27 October 2006
The outstanding achievements of five UNSW academics have been celebrated at the 2006 Young Tall Poppy Science Awards, presented last night at NSW Parliament House.
The winners are Dr Stephen Wroe, Dr Adam Micolich, Dr Louisa Degenhardt, Mr Leigh Sheppard and Dr Stuart Tangye.
Established in 1998, the awards recognise young scientists between 25 and 35 who excel at research, leadership and communication. A total of 15 awards were presented by the Australian Institute of Policy & Science to winners across NSW and the ACT.
Palaeontologist Stephen Wroe, an expert on mammalian carnivore evolution, has made new findings on subjects ranging from marsupial carnivore feeding behaviour to the nesting behaviour of pterosaurs (flying reptiles). Dr Wroe is a QEII Research Fellow and has been awarded a $750,000 ARC grant and a $180,000 UNSW Strategic Initiatives grant to continue his work in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Louisa Degenhardt, a senior lecturer at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, has identified several important trends about drug use in Australia. She developed the national ‘Party Drug Initiative’, work which has been lauded internationally. Dr Degenhardt has been invited to present research findings to UN agencies, international and national government advisory bodies, and the Australian Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy.
Adam Micolich is an expert in semiconductor nanoelectronics, working on nanoscale electronic devices for information technologies such as computers, play stations, mobile phones and the internet. A lecturer in the Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Dr Micolich has been involved in several impressive discoveries including fractal conductance fluctuations in electron billiards and a new hybrid organic-inorganic superconductor material.
Leigh Sheppard, from UNSW’s Centre for Materials Research in Energy Conversion, is working on an efficient way to split water into hydrogen and oxygen by using solar energy and titania – work which could see Australia become a world leader in developing pollution-free transport. Leigh’s discovery of metallic-like materials based on titanium oxide is also paving the way for the production of environmentally friendly building materials using titania coatings.
Stuart Tangye is a conjoint UNSW academic with St Vincent's Clinical School based at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. His research could shed light on autoimmune diseases that prevent individuals from fighting pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. Dr Tangye has been involved in several health awareness and fundraising campaigns for the Cancer Council NSW and the Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology.
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