The Academy hosted the third Australian Earth System Outlook Conference, Cities in Future Earth, at the Shine Dome in December.
According to Dr John Finnigan FAA, who opened the first session, a city can be likened to an ecosystem, with a metabolism that must be understood as an organic whole as well as in its parts before we can make informed decisions about urban development into the future.
The conference asked what form should urban development in Australia take through this century to bring maximum benefit, and how do we accomplish it? An understanding of urban dynamics that brings together viewpoints from the social and the natural sciences as well as the humanities is essential for maintaining Australia’s future quality of life.
Aromar Revi from the Indian Institute for Human Settlements presenting at the conference.
The conference examined:
More than 90 people from around Australia attended the conference. Highlights included presentations by Aromar Revi from the Indian Institute for Human Settlements and Dr Mark Stafford Smith, Chair of the Scientific Committee for the Future Earth initiative.
Early- and mid-career researchers had the opportunity to present posters and discuss their work with Fellows, other academics and researchers.
The conference is an important achievement for Earth system sciences in Australia and supports the development of other projects and initiatives such as Future Earth. The Australian Outlook Conferences are part of the Australian strategic plan for Earth system science: To Live Within Earth’s Limits: An Australian plan to develop a science of the whole Earth system [PDF].
The conference was organised by the National Committee for Earth System Science and supported by the Australian Government Department of the Environment.
Watch the videos and discussions from Cities in Future Earth.
The Academy’s National Committee for History and Philosophy of Science brought together science policy makers and communicators in December to explore methods for reinforcing science policy and engagement with evidence, applying best practice, and bridging the gap between theory and practice.
The one-day Master Class was held at the Dome and involved leaders in the field and a diverse audience. Successful practitioners working at the forefront of science engagement discussed practical approaches, research and future directions. The full program is available for download and the proceedings are available for viewing on the Academy’s YouTube channel.
The Master Class was generously supported by the International Union for History and Philosophy of Science (IUHPS), The University of Queensland, The University of Sydney and the Australian Research Council via the University of Adelaide.
An exploration of artificial intelligence lured a large and diverse audience to the Shine Dome for the first talk in the Academy’s 2015 public speaker series, Science fiction becomes science fact.
Using excerpts from well-known and not so well-known science fiction movies, Associate Professor James Curran, an informatics expert from the University of Sydney, outlined how his work in artificial intelligence differs from that portrayed in popular culture, and where reality overlaps.
For the second talk in the series on 3 March, Dr Annalise Durdle, a forensic scientist with the Victoria Police Forensic Services Department, explained how flies are vital to forensics.
Both events were chaired by Dr Rod Lamberts from the National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science.
The next speaker in this series is Professor Tamara Davis, who'll be talking about warp drives and bending time on 5 May. Then in June, Tan Le will reveal how you can move objects with your mind. A rescheduled event from last year's public speaker series will also take place in June, where Dr Bernadette Fitzgibbon will discuss the overlap between physical, social and empathy for pain in the brain.
In December the Academy hosted the annual meeting of the Collaborative Universities in Biomedical Education discipline network (CUBEnet), organised in conjunction with the Vision and Innovation in Biology Education (VIBEnet). The meeting brought together local and international bioscience education experts and allowed the audience to interact with speakers, examine on-going successes and explore new collaborative opportunities.
CUBEnet, an initiative of the Academy’s National Committee for Biomedical Sciences, is a network of biomedical academics who work to provide a sustainable framework for a program-wide approach to the biomedical curriculum.
Registrations are now open for Science at the Shine Dome 2015—Minerals to medicines: 100 years of X-ray crystallography.
Science at the Shine Dome is the Academy’s annual flagship event. It has a comprehensive program featuring some of the most important work being done in Australian science today.
New Fellows will be formally admitted into the Academy and will give short presentations on their work; Academy medallists will present the outstanding findings which have led to their awards; Fellows will hold their Annual General Meeting; and early career researchers will be treated to career-enhancing workshops and the opportunity to meet Australian leaders in every field of science.
This year’s annual symposium has been organised by the Academy’s National Committee for Crystallography. X-ray crystallography has come a long way since Nobel Laureate Lawrence Bragg pioneered the field 100 years ago. Featuring scientists at the forefront of their fields, the symposium will look at the world-changing work being done in crystallography—from extra-terrestrial investigations to medicine, from biology to chemistry and materials.
Senior high school students with a talent for science, technology and engineering travelled to Canberra in January for the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF), where they met working scientists and learned from experts about science and science careers.
About 400 students and 46 primary and secondary school science teachers attended the forum, which incorporates a National Science Teachers Summer School.
The Academy’s long-standing support for the forum was formalised last year with a Memorandum of Understanding. Incoming Secretary for Biological Sciences, Dr TJ Higgins FAA FTSE, addressed the students during their Saturday sessions at the Shine Dome.
The Academy’s Fellowship includes two NYSF graduates—Professors Michelle Coote FAA and Tanya Monro FAA FTSE. The Academy’s Chief Executive, Dr Sue Meek AO FTSE, said that the Academy looks forward to electing more former NYSF participants as they grow their love of inquiry, talent for research, and strong work ethic into successful careers in science.
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