Three University of Newcastle academics have been appointed to peak organisations in their fields of expertise.

The University of Newcastle’s Deputy Head of Faculty of Health (Research), Professor John Rostas, has been appointed as President Elect of the Australian Neuroscience Society. He will serve as President from 2012-2013. 

The Australian Neuroscience Society is a non-profit organisation of 800 scientists and physicians who study the brain and nervous system and are actively involved in research and teaching. The society runs the only annual neuroscience-specific meeting in Australia and performs an important communication role between government and the Australian neuroscience community.

Two senior University of Newcastle academics have been recognised for their contribution to the study of humanities with roles on prestigious higher education bodies.

Sociology Professor, Lisa Adkins, has been appointed to the Australian Research Council’s College of Experts, in the Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences discipline group that assess applications for National Competitive Grants Program.

She will also travel to Canada at the end of the year to research how the recent global financial crisis can be used to prompt a rethink on the relationship between gender, work and time as part of a visiting fellowship from McGill University’s Institute for Gender Sexuality and Feminist Studies, in Montreal.

Senior lecturer in history and Deputy Head of School Teaching and Learning at the University’s Central Coast campus, Dr Josephine May, has been elected President of the Australian and New Zealand History and Education Society, which collects and distributes information relating to study, teaching and research in the history of education.