When microbiologist Professor Nancy Millis passed away in September 2012, some of her colleagues at the University of Melbourne came up with the idea that, by donating sufficient funds, they would enable a medal to be struck in her honour—and thus began the Nancy Millis Medal for Women in Science.
Major support from the University of Melbourne to act as a partner in underpinning the award of the Nancy Millis Medal in perpetuity was announced earlier this year. The university’s donation will allow the Academy and the university to work together in fully celebrating each recipient of the medal through joint recognition by both organisations.
President of the Australian Academy of Science, Professor Andrew Holmes, said what began with a small group of Prof Millis’ colleagues coming together to create an award to celebrate her work, has now become one of the organisation’s most popular awards.
“More than 100 remarkable women have already been nominated for the Medal in its short life span,” said Professor Holmes.
“This is the second Medal awarded by the Academy to acknowledge leading women in STEM, and we hope that we can work harder to support many more through our Awards. The Academy is very proud to be a partner with the University of Melbourne in celebrating and nurturing these leaders, and it is extremely grateful for the strong financial support of the award.”
Prof Millis was a wonderful scholar and a great character. The obvious traction the Medal, named her in honour, has for women in STEM would have made her both proud and humble.Professor McCluskey
The Academy would like to thank the following founding donors for their generous support of the Nancy Millis Medal:
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
