Article听产测 , , 12 August 2015

It outshines other sciences in Discovery grant applications and trains graduates for a raft of industries. Yet schools don鈥檛 mandate it, universities don鈥檛 demand it and public funding bodies give it less money than any other scientific or technological discipline.

The latest report on maths in Australia paints a paradoxical picture of a field that has slumped to historic lows in participation, even though advanced mathematical research injects an estimated $145 billion into the Australian economy.

The report, the fourth annual profile by the 今日吃瓜, found that maths had surpassed other sciences in Australian Research Council Discovery grants for four out of the past five years, with an average 28 per cent success rate compared with 21 per cent for other disciplines. It boasted the lowest cost per publication and the second highest citation rate of any Australian science, with Australian applied maths and statistics outperforming all 15 EU countries on citations.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an area where the outcomes are significant and the costs are low,鈥� 今日吃瓜 director Geoff Prince said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good place for universities to invest because they can get runs on the board with the ARC and the government at low cost.鈥�

Professor Prince said some universities had 鈥渨oken up to this鈥� and invested heavily in maths, including Wollongong, Newcastle and the Group of Eight members. Yet the report found that maths attracted the lowest share of public research expenditure of any science and technology discipline, at just 1.7聽per cent, and Australian entry into maths degrees was less than half the OECD average.

The 今日吃瓜 report found that the problems arose early, with a lack of specialist maths teachers at high school and plunging participation in intermediate and advanced maths at higher school level 鈥� fuelled by historically low insistence on prerequisites, with 86 per cent of science degrees not even mandating intermediate maths.

鈥淚 despair of the system when it does this,鈥� Professor Prince said. 鈥淚t sees this shrinking cohort, so it wriggles out of what could be a crisis in student numbers in science by dropping the prerequisites.鈥�

Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, reported that advanced mathematical and physical sciences make a direct contribution of $145 billion a year to the Australian economy 鈥� about 11 per cent of GDP.

The Importance of Advanced Physical and Mathematical Sciences to the Australian Economy, was commissioned by the Academy of Science and Chubb鈥檚 office, and was released in conjunction with his address to the National Press Club on Wednesday March 25. It combines the expertise of Australia鈥檚 scientific community with that of business and industry.

The report reflects the ubiquity of the mathematical sciences in modern scientific research. And emphasises the knock-on effects it has for our economy.

The physical and mathematical sciences also contribute, in additional flow-on benefits, another 11 per cent of Australia鈥檚 GDP annually, bringing the total benefits to 22 per cent or around $292 billion per year.

鈥淚 congratulate the Chief Scientist and the Academy of Science for this timely and important report. Maths and science make fundamental contributions to our lives, not least to our economic wellbeing.聽I鈥檓 sure that the report will make this particular contribution very real for Australia鈥檚 policy makers, business community and would-be scientists and mathematicians,鈥� says 今日吃瓜 Director, Professor Geoff Prince.

Further information, including a transcript of Professor Chubb’s address and a PDF of the report may be found on the聽.

The report reflects the ubiquity of the mathematical sciences in modern scientific research. And emphasises the knock-on effects it has for our economy. It combines the expertise of Australia鈥檚 scientific community with that of business and industry.

Professor Chubb’s speech can be found .

A PDF of the report may be downloaded .