The big one: $750,000 for science/innovation/teaching—nominations for the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science now open

10 March, 2017
Bulletins, Science stakeholder bulletins

Also in this bulletin: from the Academy to the ABC, a host of prizes; join Nature’s promotion of Australia’s science capital; and Alan Duffy on our training

Power and wealth untold—not quite—but the Prime Minister’s Prizes do wonders for your altmetrics. It’s time to put forward your unrecognised leaders and your rising stars.

Nominations are sought from industry and academia for the two major prizes worth $250,000 each and the $50,000 early to mid-career awards. It’s easy to nominate online and winning one of the awards really can be transforming.

“Winning this award is the single best thing that has happened in my career, and it clinched the success of my application for promotion to Professor,” says Angela Moles from UNSW of winning the 2013 Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year.

For Rick Shine, winning last year’s Prime Minister’s Prize for Science helped raise public awareness of his work protecting native animals from cane toads and helped him to secure more funding. And for Ingrid Scheffer, who won the top prize in 2014 along with Sam Berkovic, the award secured her place as a sought-after speaker on her research into epilepsy and on the topic of women in science.

More below.

Be part of Nature’s promotion of Melbourne’s research leadership, and explore Melbourne’s rich research networks online.

Nature is organising an international promotion of Melbourne’s research leadership.

It will include:

  • an open source interactive map building on last year’s Nature Index
  • a careers supplement published globally in Nature on 18 May
  • promotion and distribution at BIO in San Diego.

The project is supported by BioMedical Research Victoria. There are opportunities for advertorials, adverts and job adverts. If you’d like to participate please let me know on niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977.

More below.

And more opportunities to help share your science…

Has your team got an exciting discovery, invention, or other news you’d like to celebrate?

Consider taking part in the 2017 edition of Stories of Australian Science, our online collection and annual print publication bringing together discoveries, prize-winners and top achievers in Aussie science. We will be sharing the 2017 print edition with journalists and TV producers at the World Conference of Science Journalists and the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers later this year.

We also have media and communication training workshops for scientists coming up on:

  • Sydney: Thursday 25 May
  • Melbourne: Tuesday 2 May, Thursday 22 June
  • Canberra: Wednesday 24 May
  • Adelaide: Tuesday 6 June
  • Perth: Wednesday 5 July

As astrophysicist and one of our media training alumni Alan Duffy says, “I gained experience in different media formats, such as radio and TV, with practice interviewing, and invaluable coaching in how to tailor my message that I use to this day.”

More below.

Kind regards,
Niall

Also in this bulletin:

Make sure great Australian science, innovation and science teaching is recognised—nominate for the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science

Each year the Australian Government honours Australia’s best scientists, innovators, and science teachers through the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science.

But we need your help to find the humble science heroes, promising early-career researchers, media-shy innovators, and modest teachers who deserve to have their work recognised on a national stage.

We’re looking for:

  • heroes of Australian science who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge through science—people like Rick Shine, Graham Farquhar, and Ingrid Scheffer—for the $250,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science
  • exceptional innovators from both industry and research who have translated scientific knowledge into substantial commercial impact—like Michael Aitken, Colin Hall, Graeme Jameson and Ian Frazer—for the $250,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation
  • early to mid-career scientists whose research is already making, and will continue to have, an impact on our lives—like Kerrie Wilson, Jane Elith, Ryan Lister, Andrea Morello, Angela Moles, Matthew Hill and Tanya Monro for the $50,000 Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year and the $50,000 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year
  • promising early to mid-career innovators from science and industry—like Colin Hall—who have enhanced our economy, translating scientific knowledge into a substantial commercial impact for the $50,000 Prize for New Innovators.

And if you know a great science teacher…

  • There are two $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Excellence in Science Teaching—primary and secondary—awarded to teachers who are dedicated to effective and innovative science teaching.

The awards will be presented at a gala dinner in the Great Hall of Parliament House, Canberra, where the leaders of science, industry, education and government will have the chance to meet the recipients.

Nominations close at 5 pm Canberra time, Wednesday 12 April 2017.

It’s simple to nominate in the first (shortlisting) stage, with an online form. If a nomination is shortlisted, further material will be required in the final stage.

For eligibility, selection criteria, nomination guidelines and forms, visit: www.business.gov.au/scienceprizes or call 13 28 46.

To read more about past recipients and the awards dinner visit: www.science.gov.au/pmscienceprizes.

Stories of Australian Science 2017: put your science in front of those who matter most

Stories of Australian Science is used by journalists, scientists, politicians and science policy-makers, as a useful reference for keeping up-to-date with new and exciting developments in Australian research.

It’s an online collection and annual print publication bringing together discoveries, prize-winners and top achievers.

The 2017 print edition will be promoted to delegates at the World Conference of Science Journalists in October and the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers (TV producers) in late November, both in San Francisco.

If you’d like to have your research or the work of your scientists/institution featured, contact Lydia on lydia@scienceinpublic.com.au or call the office on (03) 9398 1416.

All we need from you are a couple of dot points and some contact details. We’ll interview the key scientist/s then write and edit the stories, running them by both the commissioner and scientist so you’re happy we’ve got the facts right.

We’ll print 15,000 copies and distribute them to journalists, scientific researchers, politicians and science policymakers as a useful reference for keeping up-to-date with new and exciting developments in Australian research.

We’ll share them on social media, and put them online where users can search by field of science, state, institution or key word to see the science stories that have been included in the current year and previous years. And everything we write is available for you to use in other publications.

Prices start at $1,200 + GST for a single story, and are discounted for multiple stories.

More details at stories.scienceinpublic.com.au/submission. You can read the 2016 edition here.

Understand your audience and pitch your story

Communication training—book now for 2017

We offer a flexible range of training programs to help your researchers understand their audiences, the essence of their story, and how to build their profile with the audiences and stakeholders that matter for their projects and for their long-term career development.

Our offerings include:

  • Meet your audience: from government, business, and/or the media
  • Make your pitch: what’s the essence of your story
  • Build your profile: websites, media, social media
  • Make your story work for mainstream media
  • Presentation training: make your story come to life
  • Photography and videography for scientists.

“The biggest prize I received as a Fresh Science finalist was intensive media training by Science in Public,” says astrophysicist Alan Duffy. “I gained experience in different media formats, such as radio and TV, with practice interviewing, and invaluable coaching in how to tailor my message that I use to this day.”

For more information on a bespoke course, visit www.scienceinpublic.com.au/training or call us on 03 9398 1416.

We also hold regular media and communication training workshops around Australia, for scientists and those who communicate science.

In 2017, our media and communication training courses for scientists will be in:

  • Melbourne: Tuesday 2 May, Thursday 22 June
  • Canberra: Wednesday 24 May
  • Sydney: Thursday 25 May
  • Adelaide: Tuesday 6 June
  • Perth: Wednesday 5 July

Registration is now open for all courses via EventBrite.

In these courses, we’ll help you shape the story of your research into a form that works for the media, as well as for government, industry and other stakeholders. The day’s insights and training will help you feel more comfortable in dealing with journalists when media opportunities arise.

Be part of Nature’s promotion of Melbourne’s research leadership, and explore Melbourne’s rich research networks online

Nature is organising a major promotion of Melbourne’s research leadership.

It will include:

  • an open source interactive map building on last year’s Nature Index
  • a careers supplement published globally in Nature on 18 May
  • promotion and distribution at BIO in San Diego.

The project is supported by BioMedical Research Victoria. There are opportunities for advertorials, adverts and job adverts. If you’d like to participate please let me know on niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977.

The interactive map will reveal:

  • Where is the top research happening in and around Melbourne?
  • Where are the major papers coming from?
  • Who is collaborating?

You’ll be surprised by some of links.

This updateable map will be based on publications in the top natural science journals tracked by the Nature Index website (www.natureindex.com), the open access platform owned by Springer Nature, publisher of Nature, with data published under a creative commons license.

The online map will be launched together with the NatureJobs Career Guide on Melbourne, to be published in the 18 May issue of Nature and distributed at the 2017 BIO International Convention in San Diego (19-22 June). The map will also carry a feed of jobs and events in Melbourne from NatureJobs.

The map will later be expanded to include articles from the more than 60 clinical medical titles expected to be added to the Index towards the end of 2017.

You can get a flavour of the map from the 2016 Nature Index and the screenshots below.

www.natureindex.com/supplements/nature-index-2016-australia-and-new-zealand/sydney-melbourne


Other prizes, funding, and opportunities

Co-operative Research Centre Grants

The CRC grants support industry-led and outcome-focused collaborative research partnerships between industry, researchers and the community.

Applications close Wednesday 22 March 2017.

More information at www.business.gov.au/assistance/cooperative-research-centres-programme

BioMelbourne Network Women in Leadership Awards

The 2017 BioMelbourne Network Women in Leadership Awards are open. Launched in 2015, these awards celebrate, honour and profile outstanding women in the biotechnology, medical technology, pharmaceutical and health innovation sector.

The awards are open to candidates from member organisations of the BioMelbourne Network.

Applications close Friday 14 April 2017.

Full details regarding the nomination process, eligibility, criteria and nomination forms are online at biomelbourne.org/women-leadership-awards

Australian Academy of Science Awards

Help recognise the science leaders in your organisation by nominating them for the Australian Academy of Science’s honorific awards.

The Academy’s honorific awards are open to senior scientists as well as early and mid-career researchers who are making amazing contributions to Australian science across a range of disciplines in the physical and biological sciences.

The Australian Academy of Science is also calling for applications for research, conference and travel grants. The closing date for award nominations is 20 April 2017 and the closing date to apply for travel, conference and research support is 1 June 2017.

For further information and distribution you can download the awards poster. You can also read more about the awards and the Academy’s opportunities at www.science.org.au/opportunities.

For enquiries please email the Awards Team at awards@science.org.au or call 02 6201 9407.

Top 5 Under 40

Applications are now open for Top 5 Under 40, an initiative to discover Australia’s next generation of science communicators.

The winners will undertake a two-week media residency in Sydney at ABC Radio National, supported by UNSW.

Early-career researchers under 40 who are working in Australian universities and research organisations across science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medical research are encouraged to apply.

Applications close Friday 21 April.

More information at www.unsw.edu.au/top5under40

Eureka Prizes

Known as the ‘Oscars of Australian science,’ the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes celebrate research, science communication and journalism, leadership, and students. Finalists will be announced online on July 28, and winners at a gala dinner on August 30.

Applications close Friday 5 May 2017.

More information at www.australianmuseum.net.au/eurekaprizes

Science in Public – planning, mentoring, communicating

Contact me to find out more about our services to train, mentor, plan and deliver media and communication strategies for science. We offer:

Communication plans, mentoring and training
We can review your stakeholders, messages and tools and help you and your communication team refine your plans. We offer this service for individual announcements or for a whole program or institute.

Media releases, launches, and campaigns
We can help you develop an outreach program, from a simple media release through to a launch, a summit, a conference, or a film.

Publications and copy-writing
From a tweet to a newsletter; from a brochure to a Nature supplement, we can write compelling and accurate science-driven copy which captures the essence of your story and purpose.
Kind regards,
________

Niall Byrne

Creative Director
Science in Public

82 Hudsons Road, Spotswood VIC 3015
PO Box 2076 Spotswood VIC 3015

03 9398 1416, 0417 131 977

niall@scienceinpublic.com.au
twitter.com/scienceinpublic
www.scienceinpublic.com.au