Norton Jackson New Fellows Forum

As CEO of the Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC), Dr Susannah Eliott has been a driving force in improving Australian’s access to trusted information about science and technology.

Following an early career in cell biology, Susannah turned her interest to science communication, managing the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Centre for Science Communication, and later establishing the AusSMC.

The AusSMC supports the accurate reporting of science in the media and works with around 2,000 journalists and around 6,000 qualified experts to support the accurate reporting of science and technology in the media for the benefit of the Australian public. Susannah has supported the work of science media centres in other parts of the world, including New Zealand, Taiwan, Germany, Spain, the UK and Kenya.

Susannah is passionate about increasing the amount, accessibility and visibility of Australian research in the media.

Professor Bronwyn Gillanders is a globally recognised oceans scientist whose research is critical to sustainable management of commercial fisheries and protection of coastal environments. She has pioneered transformative techniques in marine management and conservation, including using fish ear bones and trace chemicals to understand fish populations. She has undertaken seminal work on cephalopods, and her efforts have led to the protection of the only known breeding aggregation of cuttlefish in the world. Bronwyn also led the Spencer Gulf Ecosystem Development Initiative, considered an outstanding case study in marine management achieving sound outcomes for both gulf users and the environment.

Professor Zaiping Guo is an Australian Laureate Fellow at School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide. She received her PhD from University of Wollongong in 2003 and was elected to Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 2023. Her research focuses on the design and application of electrode materials and electrolyte for energy storage and conversion, including rechargeable batteries, hydrogen storage, and fuel cells. Her research achievements have been recognized through numerous awards, including an ARC Queen Elizabeth II Fellowship in 2010, an ARC Future Professorial Fellowship in 2015, an ARC Laureate Fellowship (2021), and the Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher Award in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Furthermore, in 2020, she was honored with the NSW Premier’s Prizes for Science & Engineering, specifically for her outstanding achievements in Engineering or Information and Communications Technology.

Professor Graham (Gus) Nathan is an internationally recognised researcher leading decarbonisation transformation in heavy industry. Heavy industry encompasses activity such as construction of large-scale infrastructure and accounts for nearly one-third of Australia’s direct carbon emissions. Gus jointly led the development of the Gyro-therm burner – which achieves a 50% reduction in nitrous oxide emissions – for use in the cement, lime and alumina industries. He is also partnering with industry to solve challenges in new carbon capture technology for cement and lime production. A strategic leader, Gus is the Research Director of the $215m Heavy Industry, Low-carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre and provides high-quality advice to policy makers on topics such as low-emissions technology and hydrogen.

Dr Qiao joined the School of Chemical Engineering of the University of Adelaide (UoA) in March 2012 as a professor (the inaugural Chair of Nanotechnology). He is the founding Director of Centre for Materials in Energy and Catalysis (CMEC) and Director of Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Battey Recycling. His research expertise is in nanostructured materials for new energy technologies (electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, batteries, fuel cell). He has co-authored more than 530 papers in refereed journals, including Nature, Nature Energy, Nature Nonotechnology, Nature Chemistry, Nature Materials, Nature Catalysis, Nature Communications, Science Advances, Angew Chem Int Ed, J. Am. Chem. Soc, Advanced Materials (over 104,376/120,958 citations, h-index: 165/178, Web of Sci./Google Scholar). He has filed seven patents on novel nanomaterials and attracted more than 35 million dollars in research grants from industrial partners and ARC.

In recognition of his achievements in research, he was honoured with inaugural ARC Australian Industry Laureate Fellow (2023), Pioneers in Energy Research (Energy & Fuel, 2023), prestigious the South Australian Scientist of the Year (2021), inaugural UoA Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research (2019), an Australian Star of Research (Lifetime Achievers Leaderboard, by “The Australian” 2019-2023), ARC Australian Laureate Fellow (2017), ExxonMobil Award (2016), ARC Discovery Outstanding Researcher Award (DORA, 2013), Emerging Researcher Award (2013, ENFL Division of the American Chemical Society) and UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award (2008). He has also been awarded an ARC ARF Fellowship, an ARC APD Fellowship and an inaugural UQ Mid-Career Research Fellowship.

Dr Qiao is an elected Fellow of Australian Academy of Science (FAA), a Fellow of Institution of Chemical Engineers (FIChemE), Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and Royal Australian Chemical Institute (FRACI). Dr Qiao is currently an Editor-in-Chief of EES Catalysis (RSC) and a Thomson Reuters/Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher (with 124 highly cited papers) in three categories of Chemistry, Materials Science, Environment and Ecology.