Top honours for budding scientists
Dr Ailie Gallant
In recognition of their research achievements and leadership potential, Monash researchers have won four of the eight Victorian Young Tall Poppy Science Awards for 2015.
The awards, run by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science (AIPS), are held state-by-state and celebrate the best and brightest young achievers across science.
Dr Ailie Gallant, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Dr Qiaoliang Bao, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Dr Pascal Molenberghs, School of Psychological Sciences, and Dr Tracy Heng, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, were awarded the prestigious prizes at a ceremony in Melbourne last night.
Dr Dani Barrington, Department of Marketing, was also awarded a Queensland Young Tall Poppy Science Award recently in recognition of her research to improve sanitation in developing countries.
From predicting the severity of droughts to developing new technologies that will bring the smart window a step closer, these promising young scientists are at the cutting edge of research innovation.
Senior Vice-Provost and Vice-Provost (Research), Professor Pauline Nestor, congratulated the winners on behalf of the University.
“These young and driven innovators are quickly becoming leaders in their field, and the scale of their research is already reaching beyond the laboratory to benefit the global community,” Professor Nestor said.
“The University is buoyed by the fact we have highly talented science innovators and communicators who set an excellent example of research leadership at Monash.”
Dr Gallant’s research aims to better understand droughts by looking at how the atmosphere, oceans and the land work, by themselves and together. It investigates how these can lead to decades with more severe droughts.
This research will lead to better predictions of droughts as well as reveal a clearer picture of how human-induced climate change might affect droughts in the future.
"I'm humbled to be part of the Tall Poppy Awards, which acknowledge the role of both good science and good communication in a scientist's career," Dr Gallant said.
"Great science happens all the time, but that science isn't transferable if people don't know about it. That's why effective science communication is crucial.”
As part of the Young Tall Poppy campaign, award winners will spend a year sharing their knowledge with school students, teachers and the broader community through workshops, seminars and public lectures.
Young Tall Poppies are nominated by their peers and are early career researchers who have less than 10 years post-doctoral experience.