Royal Society of NSW News & Events

The Society is deeply saddened at the passing of one of its Fellows, Professor Emeritus Mary-Louise McLaws AO FRSN, on 12 August 2023. Mary-Louise McLaws, a renowned epidemiologist and expert in infection control at UNSW Sydney, came to public prominence as a trusted commentator and media adviser during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time of considera...

The eighth in the series of Ideas@theHouse events — joint presentations of Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of New South Wales, and the Royal Society of New South Wales — was held on the evening of Thursday 10 August 2023 in the Ballroom of Government House Sydney. Professor Emma Johnston AO FRSN FAA FTSE, Deputy Vice-...

The Australian Universities Accord working group, chaired by Professor Mary O’Kane AC FRSN FTSE and including Western Sydney University Vice-Chancellor Professor Barney Glover AO FRSN FTSE, released its interim report in July.  The interim report’s recommendations in some areas, particularly in relation to research and the idea that a levy be ...

The Society's 1314th Ordinary General Meeting was held in the Gallery Room of the State Library of NSW on 2 August. An audience of approximately forty people enjoyed an outstanding presentation titled "Convergence: the hybridisation of the future", delivered as a conversation between Dr Catherine Ball — Futurist, Author, Researcher, and Rebel,...

The Society is deeply saddened at the passing of one of its Fellows, Emeritus Professor Adrian Lee FRSN, on 21 July 2023. Adrian Lee was a significant and important medical academic.  He was in academe professionally for 54 years, became Professor of Medical Microbiology at the University of New South Wales, was a Pro-Vice-Chancellor at t...

A number of Society Fellows are among the finalists of the 2023 Australian Museum Eureka Awards—the country’s most comprehensive national science awards, honouring excellence across the spectrum of research and innovation, leadership, science engagement, and school science. Presented annually in partnership with some of the nation’s leading scienti...

The June 2023 issue of the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of NSW is now available online.  This issue of the Journal focuses on the proceedings of the 2022 Royal Society of New South Wales and Learned Academies Forum, Reshaping Australia — Communities in Action. There are 25 contributions, including introductions and summaries, t...

Most face-to-face events and all online events conducted by the Royal Society of NSW are recorded and made available for subsequent viewing on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/royalsocnsw.  On Wednesday, 5 July a strong online audience enjoyed a thought-provoking panel session on “What we need to know about ‘the Voice’ — before we vote”, ...

The Royal Society of New South Wales is delighted to learn that Professor Theo Farrell FRSN FAcSS, currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Student Life) at the University of Wollongong, has been appointed as the next Vice-Chancellor of La Trobe University in Melbourne from February 2024. Professor Farrell joined the University of Wollong...

The Royal Society of New South Wales was delighted to learn on 3 July that two of its Fellows, Professor Gary Froyland FRSN FAA, from the School of Mathematics and Statistics at UNSW Sydney, and Professor Catherine Stampfl FRSN FAA, from the School of Physics at the University of Sydney, have been awarded Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow...

The Royal Society of NSW warmly welcomes 13 new members to the Society's ranks, effective from 7 June 2023. Fellows Professor Les Copeland Professor Bing-Jie Ni Professor Roger ReddelProfessor Renae RyanThe Hon. Gabrielle Upton Dr Allan Williams Biographical information about the new Fellows is available on the Fellows pages of the website. Members...

The Society is saddened by the passing of one of its Fellows, Emeritus Professor Jeremy Davis AM FRSN, on 13 June 2023. Jeremy Davis, husband of Jessica Milner Davis FRSN, was Dean of the Australian Graduate School of Management from 1980 to 1989, a mere four years after the establishment of the School. He brought to the School an amazing inte...

Most face-to-face events and all online events conducted by the Royal Society of NSW are recorded and made available for subsequent viewing on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/royalsocnsw.  On 15 June at the Charles Sturt University Canberra campus, intellectual historian and critical realist social philosopher, Professor Wayne Hudson FAH...

The evening of Wednesday 14 June 2023 was the occasion of the seventh in the Ideas@theHouse series—a joint presentation of Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor New South Wales, and the Royal Society of NSW—that took place in the Ballroom of Government House Sydney.   On that occasion, Dr Cathy Foley AO PSM DistFR...

The latest composition from Dr David Hush FRSN, “Three Pieces for Solo Flute”, is dedicated to, and has been recorded by, Dr Danielle Eden. Dr Eden has played flute and piccolo with Opera Australia for the past 20 years. “Three Pieces” may be heard on Akiva Recordings. David is known for channelling J S Bach, and each piece has “a special connectio...

The Society is delighted to learn of the awards to the following Society Fellows and Members who appear in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours List. Please note that since the original news item was published, the Society has been notified of additional members who were honoured in the King's Birthday Honours List.  These people are identified in...

The Society's 1313th Ordinary General Meeting was held in the Gallery Room of the State Library of NSW on 7 June. An audience of approximately forty people enjoyed an outstanding lecture titled "Making rights a reality — the need for a Human Rights Act for Australia", delivered by Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM FAAL, President of...

The Royal Society of NSW seeks to appoint a Communications Officer to enhance the Society's outreach to its membership and the wider community.  The key aspects of the role are the development of a media and communications strategy, the development and dissemination of communications, and the monitoring and measurement of media and publicity i...

Society Fellow, Distinguished Professor Gordon Wallace AO FRSN FAA FTSE, of the University of Wollongong, has been recently elected to the Royal Irish Academy — Ireland's leading body of experts in the sciences and humanities.   Gordon Wallace is a world-leading researcher and pioneer in materials science and advanced fabri...

Society Fellow, Professor Warwick Anderson FRSN FAHA FASSA FAHMS, has been jointly awarded the Society for Social Studies of Science’s prestigious Bernal Prize for having made ‘distinguished contributions’ to the field of Science and Technology Studies. The Bernal Prize is the Society’s life achievement award, with past recipients including Emily M...