Awards and Grants
Spriggina, State Fossil for SA
To recognise work, expertise or publications considered to be outstanding, the Society has three awards with which it can indicate this recognition.
These are the Verco Medal for Fellows of the Society, the Andrewartha Medal for early career stage researchers and the Publication Medal for an outstanding paper submitted to the Transactions by a young scientist.
Also, in recognition of the difficulty there may be in accessing money for a small research project by a student or perhaps retired member, there is a grant system available.
Small Research Grants Scheme
RSSA awards small grants for research work in the following fields: ecology, botany, zoology, geology, geomorphology, palaeontology, geophysics, anthropology, soil science, environmental science, environmental remediation, and archaeology.
The aim of the scheme is to promote high quality natural history research that is unlikely to be funded through larger nationally competitive schemes. The Society specifically wishes to support research by those unable to acquire funding from major grant agencies, such as postgraduate students, Early Career researchers and those outside of Universities.
Important dates: applications close on June 19th 2023 and applicants are notified of outcome August 2023.
1. The Primary Applicant must be a member of the RSSA for 2023 (other named applicants do not have to be members). If the applicant is a student member of the RSSA, one of their supervisors must also be a member of the RSSA.
2. The Primary Applicant can only submit one application for funding. Grant recipients from within the past 5 years are ineligible.
3. The funding request should be for a standalone research project i.e. not cover funding shortfalls in a current project. This research project may an extension of an existing funded research programme or it may form part of a larger PhD project, but the requested funding needs to be for a discrete and entire research component of that project. Institutional overheads or university infrastructure are not eligible for inclusion.
4. The grant is paid as a single instalment.
5. RSSA is to be acknowledged as a funding provider in all presentations and publications arising from the supported research..
6. Recipients are to give an oral presentation to an Ordinary General Meeting of the society within 18 months of being awarded the grant. Recipients are strongly encouraged to submit project findings for publication in the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia.
7. Research with direct commercial application will not be supported.
8. Research involving humans or animals must be approved by a relevant institutional research ethics committee.
9. If the research is not carried out within two years of the funding being awarded it is to be returned to the Society. Funds are non-transferrable to other research projects.
Application form: Click here to download
RSSA ALL ROUNDER AWARD
Nominations for the 2023 Royal Society of South Australia’s All Rounder Award (for early career researchers) are now open (until Saturday 21st
October 2023 11:59pm). This award is to acknowledge the contributions made to science by individuals in the early stages of their career (from their undergraduate and up to 1 year after completing post-graduate studies).
Eligibility guidelines/criteria are detailed in the attached nomination form which can be completed digitally (as a PDF or word document) and emailed to secretary@rssa.org.au.
The RSSA All Rounder Award has a two-step application process:
1) Potential awardees are nominated by a member of the RSSA via the form below.
2) The RSSA council reviews the nomination forms and invites nominees to formally apply for the award via a cover-letter (which addresses the award criteria). Nominees can include details from the 5 years preceding their nomination.
The RSSA All Rounder Award is a title award only, with no monetary prize associated. Awardees are given free membership to the society for the subsequent year after their success.
Feel free to contact Andrea (Hon. Secretary at secretary@rssa.org.au) if you have any questions about the award or the application process.
Successful applicants will be notified in November 2023.
Download the Award Information & Nomination Form
THE VERCO MEDAL
The medal shall be awarded for distinguished scientific work published by a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Australia. It is the highest honour that the Society can bestow on one of its Fellows. Only those who have made a significant, outstanding contribution to their field(s) of study receive the award.
The first award of the medal was made to Prof Walter Howchin in 1929. Previous winners include: JB Cleland, T Harvey-Johnstone, Sir Douglas Mawson, HG Andrewartha, Reg Sprigg, Pat Thomas, MF Glaessner, Michael Tyler, WD (Bill) Williams, Michael Archer and Tom White.
Because of the careful deliberation that goes with each award, the list of Verco Medallists represents a most revered, respected and outstanding collection of scientists.
Nominations close on June 30th of each year.
Download the Verco medal information and application form (PDF)
THE PUBLICATION MEDAL
This medal is awarded for the most outstanding paper published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia by an author aged 40 years or younger who is a Fellow of the Society. It’s aim is to encourage and reward high quality scientific publication by younger scientists.
The award is not given every year, as it is reserved for contributions of only the highest quality.
The recipient will granted a year’s full membership of the society.
THE HG ANDREWARTHA MEDAL
Due to the initiative and generosity of Emeritus Professor P.A. Parsons the Royal Society of South Australia has been able to establish a medal to recognise outstanding research by an early career young Australian scientist.
There is no restriction on where the work was done or in what discipline. Nor is the award confined to members of the Society. The only requirements are that the work must be truly outstanding, and that the scientist is an early career scientist.
The Society decided to name the medal in honour of Prof. H.G. Andrewartha (1907-1992) past president and Vercoe Medallist of the Society, and internationally famous ecologist.
In order to ensure that the Medal is awarded only for work that is exceptional, the following information is needed from anyone nominating a candidate:
- A statement outlining why the nominee’s work is outstanding and exceptional.
- A brief C.V. and a list of relevant publications.
- A citation history of these publications to illustrate the significance of the work in the candidate’s discipline, and allow comparison of the relative merit of research from unrelated disciplines (e.g. comparison with the I.S.I. Impact Factors of relevant journals).
- The names and addresses of two persons willing to write in support of the nomination.
To further ensure that the award recognises truly exceptional research, the Medal will be awarded only sparingly and not necessarily every year.
Nominations for this medal should be marked “Confidential: H.G. Andrewartha Medal” and should reach the Hon. Secretary at the Society’s rooms by June 30th each year.
Download the Andrewartha medal information and application form (PDF)
2023 All Rounder Award Recipients
Malcolm Worthing
Malcolm Worthing is in the process of completing a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in biodiversity and conservation and a Bachelor of Design and Technology Innovation (Plant biology) at Flinders University. Malcolm has always had a passion for wildlife and plants and the relationship between them. Over the past few years, He has paid particular attention to the birdlife and invertebrates of South Australia with a focus on the Hindmarsh River Estuary. Malcolm self-published a field guide presenting the birdlife found along the Hindmarsh River Trail, with the reviewed edition now presenting 88 bird species.
Emma Kerr
Emma is a PhD candidate in the Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration lab at Flinders University. She researches microbial communities that live on the skin of sharks and rays and wants to determine the influence that different mucus properties have on these microbial communities. Her research will support our current understanding of how microbes help sharks adapt to their environment. In addition to her research, Emma serves both the university and wider communities by delivering scientific material in an educational but approachable way and by serving as president of Women in Science and Engineering at Flinders, a community of women dedicated to supporting each other’s careers in the sciences.
2022 All Rounder Award Recipients
Phoebe McInerney
Phoebe McInerney is currently completing her PhD at Flinders University, researching biological implications from the skeleton of an extinct giant bird, Genyornis newtoni. Her primary research interests are the identification of disease in fossil birds and the functional and ecological significance of aspects of avian skull morphology. Phoebe has taken advantage of many opportunities over her time as a student, and has found herself contributing to research, teaching, outreach, and science communication in several different ways. For example, Phoebe took on the role of President for the Flinders University Palaeontology Society in 2019, which led her into organising events such as the Wells Annual Lecture series and the Palaeo Jam podcast launch. Phoebe has enjoyed building a diverse skill set and working with people in different capacities, and intends to continue making the most of such opportunities going forward.
Ruby Hume
Ruby Hume is a PhD student at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus, exploring novel technologies to address the issue of soil acidification in cropping regions around South Australia. Her focus is on the application of infrared spectroscopy as a tool to monitor and manage acidic soils. In addition to her PhD work, Ruby is involved with various science communication and outreach activities with students of all ages, sharing the joys of soil and science far and wide!
2023 Small Research Grant Recipients
Chloé Bentze (University of South Australia) – Aetiology and consequences of stringybark eucalyptus dieback in the Mount Lofty Ranges.
Josephine Lingard (University of Adelaide) – Using innovative, low-cost approaches to identify shark species sold in South Australia.
Ellen Martin (University of Adelaide) – Effects of locomotion on the skeletons of quadrupedal marsupials (quolls, bandicoots and bilbies).
Ellen Mather (Flinders University) – Diversity, taxonomy and systematics of extinct raptors from the Australian Pilocene-Pleistocene deposits.
Lauren Meyer (Flinders University) – From Hunters to Hunted: The Role of Nutrition in Predations of Sharks by Killer Whales.
Kimberley Michael (Flinders University) – Testing the impacts of profitable grazing on the endangered pygmy bluetongue and habitat quality.
Tamika Nash-Hahn (University of Adelaide) – Investigation of the growth rates between male and female pythons.
Mollie-Rosae Slater-Baker (University of Adelaide) – DNA barcoding of Australian mummy wasps, with a focus on South Australian records.
Tanapan Sukee (University of Melbourne) – Unveiling new species of Macropoxyuris: Exploring pinworm parasites in macropods from the South Australian Museum collection.
2022 Small Grant Recipients
Aubrey Keirnan (Flinders University) – Looking into the future of migratory parrots: assessing vision of iconic species to assist conservation planning
Dr Diana Fusco (Flinders University) – Palaeoecological analysis of a rare last glacial fossil assemblage from eastern Australia
Elisabeth Williamson (University of Adelaide) – How does the Australian native resin bee, Megachile tosticauda, acquire its gut bacteria?
Emma Kerr (Flinders University) – Metagenomic investigation of Heterodontus portusjacksoni microbiome from metropolitan and remote regions in South Australia
Dr Gerrut Norval (Flinders University) – The overnight shelter use of bearded dragons at Bundey Bore Station in the Mid North of South Australia
Marissa Hutchings (Flinders University) – Spatiotemporal distribution of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Australia
Matthew Pearson (Central Queensland University) – Genetic variability in Allocasuarina robusta – an endangered species of South Australia
Nuttakorn Taewcharoen (University of Adelaide) – New insights on native mammals competing with invasive rabbits and hares: a study of shape variation of the backbone
SIR JOSEPH VERCO MEDAL
1929 W. Howchin H.G. ANDREWARTHA MEDAL Named in recognition of the contribution to learning and to the Society by the ecologist Prof H.G. Andrewartha (1907-1992) and awarded from time to time for outstanding published research by a scientist in an early stage of their scientific career. Inaugurated in 2003. 2003 S. Connell | 1982 S.J. Edmonds PUBLICATION MEDAL Awarded from time to time for the most outstanding paper published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia by an author aged forty years or younger who is a member of the Society. Inaugurated in 1986. 1989 A.J. Boulton STUDENT PRIZE Awarded for the best paper presented to an ordinary general meeting of the Society by a post-graduate student. Inaugurated in 2000. 2000 B. Smith |
