The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science were presented by the Prime Minister and the Innovation Minister at the Prize Dinner in the Great Hall of Parliament House on Wednesday 12 October.
The 2011 winners are:
- Ezio Rizzardo and David Solomon, from The University of Melbourne and CSIRO respectively, jointly received the $300,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science for their role in revolutionising polymer science
- Stuart Wyithe from The University of Melbourne received the $50,000 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year for his work on the physics of the formation of the Universe
- Min Chen from The University of Sydney received the $50,000 Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year for her contribution to our knowledge of chlorophyll and cyanobacteria
- Brooke Topelberg, Science Specialist Teacher at Westminster Primary School received the $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools
- Jane Wright, science coordinator for Loreto College in South Australia received the $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools for her work in developing curriculum, teachers and a generation of young women