News and views

A generous donation to the Academy from the University of Queensland will continue to support female early-career researchers working in the Earth sciences.

Central to the purpose of the Academy is the recognition and support of outstanding contributions to the advancement of science. The honorific awards were established to recognise distinguished research in three categories: awards of medals and prizes are made to early-career scientists up to 10 years post PhD, mid-career scientists 8 to 15 years post PhD, and the prestigious career awards which are made to scientists for life-long achievement.

The winners this year of Australia’s second Falling Walls Lab, Dr Vini Gautam from the Australian National University and Dr Mortaza Rezae from Curtin University, represented Australia at the international event in November. The Berlin event was attended by 100 finalists and winners from the 49 international Falling Walls Labs held during the year.

A collection of videotaped biographical interviews with more than 130 important figures in clinical medicine and science from the United Kingdom and Australia—including several Academy Fellows—is now available online.

Australian scientists researching emerging mosquito-borne diseases, drug resistant tuberculosis and childhood type 1 diabetes are among the latest recipients of 2018–19 Australia–India Early- and Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) Fellowships announced today by the Australian Academy of Science.

Multiple Academy videos have gone viral internationally on Facebook since the launch of the Academy’s new daily commitment to answer everyday questions and introduce people to science.

The Academy has awarded more than $200,000 to a number of high-quality research projects and conferences, generously supported by donations to the Academy. In 2018 these will, among other things, fund cutting-edge Australian marine, soil and plant biology research and help the survival of some of Australia’s endangered species. There is also support for specialist conferences on subjects such as the rapid collapse of ecosystems in a changing world.

The Academy’s national speaker series aims to deliver science around Australia in an engaging, accessible and positive way. Since August, the Academy has delivered Making Better Humans with Polymers in Wollongong, Brisbane and Adelaide, with audiences taken on a polymer journey by Dr Katherine Locock, Dr Georgina Such, Professor Martina Stenzel, Professor Gordon Wallace, Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik and Professor Peter Murphy.

The December 2017 issue (Volume 28 Number 2) of the Academy’s journal, Historical Records of Australian Science, is now available. This issue contains five articles on the history of Australian science, four biographical memoirs of Fellows, and a selection of book reviews.