17 May 2011

Fifty two leading researchers from The University of Queensland were honoured on Sunday as leaders in their diverse fields of discovery at the inaugural Q-Index Awards.

Attending the event, held to recognise UQ’s top performers as measured by the Q-Index, were state treasurer Andrew Fraser, Queensland chief scientist Dr Geoff Garrett, and Professor Robin Batterham, President of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering .

Also among those at the Customs House awards ceremony were past and present Australian Research Council Federation fellows, ARC Laureate fellows, Queensland Smart State Premier’s fellows and National Health and Medical Research Council Australia fellows. UQ’s ISI Highly cited authors, who are recognised as the top 0.5% of world leading researchers, were also present at the celebration dinner.

The Q-Index, launched last year, provides each UQ academic with an individual composite index of research performance over a rolling six-year period.

The system allows each staff member to see details of how their individual rating has been calculated, as well as a comparison against an average of their peers.

The researchers with the top 25 composite Q-Index scores were:
Professor Paul Alewood - Institute for Molecular Bioscience / School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Professor Bhesh Bhandari - School of Agriculture and Food Sciences
Professor Suresh Bhatia - School of Chemical Engineering
Professor Wendy Brown - School of Human Movement Studies
Professor Matthew Brown - UQ Diamantina Institute / Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Professor Justin Cooper-White – Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology / Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Professor David Craik - Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Professor Stuart Crozier - School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
Professor Bernard Degnan - School of Biological Sciences
Professor Joe Diniz Da Costa - School of Chemical Engineering
Professor David Fairlie - Institute for Molecular Bioscience / School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Professor Paul Hodges - School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg - Global Change Institute
Professor Jurg Keller - Advanced Water Management Centre / School of Chemical Engineering
Professor Peter Koopman - Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Professor John Mattick - Institute for Molecular Bioscience / School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Professor Gerard Milburn - School of Mathematics and Physics
Professor Jochen Mueller - National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology
Professor Lars Nielsen - School of Chemical Engineering /Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Professor Robert Parton - Institute for Molecular Bioscience / Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis
Professor Stuart Phinn - School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management / Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Professor Hugh Possingham - School of Biological Sciences / School of Mathematics and Physics
Professor Gail Williams – School of Population Health
Professor Alpha Yap - Institute for Molecular Bioscience / School of Biomedical Sciences
Professor Zhiguo Yuan - Advanced Water Management Centre / School of Chemical Engineering

The top five researchers in the Humanities and Social Sciences are:
Professor Robyn Gillies - School of Education
Professor Robert Lingard – School of Education
Professor Jake Najman – School of Social Science / School of Population Health
Professor Matthew Sanders – School of Psychology
Professor Graeme Turner – Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies

The UQ Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Greenfield, congratulated the winners and presented the awards.

In addition to the categories above, other awards were presented in the following categories:

Top 10 Research Income (Research Input Points)
Professor Paul Colditz – School of Medicine
Professor David Craik – Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Professor David Fairlie – Institute for Molecular Bioscience / School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Professor Sean Grimmond – Institute for Molecular Bioscience / School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Professor Jurg Keller – Advanced Water Management Centre / School of Chemical Engineering
Professor Jochen Mueller – National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology
Professor David Mulligan – Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation
Professor Lars Nielsen – School of Chemical Engineering / Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Professor Hugh Possingham – School of Biological Sciences / School of Mathematics and Physics
Professor Jennifer Stow – Institute for Molecular Bioscience

Top 10 Research Publications (Research Output Points)
Professor Roland Bleiker – School of Political Science and International Studies
Associate Professor Rex Butler – School of English, Media Studies and Art History
Professor Hubert Chanson – School of Civil Engineering
Professor David Craik – Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Professor Duong Dang Do - School of Chemical Engineering
Professor Wayne Hall – UQ Centre for Clinical Research / Queensland Brain Institute
Professor Paul Hodges – School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Professor John Mattick – Institute for Molecular Bioscience / School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Professor Hugh Possingham – School of Biological Sciences / School of Mathematics and Physics
Professor John Quiggin – School of Economics

Top 10 Higher Degree Research Completions
Dr Veny Armanno – School of English, Media Studies and Art History
Professor Michael Bennett – School of Biomedical Sciences
Professor David Craik – Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Professor James De Voss – School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Professor Bernie Degnan – School of Biological Sciences
Professor Jurg Keller – Advanced Water Management Centre / School of Chemical Engineering
Professor Martin Mills – School of Education
Professor Stuart Phinn – School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management / Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Professor Hugh Possingham – School of Biological Sciences / School of Mathematics and Physics
Professor Zhiguo Yuan – Advanced Water Management Centre / School of Chemical Engineering

Top 10 Higher Degree Research Load
Professor Paul Burn – School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Dr Stuart Glover – School of English, Media Studies and Art History
Professor Bostjan Kobe – School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences / Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Dr Bronwyn Lea – School of English, Media Studies and Art History
Associate Professor Xue Li – School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
Professor Lars Nielsen – School of Chemical Engineering / Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Professor Hugh Possingham – School of Biological Sciences / School of Mathematics and Physics
Dr Adam Postula – School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
Professor Tapan Saha – School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
Associate Professor Peer Schenk – School of Agriculture and Food Sciences

Recipients of the first two categories each receives $2000 and in the four sub-categories each receives $1000.

UQ’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Max Lu, thanked the researchers for their excellent work and their ongoing passion and dedication.

“This is an exciting year for research at UQ,” said Professor Lu, speaking after the ceremony.

“In January, the Federal Government’s Excellence in Research for Australia survey confirmed UQ as one of the nation’s top two universities, measured on a combination of research quality and breadth.”

ERA reported that research at UQ is above world standard in more broad fields than at any other Australian university, reflecting UQ’s leading global role in many areas of discovery.

Media: Fiona Cameron, UQ Communications, ph +61 7 3346 7086 / 0407 113342