Accolades for UWA scientists

The scientific expertise at University of Western Australia (UWA) has been acclaimed at the Premier’s Science Awards, with Prof David Blair announced Western Australian Scientist of the Year, Dr Kristen Nowak as Western Australian Young Scientist of the Year and Prof Paul McMenamin winning the Excellence in Science Teaching Award.

Premier Alan Carpenter announced the winners on Thursday at the award ceremony, which recognises outstanding achievements in Western Australian science.

UWA Deputy Vice-Chancellor Doug McEachern said Prof Blair from the UWA School of Physics is part of the Australian Consortium for Gravitational Astronomy, involved in the worldwide search to identify gravitational waves.

Gravitational waves, sometimes described as ‘the sounds of the universe’, are a space phenomenon that has remained undiscovered since Einstein first predicted them in 1916.

“Research into gravity waves continues to attract funding from a variety of sources and I congratulate Prof Blair for his outstanding achievement in this cutting-edge area of scientific research,” said McEachern.

He said Prof Blair had been instrumental in developing the gravitational wave observatory facility near Gingin and The Gravity Discovery Centre.

Dr Nowak, a research fellow from UWA’s Centre for Medical Research and the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, has made world-first discoveries into the genetics of rare muscle disorders.

Associate Dean in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Prof McMenamin teaches in UWA’s School of Anatomy and Human Biology, where he uses body painting and model building to teach clinically important aspects of human anatomy.

Prof McEachern said the state government was to be commended for increasing its commitment to the recognition of exceptional science within Western Australia.