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The UNSW Engineering Prestigious Awards List is an opportunity to showcase the achievements of our researchers on a National and International level.

  • 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.

    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

    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. .

  • 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

    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.

  • 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.