* 1999 ANNUAL CONFERENCE (ASB99)

* NOTICE of 1999 AGM for ASB Inc.- Agenda, Proxy Notice, Nomination Form

* FASTS MEDIA RELEASE: FORUM ON GREEN PAPER

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Registration is now due for the 23rd ASB Annual Scientific Meeting to be held at the Gold Coast. Please get registration forms and abstracts to Tony Collings ASAP. Details can be checked on the ASB home page:

The second annual general meeting of The Australian Society for Biophysics Inc. will be held during the Society's annual scientific meeting at the Hotel Mercure, Broadbeach, The Gold Coast, Queensland at 5.30 p.m. on Friday October 1st 1999.

Apologies

Minutes of first annual general meeting

Business arising from minutes

ASB2000 in Wellington NZ

IUPAB in Australia in 2008

President's Report

Treasurer's report

Election of Office Bearers (Nomination forms are attached)

President

Vice-president

Secretary

Treasurer

State Representatives

General Business

Close

Remember, to vote, nominate or stand for office members must be financial. If you cannot attend the meeting we urge you to use the attached proxy form.

Cyril Curtain

ASB Secretary

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who is currently a financial member of the Australian Society for Biophysics,

__________________________________

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Media release from FASTS.

(Media were invited to National Press Club Wednesday 14 July, to Forum on

Green Paper on research and research t4raining. Details from FASTS)

GREEN PAPER: "JUST ONE PART OF THE ANSWER"

The Green Paper on research and research training was today (Tuesday)

dubbed "interesting but incomplete" in its attempt to make Australian

research the driver of a knowledge-based economy.

Professor Peter Cullen, President of the Federation of Australian

Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS), said he applauded

Government moves to locate innovation at the centre of the Australian

economy.

"But such a move requires a whole-of-Government approach, where research is

embedded in a national innovation policy," he said.

"University research is just one input and can't be developed in isolation.

We need a coordinated approach which simultaneously tackles taxation

policy, Government incentive schemes to encourage business investment in

R&D, and the research sector.

"These factors should all come together in the Innovation Summit planned

for February 2000."

He was speaking on the eve of a Forum "Australian Needs, Australian

Research" at the National Press Club, featuring Mr Tim Besley, Chair of the

Commonwealth Bank and President of the Australian Academy of Technological

Sciences and Engineering.

"We have the paradox that as we enter the knowledge age, our investment in

R&D by both business and Government is being reduced. The Green Paper

urges universities to seek more funding from business," Professor Cullen

said.

"It seems an unlikely proposition. The Government has presided over a

collapse in Business Expenditure on R&D, and quite how universities are

expected to succeed is a puzzle - there are no new incentives for business

to invest.

"Even if they did succeed, it would most likely be at the expense of the

national basic research effort. This flies in the face of current practices

of many of our major competitors who are increasing funding to basic

research to underpin their national innovation strategies."

Professor Cullen said the Green Paper is an important contribution to the

debate on innovation, as the first of four initiatives by Government over

the next few months.

"The second initiative will be business tax reform, the third an

announcement expected by the end of this year on university funding, and

the fourth will be the Innovation Summit in February.

"There is a thread linking these four initiatives, and the ideas in the

Green Paper deserve close examination in this context. Business, industry

and researchers need to work with Government to make sure a national

innovation policy is the winner," he said.

Professor Cullen welcomed the involvement of the Business Council of

Australia and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry with research

organisations at the Forum. He said these linkages need to be strengthened.

Media were invited to attend the Forum at the National Press Club on

Wednesday July 14 from 9 am to 2 pm.

Abstracts of all speeches are available at FASTS' web site:

Mr Toss Gascoigne

Executive Director

Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies

PO Box 218

DEAKIN WEST ACT 2600

Phone: +61 2 - 6257 2891 Fax: +61 2 - 6257 2897

Email: fasts@anu.edu.au (Toss Gascoigne)

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Dr Frances Separovic

School of Chemistry

University of Melbourne ph: + 61 3 9344 6464

Parkville VIC 3052 fax: +61 3 9347 5180

Australia email: f.separovic@chemistry.unimelb.edu.au