Minister for Health the Hon Sussan Ley MP has today joined the presidents of the Australian Medical Association and the Australian Academy of Science, Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty and paediatrician Dr Michael Freelander MP to launch The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers.

President of the Australian Academy of Science, Professor Andrew Holmes, said 72,000 copies of the revised and updated booklet that was first published in 2011 had been distributed to locations in every State and Territory in response to renewed concerns around immunisation.

“An ungrounded fear of immunising children against disease still exists in parts the community, which can be addressed by better education and understanding,” said Professor Holmes today at Parliament House in Canberra today.

“With this booklet, all of the latest science is presented in a simple and impartial manner,” he said.

Questions answered in The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers include:

• What is immunisation?
• What is in a vaccine?
• Who benefits from vaccines?
• Are vaccines safe?
• How are vaccines shown to be safe?
• What does the future hold for vaccination?

“This booklet gives anyone the ability to learn more and provides access to the most up-to-date information from some of Australia’s leading researchers in immunology,” Professor Holmes said.

One of these researchers, Professor Peter Doherty, was presented with the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1996 for his contributions to the science of immunisation. As he marks the 20th anniversary of his Nobel Prize, he has echoed the call for Australians anxious about immunisation to reach out for more information to understand how beneficial immunity is to communities.

“There is cutting edge research in immunisation being done all over the world, which may unlock ways to prevent diseases like the Zika virus, Alzheimer’s disease and much more,” Professor Holmes said.

“With a community that is informed and passionate about immunisation, we can hope to continue the good work generations of scientists like Professor Doherty achieved in the past, eliminating some of the world’s most challenging and damaging diseases.”

The booklet is available online, and hard copies will also be distributed to doctors’ offices, clinics and other locations where immunisations are carried out across the country.

The reprinting and distribution of the booklet is supported by the Department of Health.

Professor Holmes will be available for interview, contact Dion Pretorius on 0418 281 777 to arrange.

Academy Fellow, Professor Michelle Simmons FAA, has been announced as the L’oreal–UNESCO Asia–Pacific Woman in Science for 2017.

The UNSW Australia scientist is recognised for her ‘pioneering contributions to quantum and atomic electronics, constructing atomic transistors en route to quantum computers’. Professor Simmons leads the six-university ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology.

In 2005 Professor Simmons was awarded the Pawsey Medal by the Academy and was elected one of the youngest Fellows of the Academy in 2006. In 2012 she was named NSW Scientist of the Year and in 2014 became a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science. In 2015, Professor Simmons was awarded the Academy’s Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal and won the Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science.

Professor Simmons joins four other women scientists representing Africa and the Arab States, Europe, Latin America and North America. Each of the awardees will receive €100,000, to be presented in Paris in March 2017.​

The Australian Academy of Science has announced Professor Barry Ninham AO FAA as the recipient of the Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture—one of Australia’s most prestigious honours for work in the physical sciences.

Professor Ninham is the world’s leading researcher in colloid and surface science, an interdisciplinary science where the physical, chemical and biological sciences meet. Among pioneering contributions to the natural sciences, his best known work is that in the self-assembly of biological molecules and in the theory of molecular forces.

Professor Ninham and his team have developed world first technologies for desalination and to clean recycled water of bacteria, viruses, drugs, and other impurities such as arsenic and nuclear waste. Compared to current technologies the new methods are much simpler and substantially cheaper.

The Matthew Flinders Medal, which was named after one of Australia’s early scientific researchers, is presented every two years to Australia’s most influential and inspiring scientists working in the physical sciences.

Professor Ninham will be presented the with the medal at Science at the Shine Dome in 2017, where he will deliver a lecture to leaders in the Australian scientific community.

The Australian Academy of Science has announced Professor Barry Ninham AO FAA as the recipient of the Matthew Flinders Award and lecture – one of Australia’s most prestigious honours for work in the physical sciences.

Professor Ninham is the world’s leading researcher in colloid and surface science, an interdisciplinary science where the physical, chemical and biological sciences meet. Among pioneering contributions to the natural sciences, his best known work is that in the self-assembly of biological molecules and in the theory of molecular forces.

Professor Ninham and his team have developed world first technologies for desalination and to clean recycled water of bacteria, viruses, drugs, and other impurities such as arsenic and nuclear waste. Compared to current technologies the new methods are much simpler and substantially cheaper.

Professor Ninham and his colleagues have formed RENEWater.  This new venture is working with UNSW and industry to take the technology to the third world, disaster zones and anywhere clean water is difficult to obtain.  It is expected that these technologies will have significant commercial applications.

Professor Andrew Holmes, President of the Australian Academy of Science, says awarding the Medal to Professor Ninham was just a small recognition of the vast impact his work has had in science and research around the globe.

“He has achieved so much in his field, it is hard to measure his impact,” said Professor Holmes.

“Over his career, he has published hundreds of research papers which have profoundly influenced the way scientists approach work in their field.”

“Professor Ninham also founded the Department of Applied Mathematics at the Australian National University in 1970, bringing theoreticians and experimentalists together for the first time in Australia.”

Professor Holmes said the department was one of the most prestigious in the country, having produced more than 100 professors in its esteemed history.

The Matthew Flinders Medal, which was named after one of Australia’s early scientific researchers, is presented every two years to Australia’s most influential and inspiring scientists working in the physical sciences.

Professor Ninham will be presented the Medal at Science at the Shine Dome in 2017, where he will deliver a lecture to leaders in the Australian scientific community.

Professor Ninham joins other recipients such as Professor Frank Fenner AC CMG MBE FAA FRS, Sir Mark Laurence Oliphant AC KBE FAA FRS FTSE, and Professor Joseph Lade Pawsey FAA FRS.

Professor Barry Ninham is available for interview on Wednesday 28 September, please contact Dion Pretorius on 0418281777 to arrange.

For more than 30 years, NASA has been working on how to grow crops in space, to support human life in orbit or on other planets. Plants could provide not only fresh food for human space travellers, they could remove CO₂ and provide oxygen in enclosed habitats, as well as turning waste water into drinking water. They can also have a positive psychological effect, enhancing the environment of small and often stark space stations.

Three experts from the USA presented some of the latest research in the area at the Academy recently, sharing insights into the challenges faced when growing plants anywhere off Earth. Watch their talks below.

The speakers

Dr Gioia Massa, NASA

Gioia Massa is a NASA scientist at Kennedy Space Center in Florida who works on food production for the International Space Station (ISS) and future exploration endeavours. She also heads an interdisciplinary group to study fertiliser and light impacts on nutrition and flavour of space-grown crops. She also helps with science needs for other space station hardware and works with external investigators to get their science to function on the station. Dr Massa’s goal is to give residents of a future Mars habitat a better quality of life through green growing plants. Her passion is to enable NASA’s grand challenge of space colonisation as humanity transitions from a planet-bound to a spacefaring civilisation.

Dr Ray Wheeler, NASA

Ray Wheeler is a plant physiologist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) where he leads Advanced Life Support research. Ray did his graduate work at Utah State University studying plant gravitational responses, and then went to postdoctoral research at the University of Wisconsin, where he studied potatoes as a candidate crop for space life support systems. His NASA research has focused on hydroponic cultivation approaches, studies of CO2 and light responses in plants, and whole canopy photosynthetic measurements.

Dr Cary Mitchell, Purdue University, USA

Cary Mitchell has taught environmental plant physiology, plant growth and development, controlled environment agriculture, photobiology, and aquaponics. He’s worked with NASA’s Space Biology, Controlled Ecological Life-Support System (CELSS), and Advanced Life-support (ALS) programs. He’s been Director of two NASA Specialised Centers of Research and Training (NSCORTs) in bioregenerative and advanced life support, and served as Program Scientist for the Gravitational Biology and Ecology program at the NASA Ames Research Center. Dr Mitchell credits NASA with providing the leadership and funding for advances in lighting technology that have enabled CEA development on Earth to develop into a current growth industry with importance for food production on Earth as well as in space.

The Australian Academy of Science has launched two new reports on the future of Australian science in the areas of accelerator science and energy.

The reports, supported by the Defence Science and Technology Group, were produced by some of the country’s most influential scientists, and seek to highlight leading research from around the world, and make recommendations on how research and innovation in these areas can be enhanced in the future.

The first report, Energy for Australia in the 21st Century: The central role of electricity, outlines the challenges posed by Australia’s aging infrastructure when trying to respond to rapidly evolving technologies.

Focusing on three key drivers—affordability, security and sustainability—the report examines the science and technology that will drive and enable a transformation in Australia’s electricity system over the coming decades.

As part of the report, the following recommendations were made:

• Develop an overarching National Energy Research Institute, to link the diverse and dispersed energy research being conducted in Australia
• Overhaul energy structures to cope with rapid changes in energy technologies and end-use behaviour since its initial establishment in the 1990s
• Enhance information technology, communications and electronic control expertise
• Better collaborate with international partners.

The second report, titled Discovery Machines: Accelerators for science, technology, health and innovation, explores the science of particle accelerators, the machines that supercharge our ability to discover the secrets of nature and have opened up new tools in medicine, energy, manufacturing, the environment and research.

Particle accelerators are now an essential ingredient in discovery science because they offer new ways to analyse the world (by probing objects with high energy x-rays and beams of electrons for example). They also have a huge—but often unnoticed—impact on all our lives; medical imaging, cancer treatment, new materials and even the chips that power our phones and computers have all been transformed by accelerators of various types. Research accelerators also have a knack of encouraging better collaboration between international and domestic scientists, organisations and governments.

This report outlines recommendations around the need to ensure ongoing operation of Australia’s existing world-class accelerator infrastructure; developing programs that attract the best and brightest students and further encourage international collaboration; and a call for a combined state and federal examination of the value and feasibility of hadron therapy as a promising cancer treatment.

The full reports can be accessed in the Reports and Publications section of our website.

The Australian Academy congratulates all the recipients of the 2016 Eureka Prizes, including Academy Fellow Professor Gordon Wallace, and EMCR Executive member Associate Professor Sharath Sriram.

Professor Gordon Wallace received the CSIRO Eureka Prize for Leadership in Innovation and Science.

The award citation said Professor Wallace “is an internationally renowned researcher in the field of electromaterials science and has cultivated a research vision in the area of ‘intelligent polymers’. Through his leadership and ability to inspire, his collaborative team has pioneered the use of nanotechnology and additive fabrication in renewable energy and medical science.”

Associate Professor Sharath Sriram was awarded the 2016 3M Eureka Prize for Emerging Leader in Science.

The award citation said that Sharath’s work “harnesses the functionality of materials and objects at extremely small scales. His leadership transcends science, to include team mentorship, the establishment of a $30 million research facility and national science advocacy for early- and mid-career researchers.”

A full list of winners can be found on the Eureka Prize website.

Image credit: Engineering at Cambridge

Applications have now closed. Please apply next year.

The Australian Early- and Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) Forum is now accepting expressions of interest from early and mid-career researchers to join the executive committee in 2017.

The EMCR Forum is the national voice of Australia's emerging scientists, representing researchers who are up to 15 years post-PhD (or other research higher degree), irrespective of their professional appointment. The Forum’s mission is to be the voice of Australia's early- and mid- career researchers (EMCRs), championing improvement in the national research environment through advocacy.

The executive committee is looking to recruit new members who can bring enthusiasm and new ideas to the executive. New members will be expected to be able to commit a minimum of 5% time to the Forum. Examples of EMCR Forum committee activities include:

• annual face-to-face meeting and quarterly teleconferences
• organisation of the biennial Science Pathways meeting for EMCRs
• preparation of detailed submissions for consultations and public inquiries
• gathering demographic data on EMCRs and identifying discipline-specific issues
• examining the career structure and related issues for EMCRs within universities, government agencies (e.g. CSIRO, DSTO), industry and research institutes
• evaluating the attrition rate for research careers and evaluating alternate career paths available to EMCRs
• identifying specific issues that lead to many women failing to progress to the highest levels in research.

In 2017, three spaces will be available on the executive and all EMCRs are eligible to apply (<15 years since PhD award, taking into account career interruptions), but preference will be given to those who represent states and subject backgrounds that are not currently represented on the Forum. The Forum has a strong belief in gender equity and the executive will endeavour for balanced gender representation.

Applications closed on the 10 October 2016. Thank you for your interest. Please look out for the call for applications again next year.

Download the flyer to advertise this opportunity in your department.

Enquiries about expressions of interest please email emcr@science.org.au.

The internationally renowned event, Falling Walls Lab, will be held in Australia for the first time next week, hosted by the Australian Academy of Science.

20 Australian and 5 New Zealand young contestants will each give a three-minute presentation on their innovative research, a business model or an initiative based on the concept: ‘Which walls will fall next?’.

The Australian event will serve as a qualifying round, and the winner will be sponsored to compete in the Falling Walls Lab final in Berlin, pitted against academics from all over the world.

President of the Australian Academy of Science, Professor Andrew Holmes, said he was proud to see the event held in Australia this year.

“Any event such as this, which encourages local and international cross-discipline collaboration and the sharing of knowledge, is extremely valuable for Australian science and innovation,” Professor Holmes said.

The 25 presentations will look to address issues relating to carbon emissions, obesity, breast cancer, corporate fraud, cerebral palsy, dam disasters, and much more.

“To have so many young researchers addressing such a variety of issues faced by our society is truly inspiring,” said Professor Holmes.

“The Falling Walls Lab will be a showcase of the vast talent in the Australian and New Zealand research and innovation community, and the potential it has to address some of the biggest problems facing people around the globe.”

Jury members for the event include Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel; Nobel Laureate and ANU Vice Chancellor, Professor Brian Schmidt; New Zealand’s Deputy Chief Scientist, Professor Stephen Goldson; and many other distinguished Australians working in the research, innovation and business sectors.

The Falling Walls Lab Australia is organised by the Australian Academy of Science, in association with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia and the Australian National University.

Media are invited to attend the event on Wednesday, 24 August between 2:00pm and 8:00pm at the Shine Dome in Canberra.

Interviews with the winner of Falling Walls Lab Australia will be available from 9am, Thursday 25 August.

Contact: Dion Pretorius | 0418281777 | dion.pretorius@science.org.au

Australia’s Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Pilot today announced former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick as Chair of its Expert Advisory Group, and the acceptance of eight new institutions into its Pilot of the UK-based Athena SWAN Charter.

The additional institutions bring the total number of participants to 40, with 30 universities (representing 75% of Australian universities), six medical research institutes and four publicly funded research agencies joining the Pilot.

The new participants and Ms Broderick’s appointment will be announced today at the first national SAGE Symposium in Sydney. The new participants are:

• The Australian Astronomical Observatory
• Bond University
• Burnet Institute
• The Defence Science & Technology Group
• Federation University Australia
• James Cook University
• Macquarie University
• The University of the Sunshine Coast

The SAGE Pilot of the UK-based Athena SWAN Charter is a partnership of the Australian Academy of Science and the Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE). It promotes equity and inclusion through an evaluation and accreditation framework to identify and address gender inequity in science and research organisations.

Institutions are graded by a panel of experts against this framework to determine areas that need to be addressed to improve gender equity and diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM). The pilot includes a two-year program of training and advice to develop an action plan. Successful organisations will be awarded an Athena SWAN Bronze award indicating they are well placed to improve gender equity and diversity across their academic and professional staff.

Academy of Science President Professor Andrew Holmes said he was proud of SAGE’s rapid adoption and early progress.

“In just over a year, the SAGE program has generated significant interest and enthusiasm across the entire higher education and research sector. There are high hopes that this will finally achieve a level playing-field in research to improve the promotion and retention of women and gender minorities within STEMM,” he said.

Executive Director of SAGE, Dr Wafa El-Adhami said Ms Broderick’s appointment would bring a broader perspective to the Expert Advisory Group.

“Ms Broderick has an outstanding track record in addressing gender equity across a breadth of sectors, most particularly as Sex Discrimination Commissioner and through her leadership of the Male Champions of Change program. We look forward to her leadership on gender equity in STEMM,” Dr El-Adhami said.

Ms Broderick will address the Symposium today, as will 2013 Australian of the Year Ita Buttrose, Human Rights Commissioner Dr Tim Soutphommasane, and a range of STEMM leaders. The SAGE symposium brings together the 40 organisations in the SAGE Pilot together for the first time since it was initiated in 2015.

The SAGE symposium is supported by principal sponsor Universities Australia and by Office for Women in Prime Minister and Cabinet, La Trobe, EY, L’Oréal Australia and Flinders University. More information about SAGE and its participating institutions is at www.sciencegenderequity.org.au

Professor Andrew Holmes, Professor Susan Pond from ATSE, and Dr El-Adhami will be available for interview during the SAGE Symposium, held at the National Maritime Museum in Sydney on Friday 24 June 2016. Please contact Bill Mackey (below) to organise interviews.

Contact     Bill Mackey  |  T (03) 9864 0902 |   M0418 923 370  |   E bill.mackey@atse.org.au