The 2009 Australian Laureate Fellowships awarded today to The Australian National University’s Professor Chennupati Jagadish and Professor Brian Schmidt recognise and reward two world-leading scholars, ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Chubb said.
The fellowships were announced today at Parliament House by the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Senator Kim Carr. They were awarded to 15 world-leading scholars from Australian and international institutions. The awards are worth around $2.7 million each, and aim to give researchers at the peak of their careers the chance to mentor teams of emerging academic talent.
Professor Jagadish is a Federation Fellow and head of the Semiconductor Optoelectronics and Nanotechnology Research Group at ANU. He is a pioneer in the field of nanotechnology, serves on the editorial board of more than 10 international journals, has published more than 550 research papers and holds five US patents.
“Professor Jagadish’s work has put Australia at the forefront of nanotechnology and optoelectronics research,” said Professor Chubb. “In addition, he is an inspirational figure to the many students who have studied with him and a leading figure on the world stage in his field.
“While much has been achieved in a short time with nanotechnology, this is still an emerging research field and one, because of Professor Jagadish and his colleagues, where Australia has a chance to become a world leader. I congratulate him on his Australian Laureate Fellowship and think he is an excellent choice for such a prestigious honour.”
Professor Schmidt, a Federation Fellow at the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, is one of the leading astrophysicists of our time. In 1998 he led a team that discovered the expansion of the universe was accelerating – a discovery which changed our understanding of astrophysics and one which won Science Magazine’s Breakthrough of the Year. He has been elected as a Fellow of both the Australian Academy of Sciences and the United States National Academy. In 2007, he shared the Gruber Prize for Cosmology and in 2006 he shared the Shaw Prize for Astronomy. He currently leads a team which is using the ANU SkyMapper telescope to conduct the first digital survey of the southern skies.
“The Australian Laureate Fellowship recognises the significant contribution Professor Schmidt has made to science and the world,” said Professor Chubb.
“I’m delighted to see him honoured, and I think the awards for both him and Professor Jagadish show that the government is serious about research and serious about science – both things that are essential for all of our futures.”
