The thrill of fundamental discovery is a driving force for two University of Queensland professors who have today been named as new Fellows of the .
Optical quantum physicist and genomic microbiologist were among 21 new Fellows of the prestigious Academy announced at a Canberra ceremony this morning.
Vice-Chancellor and President said the two new Fellows brought the total number of .
“Tim and Philip are outstanding scientists who have made significant and sustained contributions to advance knowledge in their respective fields,” Professor Høj said.
“They have strong track records in disseminating their scientific knowledge to the broader community.
“Congratulations to both on behalf of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» community, and a big thank you for their ongoing endeavours.
“Their election to the Academy further attests to Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»’s global knowledge leadership in science.”
Professor Høj said Professor Ralph and Professor Hugenholtz worked in fundamental science, and their work would contribute significantly to society.
“Professor Ralph’s work as Node Director for the Australian Research Council at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» is likely to contribute to ultra-secure communications and more powerful computers,” Professor Høj said.
“He is working in an area that offers the promise of entirely new ways to communicate, store and process information that will vastly outperform current information systems.”
Professor Hugenholtz is director of the at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³», which is playing a key role in helping scientists understand the structure and function of microbial communities.
“Professor Hugenholtz’s work on the rapidly expanding genomic database is providing important evolutionary and ecological insights,” Professor Høj said.
“He is also working on the human microbiome, providing the highest resolution picture of our microbial inner workings thus far.
"And, as the only one of the new Fellows aged under 50, he has a long and bright researchfuture ahead of him.”
Professor Høj also congratulated new Fellows Professor Jenny Martin of the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery and Professor Melsissa LIttle of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, who had completed significant research while working at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³».
Australian Academy of Science President Professor Andrew Holmes congratulated all the new Fellows for making significant and lasting impacts in science.
“What is delightful about our latest group of new Fellows is that many were inspired to become scientists at an early age,” Professor Holmes said.
The full list of .
The full list of (scroll down and click on Australian Academy of Science tab).
A video of Professor Hugenholtz discussing his work .
A video of Professor Ralph discussing his work .
Media: Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» Communications, communications@uq.edu.au, +61 7 3346 7086.
