Australian Academy of Science's 2016 honorific awards
The Australian Academy of Science has announced the winners of its 2016 honorific awards — an annual program to recognise scientific excellence in researchers in the early stage of their careers right through to those who have made lifelong achievements.
The announcement includes 17 award winners in fields including astronomy, nanoscience, mathematics, chemistry, physics, environmental science and human health, leading the world on projects such as solar energy efficiency, one-shot flu vaccines and portable biosensors to detect viruses.
“These scientists are simply inspirational,” said Academy President Professor Andrew Holmes. “They are working at the leading edges of their fields and of human knowledge, and they are developing innovations that will change and improve our society, our economy and our health.”
The awards will be formally presented at the academy’s annual three-day celebration of Australian science, Science at the Shine Dome, in May 2016.
The full list of winners is below.
Career honorifics
2016 David Craig Medal
Professor Jeffrey Reimers FAA, University of Technology Sydney
Professor Reimers is a chemist who has pioneered the application of chemical quantum theories in biochemical and technological areas. His work helps to explain the solar-to-electrical energy conversion during photosynthesis and he has also evaluated the role of chemical quantum effects in manifesting consciousness.
2016 Haddon Forrester King Medal and Lecture
Professor Murray Hitzman, Colorado School of Mines
Professor Hitzman is a minerals scientist and geologist who has pioneered new understandings of the physics and chemistry of mineral formation. His research has an important impact on mineral exploration around the world.
2016 Mawson Medal and Lecture
Professor Colin Vincent Murray-Wallace, University of Wollongong
Professor Murray-Wallace is a coastal scientist who uses shells to track environmental and sea level change. This work is particularly relevant in understanding coastal evolution under a progressive sea level rise.
2016 Ian Wark Medal and Lecture
Scientia Professor Martin Green AM FAA FRS FTSE, UNSW
Known as the ‘father of photovoltaics’, Professor Green is a world leader in the field. Several generations of his group’s technology have been successfully commercialised and he has helped develop some of the most efficient silicon solar cells in the world.
Mid-career honorifics
2016 Gustav Nossal Medal for Global Health
Professor David Wilson, Burnet Institute
Associate Professor Wilson models infectious disease outbreaks, particularly HIV. His modelling informs our understanding of future risks, enabling better decision-making and how best to target resources in a global health context.
2016 Jacques Miller Medal for experimental biomedicine
Associate Professor Katherine Kedzierska, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Kedzierska researches immune responses to virus outbreaks, including influenza, with a particular focus on how best to protect vulnerable and high-risk groups. Her work could lead to the development of a one-shot flu jab for life.
2016 Nancy Millis Medal for Women in Science
Dr Elena Belousova, ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems, Macquarie University
Dr Belousova has achieved international renown for TerraneChron, a method of analysing trace elements in zircon and applying this technology to studying the evolution of the Earth’s crust, with major significance for mineral exploration.
Early-career honorifics
2016 John Booker Medal
Dr Paolo Falcaro, CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering
Dr Falcaro engineers nanomaterials with highly specialised properties. He has developed materials to decontaminate water and improve medicine delivery. He is also developing portable biosensors to detect viruses during outbreaks.
2016 Fenner Medal
Dr Jane Elith, University of Melbourne
Dr Elith has become one of the world’s most influential researchers in applied ecology. She uses novel tools to understand species distribution in the wild, helping to better inform environmental managers and governments on invasive species, land use and improving biodiversity.
2016 Ruth Stephens Gani Medal
Associate Professor Geoffrey John Faulkner, Mater Research Institute, University of Queensland
Associate Professor Faulkner has analysed the genomes of individual brain cells, identifying genetic changes that may impact how neurons function. His work has implications both for our understanding of brain disorders and future treatments.
2016 Gottschalk Medal
Professor Ostoja Vucic, University of Sydney
Professor Vucic’s research has uncovered the processes that can trigger amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a motor neurone disease. His research has led to new treatments and a new technique to diagnose ALS, resulting in earlier, more effective interventions.
2016 Anton Hales Medal
Associate Professor John Paterson, University of New England
Associate Professor Paterson is a world-leading researcher on the earliest animals in the fossil record, using well-preserved Australian fossils to answer major questions relating to evolution, biogeography and palaeoecology.
2016 Christopher Heyde Medal
Dr Luke Bennetts University of Adelaide
Dr Bennetts is an applied mathematician who models how different kinds of waves interact with objects in their path. His work has improved understanding of how ocean waves interact with sea ice, with direct implications for understanding and forecasting Earth’s climate.
2016 Dorothy Hill Award
Dr Andréa Taschetto, UNSW
Dr Taschetto is a leader in climate systems science. Her research has significantly advanced our understanding of the role of the Pacific and Indian Oceans in regional climate variability.
2016 Pawsey Medal
Dr Ilya Shadrivov, Australian National University
Dr Shadrivov is developing new metamaterials which have properties not usually found in nature, such as the ability to selectively absorb some colours of light or beam electromagnetic waves in specific directions. These have great implications for next-generation technologies.
2016 Frederick White Prize
Dr Michael James Ireland, Australian National University
Dr Ireland develops and applies the latest optical and infrared technologies to build innovative astronomical instruments to investigate the life cycles of stars and planets.
2016 Le Févre Memorial Prize
Associate Professor Cyrille Boyer, UNSW
Associate Professor Boyer is an authority in the field of polymer science, developing innovative methods of polymerisation. His demonstration of how chlorophyll and light can control polymerisation of functional macromolecules has implications for the synthesis of macromolecules using bioresources.
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