Advances in the physical, mathematical and biological sciences in the past 20 to 30 years underpin $330 billion a year of Australia’s economic output.

These advances also support more than 1 million Australian jobs, or 10 per cent of total employment.

These findings are presented in a new report commissioned by the Office of the Chief Scientist and the Australian Academy of Science and produced by the Centre for International Economics (CIE).

The report is a synthesis of two CIE studies: a new analysis of the contribution of advances in the biological sciences to the Australian economy, and a 2015 analysis of the contribution of the advanced natural and physical sciences. 

Without the last 30 years of advances in the biological sciences alone, our economy would be five per cent smaller than it is today, an annual difference of about $65 billion. The burden of disease carried by our community would be 18 to 34 per cent higher, and

Australians would miss out on health improvements worth up to $156 billion every year.

Australia’s Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb AC, said the reports underscore the importance of science to all Australians.

“Of course the benefits of science are difficult to measure. Of course those benefits can only be partially counted in dollar terms. But of course we have to investigate them, in economic as well as human terms, because we cannot afford to ever take them for granted. 

“We have, for the first time, a credible estimate of a phenomenon that defines our lives and underpins our prospects for growth. I trust it will inform our discussions about the actions we take to maximise the benefits of science for Australians.”

Professor Andrew Holmes AM, President of the Australian Academy of Science, noted that the finding that science contributes so substantially to Australia’s economy is consistent with similar analysis conducted in Australia and overseas.

“Our national situation is unique, but the message for all advanced economies is clear. Scientists, and the industries which harness their discoveries, are critical to prosperity.   

“We need Australian science to address our own challenges, just as we need it to have access to the new knowledge uncovered overseas.”

The 2016 and 2015 reports, along with 'The importance of recent advances in the physical, mathematical and biological sciences to the Australian economy  - a synthesis of findings from both investigations' - are available at www.chiefscientist.gov.au and www.science.org.au/support/analysis.

Professor CNR Rao was formally admitted as a Corresponding Member of the Australian Academy of Science at a ceremony in Canberra yesterday.

Professor Rao, who is one of the foremost world leaders in the area of solid state and materials chemistry, joins 27 other leading international researchers and science advocates with strong links to Australia. 

Professor Rao played a leading role in establishing the Australia–India Strategic Research Fund, for fostering a long-term scientific and technology partnership between the two countries. The fund is Australia’s single largest bilateral science and research fund.

The Indian High Commissioner to Australia, Mr Navdeep Suri attended the ceremony along with Fellows of the Academy. 

While in Australia, Professor Rao also received an honorary doctorate from the Australian National University.

Eight Fellows from the Australian Academy of Science are among a list of scientists, researchers and industry experts announced as part of the ‘Knowledge Nation 100’.

The inaugural list was compiled by the Knowledge Society and the Office of the Chief Scientist and launched by the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull following on from the government’s recently released National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA). It recognises 100 Australians who are at the cutting edge of innovation and science in Australia and who are contributing to Australia’s future economy. 

Professors Nalini Joshi, Hugh Durrant-Whyte, Martin Green, Gordon Wallace and Ian Frazer were recognised in the ‘STEM heroes’ category. Academy Secretary for Science Policy Professor Les Field and Professor Tanya Monro were among ‘the brokers’ and specially elected Fellow Catherine Livingstone was in ‘the evangelists’ category. 

The group will come together at a summit about innovation in the economy in March 2016.

Read more at the Knowledge Nation website.

A position paper released today by the Office of the Chief scientist brings a welcome focus on the importance of improving primary school science education. 

The paper’s suggested goals are improving the prestige of teachers, creating a national science professional development program for teachers and the creation of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Education Leadership Taskforce to act as a focal point for national engagement on science education. 

Other proposed measures include ways to attract high achievers into primary science teaching, educating primary principals to be science leaders, and making STEM preparation in pre-service teaching courses more rigorous. 

The Academy of Science has three education programs in maths and science: Primary Connections, Mathematics by Inquiry and Science by Doing.

Read the position paper at the Chief Scientist website.

Thank you for visiting the Australian Academy of Science online. If you’ve visited us here before, you’ll notice that our website has had a make-over. 

We’ve made some changes to help you get more easily to the information you’re looking for: you’ll see that, for example, you can now sort out which of our events you might like to attend—depending on whether you’re a scientist or a science lover. If you’re hoping to nominate someone for a medal, win a grant to stage a conference or to travel overseas and further your career, you’ll find all our opportunities for scientists in one place. You might be interested to learn about our wide range of school and public education programs and initiatives. And we’ve also brought together all the information about how the Academy is working to on behalf of science and scientists to support science through advising governments, setting strategy, representing Australian science overseas, improving gender equity in science and much more.

We’ve also worked with graphic designers and website user experience specialists to improve your experience while you look around the site: we’ve brightened up the colours and cleaned up the design, and we’ve made sure the site is responsive, which means you’ll find it easier to navigate regardless of the device you’re using.

Welcome to our new website. Please take some time to look around: we hope you like it!

The image of the diver is from Jason Parrish / Flickr, used with Creative Commons.

Scientists working on new materials to meet the challenges of the 21st century are gathering in Melbourne today for the annual Frontiers of Science conference.

Materials for the 21st Century: From design to application is the latest in the Australian Academy of Science’s Theo Murphy Frontiers of Science series which brings the best young Australian scientists together with leaders in their fields.

This year experts will explore new techniques and materials to improve drug delivery, energy and food production, as well as ways to develop the next generation of flexible electronics.

A special session will also be held to examine the challenges for women in engineering and materials science. 

You can follow the conference by following the Academy's twitter account @science_academy or via #AusFos15. 

Read the program here

On 19 May 2003, the following article on Science and the 2003-04 Budget was published in Campus Review. It was written by Professor Kurt Lambeck FAA, FRS, Foreign Secretary of the Australian Academy of Science and Professor of Geophysics at the Australian National University.

Science and technology continue to have a prominent place in the Federal Government's agenda, as seen in the 2003-04 Budget. In Australian political circles it is now understood that science and innovation, together with their national and international networks, underpin the nation's prosperity.

The 2003-04 Budget continues to deliver Government promises made under Backing Australia's Ability, with the planned increases for science and innovation delivered in full. The big surprise in the Budget was deferment of CSIRO's new triennial funding, although CSIRO has gained an additional $20m for its flagship programs that are aimed at partnering with industry and universities in key priority areas of research. The outcome of triennial funding for CSIRO awaits the outcome of a study on Mapping Australia's Science and Innovation System and on two new high-level, strategic reviews to be undertaken by the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST).

There is a strong emphasis in this Budget on seeking to introduce significant reforms to higher education. These reforms reflect the greater priority placed in the final stages of the 'Crossroads' Review upon teaching and training relative to research. Despite some concerns within the research community over this imbalance, it is important to recognise that the Government is now embarking on the lead-up to the second phase of Backing Australia's Ability. Various statements made in the Budget about what will happen next year are consequently far more important to the future of Australian science than the specific budget allocations announced on 13 May.

There are already a number of reviews aimed at providing inputs to the second phase of Backing Australia's Ability. A major study to map Australia's science and innovation system and an evaluation of the Cooperative Research Centres program are already underway. And of course the impact of the first phase of Backing Australia's Ability will also be assessed in the coming year. In addition, Ministers have used the Budget to announce a raft of additional reviews that will influence the second phase of Backing Australia's Ability. These are the development of a National Strategy on Research Infrastructure, the establishment of a high level taskforce to examine the scope for closer collaboration between universities and the major publicly funded research agencies, and a comprehensive evaluation of the formulae used to allocate university research funding under the 1999 Knowledge and Innovation reforms. These reviews are aimed at ensuring that the policy framework for Australia's competitive research funding is effective.

The forward-looking issues highlighted by the Federal Government in this Budget go to the heart of researchers' concerns, as the Academy of Science has been arguing for some time (Priorities in Research and Innovation for the Next Australian Government, October 2001). The capacity to build 'critical mass' in research, fixing the current problems relating to universities' capacity to fund the indirect costs of research, adequate funding for infrastructure and fostering collaboration between institutions are all firmly on the policy agenda.

Under the 2003-04 Budget reforms, one publicly funded research agency, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, has been affiliated with James Cook University in Townsville. The Academy supports the affiliation of these two organisations, both with international stature in marine biology. Both stand to benefit significantly from the sharing of resources, collaborative activities and an enhanced profile that will attract and retain eminent researchers. There will be increased opportunities for research training following the affiliation. The affiliation, underpinned by a plurality of funding mechanisms which range from competitive Australian Research Council project grants, Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) funds and block-funding, will be watched with interest. The plurality of funding mechanisms should lead to a robust institution with a strong sense of purpose, and alert and responsive to new opportunities.

In recent years, publicly funded research agencies and universities have forged closer affiliations through co-location, shared facilities, CRCs, joint supervision of PhD students and joint commercial ventures. The political message to scientists in this year's budget is that the Government has recognised the strengths and advantages of these affiliations and may be tempted to play a more interventionist role in ensuring they take place. The publicly funded research agencies, including not only CSIRO and ANSTO, but perhaps parts of DSTO as well, and the universities, have been put on notice that it is indeed a matter of 'partner or perish'.

In this Budget, the Government has been cognisant that the corporate world has said good-bye to mergers and acquisitions and that partnerships and alliances, with a plurality of funding mechanisms and management practices, are the new strategies of business. Similar strategies may well strengthen the science base in Australia. This Budget marks the end of one phase of policy deliberations and the start of another. The year to come is where the real action will be for Australian science.

Leadership by the Australian Government and global cooperation at the Paris climate talks will be essential in avoiding the worst effects of global climate change, according to the Australian Academy of Science.

Representatives from more than 190 countries are heading to Paris this week in an attempt to reach an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit human-induced global warming.

The Academy’s President Professor Andrew Holmes urged world governments to take note of the scientific evidence and the implications of inaction.

“The science is clear, we need to move to net zero carbon emissions by the second half of this century to avoid serious impacts on our health, our economies and on our environment. Paris will be a critical turning point along the path to a carbon neutral world,” Professor Holmes said.

“Australia has an important responsibility, as one of the world’s biggest per capita emitters, to show leadership at this important moment in history. As the world’s twelfth largest economy, we also have the capacity to do our fair share,” he said.

“Australia has some of the best climate scientists in the world and a wealth of expertise in clean energy; we have the opportunity to play a leading role.

“The national commitments so far are promising and Australia’s own post-2030 targets are an important start but now is not the time for complacency. We must understand that the only sustainable long-term goal is net zero-emissions and the risks are too great to keep on our current high emissions path.”

In a submission to the Australian government in May, the Academy recommended cuts in greenhouse gas emissions 30 to 40 per cent below 2000 levels by 2030.

Professor Holmes is available for comment. To arrange an interview please contact Bella Counihan on 0419212219. 

Scientists who are leading the world on solar energy efficiency, helping to develop one-shot flu vaccines, and making portable biosensors to detect viruses are among the winners of the Australian Academy of Science’s annual honorific awards. 

Each year the Academy presents awards to recognise scientific excellence, to researchers in the early stage of their careers through to those who have made life-long achievements.

This year’s announcement includes 17 award winners across astronomy, nanoscience, mathematics, chemistry, physics, environmental science and human health.

Professor Martin Green, sometimes known as the “father of photovoltaics”, has won the prestigious Ian Wark Medal and Lecture for his world-record breaking work improving solar efficiency.

Dr Jane Elith and Associate Professor Cyrille Boyer, who recently won awards in the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science, will be the recipients of this year’s Fenner and Le Févre prizes. 

The Academy President, Professor Andrew Holmes congratulated all the award winners for their work.

“These scientists are simply inspirational. They are working at the leading edges of their fields and of human knowledge, and they are developing innovations that will change and improve our society, our economy and our health,” Professor Holmes said.

“This list of winners represents the best of Australia’s leading and emerging scientists; from researchers doing fundamental research to those building next generation technologies,” Professor Holmes said.

The awards will be formally presented at the Academy’s annual three day celebration of Australian science, Science at the Shine Dome, in Canberra in May 2016.

Read more about the awardees and their research here. 

The Australian Academy of Science will fund new research to help the survival of some of Australia’s endangered species, help prevent hospital readmissions in central Australia, and apply cutting-edge ecology and evolutionary biology to model climate change adaptation.

The Academy today announced $190,000 worth of funding for scientists, including to support international travel and scientific conferences.  

 “I’d like to congratulate all of this year’s winners – we anticipate that this funding will go some way towards expanding the boundaries of our knowledge in these important areas,” Academy President Professor Andrew Holmes said.

“The travelling fellowships will allow scientists from Australia and overseas to spread the latest scientific knowledge across international borders,” Professor Holmes said.

The 2016 Selby Travelling Fellowship will bring Dr. Federico Rosei from Canada to Australia to discuss his research on advanced nanomaterials to improve energy saving and storage.

The Academy will also support three scientific conferences on the understanding the origins of the Galaxy, self-assembly in biological cells and emerging technology for desalination and energy generation.

“These awards have been made possible by the generous donations of individuals and organisations who have a passion for science. We thank them for making these awards, fellowships and conferences possible,” Professor Holmes said.

Later this month, the Academy will announce its honorific awards to recognise the early-career, mid-career and lifetime achievements of Australian scientists working in a diverse range of fields.

See a full list of the winners here.