Laureate Professor of Education Jenny Gore AM Affiliation: The University of Newcastle Discipline: Education Year elected: 2023 What initially drew you to your field of study? I come from a family where teaching was common, especially among the women. Education was always around me. My deeper interests—how to get better outcomes for teachers and students,…
Submarines in International Law Submarines in International Law is the first book to explore both the legal history and the contemporary regulation of submarine operations in varied areas of international law. The analysis demonstrates the instances where submarines influenced the development of the law of the sea and the law of armed conflict, as well…
Two First Nations researchers have received grants from the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia with support from the Wilhelm, Martha, and Otto Rechnitz Memorial Fund. This year’s recipients are Dr Samara Hand, Worimi/Biripi woman, born on Awabakal Country and raised on Bidjigal Country in South Sydney and Dr Shani Crumpen from the Torres Strait Islands. Dr Hand’s work…
In this issue, the Academy brings the ‘social’ to National Science Week, plus not-to-be-missed upcoming events and opportunities for international collaboration. View the July 2026 newsletter.
Professor Michelle Arrow Affiliation: Macquarie University Discipline: History, heritage and archaeology Year elected: 2023 What initially drew you to your field of study? I think I first became interested in history from observing the ways that my grandparents were profoundly shaped by their experiences during the Great Depression: they saved string and bits of brown paper and never…
Re-imagining Risk and Disruption: The Nature of Complex Unbounded Problems This timely book traces the common attributes of slow and fast-moving disruptions and disasters, from climate change and pandemics to increasingly crowded near-Earth space and nuclear emergencies. It shows how these challenges form, coalesce and cross boundaries, and recommends preventative policies and action.
Professor Rob RavenAffiliation: Sustainability Transitions Lab, Monash UniversityDiscipline: Human geographyYear elected: 2024 What initially drew you to your field of study? When I was a teenager in the 1980s, I was attracted to problem solving and finding solutions by tearing apart broken televisions or developing code on our first personal computer for automated solving of word-searching puzzles. While I no longer…
Professor Quentin Grafton Affiliation: Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy, Australian National University Year elected: 2013 How would you describe your work at a dinner party? I guess I would say: “I’m researcher and economist who works in the area of the environment with focus on water and how the environment connects to people…
Professor Kathy Bowrey Affiliation: UNSW Law & Justice Discipline: Law and legal studies Year elected: 2022 What initially drew you to your field of study? I had a law degree and also friends and flat mates who were artists making experimental digital music, artworks and videos for crushingly small audiences of fellow travellers. Lawyers kept telling them they had…
The 2024-2027 Australia–France Indo-Pacific Studies Program (AFIPS) is a flagship initiative delivered by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, with support from the Australian Government (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade). Anchored in the shared strategic commitment to advancing peace, resilience, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, the program supports interdisciplinary, policy-relevant social science research…
Top row (L to R): Professor Michael Berk AO FASSA FAHMS, Professor Justin Kenardy AO FASSA & Professor Mike Young AO FASSAMiddle row: Professor Rosemary Rayfuse AM FASSA , Professor Chandra Athukorala AM FASSA & Professor Steve Zubrick AM FASSA FAHMSBottom row: Professor Colin MacLeod AM FASSA, Professor Louise Chappell AM FASSA & Professor Greg…
In this issue, the Academy is on the hunt for a new CEO, congratulations are in order for many Fellows, mark your calendars with upcoming events and consider a tax-time donation to support the Academy’s work. View the June 2026 newsletter.
Playing on the Edge: Sport, Society and Culture in Asia and Oceania Contemporary global sport is in constant, sometimes bewildering flux. This book goes beyond orthodox globalisation theory, deploying the metaphor of ‘playing on the edge’ in analysing the dynamic process of making and remaking sport culture in Asia and Oceania. Beyond sport’s traditionally dominant…
Professor Emerita Billie Giles-Corti Affiliation: RMIT Centre for Urban Research Discipline: Built environment and design Year elected: 2023 How would you describe your work at a dinner party? My research is about how to design cities to make people healthy. What role do the social sciences play in your work? The social sciences have underpinned…
The Academy of the Social Sciences congratulates the inaugural commissioners appointed to the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, including Fellow Dr Stephen Duckett FASSA. Australia’s tertiary education sector equips our future workforce with the professional and technical for a range of careers and drive research and innovation. More than a simple qualification and route to employment,…
What initially drew you to your field of study? I’ve long been drawn to the stories Australia doesn’t always tell about itself—histories of colonisation, race relations, and cross-cultural encounters that sit just beneath the surface of national narratives. Like many non-Indigenous Australians, these histories are not abstract, but difficult, powerful and embodied and are threaded though my own family story too. Early…
A Research Agenda for Critical LiteraciesChallenges and Possibilities in Troubling Times Edited by Hilary Janks, Emerita Professor, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, Barbara Comber, Emerita Professor, Adelaide University, Australia and Vivian Vasquez, Distinguished Professor, American University, USA This cutting-edge Research Agenda offers a way forward for critical literacies that takes into account current conditions of…
Pictured above: Kiesha Wear (left), Coordinator of Data Sovereignty at Wungening Aboriginal Corporation and Distinguished Professor Emerita Maggie Walter FASSA at the 2025 Global Indigenous Data Sovereignty (GIDSov) Conference. (Image credit: Wolflab Media) For decades, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been among the most counted populations in Australia, and among the least heard. Governments…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is seeking a Chief Executive Officer of a nationally significant institution at a time when social science has never been more critical to Australia’s prosperity, resilience, and policy direction. Why this role? This is a rare opportunity to partner with the President and Board to deliver the…
A series of reports prepared by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering for Safe Work Australia maps the national work health and safety (WHS) and workers’ compensation research landscape. The project used an innovative research methodology, combining a taxonomy based scoping review, case study…
Professor Adam Possamai Affiliation: Western Sydney University Discipline: Sociology Year elected: 2023 How would you describe your work at a dinner party? As everyone has an opinion about religion, being a believer, ex-believer, atheist, sceptic or someone who grew up with a religion, I always find it challenging to speak about my research. I have found that…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, jointly with The Embassy of France in Australia, proudly congratulates two convening teams of researchers who have received Australia-France Social Science Collaborative Workshops grants for 2026. Details of the two research teams and their projects are listed below. Dependencies, Disruptions, and Futures: Building an Australia-France Alliance on…
Professor Emerita Joan Beaumont Affiliation: Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University Discipline: History, heritage and archaeology Year elected: 1997 How would you describe your work at a dinner party? Historians of the two world wars and Australia’s role in these. What role do the social sciences play in your work? I draw…
In this issue, find updates from leadership, opportunities to get involved, upcoming events, featured stories, and a selection of things to read, watch, and listen to. View the May 2026 newsletter.