Grants to realise big ideas for agriculture from young rural innovators
Congratulations to our 2023 Science Award winners!
Congratulations to Nathan Cleasby from Living Water Aquaculture who was awarded the ultimate honour with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s Award for his project - Developing novel hatchery technology for the Australian Freshwater Crayfish industry. Nathan’s project aims to develop novel and reliable hatchery techniques and transport protocols for juvenile crayfish to support the growth of the domestic Freshwater Crayfish industry.
We also congratulate the winners of the 2023 industry category Science Awards and their innovative research projects.
| Recipient | Sponsor | Project title |
|---|---|---|
| Nathan Cleasby | AgriFutures Australia | Developing novel hatchery technology for the Australian Freshwater Crayfish Industry |
| Stephen Connaughton | Australian Meat Processor Corporation | Using machine learning with DXA as a technique to detect bones and virtually dissect lamb carcasses at chain speed |
| Zenon Czenze | Wine Australia | Determining the Economic Value of Insect Control by Bats in Vineyards |
| Caitlin Evans | CSIRO | Preparing for a disease incursion: what threat do feral ungulates pose to the persistence of livestock diseases in Australia? |
| Tristan Guillemin | Fisheries Research and Development Corporation | Evaluating the effect of secondary predation when characterising the diet of large pelagic fishes |
| Ashley Jones | Forest & Wood Products Australia | Identifying the dynamic plant RNA modifications needed to combat myrtle rust |
| Taylor Pini | Australian Wool Innovation | The sperm-cervix interaction: A molecular investigation to improve cervical artificial insemination outcomes in sheep |
| James Preston | Australian Wool Innovation | Increasing the rate of genetic gain in clean fleece weight of sheep using corrected skin density measurements for allometric growth |
| Laura Rood | Australian Pork Limited | The effects of pH on the shelf-life of vacuum-packed pork products |
| Georgie Stephan | Hort Innovation | Deciphering molecular interactions between banana and fungal leaf pathogens using PacBio sequencing, AlphaFold and DeepFRI protein structure and function prediction |
| Cong Vu | Cotton Research and Development Corporation | Boosting Drought Stress Tolerance in Cotton using Nanoparticle Technology |
| Salome Wilson | Grains Research and Development Corporation | Rapid validation of novel genes involved in plant disease |
Winners have been granted funding to undertake a project on an emerging scientific issue or innovative activity which will contribute to the success of Australia’s agriculture sector. The Awards aim to encourage science, innovation and technology in rural industries and help to advance the careers of young scientists, researchers and innovators through national recognition of their research ideas. The Science Awards have already helped almost 300 young Australians make their ideas a reality and showcase their talent to the world.
Find out more about the 2023 winners and their projects.
Download
Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (PDF 2.0 MB)
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Interested in applying in the 2024 round, or know an agricultural innovator? Email us for more information or to register for notifications.
Meet our 2023 Science Awards partners
We thank our partners for their continued support and commitment to the Science Awards, and for fostering young innovators in finding solutions for the agriculture sector. Discover more about each of our Award partners.
- AgriFutures Australia
- Australian Eggs
- Australian Meat Processor Corporation
- Australian Pork Limited
- Australian Wool Innovation
- Cotton Research and Development Corporation
- CSIRO Biosecurity digital innovation
- Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
- Forest & Wood Products Australia
- Grains Research and Development Corporation
- Hort Innovation
- Wine Australia