Conversations with Australian scientists

Professor Sam Carey was interviewed by Professor Pat Quilty in 2000. Professor Sam Carey received a DSc from the University of Sydney in 1939 for his work on the tectonic evolution of New Guinea and Melanesia. He worked in the petroleum industry in New Guinea and then served with the Australian Infantry Forces from 1942-44.

Professor Stephen Angyal, a Hungarian-born chemist, made pioneering contributions to carbohydrate chemistry, particularly through his research on inositols and conformational analysis, which advanced understanding of molecular structure and energy. After emigrating to Australia in 1940, he held key academic roles at the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales, where he became Professor of Chemistry, Dean of Science, and an influential figure in international scientific collaboration. Interviewed by Mr David Salt in 2004.

Professor Stephen Boyden has had a wide and varied career. Originally trained as a veterinarian, he did research in bacteriology and immunology at the University of Cambridge, the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, the Pasteur Institute and the Tuberculosis Immunisation Research Centre of WHO in Copenhagen before going to the John Curtin School of Medical Research at the ANU. He is perhaps best known for his work in the field of human ecology and human biohistory.

Professor Steven Redman reflects on his journey from growing up on a farm in New South Wales to becoming a leading neuroscientist at the Australian National University. Interviewed by Professor Hans Bachor at Ian Potter House on 05 September 2025.

Professor Stewart Turner interviewed by Dr Trevor McDougall in 2004. Professor Stewart Turner is a geophysicist with a distinguished career spanning three continents. He began his research in theoretical nuclear physics before changing to cloud physics and finally to the physical processes in the ocean.

Professor Vicki Sara, an endocrinologist specialising in research into growth hormones and foetal brain development, was born in Sydney. Before attending the University of Sydney, she attended Bondi Public School and Sydney Girls High.

Sir Geoffrey Badger was an Australian organic chemist who advanced from early cancer-inhibition research in London to leadership roles in academia and science policy. He served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, President of the Australian Academy of Science, and founding chair of ASTEC, shaping research priorities and science governance in Australia. Interviewed by Professor Bob Crompton in 1997.

Gustav Nossal interviewed by Dr Max Blythe in 1987. Gustav Nossal studied medicine at the University of Sydney from where he earned a BSc (Med) in 1953 and a B Medicine and Surgery in 1955. After a two-year residency at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, in Sydney, he moved to Melbourne to work as a Research Fellow at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (the Hall Institute) leading to his PhD from the University of Melbourne in 1960.

Sir Gustav Nossal's second interview. Gustav Nossal studied medicine at the University of Sydney from where he earned a BSc (Med) in 1953 and a B Medicine and Surgery in 1955. After a two-year residency at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, in Sydney, he moved to Melbourne to work as a Research Fellow at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (the Hall Institute) leading to his PhD from the University of Melbourne in 1960.