Fresh Science alumni
Here is a list of all previous Fresh Scientists and their stories of discovery.
2010
More information on the 2010 Fresh Scientists will be available in the coming weeks.
- Peter Domachuk, School of Physics, University of Sydney
Silk microchip for rapid medical testing - Andrew Dowdy, Bureau of Meteorology
Wind – the key factor for dangerous bushfire weather - Dave Ackland, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Melbourne
Join reversal eases arthritis - Andrew Ward, South Australian Research and Development Institute
Waste is a waste: Pigs reduce the burden on the oceans - Bianca van Lierop, School of Chemistry, Monash University
Insulin that doesn’t need a fridge or a needle - David Floyd, Anglo-Australian Observatory /The University of Melbourne
How do black holes eat? - Rylie Green, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales
Electric plastics: Better bionic eyes and ears - Jennifer Firn, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
Add fertiliser to fight weeds - Natalia Galin, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Science, University of Tasmania
Measuring the climate on ice - Colin Scholes, CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies
Cling wrap captures CO2 - Naomi McSweeney, School of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Australia
- Julien Ridoux, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne
- Bridget Murphy, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney
- Jason Du, CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment
- Nasrin Ghouchi Eskandar, Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia
- Jacek Jasieniak, CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies
2009
- From separating blood to separating copper
Craig Priest, University of South Australia - Imaginary friends, real benefits
Evan Kidd, La Trobe University - Bilbies bring new life to desert dunes
Alex James, University of New South Wales - Sophie Bestley, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
Dinner for tuna: tracking tuna dining habits across the Indian Ocean - James Elliott, The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain, Injury and Health
Whiplash: who won’t get better. A new test reveals the problem cases - Sarah Everitt, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Monash University
Is your treatment working? Cancer scanner pinpoints dividing lung cancer cells - Nicholas Findanis, University of New South Wales
Octopus jets the key to greener flights: synthetic jets improve aerodynamics of aircraft - Fiona Hogan, Deakin University
Owl CSI: feathers and DNA reveal night secrets - Fred Jourdan, Curtin University of Technology
Ancient eruptions warn of climate change and mass extinctions - Pippa Kay, Deakin University
- Michaela Partridge, The University of Queensland
Fool’s gold reveals the ancient evolution of life on earth - Alexandra Post, Geoscience Australia
Life beneath the sheets: 9000 years in the dark - Emma Ryan-Weber, Swinburne University of Technology
Not enough carbon to light the early Universe - Nick Wade, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research/University of Queensland
How lobsters create their colours - Sherry Wu, Diamantina Institute, University of Queensland
One step closer to turning off cancer genes with gene-silencing - Lu Sun, Centre for Material and Fibre Innovation , Deakin University (UV Protection of Textiles with Nano Zinc Oxide) was selected but was unable to participate due to ill-health
2008
- Sameer Alam, the University of New South Wales
Cleaner flights, smaller footprint - Susan Angus, UNSW/University of Melbourne
Silicon back in the race for quantum computers - Andrew Briggs, University of Melbourne
Bone breaking tests - Elizabeth Clarke, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute
Child crash test dummies not crashworthy? - Alasdair Dempsey, The University of Western Australia: Change your sidestep, save your knee
- Catia Domingues, CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship
Ocean warming on the rise - Daniel Falster, Macquarie University
Big babies and small families make evolutionary sense - Chris Fulton, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
Fin tips reveal the secret of underwater flight: Ten times faster than an Olympic swimmer - Maarten Kole, Australian National University
How brains go from digital to analogue - Jennifer Koplin, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Soy milk shouldn’t put you off. - Tim Lucas, Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries
Does my asinina look big in these genes? - Louisa Ludbrook, Prince Henry’s Institute
Clue to anti-male gene action: an extra gene can stop boys being boys - Janine Muller, CSIRO’s Australian Animal Health Laboratory
The future of foot-and-mouth disease control: new test makes vaccines an option - Chendur Palaniappan, University of Western Sydney
Man tests own tears: New treatments to result - Nick Robins, Australian National University
Turning on the atom laser
2007
- Natalie Borg, Monash University
Fats trigger immune defence - Jacqueline Burgess, La Trobe University
The Scent of worms: first steps to a machine to smell parasites in sheep poo - Scott Cummins, The University of Queensland
How sea slugs fall in love - Quinn Fitzgibbon, The University of Adelaide
Tuna research in 350-tonne waterbed - Anne Gaskett, Macquarie University
Australian orchids’ sneaky sex tricks: floral arms race seduces insects - Christina Hall, The University of Melbourne
- Sandra Iuliano-Burns, The University of Melbourne / Austin Health
An Antarctic winter test for Vitamin D - Tu’uhevaha Kaitu’u-Lino, Prince Henry’s Institute of Medical Research
Women’s business reveals path to scar-free healing - Mark McDonnell, The University of Adelaide
Random noise to improve bionic ears? - Cadence Minge, The University of Adelaide
Bad eggs – more casualties in the obesity epidemic - Tangerine Parker – The Australian Wine Research Institute
- Dhana Rao – University of the South Pacific, Fiji
Slime wars: bacteria harnessed to fight biofouling - Martin Sale – The University of Adelaide
Brains learn better at night - Edwina Sutton – The University of Adelaide
Female mice turn male with the help of a brain gene - Anita Thomas, The University of Queensland
- Leslie Yeo, Monash University
Little ripples, big swirl
2006
- Emma Bartle, Centre for Forensic Science, The University of Western Australia
Taking the bull out of the china shop - Mei Ying Boon, University of New South Wales
Brainwaves reveal disease and colour blindness - Russell Brinkworth, University of Adelaide
Why can we see what our cameras can’t? Video cameras learn from insect eyes - Paul Cribb, The Exercise Metabolism Unit, Victoria University
More muscle, less body fat without dieting - Deanna D’Alessandro, University of Sydney
Re-inventing nature for cheaper solar power - Raymond Dagastine, University of Melbourne, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
More to droplets than meets the eye - Natalie Hannan Prince Henry’s Institute of Medical Research
How does an embryo find its way? - Kate Jeffrey, Garvan Institute of Medical Research
New research could PAC punch against arthritis - Kristian Jones, Monash University
Fighting septic shock - Jenny Martin, University of Melbourne
Promiscuous possums - Matthew Miller, University of Tasmania and CSIRO Food Futures
Patterson’s curse may be a saving grace for salmon - Craig O’Neill, Macquarie University
The life and death of diamonds - Kate Selway, Continental Evolution Research Group, University of Adelaide
Surfing in Alice Springs - Simon Shun, University of New South Wales
Mercury Rising! Offices to stay cool and save dollars - Andrea Sosa Pintos, CSIRO Industrial Physic
Sound solution for soil pollution - Renee Turner, University of Adelaide
Reducing the killing power of strokes
2005
- Romina Rader, Rainforest CRC, James Cook University
Hunting mice in trees - Helena Bailes, University of Queensland
Sight for sore eyes: ancient fish see colour - Matt Gordon, Tropical Australian Stinger Research Unit, James Cook University
Study takes the sting out of tropical swimming - Tom Karagiannis, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Smart bomb for cancer therapy - Dr Caroline Lee, CSIRO Livestock, Cheswick
Sheep smarter than we think - Timothy Nelson, Flinders University
Train on simulators not patients - Mark Quigley, University of Melbourne
Did the earth move for you? - Ian Salmon, Qantas Airways and University of New South Wales
Wings that sing - Natalie Sinn, University of South Australia and CSIRO Nutrition
Fish oil helps attention deficit in children - Sophia Tragoulias, PAREXEL
Not a dry eye in the house - Herbert Volk, CSIRO Petroleum
It’s life, but not as we know it - Fabiano Ximenes, Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting
Wood, the local tip and climate change - Dr Neville Young, University of Queensland
Strangling tumours in bid to halt cancer
2004
- Karin Beaumont, University of Tasmania
Global climate change: a load of poo? - Monique Binet, CSIRO’s Centre for Environmental Contaminants Research (CECR)
Hitchhiking pests - Graham Brodie, Australian CRC for Wood Innovations
Microwaving trees speeds up coffee table production - Sarah Chamberlain, Australian Centre for Astrobiology
Seeing Mars in a different light - Katrina Charles, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales
Watering with waste: Are we putting our children at risk? - Jennifer Clancy, Cancer Research Program at Garvan Institute
Are cancer cells just confused? - Chris Clemente, University of Western Australia
The sport of lizards - Jocelyn Evans, Melbourne University’s Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation (CCMC)
The fine art of stripping - Michael Harvey, University of Queensland
Let the light shine through - Mark Hutchinson, University of Adelaide
Does our immune system control pain? - Angus Johnston, PhD Student Queensland
GeneBalls: a barcoding tool for DNA - Ken McGrath, University of Queensland
New genes mean cheaper, greener crops - Kirsten Parris, Deakin University
Frog sex in the city – tree frogs defy urban trend - Marie Pirotta, Melbourne GP and PhD student
Yoghurt won’t stop thrush - Kirralee Rankine, James Cook University
Filling the hole on mine safety - Juliet Wege, Department of Conservation and Land Management (WA)
Locating the trigger to conservation
2003
- Nerilie Abram, Australian National University
Fire – the new threat to coral reefs - Janette Burgess, University of Sydney
Asthma linked to scar creating protein - Roger Chung, University of Tasmania
Cure for brain injury – close at hand? - Adrian Dyer, La Trobe University
The significance of colour vision for bees - Alan Earp, University of Technology, NSW
Sunlight illumination without using windows or skylights - Caroline Ford, University of NSW
Could breast cancer be caused by a virus? - Bryan Fry, University of Melbourne
Ancient venom - Katharina Gaus, University of NSW
Seeing is believing – cellular communication centers in action - JP Hobbs, James Cook University
Which sex is best? - Adrian Liston, Australian National University
New gene ‘Aire’ able to prevent diabetes - Peter Ha, University of Sydney
Cutting tools that last & last forever!! - Ulrike Mathesius, Australian National University
Plants listen in on microbe Morse - Mick Moylan, University of Melbourne
Pollution’s sweet solution - Wayne Piekarski, University of South Australia
Backpacking scientist rearranges the world using augmented reality - Gideon Rosenbaum, Monash University
Migration of Mediterranean mountain ranges - Joanne Santini, La Trobe University
Appetite for arsenic
2002
- Tim Baynes, UNSW
The ultimate magnetic camouflage to protect ships and submarines against magnetic detection by marine mines - Grant Drummond, the Howard Florey Institute
Blood clots, heart attack and stroke - Malte Ebach, University of Melbourne
Are mass extinctions caused by asteroids, or the slow movement of continents - Joe Fabrizio, DSTO in South Australia
A smarter system of surveillance - Josephine Forbes, the Baker Medical Research Institute
Common blood pressure therapy slows aging in diabetics - Paris Goodsell, University of Adelaide
The best way to maintain rare species is to ensure neighbouring habitats are as close together as possible - Nicholas Hudson from University of Queensland
Aussie frogs dig down deep and muscle up - Matthew Hynd, University of Queensland
Brain cells of people with Alzheimer’s disease are being excited to death - Waleed Kadous, University of NSW
Computers are being taught deaf sign language - Georgina Kelly, Deakin University
Super steel lightens the load - Danielle Marotti, AgResearch New Zealand
Cows are fussy eaters too - Olivia Pallotta, Flinders University
Epidural simulator – anaesthetists can stop practising on orange’s - John Stehle, Hyder Consulting, NSW
A super flexible system that can beat any level of earthquake shaking - Gregg Suaning, University of Newcastle
From the bionic ear to the bionic eye - Cathy Trott, University of Melbourne
What is dark matter and what role does it play in the universe? - Sarah Wilson, Melbourne University
The secret sex life of seaweed revealed
2001
- Dr Philip Bell, Macquarie University – Are we viruses?
- Dr Jason Beringer, Monash – Arctic plants warm up the earth
- Rob Brooks, University of New South Wales – What do females really see in a male (guppy)?
- Dr Jennifer Callaway, Monash University – New stroke drug minimises brain damage
- Justin Coombs, Flinders University – Super “bug” protects Australia’s wheat
- Ben Hoffman, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems in Darwin – Healthy ants , healthy environment
- Matthew Jeffrey, Monash University – More gold less cyanide
- Dr Peter Johnson, University of Sydney – Asthma linked to more muscles in the airways
- Simon Lewis, Deakin University – Is it heroin or is it like flour
- Dr Graham Logan , GSO – Geoscience Australia – Fossil molecules help detect ET
- Ben Mooney, CSIRO Marine Research – Illness traced to waxy fish
- Surendran Mahalingam and Dr Brett Lidbury firstly, John Curtin School of Medical Research (Australian National University) - Ross River virus tricks immune system
- Jeremy O’Brien, University of New South Wales - Single atoms line up for quantum computer
- Erica Sloan, Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute – On the trail of breast cancer’s spread to bones
- Donna Ramsey, The University of Western Australia – More mums can breast feed successfully
- Kristen Warren, Murdoch University in WA - Saving orang-utans
2000
- Ben van Aarssen, Curtin University of Technology – Fossil molecules talk about the weather
- Camilla Brockett, Monash University – A new strategy for preventing hamstring strains
- David Bruce, University of South Australia – Predicting salinity onslaught
- Mathew Devenish, Curtin University of Technology, Perth – Researchers abandon human-like robots
- Dr Yasmin Edwards, Adelaide University – Why don’t we breathe ourselves to death
- Richard Harris , University of New South Wales – First study of shoulder reconstructions reveals new anatomy
- Jannene McBride, Monash University, Melbourne – Undersea volcanos unlock secrets of rich ore deposits
- Melita Keywood, CSIRO Atmospheric Research, Melbourne – Air pollution : size counts
- Rachel Melland , University of Adelaide – Fire destroys weed and saves biodiversity
- Stuart Newman, School of Zoology, University of Tasmania Hobart TAS – Cunning crustaceans beat ozone hole
- Ditmar Muller, University of Sydney – The big rip: Antarctic split into two
- Daniel Solomon, Defence Science & Technology Organisation (DSTO), Adelaide – Meteor echoes used to improve Jindalee radar performance
- Paul Thomas, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne - Mutant mouse reveals key to brain disorder
- Dennis Velakoulis, Mental Health Research Institute, Murdoch Institute, Melbourne – Brain changes occur during the onset of schizophrenia
- Stephanie Williams, Mater Medical Research Institute, Brisbane – New genes involved in colorectal cancer : on the slime trail
- Chris Wright, School of Physics, University College UNSW – Everyday molecules in space!
1999
- Janet Bryan, CSIRO, Human Nutrition – Speedy thought may mean better memory for adults
- Andrew Conway, Silicon Genetics, San Carlos USA – Spying on program of life
- Paul Francis, Australia National University – Black Holes are Pink
- Amanda Gett, Centenary Institute Sydney – Cracking the immunological code
- Lexa Grutter, University of Queensland – 150 cleans a day keeps the parasites away
- Myra Keep, University of Western Australia – Making mountains: the wonderful world of plate collision
- Edmond Lascaris, Swinburne University of Technology – Mean green recycling machine
- Scott Power, National Climate Centre, Bureau of Meteorology – Ocean unlocks more clues to Australia’s climate as El Nino goes walkabout
- Gary Sheridan, The University of Queensland – Building environmentally friendly mountains in the outback
- Sherry Randhawa, Flinders University SA – A “gut” feeling of how your intestine works
- Alexandra Sharland, Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand – Transplant rejection: sometimes more is less
- Dr Keith Sircomb, Visiting Fellow, Geological Survey of Canada – Antarctica on the Gold Coast
- Chris Tinney, Anglo-Australian Observatory – Weather out of this world : the turbulent lives of brown dwarfs
- Robyn Wallace, Women’s and Children’s Hospital – Genes and Epilepsy: How do they “fit’?
- Tonia Woodberry, QIMR The Bancroft Centre – New vaccine concept applied to HIV vaccine
- Ben Wilson, Charles Sturt University – 320 tonnes of acid spills into river
1998
- Lori Allen, University of NSW, Sydney – How are stars born?
- Jeff Boyle, CRC for Vaccine Technology – A new generation of vaccines is closer
- Helen Braithwaite, The Flinders University of South Australia – Conflict: what tactics should police avoid when attempting to defuse a conflict?
- Roderick Brown, La Trobe University – How does the Earth’s surface evolve?
- Miodrag Dodic, Howard Florey Institute – High blood may have been programmed by events which occurred before the individual was born
- Michael Drinkwater, University of NSW - Hidden galaxies in the local universe
- Penny Fisher, Agriculture Victoria – All systems are glow in vertebrate pest control
- Mark Gauci, Australian Environmental Flow Cytometry Group – Laser technology to revolutionize the detection of dangerous bugs like cryptosporidium in water
- Erol Harvey, Industrial Research Institute Swinburne University – Revolutionary new laser projection micromachining methods.
- Menna Jones, University of Tasmania - Australia’s Serengeti: Clash of the Marsupial Carnivores
- Nick Klomp, Charles Sturt University, Albury - High tech spy: hunting secret lives
- Mike Manefield, University of NSW - Bacteria “talk” using chemical signals to prepare their attack on humans, animals and plants
- Louis Moresi, CSIRO Exploration and Mining – Geologists fascinated by the scum of the earth
- Brad Pillans, CRC for Landscape Evolution and Mineral Exploration – Soil development at snails’ pace: a pioneering study of soil formation in north Queensland
- Lorraine Robb, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research – New insight into the cause of female infertility
- Johan van Jaarsveld, University of Melbourne – Ancient Technology Could Solve Modern Environmental Problems
- Tas van Ommen, Australian Antarctic Division, Tasmania – A 1.2 kilometre deep ice core from Antarctica could tell us if our summers and winters are really getting warmer
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