinguished for his work in microbial ecology, including bacterial adaptive responses and biofilm biology.
School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences,Centre for Marine BioInnovation, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW
Professor Thomas Maschmeyer FAA
distinguished for his work on materials and catalysis with applications in pharmaceuticals, process intensification and biofuels.
School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, NSW
Professor Ross Campbell McPhedran FAA FAIP FInstP FOSA
distinguished for his work in wave science leading to improved performance in microstructured optical fibres, diffraction gratings and photonic crystals.
Centre for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW
Professor Joseph John Monaghan FAA
distinguished for his work in the development of smoothed particle hydrodynamics with broad applications in astrophysical, geophysical and engineering problems.
School of Mathematical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton VIC
Professor Ian Richard Petersen FAA FIEAust FIEEE
distinguished for his work on robust control theory with innovative advances enabling the synthesis of robust state feedback controllers using standard software tools.
School of Engineering and Information Technology, University of New South Wales, at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra ACT
Professor Mathai Varghese FAA FAustMS
distinguished for his work in geometric analysis involving the topology of manifolds, including the Mathai-Quillen formalism in topological field theory.
Director, Institute for Geometry and its Applications, School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide SA
Dr Colin Ward FAA FTSE
distinguished for his work in protein chemistry, including the elucidation of the 3D-structure of the extracellular domains of four growth factor receptors and their activation mechanisms.
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville VIC
Professor Emma Whitelaw FAA
distinguished for her work in epigenetics, pioneering the study of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance and complex diseases caused by gene-environment interactions.
Department of Genetics and Population Health, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Herston QLD
Dr George Ellis Williams FAA FGSAm FGSAust
distinguished for his work in the Earth and planetary sciences in the fields of sedimentology, palaeoclimatology, paleomagnetism, meteoritics and Earth-Moon dynamics.
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, SA
Professor Aibing Yu FAA FTSE
distinguished for his work in particle science and technology, including methods to simulate and model the motion of individual particles within large populations in flowing systems.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
