Past Awards (prior to 2023)

This page lists the Awards offered by the Society until the end of 2022, with a new program of Awards being implemented in 2023.

The new program may be accessed from this link.

 Announcements of Award winners in the years 2021 and 2022 may be found at the preceding links.

Archibald Ollé Prize

The Archibald Ollé Prize of $500 is given from time to time, at the discretion of the Council, to the author who has submitted and had accepted the best single-author paper to the Society’s Journal.

The Clarke Medal

The Clarke Medal is awarded each year for distinguished research in the natural sciences conducted in the Australian Commonwealth and its territories. The recipient may be resident in Australia or elsewhere. The fields of geology, botany, and zoology are considered in rotation.

Clarke Memorial Lecture

The Clarke Memorial Lecture is delivered each year by the most recent winner of the Clarke Medal.

Edgeworth David Medal

The Edgeworth David Medal is awarded each year for distinguished contributions by a young scientist under the age of thirty-five (35) years on 1 January in the year in which the medal is awarded, for work done mainly in Australia or its territories, or contributing to the advancement of Australian science.

History and Philosophy of Science Medal

The Society’s History and Philosophy of Science Medal is awarded each year to recognise outstanding achievement in the History and Philosophy of Science with preference being given to the study of ideas, institutions, and individuals of significance to the practice of the natural sciences in Australia.

Jak Kelly Award

The Jak Kelly Award recognises excellence in postgraduate research in physics annually, with the winner selected from presenters at each year’s Australian Institute of Physics, NSW Branch Postgraduate Awards, as advised to the Awards Committee of the Royal Society of New South Wales. The award honours Jak Kelly (1928-2012), Professor and Head of Physics at the University of NSW (1985-1989), Honorary Professor at The University of Sydney (2004), and President of the Royal Society of NSW (2005-2006). It was first awarded in 2010.

James Cook Medal

The James Cook Medal is awarded periodically for outstanding contributions to both science and human welfare in and for the Southern Hemisphere.

Liversidge Lecture

The Liversidge lectureship is awarded biennially for research in chemistry.  The lecture is presented in conjunction with the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI).  The lecture will be published in the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales.

Poggendorff Lectureship

The Poggendorff Lectureship is awarded every two to three years for research in plant biology and, more broadly, agriculture.

Pollock Memorial Lectureship

The Pollock Memorial Lectureship has been awarded approximately every four years since 1949 and is sponsored by the University of Sydney and the Society in memory of Professor J.A. Pollock, Professor of Physics at the University of Sydney (1899-1922) and a member of the Society for 35 years.

The Royal Society of New South Wales Citation

The Royal Society of New South Wales Citation is awarded to a Member or Fellow of the Society who has made significant contributions to the Society, but who has not been recognised in any other way. The Awards Committee considers nominations made by a Member or Fellow. A maximum of three Citations may be awarded in any one year.

The Royal Society of New South Wales Medal

The Society's Medal is awarded from time to time to a member of the Society who has made meritorious contributions to the advancement of science, including administration and organisation of scientific endeavour and for services to the Society.

The Royal Society of New South Wales Scholarships

Three scholarships of $500 plus a complimentary year of Associate Membership of the Society are awarded each year in order to acknowledge outstanding achievements by young researchers in any field of science in New South Wales. Applicants must be enrolled in their first higher degree as research students in their first or second year, in a university or at CSIRO in either NSW or the ACT (on 1 January of the year of nomination) and have completed an undergraduate degree within NSW or the ACT.

Walter Burfitt Prize

The Walter Burfitt Prize is awarded every three years for research in pure or applied science, deemed to be of the highest scientific merit.  The winner must be a resident in Australia or New Zealand.  The papers and other contributions must have been published during the previous six years for research conducted mainly in these countries. 

Warren Prize

The Warren Prize is awarded to recognise research of national or international significance by early- or mid-career engineers and technologists. The research must have originated or have been carried out principally in New South Wales.

Our story

Who we are

The Royal Society of NSW is a learned society with a 200-year history that traces its origins to the formation of the Philosophical Society of Australasia in 1821, with its purpose to 'awaken a spirit of research or excite a thirst for information' — a sentiment that is alive today through the mission of enriching lives through knowledge and inquiry, principally through public, interdisciplinary discussions and debates of important matters in the sciences and humanities. 

We contribute to a just, secure, and sustainable world by mobilising the multidisciplinary expertise of members, providing authentic and authoritative information, addressing national and global challenges, and recognising and promoting excellence. In doing so, the Society is integral to the social and economic well-being, and the profile and reputation of NSW.

Our values

The Society values liberal democracy, respects religious, political, and cultural freedoms, and promotes non-discriminatory, evidence-based discourse and the free exchange of ideas. We aim to be an effective public intellectual voice by comprehensively embracing diversity and inclusion in all our activities.

What we do

The Society:

• Conducts meetings for the benefit of members and the general public — including monthly face-to-face gatherings and online meetings, named lectures such as the Pollock Memorial Lecture, the Liversidge Research Lecture in Chemistry, the Poggendorf Memorial Lecture in Agriculture, and the Clarke Memorial Lecture; special events such as Ideas@theHouse which is conducted in partnership with the Governor of New South Wales; and the annual Forum in partnership with Australia's learned academies that focus on important contemporary issues
• Publishes a video record of its monthly meetings, named lectures, and special events (i.e., the annual Forum and Ideas@theHouse series) on our YouTube channel
• Publishes the results of scientific investigations through its Journal and Proceedings and publication of a monthly newsletter
• Awards prestigious prizes and medals that recognise outstanding achievements in research
• Liaises with other similar bodies
• Maintains a library that is an important part of Australia's historical heritage.

Our people

The Royal Society of NSW is a meeting place for people interested in ideas that matter. Drawn from the professions, business, academia, industry, and government, our members encompass a wide range of disciplines and knowledge.  This breadth and diversity of expertise, which makes the Society unique in Australia, provides a powerful platform for debate about today's most challenging problems.

The Society acknowledges up to 25 internationally-recognised contributors to world knowledge as Distinguished Fellows at any one time.  In addition, the Society benefits greatly from a strong cohort of several hundred Fellows, recognised as leaders in their fields within the disciplines of science, art, literature, and philosophy.  

Membership

Membership of the Royal Society of New South Wales is open to any person interested in the promotion of studies in Science, Art, Literature, and Philosophy and is an avenue through which individuals can share in the work of the Society. Further details of membership, including the benefits, categories of membership, and how to join the Society are available on the website. 

Branches

Regional New South Wales is served through the Society's branches which offer activities with a regional focus in addition to our state-wide membership services. 

Presently, there are three branches: a branch in the Southern Highlands, established in 1994; a branch in the Hunter region, established in 2019; and a branch in Western NSW established in 2021. Regular meetings are held in all locations and are well attended by members and visitors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

156th Annual General Meeting

      and

1312th Ordinary General Meeting

 

Date: Wednesday, 5 April 2022, 6.00 pm AEST
Venue: Gallery Room, State Library of NSW, Shakespeare Place, Sydney
Entry: Society members, $10; Non-members, $20; Students, $5
Registration: Registration through Membes is required before 2.00 pm on Tuesday, 4 April 2023
While entry to the AGM is for Society members only, all are welcome to the OGM and Lecture

Please register now

This notice provides information about the:

• 156th Annual General Meeting and Council Elections
• 1312th Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture

Annual General Meeting

Rule 4(c) of the Society's Rules requires that an Annual General Meeting (AGM) must be held in April of each year.

Link

Business of the Annual General Meeting

The formal business of the Annual General Meeting, including the election of Council Members, will be conducted via an electronic ballot, in accordance with Rule 18.

Members, Fellows and Distinguished Fellows, who are financial in 2023, will receive an email from the Society's Returning Officer, via the electronic balloting company, Election Buddy. This email will include a unique ballot link that provides a random, secret access key for each voter. Voter anonymity is assured by ballot settings which ensure that voter choices cannot be linked to any voter.

The ballot will run from Monday 13 March 12.00 noon AEDT to Monday 3 April 12.00 noon AEST and will address:

• Procedural Business:
  • Confirmation of the Minutes of the 155^th Annual General Meeting
  • Confirmation that the Annual Report of Council and the Financial Statements for 2022 be received
  • Confirmation of the proposed Auditors for 2023
• Election of Office-bearers and Council members, namely the:
  • Secretary — from a field of two (2) candidates.

 

Please note that:

• for each of the positions of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Librarian, and Webmaster, only a single nomination was received. Accordingly, these Office-bearers will be declared elected at the AGM without the need for a ballot
• for the three vacancies for Ordinary Members of Council, only three nominations were received.  Accordingly, the candidates for the three Council Member vacancies will be declared elected at the AGM without the need for a ballot.   

The results of the ballot will be announced by the Returning Officer at the AGM on 5 April 2021 and will be posted on the website on the following day.

The Ordinary General Meeting will commence immediately following the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting.

Relevant Documents

The Agenda for this meeting and Minutes of the previous AGM are available on the Meetings page of this website.

The Annual Report from Council and Financial Statements for 2022 (link to follow) will be available on the Governance page.

It is suggested that Members and Fellows read these documents in advance of the commencement of the ballot.

Election of Office-Bearers and Ordinary Members of Council

Listed below are the nominations for the incoming Council received by the Secretary by 5.00 pm AEDT on Monday, 6 March 2023.

For those Office-bearer and Councillor roles where there are more nominees than available positions, an election is required. For roles where there are the same number or fewer nominees than there are available positions, the candidates will be declared elected at the AGM without the need for a ballot.

In all cases, candidates have been invited to provide an optional statement outlining how their expertise and experience fit them for these roles and will benefit the Society. These statements are available through the links below and also are provided as information on the electronic ballot form.

Office/Role	Candidate
President	Susan Pond AM FRSN
Vice-President	Peter Shergold AC FRSN
Secretary	Donald Hector AM FRSN
	Bruce Ramage MRSN
Treasurer	Bhavin Raval MRSN
Librarian	Stephen Garton AM FRSN
Webmaster	Lindsay Botten FRSN
Councillors	Katherine Belov AO FRSN
(3 positions)	Davina Jackson FRSN
	Christina Slade FRSN

Ordinary General Meeting 

The 1292^nd Ordinary General Meeting will follow the Annual General Meeting and includes a face-to-face lecture to be delivered by Professor Dietmar Müller FAA, winner of the 2019 RSNSW Clarke Medal. 

The Agenda for this meeting and Minutes of the previous OGM will be available on the Meetings page of this website.

“Reconstructing ancient oceans, sea-level fluctuations, the deep carbon cycle and biodiversity ”

Professor Dietmar Müller FAA FAGU

Professor of Geophysics
School of Geosciences
University of Sydney

Date: Wednesday, 5 April 2023, 6.00 pm for 6.30 pm AEDT 
Venue: Gallery Room, State Library of NSW, Shakespeare Place, Sydney
Entry: Society members, $10; Non-members, $20; Students, $5.
Registration: Registration through Membes is required before 2.00 pm on 4 April 2023
All are welcome

Summary:  This presentation is a journey through geological time, reconstructing ancient oceans that have little resemblance to the oceans we know today. These reconstructions are enabled by the EarthByte Group's Virtual Earth Observatory, powered by the GPlates software. They represent decades of software development and geodata synthesis to recreate now-vanished ocean basins. These digital maps form the basis for understanding the driving forces of changes in ocean basin volume and long-term sea level, the deep carbon cycle and biodiversity. Our models track oceanic carbon reservoirs through time and demonstrate that the carbon storage and transport capacity of the oceans, from mid-ocean ridges to subduction zones, has increased 5-fold since the breakup of the Pangea supercontinent 200 million years ago, reflecting the emergence of biogenic deep-sea carbonate sediments as the largest carbon reservoir on Earth. Our maps have also been used to reconstruct marine biodiversity. An ocean evolution model over 550 million years, validated with fossil data, shows that modern ocean biodiversity, which is at its highest level ever, was achieved through the long-term stability of the location of so-called biodiversity hotspots. These are regions of especially high numbers of species located in warm, shallow, nutrient-rich waters. This study also emphasizes that, if current trends continue, projected diversity loss can take millions of years to recover, arguably beyond our own existence as a species.

Dietmar Müller is Professor of Geophysics at the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney. He received his undergraduate degree from the Univ. of Kiel, Germany, and his PhD in Earth Science from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego/California in 1993. After joining the University of Sydney he built the EarthByte Research Group, pursuing geodata synthesis through space and time. He is leading the construction of a Virtual Earth Laboratory, assimilating the wealth of disparate geological and geophysical data into an experimental planet. Dietmar’s virtual globe software and data are benefiting universities, government organisations, industry and schools worldwide, with end-users across over 190 countries. Novel applications include the development of combined geodynamic, tectonic and surface evolution models unravelling the origins and history of continental landscapes, coastlines, oceans and their environments. He held an Australian Laureate Fellowship from 2009-2014, and is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, and the Australian Academy of Science.

Honouring Excellence

Core to the mission of the Royal Society of New South Wales is its role in the fostering, recognition, and honouring of achievement and excellence. It does so through its Awards and Fellowship Programs.

Distinguished Fellowship

The honour of Distinguished Fellow  of the Royal Society of New South Wales is awarded to internationally-distinguished contributors to science, art, literature, or philosophy. The criteria for election as a Distinguished Fellow are listed in Rule 11 of the Society's Rules. The number of Distinguished Fellows, who may use the gazetted postnominal DistRFSN, is limited to 25 at any time. 

There is a separate page that recognises the late Distinguished Fellows of the Society. 

Fellowship

The membership category of Fellow recognises the substantial contribution made by members of the Society who are leaders in their fields within the disciplines of science, art, literature, and philosophy.  Candidates for Fellowship may be proposed by any Member or Fellow of the Society.  Nominations are considered by the Fellows and Members Assessment Committee against criteria defined in Rule 10 of the Society's Rules.  Fellows may use the gazetted postnominal FRSN. 

 The Fellows page on this website lists all active Fellows of the Society and provides brief biographical information about each.

Royal Society of NSW Awards

The Royal Society of New South Wales has long recognised distinguished achievements in various fields of knowledge through its Awards. Some are amongst the oldest in Australia while others are more recent. From its Act of Incorporation in 1881, the Society’s mission has been to encourage “studies and investigations in Science, Art, Literature and Philosophy”. In 2023, the Society determined to broaden and streamline its Awards portfolio to recognise recent and evolving fields and disciplines, and emerging as well as established stars.

From 2023, the Society's Awards are made in two main classes reflecting the Society’s history: Career Excellence Medals and Disciplinary Awards and Medals; with additional Awards, Scholarships and Citations, including Internal Awards for distinguished service to the Society. External nominations are most welcome for all but the Internal and Discretionary Awards which are determined by the Council of the Society. Conditions and nomination forms are listed on each Award’s individual webpage, on which some guidance notes are provided.

Nominations for all available Awards open on 1 July each year and close on 30 September. Awardees are announced by the end of that calendar year with formal presentations of their Awards in the following year. All nominations require a nominator, a seconder, and the acceptance of the nominee.

Information about historical Awards and their winners prior to 2023 are available from this link.