Guidelines for Medals and Awards

4. The Royal Society of Tasmania Awards

Seven awards are available. All have been introduced by the Honours Committee and ratified by Council and the Membership.

5. Frequency of Awards

Historically, for the three older Awards (that is, RM Johnston Memorial Medal, The Royal Society of Tasmania Medal and the Clive Lord Medal) no guidelines on frequency of bestowal were given (see Appendix A: Memorial Funds, Honours, Medals and Awards). The four more recent Awards (MR Banks Medal, the Peter Smith Medal, the Louisa Anne Meredith Medal and the Doctoral Awards) have suggested frequencies. A schedule has been established that offers guidelines for the presentation of all the awards (see Appendix E). Guidelines for a timetable for Award bestowal suggested by the Honours Committee and ratified by Council are:

• Doctoral (PhD) Awards to be awarded annually.
• MR Banks Medal to be awarded every two years (in alternate years to the Peter Smith Medal).
• Peter Smith Medal to be awarded every two years (in alternate years to the MR Banks Medal).
• Clive Lord Memorial Medal to be awarded every three years.
• The Royal Society of Tasmania Medal to be awarded every four years.
• Louisa Anne Meredith Medal to be awarded every four years.
• RM Johnston Memorial Medal to be awarded every five years.

The above guidelines permit some flexibility in Award frequency. For example, more frequent bestowal could occur if circumstances indicate (e.g. special events or applicants). Less frequent bestowal could be due to the lack of appropriate nominees.

6. Bestowal of multiple medals to single applicants

Normally a period of five years should elapse before an Awardee can receive a further Award from the Society. See https://rst.org.au/awards/past-recipients/ for past Awardees.

7. Nomination procedures – General guidelines

No self-nominations for any Award are allowed. For Medals: Nominations shall be sought by open notice to all members of The Royal Society of Tasmania. The Honours Committee will exercise the function of a ‘search committee, considering further applicants prompted by its own deliberations. For the Doctoral Awards: Nominations shall be widely sought from supervisors of potential nominees in Tasmania’s research institutions. Members of the Honours Committee may act as nominators for the Doctoral Award through their role as supervisors but will be absent from the final selection. A pro forma for all award nominations (Appendix F) should ensure consistency of information provided to the Honours Committee for all nominees.

8. Guidelines to the selection process – Nominations and evaluation of nominations

(i) Medals of the Royal Society of Tasmania

• No self-nominations will be accepted.
• Nominations shall be sought by open notice to all members of the Society by 30 June each year, together with additional names put forward by the Honours Committee acting in its role as a ‘search’ committee.
• Nominations using the pro forma (Appendix F) and specifying the pertinent award or awards shall be received by the Honorary Secretary by 31 August each year.
• If a member of the Honours Committee is nominated for a medal, that member must be absent from the pertinent discussions. The Committee may then co-opt a suitably qualified expert for discussion of that particular award.
• For any award, the Honours Committee may advise that no nominee has a record appropriate to justify an award.

(ii) The Royal Society of Tasmania Doctoral (PhD) Awards

• No self-nominations will be accepted.
• Nominations shall be sought from supervisors of potential applicants by circulating notices within the University of Tasmania and Tasmanian research institutions by early October.
• Members of the Honours Committee may act as nominators in their role as supervisors.
• Nominations are not restricted to members of the Society.
• Nominations in confidence from the nominee’s supervisor shall be received by the Honorary Secretary by 15 November each year.
• Nominations, which will include a summary of the doctoral thesis, title, publication list and copies of published material (Appendix D) will be examined by the Honours Committee. Recommendations will be forwarded to the Honorary Secretary for Council ratification by 31 January of the year immediately following.
• Nominees must have had their PhD formally conferred by the end of the calendar year of the nomination.

(iii) Timetable for Nominations

(iv) Confidentiality

All matters pertaining to the Society awards and the Honours Committee deliberations are confidential. The Honours Committee recommendations must be ratified by Council and all nominators must be informed of the outcome before public announcement of award winners.

9. Use of this Awards guidelines document

The Honours Committee wishes Council and the Membership to know that the aim in producing and revising this document is both to ensure that fair and meritorious Awards are made to the best nominees available and to support the advancement of knowledge of the highest calibre. These guidelines should be reviewed by the Honours Committee and Council every five years or as circumstances dictate.

10. Winners of RST Medals and Awards

 Past recipients of all RST Medals and Awards since 1923 are listed against each award.  You can view the awards here.  Click an award to learn more and view the list of recipients.

Appendix A

Memorial Funds, Honours, Medals and Awards

All previous Rules and Regulations referring to the RM Johnston Memorial Medal, the Clive Lord Memorial Medal and The Royal Society of Tasmania Medal are cancelled. Administration and determination of the award of the RM Johnston, Louisa Anne Meredith, Clive Lord and The Royal Society Medals are at the discretion of the Council. The award of one or other Medal should be a regular event in the life of the Society.

Appendix B

The MR Banks Medal: Conditions of Award

The Award is to honour Dr Maxwell R Banks’ contribution to science and The Royal Society of Tasmania. The conditions of the Award are:

1. The scholar to be recognised should have achieved a PhD or appropriate higher qualification between 8 and up to a maximum of 15 years or 15 equivalent full-time years, post PhD graduation. The Honours Committee retains the right to exercise discretion in the application of this condition.
2. The recipient shall be a scholar of distinction in mid-career, rapidly developing a standing in his/her field and be winning international recognition from peers.
3. The Award may be made in any field within the purview of the Society.
4. The research is to have been largely carried out in Tasmania or under the aegis of a Tasmanian-based organisation.
5. The Award is to be made every two years, alternating with, and not in the same year as, the Peter Smith Medal.
6. After the conferring of the Award, the recipient may be invited to address the Society by delivering the ‘MR Banks Lecture’ to the members.

Appendix C

The Louisa Anne Meredith Medal: Conditions of Award

 The Award is to honour Louisa Anne Meredith’s contribution to the areas of natural history art, scientific art, literature, and history and is to commemorate the exceptional whole-of-career contributions by a person in any area within the arts or humanities or both.

The conditions of the Award are:

1. The recipient shall be a person who excels in the field of arts or humanities or both, with outstanding contributions evidenced by creative outputs. The Honours Committee retain the right to exercise discretion in the application of this condition.
2. The medal is to be awarded every four years. Unsuccessful nominees are welcome to apply at future rounds. If the medal is not awarded in one particular round, then the medal will be readvertised in the following year.
3. After the conferring of the Award, the recipient may be invited to address the Society by delivering the ‘Louisa Anne Meredith Lecture’.

 Appendix D

The Royal Society of Tasmania Annual Doctoral (PhD) Awards

The Royal Society of Tasmania has instituted this Award to honour two doctoral (PhD) graduates who have made significant advances in the course of their doctoral research.

The conditions of this Award are:

• The Doctoral Awards are intended for PhD graduates within three years, or three years equivalent full-time, of their PhD graduation.
• The research should have been largely carried out in Tasmania or under the aegis of a Tasmanian-based organisation.
• Nominations may be made by anyone although no self-nominations will be accepted.
• Nominations are accepted in all disciplines – sciences, medicine, arts or humanities – within the purview of the Society.
• Two Awards are to be made available annually but will not be awarded if there are no nominees of sufficient quality.
• Beginning in 2021, and every second year thereafter, one Doctoral Award will be reserved for nominations from non-Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine (STEMM) disciplines and the other Award will be open. In alternate years, the Doctoral Awards will be entirely open.
• Expressions of interest are to be sought widely from all relevant institutions on an annual basis and must include an endorsement from the candidate’s supervisor.
• Each Awardee will be encouraged to address the Society.
• The value of each award is $1000.

Nominations to be submitted online as advised by the nominated due date.

All applications must include:

• A full academic curriculum vitae including the date of birth, the date of receipt of degrees (including the date of PhD graduation) and a full list of publications. Highlight the most significant outputs with an asterisk. For all co-authored publications, including first-author publications, the nominee’s role in those publications should be indicated as a percentage.
• An abstract (not more than one page) of the PhD study, including the thesis title.
• Include a statement (not more than one A4 page) of the new and original contribution made by the PhD research to the field, using language suitable for non-specialists. If the Nominator is not the PhD supervisor, this statement must be endorsed by the PhD supervisor. Applications without this document will not be considered.

Receipt of nominations must be no later than 15 November in each year. The Awards will be announced at the Society’s Annual General Meeting in Hobart in March the following year.

The Royal Society of Tasmania Awards by Year