Australian Institute of Physics

South Australian Branch

Notification of the

AIP-SA Annual General Meeting
and Dinner

Thursday, 25th November at 6:00 for 6:30pm
at the Strathmore Hotel
(129 North Terrace,
Opposite the Adelaide Casino)

The after dinner speaker Dr Peter Pockley will talk on:
"Basic Science is being sidelined. Why is it so?"

Abstract:
Australian physicists are not the only ones in the world to feel a pinch in the level of public support for their work, especially in basic research. The cuts of recent years have been particularly hard for physicists to take and still project the subject as worthy of study and have adequate infrastructure for long-term investigations. Peter Pockley believes that before the case for science can be better appreciated by the public and politicians, it needs to be re-cast in the context of society and its broader concerns. Its advocates need to project more confidence in that wider context. From his unique vantage point as reporter of science politics in Australia and overseas, Peter will dissect the current scene and offer some suggestions.

Biographical information:
With three and a half decades of involvement in the media, research and universities, Dr Peter Pockley is Australia's most experienced communicator to the public of science and technology. An independent writer and broadcaster, he is Australasian Correspondent for Nature, senior writer and columnist for Australasian Science monthly and contributor to the ABC and The Australian and Physics World. He is Australia's sole reporter specialising in science policy.
He is a Council Member of the National Science and Technology Centre (Questacon), Canberra, Science Writer in Residence (Visiting Scholar) at the University of Sydney and Visiting Fellow at the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science in the Australian National University, where he runs courses in communication skills. In 1998 he was William Evans Visiting Fellow in the University of Otago, New Zealand, lecturing and tutoring at the International Science Festival in Dunedin and at Massey University.

Menu for Dinner following the AGM:
Entree: choice of
Cream of Pumpkin Soup - blended with cream
Fettuccine Balcony - chicken with a wine and cream sauce
Beef Shaslicks - with a peanut sauce on a bed of rice

Main Course: choice of
Duke of Pork - fillets wrapped in bacon with mustard cream
Stonegrill Mixed Grill - marinated, sizzling on hot marble
Deep Sea Perch - baked with a lemon caper sauce

Desserts: choice of
Brandy Snap Basket - fresh berries and raspberry coulis
Pecan Pie - served warm with a butterscotch sauce

Pre-dinner drinks will be available from the bar. Dinner will be accompanied by selected wines courtesy of the AIP-SA. Coffee will be served afterwards. Vegetarian meals are available with prior arrangement.

Cost:
The cost of the dinner is $30 for members and guests and $20 for student members.

Bookings:
Bookings for the dinner should be made with the AIP-SA secretary before 5pm, Friday November 19th 1999.
Secretary:
Dr Laurence Campbell
8201 2093

Advertise!
Download a notice and advertise this talk! (postscript | pdf)

Page prepared by:
Stewart V. Wright
Please send comments/suggestions to
swright@physics.adelaide.edu.au