Young, promising and winning accolades

One of UNSW's rising stars, Associate Professor Kate Crawford, has been awarded one of Australia's most prestigious prizes for achievement and promise in the humanities.

The Max Crawford Medal is awarded every two years by the Australian Academy of the Humanities to an Australian-based, early-career humanities scholar who has contributed to the enrichment of the cultural life of Australia.

The Medal, which is named after the late historian Professor Raymond Maxwell Crawford (no relation), recognises high quality academic research that contributes to a deeper understanding of an aspect of the humanities in a general audience.

Kate Crawford, who is based at the Journalism and Media Research Centre, in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, was chosen by the Academy for her body of work including her widely-praised book Adult Themes. The book won the 2006 Manning Clark House Cultural Award, whose judges called it "a landmark contribution to Australian cultural life".

"Kate Crawford's work is academically rigorous while being accessible to a lay audience," said the Academy's Awards Committee. "The combination of thorough research, clear thinking and engaging writing is the key to Crawford's success in crossing over from the scholarly sphere to the general audience."

Professor Crawford's research focuses on social change and digital cultures, particularly mobile media. She is an electronic musician and composer, and co-founder of independent record label Deluxe Mood Recordings. She has performed in groups such as B(if)tek, Clone and Terry Nation, and has worked as a journalist in Australia and the US.

Professor Crawford will be awarded the Medal at the annual Symposium of Fellows next month.

For more on Professor Crawford's honour, go to the Academy website.

Contact: Susi Hamilton | 9385 1583 | 0422 934 024 | susi.hamilton@unsw.edu.au