Australian Academy of Science
Encyclopedia
The Australian Academy of Science (AAS) was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society
of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant
. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society
and operates under a Royal Charter
; as such it is an independent body, but has government endorsement. The Academy Secretariat is in Canberra
, at the Shine Dome.
The objective of the Academy is to promote science. It does so through a range of activities, including recognising outstanding contributions to science by issuing awards, education and public awareness though a variety of media, contributing to the formation of science policy, and creating opportunities for international scientific exchange.
No more than two Fellows may be elected every three years on the basis of distinguished contributions to science by means other than personal research. A small number of distinguished foreign scientists with substantial connections to Australian science are elected as Corresponding Members.
Fellows are often denoted by the letters FAA (Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science) after their name.
Other awards include:
, of architectural firm Grounds, Romberg and Boyd. When completed in 1959 its 45.75m-diameter dome was the largest in Australia.
On 1 December 1956, the Academy's building design committee met in Adelaide to look over plans submitted by six architects. The plan accepted involved a 710 ton reinforced concrete dome, which had to be supported by 16 thin supports. The concrete is approximately 60 cm thick at the base supports, and 10 cm at the top. The dome supports itself, with no internal wall holding it up. It cost 200,000 pounds to build. The foundation stone, laid on 2 May 1958 by Prime Minister of Australia
, Robert Menzies
, was originally part of the pier of the Great Melbourne Telescope
constructed in 1869 under the supervision of the Royal Society and transferred to Mount Stromlo Observatory
in the 1940s.
The building was named Becker House, for benefactor and Fellow of the Academy Sir Jack Ellerton Becker, in 1962. In 2000, it was renamed in honour of Fellow John Shine
, who donated one million dollars to renovate the dome.
The interior contains three floors: on the ground level, the main auditorium, the Ian Wark Theatre, seats 156 people, the Jaeger Room for functions and meetings, the Becker Council Meeting Room and offices; the upper level includes a gallery to the theatre and the Adolf Basser Library
; and the basement houses storage for historical records of science in Australia.
), Social Science (Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
) and Technological Sciences and Engineering (Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
). The four Academies cooperate through the National Academies Forum
, formed in 1995.
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant
Mark Oliphant
Sir Marcus 'Mark' Laurence Elwin Oliphant, AC, KBE, FRS was an Australian physicist and humanitarian who played a fundamental role in the first experimental demonstration of nuclear fusion and also the development of the atomic bomb.During his retirement, Oliphant was appointed as the Governor of...
. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
and operates under a Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
; as such it is an independent body, but has government endorsement. The Academy Secretariat is in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, at the Shine Dome.
The objective of the Academy is to promote science. It does so through a range of activities, including recognising outstanding contributions to science by issuing awards, education and public awareness though a variety of media, contributing to the formation of science policy, and creating opportunities for international scientific exchange.
Australian National Research Council
The Australian National Research Council (ANRC) was established in 1919 for the purpose of representing Australia on the International Research Council. The Council ceased to exist in 1954, replaced by the Australian Academy of Science.Fellows
The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of about 420 Australian scientists. Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the Academy. Sixteen new Fellows may be elected every year.No more than two Fellows may be elected every three years on the basis of distinguished contributions to science by means other than personal research. A small number of distinguished foreign scientists with substantial connections to Australian science are elected as Corresponding Members.
Fellows are often denoted by the letters FAA (Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science) after their name.
Foundation Fellows
When the Academy was founded in 1954 there were 24 members, known as the Foundation Fellows.| Name | Field |
|---|---|
| Keith Edward Bullen Keith Edward Bullen Keith Edward Bullen FRS was a New Zealand-born mathematician and geophysicist. He is noted for his seismological interpretation of the deep structure of the Earth's mantle and core... |
Mathematics and geophysics |
| Frank Macfarlane Burnet Frank Macfarlane Burnet Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, , usually known as Macfarlane or Mac Burnet, was an Australian virologist best known for his contributions to immunology.... |
Virology and immunology; Nobel laureate |
| David Guthrie Catcheside | Genetics |
| Thomas MacFarland Cherry Thomas MacFarland Cherry Sir Thomas MacFarland Cherry Sc.D., F.A.A., F.R.S. was a noted Australian mathematician, serving as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Melbourne from 1929 until his retirement in 1963... |
Mathematics |
| Ian Clunies Ross Ian Clunies Ross Sir Ian Clunies Ross, CMG is described as the 'architect' of Australia's scientific boom, for his stewardship of Australia's scientific organisation the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation - CSIRO.-Family:... |
Parasitology and science administration |
| Edmund Alfred Cornish | Statistics |
| John Carew Eccles John Carew Eccles John Carew Eccles, AC FRS FRACP FRSNZ FAAS was an Australian neurophysiologist who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the synapse. He shared the prize with Andrew Huxley and Alan Lloyd Hodgkin.... |
Neuroscience; Nobel laureate |
| Edwin Sherbon Hills Edwin Sherbon Hills Edwin Sherbon Hills CBE was an Australian geologist, a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and at the time of his death was regarded as one of Australia's "most eminent scientists and most accomplished geologists".Hills grew in the Melbourne suburb Carlton... |
Geology |
| Leonard George Holden Huxley | Physics |
| Raymond James Wood Le Fèvre | Chemistry |
| Max Rudolf Lemberg | Biochemistry |
| Hedley Ralph Marston | Biochemistry |
| Leslie Harold Martin Leslie H. Martin Professor Sir Leslie Harold Martin CBE, FAA, FRS was an Australian physicist and Higher Education Advisor. He was one of the 24 Founding Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science and had a significant influence on the structure of Higher Education in Australia.-Early days:Martin was born 21... |
Physics |
| David Forbes Martyn David Forbes Martyn David Forbes Martyn was a Scottish-born Australian physicist and radiographer.Martyn was born in Cambuslang, Scotland , the son of a local doctor. He was educated at Alan Glen's School then the Royal College of Science at Imperial College London.... |
Physics |
| Douglas Mawson Douglas Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson, OBE, FRS, FAA was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer and Academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton, Mawson was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.-Early work:He was appointed geologist to an... |
Geology |
| Alexander John Nicholson Alexander John Nicholson Alexander John Nicholson was an Irish Australian entomologist who specialised in insect population dynamics. He was Chief of the CSIR / CSIRO Division of Economic Entomology for 24 years and is credited with initiating the professional era in Australian entomology... |
Entomology |
| Mark Oliphant Mark Oliphant Sir Marcus 'Mark' Laurence Elwin Oliphant, AC, KBE, FRS was an Australian physicist and humanitarian who played a fundamental role in the first experimental demonstration of nuclear fusion and also the development of the atomic bomb.During his retirement, Oliphant was appointed as the Governor of... |
Physics |
| Joseph Lade Pawsey Joseph Lade Pawsey Joseph Lade Pawsey was an Australian engineer, radiophysicist, and radio astronomer.He was born in Ararat, Victoria to a family of farmers. At the age of 14 he was awarded a government scholarship to study at Wesley College, Melbourne, followed by a scholarship to study at the University of... |
Radiophysics and astronomy |
| James Arthur Prescott James Arthur Prescott James Arthur Prescott, CBE, FRS, was an agricultural scientist.Prescott was born in England, educated at the University of Manchester achieving Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in 1911... |
Agricultural science |
| Albert Cherbury David Rivett David Rivett Sir David Rivett, KCMG was an Australian chemist and science administrator.Rivett was born at Port Esperance, Tasmania, Australia. He studied at Wesley College in Melbourne and the University of Melbourne, where he was a member of Queen's College, obtaining a BSc in 1906 and a DSc in 1913... |
Chemistry |
| Thomas Gerald Room Thomas Gerald Room Thomas Gerald Room was an Australian mathematician who is best known for Room squares.-Biography:Thomas Room was born on 10 November 1902, near London, England. He studied mathematics in St John's College, Cambridge, and was a wrangler in 1923... |
Mathematics |
| Sydney Sunderland | Neuroscience |
| Oscar Werner Tiegs Oscar Werner Tiegs Oscar Werner Tiegs was an Australian zoologist whose career spanned the first half of the 20th century.Oscar Tiegs was born on 12 March 1897, and died on 5 November 1956.... |
Zoology |
| Richard van der Riet Woolley Richard van der Riet Woolley Richard van der Riet Woolley was an English astronomer who became Astronomer Royal. His mother's maiden name was Van der Riet.... |
Astronomy |
Presidents
- Sir Mark OliphantMark OliphantSir Marcus 'Mark' Laurence Elwin Oliphant, AC, KBE, FRS was an Australian physicist and humanitarian who played a fundamental role in the first experimental demonstration of nuclear fusion and also the development of the atomic bomb.During his retirement, Oliphant was appointed as the Governor of...
(1954–1957) - Sir John EcclesJohn Carew EcclesJohn Carew Eccles, AC FRS FRACP FRSNZ FAAS was an Australian neurophysiologist who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the synapse. He shared the prize with Andrew Huxley and Alan Lloyd Hodgkin....
(1957–1961) - Sir Thomas CherryThomas MacFarland CherrySir Thomas MacFarland Cherry Sc.D., F.A.A., F.R.S. was a noted Australian mathematician, serving as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Melbourne from 1929 until his retirement in 1963...
(1961–1964) - Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet (1965–69)
- Dr David MartynDavid Forbes MartynDavid Forbes Martyn was a Scottish-born Australian physicist and radiographer.Martyn was born in Cambuslang, Scotland , the son of a local doctor. He was educated at Alan Glen's School then the Royal College of Science at Imperial College London....
(1969–1970) - Professor Dorothy HillDorothy HillDorothy Hill, AC, CBE, FAA, FRS . She was an Australian geologist, the first female professor at an Australian university, and the first female president of the Australian Academy of Science.-Education:...
(1970) - Sir Rutherford Robertson (1970–1974)
- Sir Geoffrey Badger (1974–1978)
- Dr Lloyd Evans (1978–1982)
- Professor Arthur Birch (1982–1986)
- Professor David Curtis (1986–1990)
- Professor David CraigDavid P. CraigDavid Parker Craig is Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, where he was the Foundation Professor of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry in the Research School of Chemistry....
(1990–1994) - Sir Gustav NossalGustav NossalSir Gustav Victor Joseph Nossal, AC, CBE, FRS, FAA is an Australian research biologist.-Life and career:Gustav Nossal's family was from Vienna, Austria. He was born four weeks prematurely in Bad Ischl while his mother was on holiday...
(1994–1998) - Professor Brian AndersonBrian Anderson (academic)Brian David Outram Anderson is Professor in the Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering at the Australian National University. His research interests include circuits, signal processing and control, and his current work focuses on distributed control of multi-agent systems, sensor...
(1998–2002) - Dr Jim PeacockJim PeacockWilliam James Peacock AC was Chief Scientist of Australia , President of the Australian Academy of Science and Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry ....
(2002–2006) - Professor Kurt LambeckKurt LambeckKurt Lambeck is Professor of Geophysics at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. His current research interests include the interactions between ice sheets, oceans and the solid Earth, as well as changes in ocean levels and their impact on human populations.Lambeck is also...
(2006–2010) - Professor Suzanne CorySuzanne CorySuzanne Cory, AC, FAA, FRS is an Australian biologist.Cory is the current President of the Australian Academy of Science. She is the first-elected female President of the Academy and took office on 7 May 2010 for a five year term...
(2010–)
Awards
The following medals are awarded annually:- Pawsey MedalPawsey MedalThe Pawsey Medal is awarded every year by the Australian Academy of Science to recognize outstanding research by Australian scientists under 40 years of age in the field of physics.This medal commemorates the work of the late Joseph L. Pawsey, FAA....
, to a young physicist; - Gottschalk MedalGottschalk MedalThe Gottschalk Medal is awarded every year by the Australian Academy of Science to recognize outstanding research by Australian scientists under 40 years of age in the medical sciences.This medal commemorates the work of the late Dr. Alfred Gottschalk, FAA....
, to a young medical researcher; - FennerFrank FennerFrank John Fenner, AC, CMG, MBE, FRS, FAA was an Australian scientist with a distinguished career in the field of virology...
Medal, to a young biologist.
Other awards include:
- Ian William Wark Medal and Lecture and the ReesLloyd ReesLloyd Frederic Rees AC CMG was an Australian landscape painter who twice won the Wynne Prize for his landscape paintings....
Lecture, for scientists who have made links between science and industry; - Thomas Ranken Lyle MedalThomas Ranken Lyle MedalThe Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal is awarded at most every two years by the Australian Academy of Science to a mathematician or physicist for his or her outstanding research accomplishments. It is named after Thomas Ranken Lyle, an Irish mathematical physicist who became a professor at the University of...
, for research workers in mathematics and physics; - David CraigDavid P. CraigDavid Parker Craig is Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, where he was the Foundation Professor of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry in the Research School of Chemistry....
Medal, for researchers in chemistry; - MawsonDouglas MawsonSir Douglas Mawson, OBE, FRS, FAA was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer and Academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton, Mawson was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.-Early work:He was appointed geologist to an...
Lecture and Medal, the Jaeger Medal, the Haddon King Medal, and the Dorothy HillDorothy HillDorothy Hill, AC, CBE, FAA, FRS . She was an Australian geologist, the first female professor at an Australian university, and the first female president of the Australian Academy of Science.-Education:...
Award, for researchers in earth science; - Moran MedalMoran MedalThe Moran Medal in Statistical Sciences is awarded every two years by the Australian Academy of Science to recognize outstanding research by Australian scientists under 40 years of age in the fields of applied probability, biometrics, mathematical genetics, psychometrics, and statistics.This medal...
and the Hannan MedalHannan MedalThe Hannan Medal in the Mathematical Sciences is awarded every two years by the Australian Academy of Science to recognize achievements by Australians in the fields of pure mathematics, applied and computational mathematics, and statistical science....
, for mathematics.
The Shine Dome
The Shine Dome (previously known as Becker House) is a well-known Canberra landmark, notable for its unusual structure. It was designed by architect Sir Roy GroundsRoy Grounds
Sir Roy Burman Grounds , wasone of Australia's leading architects of the modern movement.-Biography:Born in Melbourne, Grounds was educated at Scotch College and then Melbourne University and worked for the architectural firm of Blackett, Forster and Craig...
, of architectural firm Grounds, Romberg and Boyd. When completed in 1959 its 45.75m-diameter dome was the largest in Australia.
On 1 December 1956, the Academy's building design committee met in Adelaide to look over plans submitted by six architects. The plan accepted involved a 710 ton reinforced concrete dome, which had to be supported by 16 thin supports. The concrete is approximately 60 cm thick at the base supports, and 10 cm at the top. The dome supports itself, with no internal wall holding it up. It cost 200,000 pounds to build. The foundation stone, laid on 2 May 1958 by Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, was originally part of the pier of the Great Melbourne Telescope
Great Melbourne Telescope
The Great Melbourne Telescope was built by Thomas Grubb in Dublin, Ireland in 1868, and installed at the Melbourne Observatory in Melbourne, Australia in 1869.The telescope had a speculum primary mirror, and was mounted on an equatorial mounting...
constructed in 1869 under the supervision of the Royal Society and transferred to Mount Stromlo Observatory
Mount Stromlo Observatory
Mount Stromlo Observatory located just outside of Canberra, Australia, is part of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University .-History:...
in the 1940s.
The building was named Becker House, for benefactor and Fellow of the Academy Sir Jack Ellerton Becker, in 1962. In 2000, it was renamed in honour of Fellow John Shine
John Shine
Professor John Shine AO is an Australian biochemist; he discovered the nucleotide sequence, called the Shine-Dalgarno sequence, necessary for the initiation of bacterial protein synthesis. He currently directs the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia.Shine was born in Brisbane...
, who donated one million dollars to renovate the dome.
The interior contains three floors: on the ground level, the main auditorium, the Ian Wark Theatre, seats 156 people, the Jaeger Room for functions and meetings, the Becker Council Meeting Room and offices; the upper level includes a gallery to the theatre and the Adolf Basser Library
Basser Library
The Basser Library is the library of the Australian Academy of Science, established in 1960 following the donation of £25,000 , by philanthropist Sir Adolph Basser...
; and the basement houses storage for historical records of science in Australia.
Other learned Academies
There are three other learned Academies in Australia, those of Humanities (Australian Academy of the HumanitiesAustralian Academy of the Humanities
The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia...
), Social Science (Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is an autonomous, non-governmental organisation, devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It was established in 1971...
) and Technological Sciences and Engineering (Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering is an independent non-government organization dedicated to the promotion in Australia of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical purposes. Professor Robin Batterham is the current President of ATSE....
). The four Academies cooperate through the National Academies Forum
National Academies Forum
The National Academies Forum was replaced in May 2010 by the Australian Council of Learned Academies.The National Academies Forum was established in 1995 as the peak organisation for the four Australian learned academies...
, formed in 1995.