The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation based in Adelaide, South Australia, whose mission is science communication. It opened in October 2009 and is housed in the historic Stock Exchange building, now known as The Science Exchange. RiAus publishes the Cosmos Magazine website and hosts the SCINEMA International Science Film Festival.
The concept of a Royal Institution of Australia was proposed by Baroness Professor Susan Greenfield CBE , as Thinker in Residence for the South Australian Government during 2004 and 2005. [1] [2] Greenfield was Director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain from 1998 to 2010. The South Australian premier Mike Rann was receptive of the idea and secured state, federal and private sector funding for the building and the programs. The Royal Institution of Australia's inaugural chairman was Peter Yates AM . [3] [4]
The establishment of the Royal Institution of Australia was amongst the recommendations Greenfield made during her Adelaide residency, which included initiatives to encourage collaboration and complementary research programs across South Australian universities, science communication programs for children, professional development for school teachers and the establishment of the Australian Science Media Centre. A key recommendation was the Bragg Initiative, which encouraged a relationship between South Australia and the RiGB [5] and was taken up by the South Australian government.
The Bragg Initiative was named for William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg. This father and son team won the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics for their "services in the analysis of crystal structures by means of X rays". [6] Both father and son had an enormous passion for communicating science to the broader community. The Bragg Initiative was a program within the Department of the Premier and Cabinet and was managed by Linda Cooper.[ citation needed ]
In June 2008, work commenced to convert the former Adelaide Stock Exchange building, which had remained empty for many years, into The Science Exchange. [7]
The Royal Institution of Australia was opened on 8 October 2009 by the President of the Council of RiGB, HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. [8]
The Royal Institution of Australia foundation partners were the Government of South Australia, the Commonwealth Government and oil and gas company, Santos. It has a paid membership program, including both corporate and individual members.[ citation needed ]
The Royal Institution of Australia is housed at The Science Exchange, a red brick building located between Pirie and Grenfell streets in the Adelaide city centre (address 53-57 Exchange Place). [9]
The building is the former Stock Exchange building. The Adelaide Stock Exchange was established in the colony of South Australia in 1887 by a group of financial brokers and traders, after the other capital cities had established their own stock exchanges. After trading for some time on Pirie Street, it was decided that a bigger building was required. [10] The new building was designed by the architects Hedley Allen Dunn in collaboration with Henry Fuller in Federation/Edwardian style, with Arts and Crafts influences.
The building includes a stained glass window by Morris & Co, with three of the six panels after the designs of Edward Burne-Jones, [11] [12] created by the company's chief designer J.H. Dearle. The window was donated by businessman George Brookman, intended to celebrate Australian federation, although as one source noted "it in fact represents more accurately the ideal of British Empire federation". The central figure is Britannia, with a black man on and a white woman representing Africa and Canada on one side, and on the other, another woman representing Australia, alongside "an inhabitant of the King's Indian dominions". The window is one of around 20 Morris Company windows identified in Australia, of which 14 are in Adelaide. [13]
It was opened on 6 September 1901 by the premier of South Australia John Jenkins. [10] [14]
The building was damaged twice by fire, in 1938 and in 1982, but the stained-glass windows survived. [10] The stock exchange occupied the building until 1991, after which it remained vacant until 2009, when it was renovated and occupied by RiAus. Many of the original features were restored [10] in the western end of the building, while the eastern end is in contemporary design. [11]
The building was state heritage-listed on the South Australian Heritage Register on 8 November 1984, [9] [15] and is also listed by the Australian Institute of Architects among the 120 nationally significant 20th-century buildings in South Australia. [16]
The Royal Institution of Australia is the first and only sister organisation outside of the UK of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (RiGB). [17]
As a national hub for science communication, the Royal Institution of Australia promotes public awareness and understanding of science. Its mission is "connecting people with the world of science". The Institution highlights the importance of science in everyday life through the Cosmos Magazine website, the SCINEMA International Science Film Festival, and the RiAus Education platform. [18]
RiAus receives financial and in-kind support from members, corporate partners, and donors.[ citation needed ]
The inaugural director of the Royal Institution of Australia was Professor Gavin Brown AO, Scottish born mathematician and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Adelaide and the University of Sydney. [19]
After the resignation of Brown, Jane Lomax-Smith filled in as acting director (2010-2011). Paul Willis, science communicator, paleontologist, science journalist, and broadcaster was the director from 2011 until July 2017. In 2017 the Royal Institution of Australia appointed Bradley Abraham as CEO and director. In addition, the council appointed Alan Duffy as its new lead scientist. Duffy is an astronomer and physicist working at Swinburne University of Technology.[ citation needed ]
The Royal Institution of Australia is governed by a council. As of April 2024 [update] , council members are: [20]
The University of Adelaide is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many sandstone buildings of historical and architectural significance, such as Bonython Hall. Its royal charter awarded by Queen Victoria in 1881 allowed it to become the second university in the English-speaking world to confer degrees to women. It plans to merge with the neighbouring University of South Australia, is adjacent to the Australian Space Agency headquarters on Lot Fourteen and is part of the Adelaide BioMed City research precinct.
Sir William Lawrence Bragg was an Australian-born British physicist and X-ray crystallographer, discoverer (1912) of Bragg's law of X-ray diffraction, which is basic for the determination of crystal structure. He was joint recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1915, "For their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays"; an important step in the development of X-ray crystallography.
The Royal Institution of Great Britain is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, including Henry Cavendish and its first president, George Finch. Its foundational principles were diffusing the knowledge of, and facilitating the general introduction of useful mechanical inventions and improvements, as well as enhancing the application of science to the common purposes of life.
Sir William Henry Bragg was an English physicist, chemist, mathematician, and active sportsman who uniquely shared a Nobel Prize with his son Lawrence Bragg – the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics: "for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays". The mineral Braggite is named after him and his son. He was knighted in 1920.
Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, 223 km (139 mi) north of the state capital, Adelaide. Port Pirie is the largest city and the main retail centre of the Mid North region of South Australia. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South Australia, and is currently the second most important and second busiest port in SA.
Susan Adele Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, is an English scientist, writer, broadcaster and member of the House of Lords. Her research has focused on the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. She is also interested in the neuroscience of consciousness and the impact of technology on the brain.
The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including young people, in an informative and entertaining manner. Michael Faraday conceived and initiated the Christmas Lecture series in 1825, at a time when organised education for young people was scarce. Many of the Christmas Lectures were published.
Cosmos is a science magazine published in Adelaide, South Australia, by CSIRO Publishing that covers science globally. It appears four times a year in print as Cosmos Magazine, and the online edition is updated daily with news as well as long features and multi-media content, and includes the print magazine content. Cosmos Weekly is a subscription-based weekly online edition published on Fridays, and a podcast was launched in April 2022.
Adelaide city centre is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Adelaide local government area. The residential population was 18,202 in the 2021 census, with a local worker population of 130,404.
Edmund William Wright was a London-born architect in the colony of South Australia. He was mayor of Adelaide for 10 months in 1859. He designed many civic, commercial, ecclesiastical, and residential buildings in Adelaide city centre and its suburbs, in styles influenced by French and Italian Renaissance, as well as Neoclassical architecture. He collaborated with other notable architects E. J. Woods, Isidor Beaver, and Edward Hamilton in designing some of the most notable buildings.
The Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC) is an independent, not-for-profit service for the news media based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 2005, the centre gives journalists direct access to evidence-based science and expertise.
East Terrace is a road that marks the eastern edge of the Adelaide city centre in Adelaide, South Australia.
Henry Rymill and Frank Rymill were brothers prominent in business and public service in the 19th century South Australia. Henry "Harry" Rymill and Francis "Frank" Rymill were born in England, sons of Robert Rymill and Louisa Rymill of Shepperton, and migrated to South Australia, arriving at Port Adelaide in the Caucasian on 1 October 1855. Their company H & F Rymill was a prominent financial institution well into the 20th century. Their families included a number of prominent Adelaide citizens.
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.
Latham Augustus Withall OBE was a British architect who practised in Adelaide, South Australia from 1876 to 1888. His middle name is frequently rendered as "August".
Javier Moll is a Spanish businessman and owner of the Barcelona-based media company Editorial Prensa Ibérica. In 2007 his company owned more than 20 newspapers in Spain and Portugal. He currently owns assets in South Australia, including The Adelaide Review, which he purchased in 2002, and has investments in South Australian wineries and real estate. As of 2015, plans for Moll's company to establish a daily newspaper to rival The Advertiser under the registered name Adelaide Times are yet to eventuate. In 2011, he launched The Melbourne Review in Victoria. Moll is the former owner of the heritage-listed Science Exchange building, which is now owned by the Government of South Australia. Moll holds a seat on the governing council of RiAus, which has occupied the building since 2009. Since 2019, Moll also chairs Grupo Zeta, a mass media company purchased by Prensa Ibérica.
Isidor George Beaver, sometimes misspelt "Isidore" and "Beevor", and frequently initialised as "J. G. Beaver", was an architect from England who had a substantial career in Adelaide, South Australia and Melbourne, Victoria. He was also significant in the early history of ice skating in Australia.
The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) is an independent health and medical research institute in Adelaide, South Australia. The institute is housed in a purpose-built eponymous building with its iconic "cheese-grater" design created by architects Woods Bagot, located in South Australia's health and biomedical precinct on North Terrace, just east of the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
D. & W. Murray was a drapers shop in Adelaide founded by brothers David Murray and William Mackintosh Murray, which became the wholesale draper D. & W. Murray Limited, with warehouses in three States, then Goode, Durrant & Murray second in importance only to G. & R. Wills.
Green's Exchange, also known as Green's Auction Mart, was a business on King William Street, Adelaide, in the early colonial days of South Australia. It was not the first, and by no means the only stock exchange in Adelaide, but was notable in its alternative use as a venue for large public meetings and performances.