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Hard-won gains for women’s advancement in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) workforce are now at risk of a major setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professor Jane Langdale, of the Plant Sciences Department at the University of Oxford, and Professor Erwin Neher, of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Germany, have been admitted as Corresponding Members of the Australian Academy of Science for their outstanding contributions to science.

Australia’s research workforce will be severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects are likely to be felt for an extended period. Universities in particular have been dealt a double blow by the pandemic.

*EXTENSION OF CLOSING DATE* The closing date for Falling Walls Lab Australia has been extended to Monday 20 July 2020.

Three Academy Fellows, including Academy President John Shine, have been newly elected to the Royal Society, the world’s oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.

Australia and New Zealand’s science, research and innovation sectors have united to provide governments with the latest and best evidence as they contain and respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Academy Fellows Professor Jane Elith and Professor Roger Summons have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in the United States.

The Australian Academy of Science acknowledges the current pressures on researchers around the country. From increased workloads for those directly related to the development of COVID-19 vaccines or treatments, to interesting online teaching challenges and drastically altered caring responsibilities, much of science sector will have been affected by the pandemic in some way.

The Australian Academy of Science is encouraged by indications that National Cabinet will make public future models based on Australian data on a regular basis.