Early Career Award Winner

The recipient of the Academy Early Career Award for 2003 is Dr Lisa Maher, Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales and an Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Harm Reduction at the Burnet Institute.

After graduating from the University of Queensland in 1988, Lisa went on to complete her masters and doctoral degrees from Rutgers University, USA. In the eight years since completing her doctorate, she has been a chief investigator on research projects totalling more than $2 million and has published 32 refereed journal articles, eight books and research monographs, including the acclaimed Sexed Work (1997), and 20 book chapters. Her social science research blends scholarly values with public outreach and education in ethnicity, drug use and community capacity for change. She is regarded as Australia's leading expert in relation to injecting drug use and drug-related harms in Southeast Asian communities.

New Academy Fellows

Twenty one new Fellows have been elected to the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 2003. They have been so honoured for having achieved distinction, in the opinion of their peers, in one or more of the social sciences. They are:

Professor Jon Altman, Director, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University.

Professor Prema-chandra Athukorala, Professor of Economics, Division of Economics and Australia South Asia Research Centre, Australian National University.

Emeritus Professor Allan Barton, School of Business and Information Management, Australian National University.

Professor Tim Bonyhady, Centre for Resources and Environmental Studies, Australian National University.

Professor Hilary Charlesworth, Director, Centre of International and Public Law, Director of Research, Australian National University.

Professor Glyn Davis, Vice Chancellor, Griffith University.

Professor Lyn English, School of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, Queensland University of Technology.

Professor Denzil Fiebig, School of Economics, University of New South Wales.

Professor Murray Goot, Department of Politics, Division of Humanities, Macquarie University.

Professor Peter Grabosky, Co-Director, Security 21, Regulatory Institutions Network, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University.

Professor Richard Gunstone, Faculty of Education, Monash University.

Professor Christopher Heyde, Professor of Statistics, Australian National University.

Professor Nicholas Martin, Senior Principal Research Fellow, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Adjunct Professor, Department of Pathology and Zoology, University of Queensland.

Professor John McCallum, Dean, College Social and Health Science, University of Western Sydney.

Professor Peter McPhee, President of the Academic Board, Department of History, University of Melbourne.

Professor Jindy Pettman, Reader and Director of the Centre for Women's Studies, Australian National University.

Dr Peter Read, Centre for Cross Cultural Research, Australian National University.

Professor Staniforth Ricketson, Faculty of Law, University of Melbourne.

Professor Deborah Terry, School of Psychology, University of Queensland.

Professor Douglas Vickers, Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide.

Honorary Fellow: The Hon Barry Jones, AO.

National Research Priorities

19 June 2003

ASSA is pleased to post a report that responds to the invitation of the Commonwealth Minister for Education, Science and Training, Hon Dr Brendan Nelson for the Academy to contribute to the setting of goals within the four National Research Priorities areas announced by the Federal Government in December 2002. The papers follow presentations by the authors to a DEST sponsored conference held jointly with the Australian Academy of the Humanities on 28 March 2003.

The report represents an important step in the Academy's contribution to the National Research Priorities (NRP). The Minister's announcement in March of a three-year grant to ASSA will provide additional opportunities for the Academy to engage with the NRPs through the provision of policy advice and social sciences advocacy. The grant will also serve to enhance ASSA's international activities and promote scholarly publishing.

<DOWNLOAD REPORT (pdf - 478kb)>

Funding Boost for the Academy of the Social Sciences

The Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson MP, has announced a three-year grant to ASSA.

More information is available at the ministerial website.