A message from President Andrew Holmes as the Academy launches its 2017 Annual Giving Program

Imagine a world without science, a world without scientists striving every single day to understand the world around them. It’s virtually impossible to contemplate such a reality. I often think about the collective impact on the world made by the Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science and remain quite awestruck at the difference their work has made to our wellbeing, the economy and our physical and designed environment. The world simply would not be as we know it today in the absence of their contribution.

Equally, it is hard to imagine where the Australian Academy of Science would be without the generosity and philanthropic support of many individuals and organisations.

Gifts and legacies enable the Academy of Science to create cutting edge science education in schools, hold scientific meetings, support public policy development, publish scientific reports, give early-and mid-career scientists the edge they need to advance their science and their careers, make awards and bestow Fellowships on outstanding scientists, and inspire generations of Australians with the wonder of science. Indeed, most of the things that make the Australian Academy of Science unique are supported by private gifts that help students, teachers, scientists and society.

All of us share a desire for science and scientists to prosper and for future generations to benefit from discovery and to be empowered by knowledge. Yet each person has a unique reason for supporting the Australian Academy of Science.

I invite you today to support the Australian Academy of Science through our Annual Giving Program so that together we can continue to build a strong and vibrant future for science in Australia.

The Annual Giving Program offers you the chance to support the Academy of Science through donations that are fully tax deductible. Enclosed is further information about the Program and how you can offer your support.

Should you wish to discuss ways in which you can support the Australian Academy of Science and how you would like your support directed, please contact Ms Isobel Griffith, Manager Development and Stewardship on (02) 6201 9400.

Your support is deeply appreciated.

Yours sincerely
Professor Andrew Holmes AC PresAA FRS FTSE

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Twenty-one of Australia’s best scientists have been elected to the Australian Academy of Science, a rare and esteemed honour, for their outstanding contributions to science.

The scientists’ ground-breaking discoveries and contributions to research range from improving crop yields, women’s reproductive health and mobile telecommunications, through to our understanding of massive galaxies, the periodic table, and the evolution of Earth.

The group was elected by their Academy peers following a rigorous evaluation process.

Academy President, Professor Andrew Holmes, congratulated the new Fellows for making significant and lasting impacts in their scientific disciplines.

“What is delightful about our latest group of new Fellows is that many were inspired to become scientists at an early age,” Professor Holmes said.

“Professor Dietmar Muller gathered billion-year-old fossilised rocks along Baltic Sea beaches as a child, while Professor Lois Salamonsen read books about the universe.

“Professor Branka Vucetic became fascinated with radio-engineering when her science teacher posed a question that she couldn’t answer at the time, while former Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, would be the first to finish reading tasks set by his primary school teacher so he could go outside and study nature as a reward.

“These stories remind us why it is crucial that as a nation we continue to work together to inspire our next generation of scientists, which is part of our core mission at the Academy,” Professor Holmes said.

The Academy’s total fellowship now includes 524 scientists. The new Fellows are:

QUEENSLAND

Professor Philip Hugenholtz, University of Queensland
Professor Jennifer Martin, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery
Professor Tim Ralph, University of Queensland
Professor Mark Smyth, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

NEW SOUTH WALES

Professor Dietmar Müller, University of Sydney
Professor John Patrick, University of Newcastle
Professor Branka Vucetic, University of Sydney

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Professor Jozef Gécz, University of Adelaide 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Professor Igor Bray, Curtin University

ACT

Professor Ian Chubb, Australian National University (Special Election)
Dr Evans Lagudah, CSIRO

VICTORIA

Professor Thomas Davis, Monash University
Associate Professor Jane Elith, University of Melbourne
Dr Anita Hill, CSIRO
Professor David Gardner, University of Melbourne
Professor Karl Glazebrook, Swinburne University of Technology
Professor Cameron Jones, Monash University
Professor Melissa Little, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Professor Lois Salamonsen, Hudson Institute of Medical Research
Professor Nicholas Wormald, Monash University

TASMANIA

Dr John Volkman, CSIRO

Media note:

New Fellows will be formally inducted into the Academy Monday evening 22 May at the Shine Dome in Canberra. Tomorrow, Tuesday 23 May, they will each have 10 minutes to present their life’s work to Academy Fellows. Media are welcome to attend the Academy’s annual flagship event, Science at the Shine Dome and to interview new Fellows.

More information about each new Fellow, including a statement about why they were elected and a short bio, is available on request.

Media contact

Dan Wheelahan. dan.wheelahan@science.org.au ph: 0435 930 465

Twenty-one of Australia’s best scientists have been elected to the Australian Academy of Science today for their outstanding contributions to science.

The scientists’ ground-breaking discoveries and contributions to research range from improving food security, women’s reproductive health and mobile telecommunications, through to our understanding of the evolution of the Earth, the periodic table and massive galaxies.

Many of the New Fellows were inspired at an early age to become scientists.

Professor Dietmar Muller gathered billion-year old fossilised rocks along Baltic Sea beaches as a child, while Professor Lois Salamonsen read books about the universe.

Professor Branka Vucetic became fascinated with radio-engineering when her science teacher posed a question that she couldn’t answer at the time, while former Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, would race to finish reading tasks in primary school, so he could go outside and study nature as a reward.

The Academy’s Fellowship now includes 524 esteemed scientists. The New Fellows are:

QUEENSLAND

Professor Philip Hugenholtz, University of Queensland
Professor Jennifer Martin, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery
Professor Tim Ralph, University of Queensland
Dr Mark Smyth, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

NEW SOUTH WALES

Professor Dietmar Muller, University of Sydney
Professor John Patrick, University of Newcastle
Professor Branka Vucetic, University of Sydney

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Professor Jozef Gécz, University of Adelaide 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Professor Igor Bray, Curtin University

ACT

Professor Ian Chubb, Australian National University (Special Election)
Dr Evans Lagudah, CSIRO

VICTORIA

Professor Thomas Davis, Monash University
Associate Professor Jane Elith, University of Melbourne
Dr Anita Hill, CSIRO
Professor David Gardner, University of Melbourne
Professor Karl Glazebrook, Swinburne University of Technology
Professor Cameron Jones, Monash University
Professor Melissa Little, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Professor Lois Salamonsen, Hudson Institute of Medical Research
Professor Nicholas Wormald, Monash University

TASMANIA

Dr John Volkman, CSIRO

The Academy has announced the commencement of a new initiative to develop a 10-year strategic plan for biosystematics and taxonomy in Australasia.

Australasia is one of the world’s most megadiverse regions, with large numbers of endemic and evolutionarily important species, and a high rate of discovery of new species. Biosystematists and taxonomists work to discover, name and document new plant and animal species and their relationships. Every species of plant or animal that is known to humanity was named and described by a taxonomist or biosystematist.

Over the next three years, the Academy and its partners will consult extensively with the research sector and end-users of biosystematics and taxonomy information and capabilities, to identify opportunities and priorities for advancing these disciplines and their services in Australasia.

As well as being a foundational discipline for all of biology, knowledge and information infrastructure developed by biosystematics and taxonomy underpins the work of many industry sectors and public services, including biosecurity, agriculture, conservation and drug discovery, among others.

This initiative has been supported by a grant from The Ian Potter Foundation and contributions from sector stakeholders including national councils representing herbaria and fauna collections, universities, professional societies and associations, the Atlas of Living Australia and Biosecurity Australia.

The project will be led for the Academy by Dr Kevin Thiele, a plant taxonomist, former Director of the Western Australian Herbarium, and former Chair of the Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria.

The development of the plan will commence in the coming weeks, with an exposure draft planned for November this year, and the plan to be finalised by early 2018. The agreement with the Ian Potter Foundation and sector partners will then allow the Academy to work with key stakeholders over the following two years to ensure that the strategies and recommendations included in the plan are implemented.

The Australian Academy of Science welcomes the 2016 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap and its recommendations.

Professor Les Field, Secretary for Science Policy, said the nine focus areas for infrastructure development identified in the roadmap are the right priorities.

“The Academy now looks forward to the release of the Government’s research infrastructure investment plan,” Professor Field said.

“Infrastructure funding in this plan must be long-term, strategic and insulated from annual budgetary fluctuations, consistent with the long-term nature and nation-building capacity of research infrastructure investment – most big infrastructure has a lifetime over decades, not months or years,” Professor Field said.

Professor Field also noted the need to assess research infrastructure requirements not only for the present but also for the future.

”It is important to build in mechanisms to bring on new infrastructure that would support Australia’s research programs in five to ten years’ time, and these may well be areas which are in their infancy now or indeed areas we don’t know about yet,” Professor Field said.

Science has largely flown under the radar in a restrained Federal Budget, with no big spending measures and no major cuts apart from previously-announced university funding changes.

An astronomy partnership with the European Southern Observatory will recieve support of $26 million, ensuring Australia’s involvement in major astronomy initiatives around the world. Funding for advanced manufacturing will come under the CRC program, and the first real investments will start to flow from the Medical Research Future Fund.

The Academy also welcomes:

• investment in new medical research and treatment facilities, with $68 million invested in South Australia to develop the first Proton Beam facility in the Southern Hemisphere
• increased support for women to enter high-skilled STEM professions through the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute internship program
• the commitment of $49.8m over 11 years to ensure year-round operation of the research facilities on Australia’s sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island which lies between Tasmania and Antarctica
• funding of $14.3m over three years to establish a whole-of-government educational data framework that will allow better understanding of educational pathways and program efficacy in STEM as well as other disciplines
• a small increase in funding for Geoscience Australia, with a particular focus on realising the opportunities presented by satellite and other geographical data.

However the Budget didn’t include any of the recommendations of the Ferris-Finkel-Fraser review of the R&D Tax Incentives, particularly those which may have strengthened the engagement between research organisations and industry.

There will be small decreases in indexation of funding across the forward estimates equating to savings of several million dollars per annum in agencies such as ANSTO, CSIRO and funding programs such as the ARC and NHMRC. 

More investment could have also been made in the vision for future jobs and economic prosperity, driven by a world class STEM capability.

Read the Academy's Budget media release

Science has largely flown under the radar in a restrained Federal Budget, with no big spending measures and no major cuts apart from previously-announced university funding changes, according to the Australian Academy of Science.

Professor Les Field, Secretary for Science Policy, said it is pleasing to see $26 million to support an astronomy partnership with the European Southern Observatory, ensuring Australia’s involvement in major astronomy initiatives around the world.

“It’s also positive that part of the funding for advanced manufacturing will come under the tried and tested CRC program.

“However it is disappointing that the Budget didn’t include any of the recommendations of the Ferris-Finkel- Fraser review of the R&D Tax Incentives, particularly those which may have strengthened the engagement between our research organisations and industry.

“The budget also sees the first real investments starting to flow from the Medical Research Future Fund, including funding for cancer research and clinical trials,” Professor Field said.

The Academy also welcomes:

• investment in new medical research and treatment facilities, with $68 million invested in South Australia to develop the first Proton Beam facility in the Southern Hemisphere
• increased support for women to enter high-skilled STEM professions through the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute internship program
• the commitment of $49.8m over 11 years to ensure year-round operation of the research facilities on Australia’s sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island which lies between Tasmania and Antarctica
• funding of $14.3m over three years to establish a whole-of-government educational data framework that will allow better understanding of educational pathways and program efficacy in STEM as well as other disciplines
• a small increase in funding for Geoscience Australia, with a particular focus on realising the opportunities presented by satellite and other geographical data.

“It is disappointing to see small decreases in indexation of funding across the forward estimates equating to savings of several million dollars per annum in agencies such as ANSTO, CSIRO and funding programs such as the ARC and NHMRC. These will certainly be absorbed, but will add to the challenge of doing important science and innovation in areas of critical national importance,” Professor Field said.

“We would have also liked to have seen the Government investing more strongly in the vision for future jobs and economic prosperity, driven by a world class STEM capability. This is one of the central planks of the National Innovation and Science Agenda.

“The science sector will now look forward to the 2030 Strategy for Science and Innovation, to be finalised by the end of the year, and the Government's response to the Research Infrastructure Roadmap, which will determine priorities for new capital investment,” Professor Field said.

Media contact: Dan Wheelahan. dan.wheelahan@science.org.au ph: 0435 930 465.

Three Academy Fellows have been elected to the Royal Society of London. 

Professor Edward (Eddie) Holmes FAA FRS of the University of Sydney was elected for his research that revealed breakthroughs on important human pathogens including influenza, HIV and dengue. His recent research has provided fundamental insights into the breadth and biodiversity of the viral world.

The publications of Professor Susanne von Caemmerer FAA FRS are among the highest cited works in plant science. She was elected to the Royal Society for her contributions to the understanding of photosynthesis. Her work with the ANU Research School of Biology continues to combine mathematical modeling of biochemical processes and the development of experimental approaches needed to apply these models.

Professor Gerard Milburn FAA FRS is an internationally respected pioneer in the field of quantum physics. In 1988 he published one of the very first papers on quantum computing and continues to lead the way in quantum technologies, as founding Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems.

They join eminent Fellows, including Professor Elizabeth Blackburn AC FAA FRS Nobel Laureate (Corresponding Member), Professor Brian Schmidt AC FAA FRS Nobel Laureate, Professor Andrew Holmes AC PresAA FRS FTSE and Professor Ian Frazer AC FAA FRS FTSE.

The Fellowship of the Royal Society are the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from or living and working in the UK and the Commonwealth. Each year up to 52 Fellows and up to 10 Foreign Members are elected from a group of about 700 candidates.

Story via the Royal Society, the Australian National University, EQuS  and the University of Sydney.

With new gene-editing technologies that override natural selection set to come into use in the next 3-5 years, now is the time for Australia to have a national discussion about the implications of the new technology, according to a new report released today by the Australian Academy of Science.

The technology could wipe out malaria-carrying mosquitos, cane toads or other pests and plant diseases within years, but like any new technology, has potential risks.

‘Gene-Drive’ technology allows scientists to manipulate the DNA of small plants or animals in a way that forces or ‘drives’ inheritance of particular genetic traits and characteristics to successive generations.

According to the report’s lead author and Academy Fellow Professor Ary Hoffman of Melbourne’s Bio21 Institute, these traits could include resistance to particular plant diseases or parasites, or they could target fertility.

“The idea of forcing genetic traits into populations has been around for a long time, but it is only in the last two or three years that advances in gene editing technology have made gene drives possible,” Professor Hoffman said.

“The technology, which will only work on small organisms with rapid cycles of sexual reproduction, has enormous potential to control disease, increase agricultural productivity and to improve quality of life, particularly for those living in developing countries,’’ Professor Hoffman said.

“However, as with any new technology, there are also uncertainties and risks. Before gene drives are used in Australia, and before they start being used at scale elsewhere in the world, it’s going to be critical to consider the applications that are of most benefit, and the risks associated with those applications,” Professor Hoffman said.

“The research and regulatory environment will define what is possible, and it is important that we anticipate and adjust to the impacts of the technology.”

Academy of Science President, Professor Andrew Holmes, said that once gene drives are released into wild populations in other countries, they will inevitably reach Australia, so it is important for Australian governments and communities to have the discussions now.

“The Academy has produced this report to initiate a discussion of the ethical, regulatory and scientific issues that will need be considered by the community and addressed by government and regulators, before this technology comes into use over the next 3-5 years,” Professor Holmes said.

“Australia’s unique environment raises a number of issues specific to our country. For example, if a gene drive released in New Zealand to control feral possums were to reach Australia, it could have devastating consequences for our native species. Likewise, we’d need to be very careful about the potential for unintended environmental and agricultural consequences of altered crop characteristics, or ecological niches that might be filled by new pests or diseases,” Professor Holmes said.

The Academy’s report, which includes six recommendations, was developed by an expert working group chaired by Professor Hoffman and involved broad consultation with ethicists, scientists, state and federal biosecurity and agricultural authorities, and the Australian Gene Technology Regulator.

Read the report

Media note: The Australian Science Media Centre will hold a media briefing with a panel of experts regarding ‘Gene-Drive’ technology and the Academy’s report at 10am AEST, Monday 1 May 2017. The expert panel includes: Professor Ary Hoffman, Bio21 Institute, Professor Rachel Ankeny, University of Adelaide and Professor Ian Small, University of Western Australia.

Media contact: Dan Wheelahan. dan.wheelahan@science.org.au ph: 0435 930 465

The Academy has just admitted two internationally renowned scientists as Corresponding Members, Dr Raghunath Mashelkar (India) and Professor Rudiger Wehner (Switzerland).

Dr Mashelkar and Professor Wehner are recognised for their outstanding scientific contributions to their fields.

Dr Mashelkar is a highly successful polymer chemist and an influencial leader in shaping innovation within India's science and technology policies. 

Dr Mashelkar has driven international collaboration between India and Australia through his work in education, research and innovation partnerships with Monash University, Swinburne University of Technology, RMIT University and the Australia–India Institute.

Professor Wehner, from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, has been recognised for his world-leading research on animal navigation (neuroethology).

Spending over 40 years studying the Saharan desert ant Cataglyphis, Professor Wehner was the first scientist to show how ants, despite their tiny brains, are capable of performing extraordinary feats of navigation through desert landscapes.

The research has increased scientists’ understanding of the evolution of nervous systems and their role in controlling animal behaviour. 

From the Saraha desert to the Australian outback, Professor Wehner’s lifelong interest in insect navigation has also seen him team up with Macquarie University’s Dr Ken Cheng to study the navigation patterns of the red honey ant, Melophorus bagoti.

Dr Mashelkar and Professor Wehner join the Academy’s 29 other Corresponding Members, comprising leading international researchers and science advocates with strong links to Australia.  

The Academy will announce the election of 21 distinguished Australian scientists as new Fellows at the start of Science at the Shine Dome on 22 May 2017.

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