Young Tall Poppies set to bloom again

Later this month, the 2006 winners of the prestigious Young Tall Poppy Science Awards will be announced at a Parliament House award presentation ceremony. The awards aim to recognise the achievements of Australia's outstanding young researchers in the sciences who have made a significant academic contribution and are actively involved in promoting science.

The 2005 winners have spent this year visiting primary and secondary schools in Sydney and Wollongong promoting careers in science and working with teachers to enhance awareness of current scientific developments in their respective fields. They have also participated in science outreach programs such as Science in the Bush and OSMR’s two-day science event for high school students, ScienceEXPOsed.

These outstanding young researchers in the sciences -- physical, biomedical and applied sciences, engineering and biotechnology -- work in universities, research institutes and laboratories in private industry, private practice and government organisations. Pursuing diverse specialist fields ranging from mental health, genetic research, organ transplants and reproductive health to nanotechnology, environmental engineering and telecommunications research, these young scientists are the emerging stars of the future.

The 2005 Young Tall Poppy Science Award winners were:

• Dr Rob Brooks, an evolutionary biologist at the University of NSW
• Dr Janette Burgess, a biochemist at the University of Sydney
• Dr Brendan Burns, an astrobiologist at the University of NSW
• Dr Dominic Dowling, a PhD research candidate at the University of Technology, Sydney
• Dr Katharina Gaus, a medical researcher at the University of NSW
• Dr Geoffrey Isbister, a clinical toxicologist at the Newcastle Mater Hospital
• Dr Tracy Langkilde, a biologist at the University of Sydney
• Dr Deborah Marsh, a cancer researcher at the Kolling Institute of Medical Research
• Dr Mike Manefield, an environmental microbiologist at the University of NSW
• Dr Naomi Rogers, a medical researcher at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research
• Dr Tracey Rogers, a biologist and director of the Australian Marine Mammal Research Centre at Taronga Zoo
• Dr Simon Walsh, a forensic biologist at the University of Technology, Sydney
• Dr Stefan Williams, a systems design engineer at the University of Sydney

The 2006 awards will be presented at a reception on Thursday 26 October 2006 at Parliament House, NSW.
Part of the Tall Poppy Campaign, the Awards are run by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science.The NSW Awards are supported by the NSW Office for Science and Medical Research, Australian National University, and Agilent Technologies.