Published on the 26th July 2024 by ANSTO Staff
ANSTO recognised the contribution of individuals and teams to nuclear science and technology at the 2023 ANSTO Awards Ceremony held on 25 July.
George Collins Award for Innovation
James Quinn, Senior Hydrometallurgist, Minerals
James has successfully bridged the gap between fundamental research and understanding to develop a process which can be commercially adopted by the mining industry.
An ANSTO employee since 2011, James generously focuses his attention not only on the technical aspect of his specialist work, which is always of very high quality, but also on improvements. It is a testament to his courtesy and specialist knowledge that many people approach him for his contribution to their projects.
In his role as research leader for Minerals, he organises Minerals technical workshops dedicated to a particular topic and encourages participation so that ideas from the group can be shared. This makes a great contribution to the Government's Critical Minerals strategy.
Leadership in Research Award
Dr Debashish Mazumder, Lead, Food Provenance
Dr Debashish Mazumder leads a team that has pioneered food authenticity research in Australia with global reach. He has developed an innovative approach using nuclear and isotopic techniques with machine learning to confirm the origin of food and related products, including a handheld technology for the field. He has applied the approach to support Indigenous food products in Australia and is now sharing the science with the Asia Pacific region through the FNCA. His team has been exceptionally productive and influential.
Debashish was commended for his research leadership. They added that his efforts have enhanced the reputation of ANSTO as an innovator in the peaceful uses of nuclear. His outreach and collaboration are an excellent example of science diplomacy. His fostering of the development of research capabilities outside of ANSTO is also notable.
Excellence in Research Award
A/Prof Dr Jitendra Mata, Principal Instrument Scientist
A/Prof Jitendra Mata has made influential contributions to soft matter science, as demonstrated by multiple award nominations and publications, underscore his strong leadership and influence in the scientific community. His appointment as an adjunct associate professor at UNSW reflects the quality of his research and his ability to foster collaboration between ANSTO and academia.
Notably, his contribution to the colloidal cluster project, selected by JAXA and NASA, which studied self-assembling systems aboard the international space station, attracted significant media attention. His research in battery materials leverages an existing capability at ANSTO and the expertise of leader Professor Vanessa Peterson. Jitendra has extended the materials research to several new groups in Australia and internationally. As a mentor, he has guided numerous early career researchers and actively contributed to various training initiatives.
Jitendra's commitment to innovation and collaboration, impactful science, and leadership skills align make him a deserving candidate for this prestigious award.
Outstanding Contribution
Danielle Martin, Science Operations Manager
Danielle’s contribution to ANSTO extends far beyond the team she leads, benefiting the Synchrotron facility and into Nuclear Science and Technology and the broader organisation. Danielle has executed a portfolio of programs, policies, and initiatives to increase the performance and impact of the Science Team.
Danielle is an outstanding leader. She has set a positive, respectful, and inclusive tone for the team, driving trust, respect, and psychosocial safety and enabling the team members to grow and flourish under her leadership.
Leadership Excellence Award
Natascha Spark, Senior Manager, International Affairs
Since joining ANSTO, Natascha has established new procedures and actively undertook activities to modernise and promote the importance of the International Affairs team in delivering a core mandate within the ANSTO Act. This is “to act as a means of liaison between Australia and other countries in matters related to its activities”, while also ensuring Australia meets its obligations, as designated to ANSTO on behalf of Australia, under the pillar three of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology for Asia and the Pacific.
Natascha's efforts and her impact and achievements on behalf of ANSTO should be recognised and applauded.
Customer Service Excellence Award
ANSTO Basics in Nuclear Literacy Course
The work of this group has delivered an exceptional external engagement course that builds upon ANSTO's capabilities and experience. It meets all customer service requirements for nuclear literacy.
Collaboration and continuous improvement were key to developing the course. It is also notable that customer service levels exceeded expectations and were acknowledged by attendees that the feedback given helps refine the content and presentations, to achieve "excellence".
This course continues to provide an unparalleled customer experience to hear from ANSTO's nuclear experts and be introduced to ANSTO's leading nuclear facilities and capabilities.
Bridget Murphy, Sarah Tyler, Myms Atanacio, Mark Alexander, Rod Dowler, Cassandra Casey and Traci Hogan
Outstanding Internal Collaboration Teams Award
Intra-ANSTO Nuclear Forensics Support to Australian Border Force
In August 2023, the Nuclear Forensics group at ANSTO received a ‘Request for Support’ from Australian Border Force to examine items seized during the execution of a warrant. Due to the sheer number and complex nature of the items received, the group bolstered its operational capability by collaborating with subject matter experts across ANSTO.
This initiative represents the most significant Commonwealth or State law enforcement case, ANSTO has supported to date. The outcomes and relationships developed from this operational work have reinforced ANSTO’s reputation as a trusted organisation for advice and support in nuclear forensics and nuclear science, security, and technology, more generally.
Juniper Bedwell-Wilson, Ned Blagojevic, David Boardman, Liam Brophy, Tegan Bull, Lachlan Chartier, Tim Ditcham, Alison Flynn, Mat Guenette, Rhiarn Hoban, Esrat Jahan, Nikki Keighran, Liz Keegan, Elaine Loi, Julia Martiniello, Iain McClung, Tim Nicholls, Corey Pont, Kylie Raven, Josh Smith, Michael Smith, Brett Taylor, Anny Toch, Jade Veillby, Emma Young and Tina Paneras.
Partnerships and Collaborations with Impact
Seafood Provenance Team
This team has excelled and continues to develop groundbreaking work in the implementation of nuclear techniques for food provenance. A high level of collaboration has been established within Australia, including Indigenous Australian groups for authenticating Australian native food provenance, in addition to international networks and partnerships, with stakeholders from government, industries and universities.
The impact of their work to date is clearly evident beyond ANSTO, with recognition through numerous external awards, as well as securing revenue. Food provenance is important economically, culturally and is an area that requires community/society trust. This work will continue to have great impact both in scientific demonstrations of nuclear techniques and for the food technology research and industry groups.
Debashish Mazumder, Jagoda Crawford, Patricia Gadd and Carol Tadros.
Outstanding Achievement Award
Koala 2.0 Project
After 15 years in the user service program, the Koala single-crystal neutron Laue diffractometer was decommissioned in November 2022 and was replaced with next generation instrument which has been designed by a dedicated ANSTO team of engineers, technicians, designers, draftspersons & scientists. This team collaborated to replace the previous instrument, which was at the end of its life. This considerable technical achievement is a first-of-a-kind development for Australia.
Jason Christoforidis, Frank Darman, Emo Imamovic, Alison Edwards, Luke Lu, Tai Nguyen, Tobe Oste, Ross Piltz, Norman Xiong
Early to Mid-Career Award
ANSTO Synroc® Wasteform Design Team
This team has combined their varied knowledge and expertise to establish an innovative solution for the treatment of ANSTO operational waste from radiopharmaceutical production into an advanced solid disposable product. This work has only been achievable through the collective collaboration and teamwork to achieve this common goal.
Their different perspectives and backgrounds have led to an innovative solution with unprecedented product performance and waste volume reduction. The team has actively fostered an inclusive environment with staff from five very different backgrounds.
In addition, all team members are early-to-mid-career ANSTO staff, demonstrating the strength and ability of ANSTO’s up-and-coming nuclear workforce.
Ghazaleh Bahman Rokh, Pranesh Dayal, Rifat Farzana, Anton Peristyy andPhillip Sutton
Outstanding Outreach Award
Stephanie McCready, Community and STEM Primary Education
Stephanie's initiative to meaningfully engage science students across Australia is ingenious. The Think Science! competition, which ran for the first time in 2023, gave Year 3 to 10 students across Australia an opportunity to develop and showcase their science inquiry skills. This innovative activity spanned over 40 schools and engaged over 1000 students in science at ANSTO.