2008 Young Tall Poppy Science Award Recipients

Thirteen bright young scientists were named NSW/ACT Young Tall Poppies for 2008/2009 for their outstanding contributions to areas ranging from the impact of the drug 'ice' to the development of artificial intelligence.

The 2008/2009 award winners were:

• Associate Professor Ian Anderson, University of Western Sydney, studying the influence of CO2 levels on the abundance of fungi and their capacity to enhance carbon sequestration in Australian forests. His work will help to improve carbon accounting for current and future emissions trading schemes.
• Dr Kathy Belov, University of Sydney, studying immunity, health and disease in our native wildlife such as Tasmanian devils, wallabies, platypuses and koalas. She has found a direct link between loss of genetic diversity and the emergence of a new disease in the devils.
• Dr Culum Brown, Macquarie University, researching aims to understand the evolution and development of fish behaviour and apply this to conservation and fisheries.
• Professor Bryan Gaensler, University of Sydney, studying the static and crackle of the radio waves produced by stars and galaxies to study magnetic fields in the universe. He has received eight awards and fellowships including Young Australian of the Year (1999) and the NASA Long Term Space Astrophysics Award.
• Associate Professor Rebecca Ivers, The George Institute for International Health, conducting studies to measure injury in motor vehicle accidents and contributing to effective injury prevention programs, with a focus on young drivers.
• Dr Rebecca McKetin, University of New South Wales, researching the impact of methamphetamine (‘ice’)use on society and how to treat this addiction.
• Dr Malcolm McLeod, Australian National University, conducting research into the synthesis of organic molecules to solve real world problems such as treating drug resistant ’super bugs‘ and catching sports drug cheats.
• Dr Ben McNeil, University of New South Wales, researching oceanic carbon dioxide uptake and developing better greenhouse gas emission and energy policies.
• Dr Angela Moles, University of New South Wales, researching the different ecological strategies that plants use when they grow in different environments.
• Dr Ajay Narendra, Australian National University, researching the mechanisms that aid decision making in the day-to-day life of animals, particularly ants. This understanding can be used in artificial intelligence projects like creating planes that can navigate without pilots.
• Dr Peter Rutledge, University of Sydney, whose research crosses many areas of chemistry including developing new antibiotics, building improved technologies for detecting pollutants and designing new catalysts.
• Dr Pall Thordarson, University of New South Wales, whose research interests are in developing new molecular devices and materials for applications in fields such as biosensing and tissue engineering.
• Dr David Wilson, University of New South Wales, developing models to describe and forecast HIV/AIDS epidemics, providing insight into key drivers and impacts on society.