POSTED: 16 Dec, 2024

At the annual ACC Symposium, an awards evening was held with nominations put forward by Centre members in the lead up to the event. Our annual awards were a great way of celebrating the achievements of our people and their collaborative efforts over the past 12 months. The event is hosted by our Centre Director, Professor Jonathan Roberts.

2024 winners included:

• Research Achievement: The Achievement award is awarded to a person that has made an outstanding contribution to ACC-related research.
  • WINNER: Dr Stine Johansen, QUT Postdoctoral Research Fellow
• Contribution to Public Debate: The award for Best Contribution to Public Debate is awarded to an individual or team who has exhibited outstanding thought leadership on any ACC related topic and its impact on society.
  • WINNER: Dr Melinda Laundon, QUT Postdoctoral Research Fellow
• Best Collaborative Research output: The Best Collaborative Research Output is awarded to researchers who have worked together to conduct collaborative research relevant to the ACC, as evidenced by this research output.
  • WINNER: Dr Fouad (Fred) Sukkar,  for his work with THWS, Prof Tobias Kaupp, Usama Ali, Adrian Müller
• Best Event: The award for Best-Profile Raising Event is presented to the individual or team who best represent the aspirations of the Centre.
  • WINNER: Sparking Innovation, Weld Australia Roadshow at Swinburne 
• Emerging Leader: The award for Emerging Leader is awarded to the individual who provides guidance and inspiration to their peers and has displayed promising leadership skills.
  • WINNER: Jasper Vermeulen, QUT PhD Researcher
• Quiet Achiever: The Quiet Achiever award is for a person that has produced an impressive amount of research outcomes in the last 12 months or made significant research progress.
  • WINNERS:
    • Jagannatha Pyaraka, Swinburne PhD Researcher
    • Yuan Liu, QUT PhD Researcher
    • Munia Ahamed, UTS PhD Researcher
• EPIC Centre Citizen: The award for Centre Citizen is awarded to a person that embodies the spirit of the Centre and fosters a supportive, innovative, inclusive and fun environment as well as being an all-round achiever who displays positivity and resourcefulness.
  • WINNERS:
    • Jacqueline Greentree, QUT PhD Researcher
    • Akash Hettiarachchi, QUT PhD Researcher
    • James Dwyer, QUT PhD Researcher
• Whoopsie Daisy: The Whoopsie Daisy Award honours an individual who, when faced with an unexpected challenge or mistake in their work, demonstrated resilience and transformed the situation into a valuable learning opportunity. This award celebrates their ability to adapt, grow, and turn setbacks into successes, showcasing the strength of innovation and perseverance in overcoming obstacles.
  • WINNER: Dr Alan Burden, QUT Postdoctoral Research Fellow
• Industry Champion (individual): The Industry Champion Award is presented to a person who has demonstrated a strong commitment to engaging and collaborating with industry. This award celebrates leadership in fostering partnerships between industry and academia, driving innovation in automation, and promoting the integration of cobotics technology to enhance productivity, safety, and sustainability.
  • WINNERS:
    • Dr Marc Carmichael, UTS Chief Investigator
    • Merryn Ballantyne, Centre Manager
• Industry-Research Collaboration: (Team) This award is awarded to a project team, consisting of industry and researchers who have collaborated to create impactful solutions that address real-world challenges. The team’s efforts demonstrate a successful integration of industry needs and research innovation and showcases the benefits of industry and academic collaboration.
  • WINNERS:
    • The Swinburne team and Universal Shower Base: Prof Mats Isaksson, Mariadas Roshan, Jagannatha Pyaraka, Rebecca Lowery
    • Translation projects with Stryker: Partner Investigator, Dr Tom Williamson, Dr Alan Burden,  Dr Stine Johansen, James Dwyer, Jasper Vermeulen, Yuan Liu, Prof Markus Rittenbruch, Prof Glenda Caldwell, A/Prof Müge Belek Fialho Teixeira , A/Prof Jared Donovan and Dr Matthias Guertler.

Well done to our nominees and winners!