2014 Prime Minister's Prizes for Science

The winners of the 2014 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science were announced this week at a black-tie dinner held at Parliament House. The annual awards are presented to Australian scientists and teachers for exceptional scientific achievements and encouraging student interest in science.

The $300,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science was this year awarded jointly to Laureate Professor Sam Berkovic AC and Professor Ingrid Scheffer AO, both from the University of Melbourne, for their discoveries of links between epilepsy and genes. Their work has confirmed that epilepsy is inherited, not acquired, and has opened the way to better-targeted research, diagnosis and treatment of the condition.

The $50,000 Frank Fenner Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year was awarded to Professor Ryan Lister of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, the University of Western Australia, for his contributions to the understanding of gene regulation and its potential ability to change agriculture and the treatment of disease and mental health. His research focuses on the epigenome - a molecular code superimposed upon the genome that controls how genes are turned on and off.

The $50,000 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year was awarded to Dr Matthew Hill from CSIRO for his work on the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for practical industrial application. Dr Hill has demonstrated that the space inside MOFs can be used as an efficient and long-lasting filter, suitable for applications such as natural gas production, mineral processing, food production and pollution control.

The Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools was awarded to Brian Schiller, from Seacliff Primary School in South Australia, for his contributions to science teaching and for taking it in new creative directions. Schiller aims to nurture his students’ creativity and use science to enhance student learning in a range of curriculum areas. He will share the $50,000 prize with his school.

The Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools was awarded to Geoff McNamara, from Melrose High School in the ACT, for his inspiring and innovative teaching methods. McNamara reaches out to each student’s interests - from genetics to driving to cosmology - to demonstrate the inevitable relevance of science. He will share his $50,000 prize with the school.

Next year’s prizes will feature a new award - the Prime Minister’s Prize for the Commercial Application of Science - to recognise the important role innovation plays in partnership with science.