The Royal Society of Tasmania invites you to attend a special lecture Jane Franklin: the real founder of the Royal Society of Tasmania by Dr Alison Alexander
Tuesday 4 August, 8.00 pm Royal Society Room, Customs House Building, TMAG,
19 Davey St. Hobart (entry from Dunn Place)
All interested people are welcome
Admission is free

Abstract: Sir John Franklin has always been praised as the real founder of the Royal Society of Tasmania. This lecture argues that the real founder was in fact his wife, Jane Franklin, and shows the enormous work she put into creating and maintaining an unusually erudite society for a small and remote colony.

Alison Alexander was born and educated in Hobart, obtaining a PhD from the University of Tasmania. She has written 27 books of mainly Tasmanian history, including many commissioned works, but also Tasmania’s Convicts: how felons built a free society (2009); The ambitions of Jane Franklin, Victorian lady adventurer (2013) which won the National Biography Award in 2014; and her forthcoming Corruption and Skulldirggery: Edward Lord, Maria Riseley and Hobart’s tempestuous beginnings.

Author Dr Alison Alexander (BA Hons 1975, DipEd 1976, PhD 1991) and highly respected graphic designer Julie Hawkins have collaborated to produce Beneath the Mountain: A History of South Hobart. The launch is 11 September, 5pm at the South Hobart Living Arts Centre. Purchase after this date from the Convener of the South Hobart History Sub-Committee, South Hobart Progress Association Inc, Malcolm Saltmarsh (BA 1972, DipEd 1973).

Doctoral Award Winner for 2014, Amy Peacock will be presented with her award and will then talk on her PhD Thesis: A Mixed Hazard: Does Consuming Energy Drinks Mixed with Alcohol Actually Increase Harms?

The Royal Society Room

19 Davey St Hobart (entry via Dunn St Car Park)

Tuesday 7 July  8.00 pm

All welcome

A Mixed Hazard: Does Consuming Energy Drinks Mixed with Alcohol Actually Increase Harms?

Alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmED) is an increasingly popular consumption trend generating concern amongst researchers, health professionals, and policy-makers. It has been theorised that the stimulant effects of the energy drink mask the depressant effects of alcohol, causing reduced perception of intoxication, and increased alcohol-related harms, particularly in regards to behavioural risk-taking. Despite calls for further marketing and sales regulation, there is a lack of research investigating the consumption patterns, motivations for, and consequences of, AmED use, particularly for consumers in the general community. Key gaps in the current literature relate to the paucity of: (i) within-subject research assessing intoxication outcomes after AmED versus alcohol to determine whether consumers experience additional alcohol-related harms from co-ingestion, and (ii) experimental laboratory-based controlled research objectively assessing AmED and alcohol intoxication outcomes to examine the pharmacological effects of co-ingestion. This presentation will overview the results of a series of studies aimed at clarifying the effects of the combined beverage, including discussion of potential future public health reform.

Dr Amy Peacock is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology at the University of Tasmania, having completed her PhD in 2014. Dr Peacock’s research interests relate to misuse of alcohol and other drugs. Her primary current projects include experimental research assessing the pharmacological effects of alcohol combined with other substances; field research monitoring alcohol harms in the night-time economy; and epidemiological research monitoring illicit drug trends and introduction of abuse-deterrent pharmaceutical opioid formulations. Dr Peacock was awarded the Tasmanian Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Emerging Researcher Award in 2014.

Venue: University of Tasmania, Stanley Burbury Theatre

1. Evolution and Generation of Life on the Early Earth

Wednesday June 24    7.30pm

• The Theory of Evolution – What have we learnt since Charles Darwin? – Professor John Long, Flinders University.    More Information
• The Early Earth and Generation of Life (the first billion years) – Professor Malcom Walter, Australian Centre for Astrobiology, University of NSW.   More Information

Listen to the lectures here

2. Middle Earth – the Slingshot of Life

Wednesday July 15th   7.30pm

• The Boring Billion Years in Earth History and its Significance – Indrani Mukherjee, PhD student, University of Tasmania. More information
•  The Cambrian Explosion of Life and Rise of Marine Species – Dr Diego Bellido-Garcia, University of Adelaide. More information

Listen to the lectures here

3. Life in the last 500 million years; Mass Extinctions, Volcanoes and Meteorites

Wednesday July 22nd 7.30pm

•  The Five Great Mass Extinction Events – what was their cause, and when is the next? – Distinguished Professor Ross Large, University of Tasmania.  more information
• Mega Volcanic Eruptions and the Greatest Mass Extinction of all Time – Dr Karin Orth, University of Tasmania. more information

 

Dr Nicki Tarulevicz will present “Singapore: Global Pantry of the Future?”

in The Royal Society Room, 19 Davey St (entry via Dunn St Car Park) at 8.00 om on Tuesday June 2 2015.

All welcome and entry is free.

 

Although importing the vast majority of your food seems like particularly twenty-first-century situation, it has been the reality of the Southeast Asian island-state of Singapore since settlement in 1819. Singapore relies on imported water; it does not have, and has never had, an agricultural hinterland and this created an early reliance on the global pantry with a consequent distance from producers and the need to negotiate long supply chains. Despite the dependence on imported food, Singapore is now internationally famous as a food destination, with food doing important nation-building work. This accomplishment, however, required intensive management and regulation—another characteristic for which the city-state is well known. In this sense, Singapore anticipated the contemporary complexity of the food system as it is now playing out globally, making Singapore a surprisingly relevant place to discuss food in a global food system.

 

Bio-note: Dr Nicole Tarulevicz is a Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the School of Humanities, University of Tasmania. She is a Historian and author ofEating Her Curries and Kway: A Cultural History of Food in Singapore (2013), she is currently working on a project with the working title Taste of Safety: A History of Food Quality. She was the recipient of the 2012 Association for the Study of Food Culture and Society Pedagogy Award and is a current Elected Member of the Board of the Association for the Study of Food, Culture and Society (2014-17).

Maatsuyker Island is home to Australia’s most southerly lighthouse. Set high on the south end of the island, the lighthouse opened in 1891 and guided ships around Tasmania’s Southwest Cape for over one hundred years before an automatic light was installed in 1996. Maatsuyker is 10 kilometres offshore from the southwest corner of Tasmania making it one of the most remote lighthouses in Australia. The magnificent lighthouse and the three keeper’s residences still stand today on this lonely outpost. Today, in order to preserve the historical, cultural and natural values Maatsuyker Island is manned year-round by adventurous volunteers who accept the isolation and hard work of the island for 6 months at a time. Come join former caretakers, Marina Campbell and Gary Miller, for an evening about one of Australia’s most isolated lighthouses and the beautiful and surprisingly pristine island. Marina and Gary would like to share with you their experiences with the island, the work, the wildlife and most of all the lighthouse.

The Royal Society of Tasmania invites you to attend a special lecture by Prof. Matt King
Continental loss:The quest to determine Antarctica’s contribution to sea-level change
Tuesday 3 March, 8.00 pm
Royal Society Room,
Customs House Building, TMAG,
19 Davey St. Hobart (entry from Dunn Place)
• All interested people welcome
• Admission is free
Prof. King is the 2015 recipient of the prestigious Kavli Medal awarded by The Royal Society of London for his work that contributed to the first reconciled estimate of Antarctica and Greenland’s contribution to sea-­‐level change.

Summary:
For over 50 years scientists have been working to understand Antarctica’s contribution to sea level. For much of this time there has been disagreement about if this massive ice sheet is even growing or shrinking. In 2012, advances in data analysis and computer modelling resulted in the first reconciled estimate of change being achieved. This showed that Antarctica is increasingly contributing to sea-level rise. During this lecture I will explain some of the major advances that led to this reconciled estimate and highlight some of the fascinating things we can learn about Earth from the vantage-point of Antarctica; these take us from hundreds of miles above Earth’s surface to hundreds of miles below, and from present-day ice sheet changes to those that happened 20,000 years ago.

Bio:
Matt King grew up in Burnie before moving with his family to Hobart in 1988. During 1992-1996 he undertook a Bachelor of Surveying at the University of Tasmania, a time that included a year working in mines on Tasmania’s West Coast. He then shifted focus to Antarctica, undertaking a PhD quantifying changes in the motion of a large floating Antarctic ice shelf using surveying data. In 2001 he moved to the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, where he researched GPS positioning and its application to understanding glacier dynamics, Earth deformation and Antarctica’s contribution to recent sea-level change. He has travelled to both Antarctica and Greenland and published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, including several in the leading journals Science and Nature. In late 2012 he returned to the University of Tasmania where he is based in the School of Land and Food as Professor of Polar Geodesy and ARC Future Fellow. In April he will travel to the Royal Society (London) to receive the 2015 Kavli Medal and Lecture which is awarded every two years for excellence in all fields of science and engineering relevant to the environment or energy, and particularly for his work that contributed to the first reconciled estimate of Antarctica and Greenland’s contribution to sea-level change.

 

 

Christmas Dinner and Lecture

Tuesday 2 December 6.00 pm at the CSIRO Lecture Theatre, Castray Esplanade, Hobart

Starting at the much earlier time of 6.00 pm for the lecture followed by a two course Buffet meal at 7.30 pm.   Wine and beer will be available for purchase at the venue, which is licensed.  BYO is not permitted.

RSVP is Essential by 21 November 2013. The price is $40.00 per person. It is possible to attend the lecture and not the dinner but RSVP is still required .

For security purposes we require names and addresses for all attending. Those with special dietary requirements should contact the office.

After a four month voyage from England 29 year old William Russ Pugh arrived in Hobart on December 10 1835. Failing to secure a position as a doctor and having his offer of marriage to Cornelia Kerton, a fellow passenger rejected, he re-embarked on the Derwent for Sydney, only to discover the same situation pertained. Returning to Hobart the Derwent arrived on January 31 1836. Pugh resolved to walk “to the North” seeking employment prospects and perhaps a second chance to secure a wife. He and a companion left Hobart on February 6 1836 and four weeks later Pugh arrived in Launceston. The travellers stayed at a number of homesteads on the way, one of them still owned by the same family which welcomed Pugh on his journey.

In this lecture, based on extracts from Pugh’s diary published in the Illustrated Tasmanian News of December 6 1934 John will describe the settlers they stayed with on the journey and the interesting propositions put to Pugh. At almost every lodging Pugh was presented with a choice of career to pursue – medicine or mutton. Fortunately for Launceston, and for Australian anaesthesia, he chose to set up a doctor’s practice. The talk will provide a new view of the Midland highway for the current traveller.

Dr John Paull, MB, BS, Dip Ed, FANZCA.

After an exciting career in clinical anaesthesia, administration, teaching and anaesthesia research for over 35 years, John retired in 2007. He has authored more than seventy peer reviewed scientific papers and written a number of book chapters for anaesthesia texts. He has held senior positions in Government boards of enquiry and professional bodies. Since 2005 he has been endeavouring to discover more of the real Launceston doctor, William Russ Pugh, his innovations, his triumphs and tragedies. Not just the first doctor in Australia to offer ether anaesthesia to surgical patients, but an active scientist and supporter of local good causes Pugh set an example to his colleagues but attracted vicious professional jealousy. He was a founding member of the Royal Society of Tasmania.
After eight years research John has unearthed many interesting and controversial aspects of Pugh’s career and has now completed Pugh’s biography ‘Not Just an Anaesthetist: the remarkable life of Dr William Russ Pugh MD’, revealing the life and times of Pugh and his wife Cornelia in the bustling mid nineteenth century Launceston.
John has an appointment in the School of Humanities at the University of Tasmania as a University Associate and is the Immediate Past President of the Northern Chapter of the Royal Society of Tasmania. He is currently the Honorary Archivist of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists.

 

 

 

Three post graduates will each present a 20 minute talk on their field of study.

Tuesday 7 October 2014, 8.00pm

The Royal Society Room,  19 Davey St Hobart

 

Daniel Gregory

“The Chemical Conditions of the Late Archean Hamersley Basin Inferred from Whole Rock and Pyrite Geochemistry with Δ33S and δ34S Isotope Analyses”

Daniel Gregory graduated with a BSc in Chemistry in 2004 from the University of British Columbia and a BSc honours in Geology in 2007 from the University of British Columbia. After completion of his geology degree Dan was awarded the APEG BC gold medal for excellence in geosciences. During the summer from 2004 to 2006 he worked in mineral exploration in the Yukon Territory and British Columbia for Archer, Cathro and Associates, rising from the position of field assistant to project geologist. After graduation in 2007 Dan continued to work as project geologist for Archer Cathro until March 2010 when he began his PhD at the University of Tasmania under supervision of Ross Large. Dan’s PhD investigated that trace element content of sedimentary pyrite through geologic time and tested whether the source of gold in the St. Ives gold deposit, Western Australia, could be the shales within the host rocks. He finished his PhD in November of 2013 and is currently working on studies to develop the use of pyrite as a vectoring tool for ore deposit exploration in Western Australia and South Australia.

Lavy Ratnarajah

Bottoms up: How whale poop helps feed the ocean

Lavy graduated with a BSC in Environmental Management from Monash University and subsequently completed Honours in Zoology at the University of Tasmania. She has previously worked on species conservation projects in Australia, USA, Ecuador and Malaysia. Lavy is currently doing a PhD at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre at the University of Tasmania. Her research looks at how defecation by whales can influence phytoplankton growth and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

 Aliaa Shallan

“Point-of-care Devices for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring”

Aliaa Shallan started her PhD at the University of Tasmania in 2011 under a scholarship funded by the Egyptian government. She is doing research within Professor Michael Breadmore and Dr. Rosanne Guijt’s group in the Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS) which is part of the Chemistry discipline in the School of Physical Sciences.
Her research is focused on developing point-of-care devices for therapeutic drug monitoring that are portable and cost effective. The outcomes are expected to improve the quality of life for many patients and empower health care providers with information that facilitate making timely decisions.
Aliaa’s research interests include analytical techniques for biological sample handling, microfluidics, sample-in/answer-out devices, and fast prototyping.
Communicating science to the public is one of her passions.

 

All welcome and admission is free