ANSTO awards Australia's standout nuclear scientists

The ANSTO Awards in Nuclear Science and Technology 2017 have been announced, celebrating a number of researchers for their work advancing nuclear science in Australia.

The award recipients were congratulated by ANSTO CEO Dr Adi Paterson, who said it was a real privilege to work amongst such a talented cohort of individuals.

“Our people are our greatest asset and it’s important to our organisation to celebrate their achievements and motivate them to be the best,” said Dr Paterson.

“Their ongoing commitment to research and innovation truly makes ANSTO an exciting place to be right now.”

Michael Druce received the Sustained Contribution to ANSTO Award for his key role in Australia’s advancement and manufacturing of Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), which helps millions of Australians and people across the world every year to achieve better health outcomes. According to Dr Paterson, Druce’s work has “helped to ensure nuclear medicine is available to all Australians, saving many lives over his 37-year career at ANSTO”.

“Michael’s unfortunately not a household name, but he’s touched the lives of roughly one in two Australians who have benefited from a nuclear medicine procedure at some point in their lives,” Dr Paterson noted.

“Michael was also recently presented the inaugural international award on research reactor networks and nuclear medicine at the Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA) in October.”

Jessica Veliscek-Carolan meanwhile won the ANSTO Early Career Award for her role in looking for improvements in the safe and sustainable management of radioactive waste. Additionally, the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering (ACNS) Sample Environment team won the George Collins Award for Innovation for their ability to provide innovative solutions for challenging neutron beam experiments, combining neutron scattering, high-impact science, engineering, technical expertise and fantastic customer service.

Finally, 2017 saw the introduction of a new award — the Excellence in Science Communication and Outreach Award — recognising an individual “who has made an effort to inspire and nurture the future generation of scientists and engineers”, according to Dr Paterson. The individual in question is ANSTO Research Office Manager Joseph Bevitt, who has been awarded for his skills in translating complex scientific ideas and concepts to broad audiences — from the general public, government and to the next generation of researchers.

“All of those recognised are highly deserving of these awards,” Dr Paterson said. “I congratulate them all for their outstanding achievement.”

Pictured: The award-winning ACNS team.