EVENTS 2008
Global Warming & The Cosmos
The Royal Society of NSW arranged for two of the world's leading climate scientists to give a presentation on whether climate change is man-made, natural or both. The presentation was made to an enthusiastic audience of some 250 people, followed by a lively Q&A session. The presenters were: Dr Graeme Pearman, former head of the CSIRO Atmospheric Division and adviser to Al Gore and to the Garnaut Climate Change Review and Dr Eigil Friis-Christensen, director of the National Space Institute (NSI) (previously the Danish National Space Centre) at the Technical University of Denmark.
Both speakers agreed that much more research is needed into the ways in which solar variation affects climate, and to investigate whether there is a link between GCRs and cloud formation which is significant in the context of climate change.
The Royal Society of NSW wishes to thank the two speakers for presenting their papers. They also wish to thank Dick Whitaker for chairing the meeting, and Frensham School for hosting the event.
Dr Graeme Pearman (left) with Dr Eigil Friis-Christensen at the Global Warming Symposium.
Posters for the event can be downloaded from here: Global Warming Poster.pdf or download the press release from here: Climate Change Press Release April 2008.pdf.
Date: Saturday 5 April 2008
Time: 1.30 pm for 2.00 pm
Venue: Clubbe Hall, Frensham, Cnr of Range Rd and Waverley Pde Mittagong
Annual Dinner
The Society held a very successful Annual Dinner at the Forum Restaurant, Darlington Centre, University of Sydney on Friday 14 March 2008.
The guest of honour was Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of NSW, who presented our Awards for 2007. She also addressed those attending and spoke about the achievements of the Society and its place in the modern world and how pleased she was to be our Patron.
Her Excellency with Clarke Medal recipient Professor Suzanne O'Reilly
A light-hearted moment during the presentation of the Edgeworth David Medal to Dr Stuart Wyithe (second from left) with the Governor, the President and the reader of the citations, Professor Pete Williams
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The President, Mr John Hardie (left) with the Governor and Award recipients:
(l-r) Professor Gavin Brown, Dr Stuart Wyithe, Professor Suzanne O'Reilly, HE
Professor Marie Bashir, Professor Matthew Colless
EVENTS 2007
None. If there is something we have missed write it up!
EVENTS 2006
Soirée at The Nicholson Museum
Flushed with success, the Council of the Royal Society decided it was time for a bit of heels-up - or rather heads-down to look at treasured items from our wonderful collection. The occasion? A soirée at the Nicholson Museum within The University of Sydney to celebrate the achievements of the previous twelve months.
In that time, the Council managed to win two grants. The first, a State Government grant of $30,000 to be used for the publication of the journal over the next three years, was the work of past president, Karina Kelly and her team. The second was $5,500 through one of the Federal Government's Community Heritage Grants organised by the National Library in Canberra.
It was through this grant that our consultant historians, Dr David Branagan and Dr Peter Tyler assessed the Society's collection of books, journals, maps, drawings, painting, photographs, lanternslides and medals to be highly significant both historically and scientifically. Selected items were displayed in the facilities offered by the Nicholson Museum staff and guests donned cotton gloves to leaf through some of the precious books, which included works by the American archaeologist and naturalist Charles C. Abbott and Opuscula, one of the most significant in the Society's collection, written in Latin by Georg Bauer, better known by his Latin name, Georgius Agricola (1494-1555). He is considered the founder of geology as a discipline. Another, Cyrillus in Johannem et Leviticum una cum thesauro eiusdem was published in 1508. It is the only one held in Australia. There was also the first volume of Curtis' Botanical Magazine, beautifully illustrated by the artist Sydenham S. Edwards and published 1787. The Society holds the complete set (Volumes 1-14) and many other volumes of the Botanical Magazine by various other publishers.
Also on display were Lawrence Hargrave's Aeronautical and other papers together with some of the drawings and lanternslides of his first flying machine and a very rare edition of J D Dana's Geology, written when he accompanied WB Clarke around the Sydney Basin. Hand written letters from Society member, Charles Darwin and Louis Pasteur were a great attraction. Many of the medals on display were from Clarke's collection. These are kept in the care of the Mitchell Library together with some 20 boxes of books and other items belonging to the Royal Society. These are to be the target of our next round of assessment and listing.
Undeniably the society is the custodian of a remarkably important collection. It is imperative that we take every step to preserve it and to make it available to all.
Guests at the soirée included the university's Vice Chancellor, Professor Gavin Brown and his wife, Diane, the former Vice Chancellor of Macquarie University, Professor Di Yerbury, acclaimed photographer-astronomer, Professor David Malin, Scientia Professor Eugenie Lumbers from the University of New South Wales, the ABC's Robyn Science Williams and many others.
The soirée was not without its formalities. President, Professor Jak Kelly set the scene, explaining the grounds for the celebration and thanking Professor Brown for so generously arranging premises for the Royal Society. He also thanked Professor Di Yerbury for her help in housing the Society and its collection at Macquarie University for some years. Councillor John Hardie spoke about the work that had been done on the collection through the funding and outlined some of the recommendations from Peter Tyler's report. These included the urgent need to suitably house the collection so that it could be properly conserved and made available to researchers and the public alike. He also suggested that the Society should initiate a long term project to "return Science House to Science". He reminded guests that Science House won the first Sulman Medal for Architecture for its architects, Peddle, Thorpe and Walker in 1932.
Society member and former president, David Branagan who was also one of the assessors, described some of the "treasures" he had examined and the insight they give to the development of our intellectual and scientific history from Colonial times. Professor Gavin Brown thanked the Royal Society for inviting him and his wife and congratulated the Society on its achievements in recent years.
It was after the formalities that guests were free to peruse the displays to the sounds of restful chamber music from the trio, Sound of Melody, adding to the already splendid atmosphere of the museum itself. David Branagan and members of the Council's grant committee were on hand to assist with enquiries and to point out items of special interest.
The evening finished on a high note when Society received an unexpected accolade from the Senior Curator of the Nicholson Museum, Michael Turner, who said that he had really enjoyed having so erudite and enthusiastic a group of people at the museum.
Robyn Stutchbury
17 October, 2006
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Figure 1. Professor Gavin Brown, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney, congratulates the Royal Society on its achievements since moving to the Darlington Road premises.
Figure 2. President Jak Kelly addresses the guests at the soirée.
Figure 3. David Branagan reflects on the significance of the Royal Society's remarkably historical collection.
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Figure 4. Professor Eugenie Lumbers discusses the Royal Society's collection with the Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney, Professor Gavin.
Figure 5. Councillor Clive Willmott from the Southern Highlands branch of the Royal Society discusses some of the Society's future plans with the Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney, Professor Gavin Brown.
Figure 6. The ABC's Robyn Williams listens intently to the former Vice Chancellor of Macquarie University, Professor Di Yerbury under the watchful gaze of the Emperor Augustus.
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Figure 7. Guests take the opportunity to examine some of the Society's highly significant collection during the soirée held at the Nicholson Museum within the University of Sydney during September 2006.
Figure 8. Soirée guests at the Nicholson Museum were suitably entertained by the delightful "Sound of Melody" trio.