2021 Public Lecture, hosted virtually by
The University of Melbourne
The importance of keeping an open mind to new ideas in times of crisis.
Following the discussions of our 2019 Symposium, our Public Lecture will demonstrate the positive results that can arise from interdisciplinarity and creative thinking in response to change. Never before have Change, Adaptation and Sustainability been more important in exploring solutions to challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic is but one example.
Date: Monday October 4th
Lecture: 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
The future isn’t abstract - it starts from the decisions we make right now.
The General Sir John Monash Foundation held our 2021 Public Lecture hosted by Professor Duncan Maskell, Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne and facilitated by former Judge Frances Millane.
“Devastating climate events and a global pandemic - what better time for Australia to hear new ideas and fresh perspectives from an exceptional panel of former recipients of the prestigious John Monash scholarship, each of whom is a trailblazer in their field” - Frances Millane.
Frances Millane has enjoyed a career in the law spanning 44-years, throughout which she has demonstrated a commitment in national and international contexts to access to justice and equality of opportunity for particularly women. Frances’ legal career includes 20 years at the Victorian Bar and several appointments to courts and tribunals, most recently as a Judge of the County Court of Victoria (2003-2020) and a Vice President of the Victorian and Civil Administrative Tribunal (2016-2020). In retirement, Frances continues to serve as a Committee Member (Vice President 2016-2021) of the Australian Association of Women Judges, the Australian chapter of the International Association of Women Judges. Frances has generously provided support to the General Sir John Monash Foundation over many years, as a Chairman’s Circle Member and Panelist for our John Monash Scholarship. This year she will chair our National Selection Panel and facilitate our 2021 Public Lecture which focuses on change, adaption, sustainability, and the importance of keeping an open mind to new ideas in times of crisis.
Dr Rebecca Nelson, 2009 John Monash Scholar
Co-Chair of 2019 John Monash Scholars' Global Symposium
Dr Rebecca Nelson is an Associate Professor of the Melbourne Law School. Her research focuses on environmental and natural resources law and policy, with an emphasis on empirical research and practical solutions. Dr Nelson holds an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (2018-2020), which aims to analyse and evaluate laws regulating cumulative environmental effects in the United States of America, European Union, Canada and Australia.
In 2019 Rebecca was Co-Chair of the Symposium Planning Committee for the 2019 John Monash Scholars' Global Symposium bringing scholars and supporters together to build relationships, share networks, spark debates and catalyse new and innovative collaborations.
Meet our Panel
Amy is a Human Scientist and Social Researcher who works at the intersections of technology and humanity, taking action on collaboration and well-being. She is a Research Fellow at the 3A Institute, also known as Australia National University’s School of Cybernetics. Her work in cybernetics offers us a way to transcend boundaries to ensure that humans, technology, and our physical environment advance together in harmony. Amy is also a Research Affiliate with the School of Anthropology at the University of Oxford, and has experience working within private and government sectors. Learn more about Amy.
Brighid is a Senior Policy Advisor for the Victorian Government’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. She is an urban planner with specialist knowledge in land economics and governance. Passionate about inclusive and equitable cities, she works to shed light on the need for diversity in decision making and how this can reframe the way we see, and shape, our cities. Brighid recently co-founded Australian Planners Declare, a climate and biodiversity crisis declaration network for Australian urban planners to help advocate for, and shape planning policy and regulation. Learn more about Brighid.
Davis is Head of the Bioinformatics and Cellular Genomics group at St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research and the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on two major areas: 1) developing statistical and machine learning methods for the analysis of biological data and implementing them into software, and 2) applying such methods to analyse and interpret the biological data to answer experimentally-driven questions. His interests lie in developing statistical and machine learning methods and software for the analysis of high-dimensional biomedical datasets to drive discoveries. In Melbourne, Davis is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and leads a sizeable cross-disciplinary team focused on single-cell genomics and deep learning for biomedical image analysis. Learn more about Davis.
Joe is an Origami Engineer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland. He is also the founder of the ‘Folded Structures Lab’ research group which is funded by $1.2 million in research and industry grants. The Lab’s research involves using origami design techniques and folding patterns to transform sheet materials that provide energy-absorbing barries for use in building and transport industries. Joe is also a member of the Australian Research Council Future Timber Hub and provides them with expertise for digital design and manufacturing for innovative structures and systems. Learn more about Joe.