Top scientists from University of Melbourne elected to Australian Academy of Science
Media Release, Monday 10 April 2006
Three leading scientists from the University of Melbourne are amongst 18 scientists to be elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science.
Professor Mark Burgman, School of Botany; Professor Andrew Holmes ARC Federation Fellowship and VESKI Inaugural Fellow, Bio21 Institute and Professor Roger Powell, School of Earth Sciences.
Election to the Academy is an honour and recognises a career that has significantly advanced, and continues to advance, the world’s scientific knowledge.
Professor Mark Burgman’s research into the fundamentals of uncertainty in ecology has applied new knowledge to a long-standing problem — how to make conservation decisions. He has published a seminal book on risk assessment for conservation and a broader treatment of uncertainty in environmental management.
Dr Burgman’s model for negotiation sees scientists responsible for investigating all concerns, not just those that they consider scientifically plausible or worthwhile. He will head the University’s new $6 million Commonwealth-funded Centre of Excellence for Risk Analysis.
Federation Fellow Professor Andrew Holmes with his team has developed the technology for a future generation of ultra-thin and light video screens; ‘molecular fishhooks’ for medical research; and for the use of carbon dioxide to replace toxic solvents. The team bridges the gap between biology, material science and industry.
Professor Holmes is the co-inventor of the world’s first light-emitting polymers. The electrically semiconductive plastics emit bright, pure colours of light when an electrical current is passed through them. They promise to transform display technology for televisions, computers and electronic devices, with lightweight, super-thin, flexible video screens bright enough to be viewed even in direct sunlight. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Professor Roger Powell, with his colleague Dr Tim Holland at the University of Cambridge, pioneered the application of equilibrium thermodynamics to the study of metamorphic rocks. Software they developed has become the standard tool for quantitative mineral equilibrium modeling in natural rock systems.
Roger Powell is a world leader in the application of thermodynamics to predicting mineral assemblages and phase relationships in natural rocks. He has pioneered the development of quantitative approaches to the study of metamorphism and rigorously understanding the physical conditions under which metamorphic reactions occur.
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