Scott Watkins
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dr.scottwatkins.me
Scott Watkins
@dr.scottwatkins.me
Chemist. CSO at KISCO. Board Chair Pollinate Energy and parkrun Australia; Board Chair Australia-Korea Foundation🇦🇺🇰🇷. Also some solar, sport and music.
A huge congratulations to Professor Richard Robson from the University of Melbourne who was today one of the recipients of the Nobel Prize for #chemistry.

www.theage.com.au/national/vic...
University of Melbourne professor wins Nobel Prize
Richard Robson, 88, was among three scientists who won the award in chemistry for the development of metal-organic frameworks.
www.theage.com.au
October 8, 2025 at 2:00 PM
One of the projects supported by the Australia-Korea Foundation in 2025 is now in print.

“Be the key” is a collection of deeply personal essays from ten Korean women, each sharing their journeys of navigating careers, culture, identity and the unspoken barriers that shape women’s lives in Korea.
September 4, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Scott Watkins
‘A structural dependence on heavy industry’: can South Korea wean itself off fossil fuels?
‘A structural dependence on heavy industry’: can South Korea wean itself off fossil fuels?
Renewables face a bureaucratic maze in a country built on top-down and carbon-intensive development
www.theguardian.com
August 16, 2025 at 1:03 PM
A small but significant detail in our @amberelectric.bsky.social electricity bill for July. In the coldest month of the year we only took 11kWh from the grid during peak times (3pm-9pm). We were either self-powered, from the batteries, or exporting back into the grid for 99.5% of peak hours.
August 15, 2025 at 12:47 PM
For the month of August my friend Paul has set a challenge to respond to a prompt each day with a song. I created a spreadsheet to ensure diversity and representation. I’ll be posting my answers in this thread. Feel free to join in.

The full list of prompts is in the image.

#SongSharingChallenge
August 1, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Reposted by Scott Watkins
Mark Humphries' housing special SOLD! is suitably angry about the state of home ownership in this country, which doesn't mean he can't get a few jokes in as well. Here's my review for @screenhub.bsky.social : www.screenhub.com.au/news/reviews...
Sold! Who Broke the Australian Dream? review: Humphries tackles housing | ScreenHub Australia - Film & Television Jobs, News, Reviews & Screen Industry Data
Surprisingly moving and justifiably riled-up, Sold! delves into Australia's ongoing housing crisis.
www.screenhub.com.au
July 21, 2025 at 4:40 AM
This is a long but insightful essay.
Our lead organiser, @jonobri.com, writes for
@inflectionpoints.work about "The Problem with Urban Planning" 👇
The housing crisis isn’t just political. It’s professional.
Meet the unelected, unaccountable gatekeepers of growth: legacy planners.

How a well-meaning profession became a structural barrier to progress and how to fix it.

✍️ Jonathan O'Brien

inflectionpoints.work/articles/the...
July 13, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Hey @nytimes.com, please do better. All dyes are made from chemicals. And even the intended distinction, between artificial and natural dyes isn’t helpful. Naturally occurring compounds aren’t inherently safe. Synthetic compounds aren’t inherently toxic.

#chemistry
Kraft Heinz will remove all chemical dyes from its products, like Kool-Aid and Jell-O, over the next two years, the company announced on Tuesday.
Kraft Heinz to Eliminate All Chemical Dyes Over Next 2 Years
The maker of Kool-Aid and Jell-O announced the change two months after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moved to ban artificial food dyes.
trib.al
June 17, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by Scott Watkins
For the first time ever, more battery systems were sold than PV systems in May 2025 – an extraordinary milestone. And home battery sizes are booming too
Home battery sales outpace new solar systems for first time ever, in sign of boom to come
For the first time ever, more battery systems were sold than PV systems in May 2025 – an extraordinary milestone. And home battery sizes are booming too.
reneweconomy.com.au
June 11, 2025 at 5:24 AM
Reposted by Scott Watkins
In 2024, China's total renewable generation grew TWICE as much as it every had done before.

It added 494TWh - that's the total electricity demand of Germany🤯
June 6, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Reposted by Scott Watkins
Taylor Swift announced on Friday that she had bought back the rights to her first six albums. Swift said that her record-breaking Eras Tour helped make her acquisition of the masters. She did not disclose the price. nyti.ms/3FgfXzZ
May 30, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Reposted by Scott Watkins
Very well made multimedia article here with the images, video, and text.
Awful but important story, and very good journalism
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05...
'This could be the beginning of the end': Toxic algal bloom a sign of a changing climate
A mysterious, brown foam appeared on a beach an hour south of Adelaide. It was just the beginning of a toxic algal bloom that has now grown to thousands of square kilometres in size, killing precious ...
www.abc.net.au
May 25, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Scott Watkins
“Attacks on Australia’s preferential voting system are ludicrous. We can be proud of it” - @kevinbonham.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Attacks on Australia’s preferential voting system are ludicrous. We can be proud of it | Kevin Bonham
It’s been argued the election would have had a different outcome with first-past-the-post voting. I cannot overstate how unsound this assumption is
www.theguardian.com
May 17, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Reposted by Scott Watkins
Australia’s battery moment is here, but not everyone knows where to start.

We’ve created a new guide to help renters and homeowners cut through the noise, understand their options, and get more from their solar and storage.

amber.com.au/blog/what-re...
April 28, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Today I was extremely pleased to attend a Korea-Australia seminar on gender-based violence, hosted by the Korean National Police Agency in Seoul. The seminar is part of a project led by Monash University and funded by the Australia Korea Foundation.
April 23, 2025 at 1:35 PM
I’m pleased to be able to attend the 2025 Asan Plenum, celebrating 80 years of Korean independence and 60 years of Korea-Japan normalisation. Both Korea and Japan are very important partners of Australia.
April 23, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Reposted by Scott Watkins
Australian artist's first major solo exhibition in Korea at MMCA showcases three decades of captivating sculpture

www.koreaherald.com/article/1046...
Ron Mueck's hyperrealist sculptures evoke fear, compassion
Australian artist Ron Mueck’s handmade sculptures of humans are stunningly realistic. One features a mother carrying her baby in a sling almost completely hidden by her large overcoat as she carries b...
www.koreaherald.com
April 16, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Reposted by Scott Watkins
Households with solar and batteries are not shifting away from the grid, but into a different kind of relationship with it – active, price-aware, and responsive
Rooftop solar and home batteries: The emergence of the accidental residential energy trader
Households with solar and batteries are not shifting away from the grid, but into a different kind of relationship with it – active, price-aware, and responsive.
reneweconomy.com.au
April 14, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Renters in Australia are apparently not aware of "Build To Rent" apartments. Friends just moved into one in West Melbourne and I think it's a great option. Long term leases, good quality and good location.

www.realestate.com.au/news/rental-...
Rental option many tenants don’t know about - realestate.com.au
Thousands of tenants don’t know this rental alternative exists, and it has plenty of perks including affordable homes.
www.realestate.com.au
April 7, 2025 at 11:06 PM
It was an honour to meet the Republic of Korea's Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Admiral (Retd) Seungseob Sim, who generously hosted the Australia-Korea Foundation Board at his Residence in Canberra last week.
March 31, 2025 at 7:34 AM