Fresh Science alumni
Here is a list of all previous Fresh Scientists and their stories of discovery.
2012
- Anneline Padayachee, The University of Queensland
Whole black carrots reveal the key to gut health - Nicole Kirchhoff, The University of Tasmania
Offshore fish farming produces bigger, healthier tuna - Carolina Tallon, The University of Melbourne/Defence Materials Technology Centre
In London for dinner—with an Australian ceramic rocket - Melissa Cantley, The University of Adelaide
Can your gums tell you if you will get arthritis? - Nicholas Surawski, Queensland University of Technology/CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences
Sustainable fuels throw up health concerns - Marit Kramski, The University of Melbourne
Milk that protects against HIV - Amanda Bauer, Australian Astronomical Observatory
Galaxies in the thick of it grow up fast - Emma Woodward, CSIRO Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge
Crocodile eggs measure river health - Olivia Metcalf, The Australian National University
Video gaming addiction can control your thoughts - Ataollah Nosrati, The University of South Australia/ The Ian Wark Research Institute
Stopping mineral processing from turning to jelly - Aaron Stewart, CSIRO
Six-legged miners strike gold
This year, thanks to funding from the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science, Research and Tertiary Education through the Inspiring Australia initiative, and partners in other states, we’ve expanded the program to include state finals in Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
Fresh Science 2012 state finalists
Fresh Science 2012 state finalists
2011
- Vijaya Singh, The University of Queensland
Designer roots to counter drought - Emily Wong, The University of Sydney
Tammar wallaby’s clever immune tricks revealed - Charis Teh, The John Curtin School of Medical Research
Multi-layered armour protects body against immune failure - Stephen Redmond, The University of New South Wales
You’re going to fall over soon - Prasanth Divakaran, The University of Melbourne/The Bureau of Meteorology
How ocean arteries carry life across the Indian Ocean - Lina Happo, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research
Match your treatment to your cancer? - Lachlan Gray, Monash University/The Burnet Institute
Understanding the link between HIV and dementia - Brandon MacDonald, CSIRO’s Future Manufacturing Flagship/The University of Melbourne’s Bio21 Institute
Printing solar cells - Anna Richards, CSIRO
Fire, carbon capture and the NT - Regina Belski, The University of Western Australia
A little lupin improves the bread of life - Barbara Wueringer, The University of Western Australia/The University of Queensland
Samurai of the sea - Andrew Rodda, Monash University
Seeding the regrowth of nerves with tamarind - Daniel Bayliss, The Australian National University
A planet going the wrong way - Frank Will, Deakin University
Waste heat slashes fuel consumption - Louise van der Werff, CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering/Monash University
A smart bandage reveals healing - Morgan James, The University of Newcastle
2010
- 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
Bacteria munch up alumina impurities - Julien Ridoux, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne
As good as an atomic clock - Bridget Murphy, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney
Aussie lizard reveals cancer secrets - Jason Du, CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment
Ultrasound puts water back in the Murray Darling - Nasrin Ghouchi Eskandar, Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia
Nano-sand to improve lotions and cosmetics - Jacek Jasieniak, CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies
Print your own lasers, lights and TV screens
2009
- Craig Priest, University of South Australia
From separating blood to separating copper - Evan Kidd, La Trobe University
Imaginary friends, real benefits - Alex James, University of New South Wales
Bilbies bring new life to desert dunes - 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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