The best in Australian science discovered tonight 
2015 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes Award Dinner at Sydney Town Hall
At the end of July, 49 finalists were announced for 16 Eureka Prizes worth a total of $160,000.
Tonight we’ll find out who will take home a coveted Eureka Prize.
To be part of the Eureka Prizes experience, follow us live from the red carpet on Twitter at @EurekaPrizes, and using the #Eureka15 hashtag. We’ll Tweet each winner the moment their names are read out on stage.
Established in 1827, the Australian Museum is the nation’s first museum and one of its foremost scientific research, educational and cultural institutions. The Eureka Prizes are the most comprehensive national science awards, honouring excellence in Research and Innovation, Leadership, Science Communication and Journalism, and School Science.
This year, new prizes recognise excellence in rural research and international collaboration.
For media enquiries please contact the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes media team:
- Niall Byrne, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au, 0417 131 977
- Errol Hunt, errol@scienceinpublic.com.au, 0423 139 210
The 2015 Eureka Prize finalists have invented:
- Low-temperature, low-pressure hydrogen storage that can power a motorised bicycle over 120km on a single, small canister, producing only water as a by-product. (Sydney)
- An energy storage system that efficiently stores solar power through the night hours, solving the mismatch between solar power generation and electricity demand. (Adelaide)
- ‘Carpentry’-type techniques to switch off key molecular weapons of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, transforming them into harmless bacteria. (Canberra and Melbourne)
They have discovered:
- A bizarre dwarf galaxy that harbours a supermassive black hole more than a thousand times ‘too large’. (Sydney)
- How to teach Northern Territory quolls not to eat toxic cane toads: feed them smaller, less-toxic toads that make the quoll sick, but aren’t fatal. (Sydney)
- The secret to viewing processes within a patient’s living tissues: nanocrystals with precise, in-built timers that may allow real-time disease diagnosis and the ability to watch drugs interact with living cells in real time. (Sydney and Adelaide)
And they have:
- Taught astronomy in remote WA schools to students of the Wajarri Yamatji, the traditional owners of the land on which the Murchison radio-astronomy observatory sits, and presented the first science event for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. (Sydney)
- Engaged wine growers, foresters and farmers from Cape York to Canberra in on-the-farm research to see the effects of climate change on crop growth and quality. (Melbourne)
- Combined microbiology, machine learning and a visualisation method developed to map Napoleon’s military campaigns to identify new insulin activation mechanisms. (Sydney)
Read about these and the many other achievements of the 2015 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes finalists at australianmuseum.net.au/eureka.
The winners of all 16 prizes will be announced in the presence of over 650 science, government, culture and media leaders at the Eureka Prizes Award Dinner at Sydney Town Hall tonight.
Also revealed today: top science photograph for 2015
Three images are finalists for New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography and are available for publication.
See the images at australianmuseum.net.au/eureka and contact us for high-resolution versions.
Here’s one of the finalists:
Saltwater Crocodile
Justin Gilligan
Exploring the coral reefs of Kimbe Bay in Papua New Guinea is like being caught in a literal time warp, where the hours pass by like fleeting moments.
For Justin Gilligan, this juvenile saltwater crocodile presented the perfect opportunity for a close encounter on a glistening natural stage. When taking this stunning image, Justin focused on the raised eyes and nostrils and the camouflaged skin – all adaptions this crocodile needs to live a life both above and below the water surface.
For media enquiries please contact the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes media team:
- Niall Byrne, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au, 0417 131 977
- Errol Hunt, errol@scienceinpublic.com.au, 0423 139 210
Background
The 2015 Eureka Prizes are:
- 3M Eureka Prize for Emerging Leader in Science
- University of Technology Sydney Eureka Prize for Outstanding Mentor of Young Researchers
- CSIRO Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science
- ANSTO Eureka Prize for Innovative Use of Technology
- Department of Industry and Science Eureka Prize for Science Journalism
- Department of Industry and Science Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Australian Science Research
- Defence Science and Technology Group Eureka Prize for Outstanding Science for Safeguarding Australia
- University of Sydney Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize – Primary
- Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre Eureka Prize for Infectious Diseases Research
- Rural Research and Development Corporations Eureka Prize for Rural Innovation
- NSW Office of Environment and Heritage Eureka Prize for Environmental Research
- University of Sydney Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize – Secondary
- New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography
- Scopus Eureka Prize for Excellence in International Scientific Collaboration
- Macquarie University Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher
- University of New South Wales Eureka Prize for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research
- University of New South Wales Eureka Prize for Scientific Research