1332nd Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW — 4 June 2025

"AI: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"

Professor Michael Blumenstein FRSN FACS (1) and

Professor Nicholas Davis (2)

(1) Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business Creation and Major Facilities)

(2) Director, Strategy and Operations, Human Technology Institute

University of Technology Sydney

The presentation commences at 02:55

Timing Marks:

00:00:00 Introduction: Professor Sally Cripps FRSN, Co-Director, Human Technology Institute, University of Technology Sydney

00:02:55 Presentation: Professor Nicholas Davis

00:20:52 Presentation: Professor Michael Blumenstein

00:41:46 Panel and Audience Q&A: Professors Cripps, Davis and Blumenstein

01:22:46 Vote of Thanks: Emeritus Professor Lindsay Botten FRSN, Vice-President, Royal Society of NSW

01:24:44 Meeting Close

https://www.royalsoc.org.au/events/1332nd-ogm-and-open-lecture/

Summary: Artificial Intelligence is transforming the world, promising revolutionary breakthroughs, while also raising profound ethical and social questions. In this talk, Professors Michael Blumenstein and Nicholas Davis will take a candid tour through the current landscape of AI: the good, from life-saving medical applications to creative tools that amplify human potential; the bad, including biased algorithms, misinformation, and technological enhanced inequality; and the ugly, the darker risks of surveillance, deepfakes, and the unintended consequences of unchecked AI development.

Rather than techno-utopian hype or dystopian doom, this presentation aims for nuance: exploring how we can harness the power of AI responsibly, critically, and creatively. Whether you are an enthusiast, sceptic, or somewhere in between, this talk invites you to engage with the urgent and complex realities shaping our AI-powered future.

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There are a ton of tips on healthy eating, diet, and weight loss online, but not all of this information is accurate. Listen to Dist. Prof. Chris Blanchard explore the impact of diet on health, and bust popular food myths shared on social media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryP_wHzdcGY

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Hunter Branch Meeting 2025-2 of the Royal Society of NSW — 15 May 2025

"From Test Tubes to Terawatts: How Research Sparked a Battery Business"

Professor Thomas Nann

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Allegro Energy, Newcastle

https://www.royalsoc.org.au/events/hunter-branch-meeting-2025-2/

The presentation commences at 01:25

Time Stamps:

00:00:00 Introduction: Emeritus Professor George Willis FRSN FAA, Chair, RSNSW Hunter Branch

00:01:25 Presentation: Professor Thomas Nann

00:49:07 Audience Q&A with Professor Nann moderated by Professor Willis

01:10:47 Meeting Close

Summary: Translating research outcomes into real-world impact is (almost) every academic’s dream. However, the journey from academia to business is steep and fraught with challenges. These include navigating negotiations with technology transfer offices, bridging the “valley of death” to develop the first minimum viable product, and mastering the complexities of running a business—a skillset far removed from the academic environment.

In this presentation, Thomas will share insights into this transition, touching on the science behind his work but also focusing on his journey from academia to leading a rapidly growing business.

About the speaker: Thomas Nann is the CEO and co-founder of Allegro Energy, an Australian company based in Newcastle. Allegro Energy provides sustainable, high-performance energy storage solutions, mainly focussing on long-duration energy storage using Allegro’s proprietary microemulsion flow battery technology. Thomas is an experienced speaker, leader, innovator and entrepreneur. He has many years of experience in leading academic research and research organisations, manufacturing facilities and commercialising research outcomes. Climate change mitigation and renewable energy have always been his passion. After completing his PhD in electrochemistry and his Habilitation in nanomaterials, he led numerous academic and industrial projects in the field of renewable energy generation and storage.

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1331st Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW — 7 May 2025

"Rethinking Mobility in a Changing Climate"

Scientia Professor Jane McAdam AO FASSA FAAL

Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law

Faculty of Law & Justice

UNSW Sydney

The presentation commences at 02:04

Timing Marks:

00:00:00 Introduction: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade FRSN, President, Royal Society of NSW

00:02:04 Presentation: Scientia Professor Jane McAdam

00:45:55 Audience Q&A: moderated by Emeritus Professor Christina Slade

01:14:21 Vote of Thanks: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade

01:16:04 Meeting Close

Summary: Every second, someone is displaced by a disaster. Each year, many more people are displaced internally by disasters than by conflict – the vast majority in the Asia-Pacific region. Climate change will amplify the problem as worsening cyclones, floods, bushfires, droughts and food insecurity force millions from their homes, potentially rendering some areas permanently unsafe. Most people will move within their own countries, including through evacuations, but some may be displaced across borders. Some may not be able to move at all; yet others may be displaced multiple times. When it comes to legal and policy responses to climate mobility, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. While the challenges of addressing climate change and disasters are immense, much can be done to alleviate displacement and its human costs – if we act now. This address will examine how law and policy is responding to the challenge of climate mobility at a time when every region of the world is being impacted by more frequent and intense disasters. What do affected communities want? How could greater preparedness lead to greater protection? How can migration itself be a form of adaptation to climate change?

Professor Jane McAdam AO is Scientia Professor of Law, Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and the Founding Director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW Sydney, where she leads the Evacuations Research Hub. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Law, and an Honorary Associate of Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre. Professor McAdam publishes widely on international refugee law and forced migration, with a particular focus on evacuations and mobility in the context of climate change and disasters. Her legal analysis has been adopted by courts, governments and UN bodies, and her work has been highly influential in the development of international, regional and national policy frameworks. Professor McAdam serves on multiple international committees and was joint Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Refugee Law (2014–24). In 2021, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) ‘for distinguished service to international refugee law, particularly to climate change and the displacement of people’. She won the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Law Award in 2022 and was the inaugural winner of the Royal Society of NSW Award for the Humanities, Philosophy, and the Law in 2024.

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Western Branch Meeting 2025-1 of the Royal Society of NSW — 16 April 2025

"Is my food killing me?"

Distinguished Professor Chris Blanchard

Professor of Food Science, Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University

https://www.royalsoc.org.au/events/western-nsw-branch-meeting-2025-1/

This lecture was a joint presentation of Charles Sturt University, as part of its Provocations Public Lecture Series, and the Western NSW Branch of the Royal Society of NSW

Summary: Food-related diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide. The incidence of cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and cancer can be reduced by maintaining a healthy diet. However, these diseases still rank among the top 10 causes of death globally.

According to social media platforms like Facebook, wheat breeders are blamed for the rise in celiac disease due to the development of toxic varieties. Additionally, food processors are accused of stripping nutrients from our food, the livestock industry is said to be responsible for elevated cholesterol levels, and multinational companies are allegedly poisoning us with glyphosate through genetically modified crops.

But is Facebook correct, or are there other reasons for the high prevalence of food-related diseases? This presentation will explore the impact of diet on health and examine how our research is challenging some of the food-related myths circulating on social media.

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RSNSW Provocations and Inspirations: 15 April 2025

“Extreme Earth: Antarctica’s climate warning for the future and what we can all do about it”

Professor Chris Turney FRSN FRSA FRMetS

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research)

University of Technology Sydney

https://www.royalsoc.org.au/events/lunchtime-series-provocations-and-inspirations-april-2025/

Summary: Antarctica is the planet’s barometer for understanding the impacts of global heating. In this talk, Chris will explore how the vast southern ice sheets serve as both witness and harbinger of our planet’s changing climate. By exploring ice core data spanning thousands of years, glacial retreat and shifting marine ecosystems, we can decode the story of the Earth’s past and gain insights into our possible futures. Chris will highlight recent research expeditions that have revealed the worrying acceleration in ice mass loss, rising sea level and temperatures, and the implications for communities across Australia and worldwide. But in this most extreme of environments, there is also hope. Not just as a warning of what might come to be but how this vast region might help avert the worst impacts of a changing climate… and what we can all do to take action, today.

Professor Chris Turney is an internationally recognised climate and Earth scientist at the University of Technology Sydney. A former Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Chris has pioneered the development of new records of climate, environmental and carbon-cycle changes from the tropics to the poles. By extending instrumental observations in remote and extreme environments back over millennia, his work has plugged key knowledge gaps around the world to reveal new insights into the Earth system and modes of variability, helping identify tipping points and future impacts. Passionate about accelerating the transition to “net-zero” carbon emissions, Turney is leading the development and deployment of Australian technologies and ideas globally at speed and scale. To help make this a reality, Chris was a Founding Director, Inventor and Scientific Advisor to the New Zealand-based cleantech company CarbonScape which has developed technology to covert plant material into locally-produced, sustainable, carbon-negative bioengineered graphite for lithium-ion batteries (www.carbonscape.com). He is also a Non-Executive Director of Cicada Innovations, Australia’s leading incubator of deep tech ventures, and the NSW Government’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA). Chris is also the podcast host for ‘Unf*cking the Future’ with Imagine Entertainment, exploring the sobering climate reality our planet faces today and the common–sense solutions that can be implemented now to save it.

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1330th Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW — 2 April 2025

"Engineering the Future"

Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte FRS FRSE FAA FIEEE

NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer

State Government of New South Wales

https://www.royalsoc.org.au/events/1330th-ogm-and-open-lecture/

The presentation commences at 01:36

Timing Marks:

00:00:00 Introduction: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade FRSN, President, Royal Society of NSW

00:01:36 Presentation: Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte

00:43:14 Audience Q&A: moderated by Emeritus Professor Christina Slade

01:07:52 Vote of Thanks: Emeritus Professor Christina Slade

01:09:27 Meeting Close

Hugh Durrant-Whyte has worked as an engineer in academia, industry and government for over forty years during which time he has witnessed and been an active participant in great change – driven primarily by the growing power of information and communication technologies. He believes that the next forty years of engineering will deliver even more profound change for humanity through the intersection of four technology domains – Digital, Biology, Materials, and Energy:

The digital and information age is still in its infancy. The positive potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to enable more productive lives, to make better decisions and to undertake tasks not yet possible, is just beginning. While mindful of the perils, Australia stands to benefit substantially from these developments – from increased and bespoke manufacturing activity, through smarter defence, to managing fragile ecosystems. New physics, in quantum, photonics and organics, will also drive unprecedented advances in information technology hardware, from computing to sensing and communications.

The revolution in biology in the last two decades rivals that of the early information age. Biology is increasingly an engineering discipline as it becomes more concerned with design, computation and manufacturing. Engineering is already at the heart of new and developing biology industries from RNA to synthetic meats. Engineering thinking is also driving new directions in biology: the use of computational AI in protein structure prediction; understanding life as a complex web of protein nano-machines; and the use of tools from synthetic biology and gene editing to create new proteins and organisms. I believe that as biology becomes an engineering technology, its impact will surpass even that of the information age.

Materials science has changed beyond all recognition from forty years ago: what was once mainly about metal forming and finishing, is now about nano-structures and internal architectures, meta-materials and additive manufacturing, and about carbon and novel organics. This has been driven by a new understanding of materials at the atomic scale, by additive manufacturing technologies, and by the increasing use of novel chemistries – both organic and inorganic. Materials science is increasingly the key to ... [truncated]

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Hunter Branch Meeting 2025-1 of the Royal Society of NSW — 20 March 2025

"Our Magnetic Sun"

Dr Hannah Schunker

ARC Future Fellow, School of Information and Physical Sciences

University of Newcastle

https://www.royalsoc.org.au/events/hunter-branch-meeting-2025-1/

The presentation commences at 01:24

Time Stamps:

00:00:00 Introduction: Emeritus Professor George Willis FRSN FAA, Chair, RSNSW Hunter Branch

00:01:24 Presentation: Dr Hannah Schunker

00:42:41 Audience Q&A with Dr Schunker moderated by Professor Willis

00:57:12 Meeting Close

Summary: The Sun is a magnetic star, with its magnetic field driving a wide range of phenomena, from dark sunspots on the surface to large explosions of energy in the outer atmosphere. Generated by the motion of electrically conductive plasma within the Sun’s interior, the magnetic activity cycle of the Sun peaks every 11 years. One of the key challenges in solar physics is understanding the mechanism of the solar dynamo that generates the solar cycle. Recent advances in numerical simulations, combined with high-resolution observations of the Sun’s surface, are helping to address this question. Furthermore, placing the Sun in the context of other Sun-like stars reveals that its magnetic activity is atypical, offering new insights into stellar dynamo processes. The Sun’s magnetic field is the primary driver of space weather, influencing the solar wind that carries energetic particles outward through the heliosphere. These particles shape space weather phenomena, including auroras, which have recently been visible at latitudes as far from the South Pole as Newcastle as we approach solar maximum. Understanding the magnetic field’s generation and behaviour is critical for improving predictions of space weather events that impact Earth’s technological systems—such as communications, navigation, and defence infrastructure. This research also advances our understanding of space weather dynamics on exoplanets, with implications for the habitability of distant worlds and the potential for life beyond our Solar System.

About the speaker: Hannah Schunker is an ARC Future Fellow in the physics discipline at the University of Newcastle (Australia). Her doctorate was conferred in 2007 from Monash University under the supervision of Professor Paul Cally. She then held research scientist positions at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (Germany) in the Department of Solar and Stellar Interiors under the director Prof. Laurent Gizon. Her overarching science goal is to understand one of the fundamental problems in astrophysics: the solar dynamo. She attacks the problem with a top-down approach from two perspectives: i) using helioseismology to understand the formation mechanism and subsurface structure of magnetic active regions on the Sun, and ii) using asteroseismology to probe the internal dynamics of other stars to exploit the solar-stellar connection. Space weather is entirely driven by the ... [truncated]

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RSNSW 2024 Postgraduate Students and Early Career Researchers Award Presentations — 5 March 2025

The Royal Society of NSW presented its 2024 Bicentennial Postgraduate Scholarships and Early Career Research (ECR) Citations to seven young researchers on the evening of 5 March at a ceremony at the University of Technology Sydney chaired by the renowned science journalist, Robyn Williams AO FRSN FAA, host of the ABC Science Show.

Their presentations in this video were recorded offline by the winners, information about whom, together with the topics of their research are available from the events notice:

https://www.royalsoc.org.au/events/rsnsw-2024-student-and-early-career-research-award-presentations/

Timing Marks:

00:05 David Sweeney, U. Sydney (Jak Kelly Award) — Finding the Galactic Underworld: the hunt for stellar corpses

06:08 Muyang Li, U. Sydney (Scholarship Winner) — Measuring and correcting instance-dependent error in semi-supervised learning

12:48 Joel Sved, U. Sydney (Scholarship Winner) — Machine Learning Assisted Optimisation of Integrated Silicon Photonic Circuits

18:14 Linqing Tian, UNSW Sydney (Scholarship Winner) — Nanoparticles and Drug Discovery

25:02 Dr Fei Deng, UNSW Sydney (ECR Citation) — Advances in CRISPR-based Diagnostics

30:06 Dr Jennifer Matthews, UTS (ECR Citation) — The Coral Diet: symbiosis, supplements, and survival

35:10 Dr Cynthia Turnbull, ANU (Early Career Researcher Citation) — Modifying the immune system one protein at a time

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