The Academy is pleased to announce the 2024 recipients of the Graeme Caughley Travelling Fellowship, Selby Fellowship and Rudi Lemberg Travelling Fellowship which will support four researchers in travelling both to Australia and overseas.
Ecosystem conservation with the Graeme Caughley Travelling Fellowship
Professor Richard Kingsford - University of New South Wales
Conservation biologist Professor Richard Kingsford from UNSW is this year's recipient of the Graeme Caughley Travelling Fellowship. He will visit South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, the United Kingdom and Europe, connecting with wildlife managers to discuss conservation in uncertain conditions based on the best available science and adjusting decisions as evidence is gathered, known as strategic adaptive management.
Professor Kingsford works with communities and governments across Australia on ecosystem management and implementing effective conservation actions. He will also use this Fellowship as an opportunity to inform scientific and conservation managers on the application of a new classification of Earth's ecosystems - the Global Ecosystem Typology.
"This can be a platform for assessment of the status of ecosystems and their drivers, which can focus management," Professor Kingsford said.
Offered every two years, the Fellowship commemorates the work of Dr G. J. Caughley FAA in ecology and wildlife management. The Fellowship is financed through the generosity of his friends and colleagues, to enable ecologists resident in Australia or New Zealand to share their expertise by visiting scientific centres in countries outside of the Fellow's own country.
"I had the privilege of having Graeme Caughley as a lecturer when I was an undergraduate at the University of Sydney," Professor Kingsford said.
"I still clearly remember marvelling at his intellect, wit and quantitative acumen articulating the critical importance of experimental design and analyses in applied wildlife management."
From bio-inspired design to ocean ecosystems, two international scientists will showcase their research in Australia thanks to the Selby Fellowship
Professor Ben Halpern and Professor Anette Hosoi are this year's recipients of the Selby Fellowship which will support their visits to scientific centres in Australia to share their research.
Professor Ben Halpern - University of California, Santa Barbara
Professor Ben Halpern is the Director of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and Professor in the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
His research uses environmental data science to address the many ways human activities are impacting ocean ecosystems and species, and the consequences of those impacts on the benefits we receive in return.
With funding from the Selby Fellowship, Professor Halpern will tour through Sydney, Perth and Brisbane, bringing his ocean sustainability science to new audiences.
"I'm so excited to have the chance to visit different parts of Australia, meet with new people and visit old friends, and share what I have been working on lately," Professor Halpern said.
Professor Anette Hosoi - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Professor Anette (Peko) Hosoi is the co-founder of the MIT Sports Lab which connects the MIT community with pro-teams and industry partners to address data and engineering challenges that lie within the sports domain. Her research is at the junction of fluid dynamics, biomechanics and bio-inspired design.
"The Selby Fellows are an exceptionally distinguished group of researchers, and I am incredibly proud and honoured to be added to the list," Professor Hosoi said.
"I am excited about my trip, and I am very much looking forward to meeting new people, starting new collaborations and getting to know Australia."
Awarded to two distinguished scientists this year, the Selby Fellowship fosters the international exchange of scientific ideas and is financed through the generosity of the trustees of the Selby Scientific Foundation.
Inspiring the next generation of scientists with the Rudi Lemberg Travelling Fellowship
Professor Peter Reich - University of Michigan and University of Minnesota
Professor Peter Reich is this year's recipient of the Rudi Lemberg Travelling Fellowship and will visit Australia to share his research on understanding and stewarding nature.
Previously the Chief Scientist at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University, Professor Reich is now the Director, Institute for Global Change Biology, University of Michigan and holds a Professorship at the University of Minnesota.
"Australian scientists and their institutions have always made me feel supremely welcome, and have hosted a great deal of exciting research done amidst high levels of collegiality and fun," Professor Reich said.
From small-group to large-team studies covering topics including biodiversity, biogeochemistry, and climate change - social justice interactions, Professor Reich will share his knowledge at presentations across Australia.
"I am enthused about sharing our research findings from North America and around the world with the Australian plant science, ecological and global change science communities," Professor Reich said.
"I am equally eager to learn from student, postdoc and faculty researchers about all of the amazing work ongoing across multiple institutions in Australia."
The Rudi Lemberg Travelling Fellowship commemorates the contributions of Professor Max Rudolph Lemberg FAA FRS to science in Australia, enabling either Australian or overseas scientists of standing to visit Australian scientific centres and deliver lectures. The Fellowship is financed through the generous bequest of Mrs Hanna Lemberg and the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Dates and details of all tour dates and public lectures will be published on the Academy website once confirmed.
Visit the Academy's awards and opportunities to find out about our honorific awards and funding opportunities.
