Canberra’s heritage building, the Shine Dome, is rich with the history of some of the brightest minds in Australian science. As COVID-19 restrictions ease, the Academy encourages event bookings. It is the ideal location for any type of event.
The largest single-level venue space in the Shine Dome is the versatile Jaeger Room, bathed in natural light. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the dome’s moat and the stunning Nishi Building nearby and provide glimpses of Lake Burley Griffin. The room is named after eminent Australian scientist, Professor John Conrad Jaeger, pronounced 'jay-ger.
The Jaeger Room can be set up for many purposes, and holds up to 200 people for cocktail-style events and 150 theatre style. It’s been the venue for wedding, memorials, launches and art events.
Should physical distancing or travel restrictions still be in place closer to your booking date, the venue team will help you rearrange your event date and transfer all money paid to the new date.
Find out more about the Shine Dome as a venue or contact the team on shinedome@science.org.au
Jaeger made important contributions in geothermal studies and rock mechanics. He became part of the Australian National Research Council in 1947 and was among the first group of Academy Fellows elected in 1954. He was a member of Council of the Academy over the period of 1957–1959 and Vice-President from 1958–1959.
Jaeger was born in Sydney in 1907 and began his studies at the University of Sydney at just 16, first in the Faculty of Engineering and then Science. He achieved first class honours and university medals in mathematics and physics and was awarded the Barker Graduate Scholarship in 1928. This led him to further studies in mathematics and theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge.
In 1936, Jaeger took up a lecturer position in mathematics at the University of Tasmania. During the Second World War, he worked on two main projects: the properties of charcoal and the fracture of sandstone rollers used in newspaper production.
He spent the remainder of the war carrying out applied theoretical research at the Radiophysics Laboratory for CSIR, the predecessor of CSIRO, while also publishing papers on heat conduction. Following the war, Jaeger returned to the University of Tasmania as a senior lecturer.
In 1951, he was invited to take the new chair of geophysics at the Australian National University, the first of its kind at an Australian university. Jaeger was instrumental in establishing laboratory-based geophysical research projects in geothermy, rock deformation and palaeomagnetism. He also established links with organisations such as the Snowy Hydro Project through his consulting activities.
During Jaeger’s years at the ANU, he served on many national committees related to earth science, including the Academy’s National Committee for Geodesy and Geophysics, as well as oceanography. After retirement, he returned to Tasmania, where he carried on working on publications. Jaeger died in Canberra in 1979.
See Jaeger’s full biographical memoir
In addition to the Shine Dome, the Academy commemorates Jaeger’s research achievements through the Jaeger Medal. The medal is awarded annually for contributions to the science of the Earth and its oceans.
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
