Dr Raghunath Mashelkar (India) and Professor Rüdiger Wehner (Switzerland) have been admitted to the Australian Academy of Science for outstanding scientific contributions to their fields.

Dr Mashelkar, currently President of the Global Research Alliance (GRA) is a highly successful polymer chemist. He has played a critical role in shaping the direction of India’s science and technology policies.

Dr Mashelkar’s leadership of India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research over 11 years saw it increase its research income from international corporations to more than US$1billion. The transformation has been hailed as of the ten most significant achievements of Indian science and technology.

Dr Mashelkar has also promoted worldwide the idea of ‘Ghandian engineering’, an Indian approach to inclusive innovation based on `doing more for less, for more people’.

Dr Mashelkar’s connections with Australian science have seen him create India-Australia education, research and innovation partnerships through Monash University, Swinburne, RMIT 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).

Professor Wehner has spent over 40 years studying how insects, despite their tiny brains, are capable of sophisticated visually guided behaviours. His research has focused on the inbuilt navigation systems of various species of the Saharan desert ant (Cataglyphis).

Professor Wehner was the first to show how the ant uses patterns of polarised light as a celestial compass, allowing it to pull off extraordinary feats of navigation through arid, featureless desert landscapes.

He also demonstrated that the ants' nervous system, or neural pathways, work in a similar way to those in other ‘higher animals’ such as mammals and primates.

The research has been used as a model for other studies of insect navigation and increased scientists’ understanding of the evolution of nervous systems and their role in controlling behaviour.

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), which lives in the deserts of central Australia.

Australian Academy of Science President, Professor Andrew Holmes, congratulated the new Corresponding Members.

“Professors Wehner and Dr Mashelkar join the Academy as Corresponding Members, a special category within the Fellowship, comprising eminent international scientists with strong ties to Australia who have made outstanding contributions to science,” said Professor Holmes.  

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

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

A symposium of energy experts has called for a national discussion on nuclear options, including mining, power generation and waste storage, to help address Australia's energy security and climate change challenges.

The symposium, hosted by The Australian National University (ANU) Energy Change Institute, was supported by the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and Engineers Australia.

A communique from the symposium, released today, urges governments to remove laws that may be prohibitive to free and open discussions about the nuclear fuel cycle. The communique is based on a review of the report from the South Australian Government's Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission.

Read the full communique, including the findings from the symposium

How will we provide enough food, water and energy for the 9.7 billion people living on Earth in 2050? This will be one of the questions to challenge school students in National Science Week this August, thanks to a new sustainability science resource by the Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA).

Filled with fun and engaging experiments, ASTA’s ‘book of ideas’ is based on the global initiative Future Earth. The resource highlights positive actions that can lead to a more sustainable future.

The educational resource follows the Academy’s launch of the Australian chapter of Future Earth.

The global Future Earth program is the largest ever international research and development collaboration focused on long-term sustainability solutions for the planet and human society.

ASTA based this year’s theme for schools on this global initiative to engage teachers and their students in sustainability science in Australia and the surrounding region.

Teachers of students in years Foundation to 10 can use the new materials to stimulate, support and inspire their National Science Week activities.

Download the new resource on ASTA’s website

More about Future Earth Australia

Australian Academy of Science President, Professor Andrew Holmes, and his colleagues from the S20 Science Forum have presented a position statement on global health to the German Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel ahead of the G20 Summit in July.

“The Ebola and Zika epidemics have shown how disease in one country can have global impact. Infectious diseases are causing at least 15 per cent of cancer cases. And 15 per cent of tuberculosis cases may be linked to type II diabetes,” said Professor Holmes.

These issues illustrate why health will be an important focus at the G20 Summit, along with economic growth and financial market regulation.

The science academies of the G20 states have drawn up recommendations on improving global health and are playing an active role in the G20.

In their joint statement, the academies offer strategies and tools to tackle communicable and non-communicable diseases and to strengthen public health systems. The joint document provides a basis for the G20 Summit consultations.

Professor Holmes is in Germany for the Science 20 Dialogue Forum where the statement was presented overnight.

“Global health—specifically the management of both infectious and non-infectious diseases—still causes issues world-wide for individuals, health systems and economies alike,” said Andrew.

“We are calling for strong short- and long-term evidence-based strategies to address these issues.”

In the statement the G20 science academies call for:

• the strengthening of healthcare and public health systems
• applying existing and emerging knowledge
• addressing the broader social and environmental determinants of health
• reducing serious risk factors for disease through education and promotion of healthy lifestyles
• ensuring access to health resources globally
• enhancing and extending robust strategies for surveillance and information-sharing. 

Furthering research is a prerequisite for providing knowledge and new tools to meet these challenges.

Media contact: Toni Stevens | M: 0401 763 130

The Academy welcomes the Government’s National Science Statement released today by the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Senator the Hon Arthur Sinodinos at the National Press Club.

Importantly, the comprehensive statement recognises:

• The criticality of basic research;
• The need for a long-term sustainable approach;
• The importance of strong community awareness about science; and
• The need to boost international science engagement .

In particular, the Academy acknowledges the Government’s leadership to address inequality in science education, participation and employment, particularly through support of the Science in Australia Gender Equity pilot.

"The Statement recognises the role of science in our society and economy. It highlights that new knowledge is the fuel that drives innovation and that support is required from basic to applied research," said Professor Les Field, the Australian Academy of Science’s Secretary for Science Policy.

"Not only does the Statement provide much needed long term direction and purpose for government activities in regards to science, it shows an understanding of the needs and realities of the sector," said Les.

"The Academy of Science stands ready to work with government to shape an investment strategy that supports this plan. It offers a comprehensive framework, and a guide to decision-making and investment," said Academy CEO Anna-Maria Arabia.

"The focus areas point to a solid foundation for science including infrastructure, education, engagement, and collaboration mechanisms – all important elements to create a strong science and innovation sector."

"It’s an important document that builds on the National Innovation and Science Agenda and recognises science’s role in driving Australia’s economic and social wellbeing," Anna-Maria said.

For more information or to arrange an interview contact Toni Stevens on 0401 763 130 or Melanie Bagg 0439 037 773.

For more information and to access the National Science Statement, visit: www.science.gov.au/NSS

The Academy has awarded the Douglas and Lola Douglas Scholarship to Dr Bianca Middleton for her research on improving the health of Indigenous children.

Dr Middleton was awarded the scholarship for her PhD work on ‘Strategies to reduce the burden of gastroenteritis in Aboriginal children’. She is jointly enrolled at the Menzies School of Health Research and Charles Darwin University.

Dr Middleton says she is honoured to be in the company of the many excellent researchers in the past awardees list. She is passionate about Aboriginal child health and works in both a clinical and research capacity.

The Douglas and Lola Douglas Scholarship in medical science is offered as a ‘top-up’ scholarship to a high-ranked PhD candidate awarded a National Health and Medical Research Council Training Scholarship in either Indigenous or primary health care, with preference given to Indigenous health research.

It is awarded initially for one year (currently $7,000 per annum) with funding available for a maximum of two years. The award covers costs of small items of equipment, research materials, travel, or research assistance.

The scholarship is made possible through a generous bequest made by Lola Rachel Maude Douglas, a philanthropist with a keen interest in medical research. 

Melanie is a PhD qualified medical research scientist turned professional science communicator. She joins us from the Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC) where as Manager of Business Development she was a driving force in the launch of their new breaking science news venture, Scimex. A passionate champion for Australian science, Melanie has extensive experience in senior communications, fundraising, media and outreach roles within the not-for-profit and higher education sectors. In 2016, Melanie was awarded the Unsung Hero of SA Science Communication for her commitment to translating complex science into something we can all understand.

On her appointment, Melanie commented “I am so excited to join the Australian Academy of Science and promote the work of its Fellows, our nation’s top researchers. As a public, we need to be well informed on science and technology to make important decisions that affect us all. The Academy is the go-to place for independent, high quality scientific advice in Australia. It does so much to make science accessible, I look forward to growing and expanding on our current communications and engagement activities.”

The Academy’s Chief Executive Anna-Maria Arabia said that the appointment of one of Australia’s top science communicators will allow the Academy to continue bringing Australia’s best science to the public through the media, events and lectures, innovative learning platforms such as Nova (www.nova.org.au) and other social media and new technologies.  

Melanie will take up the position in April. She replaces Kylie Walker who commenced as CEO of Science and Technology Australia in 2016 following five years with the Academy.

Kylie was named the 2015 National Unsung Hero of Australian Science Communication for her leadership and significant contributions to science communication and outreach. She leaves an impressive legacy and strong foundation for continued growth and development of the Academy’s science communication activities.

Smarter bank notes, health-protecting wearable electronics, and bendy solar cells are just some of the ways that polymer science is making plastic fantastic. Next week, three Australian researchers will tell audiences in Sydney and Melbourne how they are putting polymers to work.

Wearable patches that warn of sunburn and smart contact lenses that act as sunglasses are just the beginning for RMIT’s Associate Professor Madhu Bhaskaran who hopes her research into “stretchy electronics” will lead to wearable devices that can improve our health.

Printable solar cells—in our windows, curtains and even our clothes—are the future, according to Dr Scott Watkins. While at CSIRO he worked with the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC) on developing new materials and printing processes to manufacture polymer-based solar cells. 

And over in Adelaide, Associate Professor Drew Evans and his team at the Future Industries Institute created the world’s first plastic car mirror—over 3 million of which they’ve now exported to America. The process they’ve developed allows manufacturers to replace components made from traditional materials like glass, in cars, aircraft, spacecraft, and even whitegoods—making them lighter and more efficient.

In many ways, these innovations can be traced back to the humble $10 note. Fifty years ago—following a major forgery, CSIRO’s Professor David Solomon was invited to a meeting about how to make bank notes more secure. His solution became Australia’s world-famous plastic bank note and was based on Professor Solomon’s glittering career in the field of polymer science.  

With Professor Ezio Rizzardo David Solomon went on to discover the first practical method of making controlled polymer structures by a simple method termed NMP.

“This represented a quantum leap in polymer science,” said Academy President Andrew Holmes, himself a chemist who led the VICOSC project. 

“Controlled polymerisation allowed chemists to make polymers that were not accessible before. As we could stop and start the chain reactions, we could create all sorts of shapes and sizes, and make polymers with different properties. This has led to an explosion in commercial applications for these materials, from medicine to the environment, and paints to electronic materials,” said Andrew.

Polymers in a material world is the first event in the Australian Academy of Science’s 2017 National Speaker Series Plastic Fantastic. It comes to Melbourne on 28 February and Sydney on 2 March. Other talks will follow later in the year in Wollongong, Brisbane and Adelaide. The series is presented with the support of Professor David Solomon AC.

The event speakers and Professor Solomon are available for interview: please contact Toni Stevens on 0401 763 130 or media@science.org.au to arrange.

Australia needs stronger STEM skills and knowledge in parliament so politicians can understand the basics underpinning today’s significant issues, writes Les Field.

Recently in Canberra, the chief scientists of Australia and New Zealand, Alan Finkel and Peter Gluckman, joined former British chief scientist John Beddington to discuss the intricacies of science policy. Their audience was a high-powered group of current and former politicians, ambassadors, academic leaders, departmental secretaries and bureaucrats.

An offhand comment by Dr Finkel regarding the Trump administration’s reported censoring of the US Environmental Protection Agency was widely reported, but there was also a serious discussion about the importance of “evidence” in public policymaking.

Sir Peter, a renowned biomedical researcher and science communicator, made the surprising statement that after seven years as New Zealand’s chief science adviser, he no longer used the term evidence-based policy.

This was not because he believes science isn’t critical to solving many public policy issues but, rather, he has come to realise that major policy decisions are almost always based on a mix of personal and party-political values, economic constraints, public attitudes, political expediency, diplomatic pressures, vested interests, anecdotes, media hype, and then (if you are lucky) on the scientific evidence. He also noted that science usually doesn’t have all the answers to the kind of complex decisions that policymakers grapple with everyday.

Sir Peter suggested the fastest way for science to lose its seat at the table would be to assert (or imply) to a non-scientist politician or bureaucrat that complicated and sometimes limited scientific evidence should take precedence in their decision-making.

All of the chief scientists agreed what was needed was a much more collaborative relationship between scientists and decision-makers where good science helps to evaluate options.

About 10 per cent of Australia’s 226 parliamentarians have a tertiary STEM qualification: 14 MPs and eight senators. This is a lower proportion than Germany, but significantly higher than in Britain, Canada and the US.

Not bad, perhaps, until you realise that unlike Australia, Britain and Canada have dedicated parliamentary offices of science and technology, and have chief scientific advisers embedded in each government department. And the advisers are not just in the obvious portfolios such as health, defence, industry and environment. Even the justice department considers the relentless march of forensics into the courtroom and the finance department watches the inevitable rise of automated computer trading in the financial markets. These advisers are able to provide technical expertise but they also boost the overall level of scientific literacy in the corridors of government.

You have to ask why we don’t have a similar machinery here so that a strong scientific evidence base could play a larger role in informing critical policy decisions.

We see our parliamentarians wrestling with what should be the right energy mix to fuel Australia’s future. Last year we saw the Turnbull government tie itself in knots over whether it would consider an emissions trading scheme as Australia’s way of containing greenhouse gas emissions. We witnessed the Environment and Energy Minister trying to reconcile the absolute need to deal with climate change with the reality of a sceptical backbench.

That incident followed a public showdown on the ABC’s Q&A program between Brian Cox, the British physicist and science communicator, and Malcolm Roberts, a newly elected One Nation parliamentarian. When Cox produced evidence on climate change, Roberts countered by alleging a global conspiracy led by NASA.

Being the odd country out on a major issue like climate change would be fine if we could plausibly argue that the rest of the world had somehow got it wrong. But we can’t. Australia’s position doesn’t have an intellectually sound base. This episode flies in the face of the unwritten consensus built up over perhaps eight decades: namely, that where it really matters, well-informed science should inform good government policy. We do need the skills base in parliament to understand the basics underpinning today’s significant issues.

Every one of us needs to make life-changing decisions at times and we need people with the right expertise to help properly weigh up the options. If it’s a question about planning retirement, you would consult a financial adviser or an investment manager. If you are building a new house, you would talk to an architect or an engineer. Similarly, when a family member is facing a medical crisis, you seek out the best doctors.

As a nation, we have got it right in the past. There have been real successes: universal immunisation was an important achievement based on sound scientific advice. Likewise the fluoridation of water has had a profound impact on public dental health.

But even a cursory glance at the challenges on the radar shows the need for evidence-informed policy has never been greater. How best to preserve the health of Great Barrier Reef? The impact of coal-seam gas or new methods of mining. And how to balance the needs of the environment and farmers in managing water flow in our rivers.

Do we need to regulate the impact of driverless cars, the intru­sion of drones into our lives, and the medical, moral and ethical dimensions of genetically modified plants, animals and even people?

During the get-together in Canberra, Sir John described three very technical issues that confronted Britain during his tenure as its chief scientific adviser: the 2009 outbreak of swine flu; the 2010 incident where ash from an Icelandic volcano closed down airspace; and the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Any one of these chapters could have had profound consequences for Britain if not handled properly. Sir John’s accurate, sound and timely scientific advice played a decisive role in the government’s response.

Wouldn’t it be sensible if Australia developed a much stronger network of conduits for science advice around our chief scientist to actively advise government of options on complex public policy and technological issues?

And doesn’t it make sense, over time, to build scientific literacy among our parliamentarians and public servants so that they can better understand, respond to and plan for a future where technology will be ever more important?

So that when the needle is nudging the red on the next critical issue, we shouldn’t have to ask, “Who you gonna call?” We should be able to rest easy in the knowledge that our elected leaders have the skills and support they need to fully assess the situation, propose solutions and make the most of the opportunities?

Les Field is secretary for science policy at the Australian Academy of Science and Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor at UNSW Sydney. 

This article was originally published on The Australian. Read the original article.

“I have Buzz Aldrin’s signature,” said Mars One Candidate Josh Richards. So what happened next? 

Dear Academy person…

So starts a handwritten letter from 9-year-old Robert from Adelaide who wrote to us with a special request for his ‘space nut’ dad.

Robert wanted to surprise his dad at Christmas with Buzz Aldrin’s autograph.

We love science here at the Academy, and we also love seeing others excited by science, so we put our thinking caps on.

Buzz Aldrin had toured Australia last year but it was too late to request an autograph. So, how could we honour the Christmas wish of this boy and his father?

While we couldn’t get a hold of the astronaut, we could think of no better space superstar than Academy Fellow Professor Brian Schmidt—the Australian Nobel Prize winner who discovered Dark Energy.

Professor Schmidt’s discovery that the universe is growing at an accelerating rate—not slowing down as most people had thought—completely changed our understanding of the universe. It led Brian and his team to propose that 70% of the universe must be made up of dark energy, a hypothetical energy that fills space and opposes gravity, and since then there has been a flurry of activity to understand more about this mysterious force.

Also keen to foster an interest in science in the young (and not so young), Brian was happy to have a poster with his autograph sent to Robert.

The response (above) brought a tear to our eye and we were pleased to be able to meet both Robert and his dad Daren when we invited them to attend our IMMORTALITY event in Adelaide last week.

What happened next?

Through the powers of social media Mars One participant Josh Richards saw our story in February about Robert’s Christmas wish…

“I have Buzz Aldrin’s signature,” Josh wrote to us via Facebook “and I’d love to get it to the boy and his family.”

So, at his Planet Talk at WOMADdelaide on Saturday 11 March the Academy helped make this happen.

The Academy sent Robert and his family to Womadelaide on us so they could hear Josh speak about the Mars One mission, whether colonising Mars is the next giant leap for humanity, and how he’s practising and preparing to go and live on the Red Planet.

And then, Josh gave 9-yr-old Robert and his space-nut dad Buzz’s signature.

It was a touching moment and there weren’t many dry eyes in the room as Robert got his wish. Thank you so much to Josh for his generous and inspiring act of kindness and the many people who helped make this dream come true.

Another big highlight for Robert and his family was getting to meet radio legend and fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, Robyn Williams from the ABC Science Show.