ACT Scientist of the Year Award
The ACT Scientist of the Year award was announced in August 2014. It is an annual award made by the ACT Government to a Canberra-based scientist. The winner will receive $30,000 to assist with an identified research project. The award is themed around a different field of scientific endeavour each year. The first award was made in 2015
2019 Dr Sophie Lewis
Dr Lewis' research is helping to better understand the impact of climate change on the ACT and to prepare for the local, national and international effects as our planet warms. Using climate model data, she was able to show that the year's high temperatures were more likely because of climate change. Dr Lewis is a Senior Lecturer and Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales Canberra who received her PhD in palaeoclimatology in 2011 from the Australian National University and started her research on Australia's record hot 2013 summer.
2018 Dr Rose Ahlefeldt
Dr Ahlefeldt’s research is informing the future of quantum computers and, eventually, the quantum internet.
2017 Dr Kai Xun Chan
Dr Chan's research looks at the effect of drought conditions on plants, and the ways by which some plants can sense drought stress.
2016 Dr Ceridwen Fraser
Dr Fraser's internationally renowned research is helping understand how plants and animals survive climate changes. Her work has important implications for how we manage biodiversity and ecosystems now and into the future
2015 Dr Colin Jackson
Dr Jackson is working to find solutions to real-world problems. As we face the challenges associated with an ageing population, Dr Jackson’s work with colleagues in Germany is helping to better understand the way we learn and remember as well as increasing our understanding of diseases such as Alzheimer’s. His work to address the development of insecticide resistance in pests that can devastate crops and animals is a further demonstration of why science innovation is more important than ever. Through this research Dr Jackson and his team are working to ensure reliable food production in Australia is not compromised, as well as seeking to vastly reduce the application of pesticides.