Calendar of Meetings 2023

Wednesday,
1 February

6.30 pm AEDT

1310th OGM and Open Lecture

Venue: Gallery Room, State Library of NSW, Shakespeare Place, Sydney

Drones, Smart Munitions, and Cyberspace: the 21st Century Defence of Ukraine and its implications for Australia
Major General (Retd) Fergus (Gus) McLachlan AO

Thursday,
2 March

6.30 pm AEDT

Ideas@theHouse: March 2022

Venue: Government House, Sydney (by formal invitation) and Live Streaming

Aristotle on life and thought in the sub-lunary sphere
Dr John Vallance FRSN FAHA
State Librarian of NSW

Wednesday,
15 March

6.30 pm AEDT

1311th OGM and Open Lecture
2022 Jak Kelly Award and RSNSW Scholarship Award Presentations

Venue: Zoom Webinar

Presenters: Shankar Dutt (ANU), Clara Chung Ming Liu (UTS), Thomas Mesaglio (UNSW Sydney), Amyang Zhao (ANU)

Wednesday,
5 April

6.30 pm AEST

156th Annual General Meeting
1312th OGM and 2019 Clarke Memorial Lecture

Venue: Gallery Room, State Library of NSW, Shakespeare Place, Sydney

Reconstructing ancient oceans, sea-level fluctuations,
the deep carbon cycle, and biodiversity
Professor Dietmar Müller FAA FAGU
School of Geosciences
University of Sydney

Wednesday,
3 May

6.30 pm AEST

RSNSW Open Lecture 2023-1

Venue: Zoom Webinar

Artificial Intelligence myths debunked — how AI is transforming humanity for the global good
Professor Michael Blumenstein
Acting Dean, Faculty of Engineering and IT
University of Technology, Sydney

Wednesday,
7 June

6.30 pm AEST

1313th OGM and Open Lecture

Venue: Gallery Room, State Library of NSW, Shakespeare Place, Sydney

Making Rights a Reality — the need for a Human Rights Act for Australia
Emeritus Professor Ros Croucher AM FAAL
President, Australian Human Rights Commission

Wednesday,
14 June

6.30 pm AEST

Ideas@theHouse: June 2023

Venue: Government House Sydney (by formal invitation) and Live Streaming (TBC)

Importance of scientific ideas and discovery to Australia’s future
Dr Cathy Foley AO PSM DistFRSN FAA FTSE
Australia’s Chief Scientist

Tuesday,
27 June

Time: TBA

Bicentennial Oration 2023

Venue: TBA

Topic: TBA
Speaker: TBA

Wednesday,
5 July

6.30 pm AEST

RSNSW Online Presentation 2023-2

Venue: Zoom Webinar

Thoughts on the ‘Voice’
Emeritus Professor Peter Baume AC DistFRSN, Professor Megan Davis FRSN, Christopher Puplick AM, and Dean Ashenden

Wednesday,
2 August

6.30 pm AEST

1314th OGM and Open Lecture

Venue: Gallery Room, State Library of NSW, Shakespeare Place, Sydney

Convergence: the hybridisation of the future
Associate Professor Catherine Ball and Maria MacNamara

Thursday,
10 August

6.30 pm AEST

Ideas@theHouse: August 2023

Venue: Government House Sydney (by formal invitation) and Live Streaming

Ideas for marine stewardship and sustainability in a time of acceleration
Professor Emma Johnston AO FRSN FAA FTSE
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
University of Sydney

Wednesday,
6 September

6.30 pm AEST

1315th OGM and Open Lecture

Venue: Zoom Webinar

Challenges for Open Enquiry and Scholarship in a Divided Age
Professor Alan Davison
Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
University of Technology, Sydney

Wednesday,
4 October

6.30 pm AEDT

1316th OGM and Open Lecture

Venue: Gallery Room, State Library of NSW, Shakespeare Place, Sydney

Australia’s nuclear future: a new discourse for the 1940s
Helen Cook (1) and Dr Adi Paterson (2)
(1) Principal, GNE Advisory and (2) Former CEO, ANSTO

Thursday,
2 November

8.30 pm AEDT

Royal Society of NSW and Learned Societies Annual Forum 2023

Venue: Government House, Sydney (by formal invitation) and Live Streaming

Theme: Our 21st-Century Brain

Wednesday,
8 November

6.30 pm AEDT

1317th OGM and 2022 Clarke Memorial Lecture

Venue: Gallery Room, State Library of NSW, Shakespeare Place, Sydney

Caves as observatories of groundwater recharge
Professor Andy Baker FAGU
School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences
UNSW (Sydney)

Wednesday,
29 November

6.30 pm AEDT

1318th OGM and Open Lecture

Venue: Gallery Room, State Library of NSW, Shakespeare Place, Sydney

What do we really know about 20th and 21st-century sea-level change?
Emeritus Professor John Church AO FAA FTSE
Climate Change Research Centre
UNSW (Sydney)

Thursday, 16 March

5.15 pm AEDT

Hunter Branch Meeting 2023-1

Venue: 40 Newcomen Street, Newcastle

From floods to drought? What might this year bring and what is causing these extremes

Associate Professor Danielle Vernon-Kidd
School of Life and Environmental Sciences
University of Newcastle

Thursday, 11 May

5.15 pm AEST

Hunter Branch Meeting 2023-2

Hunter Room, Newcastle City Hall, 290 King Street, Newcastle

Invention, Innovation, and Impact. The ‘I’s have it

Laureate Professor Kevin Galvin FAA FTSE FIEAust CPEng
Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals and
Director, Centre for Advanced Particle Processing and Transport, Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources
University of Newcastle

Thursday, 20 July

5.15 pm AEST

Hunter Branch Meeting 2023-3

Hunter Room, Newcastle City Hall, 290 King Street, Newcastle

Groundwater: when will we learn that we can’t drink money?

Professor Craig Simmons FAA FTSE
Pro Vice-Chancellor,  College of Engineering, Science and Environment
University of Newcastle

Thursday, 26 October

5.15 pm AEST

Hunter Branch Meeting 2023-4

Hunter Room, Newcastle City Hall, 290 King Street, Newcastle

Electrical energy supply. So what’s all the fuss about

Speaker: Professor Colin Waters
Professor, School of Information and Physical Sciences
University of Newcastle

Thursday,
16 February

6.00 pm AEDT

Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2023-1

RSL Mittagong

A comprehensive review of the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines 

Dr Phillip Altman

Thursday,
16 March

6.30 pm AEDT

Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2023-2

RSL Mittagong

The Kindness Revolution 

Hugh Mackay AO FRSN

Thursday,
20 April

6.30 pm AEST

Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2023-3

RSL Mittagong

Most of our universe is missing — Adventures in the dark side of the cosmos

Professor Geraint Lewis FRSN FLSW
Professor of Astrophysics
Sydney Institute of Astronomy
University of Sydney

Thursday,
18 May

6.30 pm AEST

Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2023-4

RSL Mittagong

Brief Encounters: literary travellers in Australia

Susannah Fullerton OAM FRSN
Author, Literary Lecturer, and Tour Leader

Thursday,
15 June

6.30 pm AEST

Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2023-5

RSL Mittagong

Machines behaving badly: the morality of AI

Professor Toby Walsh FRSN FAA FACM FAAAS
Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence
UNSW (Sydney)

Thursday,
20 July

6.30 pm AEST

Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2023-6

RSL Mittagong

A recent study of nuclear energy usage in Canada and the USA

Robert Parker
Founder, Nuclear for Climate Australia

Thursday,
18 August

6.30 pm AEST

Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2023-7

RSL Mittagong

Can plant breeding help us manage the challenges of climate change and food insecurity?

Professor Richard Trethowan
Professor of Plant Breeding
University of Sydney

Thursday,
21 September

6.30 pm AEST

Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2023-8

RSL Mittagong

Gender dysphoria: emerging teen challenges

Clare Rowe
Founder, Rowe & Associates Child and Family Psychology

Thursday,
19 October

6.30 pm AEST

Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2023-9

RSL Mittagong

Are our weeds becoming new native species?

Professor Angela Moles FRSN
Ecology and Evolution Research Centre
UNSW Sydney

Thursday,
16 November

6.30 pm AEST

Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2023-9

RSL Mittagong

Secrets of cultural heritage revealed at ANSTO

Dr Joseph Bevitt
Senior Instrument Scientist
ANSTO

Thursday,
20 April

6.30 pm AEST

Western NSW Branch Meeting 2023-1

Building 1305, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst and live-streaming

Children should be seen AND heard:
the importance of communication so children can thrive

Professor Sharynne McLeod FRSN FASSA
Professor of Speech and Language Acquisition
School of Education
Charles Sturt University

Thursday,
15 June

6.30 pm AEST

Western NSW Branch Meeting 2023-2

15 Blackall Street, Charles Sturt University, Canberra and live-streaming

A new history of Australian political thought

Professor Wayne Hudson
Adjunct Research Professor
Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
Charles Sturt University, Canberra

Wednesday,
16 August

6.00 pm AEST

Western NSW Branch Meeting 2023-3

Building 1305, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst and live-streaming

Behavioural data as a game changer

Professor Ganna Pogrebna
Executive Director
Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Futures Institute
Charles Sturt University, Bathurst

Thursday,
16 November

6.00 pm AEST

Western NSW Branch Meeting 2023-4

Gums Cafe (386 Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona), Charles Sturt University, Albury and live-streaming

Thirst for power — the rivers of conflict in Southeast Asia

Professor Lee Baumgartner
Executive Director
Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water, and Environment
Charles Sturt University, Albury