Howdy Pardners...
President Wayne Duke opened the meeting by reminding us of The Four Way Test #4- “Will it be BENIFICIAL to all concerned?”
The Rotary International monthly theme for September 2026 is Basic Education and Literacy Month.
Today in 2001:
The 25th anniversary of 9/11, where hijacked airliners were flown into New York's Twin Tower, with over 3,000 people killed.
Induction of New members
Alison Thair conducted the Induction formalities for our two newest members, Elizabeth Adamson and Eno Budo.
Elizabeth has relocated to South Perth from a farm in Toodyay, where she and her late husband had been very involved with Rotary. Her Classification is “Farming” and she will join the International Committee. Elizabeth's Mentor is Ian Kremmer.
Eno is originally from Albania before moving to
Australia and lists his interests as running marathons and tennis. His
Classification is “Water Solutions” and he will join the Community Committee.
Eno's Mentor is fellow Toastmaster Dietmar Mazanetz.
Directors' Reports and Member Announcements
Carole O : Ronald MacDonald House Dinner Sunday 01 November, seeking cooks. Second Old Mill Theatre play Wednesday 18 November. “Pick Your Poison”, $30pp, slight excess on group price will go to our charities.
Owen F : “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?” next Saturday 19 September. More details to follow next Friday…
Ian K : OffTraq 22-25 October, more volunteers requested.
Kelly G : Club Service Committee meeting after breakfast.
Garrick M : Our outbound RYE Makynli has changed schools in France (new Host family). Inbound RYE Felipé loves soccer. Another Host family will be needed from April onwards. Youth Committee meeting after breakfast.
Guest Speaker - Professor David Blair AO – Einstein’s Science for Children
He emigrated to Australia from the UK with his family in 1950. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Western Australia in 1968 and a PhD from the University of East Anglia in 1973.
Professor Blair works on methods for the detection of gravitational waves. Among his projects:
- During the 1990s he set up the Gingin Gravitational Wave Research Centre.
- In 2014 he led the Einstein-First Project which aims to introduce Einsteinian Physics at an early age.
Professor Blair was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2026 King's Birthday Honours, in recognition of his:
"distinguished service to physics, to precision measurement science, to gravitational wave research and to scientific education"
Professor David Blair presented on the Einstein First education initiative, which aims to integrate Einsteinian physics into school curricula from Year 3 to Year 10. He outlined shortcomings in traditional 19th-century science education as an illustration with light:
- students are still taught the wave-only model,
- whereas modern science recognizes light as photons (quanta), a concept central to fibre-optic internet and other technologies.
He recounted the origins of Einstein First, including initial skepticism from assessors, subsequent Australian Research Council funding and the development of an eight-year program culminating in two capstone modules:
- The Climate Cruise Adventure and
- The Greatest Story Ever Told (the scientific history of the universe).
Professors Blair’s experience shows children readily grasp Einsteinian ideas when presented clearly, challenging the notion that such concepts require university-level study. Adults often perceive these topics as requiring genius, but he emphasized that the difficulty lies in outdated teaching approaches, not inherent complexity.
He highlighted historical milestones, including a pivotal 1922 UWA-led experiment confirming curved space, and discussed gravitational wave detection and the role of the Gingin Gravitational Wave Research Centre and Gravity Discovery Centre, which educates 20,000 students annually.
Professor Blair also described recent global interest - after a conference in May, in Italy sponsored by the Templeton Foundation, he was invited to apply for funding to scale the program worldwide.
Professor Blair and colleagues convinced the state government to include this content in the Year 10 curriculum, launched in 2026.
He has written several books, available online through UWA Publishing:
- “Uncovering Einstein’s New Universe”
- “Where is Everybody”
- “Starstream”
Two PDF versions Professor Blair’s presentation are available at:
SUMMARY : https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GQ2OZfMe_Mi9aQTaxdFhw82csu4ImRPb&usp=drive_fs
TRANSCRIPT: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1aeTSrhJSk6m8NnDMki4dSNYvEGIO6wtp&usp=drive_fs
Fines - Wayne Muller (short due to time constraints)
- “Penny” from new members Elizabeth and Eno.
- Trump Game -True/False about whether Trump actually said it?
- “Show me someone with no ego and I’ll show you a big loser” (True)
- “Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN polls in the election” (True)
Attendance
37 attendees in all, including guest speaker Professor David Blair, visiting Rotarian Jill Mathwin (Kojonup), soon-to-be-members Eno Budo and Elizabeth Adamson, and visitor Anne Maie Mazanetz.
