Royal Society of NSW News & Events

The Society is saddened by the unexpected death of Past President Dr Ragbir Bhathal, a long-serving member and Councilor of the Society. A member since 1982, Dr Bhathal passed away suddenly on 30 November 2022, aged 86. He was President in 1984 and Honorary Secretary from 1989 to 1991. He was elected a Fellow in 2015 and recently served as Honorary...

It is with heavy heart that the Royal Society of NSW records the sudden death of one of its Fellows, Emeritus Professor Christopher Fell AO FRSN FTSE, at the age of 82 on 8 December 2022. In addition to being Chair of the NCRIS Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF), and a member of the NSW Government Independent Planning Authority, Profes...

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. Recordings for three events, held in November and December 2022, are now available on YouTube. On 23 November 2022, Professor Geraint Lewis FRSN FLSW, Professor ...

The Royal Society of NSW announced its Awards for 2022 at the 1309th Ordinary General Meeting on Wednesday, 7 December 2022.  These prestigious awards, awarded by Australia's oldest learned society, recognise outstanding achievements and excellence in science, engineering, philosophy and the arts. The award winners are listed be...

Society Fellow, Professor Simon Ringer FRSN FTSE, has just been named as the new Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Infrastructure) at the University of Sydney. Professor Ringer is currently the Director of Core Research Facilities at the University of Sydney, and a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical, a...

Winners of the 2019 and 2020 Edgeworth David Medal of the Royal Society of NSW, respectively Professor Si Ming Man, of the Australian National University, and Associate Professor Brett Hallam of UNSW Sydney, have been (respectively) awarded the Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year and the Prize for New Innovators in the 2022 Prime Mini...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW is delighted to learn that one of its fellows, Scientia Professor Trevor McDougall AC FRS FRSN FAA of the University of New South Wales, has been awarded the Prime Minister's Prize for Science in 2022. The prize, valued at $250,000, recognises significant advancement of knowledge through science. Professor Mc...

On 16 November 2022, the Commonwealth Minister for Education, the Hon. Jason Clare announced the panel charged with developing the Australian Universities Accord that will provide a long-term plan for Australia's higher education system. Leading the team is Society Fellow, Emerita Professor Mary O'Kane AC FRSN FTSE — former Vice-Chancellor of ...

Society Fellow, Professor H Deep Saini FRSN, has just been announced as the incoming, 18th Vice-Chancellor of the highly-ranked McGill University in Montreal, Canada.   Professor Saini who was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW in 2017, during his tenure aas Vice-Chancellor at the University of Canberra, is curently the Vice-Chanc...

The Royal Society of NSW is delighted to learn of the recognition of one of its Fellows, Professor Hans Pols FRSN FAHA FASSA of the University of Sydney, as oee of the new Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, elected in November 2022.  Professor Hans Pols is Professor at the School of History and Philosophy of Science at the...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW was very pleased to learn that one of its Fellows, Distinguished Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld FRSN of the University of Wollongong, was recognised as the winner of Outstanding Cancer Researcher of the Year in the 2022 NSW Premier's Awards for Cancer Research at a ceremony held on 9 November.   Professor R...

Society Fellow, Professor Ben Eggleton FRSN FAA FTSE, has just been named as the new Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney.  He commences his new role in November 2022. Professor Eggleton is currently the Director of the University of Sydney Nano Institute, Co-Director of the NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN), and a Profess...

The Royal Society of NSW, together with its Learned Academy partners, is pleased to announce that the recordings from the 2022 Forum, Reshaping Australia: Communities in Action, are now available on the Society's YouTube channel. This year the Forum was held at Government House on Thursday 3 November 2022. The recordings can be accessed direct...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW was delighted to learn that one of its Fellows, Distinguished Professor Michelle Leishman FRSN of Macquarie University has received the NSW Premier's Science Prize for Excellence in Biological Sciences at an Awards Ceremony held at Government House Sydney on the evening of 2 November 2022. Professor Leishman ...

19th International Conference of Women Engineers and ScientistsWomen in STEM invited to Aotearoa New Zealand In early September 2023,  Aotearoa New Zealand will welcome women from across the globe to discuss how science, engineering and technology can help create a better, more equitable world. The 19th International Conference of Women E...

The Royal Societies of Australia today (12 October 2022) announced the joint winners of its inaugural Bruce Piasecki and Andrea Masters Award for Writing on Social Change. This new annual award recognises dynamic non-fiction writers between18 and 40 years of age in the Australasia/Oceania Region who aim to ignite positive social change through...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW has been delighted to learn that one of its Fellows, Distinguished Professor Karu Esselle FRSN from the University of Technology Sydney has been named as Engineers Australia Professional Engineer of the Year for 2022 at a ceremony held in Sydney on 6 October 2022.  Professor Esselle, an internationally r...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW was delighted to learn that one of its Fellows, Emeritus Professor Roy MacLeod OAM FRSN FASSA FAHA, along with the Hon. Mr Robert French AC FASSA, have been appointed to the International Science Council (ISC) Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science for 2022-2025, following their no...

The Council of the Royal Society of NSW warmly congratulates one of its Fellows,  Professor Ben Eggleton FRSN FAA FTSE of the University of Sydney, on being awarded Academic of the Year at the Australian Defence Industry Awards, held in Canberra in September 2022. Ben Eggleton is the Director of the University of Sydney Nano Institute and...

Three Society Fellows and Distinguished Fellows have been appointed to the National Quantum Advisory Committee, announced on 22 September by the Minister for Industry and Science, the Hon. Ed Husic MP.  The 15-member committee, to be chaired by Australia's Chief Scientist and Society Distinguished Fellow, Dr Cathy Foley AO DistFRSN FAA FTSE, w...