The Australian Academy of Science, in partnership with the National Museum of Australia, awards the Mike Smith Prize to recognise young scholars who are undertaking original research in the fields of the history of Australian science or Australian environmental history. Established in 2006 as a 'Student prize', the award was renamed in 2013 in recognition of desert field archaeologist Mike Smith, a well-known leader of his field, and mentor of young researchers. Since the award began the quality of submitted work has been very high and a number of the authors have subsequently progressed in their disciplines. Prize winners and highly commended contributors are encouraged to publish their work, and the authors of suitable prize essays have been invited to submit their work to the Academy’s journal, Historical Records of Australian Science. Six of these articles are reproduced here in a special virtual issue, to alert our readers to the positive outcomes for entrants, participating institutions and the disciplines of the history of Australian science and Australian environmental history. The call for submissions to the 2019–20 Mike Smith Prize is currently open.
Visit http://www.science.org.au/mike-smith-prize (external link) for information about the Mike Smith Student Prize for History of Australian Science or Australian Environmental History.