The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science were presented by the Prime Minister and the Innovation Minister at the Prize Dinner in the Great Hall of Parliament House on Wednesday 12 October. [Read more…] about Prime Minister’s Science Prizes 2011
Changing the world one molecule at a time: 2011 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science
Ezio Rizzardo and David Solomon
In the coming years when you buy a tyre, lubricant, adhesive, paint, computer or any one of hundreds of other products, there’s a good chance that some of its component materials will have been produced using revolutionary chemical theories and processes invented in Australia by research teams led by Professors Ezio Rizzardo and David Solomon.
Their techniques are employed in almost every university chemistry department, and the laboratories and factories of DuPont, L’Oréal, IBM, 3M, Dulux and more than 60 other companies.
A new chlorophyll – redefining photosynthesis: 2011 Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year
Min Chen
Among the single-celled cyanobacteria—formerly known as blue-green algae—which live in the ancient rock-like accumulations called stromatolites in Shark Bay, Western Australia, Associate Professor Min Chen of the University of Sydney last year found the first new form of chlorophyll in 67 years.
How did the Universe light up – filling a billion years of cosmic history: 2011 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year
Stuart Wyithe
The Universe was born in a hot Big Bang. But after 300,000 years of expansion it became a cold dark place—no galaxies, no stars, no light. A billion years later nuclear fusion lit up the Universe as hydrogen atoms clumped to form stars and galaxies.
Puppets break the science language barrier: 2011 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools
Brooke Topelberg
In 2003, Mrs Brooke Topelberg—only three years out from an education degree and just back from two years’ teaching in inner London—was appointed science coordinator of Westminster Primary School. The school is set in a high immigrant, low socio-economic suburban area in northern Perth. Science was a low priority at the school.
A part of her students’ lives: 2011 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools
Jane Wright
Students at Adelaide’s Loreto College have been investigating extra-sensory perception, finding the best way to neutralise spills of household cleaners, and testing the antibiotic effects of Manuka honey. They present their results not just by writing reports, but using talks, videos, role-plays and stories. Their activities are typical of the practical, can-do attitude of their science coordinator, Dr Jane Wright. It’s an attitude she’s also applied in her leadership of her chosen profession.
Born from astronomy…Creating a future with astronomy
In 1768 the British Admiralty sent Captain James Cook to the Pacific to monitor the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun. On his way home to England, Cook mapped Australia’s east coast, and claimed New South Wales.
For about 40,000 years before that, the indigenous peoples of Australia had been developing remarkably sophisticated explanations of the workings of the Southern Sky. [Read more…] about Born from astronomy…Creating a future with astronomy
The complex life of coral
Tracy Ainsworth James Cook University Coral interactions more complex than ever suspected. Dr Tracy Ainsworth’s research is changing our understanding of the life of the tiny coral animals that built Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef. Her work comes at a critical time for the future of coral reefs—threatened by a warming ocean and by coral […]
Can we save the tiger with mathematics?
Eve McDonald-Madden The University of Queensland Turning to mathematics to allow us to make smarter conservation decisions. The diversity of life on Earth underpins the global economy. But we’re losing biodiversity at an unprecedented rate and human-induced climate change will threaten more species—up to 37 per cent of the plants and animals with which we […]
A smarter way to deliver drugs
Georgina Such The University of Melbourne Smart capsules could change the way we deliver drugs. Today, when we’re treated for cancer, the drug spreads throughout the body indiscriminately. Along the way it causes side-effects such as nausea and hair loss. To tackle this problem Georgina imagines a miniscule capsule designed like a set of Russian […]