The Verco Medal

The medal shall be awarded for distinguished scientific work published by a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Australia. It is the highest honour that the Society can bestow on one of its Fellows. Only those who have made a significant, outstanding contribution to their field(s) of study receive the award.

The first award of the medal was made to Prof Walter Howchin in 1929. Previous winners include: JB Cleland, T Harvey-Johnstone, Sir Douglas Mawson, HG Andrewartha, Reg Sprigg, Pat Thomas, MF Glaessner, Michael Tyler, WD (Bill) Williams, Michael Archer and Tom White. Because of the careful deliberation that goes with each award, the list of Verco Medallists represents a most revered, respected and outstanding collection of scientists.

Nominations close on June 30th of each year.

The Publication Medal

This medal is awarded for the most outstanding paper published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia by an author aged 40 years or younger who is a Fellow of the Society. It's aim is to encourage and reward high quality scientific publication by younger scientists. The award is not given every year, as it is reserved for contributions of only the highest quality.

The Royal Society of South Australia Postgraduate Student Prize

Each year, postgraduate students in the natural sciences throughout South Australia are invited to present their research at an Ordinary meeting of the Society. Six to eight students are selected to make presentations throughout the year on the basis of their submitted abstract. Their presentations are judged by a panel of Fellows according to several criteria. The student adjudged to have made the best presentation receives free membership of the Society for one year, a subscription to the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia (one year), and a cash prize, currently at $300 for 2007.

This competition represents a good opportunity for students to refine their presentation skills, extend their network of professional contacts, and receive constructive feedback about their research.

The HG Andrewartha Medal

Due to the initiative and generosity of Emeritus Professor P.A. Parsons the Royal Society of South Australia has been able to establish a medal to recognize outstanding research by an early career young Australian scientist. There is no restriction on where the work was done or in what discipline. Nor is the award confined to members of the Society. The only requirements are that the work must be truly outstanding, and that the scientist is an early career scientist. 

The Society decided to name the medal in honour of Prof. H.G. Andrewartha (1907-1992) past president and Vercoe Medallist of the Society, and internationally famous ecologist.

In order to ensure that the Medal is awarded only for work that is exceptional, the following information is needed from anyone nominating a candidate.

A statement outlining why the nominee’s work is outstanding and exceptional.
A brief C.V. and a list of relevant publications.
A citation history of these publications to illustrate the significance of the work in the candidate’s discipline, and allow comparison of the relative merit of research from unrelated disciplines (e.g. comparison with the I.S.I. Impact Factors of relevant journals).
The names and addresses of two persons willing to write in support of the nomination.
To further ensure that the award recognizes truly exceptional research, the Medal will be awarded only sparingly and not necessarily every year.

Nominations for this medal should be marked "Confidential: H.G. Andrewartha Medal" and should reach the Hon. Secretary at the Society’s rooms by June 30th each year.