ANU women scientists up with the best

ANU has more women Fellows in the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) than any other institution after an eco-physiologist was elected to the ranks of the nation’s top scientists.

Professor Marilyn Ball is the fifth ANU women to accept a Fellowship, which is described by the AAS as recognition of “a career that has significantly advanced the world’s store of scientific knowledge.”

Professor Ball explores relationships between the physiology of plants and their ability to function in complex, highly variable environments.

“It is a great honour to join the Australian Academy of Sciences, but I don’t regard it as an honour for myself personally, so much as a recognition of the unique scientific opportunities that were provided by The Institute of Advanced Studies at ANU with sufficient time and resources to pursue my research in the company of distinguished mentors and colleagues,” said Professor Ball.

She joins four other women from the Research School of Biological Sciences, now part of the School of Biology, to hold the honour.

Professor Jan Anderson, who was the first ANU woman to be elected a Fellow in 1987, said that she expects more women to reach similar levels of seniority in science as the field’s gender imbalance shifts with time.

“We are always happy to see the number of women students increasing as is definitely happening parts of biology and medicine,” Professor Anderson said. “Slowly this shift will be reflected in the numbers in the academy.”

The other women Fellows at ANU are Professor Adrienne Hardham (elected 1997), Professor Jennifer Graves (1999), and Professor Susanne von Caemmerer (2006). Dr Liz Truswell, a long-term Visiting Fellow in the Research School of Earth Sciences, is also a member of the Academy.

The University of Melbourne has the second highest number of female AAS members, with four in the ranks, while CSIRO has three.

There are currently 427 AAS Fellows in total.