Australian Academy of Science elects 21 fellows

The Australian Academy of Science has recognised 21 scientists for their outstanding contributions to science.

The new elected Fellows include: Professor Geordie Williamson, who, at age 36, becomes the youngest living Fellow of the Academy; Professor Anne Kelso, who has substantially strengthened Australia’s position in global influenza virus surveillance and pandemic preparedness; Dr Alan Andersen, the world’s leading ant community ecologist, who has revealed the hidden world of ants and has become the first person from the Northern Territory to be elected a Fellow the Academy.

The new Fellows’ contributions also include: revolutionising the way e-waste is recycled; changing the way we think about carbohydrate foods; research that led to the detection of gravitational waves; and new insights into how the immune system may be harnessed to devise new therapies for cancer and other diseases.

Australian Academy of Science President Professor Andrew Holmes said, “These scientists were elected by their academy peers, following a rigorous evaluation process.”

From 23 Founding Fellows in 1954, the election this year of new Fellows brings the total number of living Fellows to 568, said Holmes. “They join a prestigious group — six Nobel Prize winners and luminaries including Sir Mark Oliphant, Professor Nancy Millis, Sir Douglas Mawson, Professor Frank Fenner and Sir David Attenborough.”

The new Fellows are:

Northern Territory

Professor Alan Andersen, Charles Darwin University (ecologist)

Australian Capital Territory

Professor Anne Kelso, National Health and Medical Research Council (Chief Executive Officer)

South Australia

Professor Colin Raston, Flinders University (chemist)

Professor Greg Goodall, Centre for Cancer Biology (medical researcher)

Queensland

Professor Kerrie Mengersen, Queensland University of Technology (statistician)

Professor Bostjan Kobe, University of Queensland (structural biologist)

Western Australia

Emeritus Professor David Blair, University of Western Australia (experimental physicist)

Professor Kliti Grice, Curtin University (organic geochemist)

Victoria

Professor David Bowtell, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (medical researcher)

Professor Joseph Trapani, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (medical researcher)

Professor Peter Cawood, Monash University (geologist)

Professor Lloyd Hollenberg, University of Melbourne (quantum physicist)

Professor Rachel Webster, University of Melbourne (astrophysicist)

New South Wales

Professor Jennie Brand-Miller, University of Sydney (human nutrition researcher)

Professor Geordie Williamson, University of Sydney (mathematician)

Professor Christopher Dickman, University of Sydney (ecologist)

Professor Dacheng Tao, University of Sydney (computer scientist)

Professor Veena Sahajwalla, UNSW Sydney (materials scientist)

Professor Richard Bryant, UNSW Sydney (medical scientist)

Professor Martina Stenzel, UNSW Sydney (polymer chemist)

Professor Noel Cressie, University of Wollongong (statistician)