About the Australian Society of Plant Scientists
General Information and Contact Details
Constitution of the Australian Society of Plant Scientists — Constitution
The Australian Society of Plant Scientists (ASPS) is an incorporated society that promotes Plant Science in Australia, and provides professional contact within our community of teachers and researchers in the plant sciences. JG Wood was the Foundation President of our Society and RN Robertson was a prime mover of events that brought our Society to fruition. The Australian Society of Plant Scientists was founded on 19 August 1958 during an inaugural meeting at the University of Adelaide, at a time when physiological aspects of plant biology were beginning to grow rapidly within Australia. That early enthusiasm and a prevailing commitment to greater understanding of plant function remains undiminished. The full constitution of the society is available on this page.
The Society can be broadly described as:
- A group of individuals who are deeply interested in how plants function.
- Providing a forum for sharing of knowledge so that the membership can build both the depth and breadth of knowledge of plant functions.
- Providing mutual support and collective mentorship.
- Recognising and rewarding excellence at all levels of scientific career development without fear or favour.
- Nurturing the next generation of plant scientists.
- Working on behalf of members to protect their ability to do research and to educate others in plant sciences.
- Supporting a journal, Functional Plant Biology, that reflects the broad interests of the members.
Membership is open to professionally qualified people with an interest in plant function. Present membership exceeds 400 and comprises full-time professional scientists and teachers, research students, retired professionals, life and corresponding members (see Member directory). The Society is proud to recognise outstanding contribution by awarding Life Membership to distinguished members. Corresponding Members are high profile overseas colleagues who have contributed substantially to plant science research within Australia. Annual subscription is $70 (or $130 for two years), except for students, who can get four years’ membership for $50,while long term members who have retired need not pay an annual subscription. Such retired members still need to 'renew' annually. A ‘membership application form’ can be downloaded from the Join ASPS page. This form provides an opportunity to donate to the RN Robertson fund. Click here for the donation form. Further enquiries on membership can be directed to . The Society gratefully appreciates the support of and valuable links with its Sustaining Members.
The main activity of the Society is the annual combined conference that attracts over a thousand people, both specialists and more general audiences. The meeting is usually held at the end of September, in different state capital cities on a rotating basis. Known as ComBio, it is organised jointly with the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), and the Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology (ANZSCDB). In some years we combine with the New Zealand Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (NZSBMB) and the New Zealand Society of Plant Biologists (NZSPB).Members receive a discount of up to $190 on OzBio2010 registration. More information about ComBio2010/OzBio2010 can be found on the ComBio page.
ASPS has a close affiliation with the journal Functional Plant Biology (continuing the Australian Journal of Plant Physiology). Functional Plant Biology is a proud supporter of the Best Paper Award and Peter Goldacre Award (see below). We also publish our own Phytogen newsletter 3 times a year, which provides a forum for communicating new ideas, recent professional experiences and forthcoming events.
The Society is committed to supporting the career development of our early career members through a range of activities and awards. Activities centre around the annual ComBio meeting and include Student Travel Grants and poster awards for participating student members as well as a satellite workshop on career development. The Society administers two prestigious awards for early career researchers. One of these is the Goldacre Award, an annual research award for early career scientists. This award honours the memory of Peter Goldacre, a founding member of ASPS, and recognises high calibre original research. The other award is the RN Robertson Travelling Fellowship that provides an opportunity for an early career researcher to undertake a research visit outside their host institution. This award celebrates the dedicated contribution Sir Bob Robertson made to mentoring and inspiring researchers pursuing a career in the Plant Sciences.
An annual Teaching Award was instigated in 1997 and recognises excellence and innovation in the teaching of plant physiology. JG Wood and RN Robertson Lectures are presented to our annual conference on alternate years. If you would like to contribute to our RN Robertson Fund, please download this form.
The society makes available a total of $10,000 each year to provide seed funds and sponsorship for up to four conferences or workshops organised by members. The amount available to assist in each conference/workshop will be about $2500. Look on the Conference page for funding conditions. Student travel grants for attendance of the annual ComBio conference are also available.
We advertise employment opportunities, new publications relevant to plant scientists and upcoming conferences and workshops. More details on advertisement options can be directed to Kiran Sarfaraz via . Society members are encouraged to take every opportunity of promoting ASPS nationally and internationally. To this end, please note that a downloadable ASPS flier and poster are available to assist with any promotional activity you might choose to undertake.
In a broader context, ASPS has a representative on the FASTS Council (see list of Council Members). A link to the FASTS website provides access to information about FASTS and its current activities.
Details of other important ASPS contacts can be found on the Contact us page.