Progress Toward an Apology
By Professor Matt King
Chair, RST Aboriginal Engagement Committee
The RST Aboriginal Engagement Committee (AEC) has continued to assist Council in working toward an apology to Tasmanian Aboriginal people. The wording of the apology has received further attention from Council and it is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks.
We have had positive and constructive discussions with senior staff members of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) regarding their own apology. We are continuing discussions with the plan of offering paired apologies at a shared event. We will inform members further as details are agreed and finalised by TMAG and RST Council.
The AEC has also briefed the incoming members of Council regarding the history of the work of the AEC dating back to 2016 and, especially, the recent proposal that the RST enter into a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) or RAP-like arrangement. Council are currently considering this matter.
Finally, Professor Greg Lehman has stepped down from his role as Co-Chair of the AEC while remaining an active member. The AEC thanks Greg very much for his insight and co-leadership of the AEC and looks forward to ongoing partnership with him.
September 2020.
An account of Earth’s Middle Ages – Life and Resources
Indrani’s PhD involved understanding pyrite trace element and sulphur isotope geochemistry of Proterozoic marine black shales using LA-ICP-MS and SHRIMP-SI techniques. The research focussed on nutrient-productivity cycles in past oceans and atmosphere-ocean redox state in the context of biological evolution in the Proterozoic era. Pyrite chemostratigraphy was also used for assessing mineralisation potential of black shales. This presentation will expand on the research foundations built over the course of Indrani’s PhD targeting both fundamental and applied aspects of geochemistry. The former involves advancing our knowledge of Precambrian atmosphere-ocean dynamics in shaping the course of early evolution. The latter involves utilisation of the geochemical data combined with statistical tools, for applications such as biogenicity tools, predictive modelling, and mineral exploration.
Our speaker, Dr Indrani Mukherjee, is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Geochemistry at CODES, University of Tasmania. She completed her PhD in 2018 from the University of Tasmania under the supervision of Professor Ross Large. Indrani acquired her B.Sc. (Honours) and M.Sc. in Geology degrees from the University of Delhi, India. She was awarded a RST Doctoral Award in 2019.
Indrani’s main focus has been on understanding pyrite trace element and sulphur isotope geochemistry in Precambrian marine black shales. Her research ties past geochemical conditions of the atmosphere-ocean system to evolution of early complex life and secular distribution of ore deposits through time. Indrani aims to apply the pyrite LA-ICP-MS technique towards developing a deep time model for evolution of complex life and devising vectors to SEDEX Zn-Pb and sedimentary Cu mineralisation.
Chemical Answers Now: protecting us and our environment
Where: On your computer via Zoom
When: 1.30 pm Sunday 27th September 2020
To participate in this webinar, you must register in advance; click here to do that. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Professor Breadmore is pioneering the development of portable and transportable technology to provide chemical information when and where the sample is collected. Applications include the detection of home-made explosives at airports, the continuous monitoring of nutrients in our rivers, and more recently, whether we can use these to detect viruses.
After public education in northern Tasmania, our speaker graduated from University of Tasmania with BSc (Hons); PhD; DSc. He has made a continued and sustained contribution towards miniaturized analytical technology for clinical, forensic, environmental and food applications at UTAS. He was one of three finalists in the Eureka Outstanding Young Researcher Award (2011), has been listed in the Analytical Scientist’s power list of the top 100 analytical chemists in the world (2014, 2017, 2019), and is the Director of the Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science.
Generously supported by
Cyclic dynamics in Tasmanian high mountain treeless vegetation
Virtual lecture by Distinguished Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick, winner of the RST Clive Lord Medal 2019.
When: 3pm, Sunday, 6th September, 2020, by Zoom webinar.
To participate in this webinar, you must register in advance; click here to do that. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Tasmanian high mountain treeless vegetation is globally outstanding for its dominance by shrubs, hard-leaved graminoids and cushion plants, many of which are Cretaceous palaeoendemics. The highly maritime Tasmanian environment makes snow intermittent, exposing plants to fierce wintry winds and allowing mammals to graze all year round. The high mountain winds are associated with apparently cyclic succession in several situations, including bogs and fjaeldmark. Other apparently cyclic changes relate to the internal dynamics of ecosystems. Climate change has, so far, not affected the areas exhibiting these processes because of an interaction between stronger winds caused by climate change and environmental lapse rates. However, any marked ongoing warming at higher altitudes is likely to fossilise active processes. There is already some indication of such fossilisation in low altitude fjaeldmarks.
Our speaker Jamie Kirkpatrick AM is Distinguished Professor in Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Tasmania where he helps students learn about nature, researches its characteristics and conservation, and engages with wider society. He has supervised to graduation more than 70 higher degree students. He is most cited in the academic literature for his work on planning conservation reserves and on the socio-ecology of urban areas. He has also written, or contributed to, many publications that are accessible to a wider audience. These include several books with Peter Dombrovskis, and, most recently, his own book Art by Nature.
View recording of virtual lecture by Professor Arko Lucieer – August 2020
For those who missed the virtual lecture by Professor Arko Lucieer entitled “From Surface to Satellites – remote sensing from drones advances our understanding of plant biodiversity” on 2 August 2020, view it on our new YouTube channel.
Working on Water: Celebrating women in marine science
The Royal Society of Tasmania
National Science Week 2020
Working on Water: Celebrating women in marine science
Saturday 15th August.
Aired on Edge Radio 99.3FM 2-4pm and released on the RST YouTube channel and wherever you get your podcast.
For National Science Week 2020, the Royal Society of Tasmania secured $2,000 in grant funding from the Tasmanian National Science Week committee for a project profiling four women in marine science. New RST Council member Niamh Chapman led the project in collaboration with the team she directs at That’s What I Call Science.
We are excited to produce local and national radio, podcast and video content from the interviews as well as worksheets on the topic for children. The featured guests were invited to demonstrate the diversity of opportunities for careers in marine science including in industry and research.
Featured guests include:
Claire Butler – Marine Solutions Tasmania. After completing an Honours degree in seaweed ecology, Claire held multiple research assistant jobs at research institutions. Her role in these positions was focused on making existing spatial data (e.g. habitat maps) available to the public for communication and use in scientific (and other) pursuits.
A/Prof Mary-Anne Lea from IMAS, UTAS. Dr Mary-Anne Lea is an Associate Professor at the Ecology and Biodiversity Centre at the Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania. She is interested in the way in which the environment and climate change affect the behaviour, distribution and life history of marine and polar vertebrates.
Mibu Fisher, CSIRO. Mibu is an early career marine ethnoecologist within the multi-use ecosystems tropical coastal group, in CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere, in Brisbane. She is an Aboriginal scientist with engagement skills for strengthening partnerships between First Nations communities and the research sector. Her specific interests are around Traditional Knowledge (science) and management practices being considered within modern day fisheries, coastal and conservation management.
Megan Hartog, CSIRO. Megan completed a degree in marine science at the Australian Maritime College. Her Honours project uncovered soft coral communities in the lower Tamar Estuary. Megan worked for several years in natural resource management, which included regular water quality monitoring in the Tamar. Megan then joined CSIRO Marine National Facility as a Voyage Operations Manager, where she is involved in organising research voyages on the blue-water research vessel, RV Investigator.
Worksheets (with answers here) include artwork from local artist Josh Pringle and sea country artwork by Brisbane-based Aboriginal artist Shara Delaney. Shara also provided a story to accompany the artwork based on Tasmanian marine life.
RST Northern Branch Science Week Forum: Breaking New Ground
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Sunday 23 August 2020 at 1:30 PM Launceston
Three University of Tasmania PhD Candidates will inform us about their research in a wide variety of topics – Diabesity, perfect bananas, and renewable energy from the sea.
Open this post to get instructions for participation. You will need to register in advance.
Click here to register in advance for this webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Urgent change for “Map Spam: (yet more of) Launceston Revealed” webinar
After technical problems developed with registration for this webinar, it was necessary to change the meeting number. We apologise for the inconvenience, but if you registered before July 22, you will need to re-register using this new link [link removed]. Use the same link if you are registering for the first time.
If you have told anyone else about the webinar we would appreciate it if you could pass on this information.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
Map Spam: (yet more of) Launceston Revealed
Virtual lecture by Andrew Parsons
1.30 pm, Sunday, 26th July, 2020, by Zoom webinar, registration instructions below.
“Map Spam: (yet more of) Launceston Revealed”
The Annual QVMAG Staff Lecture by Andrew Parsons, Esq.
ONLINE WEBINAR – SUNDAY 26TH JULY AT 1.30 PM.
Royal Society members must register to attend this webinar.
After technical problems developed with registration for this webinar, it was necessary to change the meeting number. We apologise for the inconvenience, but if you registered before July 22, you will need to re-register using the link below. If you have told anyone else about the webinar we would appreciate it if you could pass on this information.
Click here to register [link removed].This will allow you to engage in the online Questions and Answers session following the lecture.
The lecture will be recorded.
Andrew’s talk will be image-rich and divided into four themes: (1) books and the film that inspired the creation of Launceston Revealed;
(2) a review of the book’s contents; (3) the images that didn’t make the cut and those that might be included in a possible future edition;
and (4) a call to arms: what viewers can do to help preserve Launceston’s spatial history.
Andrew Parsons has worked at the Australian Maritime College and the University of Tasmania libraries in both Launceston and Hobart,
and managed UTAS Library’s special and rare books’ collections in Hobart. As part of this role he served as Honorary Librarian to the
Royal Society of Tasmania. In 2013 he commenced as Library Coordinator with QVMAG, during which time the QVMAG Library’s
rare book collections have undergone significant development.
Andrew is the Honorary Librarian to the Northern Branch of the Royal Society of Tasmania.