The Academy welcomes the introduction of measures to address systemic disadvantage faced by female and non-binary senior researchers via the Investigator Grant scheme of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

From the 2023 Investigator Grant round, the NHMRC will set targets and interventions in the scheme to fund an equal number of Leadership grants for women and men. Emerging Leadership grants will continue to use existing gender equity targets.

Non-binary researchers will also now be included alongside women, in both the new measures and the existing measures for Emerging Leadership grants.

Academy Chief Executive Anna-Maria Arabia said, “The intervention to support women at the senior levels is game-changing as it directly removes a barrier that has historically led to their attrition from the research workforce.

“Importantly, this intervention sends a strong message to both women and girls that they can pursue a successful and fulfilling career in research.

“The NHMRC has heard the calls and have acted, and we strongly applaud them for it, and we commend them for including non-binary researchers.”

The NHMRC intervention is expected to lead to changes in practices within research organisations to enable greater collaboration between researchers, stronger practices to support all genders during career breaks, and better decision-making and research design – all of which will improve research outcomes for all Australians.

Learn more about the measures being introduced on the NHMRC website.

The Academy’s Women in STEM Decadal Plan recommends initiatives of this nature to address systemic inequity.

The NHMRC has also committed to measuring the impact of this intervention, in line with a key recommendation of the Women in STEM Decadal Plan which proposes evaluating programs so that we know what works and investment can be directed to the most effective measures.

The Academy continues to strongly encourage medical research institutes, universities and publicly funded research agencies to become members of Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE), so that they can take a systematic and evidence-based approach to remove barriers faced by women in STEM. Organisations can also become Women in STEM Decadal Plan Champions by aligning their gender equity journey with the six opportunities listed in the Decadal Plan.

The Academy’s own Premier Awards have suffered from an under-representation of senior women applicants. In response, the Academy created the Ruby Payne-Scott Medal and Lecture for Women in Science, a career medal that recognises women researchers of the highest standing in the physical and/or biological sciences. This award, along with the Macfarlane Burnet and Matthew Flinders medals, is one of the most prestigious career awards of the Academy.

The Academy’s actions to improve gender diversity among our Fellowship are also succeeding. This year’s Fellows include 50% women and 50% men, the first time in the Academy’s history that gender parity has been achieved in the annual election of new Fellows.

Academy Council members have has also taken the Panel Pledge, promising to encourage meaningful representation of women in events.

Learn more about the Academy’s commitment to promoting and sustaining diversity and inclusion in the STEM sector.

Above: Dr Liz Dennis AC FAA FTSE was the recipient of the 2022 Ruby Payne-Scott Medal and Lecture.

One of the Australian Parliament’s fiercest science and research advocates, Kim Carr, has been recognised by the Australian Academy of Science today for advancing the cause of science and technology in Australia.

He becomes only the second politician to receive the Academy Medal in its 32 year history.

The Academy medal is awarded to: ‘a person outside the Fellowship who has, by sustained efforts in the public domain, significantly advanced the cause of science and technology in Australia or who has made a substantial contribution to the Academy, by means other than research.’

Academy President, Professor Chennupati Jagadish, said Kim Carr has been one of the most significant federal science ministers in recent decades.

“Kim Carr’s commitment to science was obvious throughout his nearly thirty years of parliamentary service, and for that he is a worthy recipient of the Academy Medal,” Professor Jagadish said.

“He committed a great deal of his political life, in government and in opposition, advocating for and defending public good research, science and technology, and education.”

Kim Carr’s departure from parliament earlier this year saw an outpouring of sorrow from the higher education and research sectors. Politicians also recognised his significant contributions to science, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying the parliament has had no stronger supporter of Australian manufacturing and science.

The Academy’s Secretary for Science Policy, Professor Ian Chubb, said Kim Carr was a champion of research, innovation, jobs and industry and a champion of a fairer and better Australia.

“Because we, scientists or academics, don’t hesitate to criticise politicians when they don’t consider and follow science advice, we should recognise them when they do much of what we think they should,” Professor Chubb said.

“We’ll miss Kim’s three-piece suits, his mobile eyebrows and his forward lean which always preceded a tough question in Senate estimates.”

Previous recipients of the medal include Bob Hawke (1990), Dr Norman Swan (2004), Professor Sue Serjeantson (2008), Professor Ian Chubb (2016) and Peter Yates and Professor Megan Clarke (2019).

Kim Carr said there’s still a lot of work to do.

“Science has a critical role in restoring public trust in finding solutions to the big problems this country faces.”

Ian Potter House, the headquarters of the Fellows and staff of the Australian Academy of Science, has officially reopened 989 days after it was extensively damaged during Canberra’s 2020 hailstorm.

It was officially reopened by Academy President, Professor Chennupati Jagadish and Ngunnawal Elder and leader, Aunty Violet Sheridan, following a smoking ceremony.

The opening was attended by Fellows of the Academy and staff, as well as Alicia Payne MP, the Federal Member for Canberra.

Following the 2020 hailstorm, the Academy undertook a complete refurbishment and restoration to improve the building’s accessibility, reduce its environmental footprint and preserve the heritage values of the building, its courtyards and gardens for future generations of Canberrans.

“Ian Potter House has been enhanced to showcase original features such as fireplaces and original ceilings where possible, whilst upgraded to provide a modern and flexible working space that is accessible, sustainable and energy efficient,” Professor Jagadish said in his opening address.

“We hope to have created a beautiful, inspiring, accessible and sustainable home for the Australian Academy of Science, its Fellows and staff.”

Academy of Science Chief Executive, Anna-Maria Arabia, welcomed back Fellows and staff and thanked them for their patience and resilience over this disruptive period.

“I am incredibly proud that we have been able to refurbish Ian Potter House, and to restore a building that holds a special place in Australia’s history and that will contribute to our future,” Ms Arabia said.

Both of the Academy’s historic buildings were significantly damaged in the 2020 hailstorm. The organisation also had the task of restoring the adjacent heritage-listed Shine Dome, including a completely new copper roof and improved energy efficiency. The Canberra landmark was officially reopened in June.

A rich history

Built as part of the Federal Capital Commission’s building program for the transfer of public servants to Canberra in 1927, the building now known as Ian Potter House represents an early phase in Canberra’s developing social and cultural history.

The Australian Academy of Science took possession of the site in 1985 and, following refurbishment in 1986–87, gave the building its current name in recognition of philanthropist and Academy Fellow, Sir Ian Potter FAA.

The modern restoration received a generous donation from the Ian Potter Foundation, contributing $500,000 to the works.

“Sir Ian and the Foundation have a long history of association with the Academy and with Ian Potter House,” Craig Connelly, CEO of the Ian Potter Foundation, said at the opening.

“The Foundation’s support of the refurbishments of Ian Potter House was a no-brainer.”

As a significant example of the Inter-War Georgian Revival style of architecture, Ian Potter House was entered in the ACT Heritage Register in 1998.

The building, including its courtyards, grounds and wisteria plants which grow over the entrance, are to be conserved and maintained in a manner consistent with its heritage significance.

Learn more about the history of Ian Potter House.

Information and images for this story were sourced from the Academy’s Basser Library and Fenner Archives, which hold a rich historical collection documenting the history of science in Australia. The archives are open to the public by appointment.

Explorations of the history of disease and of nuclear colonisation have earned two researchers the 2021–22 Mike Smith Student Prize for History of Australian Science or Australian Environmental History.

‘The poison, leave it’

Jessica Urwin is working toward her doctorate at the Australian National University, researching the history of nuclear colonialism throughout the 20th century. Her focus is on how Australia’s nuclear industry, including uranium and radium extraction, nuclear weapons testing, and radioactive waste disposal, has intersected with colonialism in South Australia.

Her essay submitted for the prize, ‘No Time to Waste: Aboriginal resistance to Australia’s nuclear waste, 1998–2004’, follows senior women of the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta group and their campaign Irati Wanti – ‘the poison, leave it’ – between 1998 and 2004.

“This grassroots campaign was organised by these women in response to Prime Minister John Howard’s proposal to establish a nuclear waste dump on their Country in the late 1990s. Through examining the key messages of the women’s campaign, my essay seeks to expose some of the tensions between desert and urban communities in relation to radioactive waste storage and disposal in Australia,” Ms Urwin said.

“Dr Mike Smith’s books, Peopling the Cleland Hills and The Archaeology of Australia’s Deserts were integral to my essay. His call to scholars to ‘people’ the desert, pushing back against the historic settler tendency to consider Australia’s desert landscapes ‘unpeopled’, is at the heart of this work, and is the key message put forward by the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta around whom my essay revolves.

“Accepting that desert landscapes are peopled is vital to acknowledging the disproportionate impacts of the nuclear order borne by Indigenous communities the world over. Such considerations are important for both environmental historians and historians of science,” she said.

Inspired by scholars

Joint prize-winner Margaret Williams is a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health (USA) studying the history of 20th century infection control policies as well as conducting clinical research on chronic lung infections.

“My work builds on many of the interests I developed writing my essay, ‘Biopolitics and the Bacillus: Sinophobia in an Epidemic of Bubonic Plague in Sydney, 1900–10’, especially historicising the relationships between body and space in conceptualising disease and in particular personal culpability for disease transmission,” Ms Williams said.

“Amidst the challenging research conditions of a pandemic – whose challenges led me to pursue this work – this prize has encouraged me to continue interrogating the ties between race, disease and national belonging.

“As I learned to read against epidemiological reports for this essay to chart the complex social relations influencing plague’s path through Sydney, I have been inspired by the community of scholars who guided this essay. I am grateful to Dr Mary Brazelton at Cambridge for her mentorship and support, as well as to the librarians at the University of New South Wales as I worked to access sources which were otherwise inaccessible during lockdown,” she said.

Both researchers expressed how much of an honour it was to receive the Mike Smith Prize.

Find out more about the 2021-22 prize, and the criteria used to select the winning entry.

The next round of the Mike Smith Student Prize will be in 2023–24, with entries opening late in 2023.

Merryn Fraser from the Australian National University is the winner of the seventh Falling Walls Lab Australia event, hosted online by the Australian Academy of Science in partnership with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Canberra, DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Service and EURAXESS Australia and New Zealand.

Merryn’s work explores the biology of Plasmodium parasites which cause malaria, using modified cholesterol molecules to sneak antimalarial drugs past the parasite’s defences.

Second place went to Clara Jiang from the University of Queensland, whose idea of repurposing drugs which share similar gene expression fingerprints, like statins and anti-depressants, could save time and money.

Mars Buttfield-Addison from the University of Tasmania took third place, with her idea of using existing sensors such as astronomical radio telescopes to track space debris.

The three Australian winners will represent Australia in the hybrid Falling Walls Conference 2022 alongside the other 97 global winners, and the top 10 global finalists will compete in the Falling Walls Pitches on 7 November in the Emerging Talents category.

The question of every Falling Walls Lab is: Which walls will fall next?

Three-minute pitch

Each participant had three minutes to highlight their research work, business model or unique initiative to the jury of distinguished academics and industry representatives chaired by Academy President Professor Chennupati Jagadish.

The ten contestants presenting at the Australian finale event were selected in heats held at Falling Walls Lab Sydney, organised by DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Service and EURAXESS, and Falling Walls Lab Brisbane, organised by the Queensland University of Technology.

Finalists

The ten finalists who presented their break-through ideas:

• Mars Buttfield-Addison from the University of Tasmania: Breaking the Wall of Space Debris Prevention
• Tess Brading from Queensland University of Technology: Breaking the Wall of Paediatric Chronic Pain
• Merryn Fraser from the Australian National University: Breaking the Wall of Drug Resistant Malaria
• Clara Jiang from the University of Queensland: Breaking the Wall of Treating Depression
• Chanchal Kurup from the Australian Catholic University: Breaking the Wall of Borders in Nursing
• Danielle Lee from Griffith University: Breaking the Wall of Antifungal Resistance
• Oliver Lotz from the University of Sydney: Breaking the Wall of Medical Device Bioactivity
• Martino Malerba from Deakin University: Breaking the Wall of Hidden Carbon Emissions in Agriculture
• Nipuni Peththa Thanthrige from Queensland University of Technology: Breaking the Wall of Crop Loss
• Fiona Harshini Roy Desmond Godfrey from Monash University: Breaking the Wall of Decarbonising the Planet

Learn more about the finalists and their ideas.

Jury members

The event organising partners are grateful for the involvement of the jury members for Falling Walls Lab Australia:

• Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC PresAA FTSE – President, Australian Academy of Science
• Professor Lyn Beazley AO – Secretary, Education and Public Awareness, Australian Academy of Science.
• Rosie Hicks – Chief Executive Officer, Australian Research Data Commons
• Dr Hilary Howes – Head of Science and Innovation, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Canberra
• Dr Vanessa Moss – Astronomer, CSIRO
• Craig Pandy – Partner, Government and Economic Development Kearney (Australia)
• Professor Michael Schuetz – Director, Jamieson Trauma Institute

About Falling Walls Lab

Each year, the Falling Walls Foundation supports scientific organisations around the world to host a Falling Walls Lab. This international forum promotes interdisciplinary connections between aspiring academics, innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals known for their excellent work.

Each year, nearly 100 international Labs are held with more than 1000 presenters, 100 of whom make it to the final in Berlin.

In 2019, Australian researcher Rhys Pirie took out first place at the Falling Walls Lab Finale in Berlin and was named 2019 Young Innovator of the Year. Read more about his success and a follow-up interview six months after winning the competition.

The Falling Walls Foundation is a non-profit organisation in Berlin dedicated to the support of science and the humanities. It was established in 2009, 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. At its heart is the question ‘Which are the next walls to fall?’ as a result of scientific, technological, economic and sociological breakthroughs.

Learn about Fallings Walls Lab Australia and previous years’ winners.

The Australian Academy of Science says the results of the latest STEM Equity Monitor reinforce the need for stronger action to remove barriers preventing gender equity and greater diversity in STEM.

Academy President Professor Chennupati Jagadish welcomed the report and said it highlighted the importance of robust and ongoing data collection and evaluation to inform decision-making.

“The report shows a modest increase in women’s workforce participation and enrolments in university STEM courses, which is great to see,” Professor Jagadish said.

“However, it’s concerning to see that girls’ confidence in all STEM subjects falls as they get older and that girls are more likely than boys to list lack of interest as a barrier to studying STEM.

“We must do more to create a more accountable STEM ecosystem that enables the attraction, retention and progression of diverse communities in STEM.

“If we wish to see greater diversity at senior levels in STEM professions, we must take actions that are evidence informed. The STEM Equity monitor is a valuable tool to guide decision-making and to drive investment into measures that work.

“As the Academy’s ten-year Plan for Women in STEM made clear, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.

“The Women in STEM Decadal Plan shows that evaluating programs and activities is critically important so proven measures can be taken to achieve equity in STEM,” Professor Jagadish said.

“To break down persistent barriers faced by under-represented communities, the STEM ecosystem – government, academia, educators and industry – needs to push in the same direction and harness the opportunities in the Women in STEM Decadal Plan so as to reach gender equity by 2030.

"The Academy’s Women in STEM Decadal Plan Champions are an excellent example of the impact of collective action from industry and leading practice employers who are committed to addressing gender equity within the decade,” he said.

The Academy applauds the development of an evidence-based evaluation framework by the Women in STEM Ambassador Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith, and improved data collection, monitoring and reporting by the Australian Government.

Earlier this month, the Academy welcomed the announcement by Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic to review how existing government programs can be reformed to support greater diversity in Australia’s science and technology sectors.

“Demand for STEM skills will continue to grow, so Australia can ill afford to under-utilise all of the nation’s available talent.

“We welcome a widening of the national discourse to boost participation of other under-represented  groups including gender diverse people, First Nations people, culturally and ethnically diverse, mature workers, LGTBQIA+, and those living with disability, amongst others,” Professor Jagadish said.

In 2022, the Academy achieved 50/50 between men and women in the annual election of new Fellows. The Academy is taking an evidence-based approach to better understand and remove barriers experienced by under-represented groups and to support emerging STEM professionals.

Australia’s research expertise, wealth of critical minerals and renewable energy potential could make it an international leader in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, according to leading experts.

The country’s unique strengths and comparative advantages were part of a discussion on novel negative emissions approaches at a national roundtable hosted by the Australian Academy of Science in September.

The event was chaired by Academy President, Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC PresAA FTSE, with participants including experts in greenhouse gas (GHG) removal, storage and use, climate and environmental science, climate policy, and governance and innovation policy.

Questions the roundtable sought to discuss included:

• How do we develop the capacity to drawdown GHGs at a globally effective scale while reducing emissions to close to zero?
• Do we have the knowledge and science capability?

The participants agreed that of the present methods used for removal of GHGs (primarily CO₂) and its long-term storage or utilisation, none are at the scale required. They concluded that reducing GHG emissions as much and as fast as possible is the highest priority to limit global warming. In parallel, we need rapid and large-scale removal of GHGs from the atmosphere, combined with long-term storage.

The roundtable identified opportunities for Australia including the importance of creating an innovation and regulatory environment to accelerate the development of novel approaches, and investing in human capital, especially young researchers, to develop negative emissions research capability.

Participants identified a range of novel approaches across capture, storage, utilisation and monitoring. These are new areas of research that could prove fruitful but are currently not a core part of the negative emissions discussion. Participants highlighted that a wide range of options should be explored as part of a portfolio of solutions to achieve greenhouse gas removal. Some of these novel approaches will be discussed in the full report on the outcomes of the roundtable to be released later this year.

The report will offer guidance to the Australian research community, private sector, and governments on opportunities for development of negative emissions approaches in Australia.

Read the full statement from the roundtable.

Australian Academy of Science President, Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC PresAA FTSE, has been elected an International Fellow of the United Kingdom’s Royal Academy of Engineering.

Professor Jagadish was elected by his peers for his pioneering work in applying nanotechnology to semiconductor optoelectronic sources and detectors, as well as his significant contributions to semiconductor lasers, optoelectronic integration and nanowire devices.

His work is widely exploited in optical communication systems and infrared detectors used in the defence, biomedical and manufacturing industries.

Professor Jagadish is one of seven International Fellows elected this year, alongside 60 Fellows from within the United Kingdom and five Honorary Fellows.

Professor Jagadish said it is a great honour to be elected to such an esteemed body.

“I look forward to joining the Fellows of this national academy to champion excellence in engineering, both in practice and advocacy, and bringing its many benefits to the public,” Professor Jagadish said.

The Royal Academy of Engineering is the UK’s national academy of engineering, providing leadership for engineering and technology and independent expert advice to government in the UK and elsewhere.

It was founded in 1976 with support from the late HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, and is composed of a Fellowship of almost 1,700 eminent engineers.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said he was delighted to welcome such an array of enormously talented people to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

“In an uncertain world, one thing is certain – engineering skills, vision and leadership will play a crucial part in addressing the escalating domestic and global challenges that we face today.

“The combined connectivity, professionalism, experience and wisdom of the new Fellows who join us today will greatly enrich the expertise and support we can provide to the government and to society in general,” Sir Jim said.

Learn more about the Royal Academy of Engineering.

The Australian Academy of Science pays tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Throughout her reign, Her Majesty The Queen showed a great appreciation for the transformative power of science and technology, and travelled more widely than any other monarch.

After taking the throne in February 1952, Elizabeth II was the first reigning monarch of Australia to set foot on Australian soil, arriving on 3 February 1954 with her husband HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

One month before, Her Majesty affixed her official seal to the founding document of the Australian Academy of Science, the Royal Charter, after Fellows of the Royal Society of London, Sir Mark Oliphant and Dr David Martyn, led a petition to establish a Learned Academy in Australia.

Prince Philip – who had recently become a Royal Fellow of the Royal Society of London and was a keen supporter of science – was asked to present the Australian Academy of Science’s new Royal Charter to the petitioners, but he suggested the occasion was important enough for Her Majesty to present the Charter.

On 16 February 1954, the ten members of the provisional Council of the Academy went to Government House and the Queen handed Oliphant, as President, the Royal Charter of the Academy – founding the Australian Academy of Science.

At the opening of the Shine Dome, five years later, His Excellency Field Marshall Sir William Slim, Governor General of Australia, read the following message from Her Majesty The Queen:

“Please convey my good wishes to all assembled at the opening of the Australian Academy of Science Building on Wednesday. I am confident that the Academy, to which I presented its Charter five years ago, will play a significant part in the acquisition of scientific knowledge and in applying it to the progress and welfare of my subjects in the Commonwealth of Australia.”

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is succeeded by her son, King Charles lll.

The Australian Academy of Science offers its sincerest condolences to the Royal Family. May she rest in peace.

Information and images for this story were sourced from the Academy’s Basser Library and Fenner Archives, which hold a rich historical collection documenting the history of science in Australia. The archives are open to the public by appointment.

The Australian Academy of Science has been granted leave to appear and be represented by legal counsel at the Second Inquiry into the convictions of Ms Kathleen Folbigg.

The Academy’s role in the Inquiry extends to making submissions addressing:

1. suitable experts in areas of specialised scientific knowledge for the purpose of obtaining relevant evidence;
2. suitable questions/clarifications for experts who are engaged by the Inquiry;
3. scientifically technical aspects of the inquiry: in particular how that science should be approached consistent with appropriate scientific standards and scientific rigour.

The grant of leave does not extend to the examination or cross-examination of witnesses but does not preclude the Academy from making an application to examine or cross-examine any particular witness.

Australian Academy of Science President, Professor Chennupati Jagadish, said the Academy was pleased to be able to provide scientific rigour at the inquiry, as an independent scientific adviser.

“This will ensure the commissioner and senior counsel can hear from the most qualified experts relevant to this case,” Professor Jagadish said.

“Our assistance to the Inquiry is designed to ensure that Commissioner Bathurst is able to call on the best available contemporary science to support the Second Inquiry into the convictions of Ms Kathleen Folbigg.”

Orders made by the Commissioner are published on the website of the Department of Communities and Justice.