Prime Minister's Prizes for Science 2013

The winners of the 2013 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science were announced this week, with five recipients providing a representative spread around the country from Perth, Townsville, Sydney and Melbourne.

Professor Terry Speed from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research received the $300,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science for his work using mathematics and statistics to solve real-world issues. His work has helped farmers, miners and criminologists and paved the way to modern biology and personalised medicine - interpreting the actions of thousands of genes.

Associate Professor Angela Moles from UNSW received the $50,000 Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year. Transforming our understanding of the plant world, Moles’ research covers where plant defence will be most aggressive, why plant seeds range from a speck of dust to a coconut and how ecosystems will adapt to a changing climate.

Associate Professor Andrea Morello from UNSW received the $50,000 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year. Morello is making quantum computing a reality, a task that could transform searching, modelling and cryptography.

Sarah Chapman from Townsville State High School received the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools, sharing the $50,000 prize money with her school. Chapman delivers science to her students that they can see and touch. Her students study the impact of the V8 Supercar races, held at the school and its environs, on nearby mangroves.

Richard Johnson from Rostrata Primary School in Perth has created a model science laboratory that makes science fun for students and teachers. Over 40 other schools have implemented his ideas. He received the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools. He and his school will share the $50,000 prize money.

Further information and images of the award night at Parliament House are available at Science in Public