Perth civil engineer Mark Cassidy has been awarded the $50,000 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year.
The 33-year-old has developed sophisticated mathematical models that have led to improvements in the capacity of giant oil and gas platforms off the North West coast of Australia to withstand the stresses of storms, ocean currents, earthquakes and other forces of nature.
Physics was a passion at school, but Mark wanted to put it to practical use, so he turned to civil engineering at university. A winter holiday job in Norway introduced him to the largest movable objects on Earth – 500 metre tall oil and gas platforms. He was hooked.
His advice is sought by the designers and builders of the platforms, and his modelling has led to changes to international safety guidelines.
Two Australian science teachers from Brisbane and Melbourne were also recognised.
Cheryl Capra received the $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools. She has invigorated science teaching and learning at Albany Hills Primary School in Queensland, leading to high student achievement. Through her passion for astronomy and the opportunity to operate a Chile-based telescope online, she has been able to engage her students with science. Most importantly, she has developed her students’ capacities for critical thinking and evidence-based inquiry.
And Francesca Calati received the $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools. She has tripled student participation in chemistry at St Helena Secondary College in Melbourne following her introduction of an innovative combination of chemistry and nanotechnology. She also encourages students to critically assess various applications of science in our society.
A Tasmanian mathematician and ecologist Beth Fulton received the $50,000 Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year.
And the $300,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science went to Peter Waterhouse and Ming-Bo Wang from CSIRO Plant Industry in Canberra for gene silencing.
The 33-year-old has developed sophisticated mathematical models that have led to improvements in the capacity of giant oil and gas platforms off the North West coast of Australia to withstand the stresses of storms, ocean currents, earthquakes and other forces of nature.
Physics was a passion at school, but Mark wanted to put it to practical use, so he turned to civil engineering at university. A winter holiday job in Norway introduced him to the largest movable objects on Earth – 500 metre tall oil and gas platforms. He was hooked.
His advice is sought by the designers and builders of the platforms, and his modelling has led to changes to international safety guidelines.
Two Australian science teachers from Brisbane and Melbourne were also recognised.
Cheryl Capra received the $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools. She has invigorated science teaching and learning at Albany Hills Primary School in Queensland, leading to high student achievement. Through her passion for astronomy and the opportunity to operate a Chile-based telescope online, she has been able to engage her students with science. Most importantly, she has developed her students’ capacities for critical thinking and evidence-based inquiry.
And Francesca Calati received the $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools. She has tripled student participation in chemistry at St Helena Secondary College in Melbourne following her introduction of an innovative combination of chemistry and nanotechnology. She also encourages students to critically assess various applications of science in our society.
A Tasmanian mathematician and ecologist Beth Fulton received the $50,000 Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year.
And the $300,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science went to Peter Waterhouse and Ming-Bo Wang from CSIRO Plant Industry in Canberra for gene silencing.
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