A new resource published by the Academy aims to increase the diversity of prize and award recipients in the Australian science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sector.

Prepared by the EMCR Forum, Australia’s voice for early- and mid-career researchers, the comprehensive publication identifies barriers faced by under-represented groups and provides solutions to overcome them.

It is a practical guide to assist awarding organisations improve their practices and increase diversity among both applicants to and recipients of prizes and awards.

“We are really excited about the positive responses we have received so far,” says the Academy’s Manager Diversity and Inclusion, Ms Louise Moes. “This resource demonstrates the Academy’s leadership and its commitment to supporting the next generation of science leaders.”

The seven-page guide and a one-page summary are available on the Academy website.

Prizes and awards are an important component of a scientist’s career, potentially affecting their chances of promotion, recruitment and general career progression.

But many awards schemes across Australia display low diversity compared to the broader STEM sector, with women and minority groups consistently under-represented.

“The persistent exclusion of women and minority groups in research cultures has led to an image of successful scientists with which people from diverse backgrounds do not identify,” write the authors of the guide.

Key recommendations include:

• reaching a diverse pool of applicants with advertising and messaging that is visually inclusive and avoids elitist language
• using diverse role models and ‘champions’ to encourage applicants
• ensuring the call for applications is timed appropriately
• incorporating questions about career interruptions into the standard application form
• ensuring selection criteria is sufficiently flexible and that the selection panel is diverse.

The paper arose out of a series of workshops at the EMCR Science Pathways conference and Science at the Shine Dome in 2018, and was a collaborative effort of the EMCR Forum Executive and the Australian Academy of Science.

Read ‘Increasing diversity in prizes and awards’

Read the one-page summary

Three early-career ecology researchers have been awarded funding for 2020 projects thanks to the Australian Academy of Science’s Margaret Middleton Fund for endangered Australian native vertebrate animals.

The recipients are:

• Dympna Cullen, PhD candidate, UNSW Sydney
• Jackie O’Sullivan, PhD candidate, Australian National University
• Penelope Pascoe, PhD candidate, University of Tasmania

Ms Cullen’s research focuses on a desert-dwelling mammal species, the crest-tailed mulgara. She will use the grant to conduct surveys in the Strzelecki Dunefields to figure out where mulgaras find refuge during periods of drought—knowledge that will inform management of this threatened species.

"I feel very privileged to have the support of of the Margaret Middleton Fund," Ms Cullen said. "The funding will contribute considerably to the scope of my research and I am excited by the potential of what I am now able to accomplish." 

Ms O’Sullivan is studying the role of surface rocks as reptile habitat in agricultural landscapes. Many threatened species, such as the striped legless lizard, rely on rocky habitats for survival. However, rocks are often removed from grazing paddocks. Ms O’Sullivan’s experiments will investigate the effects of restoring surface rocks on reptile abundance and diversity.

“The funding will allow me to collect additional environmental data to maximise the scientific and practical value of this restoration experiment,” Ms O’Sullivan said. “I feel incredibly honoured and grateful for the opportunity and recognition.”

Ms Pascoe is undertaking a large-scale evaluation of ecosystem recovery on islands where rodents have been eradicated. She plans to gather data from 30 islands across Australia and New Zealand to assess changes in the whole ecosystem.

“The funding will enable me to collect data from some study sites more regularly, and to include more sites,” said Ms Pascoe. “It was a nice surprise to get it and very beneficial at this early stage in my project.”

Rodent eradication programs are expensive, so monitoring effectiveness is important to ensure the best conservation outcomes. “Islands are both biodiversity and extinction hotspots, which means island conservation efforts have the potential to disproportionately benefit global biodiversity.”

The Margaret Middleton Fund for endangered Australian native vertebrate animals provides grants to support emerging researchers with ecology projects that have tangible conservation outcomes. The fund was established in 2000 with Dr Margaret Middleton, a long-time supporter of the Academy and early-career scientists, who passed away in March this year.

More information about the Margaret Middleton Fund for endangered Australian native vertebrate animals

Department of Health reaches millions with the Academy

When the Australian Government Department of Health wanted to create a public awareness campaign about immunisation, it partnered with the Academy. Together, the organisations designed a public health message with impact, distributed to an audience of millions.

The ‘Science of immunisation’ campaign, which commenced in October 2018, included six short-form videos and five articles designed to engage the unengaged. Topics included the safety of vaccines and a look at the ingredients that make up a life-saving shot. As with all of the Academy’s outreach content, each piece of communication went through a rigorous fact check and review by independent experts.

The immunisation campaign was so successful, it inspired the Department of Health to partner with the Academy for campaigns specifically about meningococcal disease and measles. The meningococcal campaign, in November 2018, encouraged the public to get vaccinated for the different strains of the disease.

The measles campaign was launched in early October 2019 with five videos and four articles. It has generated significant mainstream media coverage, while numbers from social media distribution are still building.

The meningococcal and measles campaigns also included videos with specific messages for health professionals.

By combining scientific accuracy and excellence with a brilliant in-house video production and writing team, the partnership has generated a suite of compelling communication outputs with powerful messages. Then, by tapping into the social media distribution expertise and our Facebook audience of two million, these important public health messages have reached huge numbers of people and continue to be shared online.

Find out why Academy videos stand out and how you can partner with us to reach millions and develop unique science communication video campaigns.

Partner with us

A team from the Academy travelled to Germany in early November to participate in Berlin Science Week. Berlin Science Week spanned 130 events, featuring the best in science from across Europe and around the world. The team was also in Germany to participate in and support the Falling Walls Lab and Falling Walls Engage events.

The Academy held an exhibition for two days at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (the Museum of Natural History.)

The exhibit featured videos from the Academy's ongoing successful communication strategy, which were played on a large-screen TV to engage visitors to the museum. Copies of the Academy's ten-year plans and Q&A documents were also displayed and visitors were given the chance to sample some Vegemite to take home. The Academy's exhibit was one of 14 set up throughout the museum.

Visitors to the exhibition ranged from Museum Director General Professor Johannes Vogel and colleagues from the European Research Council to members of the public.

The Australian Embassy in Germany hosted a ‘Science in the Pub’ networking event one evening, with more than 40 members of the Berlin science community taking part. Australia's Ambassador to Germany H.E. Ms Lynette Wood introduced the Academy team and each Falling Walls Lab presenter was given the opportunity to explain their science. Professor Hans Bachor also interviewed National Committees Project Manager Dr Hayley Teasdale and Director of Communications and Outreach Paul Richards about their work at the Academy.

On the second day of the Berlin Science Week exhibition, Professor Bachor, Dr Teasdale and Mr Richards gave a presentation to an audience of more than 70 visitors. There was standing room only to hear about the Academy's secret to creating engaging science communication. The team spoke for an hour with a further 30 minutes of questions from the audience.

After a successful exhibition at Berlin Science Week, the Academy team switched focus to Falling Walls Lab where three young Australian scientists presented at the Lab competition with Australian Rhys Pirie winning the competition. Professor Hans Bachor led the team, having helped to establish the Academy's relationship with Falling Walls five years ago. Dr Teasdale presented at Falling Walls last year and was invited back to support and advise the Australian team. Mr Richards was invited to judge entries to Falling Walls Engage as a member of the jury.

An Australian scientist has won Young Innovator of the Year at one of the world’s premier conferences for research and innovation, the first time an Australian has won the Falling Walls Lab award.

Rhys Pirie from the University of Queensland won the prestigious competition with his presentation ‘Breaking the wall of broken glass’. In his winning pitch, Rhys explained how his work took the broken glass currently unable to be recycled and headed to landfill to create the valuable product sodium silicate.

The Falling Walls Conference is a global gathering of innovators and scientists, brought together to share their breakthroughs and plans to impact science and society. Each year the conference is held on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, with this year celebrating the 30th year since the wall fell. On the first day of the conference, Falling Walls Lab showcased 100 young innovators from more than 60 countries, who presented their ideas to the high-level jury in just three minutes. This year, Falling Walls Lab featured three Australian innovators.

Dr Elena Schneider-Futschik from the University of Melbourne presented her talk titled ‘Breaking the wall of cystic fibrosis pharmacology’. Elena riveted the audience with her work in developing a test which can monitor medication interactions for patients with cystic fibrosis, who take as many as 40 different medications every day.

Kate Secombe from the University of Adelaide challenged the audience to think about the value of their poo in her talk ‘Breaking the wall of personalised cancer treatment’. Kate’s work looks at the gut microbiome of patients receiving chemotherapy treatment, with the aim of reducing side effects that can reduce quality of life and prevent patients from being able to work.

In a separate event, Paul Richards, Director of Communications at the Australian Academy of Science, was selected as a judge for Falling Walls Engage, the international forum for breakthroughs in science engagement. Paul was selected as a result of the unique success of the Academy in communicating science to the general public.

Past President of the Academy, Professor Andrew Holmes, noted that what makes Falling Walls unique is “the opportunity to meet and discuss challenging topics in the physical, mathematical and social sciences with world leaders”. Secretary Education and Public Awareness Professor Hans Bachor sees the event as “a powerful gathering of minds. I saw so many stimulating ideas and was filled with a sense of urgency to act. Falling Walls presents many ideas and techniques for change.”

The conference had a huge impact on the young Australian researchers, Dr Schneider-Futschik said. “The days we got to spend here felt like a rapid bootcamp where like-minded creative and innovative people get to compete but also motivate and support each other. We were able to show how we tackle scientific problems and Falling Walls gave us an international platform to share our ideas. This truly was an incredible experience.”

Each year, the Academy hosts Falling Walls Lab Australia to select the Australians to participate in the international finale in Berlin.

Three Academy Fellows have taken out NSW Premier’s Prizes with chemical engineer Professor Rose Amal named the 2019 NSW Scientist of the Year.

Mathematician Professor Nalini Joshi received the Prize for Excellence in Mathematics, Earth Sciences, Chemistry or Physics, while molecular biologist Professor Susan Clark received the Prize for Excellence in Medical Biological Sciences.

Professor Amal is recognised as a pioneer and leading authority in the fields of fine particle technology, photocatalysis—a chemical reaction that involves the absorption of light—and functional nanomaterials, having made significant contributions to these related areas of research over the past 25 years.

Her current research focuses on designing nanomaterials for solar and chemical energy conversion applications, including photocatalysis for water and air purification, and water splitting, and engineering systems for solar-induced processes, using the sun’s energy to generate clean fuel.

“When I first came to Australia over 35 years ago, I never dreamt that I would be named the NSW Scientist of the Year. I am extremely honoured to have been considered for this esteemed award, which I receive with great humility,” said Professor Amal.

“Scientific research contributes significantly to many everyday societal aspects and it has been a joy to be able to help improve people’s quality of life.”

Congratulations to the NSW Scientist of the year Professor Amal AC, a brilliant engineer whose work in solar and chemical energy conversion is changing lives, by providing clean water & sustainable energy. pic.twitter.com/BXSTWO9g42

— Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) October 29, 2019

The NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, Academy Fellow Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte, said this year’s winners illustrated both the diversity and strength of NSW research.

“This year’s entry contained the highest number of female nominations ever. Gratifyingly, this has translated into an equal number of female and male prize recipients, while also revealing a rich depth of talent, from our two exciting early-career researchers, right through to some of the most respected researchers in the state, including Scientist of the Year Professor Rose Amal,” said Professor Durrant-Whyte.

“I offer my sincere congratulations to all our winners and thank them for the outstanding and continuing contribution they make to science, engineering and education in NSW.”

Read about all the prize winners

Dr Ruth Morgan from Monash University is the recipient of the Academy’s 2020 Moran Award for History of Science Research.

She receives the award for her proposal entitled “A History of Australian Climate Science, 1970–2000”.

Dr Morgan will examine the role of Australian climatologists and meteorologists in advancing the state of scientific knowledge about the causes and mechanisms of climate change and variability in the Southern Hemisphere over this time period.

Dr Morgan will pursue her pilot study using the holdings of the Australian Academy of Science Basser Library, the National Library of Australia and the National Archives of Australia.

Compared to the Northern Hemisphere, the large ocean mass in the Southern Hemisphere means that few regions south of the equator develop continental climates and instrumental and paleoclimatic data is relatively limited.

Dr Morgan said that Australia’s geopolitical position and environmental sensitivity to climatic change encouraged Australian scientists and policymakers to take a leading role in the study of global environmental change.

“I'm delighted to have the opportunity to study Australia's contributions to climate science, which have been vital to understanding climate change in our region and the Southern Hemisphere,” Dr Morgan said.

The Moran Award for History of Science Research is aimed at postgraduate students and other researchers with expertise in the history of Australian science. More information about the Moran award. Applications for the 2021 award will open in early 2020.

The Australian Academy of Science is disappointed with the Australian Parliament's decision to abolish the $4 billion Education Investment Fund.

Funding for emergency response and natural disaster recovery is clearly very important but it should not come at the expense of crucial long-term science & research infrastructure funding.

The abolition of the fund means a key long term and ongoing mechanism to support research infrastructure in Australia is now lost.

The Education Investment Fund has supported many transformative projects important to Australia’s national interest. Among them are the Square Kilometre Array Telescope, the Australian Synchrotron, a climate high performance computer capability at the National Computational Infrastructure and nuclear science facilities at ANSTO.

The abolition of the fund not only reduces Australia's capacity to be scientifically competitive in future, but also limits our ability to participate in future international big science projects.

What is genetic modification? What does travelling overseas have to do with the measles? What’s the best exercise for losing weight?

In the fast-paced world of today, the public wants credible and trusted sources of information. The Academy is engaging millions of social media followers through videos and web articles that cover science as it happens.

The Academy’s content is accurate and well-researched—and is fully checked by Fellows and other leading scientists before it is published.

Two million likes on the Academy’s Facebook page to date shows there is a public appetite for the content.

The Academy’s Facebook likes surpass other prominent online science and news sources. BBC Science News has around 800,000 likes, ABC Science nearly one million and news.com.au has just over one million.

Academy President, Professor John Shine, said the online videos and articles allow the public to engage with accurate and engaging science, and in addition are routinely used by mainstream media in their online articles.

Watch the videos and read the articles on our website and like and follow us on social media for more engaging science stories:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube

Emeritus Professor Cheryl Praeger is the 2019 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science. Academy Fellows have featured each year since the prizes’ inception in 2000.

Emeritus Professor Praeger, who was elected to the Academy in 1996, received the $250,000 prize for her fundamental contributions to research in pure and applied mathematics. Her work explains the complex mathematics required for applications such as secure digital communication and encryption for the web.

Australian Academy of Science President, Professor John Shine, congratulated Emeritus Professor Praeger on her achievement during a Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science breakfast hosted at the Shine Dome the morning after the prize night. The breakfast was attended by past prize winners, parliamentarians and the science community.  

“Cheryl, you have been, and continue to be a trailblazer and role model for girls and women in mathematics and beyond, across the globe,” Professor Shine said.

“As a Fellow of this Academy we are thrilled that you have been awarded the nation’s most prestigious prize for your contribution.”

Emeritus Professor Praeger spoke with ABC Radio National’s Breakfast program about her achievement.

“To receive the award, I find it a wonderful statement about the importance of mathematics and such a recognition of the achievements of myself, my colleagues and students in the research on the mathematics of symmetry,” Emeritus Professor Praeger said.

Search engines on the world wide web make use of symmetrical networks to store information so that on a request, the nodes where the information is stored can be searched quickly and effectively.

“I believe that we need many more people in the maths and STEM disciples to solve and face the new changes that will be facing us. We need creative and critical thinkers to be able to make progress,” Emeritus Professor Praeger said.

Emeritus Professor Praeger also has a long history of involvement with international scientific organisations as well as representing Australia through the Australian Academy of Science at international forums, particularly during her term as the Academy’s Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2018.  She is a board member of the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA) and since 2017 has chaired the Women in Science and Engineering Special Committee of AASSA. 

She is currently a member of the International Science Council Standing Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science which deals with freedom and responsibility of science matters at the global level. 

Two recipients of the Academy’s 2019 honorific awards were also Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science winners.

The $50,000 Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year went to Associate Professor Laura Mackay from the University of Melbourne for her breakthrough work in identifying the role of tissue-resident T cells in protecting the body from infection and cancer.

Associate Professor Mackay was awarded the Academy’s Gottschalk Medal earlier this year.

The $50,000 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year went to Associate Professor Elizabeth New from the University of Sydney for pioneering the development of new chemical imaging tools to observe healthy and diseased cells.

Associate Professor New was awarded the Academy’s Le Fèvre Medal earlier this year.

See the full list of the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science recipients.