The Royal Society of Victoria’s “Science along the Track” program has now held events in Castlemaine, Bendigo and Swan Hill, with Balranald yet to come.

“Why do science?” sessions have been held in secondary schools in all towns with students from more than one school attending. The speakers have ranged from researchers in various fields of biology including stem cell research and genetics, through geologists to IT experts. One of the interesting aspects of these talks is how many of the scientists involved started down one path, but changed direction during their studies. Students who are unsure of their direction can take comfort from the fact that many of us have taken a couple of turns before finding the area that really takes our interest.

An even broader range of scientists have attended the “Meet a scientist” events in all three towns: a dinner in Castlemaine and luncheons in Bendigo and in Swan Hill. All were well attended, despite the dinner in Castlemaine being held on an extremely wet and cold night. Guests at the meals were principally senior school students interested in studying science and their parents, but members of the general public also attended. As one of the scientists participating in the events, I hope the students enjoyed meeting us as much as we enjoyed meeting them.

Members of the Council of the Royal Society of Victoria gave public lectures in Bendigo and in Swan Hill. In Bendigo Dr Mary Familari provided a very interested audience with an overview of the status of stem cell research today, and her particular area of research into liver cells. In Swan Hill, Dr Bill Birch told local residents of his fascination with the uranium bearing crystalline rocks found in the nearby granite quarry at Lake Boga. Two of the uranium minerals that he has found there are found nowhere else in the world. Because they are stable and insoluble, they may provide the answer to the problem of dealing with nuclear waste.

Bill’s talk was preceded by a talk by fellow geologist Dr Bernie Joyce, who showed how accurately the sketches done by Dr Ludwig Becker reveal the geological structures in the landscape he was drawing, even though the science behind the nature of those structures was not then well understood. Bernie is one of the co-editors of the Royal Society’s forthcoming book on the Science of Burke and Wills.

The pictures below are from the "Meet a Scientist" dinner in Castlemaine, courtesy of Eliza Tree.