The UNSW Engineering Prestigious Awards List is an opportunity to showcase the achievements of our researchers on a National and International level.
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School/Centre Recipient Prize SPREE/
Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics
Prof Martin Green
Japan Prize in the category of “Resources, Energy, the Environment, and Social Infrastructure”, in recognition of the more than four decades of research undertaken at UNSW, that developed technologies now ubiquitous in most commercially available solar panels.
SPREE
Professor Thorsten Trupke
. The award recognises outstanding contributions to photovoltaic science and technology, by an individual who has devoted part of their professional life to the cause.
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Scientia Professor Toby Walsh
Toby was recognised by "Who's Who in Australia" in their 2021 edition. is one of Australia's most distinguished and recognised publications celebrating key individuals across a variety of professions and fields.
CSE
Scientia Professor Toby Walsh
Toby was recognised as the Most Influential Scholar Award (Honourable Mention) for outstanding and vibrant contributions to the field of AAAI/JCAI between 2010 and 2020 from AMiner.org.
CSE
Assoc. Prof. Lina Yao
ANZ Women in AI Awards 2021
CHEM
Cyrille Boyer
Highly Cited Researcher in Chemistry
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Cyrille Boyer
Invited to be a member of the Advanced Materials Hall of Fame
CSE
Scientia Associate Prof. Lina Yao
Lina won the AI in Cyber Security award at the recent Women in AI Awards 2025.
CSE
Professor Salil Kanhere
Salil and his group’s research on Vein Biometrics was featured in CNN, New Scientists and in Radio interviews on ABC Radio Sydney and Montreal CJAD 800 Radio.
CHEM
E. Prof. Chris Fell
Australia Day Honours and awarded the 2nd highest honour of the awards an AO in the General Division of Order of Australia for his distinguished service to science and engineering
CHEM
Dr Naras Rao
Marie Curie Fellowship
CHEM
Prof. Johannes le Coutre
Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW
CHEM
Prof. Rose Amal
Named one of the 35 highly influential women in Engineering by AcademicInfluence.com:
BIOMED
Prof Laura Poole-Warren
Royal Society of NSW member
ELEC
Dr Derrick Wing Kwan Ng
Elevated to IEEE Fellow in recognition of his contributions to resource allocation for wireless communication networks
ELEC
Dr Derrick Wing Kwan Ng
Listed among the world’s Highly Cited Researchers
ELEC
Dr Derrick Wing Kwan Ng
Received best paper awards at the flagship IEEE International Conference on Communications 2021
ELEC
Prof Robert Malaney
Received best paper awards at the flagship IEEE International Conference on Communications 2021
ELEC
Dr Beena Ahmed
ANZ Women in AI Award – Winner, AI in Education category of the Australia/New Zealand Women in AI Awards for 2021
CHEM
Prof. Johannes le Coutre
Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW
Mech
Dr Zoran Vulovic
Dr Zoran Vulovic was awarded a Senior Fellowship by the UK's Advance HE. Advance HE's fellowships are internationally recognised affiliations that reward professionals who meet the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education. The Senior Fellowship is a prestigious award conferred to individuals who demonstrate a thorough understanding of effective approaches to teaching and learning support as a key contribution to high quality student learning.
Mech
Prof Shawn Kook
Prof Shawn Kook has been appointed as editor of Applied Thermal Engineering, a prestigious journal with high impact factor of 4.026. He will serve for three years with a potential extension of tenure up to 10 years.
Mech
Professor Jay Kruzic
Professor Jay Kruzic was awarded the prestigious Brimacombe Medal from The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS) at the Virtual TMS 2021 conference, "for outstanding contributions to understanding the mechanics and damage tolerance of materials, commitment to professional service and academic leadership, and continued service to TMS".
Mech
Prof Tracie Barber
Prof. Tracie Barber has been elected as Fellows of the Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society (AFMS)*. Tracie is the first woman to be elected as a Fellow of the AFMS.
Mech
Prof Evatt Hawkes
Prof Evatt Hawkes has been elected as Fellows of the Australian Fluid Mechanics Society (AFMS)
Mech
Associate Professor Bernd Gludovatz
Associate Professor Bernd Gludovatz was awarded the Materialia 2020 - Outstanding Reviewer Award.
Mech
Dr. David Kellermann
Dr. David Kellermann has received a citation award from the Australian Award for University Teaching "for bringing higher education to the forefront of global technology with a deeply integrated, collaborative, AI-driven and human-centred model preparing students for the modern workplace".
Mech
Dr Teresa Cheng
Dr Teresa Cheng has been awarded Marie Curie Individual Fellowship from the EU’s Horizon 2020.
Mech
Dr David Lyons
David Lyons was made a Fellow of Engineers Australia, complementing his existing Fellow of The Royal Institution of Naval Architects. Fellows are recognised as the leaders of the industry. They are seen as an elite group of engineers who represent the highest standards of technical and professional excellence.
SPREE
A/Prof. Ned Ekins-Daukes, Scientia Fellow Dr Michael Nielsen and Dr Andreas Pusch
. A/Prof. Ned Ekins-Daukes, Scientia Fellow Dr Michael Nielsen and Dr Andreas Pusch in partnership with Dr Myles Steiner at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) set a new world record for the highest efficiency double junction solar cell attained to date (32.9%).
SPREE
Scientia Associate Professor Xiaojing Hao
. She is amongst 24of Australia’s leading scientists to receive the 2021honorific award, having been recognised for her outstanding contributions to science. ACAP researcher and UNSW Scientia Associate Professor, Xiaojing Hao, has added another prestigious award to her collection of recognitions for her work in photovoltaics. Prof. Hao also features in the article, UNSW Newsroom 11 March 2021,
SPREE
Prof Thorsten Trupke
Professor Thorsten Trupke has won the internationally coveted IEEE William Cherry Award. The award recognises outstanding contributions to photovoltaic science and technology. Thorsten has now joined a very prestigious international group of research leaders in the PV field including past UNSW recipients: Prof Martin Green (1990) and Prof. Stuart Wenham (2006). , 22 June 2021. 48th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2021 winner.
SPREE
Yoann Burratti, PhD
Yoann Burratti, has won the Best Student Presentation Award in Area 5, Characterisation Methods for his paper “A Deep Learning Approach for Loss-Analysis form Luminescence Images”. Note: This is the fourth year in a row that SPREE students have won best Student papers at this conference, and each time they have had Ziv Hameiri as supervisor. 48th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2021 winner.
SPREE
Prof. Alison Lennon and her team Ivan Perez Wurfl, Udo Roemer, and Chuqi Yi, including Neeraj Sharm and David Tsai.
Prof. Alison Lennon and her team are the winners of the prestigious for . The team members are Alison Lennon, Ivan Perez Wurfl, Udo Roemer, and Chuqi Yi, including Neeraj Sharm and David Tsai. Press release, 4 June 2021: VIP Consortium excerpt “This year’s overall winner is the Mini Solar VIP Team from the University of New South Wales in Australia for its work on building small solar energy harvesting devices that can provide a continuous source of power for IoT sensors for early bushfire detection. The team is developing inexpensive, miniature devices which include a solar panel, integrated battery, and communications technology. The devices create a 24/7 communication network that can alert authorities when fires break out”.
SPREE
Prof. Renate Egan
Prof. Renate Egan has been elected as Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, . Renate has been recognised for making an exceptional impact on the engineering, science and business of photovoltaics for more than 25 years. She is acknowledged nationally and internationally as a thought leader in her field, and she holds senior leadership positions with companies and international agencies. An innovator, entrepreneur and academic, Prof. Egan is co-founder of a successful Australian, an in-demand speaker and an influential member of expert panels. Additional link:
SPREE
Professors Martin Green, Gavin Conibeer, Thorsten Trupke, Robert Taylor, Jianhua Zhao, Evatt Hawkes, Stuart Wenham and Alistair Sproul
Past and present SPREE-affiliated academicsProfessors Martin Green, Gavin Conibeer, Thorsten Trupke, Robert Taylor, Jianhua Zhao, Evatt Hawkes, Stuart Wenham and Alistair Sproul have appeared on a global list compiled by Stanford Universityof the top 2% of scientists worldwide based ontheir lifetime contribution to their specific fields of research. Professor Green was listed as 10th worldwide in Applied Physics. Based on 2019 impact alone, Professors Anita Ho-Baillie and Xiaojing (Jeana) Hao joined the list as well as Research Fellow, Dr Chang Yan. Professor Green moved to 5th in the world in Applied Physics. .
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School/Centre Recipient Prize SPREE
Scientia Associate Professor Xiaojing Hao
for Physical Scientist of the Year
CHEM
Prof Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh
2020 Robert Boyle for Analytical Science by the Royal Society of Chemistry
CHEM
Dr Sophie Ruopian Fang
2020 JPhys
CVEN
Prof Stuart Khan
Named as one of the NSW Legends of Water for 2020
CVEN
Prof Stuart Khan
Appointed as a member of the National Water Grid Advisory Body
CVEN
Prof Lucy Marshall
Lucy was awarded a medal and named as a fellow of the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society. The award is given for “Exceptional research contributions to environmental modelling and software, and for promoting the aims of the Society.”
CVEN
Visiting Senior Research Fellow Lauren Gardner
Lauren was awarded “The 100 Most Influential People of 2020” by . Lauren developed the real-time website, the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) COVID-19 dashboard which has been the go-to resource to track the global pandemic. It went online on 22 January, and by early March, it was accessed more than a billion times per day.
CVEN
Prof Stephen Foster
Stephen was elected as Vice President of the International Federation for Structural Concrete (fib). The fib, (Fédération Internationale du béton), is a not-for-profit international association formed by 45 national member groups and approximately 1000 corporate and individual members. Its mission is to develop at an international level the study of scientific and practical matters capable of advancing the technical, economic, aesthetic and environmental performance of concrete construction. The role of Vice President reflects Stephen’s long-term contribution to community on research and education. This is an extensive (six year) commitment; two years as VP, then two as President and two as Immediate Past President.
CSE
Scientia Professor Toby Walsh
Toby was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for intellectual leadership and significant contributions to automated deduction, constraint programming, and fairness in artificial intelligence in October 2020.
MERE
Emeritus Professor Bruce Hebblewhite
(Professor at time of award)
Bruce Hebblewhite - 2020 Institute Medal from the AusIMM for his exceptional contributions to education, training and research (Australia). Bruce has more than 40 years of international experience in mining and has made a long-standing commitment to the resources sector through his leadership in teaching, training and research.
CSE
Assoc. Prof. Haris Aziz
Haris was names in The Australian’s Research 2020 magazine, profiling the top 250 researchers in the country
CSE
Assoc. Prof. Haris Aziz
The research of Dr. Haris Aziz was featured as the research highlight in the April 2020 issue of Communications of the ACM. Communications of the ACM is the monthly journal of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), world's largest scientific and educational computing society.
BIOMED
Prof Ewa Goldys
NSW Premier's Prize for Science & Engineering, Leadership in Innovation
BIOMED
Prof Ewa Goldys
Fellowship of the Royal Society of New South Wales
CSE
Scientia Professor Toby Walsh
Toby was named 2020 Australian Laureate Fellowship.
BIOMED
A/Prof Guozhen Liu
Georgina Sweet Award for Women in Quantitative Biomedical Science
CSE
Professor Aaron Quigley
Aaron was the recipient of recognition of excellent service by ACM SIGCHI from the ACM SIGCHI President and interim Vice President for conference for the ACM UIST User Interface Software Technology Conference.
CSE
Professor Salil Kanhere
2020 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award
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Cyrille Boyer
Co-recipient of 2019 NHMRC Marshall and Warren Ideas Grant Award for 2019 Ideas Grant by
NHRMC entitled: Tackling Hospital Acquired Infections with Peptide Mimics
CSE
Alumna Hannah Beder
Won the 2020 Harvey Norman Young Women of the year Award for her work mentoring young women in tech space.
CSE
PhD student Lei Bai supervised by Asso. Prof. Lina Yao
Lei Won 2020 Google PhD Fellowship in Machine Learning and Data Mining.
CHEM
Priyank Kumar
ARC DECRA Award
CHEM
Rona Chandrawati
Australia’s Most Innovative Engineers, Engineers Australia
CHEM
Rona Chandrawati
Derek Hart Memorial Award
CHEM
Rona Chandrawati
Polymer Chemistry Emerging Investigator, Royal Society of Chemistry
CHEM
Cyrille Boyer
Highly Cited Researcher in Chemistry
CHEM
Prof. Liming Dai
Fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors (NAI)
CHEM
Prof. Cordelia Selomulya
Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering
BIOMED
Prof Laura Poole-Warren
Order of Australia medal for significant service to education, and to biomedical engineering
CHEM
Dr Peter Wich
Polymer Chemistry Emerging Investigator
CHEM
Prof. Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh
, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UK
CSE
Professor Sri Parameswaran
Received the 2020 ACM SIGDA Distinguished Service Award for Leadership and Distinguished Service to the EDA Community.
CSE
Professor Salil Kanhere
Professor Salil Kanhere was awarded 2019 Best Editor Award for his valuable contribution to Journal of Pervasive and Mobile Computing as the member of Editorial board.
CHEM
Prof. Da-wei Wang
Young Scientist Award (under 40) by the International Coalition for Energy Storage and Innovation
ELEC
Dr Derrick Wing Kwan Ng
Listed among the world’s Highly Cited Researchers in 2020 by Clarivate Analytics
ELEC
Prof Joe Dong
Listed among the world’s Highly Cited Researchers in 2020 by Clarivate Analytics.
ELEC
Prof John Fletcher
An interdisciplinary UNSW research team including Prof Fletcher has won the People’s Choice Award at the
ELEC
Prof Jinhong Yuan
Named by The Australian newspaper as Australia’s research Field Leader in the area of Computer Networks and Wireless Communication
CHEM
Dr Emma Lovell
EnergyLab Women in Clean Energy Fellowship
ELEC
Dr Inma Tomeo-Reyes
Dr Inmaculada Tomeo-Reyes has been approved as a Senior Fellow of Advance HE. Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) is a UK-based institution promoting excellence in higher education, and fellowship provides an internationally benchmarked indicator of excellence in professionalism in learning and teaching.
Mech
Prof Shawn Kook
Prof Shawn Kook has been awarded the Bridge Fellowship of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
Mech
Dr Muhammad Tariq Nazir
Dr Muhammad Tariq Nazir has been recognised as Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA), Advance HE, UK.
Mech
Associate Prof Robert Taylor
Associate Professor Robert Taylor received the UNSW ARC Postgraduate Council Outstanding Research Supervisor Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the research environment and higher degree research community at UNSW.
Mech
Prof Nicole Kessissoglou
Highlighted as the top Australian research leader in Acoustics and Sound in the Australian’s 2020 special report on research.
Mech
Associate Prof Robert Taylor
Highlighted as the top Australian research leader in Sustainable Energy in the Australian’s 2020 special report on research.
Mech
Prof Sami Kara
Highlighted as the top Australian research leader in Manufacturing and Machinery in the Australian’s 2020 special report on research.
Mech
Dr Kiho Cho
2020 IADR STAR Network Academy Fellowship Award from International Association for Dental Research (IADR).
Mech
Dr John Page
Received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award
Mech
Dr John Page
Received the Maquis Who' Who Recognized as Distinguished Humanitarian
SPREE
Scientia Associate Professor Xiaojing Hao
for Physical Scientist of the Year
SPREE
A. Prof. Brett Hallam
A. Prof. Brett Hallam awarded the IEEE Stuart R. Wenham Young Professional AwardWinner, 2020. TheIEEEStuart R. Wenham Young Professional Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the science and technology of photovoltaic energy conversion, including work on PV materials, devices, modules, and/or systems. The award recipient must also show significant promise as a leader in the field. An award is given annually at the PVSC. The award was recently renamed in honor of Stuart Wenham, in recognition of his profound contributions to photovoltaics, and in memory of his great scholarship and impact.
SPREE
A. Prof. Brett Hallam
A. Prof. Brett Hallam awarded the IEEE Stuart R. Wenham Young Professional AwardWinner, 2020. TheIEEEStuart R. Wenham Young Professional Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the science and technology of photovoltaic energy conversion, including work on PV materials, devices, modules, and/or systems. The award recipient must also show significant promise as a leader in the field. An award is given annually at the PVSC. The award was recently renamed in honor of Stuart Wenham, in recognition of his profound contributions to photovoltaics, and in memory of his great scholarship and impact.
SPREE
Prof. Renate Egan
Prof. Renate Egan has been elected as Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, . Renate has been recognised for making an exceptional impact on the engineering, science and business of photovoltaics for more than 25 years. She is acknowledged nationally and internationally as a thought leader in her field, and she holds senior leadership positions with companies and international agencies. An innovator, entrepreneur and academic, Prof. Egan is co-founder of a successful Australian, an in-demand speaker and an influential member of expert panels. Additional link:
SPREE
Professors Martin Green, Gavin Conibeer, Thorsten Trupke, Robert Taylor, Jianhua Zhao, Evatt Hawkes, Stuart Wenham and Alistair Sproul
Past and present SPREE-affiliated academicsProfessors Martin Green, Gavin Conibeer, Thorsten Trupke, Robert Taylor, Jianhua Zhao, Evatt Hawkes, Stuart Wenham and Alistair Sproul have appeared on a global list compiled by Stanford Universityof the top 2% of scientists worldwide based ontheir lifetime contribution to their specific fields of research. Professor Green was listed as 10th worldwide in Applied Physics. Based on 2019 impact alone, Professors Anita Ho-Baillie and Xiaojing (Jeana) Hao joined the list as well as Research Fellow, Dr Chang Yan. Professor Green moved to 5th in the world in Applied Physics. .
SPREE
Dr Udo Römer and Dr Mahesh Suryawanshi
Dr Udo Römer and Dr Mahesh Suryawanshi are the recipients of the :
Dr Udo Römer for Nervous tissue stimulation using Multi-Junction Silicon Photodiodes. Currently, in order to stimulate different areas in nervous tissue, brain-machine-interfaces (BMIs) usually rely on multi electrode arrays where each electrode is connected to a wire, that connects to other electronics, all of which has to be safely encapsulated, thus increasing the size of the devices and complicating the surgical procedure for implanted devices. This project aims to develop a silicon multi-junction photodiode that can provide a photovoltage high enough to efficiently excite nervous tissue. A BMI based on this approach could be much smaller and could be powered optically via thin fibres, thus in the long run enabling smaller and safer implants for restoring function in disabled people.
Dr Mahesh Suryawanshi for an Emerging Ionic Chalcogenide Perovskites for Solar Energy Conversion. This project aims to develop a library of earth-abundant chalcogenide perovskite nanocrystals (CPNCs) for efficient solar energy conversion applications. The key concept is to design non-toxic and stable CPNCs using a facile solution process for solar-to-electricity and fuel generation. The intended outcomes include a fundamental understanding of the relationships between the synthesis, structure, photophysics, and electrochemistry by advanced modeling and multiscale characterizations and ultimately the solar-to-electricity and fuel generation performances of new material systems. This project will build a national research capacity in an emerging field and put Australia at the forefront of practical solar energy conversion technologies.
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School/Centre Recipient Prize BIOMED
Dr Jelena Rnjak-Kovacina
NSW Early Career Researcher of the Year (Physical Sciences), NSW Premier's Prizes for Science & Engineering (2020)
BIOMED
Dr Jelena Rnjak-Kovacina
Emerging Leader Award, Australasian Society for Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering
CHEM
Cyrille Boyer
Elected as a member of European Academy of Science
CHEM
Cyrille Boyer
Highly Cited Researcher in Chemistry
CHEM
Prof. Yansong Shen
ARC Future Fellowship
CHEM
Dr Peter Wich
IUPAC Periodic Table of Younger Chemists
CHEM
Dr Peter Wich
Soft Matter Emerging Investigator
CHEM
Prof. Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh
Walter Burfitt Prize from the Royal Society of New South Wales
CHEM
Prof. Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh
Linkedin Spotlight for Australia
CHEM
Prof. Rose Amal
Named 2019 NSW Scientist of the Year: 'Rose Amal named 2019 NSW Scientist of the Year'
CHEM
Prof. Da-wei Wang
Highly Cited Researcher Web of Science by Clarivate
ELEC
A/Prof Jayashri Ravishankar
A/Prof Jayashri Ravishankar has been awarded a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, as part of the 2019 Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT).
ELEC
A/Prof Rukmi Dutta
Nominated by her international colleagues to be the Secretary of the Executive Committee for the Electrical Machines Committee (EMC) of the IEEE Industrial Application Society (IAS).
ELEC
A/Prof Rukmi Dutta
Was presented with the 2019 Outstanding Women in Engineering Volunteer award at the AGM of the IEEE NSW Chapter
Mech
Dr Sangarapilliai Kanapathipillai
Dr Sangarapilliai Kanapathipillai has been awarded Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy ,in recognition of attainment against the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and learning support in higher education.
Mech
Associate Prof Bernd Gludovatz
Bernd received the Acta/Scripta Materialia Outstanding Reviewer Award
Mech
Associate Prof Bernd Gludovatz
Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship - Structure-property relationships in compositionally complex alloys (FT190100484)
Mech
Dr Armin Wehrfritz
Received a Young Investigator Award at the 12th Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion for his work on understanding ignition mechanisms in diesel spray combustion.
Mech
Professor Gangadhara Prusty
Professor Gangadhara Prusty accepted the JEC Innovation Award on behalf of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Training Centre for Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites (AMAC) and program partners the Australian Defence Science and Technology Group (DST) for the submission, “Shape Adaptive Hydrofoil with Fibre-Optic Sensing” at the JEC Asia 2019 held on 14th November in Seoul, South Korea.
Mech
Professor Sami Kara
Professor Sami Kara was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales
Mech
Dr Susann Beier
Dr. Susann Beier was elected as a fellow of the Cardiovascular Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Mech
Associate Prof Ang Liu
Dr. Ang Liu has been recognized as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in recognition of attainment against the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and learning support in Higher Education.
Mech
Emeritus Prof Liangchi Zhang
The International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM) awarded Professor Liangchi Zhang the prestigious IAAM Medal Award for the year 2019. The award will be presented during the IAAM award ceremony and conference on the 11th June 2019 held in Stockholm.