Academy Fellow Professor Matthew Bailes has been awarded the 2024 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science for his world-first discovery of fast radio bursts (FRBs).
In 2007, Professor Bailes was part of a team that identified the ‘Lorimer Burst’, the first example of FRBs. The discovery is now helping to determine how much normal matter exists in the universe.
The prize, awarded by the Prime Minister at a ceremony at the Great Hall of Parliament House last night, also recognises Professor Bailes’s leadership of Australian astronomy research centres.
“All the Prime Minister’s Prize recipients are exceptional, and I congratulate them all,” Academy President, Professor Chennupati Jagadish, told the audience at a breakfast to honour the group.
“But I pause to offer a few words about Professor Matthew Bailes because of a very moving experience I had at his laboratory earlier this year,” Professor Jagadish said.
“Matthew shared with me what was so obviously a point of much pride, his work to communicate astrophysics to young people: to inspire them, to nurture the next generation of scientists.
“For me, Matthew is as much a scientist as he is teacher and mentor. The trio is a powerful combination.”
Professor Bailes was elected to the Academy in 2022.
Academy Fellow Professor Andrew Wilks is the joint recipient of the 2024 Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation alongside his colleague Dr Christopher Burns.
They are recognised for inventing and commercialising a drug called momelotinib that is used to treat myelofibrosis, a rare form of blood cancer.
“Our work is very much a team sport,” Professor Wilks said.
“It is a great privilege to have been part of this collaboration to discover these important intracellular JAK enzymes and help invent momelotinib.”
Professor Wilks was elected to the Academy in 2023.
Academy Fellows have featured in the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science each year since the awards’ inception in 2000.
Distinguished Professor Tianyi Ma is the recipient of the 2024 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year.
Professor Ma is recognised for his groundbreaking work in renewable energy, which could support Australia in its clean energy transition and the path to net zero.
In 2023 he received the Academy’s Le Fèvre Medal and was also Australia’s nominee for the 2023 ASPIRE Prize.
Professor Jagadish also acknowledged recipients of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools, Daniel Edwards, and the Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools, Alice Leung.
“We owe you a debt of gratitude. Teachers change lives and do more than deliver education,” Professor Jagadish said.
“They are the early role models for our scientists and innovators, and I wish to personally thank every one of them.”
The 2024 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science winners are listed here.
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
