Professor Toby Walsh FAA – Celestino Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science
Professor Harry Poulos AM FAA FTSE – 2023 Lifetime Achievement Medal, International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
Obituary Professor John White. Professor John William White AO CMG FAA FRS25 April 1937 – 16 August 2023
This month, the Academy took a stand against those who seek to undermine long-held scientific principles that exist for the public good. We did this because attempts to undermine science, harm us all.
In 2020, Anthony Albanese told the nation science would be essential to future economic growth and could unlock our potential as a country. He was right. But we are yet to unlock that potential because we are not investing enough as a nation in research and development (R&D).
The Australian Academy of Science welcomes the release of the Australian Government’s draft national science and research priorities.
President of the Australian Academy of Science Professor Chennupati Jagadish said that to shape our future it is crucial that Australia strategically identifies and invests in sovereign science capabilities.
“We must focus and scale up our effort to build or maintain comparative advantage and to address scientific matters unique to Australia,” Professor Jagadish said.
The Australian Academy of Science has welcomed Australia’s 2040 Southeast Asia Economic Strategy as an opportunity to deepen science and technology regional partnerships that underpin priority areas.
The Australian Academy of Science says the Australian Universities Accord must include an unambiguous commitment to research in the Australian university system and provide it with fit-for-purpose base funding complemented by, not substituted with, research project funding.
The Australian Academy of Science welcomes the independent Inquiry into Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Academy has argued that an inquiry should be future-focused, about preparing for the next pandemic, and led by experts. The approach adopted by the Federal Government is consistent with this approach: learn from the past, prepare for the future.
Dr Emma-Anne Karlsen is the winner of the eighth Falling Walls Lab Australia event, hosted by the Australian Academy of Science on 18 September.
In September, the Academy continued to call for greater investment in research and development (R&D). Following the figures released in late August by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which show that national investment in R&D continues its 14-year decline, I published a statement arguing that letting our science base continue to decline puts our future at risk.
Applications are now open to Australian Early- and Mid-Career Researchers (EMCRs) for the Theo Murphy Initiative (Australia) 2023–24 grant program.
The Theo Murphy Initiative was established by the Royal Society to further scientific discovery. The fund is administered by the Australian Academy of Science and provides grant funding to support career development opportunities for Australia’s EMCRs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
© 2025 Australian Academy of Science
