This report gives a brief review of the geodetic activities carried out in Australia over the period July 1995 to June 1999.

The report summarises the activities of the federal and state government survey organisations and the universities.

It was prepared by the geodesy sub-committee of the National Committee for Solid Earth Sciences.

Compiled by the National Committee for Space Science, this report presents aspects of Australian space activity which the contributors regard as relevant and appropriate to the International Science Council's COSPAR for 2004–06.

Significant events include: 

• the successful operation of FedSat, Australia’s first scientific satellite since the 1960s
• Australian members of the Japanese Hayabusa (MUSES-C) spacecraft team helping the spacecraft reach, identify a safe landing site, and land on asteroid Itokawa for its sample-return mission
• completion of the Unwin radar at Invercargill, New Zealand, and its successful operation with the similar Bruny Island radar to form the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER) system, within the international SuperDARN network
• an international team, including Australian scientists readying NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) to launch from Cape Canaveral in mid-2006, in order to study the Sun, solar wind, and space weather effects on the Earth’s environment and human technology.

Compiled by the National Committee for Space Science, this report presents aspects of Australian space activity which the contributors regard as relevant and appropriate to the International Science Council's COSPAR for 2002–04.

The most significant event in Australian space science in the last two years was the satellite program from the Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems (CRCSS) which resulted in the launch of FedSat, the first satellite built in Australia since the 1960s.

Compiled by the National Committee for Space Science, this report presents aspects of Australian space activity which the contributors regard as relevant and appropriate to the International Science Council's COSPAR for 2000–02.

The research areas encompass earth observation (remote sensing), solar terrestrial physics, upper atmospheric physics, climate and weather modelling, space astronomy, and space communications research.

Compiled by the National Committee for Space Science, this report to the International Science Council Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) was assembled from contributions from the wide range of institutions undertaking space-related research in Australia.

Australian institutions active in space research comprise CSIRO, numerous university groups, and various government bodies such as the Australian Antarctic Division and the Ionospheric Prediction Service. 

Industry is also making a contribution to space research in Australia.

The Australian Academy of Science congratulates the grant recipients of the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) grant funding for the 2023–24 round.

Established by the Royal Society to further scientific discovery, the TMI is administered by the Australian Academy of Science and provides grant funding to support career development opportunities for Australia’s early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

A total commitment of A$300,000 has been allocated to support 30 applications, with the grant recipients spread across Australia. These grants are distributed among four Flagship projects, six Amplify Initiatives, and 20 Participation Support Grants, which are expected to start implementation from January 2024.

Funding stream one: Flagship Activities

Four grants, each with an average size of A$40,400, have been approved to deliver activities designed to provide tangible benefits to EMCRs in Australia and the wider scientific community.

These initiatives are strategically designed to extend their impact beyond a single Australian organisation, fostering collaboration and synergy across multiple institutions.

Sponsorship support from additional event partners enhances the scope and effectiveness of these activities.

Below is the list of projects approved under the category of Flagship Activities:

Funding stream two: Amplify Activities

Six grants, averaging A$13,600 each, were approved for activities that will bring additional benefits and opportunities to conferences, workshops, symposia, and networking events.

Serving as complementary add-on events, they will amplify the overall impact of the main activities, specifically by facilitating increased engagement of EMCRs.

These grants cover the additional costs associated with ensuring the active participation of EMCRs, contributing to a richer and more inclusive experience for all attendees.

Below is the list of projects approved under the category of Amplify Activities:

Funding stream three: Participation Support

Twenty grants, with an average size of A$2,800, were approved for Australian EMCRs to cover the expenses associated with attending events or activities.

This funding is tailored to alleviate costs related to caregiving, accessibility, and mobility needs, ensuring that EMCRs can fully engage in career development opportunities such as conferences or training workshops.

The aim is to eliminate financial barriers, enabling EMCRs to participate meaningfully in activities vital for their professional growth.

Below is the list of grant recipients under the category of Participation Support Grants:

Every application underwent thorough evaluation by the EMCR Committee of Council—a panel consisting of esteemed Academy Fellows and subject matter experts.

The conclusive decisions regarding approvals and allocations were made by the Academy's Executive Committee of Council and the Board of the Royal Society (Australia) Pty Ltd.

The Academy anticipates the next call for applications to open around mid-2024.

UPDATE 1 February 2024: Read about the outcome of the second round of the fund.

The Australian Academy of Science congratulates the 21 grant recipients from the first round of the Ukraine-Australia Research Fund, announced today.

Just over A$330,000 has been awarded from the fund to assist Ukrainian researchers impacted by the war with Russia. The fund supports two activities, each offering practical support to enable the continuation of research and technology activities by Ukrainian scientists.

Activity 1 – Short-term visits to Australia

This activity supports Ukrainian researchers to participate in short-term visits to Australia to engage in project research at a host institution, or to participate in a conference and site visit program.

Activity 1 has awarded 12 applicants a total of A$210,000, which will support 14 Ukrainian visitors. The Australian hosts, visiting Ukrainians, and their institutions are:

Activity 2 – Facility access

Under this activity, Ukrainian researchers will access leading infrastructure capabilities in Australia, such as supercomputing facilities, microscopy and microanalysis, and telescopes.

Ukrainian researchers will be able to send their samples to facilities for analysis, including those enabled under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), with the results returned to the Ukrainian research institute.

Funding covers the cost of sending samples between Ukraine and the Australian facility, the cost of instrument access, and of testing and analysing the samples. This activity will keep Ukrainian researchers productive and publishing at their own institutes in Ukraine while also engaging in international collaborations.

Activity 2 has seen nine applications to access NCRIS facilities approved. The total amount awarded was just over A$120,000.

The collaborating NCRIS facilities, Ukrainian awardees, and their institutes are:

• ANSTO Centre for Accelerator Science
  • Prof Bogdan Ridush, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University
• AuScope GeoHistory Facility Laser Ablation ICPMS
  • Prof Hennadii Artemenko, MP Semenenko Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Ore Formation
• Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, a Microscopy Australia facility
  • Dr Volodymyr Kulyk, Lviv Polytechnic National University
• Radiogenic Isotopes 
  • Dr Vitaliy Sukach, MP Semenenko Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Ore Formation
• National Computational Infrastructure
  • Dr Misha Khoma, Institute of Electron Physics
  • Dr Pavlo Fernati, SP Timoshenko Institute of Mechanics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
  • Prof Vasyl Rizak, Uzhhorod National University
• South Australian Node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility 
  • Dr Sergii Khutornoi, Institute of Marine Biology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
• Western Australian Argon Isotope Facility
  • Prof Oleksandr Mytrokhyn, Institute of Geology of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

All applications were evaluated by an assessment committee comprised of Academy Fellows and relevant subject matter experts. The final decision on approvals and allocations was made by the Ukraine-Australia Research Fund Working Group, chaired by Academy President Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC PresAA FREng FTSE.

Successful applications from the second round are expected to be announced later this year.

The Academy thanks the not-for-profit Breakthrough Prize Foundation for their funding support of this program, the Australian institutes and researchers hosting Ukrainian visitors, the NCRIS facilities and Directors Group for their ongoing contributions to the program, and the Ukrainian participants.

On 10 September 2003, the Australian Academy of Science made the following policy statement on research and innovation in Australia.

• Download statement (PDF, 360 KB)

On 26 November 2007, the Australian Academy of Science made the following statement on the National Water Commission's proposed rain making trial.

The Academy is deeply concerned regarding the National Water Commission’s $10 million trial of the weather modification technology of Australian Rain Corporation. The lack of a recognised scientific basis to that technology means that the proposed trial is inherently without scientific merit.

Guidelines for the conduct of weather modification research and operations have been set out by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). A key aspect of those guidelines is that any technology must be based on known scientific principles and that the applicability of those principles is part of the assessment of the technology. This is necessary because of the chaotic nature of weather, which means that statistical testing of the results alone cannot assure the effectiveness of such technology.

The chaotic nature of weather means very long trials are needed to determine the effectiveness of any such technology. Trials are held over many years, with the methods for these trials set out by the WMO. The procedures and standards recommended by WMO have not been met in the project announced by the outgoing government.

Technologies like the system of Australian Rain Corporation have been touted to most government agencies in Australia over the last decade or two. Up till now all agencies have recognised the lack of a scientific basis for undertaking proposed assessments, because a valid assessment cannot be made of an unknown.

Agencies are aware that their scientific integrity is compromised by undertaking such unscientific activities. Similar proposals have been made to agencies in other parts of the world, particularly within the USA, and we understand most have declined to participate.

Any future support for such projects must be based on authoritative advice in order to maintain the reputation of Australian science.

On 24 April 2009, Kurt Lambeck, President of the Australian Academy of Science, made the following statement.

The announcement by Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, that the Australian Government will provide up to $83 million to early stage start-up companies serves to highlight that the research and development (R&D) community is keenly awaiting the Governments response to the Cutler Review of the National Innovation System and the Bradley Review of the Higher Education System.

The Ministers' Press Club address of 18 March articulated ten 'ambitions' for innovation, science and research that if achieved have the potential to transform Australia's R&D scene. But, as the Minister has remarked, 'the global economic crisis …. has cast everything in a different light, including our agenda for innovation, science and research'. I hope this means that the need for implementation is even more urgent. At the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Innovation report, Building Australia's Research Capacity, noted the global economic meltdown should not become a reason for inaction on the Government's commissioned reports that have stressed the importance of developing Australia's education, science and technology base.

The issues facing Australia are numerous, intertwined and complex. To survive as a civil society will require that our nation becomes competitive at the highest international level in education, research and the development of technology from that research. Solutions will have to come from an expanded and increasingly flexible human resource capability that is able to contribute to new discoveries, to make creative use of tomorrow's discoveries, and that is able to make well-founded decisions on their use to benefit our whole society.

From my perspective as President of the Australian Academy of Science, the major underpinning element for these solutions has to be excellence in innovative science and technology, and the present Federal Government demonstrated its recognition of this from the beginning by commissioning the Cutler and Bradley reviews. These reports, as well as the House of Representatives report recognise the importance of innovation with roots in strong Australian education, science and technology. They stress that investment in human and material scientific resources provides the springboard for long-term growth in wealth, health, sustainable employment and environmental benefits. They also express concern that Australia is falling behind in building the requisite education and research foundation.

The Academy particularly welcomes the Government's announcement of three policy ambitions in this area: to develop a research workforce strategy to meet expected shortfalls in the supply of research-qualified university staff to 2020; increase support for Australian Postgraduate Award holders as budget circumstances permit; and significantly increase the number of students completing higher degrees by research over the next decade. However, the translation of ambitions beyond aspirations is a matter of urgency because of the long time it takes to train independent creative researchers and a work force able to effectively transform research outputs into products and services that are of benefit to society as a whole.

The difficulties of this translation and the importance of creating mechanisms for effective transfer are discussed extensively in the reports. In this regard we also welcome the Government's aims to double the level of collaboration between Australian businesses, universities and publicly funded research organisations over the next year, and increase the international collaboration in research by Australian universities. Again, specific funding must be committed to turn these into reality. Observations from elsewhere, where this transfer has been more successful than in Australia, suggest that if a vibrant research community evolves, with flexible interaction and movement between partners from all sectors, then the transfer will occur.

The reviews highlight that Australia has badly fallen behind in research funding in the past decade. Success rates for competitive funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) are now abysmally low and act as disincentives for young researchers to embark upon independent research careers. But even when successful, ARC funding does not cover direct costs, let alone the indirect costs to the universities, with the result that severe research distortions are occurring within the institutions. Thus the recommendations to increase ARC and the National Health and Medical Research Council research funding to more sustainable levels are strongly endorsed, recognising that this may not be achievable in the immediate term.

We recognise that the Government has acted to improve career paths from post-doctoral fellowships to senior research positions with the creation of the Future Fellowships for mid-career researchers and Australian Laureate Fellowships for senior researchers. We applaud these actions and feel churlish about pointing out the inevitable; that 200 Future Fellowships per year for 5 years, some 10-20 research intensive universities, and perhaps some 50 disciplines worthy of nurturing, that the scope for developing a critical mass in any area of scholarship will be a challenge indeed!

Of course, research council funding is only one part of the 'bricks and mortar' that maintain a research capability. The recent announcements by the Higher Education Endowment Fund for infrastructure funding are an important recognition of this by the Federal and State Governments. But the selection process clearly illustrated that justified needs greatly exceed supply. The same is also true for other research organisations. Hence we strongly support, as a minimum, increasing funding incrementally over a ten year period to levels comparable to those of our OECD competitors who, mostly, are not using the financial crisis as an excuse for not expanding their R&D expenditures.

The Academy of Science believes that the recommendations before Government contain both wisdom and guidance that, when acted on, will see Australia emerge from the current period of economic uncertainty stronger and better able to meet the challenges of the future. We recognise that there are many pressing economic and financial problems, but inaction on developing our national research and infrastructure capability is not an option. As noted in the most influential science journal Nature 'protecting R&D is key to coming out of a recession strong.'

Others are also following this path: China has announced a massive economic stimulus package much of which goes to research tax credits and investments in R&D infrastructure; and the new US Administration has initiated measures 'to employ science, technology and innovation to solve our nation's most pressing problems.

The Australian Academy of Science urges our Government, when considering its responses to the reviews and when fine-tuning its 2009/2010 budget, to recognise that now is the time to turn the ambitions into reality; to invest in the human and material infrastructure to ensure that we remain competitive and able to address the problems faced by the nation in the years ahead. Such investment will also stimulate the economy and build it a long-term future. We may draw encouragement from the UK Government who, despite facing an economic downturn perhaps even worse than that of Australia, has seen science as a national priority, announcing that 'the downturn is no time to slow down our investment in science and making its biggest ever investment in training of scientists and engineers.