Sue Stocklmayer, Director of the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS) at ANU, has become the first ever Professor of science communication in Australia. 
Professor Stocklmayer has been at ANU for 15 years, during which time she has played a major role in the establishment and development of CPAS, Australia’s first academic science communication centre.
“This is recognition for science communication at ANU. This is the University saying: ‘we value this discipline, we value what’s happening here and we’re proud of it’,” Professor Stocklmayer said.
“When we started out in 1996, CPAS was very small. We had the Graduate Diploma, the Science Circus, a few masters students and a fledgling PhD program.
“Now we have students and staff who are engaged in a variety of research topics across the spectrum.”
Whilst the centre has grown since its inception, Professor Stocklymayer sees bigger things to come, in particular in the area of multiculturalism and science.
“At the World Science Centre Congress, held in Cape Town in September, a decision was made that we are going to have a big science communications push into Africa led by Questacon and ANU. We hope to have a science circus that travels from Cape to Cairo.”