The Royal Society of Tasmania

The advancement of knowledge

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MR Banks Medal

In 1997, the Royal Society of Tasmania instituted the MR Banks Medal to be awarded biennially to a scholar of distinction in mid-career, in any field within the Society’s purview. The Medal honours Dr Maxwell R Banks’ contributions to science and the Royal Society of Tasmania.

Dr Maxwell R Banks

Conditions of the Award

  1. The recipient shall be a scholar of distinction in mid-career, between eight and 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 scholar to be recognized should be 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 medal is to be awarded 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”.
MR Banks Medal

MR Banks Medal nomination guidelines

On the first page of the nomination, give (1) the name of the nominee, contact address and email, and (2) the name of the nominator, contact address and email, and (3) a statement of the nominee’s equivalent-full-time years post-PhD graduation.

On the second page, provide a concise description of the nominee’s achievements relevant to the MR Banks Medal in language that is widely understood outside the nominee’s field of research. The nominee’s research or other scholarly contributions to science, history or other field of learning, industry or society should be clearly stated.

Provide the nominee’s curriculum vitae in full. Include the nominee’s education history, the date/s of receipt of degrees and a list of published works or other outputs. The most significant publications or outputs should be highlighted (e.g. with an asterisk). For all co-authored papers or outputs (including those where the nominee is first author), provide a percentage estimate of the nominee’s contribution.

The Honours, Medals and Awards Committee has limited ability to seek additional information and therefore depends entirely on the nomination document to assess the nominee’s suitability.

The nomination should be submitted by email as a single pdf file to the Honorary Secretary of the Society at admin@rst.org.au by the 31st August. Please write “MR Banks Medal Nomination” in the subject line.

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.