Congratulations to Professor Steven Tingay (Curtin University, ICRAR), and Professor Ryan Lister (Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, the University of Western Australia) who have been announced as joint winners of Scientist of the Year in the 2020 Premier’s Science Awards.
The Premier’s Science Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding scientific research and engagement taking place in the State. The Awards cover all fields of science, including natural, medical, applied and technological science, engineering and mathematics.
Steven Tingay is an internationally renowned radio astronomer, spanning astrophysics, engineering, instrumentation, high performance computing, and project governance. Professor Tingay has written major papers across a broad range of topics in astrophysics and is the driving force behind the $50 million Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). The MWA is a precursor to the multi-national €1.7 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope.
We were honoured to work with Professor Tingay with the team from ICRAR processing data from the Murchison Widefield Array. You can read about it here.
Professor Lister is a pioneer in the field of epigenomics, the study of the molecular code that controls gene activity. He generated the world’s first complete maps of the human epigenome, and his groundbreaking research in plant and animal systems has revolutionized our understanding of genome regulation, stem cell biology, and brain development. These major advances in knowledge underpin future improvements to human health and agriculture, with his discoveries already being used in dozens of patents in diverse fields, including prenatal testing, cancer detection, and regenerative medicine technologies. Professor Lister has also spearheaded the formation of Genomics WA, a new cutting-edge genomics research facility to serve scientists across Western Australia.
We join the science community in WA in offering our sincerest congratulations to two worthy winners.
