Australia’s new Laureate Fellows hope to help us understand the implications of our ageing population, how the first galaxies formed, and find new ways to detect and control epilepsy.

Two of the fellows are exceptional female researchers who also hope to undertake a mentoring role as ambassadors to encourage other women to take up and continue research careers.

Presenting 17 of the world’s best and brightest researchers with Australian Laureate Fellowships worth over $44 million, Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr said the Government was investing in quality research and researchers to deliver a richer, greener and fairer nation for all Australians.

“I’m pleased to announce Professor Pippa Norris from The University of Sydney will receive the Australian Research Council’s inaugural Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellowship and Professor Mahananda Dasgupta from The Australian National University will be awarded the inaugural Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship.

“These two new fellowships — named after prominent women researchers — were announced by the Prime Minister last year and I am confident the work Professors Norris and Dasgupta will undertake with their fellowships will show Australian women that they can achieve great things and follow long and strong research career paths.”

Senator Carr said all 17 researchers had distinguished research careers and these fellowships would help them strengthen their research efforts, leading to developments and discoveries that could benefit the lives of all Australians.

“For example, Professor Michael Keane will use his fellowship to develop new models and design new policies in areas such as health insurance, aged care and superannuation to help people make better retirement decisions and improve their wellbeing in retirement,” Senator Carr said.

“Professor Stuart Wyithe will use his fellowship to study the formation of the first galaxies, to answer the questions of how and when the first galaxies formed, what they looked like and what role they played in the evolution of the Universe.

“Professor Gordon Wallace hopes his fellowship will help to revolutionise medical treatments, specifically for epilepsy and bone disorders.”

More information on the fellows and the scheme is available at www.arc.gov.au/ncgp/laureate/laureate_default.htm.  This includes media contact details for each fellow.

A printable version of this media release [PDF 73KB] is available.