Fellows in the news

Selected highlights of Fellows who have appeared in the news

In a big year for higher education, it was great to see Science Policy Secretary, Les Field, and Academy council member, Brian Schmidt, featuring in The Australian newspaper’s higher education top 50 most influential people in 2014.

Martin Green made headlines around the world late last year for helping to pioneer a world first in solar energy efficiency. Professor Green and his team at UNSW achieved more than 40% conversion efficiency—the previous record was about 36%.

Foreign Secretary Cheryl Praeger made history by becoming the first woman to receive the Australian Mathematical Society’s career award, the George Szekeres Medal.

Geoffrey Taylor revealed his plans to use an old gold mine in Victoria to research one of the universe’s most mysterious substances—dark matter.

A new report by the Climate Council showed that the Australian 2013 record heatwave was ‘virtually impossible' without man-made climate change. Tim Flannery said ‘This report tells us that we are responsible, that we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if we hope to have a better climate into the future.’

Three Fellows and former Australians of the Year spoke out in the media about the Government’s treatment of asylum seekers. Fiona Stanley, Ian Frazer and Gustav Nossal were among other eminent Australians who wrote directly to the Prime Minister Tony Abbott to express their concerns.

Hans Lambers is among a group of scientists pushing for a region stretching from Shark Bay to Esperance in Western Australia to become a world heritage area. The Kwongan region is twice the size of the Tasmanian wilderness world heritage area and about the size of England.

Four Australian Nobel Laureates and Fellows of the Academy spoke in strong terms about the cuts to Australian science funding in the Weekend Australian Financial Review. Elizabeth Blackburn, Brian Schmidt, Peter Doherty and Barry Marshall said not investing in science was damning the Australian economy.

Jamie Rossjohn was part of a team that has discovered a new mechanism by which immune cells in the skin function as the body's 'border control'.

John Church is one of the co-authors on a new study that shows the Southern oceans are playing a major role in absorbing world's excess heat.

Chris Goodnow joined the Garvan Institute of Medical Research as its new deputy director.