Royal Society of NSW News & Events

“Semiconductor nanostructures and quantum phenomena”   Professor Sir Michael Pepper FRS  Pender Chair in Nanoelectronics  University College London Dirac Lecture and Medal Presentation Professor Pepper was also presented with an Honorary Degree from UNSW after his lecture. Thursday 21 November 2013 Law Theatre, UNSW In...

“Re-thinking science education in Australian schools: development and implementation of the National Science Curriculum”   Dr Mark Butler  Department of Education and Communities Wednesday 6 November 2013 Union, University and Schools Club, 25 Bent Street, Sydney Dr Butler examined the development and nature of the new national senio...

“Probing the nano-world with the symmetries of light”   Xavier Zambrana-Puyalto  Department of Physics and Astronomy  ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered  Quantum Systems, Macquarie University  Winner of the RSNSW Jak Kelly Scholarship  Award for 2013 Wednesday 18 December 2013 Union, Unive...

Wednesday 6 February 2013​ Presentations by Royal Society of NSW scholarship winners 2013 The 2012 Scholarship winners presented at the first meeting of 2013 held at the Union University and Schools Club on Wednesday 6 February. Helen Smith (left) is completing her PhD at Sydney University as part of a Sydney-based conservation programme to reintro...

Wednesday, 6 March 2013​ "The evolution of galaxies" - Dr Ray Norris Ray Norris, a senior astrophysicist with the CSIRO spoke at the 1208th OGM of the Society on one of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) projects, Project EMU – an acronym for evolutionary map of the universe. The ASKAP project is the first phase of the $2 bill...

Wednesday, 3 April 2013​ Inaugural Fellows Lecture - Professor Michael Archer AM"An evolutionary history of Australia" The Society was proud to have Professor Michael Archer AM present the inaugural Fellows Lecture on Wednesday, 3 April 2013. Professor Archer was one of the first Fellows appointed by the Society, recognising his outstanding work as...

Wednesday, 1 May 2013​ "In an analogue world, envisioning the digital future: Paul Otlet, a forgotten forefather of today's 'information society' " - Emeritus Professor Boyd Rayward Emeritus Professor Boyd Rayward gave a fascinating talk about someone whom he styled as 'forgotten', but who in reality had never been heard of by most members of the a...

Thursday, 6 June 2013​ The Royal Society of NSW Forum 2013 was held at the Powerhouse Museum on Thursday 6 June before a large audience. Antony Funnell of the ABC's Radio National moderated the discussion between: Professor Brian Schmidt AC FRSN, Nobel Prize winner Professor Steven Schwartz AM, former Macquarie University Vice Chancellor Ms Judith ...

Wednesday 3 July 2013​ "Caring for highly processed wood pulp? The role of the State library in the 21st century" - Dr Alex Byrne At the 1212th ordinary general meeting the Society on Wednesday, 3 July 2013, we were delighted to welcome Dr Alex Byrne, State Librarian and Chief Executive of the State Library of NSW. Dr Byrne gave a wide-ranging talk...

Wednesday, 7 August 2013​ "How numbers came to rule the world: the impact of Luca Pacioli, Leonardo da Vinci and the merchants of Venice on Wall Street" - Jane Gleeson-White At the 1213th meeting of the Society at the Powerhouse Museum on Wednesday, 7 August 2013, Jane Gleeson-White outlined the argument she presented in her best-selling book Doubl...

Tuesday, 13 August 2013​ "Biodiversity and the future of agriculture" - Professor Geoff Gurr After a hiatus of 20 years, the Poggendorf Lecture was delivered in conjunction with Charles Sturt University, Orange, on Tuesday, 13 August 2013. The lecture was delivered by Professor Geoff Gurr, a biologist and entomologist and Professor of Applied Ecolo...

Wednesday, 4 September 2013​ "Open science" - Dr Matthew Todd The speaker at the Society's 1214th ordinary general meeting was Dr Matthew Todd, a Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Sydney who is a leading proponent of the concept of "open science". Dr Todd began with an example of the type of problem to which open science can provide...

Wednesday, 2 October 2013​ "Astrobiology: the latest from Curiosity" - Professor Malcolm Walter "Seven seconds of terror" was how the operators at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the US describe the landing of 'Curiosity', the latest rover mission that landed on Mars in August last year. In the last stage of the landing, the entry vehicle hovered ...