The Australian National University

Autumn, we miss you already 🍂✨

Associate Professor Katie Sutton is bringing to life the overlooked histories of q***r, gender-diverse and neurodivergent people.

A German and gender studies expert at the ANU School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, Sutton is a leading Australian voice in global discussions on gender, neurodiversity and health humanities.

The ANU researcher’s work examines LGBTIQ+ representation historically to change dominant narratives in the history of gender and sexuality, contesting transphobic beliefs that argue trans identities are a contemporary social trend.

This Pride Month, Sutton reflects on the resilience and bravery of the q***r community over many decades – a theme which they explore through their studies – that have long been a catalyst for social change.

“Doctors and scientists in the late 19th and early 20th century didn’t just start exploring trans identity out of the blue, they did so because people in the community were speaking back to the authorities,” Sutton says.

“We owe them a real debt.”

Read more: quicklink.anu.edu.au/7mwz

Arts & Social Sciences at ANU

The gang-gang cockatoo is one of Australia’s most iconic birds, but despite this we know very little about this endangered species. Learning more about their behaviour and habitat is essential for their conservation.

Researchers from the ANU Fenner School of Environment & Society have been studying the movements of gang-gangs across Australia. They use small GPS transmitters to learn how far the birds travel and where they go during and after breeding.

This conservation project, led by the Difficult Bird Research Group at ANU, will help inform new renewable energy developments and is a key project funded by the Renewables Environmental Research Initiative (RERI) led by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).

How well do you really know campus? 🤔 Can you name this ANU landmark?

ANU geophysicist Emeritus Professor Malcolm Sambridge has a knack for solving the unsolvable. His pioneering work developing mathematical models has helped solve some of the most significant earth science problems, including helping scientists learn more about Earth’s interior, which holds clues about the planet’s evolutionary history.

A self-professed “algorithm nerd”, Sambridge has transformed how earth scientists extract information from complex data. His contributions to the earth sciences over his 40-year career has seen him elected to The Royal Society, the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.

Sambridge’s election as Fellow of the Society sees him join an exclusive club of renowned scientists including Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein and Dorothy Hodgkin.

“It’s overwhelming. I mean, I’m giddy as a schoolboy. I feel very honoured, but equally I feel humbled and astonished that this has happened,” Sambridge says.

Sambridge’s path to becoming one of the world’s most eminent scientists started with a fortuitous “sliding door” moment when he decided to uproot his life in the UK, where he was studying at the University of Cambridge, and relocate to Canberra in 1984 to study a PhD in seismic imaging at the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences.

Read more: quicklink.anu.edu.au/4sxq

Science & Medicine at ANU

As Australia expands its ambitions in nuclear technologies, Associate Professor Elizabeth Williams says the country is grappling with a question that doesn’t have a simple answer.

“When working in nuclear science and engineering, we need to think about how to harness the enormous benefits these technologies offer – in medicine, in energy, in research – while also being clear-eyed about the responsibilities they carry,” Associate Professor Williams says.

“That’s not a problem to solve. It’s a balance to keep working at.”

Read more: quicklink.anu.edu.au/euzl

Yesterday ANU hosted the Walk for Truth 2026 for the final leg of the Walk, with a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country.

The Walk for Truth is a national journey led by Travis Lovett, calling for truth-telling, healing and meaningful change.

An incredible 800km trek that began at Victorian Parliament in Naarm and culminates today at Parliament House in Canberra, the Walk is part of a movement to elevate the lived experience of First Nations people and to call for a national commitment to truth-telling.

"Truth-telling is ongoing work – grounded in listening, relationships and action," says ANU Interim Vice-Chancellor Professor Rebekah Brown.

"At ANU, the advancement of Australia's Indigenous peoples is core to our mission, and today strengthened our resolve to walk forward together."

Three top scientists from the Australian National University (ANU) have been announced as new Fellows of The Australian Academy of Science.

Congratulations to Professor Jochen Brocks from the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences, Professor Robert Furbank FAA from the ANU Research School of Biology and Distinguished Professor Yun Liu FAA FTSE from the ANU Research School of Chemistry.

They join a Fellowship of 647 distinguished Australian scientists whose work spans fundamental discovery, translational research and the commercial application of Australian science.

Read more: quicklink.anu.edu.au/vrk7

Are smartphones helping us think, or thinking for us? 🤔

From remembering directions to choosing what to buy and even believe, our phones are increasingly shaping how we move through the world. But at what point does this technology start to do more harm than good?

Associate Professor Rachael Brown explains why the relationship between humans and smartphones is more complicated than we think.

Read more: quicklink.anu.edu.au/tuug