The Bob Robertson Award of the Australian Society for Biophysics
To recognise outstanding contributions to the field of biophysics in Australia
and New Zealand and to commemorate the contributions to the Society and to
Australian science in general of Sir Rutherford (Bob) Robertson, the Australian
Society for Biophysics inaugurated The Bob Robertson Award of the Australian Society for Biophysics in 2002. The conditions of this annual award are as follows:
- Nominations will be called for not less than 6 months before each annual
conference of the Society and will close not less than 4 months before the
conference.
- Applications will be evaluated by a committee of Society Council members,
ex-Council members or former awardees, with a decision on awards made not
less than 2 months before each conference.
- Awardees will be presented with a medal and a cheque for $250 at the
annual conference and will present a lecture at that conference.
- The Bob Robertson Award is open to all financial members of the Society
meeting the eligibility criteria and is designed to recognise outstanding
contributions to biophysics. While research contributions are of primary
importance, other contributions, including to biophysics teaching or service
to the discipline, will also be considered. The research or other contribution
should have been undertaken principally in Australia or New Zealand. There
is no age limit on applicants for
this award.
Eligibility Criteria & Application Procedure
- Nominees should have been members of the Society for at least two years immediately preceding their nomination.
- Nominators should be current members of the Society.
- Nominations should be sent to the ASB Secretary by the advertised closing date (not less than 4 months before each conference).
- Nominations
should consist of a covering letter summarising the achievements of the nominee,
a Curriculum vitae including a complete list of publications, and two confidential
referees reports sent direct to the Secretary. Referees should address the
specified selection criteria in a report of 2 pages or less. Nominators should
seek the approval of the nominee prior to submitting a nomination.
- If a candidate's nomination is not successful in any given year,
the Award Committee will re-consider it the following year, preferably
in an updated form. Once a nomination has been considered in two
successive years, it would not normally be considered again in the next
one or two years. A maximum of four nominations for a single candidate
in a six-year period will be considered by the Award Committee.
Selection Criteria & Procedures
Selection criteria include:
-
Quality and impact of published work in journals of high international
reputation
-
Service to the biophysics community
-
Excellence in teaching of biophysics
Selection procedures:
- Awards will be decided upon by an Award Committee consisting of
four Society Council members, ex-Council members or former awardees,
together with the Society Secretary, who should normally not be a
voting member.
- No person shall serve on the Award Committee for more than two consecutive terms.
- The composition of the Award Committee will be decided either by the
ASB Council or by election at the AGM of the Society held during the annual
conference.
- When an award nomination is received for a member of the Award Committee,
that member will step down from the Award Committee and be replaced by another
member meeting the criteria for Award Committee membership. The replacement
will be chosen by the ASB Council.
- Where a clear decision cannot be made by the Award Committee, the application
may be sent to a third referee, usually an eminent international scientist
not connected with any applicant.
- If the Award Committee judges that none of the nominations merits an
award in a given category, then no award will be made in that round.
Recipient 2009: Professor Frances Separovic
Recipient 2008: Professor Ray Norton
Recipient 2007: Professor Cris dos Remedios
Recipient 2006: Professor Peter Barry
Recipient 2005: Professor Philip Kuchel
Recipient 2004: Professor Peter Gage
Recipient 2003: Professor Alex Hope
Recipient 2002: Professor Hans Coster
The 26th Annual Conference of the Society was held in
Melbourne and saw the inauguration of an invited lecture in honour of
Sir Rutherford (Bob) Robertson’s contribution to biophysics in Australia,
as well as to Australian science generally. The inaugural medallist was
Professor Hans Coster, who was presented with a medal and a cheque and presented
a lecture at that conference. The medal was inaugurated to recognise outstanding
contributions to biophysics and Hans’ entertaining lecture provided a fascinating
insight into the contributions he has made to the field of membrane properties
and structure, as well as to the development of biophysics in Australia.
Congratulations Hans on this well-deserved award.
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Peter Barry (2006)
Philip Kuchel (2005)
Peter Gage (2004)

Alex Hope (2003)
Hans Coster (2002)
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