Royal Society of NSW News & Events

Royal Society of NSW News & Events
DEC
18

RSNSW Fellow appointed Chief Scientist of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Dr Rebecca Johnson FRSN, Chief Scientist at the Australian Museum and a leading koala conservation expert, has just been appointed to the highly prestigious post of Chief Scientist and Associate Director at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Dr Johnson referred to her new role...

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DEC
09

Media Release: Downplaying the Arts

The Royal Society of New South Wales, one of Australia’s oldest societies, deplores the Prime Minister’s proposed restructure of public service departments, in which Arts is moved to a mega-department with responsibilities for infrastructure, transport, cities and communications—surely an unpromising home for the Arts. And the situation is made wor...

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DEC
04

Royal Society of NSW Awards for 2019

The Council of the Royal Society of New South Wales is pleased to announce its Awards for 2019. The award winners are:  •  James Cook Medal — Scientia Professor Matthew England  •  Clarke Medal — Professor Dietmar Müller  •  Edgeworth David Medal — Professor Si Ming Man  •  History and Philosophy of Science M...

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DEC
03

Report: Fifth Annual RSNSW and Four Academies Forum

The fifth annual Forum of the Royal Society of NSW and the four Academies was held at Government House, Sydney on 7 November 2019, with this year’s theme being Making SPACE for Australia . A comprehensive report of the day's presentations, prepared by the Forum Convenors, Emeritus Professor Roy MacLeod FRSN and Dr Susan Pond AM FRSN, is now availab...

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OCT
31

Society Fellows awarded NSW Premier's Science Prizes

Fellow Nalini Joshi

The Royal Society of NSW is delighted that two of its Fellows were named as recipients of the 2019 NSW Premier's Prizes for Science and Engineering, announced at a ceremony held at Government House, Sydney on the evening of Tuesday, 29 October. Scientia Professor Rose Amal AC FAA FTSE FRSN of UNSW Sydney was named as the 2019 NSW Scientist of the Y...

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OCT
22

Distinguished Fellowship awarded to Professor George Paxinos

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW is delighted to announce the awarding of a Distinguished Fellowship to Professor George Paxinos AO FASSA FAA DistFRSN. The honour Distinguished Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales is a prestigious award, limited to 25 in number at any time, that recognises internationally-distinguished contributors...

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OCT
19

Society Fellow wins 2019 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year

The Royal Society of NSW is delighted that one of its Fellows and the recipient of its 2018 Edgeworth David Medal, Associate Professor Elizabeth New from the University of Sydney, has been awarded the 2019 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year. The Society congratulates Elizabeth New on this momentous achievement, and the recogn...

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OCT
18

Establishment of a new branch of the Society

The Council of the Society is delighted to announce the establishment of a new branch located in the Hunter region of NSW, confirmed recently at its meeting on 16 October 2019.   This follows an inaugural meeting, held in Newcastle on 9 October, at which a branch committee was elected and an invited lecture by the NSW Chief Scientist and Engin...

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OCT
09

Inaugural Meeting, Hunter Branch of the Royal Society of NSW

An inaugural meeting to establish the Hunter Branch of the Royal Society of NSW is planned. Date: Wednesday, 9 October 2019 at 6.00 pmVenue: Newcastle Club, 40 Newcomen Street, Newcastle NSWEnquiries: Emerita Professor Eugenie Lumbers, Acting Honorary Secretary, 0416 154 106 Following the meeting, Professor Hugh Durrant-White, NSW Chief Scientist a...

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AUG
27

New Issue of the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of NSW (June 2019)

The June 2019 issue (Vol. 152-1) of the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales has just been published. Much of the content of this issue is devoted to papers arising from the November 2018 Royal Society of NSW and Four Academies Forum, the focus of which was “Towards a prosperous yet sustainable Australia—what now for the ...

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AUG
15

Message from the President — Appointment of an Executive Officer

The President of the Royal Society of NSW, Emeritus Professor Ian Sloan AO, FRSN, has announced that the Society is seeking to appoint its first Executive Officer. The Exective Officer will report to the President and will have the opportunity to drive a program of transformation in a well-established, prestigious learned society, based in Sydney.&...

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JUL
04

New Governor agrees to be Patron

The Governor of New South Wales, Her Excellency The Honourable Margaret Beazley AO QC, has now formally agreed to be the Patron of the Society. 

JUN
10

Queen’s Birthday honours for RSNSW Fellows

The Royal Society of NSW is pleased to acknowledge Fellows and Members of the Society who receive awards in the Queen’s Birthday honours list. Recipients in the 2019 list include: Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) Emeritus Professor Leo Radom AC FRSN, for eminent service to science, particularly to computational chemistry, as an academic, au...

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MAY
27

Images from the Annual Dinner 2019

The President greets the Governor
Sir Anthony Mason is presented with his Distinguished Fellowship certificate
Emma Johnston receives the Clarke Medal
Earnest dinner conversation between Ian Wilkinson and Marian Kernahan
The Distinguished Fellow's address is given by Michelle Simmons
Nalini Joshi delivers the vote of thanks for the Distinguished Fellow's address
Vice President Judith Wheeldon and Michelle Simmons

Tom Kenneally and others pre-dinner The President greets the Governor Sir Anthony Mason is presented with his Distinguished Fellowship certificate Emma Johnston receives the Clarke Medal Earnest dinner conversation between Ian Wilkinson and Marian Kernahan The Distinguished Fellow's address is given by Michelle Simmons Nalini Joshi delivers the vot...

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APR
01

RSNSW Fellow to give public lecture

University of Cambridge Professor Herbert Huppert FRS FRSN is giving a public lecture at Sydney University on Wednesday 17 April. Understanding carbon in the air: can we avert a climate catastrophe? The event is free, but registration is necessary.

APR
18

Emeritus Professor Noel Hush AO DistFRSN

Noel Hush, one of our inaugural Fellows (and Distinguished Fellow) died on Wednesday 20 March, following a heart attack.  He was 94. Professor Hush was a chemist of international standing.  After graduating from the University of Sydney in the late 1940s and after completing a couple of years there as a research fellow, he took up various...

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MAR
14

Council election 2019

The 152nd AGM will be held prior to the OGM on Wednesday 3 April 2019 at the State Library of NSW, Shakespeare Place, Sydney.  As part of the AGM, the election of candidates to Council will be held.  Polling will open at 5.30 pm and close at 6.15 pm.  There are 12 candidates for 10 positions as Councillors; the list of candidates is ...

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MAR
12

Story from the Periodic Table

Immediate past-President Brynn Hibbert is the winner of the first round of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute's competition for stories about the periodic table, run as part of the International Year of the Periodic Table.  You can read his story about Sir Humphry Davy and the discovery of iodine here.

MAR
05

Let's build something brilliant

The following letter by our President, Emeritus Professor Ian Sloan AO, was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday 4 March 2019 under the above headline (which was the main letters headline for the day). “The Royal Society of NSW, Australia’s oldest scientific and cultural organisation, applauds the recommendation of the Upper House’s Par...

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JAN
29

FRSNs in 2019 Australia Day honours

Australia Day honours have been awarded to the following: Jillian Broadbent AO FRSN, elevated to AC Leonard Fisher FRSN, appointed OAM (Barney) Bevil Milton Glover FRSN, appointed AO Adrian Hibberd FRSN, appointed AM Robert Bain Thomas AM FRSN, elevated to AO If you know of any Members or Fellows we have missed, please email the Royal Society at ro...

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Royal Society Events

The Royal Society of New South Wales organises events in Sydney and at its Branches throughout the year. 

In Sydney, these include:

  • Ordinary General Meetings (OGMs), normally held at the State Library of NSW normally at 6.00 for 6.30 pm on the first Wednesday of each alternate, even-numbered month (February, April, June, August, October, and December). The OGMs comprise Society business, reports from Council, and the induction of new members and Fellows into the Society.  They are followed by a public lecture presented by an eminent speaker and are preceded by drinks, available from a cash bar in an adjacent room. All OGMs are open to the public. Registration for these events is required and there is a small charge to cover the costs associated with holding these meetings in the State Library. 
  • Online meetings, conducted as Zoom webinars, which are held normally at 6.30 pm on the first Wednesday of each alternate, odd-numbered month (March, May, July, September, and November).  All online meetings are open to the public and there is no charge for attendance.  
  •  The Ideas@theHouse series, conducted in collaboration with our Patron, the Governor of NSW, and held at Government House Sydney.  

A range of events is held in collaboration with other learned societies and academies. These include the:

  • Annual Forum — conducted jointly by the Royal Society of NSW and the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, the Australian Academy of the Humanities, the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and normally held at Government House Sydney
  • Four Societies Lecture — conducted with the Australian Institute of Energy, the Nuclear Panel of Engineers Australia (Sydney Division), and the Australian Nuclear Association
  • Dirac Lecture — with UNSW Sydney and the Australian Institute of Physics
  • Liversidge Medal lecture — with the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.

In addition, there are the named lectures that are associated with the Society's awards.  In some cases, these lectures are conducted jointly with universities, normally the host institution of the winner of that award. 

In all cases, these events are advertised on these pages and registration for events held face-to-face is required.

Each of the Branches runs a regular program of face-to-face events in their local areas.  All branch events are included in the Events listed on these pages and individual Branch pages include just those events being organised by the local branch.  

The bulk of the Society's event program is recorded and made available on our YouTube channel.

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