David Gonski recognised with Lifetime Achievement Award as UNSW celebrates 2025 Alumni winners

UNSW honours seven remarkable graduates making a difference around the globe and recognises Chancellor David Gonski for decades of service to the University.

UNSW Sydney has announced the recipients of its 2025 Alumni Awards, celebrating the outstanding achievements of seven graduates whose leadership, creativity and commitment are driving positive change across Australia and beyond.

The University also bestowed a one-time honour, the Lifetime Alumni Achievement Award, to Chancellor David Gonski AC for his enduring contributions to education, business and the community.

Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Attila Brungs congratulated the award winners.

“It’s inspiring to see the extraordinary impact our alumni make, often quietly but always with purpose and integrity. It makes me incredibly proud to be part of this community,” Prof. Brungs said. “From transforming mental health care and reshaping superannuation, to pioneering new frontiers in aerospace, this year’s winners are truly inspiring.

“Over the past 20 years, David Gonski has been an unwavering advocate for UNSW’s mission and people, not only one of UNSW’s most passionate champions, but also one of our most accomplished alumni.  The Lifetime Alumni Achievement Award to David is both fitting and richly deserved.”

This year’s Alumni Awards is the final ceremony presided over by Mr Gonski, UNSW’s longest-serving Chancellor and the first alumnus to hold that role. Mr Gonski is stepping down from his role at the end of 2025.

Mr Gonski said the Alumni Awards had been one of the highlights of his time at the University.

“It has been a privilege to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of our graduates and to witness the many ways they are shaping a better future across every field imaginable,” Mr Gonski said.

“To now be recognised with the inaugural Lifetime Alumni Achievement Award is deeply humbling. UNSW has been such an important part of my life, and I have always believed in the power of this institution to make a lasting difference.”

Alumni Award for Art and Culture

Annette Larkin (MArtAdm '94)

Art valuer, advisor and dealer

Annette Larkin is a leading figure in the Australian and international art world, renowned for over three decades of expertise in curation, valuation and art advisory. During that time, she has shaped major collections, championed contemporary art and advanced Australia’s cultural landscape.

“I love to see how many people go to sports matches; communities all come together for their love for sport. I’d love to see that kind of enthusiasm for our artists. I’d love to see Australian artists be household names,” she said.

“With all the bad news that goes on in the world, art can be an escape into somebody else's mind, into somebody else's history.”

Ms Larkin spent 11 years at Christie’s Australia, in roles including Associate Director and Head of Contemporary Art. She established stand-alone contemporary art sales and worked across Asia, the US and Europe. She has also held roles at Macquarie Galleries, the Art Gallery of NSW and Newcastle Region Art Gallery.

A respected national art valuer, Ms Larkin served on the Australian Government’s Cultural Gift Scheme committee and is a member of the Australian Valuers and Auctioneers Association, a Foundation member of the Art Gallery of NSW and a Museum of Contemporary Art Ambassador.

Alumni Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Professor Jeremy O’Brien (BSc '98 & PhD '02)

Co-Founder & CEO, PsiQuantum

Professor Jeremy O’Brien is a leading physicist and quantum computing expert helping to create the world’s first practical quantum computers, with the potential to transform health care, climate solutions and global technology.

“I read an article in New Scientist that said if we could harness quantum mechanics to build a quantum computer, we could bring about a revolution comparable to fire, agriculture, steam power, digital computing, and I was truly captivated by that,” Prof. O'Brien said.

“To think about an application that could be so profoundly world-changing was really exciting to me and I’ve spent the rest of my career trying to bring that technology into reality.”

He co-founded PsiQuantum, where he now serves as CEO. Since its launch in 2015, the company has raised more than $700 million in private capital, grown to over 200 employees and reached an estimated valuation of more than $3 billion.

PsiQuantum is building a large-scale quantum computer using light particles, called photons, and the same technology used for standard computer chips. This scalable approach allows production in regular chip factories, marking a major step forward for a technology once seen as purely experimental.

Alumni Award for Professional Achievement

Deanne Stewart (BCom '93 and Co-op Program Alumna)

CEO, Aware Super

Deanne Stewart is a leader in Australia’s superannuation sector, where she is renowned for driving innovation and responsible investment.

“Getting to look after the savings of millions of Australians is an incredible purpose. It has such a positive impact if you get it right,” Ms Stewart said.

“I feel very passionate about gender equality. If we look at our member base, we see, on the whole in superannuation, men retiring with 25% more than women. Now, that’s not a system that’s equal or working for all Australians. So [we’re] having a really strong voice and advocacy in that area to see policy change, but also within the system we’re doing as best we can to support women.”

Ms Stewart led one of the financial sector’s most significant transformations, merging VicSuper and First State Super in 2020 to form Aware Super.

Under her leadership, the fund has grown to manage more than $150 billion for 1.1 million members, earning top industry awards for performance and member services while championing responsible investing.

“There's such an opportunity for us to reimagine what retirement could be and how we can help Australians retire with real dignity.”

Alumni Award for Research and Teaching Achievement

Professor Louise Maple-Brown (PhD ’06)

Clinician Researcher

Professor Louise Maple-Brown is a leading endocrinologist and researcher whose work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities has transformed diabetes care and advanced health equity across remote Australia.

“We can learn so much from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities around health care. It's critical that Aboriginal voices have the power and control around those decisions,” Prof. Maple-Brown said.

Her research spans diabetes in pregnancy, youth diabetes and kidney disease, with a strong focus on gestational diabetes among Indigenous women, leading to improved clinical guidelines and greater awareness of diabetes in pregnancy.

Beyond research, Prof. Maple-Brown is a strong advocate for equitable health care, working with government and community organisations to influence policy and develop programs that help close the health gap for Indigenous Australians.

“My research is very much in partnership with Aboriginal communities. It’s about working together to improve inequities in health outcomes.”

Alumni Award for Social Impact and Service

Dr Sanderson Onie (BPsychSc(Hons) '15, PhD '19)

Global Mental Health Researcher and Advocate

Dr Sanderson Onie is a globally recognised leader in mental health and suicide prevention whose research, advocacy and policy work are transforming approaches to mental health equity worldwide.

“A lot of people don’t know that suicide is the leading cause of death for young people aged between 18 to 44,” Dr Onie said.

“My goal is that every single person gets the care they need when it comes to mental health and suicide.”

Dr Onie led Indonesia’s first national suicide prevention strategy with the country’s Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), resulting in suicide prevention being enshrined in Indonesia’s 2023 health law, a first for a low and middle-income country.

His culturally informed research revealed that faith-based approaches are key to reducing stigma, leading to the world’s first unified religious statement on mental health and suicide at the 2022 G20 Summit.

He has also developed innovative digital interventions reaching millions, including targeted online campaigns that connect individuals searching for suicide-related terms with life-saving resources.

“It’s very simple and very non-intrusive; if a person searches up certain key words pertaining to suicide or indicating they may be thinking of hurting themselves, the first thing they see is our ad. From there we gently show them help-seeking options, with the goal of making help-seeking less intimidating and daunting to access.”

Young Alumni Award

Daniel Joinbee (BSc '10)

Founder and Managing Director, Gunggandji Aerospace

Daniel Joinbee is a First Nations aerospace entrepreneur working to advance Australia’s space capabilities while championing Indigenous participation in the industry.

“The first person to walk on Mars is a student in school right now. And why shouldn't the people on that mission be Aboriginal people?” Mr Joinbee said.

As founder of Gunggandji Aerospace, he is inspiring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to pursue careers in space and aviation while delivering high-quality consulting services across the sector.

Gunggandji Aerospace also runs a ‘non-traditional pathways’ program, opening doors for individuals who have not followed conventional career routes, including people who have been in prison, those who didn’t complete school and parents with young families.

“It’s important to open up these pathways because I believe it will create generational change by changing the conversation at the dinner table.”

Chancellor's Award for Exceptional Alumni Achievement

Professor Ian Hickie AO (MB BS '82, MD '90)

Co-Director, Health and Policy at Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney

Professor Ian Hickie is a leading psychiatrist and mental health reformer whose work in early intervention, digital innovation and personalised care has radically altered the way Australia supports people’s mental health and wellbeing.

“I've been part of a transformation [in mental health], of a complete public shift, from secrecy, from hiding, from stigma, from shame to openness,” Prof. Hickie said.

His achievements include serving as inaugural CEO of Beyond Blue and founding Director of headspace, where he played a key role in establishing digital mental health initiatives. He was also the inaugural Commissioner on Australia’s National Mental Health Commission, overseeing enhanced accountability for mental health reform and suicide prevention.

In 2003, Prof. Hickie was appointed Executive Director of the Brain and Mind Centre, where he developed infrastructure for mental health research and services.  

“The big challenge in mental health at the moment is: how do we take all of the bits that we know and apply it to you personally. I think that’s what we’ll see in the next five to 10 years – a greater personalisation through smart technologies and much smarter application of science.”