UNSW wins seven Royal Society of NSW Awards

UNSW academics were announced as recipients of three of the most prestigious medals handed out by the Society.

UNSW researchers picked up seven of the 2024 Royal Society of NSW (RSNSW) Awards on Wednesday night.

Scientia Professor George Paxinos received the James Cook Medal, the Society’s highest honour. Professor Yansong Shen, Professor Jason Sharples, Professor Katherine Boydell, Scientia Professor Jane McAdam, Dr Fei Deng and PhD candidate Ms Linqing Tian were also recognised.

The Society’s purpose is to advance knowledge and understanding within the disciplines of science, art, literature, and philosophy.

UNSW Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Attila Brungs congratulated the UNSW winners.

“The annual Royal Society of NSW Awards are among the oldest and most prestigious in Australia, and it’s an honour for so many of our researchers to be recognised,” Prof. Brungs said.

“We are extremely proud of our UNSW academics and the real-world impact their work is having on the community. Each accolade is a testament to their dedication, passion and excellence.”

James Cook Medal

Scientia Professor George Paxinos AO was awarded the James Cook Medal for his lifetime contribution to science and human welfare.

The Conjoint Professor at UNSW Medicine & Health and NeuRA is a world-renowned cartographer who mapped the brain of humans as well as research animals – including the brains of rats, mice, birds and primates. The first of Prof. Paxinos’ 57 scientific books, The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Co-ordinates, is the most cited work in neuroscience globally.

Prof. Paxinos has constructed brain atlases to help neuroscientists discover the cause and treatment of diseases such as Parkinson’s and dementia. He is also a passionate environmental activist and wrote the eco-fiction book, A River Divided, a novel which weaves neuroscience principles with environmental science.

On receiving the James Cook Medal, Prof. Paxinos said: “I will use my hour in the spotlight to speak of the cognitive, motivational and emotional limits the brain places on us. My work has shown how our brains are so similar to those of chimpanzees.”

Prof. Paxinos’ e-book and audiobook of his novel A River Divided can be obtained free from the NeuRA website or by emailing g.paxinos@neura.edu.au

Edgeworth David Medal

UNSW Engineering Professor Yansong Shen was awarded the Edgeworth David Medal for his world-leading solar panel research.

Photovoltaic solar panels play an important role in Australia meeting its net zero greenhouse gas emissions targets by 2050. Prof. Shen said it was equally important that these panels were effectively recycled as they came to the end of their life.

Inspired by metallurgy engineering, Prof. Shen has developed a sustainable recycling system for solar panels that diverts all waste from landfill and provides green materials for new solar panels and other manufacturing. The work has led to more than 10 patents.

“Receiving this award is an incredible honour and a humbling reminder of the hard work, support, and inspiration that have brought me to this moment,” Prof. Shen said. “It’s a milestone I will cherish as I strive to make a meaningful impact in the field of green metals and solar panel recycling.”

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Scholars Medal

Internationally recognised expert in bushfire behaviour, UNSW Canberra Professor Jason Sharples, received the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Scholars Medal.

Prof. Sharples is a mathematical scientist and director of UNSW Bushfire, which aims to improve our understanding of the fundamental processes that drive extreme bushfire risk, and their relation to firefighter and community safety.

He is a key contributor to the international dialogue around wildfire modelling and risk management. His research has also been adopted in national firefighter training materials and into the operational procedures of bushfire management agencies such as the NSW Rural Fire Service.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were Australia’s first scientists and engineers, and I am incredibly humbled and honoured to be recognised for my contribution to this long tradition,” Prof. Sharples said.

“I will use this Award to continue to encourage Indigenous Australians to engage in STEM education and research and to stand up and be proud of their knowledge and abilities.”

Milner Interdisciplinary Award

Professor Katherine Boydell from UNSW Medicine & Health and the Black Dog Institute received the inaugural Milner Interdisciplinary Award.

Prof. Boydell is an internationally recognised qualitative methodologist, using the arts in health research, particularly in mental health and social care. She has published over 300 articles in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and the texts Qualitative Methods in Early Psychosis and Applying Body Mapping in Research.

Prof. Boydell said she was honoured to receive the RSNW award as it acknowledged the importance of diversity of disciplines in her program of research.

“Each discipline presents a unique way of knowing – all of which contribute to an enhanced understanding of phenomena under investigation,” she said.

“It has been wonderful to work with colleagues representing sociology, medicine, anthropology, geography, creative design and the arts and humanities. I’ve particularly enjoyed partnering with people who hold experiential wisdom such as people who use health and mental health services.”

RSNSW Award in the Humanities, Philosophy and Law

Scientia Professor Jane McAdam AO from UNSW Law & Justice and the founding director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, won the inaugural RSNSW Award in the Humanities, Philosophy and Law.

 Now leading the Kaldor Centre's Evacuations Research Hub, Prof. McAdam is internationally renowned in the field of forced migration and refugee law, particularly for her work on climate change-related displacement. She is joint Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Refugee Law and served as the Co-Rapporteur of the International Law Association’s Committee on International Law and Sea-Level Rise. She holds a prestigious Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship; is a Fellow of both the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Law; and is an Honorary Associate of the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University.

In 2021, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) ‘for distinguished service to international refugee law, particularly to climate change and the displacement of people’.

 Prof. McAdam said it was an honour to be the first recipient of the Society’s award for Humanities, Philosophy and Law.  

“At this critical time, we need greater public understanding of displacement in the context of conflict, disasters and climate change, and I hope that this recognition will help to raise awareness and spark action on effective, humane and sustainable solutions,” she said.

RSNSW Bicentennial Early Career Research and Service Citations

An RSNSW Early Career Citation was awarded to Dr Fei Deng from UNSW Engineering’s Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering.

Dr Deng’s research interests include point-of-care biosensing devices, CRISPR biosensing devices, and in vivo biosensing devices. He has published over 30 articles in high-impact journals including Nature Communications and Advanced Functional Materials.

He has also secured, either individually or as a chief investigator in a larger team, over $10 million in research grants from sources including Australia’s Economic Accelerator, CRC Projects, NHMRC, and the ARC. His biosensor research has been well recognised by industry, leading to a startup company (Casbio) of which he is a co-founder, and as a research consultant to Avicena Systems.

RSNSW Bicentennial Postgraduate Scholarship

Third-year PhD student in UNSW Science’s School of Chemistry, Ms Linqing Tian, was awarded one of three RSNSW Bicentennial Postgraduate Scholarships.

Leveraging her extensive expertise in polymer science and computational modelling alongside her innovative approach to nanomedicine, Ms Tian has developed a drug delivery system that enhances the delivery of therapeutic drugs without relying on organic solvents.

The sustainable system, which uses sugars and amino acids, is versatile, easy to adapt and suitable for a wide range of therapeutic drugs.