Nominate the heroes and emerging leaders of science for the Prime Minister’s Prizes; and we need your Fresh young scientists

In this bulletin:

• Help us identify exceptional scientists and the emerging leaders of Australian science: nominations are now open for the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science
• Giving more young scientists and students a taste of the media than ever before through Fresh Science
• EMBL Australia looking for three young bioinformatics leaders
• Coming up: nominations open soon for the L’Oréal For Women in Science Fellowship and the CSL Florey Medal
• And nominations are now open for the 2013 Premier’s Award for Health and Medical Research, the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes and the Australian Academy of Science prizes
• Global health and the end of poverty: the 2013 Graeme Clark Oration

Each year the Australian Government rewards and celebrates the nation’s best scientists and science teachers through the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science.

Five leaders in science and education will share in a $500,000 prize pool, which will be presented by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Science and Research at a dinner in the Great Hall of Parliament House, Canberra.

We’re looking for:

• A hero of Australian science who perhaps hasn’t been recognised for their contribution to the nation, someone of the calibre of Ian Frazer, John O’Sullivan, David Boger, John Shine, David Solomon, Ezio Rizzardo and Ken Freeman
• Early to mid-career scientists with outstanding research results who are shaping up to become leaders in their field
• Science teachers – at primary and secondary level – who are making an outstanding contribution to science education through the impact of their inspirational teaching within their own schools and the sharing of their methods and results with the science teaching profession

Help us to identify Australia’s best scientists and teachers, and give them the recognition they deserve – by nominating them for one of the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science:

• The $300,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science
• The $50,000 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year
• The $50,000 Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year
• The $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools and;
• The $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools

Nominations are now open and close at 4pm Canberra time on 14 March 2013.

The nomination process has been streamlined and is now a two-step process. All that’s required for the first stage of nomination is:

• an achievement summary of no more than 800 words
• a two page curriculum vitae and
• proof of Australian citizenship or permanent residency

Three important changes have been made to the prizes this year:

• We welcome nominations for the Malcolm McIntosh and Science Minister’s Prizes from those who have achieved outstanding research results and completed their highest degree no more than ten years ago. Allowances are made for periods of absence such as maternity leave.
• Past recipients of the Malcolm McIntosh and Science Minister’s Prizes are eligible to be nominated and considered for the major prize.
• The $50,000 cash component of the science teaching prizes will be shared equally between the prize recipient and the school in which the prize recipient was teaching at the time of nomination.

For more information on selection criteria, profiles of past winners and the online nomination form, please visit: www.innovation.gov.au/scienceprizes.

Fresh Science takes young researchers with no media experience and turns them into spokespeople for science.

This year more than 60 early-career researchers will get a taste of life in the limelight, with a day of media training and a public event in their home state.

Then we’ll throw the media spotlight on 12 of the best and brightest young scientists, putting them through a four-day media boot camp in Melbourne.

If you know any smart young researchers, please forward this information and encourage them to nominate them for Fresh Science 2013.

We’re looking for:

• early-career researchers (from honours students to no more than five years post-PhD)
• a peer-reviewed discovery which has had little or no media coverage
• some ability to present ideas in everyday English
• from absolutely any field of science

State finalists will meet journalists and learn essential communication skills in a one day media training course, followed by a public event where they’ll get to practice their new skills.

Then, the 12 best candidates from the state finals will head to Melbourne for the Fresh Science national final – an intense four-day media boot camp, where they’ll present their work to the media, meet government and science leaders, explain their work over a beer with strangers and try to inspire a room full of school kids with their science.

Nominations are now open and close 5pm, Friday 1 March 2013.

Read the full selection criteria and nominate online at: www.freshscience.org.au

Please pass on this information to any and all young scientists who might benefit from the program.

Last year’s Fresh Science national finalists were featured in more than 400 news stories on TV and radio, in print and online. You can stories about past Fresh Scientists at: www.freshscience.org.au

For more information about Fresh Science visit www.freshscience.org.au or contact Tim Thwaites on (03) 9078 5398 or tim@freshscience.org.

Now in its 16th year, Fresh Science is supported by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science, Research and Tertiary Education through the Inspiring Australia initiative, CSL Limited and Museum Victoria.

Three $25,000 L’Oréal Australia and New Zealand For Women in Science Fellowships

Nominations will open on 18 March for the 2013 L’Oréal Australia and New Zealand For Women in Science Fellowships.

These $25,000 fellowships are awarded to three women scientists no more than five years post-PhD, although allowances are made for maternity leave.

Past Fellows have used their fellowships to travel overseas, to hire research assistants and to pay for childcare.

And the prize money isn’t the only benefit – a L’Oréal Fellowship is a great line on a young scientist’s CV. Past Fellows have been invited to speak at Parliament; to join VIP dinners with decision makers; and have featured in magazine lists of influential women.

Read more about the Fellowships and the nomination process at: http://www.scienceinpublic.com.au/loreal

The $50,000 CSL Florey Medal

Nominations will open in May for the biennial CSL Florey Medal, awarded to an Australian biomedical researcher for significant achievements in biomedical science and / or human health advancement.

Past winners include Graeme Clark, Ian Frazer, Robin Warren and Barry Marshall.

For a sense of what the judges will be looking for, read the selection criteria at: http://www.aips.net.au/news-events/the-florey-medal/

2013 Victorian Premier’s Award for Health and Medical Research

Applications for the 2013 Premier’s Award for Health and Medical Research are now open.

The prizes are a joint initiative of the Victorian Government and the Australian Society for Medical Research. The Award recognises and rewards achievement by Victoria’s early career health and medical researchers.

The Award is open to PhD students or recently completed postgraduates whose research has, or is, being undertaken in a Victorian research institution in any field of health or medical research.

Nominations are open and close 2pm Friday 15 March 2013.

More information: http://www.business.vic.gov.au/industries/science-technology-and-innovation/awards/premiers-award-for-health-and-medical-research

The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes

Presented annually by the Australian Museum, the Eureka Prizes reward excellence in the fields of scientific research & innovation, science leadership, school science and science journalism & communication.

Nominations are open until 7pm AEST Friday 3 May 2013. More details: http://eureka.australianmuseum.net.au

The Australian Academy of Science Awards

The Australian Academy of Science has opened nominations for its suite of awards, fellowships, bursaries and scholarships.

With a prize pool of nearly $300,000, they’ll be recognising researchers in chemistry, genetics, medicine, maths, physics, environment and geology. There are also specific awards for outstanding women and young scientists.

Nominations close for their awards in July, and for their fellowships in August.

More information: www.science.org.au/awards/

Geoffrey Lamb, the Gates Foundation’s President of Global Policy and Advocacy, will give the 2013 Graeme Clark Oration, a free public lecture on Monday 29 April 2013 at The Plenary, Melbourne Convention Centre.

He will review the extraordinary successes of the past half century in reducing mortality and disease. He will show how investments in health have been critical for economic growth and the reduction of global poverty – and have helped bring the goal of an end to absolute global poverty within generational sight.

Geoffrey Lamb is the Gates Foundation’s President, Global Policy and Advocacy. He leads the foundation’s international policy and advocacy team, and its engagement with governments and international institutions. Lamb was previously Managing Director, Public Policy and a Senior Fellow in the foundation’s Global Development Program.

The Graeme Clark Oration is a free public lecture established to honour Professor Graeme Clark, inventor of the bionic ear. The Oration celebrates the new possibilities emerging from the convergence of biology, computing and engineering.

It is hosted by the ICT for Life Sciences Forum, a collaboration between Melbourne’s leading medical research institutes, hospitals and universities to share ideas about the convergence of biology and computer science.

Read more about the Graeme Clark Oration and book online: www.graemeclarkoration.org.au

EMBL Australia is looking for three Group Leaders in Biomedical Informatics, to be based at their new node at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).

Each Group Leader position provides generous funding for five years with the option to extend it for another four years. The positions will be funded by contributions from SAHMRI’s parent institutions: The University of Adelaide, The University of South Australia and Flinders University.

EMBL Australia supports young scientists, recruited from Australia and around the world, to concentrate on doing their best, riskiest and most original work.

It was created to maximise the benefits of Australia’s associate membership to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Europe’s flagship laboratory for basic research in molecular biology. The EMBL Australia Partner Laboratory is based on the EMBL model, with distributed, highly integrated research nodes focussing on complementary aspects of biological research.

Further details including application instructions are available on both the SAHMRI and EMBL Australia websites.