2020 UTS Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Research Excellence

These annual awards recognise the outstanding contribution UTS staff make towards helping shape the world we live in. Below are the winners for 2020.

Research medals

Chancellor’s Medal for Research Excellence

This award honours outstanding research at UTS that demonstrates sustained research excellence at the highest level over a period of several years.

Winner

Associate Professor Shoudong Huang, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Finalists

Associate Professor Diane McDougald, Faculty of Science

Dr Joshua Chou, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Associate Professor Shoudong Huang

VC Research Awards 2020: Shoudong Huang

VC Research Awards 2020: Shoudong Huang transcript

Yeah, my research is mainly about mobile robot navigation, in particular mobile robot navigation in a known environment. It can be applied in many different areas. For example, search and rescue and the water navigation and the ground mining. We want to see robots working collaboratively with humans and helping people around in our daily life.

UTS Medal for Research Impact

This medal is awarded for research that has achieved considerable impact outside the academic community, including within the creative and/or professional practice(s). It recognises the contribution that research makes to the economy, society, environment or culture beyond the contribution to academic research.

Winners

Professor David Suggett, Faculty of Science

Finalists

Professor Longbing Cao, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Distinguished Professor Saravanamuthu Vigneswaran, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Associate Professor Laurie Berg, Faculty of Law

Professor David Suggett

VC Research Awards 2020: David Suggett

VC Research Awards 2020: David Suggett transcript

So I research how corals grow and how the environment regulates that. Many people will know that climate change has impacted reefs. And actually, we've lost 50% of all corals in the past 20 years through climate change. And so what we've been doing is really understanding on a reef how do corals grow and how we may actually equip stakeholders with the capacity to regrow coral and rehabilitate the reef sites. This will safeguard the $6 billion industry value that tourism brings to Australia every year.

UTS Medal for Excellence in Teaching and Research

This award recognises an academic for their outstanding research and teaching at UTS.

Winner

Associate Professor Christina Ho, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Finalist

Associate Professor Helen Spiropoulos, UTS Business School

Professor Tracey Booth, Faculty of Law

Associate Professor Christina Ho

VC Research Awards 2020: Christina Ho

VC Research Awards 2020: Christina Ho transcript

I research cultural diversity, equity and education. I think it's really important to understand how the changes in migration to Australia as well as changes in our education system are having these really profound consequences on our young people. There is increasing pressure and competition and anxiety. We really need to understand those consequences and what we can do to make things better.

Research awards

Early Career Research Excellence Award

Winner

Dr Simon Knight

Highly commended

Dr Jen Matthews, Faculty of Science

Dr Peter Su, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Finalists

Dr Lana McClements, Faculty of Science

Olga Oleinikova, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Research Leadership and Development Award

Winner

Associate Professor Qilin Wang, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Finalists

Professor Majid Ebrahami Warkiani, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Associate Professor Iain Duggin, Faculty of Science

Research Excellence through Collaboration or Partnership Award

Winners

Dr Catherine Burke, Professor Aaron Darling and Dr Leigh Monahan, Faculty of Science

Finalists

Melita Grant, Institute for Sustainable Futures

Professor David Suggett and Dr Emma Camp, Faculty of Science

Research Management and Development Award (Professional Staff)

Winners

Colm Halbert, Liesel Senn, Wade Tozer, James Walsh, Thorsten Kostulski and Daren Sirbough, Research Office

Finalists

Karen Gomez, Priya Nair, Rebekah Tatian, Julia McConnochie and Eddy Dharmadji, Faculty of Health

Supervisor of the Year Award

Winner

Associate Professor Bhuva Narayan, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Finalists

Dr Cindy Gunawan, Faculty of Science

Dr Mathieu Pernice, Faculty of Science