Cyrille Boyer awarded Australian Academy of Science prize

Cyrille Boyer awarded Australian Academy of Science prize
Associate Professor Cyrille Boyer (Photo credit: Quentin Jones)

Scientists who are leading the world on solar energy efficiency, helping to develop one-shot flu vaccines, and making portable biosensors to detect viruses are among the winners of the Australian Academy of Science’s annual honorific awards. 

Each year the Academy presents awards to recognise scientific excellence, to researchers in the early stage of their careers through to those who have made life-long achievements. 

This year’s announcement includes 17 award winners across astronomy, nanoscience, mathematics, chemistry, physics, environmental science and human health. 

Associate Professor Cyrille Boyer from the UNSW School of Chemical Engineering, who recently won an award in the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science, is the recipient of this year’s Le Févre prize. 

Associate Professor Cyrille Boyer is an authority in the field of polymer science, developing innovative methods of polymerisation. His demonstration of how chlorophyll and light can control polymerisation of functional macromolecules has implications for the synthesis of macromolecules using bio-resources. Read the full citation. 

The Academy President, Professor Andrew Holmes congratulated all the award winners for their work. 

“These scientists are simply inspirational. They are working at the leading edges of their fields and of human knowledge, and they are developing innovations that will change and improve our society, our economy and our health,” Professor Holmes said. 

“This list of winners represents the best of Australia’s leading and emerging scientists; from researchers doing fundamental research to those building next generation technologies,” Professor Holmes said. 

The awards will be formally presented at the Academy’s annual three day celebration of Australian science, Science at the Shine Dome, in Canberra in May 2016. 

Read more about the awardees and their research.