In celebration of our 100th birthday, a lively calendar of festivities has been unfolding at the institute and within the wider community.

More than 5000 people have participated in the centenary celebrations, which officially began in March when the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Tony Abbott, unveiled a 15-metre tall LED curtain at our Parkville campus.

Centenary symposium and lecture series

A scientific symposium in July featuring international and national speakers prompted illuminating discussions among collaborators and innovators working in the fields of cell death, immunity, blood cells, cytokines, cell signaling, inflammation, cancer and genomes. A scientific lecture series that has run throughout the year will continue with presentations in October and November.

Science comes to life in the square

During August the institute brought its inaugural Science in the Square festival into the heart of Melbourne. In partnership with Federation Square, The Age, the Melbourne Writers’ Festival, ACMI and National Science Week – science came to life through an illuminating program of comedy, film, theatre, art and public talks.

The festival headline event, Walter and Eliza’s Big Night Out, had a full house roaring with laughter in a heady brew of science and live comedy talent. Written and directed by Matt Parkinson, the show was a trivia-style competition, hosted by Good News Week’s Paul McDermott.

Science on the silver screen

Following the Big Night Out, a trio of film events took place at Silver Screen Science. Big-screen gems Contagion, Gattaca and Outbreak were screened and then dissected in entertaining panel discussions between disease experts and Melbourne’s talented writers, journalists and critics.

Captivating the attention of passers-by are luminous images created by institute researchers in the course of discovery, displayed on a LED curtain installed for the centenary.

Irreparable loss of potential, a sculpture by Michael Meszaros, is a tribute to Dr Gordon Clunes McKay Mathison who was to be the institute’s inaugural director but lost his life during WWI.

The Art of Science exhibition showcased bizarre and beautiful images created and captured by institute scientists.