The Australian Academy of Science today salutes two of its Fellows, Professors David Solomon and Ezio Rizzardo, for being awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science.
“Solomon and Rizzardo’s research in polymer chemistry has been truly transformative,” said Academy President Professor Suzanne Cory.
“Their work is a marvellous example of how elegant fundamental science can also be of immense practical benefit.”
Ezio Rizzardo, a CSIRO Fellow, and David Solomon, a Professorial Fellow at The University of Melbourne, both also Fellows of the UK Royal Society and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering, have revolutionised polymer science.
They have devised a means of custom building plastics and other polymers for a range of applications, from producing plastic solar cells to delivering drugs precisely to their site of action in the body.
Many of the compounds developed using their techniques would have been inconceivable in the past. Their technologies are also transforming traditional polymer applications such as paints, adhesives and lubricants.
“Each one of us feels the impact of their work, every day of our lives, in so many of the industrial products we use,” said Professor Cory.
The Academy is also delighted that Brooke Topelberg, a trained facilitator in the Academy’s PrimaryConnections science education program, has won the Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools.
The Academy warmly congratulates the other winners: Professor Stuart Wyithe for the Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year, Associate Professor Min Chen for the Science Minister's Prize for Life Scientist of the Year, and Dr Jane Wright for the Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools.
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
