Formation | 1954 |
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Headquarters | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory |
Membership | ≈500 Fellows |
President | Chennupati Jagadish |
Website | www.science.org.au |
The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. [1] The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal charter; [1] as such, it is an independent body, but it has government endorsement. The Academy Secretariat is in Canberra, at the Shine Dome.
The objectives of the academy are to promote science and science education through a wide range of activities. It has defined four major program areas:
The academy also runs the 22 National Committees for Science which provide a forum to discuss issues relevant to all the scientific disciplines in Australia.
The Australian National Research Council (ANRC) was established in 1919 for the purpose of representing Australia on the International Research Council. The Council ceased to exist in 1954, replaced by the Australian Academy of Science. [2]
The Shine Dome (previously known as Becker House) is a well-known Canberra landmark, notable for its unusual structure, and colloquially referred to as "The Martian Embassy", an allusion to its shape and the fact that as the capital of Australia, Canberra is the home of foreign embassies. [3] It was designed by architect Sir Roy Grounds, of Grounds, Romberg and Boyd. When completed in 1959 its 45.75-metre-diameter dome was the largest in Australia.
On 1 December 1956, the academy's building design committee met in Adelaide to look over plans submitted by six architects. The plan accepted involved a 710-tonne reinforced concrete dome, which had to be supported by 16 thin supports. The concrete is approximately 60 cm thick at the base supports, and 10 cm at the top. The dome supports itself, with no internal wall holding it up. It cost £200,000 to build. The foundation stone, laid on 2 May 1958 by Prime Minister of Australia, Robert Menzies, was originally part of the pier of the Great Melbourne Telescope constructed in 1869 under the supervision of the Royal Society and transferred to Mount Stromlo Observatory in the 1940s.
The building was named Becker House, for benefactor and Fellow of the Academy Sir Jack Ellerton Becker, in 1962. In 2000, it was renamed in honour of Fellow John Shine, who donated one million dollars to renovate the dome.
The interior contains three floors: on the ground level, the main auditorium, the Ian Wark Theatre, seats 156 people, the Jaeger Room for functions and meetings, the Becker Council Meeting Room and offices; the upper level includes a gallery to the theatre and the Adolf Basser Library; and the basement houses storage for historical records of science in Australia.
In 2016, the dome appeared in the television documentary series about Australian modernist architecture Streets of Your Town presented by Tim Ross.
On 20 January 2020 the Dome was seriously damaged by a hailstorm with smashed skylights and denting of the copper roof surface. [4]
Science education is a main commitment of Australian Academy of Science. Current activities include following projects: [5]
The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of around 500 leading Australian scientists. Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the academy. Twenty new Fellows may be elected every year. [6]
No more than two Fellows may be elected every three years on the basis of distinguished contributions to science by means other than personal research. A small number of distinguished foreign scientists with substantial connections to Australian science are elected as Corresponding Members.
Fellows are denoted by the letters FAA (Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science) after their name.
When the academy was founded in 1954 there were 24 members, known as the Foundation Fellows:
Name | Field |
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Keith Edward Bullen | Mathematics and geophysics |
Frank Macfarlane Burnet | Virology and immunology (Nobel laureate) |
David Guthrie Catcheside | Genetics |
Thomas MacFarland Cherry | Mathematics |
Ian Clunies Ross | Parasitology and science administration |
Edmund Alfred Cornish | Statistics |
John Eccles | Neuroscience (Nobel laureate) |
Edwin Sherbon Hills | Geology |
Leonard Huxley | Physics |
Raymond James Wood Le Fèvre | Chemistry |
Max Rudolf Lemberg | Biochemistry |
Hedley Ralph Marston | Biochemistry |
Leslie Martin | Physics |
David Forbes Martyn | Physics |
Douglas Mawson | Geology |
Alexander John Nicholson | Entomology |
Mark Oliphant | Physics |
Joseph Lade Pawsey | Radiophysics and astronomy |
James Arthur Prescott | Agricultural science |
David Rivett | Chemistry |
Thomas Gerald Room | Mathematics |
Sydney Sunderland | Neuroscience |
Oscar Werner Tiegs | Zoology |
Richard van der Riet Woolley | Astronomy |
Source: [7]
Early career awards: [8]
Mid career awards: [19]
Career awards recognising lifelong achievement: [23]
Other awards include:
There are three other learned Academies in Australia, those of Humanities (Australian Academy of the Humanities), Social Science (Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia) and Technological Sciences and Engineering (Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering). The four Academies cooperate through the Australian Council of Learned Academies, formed in 2010.
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The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Australia, founded in 1942.
Martin Andrew Green is an Australian engineer and professor at the University of New South Wales who works on solar energy. He was awarded the 2021 Japan Prize for his achievements in the "Development of High-Efficiency Silicon Photovoltaic Devices". He is editor-in-chief of the academic journal Progress in Photovoltaics.
Professor Kurt Lambeck AC, FRS, FAA, FRSN is Professor of Geophysics at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. He has also taught at University of Paris and at Smithsonian and Harvard Observatories.
Brian David Outram Anderson is Professor in the Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering at the Australian National University. His research interests include circuits, signal processing and control, and his current work focuses on distributed control of multi-agent systems, sensor network localization, adaptive and non-linear control. Professor Anderson served as President of the Australian Academy of Science from 1998 to 2002.
The Basser Library is the library of the Australian Academy of Science, established in 1960 following the donation of £25,000 ($50,000), by philanthropist Sir Adolph Basser (1887–1965). The Library collects published and unpublished material documenting the history of science in Australia, with a particular emphasis on collecting biographical material about prominent scientists, and promotes related historical research.
The Moran Medal in Statistical Sciences is awarded every two years by the Australian Academy of Science to recognise outstanding research by Australian scientists under 40 years of age in the fields of applied probability, biometrics, mathematical genetics, psychometrics, and statistics.
The Gottschalk Medal is awarded every year by the Australian Academy of Science to recognize outstanding research by Australian scientists under 40 years of age for research in the medical sciences conducted mainly in Australia.
Elizabeth Hume Minchin is an Australian classicist and former professor of classics at the Australian National University (ANU). Until 2014 she was one of the two editors of Antichthon, the journal of the Australasian Society for Classical Studies.
Douglas James Hilton is an Australian molecular biologist. He is the CEO of CSIRO and immediate past Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia. His research has focused on cytokines, signal transduction pathways and the regulation of blood cell formation (hematopoiesis). Hilton was the President of the Association of the Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) from 2014-16.
Alexander ‘Alex’ Zelinsky, is an Australian computer scientist, systems engineer and roboticist. His career spans innovation, science and technology, research and development, commercial start-ups and education. Professor Zelinsky is Vice-chancellor and President of the University of Newcastle joining the university in November 2018. He was the Chief Defence Scientist of Australia from March 2012 until November 2018. As Chief Defence Scientist he led defence science and technology for Australia's Department of Defence.
Tanya Mary Monro is an Australian physicist known for her work in photonics. She has been Australia's Chief Defence Scientist since 8 March 2019. Prior to that she was the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research and Innovation (DVCR&I) at the University of South Australia. She was awarded the ARC Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship in 2013. She was the inaugural director of the Institute for Photonics & Advanced Sensing (IPAS). Monro has remained an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Adelaide following her departure from the institution. In 2020 she was awarded the title of Emeritus Professor at the University of South Australia.
Emma Letitia Johnston is the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney. She was former, Dean of Science at the University of New South Wales and President of Science & Technology Australia. She is an authority in marine ecology and a former Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at UNSW.
Daniela Rubatto is a Professor of geochemistry at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Her areas of interest and expertise are in isotope geochemistry, metamorphic petrology, mineralogy, tectonics, inorganic geochemistry, and geochronology.
The Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture of the Australian Academy of Science is awarded biennially to recognise exceptional research by Australian scientists in the physical sciences. Nominations can only be made by Academy Fellows.
Chennupati Jagadish, an Indian-Australian physicist and academic, is the President of the Australian Academy of Science, and a Distinguished Professor of Physics at the Australian National University Research School of Physics. He is head of the Semiconductor Optoelectronics and Nanotechnology Group which he established in 1990. He is also the Convener of the Australian Nanotechnology Network and Director of Australian National Fabrication Facility ACT Node.
Kerrie Mengersen is an Australian statistician, distinguished Professor of Statistics at Queensland University of Technology, and 2024 winner of the Ruby Payne-Scott Medal from the Australian Academy of Science.
David Henry Solomon is an Australian polymer chemist. He is best known for his work in developing Living Radical Polymerization techniques, and polymer banknotes.
Karen Reynolds is an Australian biomedical engineer. She is currently the Deputy Dean of Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics at Flinders University and a Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor. Reynolds is the director of the Medical Device Research Institute and founding director of the Medical Device Partnering Program in South Australia, an organisation that facilitates collaboration between researchers, end-users and industry.
James Richard MayAM FTSE HonFAusIMM was an Australian chemical engineer and company director who was the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Minerals Industry Research Association Limited (AMIRA) between 1968 and 1994. He was also a fellow of a number of chartered institutions and organisations and was on various committees and academic institutes.