Published in the RSAA Lunations
Vol1 Issue62 1–31 May 2025
This is the last Lunations of Autumn, but winter has come to Stromlo a couple of weeks early!
This week I had the great pleasure of being present at the Italian Embassy to see Eduardo Trifoni awarded the Order of the Star of Italy during “Festa della Repubblica”, the Italian National Day by the Italian Ambassador. This award, for preservation and promotion of national prestige abroad, is wonderful recognition for Eduardo and his achievements.
Following last months' announcement of the University's annual academic promotion program, I am pleased to see that dates have now been advertised for the 2025 specialist promotion round (CoSM Specialist Career Progression Framework intranet). The key dates are as follows: Applications to open 1 September 2025 and close on 24 October 2025. If you are seeking to make an application this year please consult with your supervisor.
Last week saw the release of the Nixon Review about gender and culture matters at the ANU former College of Health and Medicine. This review is a sobering read and includes a number of findings and recommendations that are broadly applicable. RSAA strives to create an increasingly inclusive and diverse environment for working and learning, where everyone experiences a sense of purpose, feels valued, and is respected. We can always work to improve. Associate Director Luca Casagrande and I will work with the IDEA Committee, our ECR and student representatives and others to identify actions we can take that are not already in place or being actioned in the response to recommendations of the School review.
We continue to see great new news and stories come from the work being done by RSAA people, with Nature Astronomy papers from both Jie Yu, and from recent student James Beattie and Christoph Federrath making news this month. To keep highlighting work within and beyond the School I encourage everyone to make your work known using the link at Form:
A reminder about our fortnightly Stromlo Science lunches. These have had great attendance, and excellent talks and discussion. I am always on the lookout for speakers, so please let me know about the recent exciting work you have to present!
ASA members will have seen the email reminding members, including student members to respond to the ASA survey. Please take the 5 minutes needed to complete this survey.
Please read on to learn about activities in what has been another busy month right across RSAA.
Image: Eduardo Trifoni being awarded the Order of the Star of Italy
