Australia wins medals in international PhD thesis competition

Australia scooped 4 out of 11 prizes in the Merrill Lynch innovation grants competition for PhDs in science, engineering and the liberal arts. There were entries from 17 countries.

The competition aims to encourage entrepreneurship in the academic research community, and to highlight the wealth of intellectual capital being created at the world's institutions of higher learning.

Winners receive a cash award, and opportunities to capitalise their ideas. They retain the intellectual property rights to their work.

Professor Michael Barber, the Academy's Science Policy Secretary said "Australia has traditionally pumped above its weight in science, as shown by the number of nobel laureates in science, and it is encouraging to see that the next generation is following on in this tradition. "

The Academy congratulates the winners, Diane McDougal from University of NSW. Richard Helmer from Uni Melbourn, Ashish Diwan from University of NSW and Dr Tzong Hsien Lee from Monash University.