Four Tall Poppies for Sydney
24 October 2008
Four outstanding Sydney University researchers received New South Wales Young Tall Poppy Science Awards at a special reception at Parliament House last night (Thursday 23 October).
The Sydney University winners of the prestigious 2008 Young Tall Poppy Awards for NSW and the ACT are:
Dr Kathy Belov from the Faculty of Veterinary Science: who studies immunity, health and disease in native wildlife such as Tasmanian devils, wallabies, platypuses and koalas. She has found a direct link between loss of genetic diversity and the emergence of a new disease in the devils.
Professor Bryan Gaensler from the School of Physics: who studies the static and crackle of the radio waves produced by stars and galaxies to study magnetic fields in the universe. He has received eight awards and fellowships including Young Australian of the Year (1999) and the NASA Long Term Space Astrophysics Award.
Associate Professor Rebecca Ivers from The George Institute for International Health: who is conducting studies to measure injury in motor vehicle accidents and contributing to effective injury prevention programs, with a focus on young drivers.
Dr Peter Rutledge from the School of Chemistry: whose research crosses many areas of chemistry including developing new antibiotics, building improved technologies for detecting pollutants and designing new catalysts.
Selected for their achievements and passion for communicating science, the researchers now have the opportunity to take their research to school students around the country as part of the Tall Poppy Campaign.
The NSW/ACT Young Tall Poppy Awards are principally supported by the NSW Office for Science & Medical Research as part of Science EXPOSed. The NSW Tall Poppy Campaign is also supported by Macquarie University and the NSW Department of Education and Training, with national support through the Department of Health and Ageing.
The 2008 Young Tall Poppy Science Awards were presented by our Chancellor, the Governor of NSW, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, and the NSW Minister for Science and Medical Research, the Hon Tony Stewart MP.
Contact: Jake O'Shaughnessy
Phone: +61 2 9351 4312 or 0421 617 861