The Australian Academy of Science has elected Professor Justin Marshall and Professor Alan Rowan as Fellows for their sustained contributions to research and scientific endeavour.
The University of Queensland Professors – among 24 new Fellows nationally – shared some of their “eureka!” moments in the lead-up to their induction.
Queensland Brain Institute research team leader Professor Marshall recounted the day an African princess wearing a brightly coloured kaftan walked into his lab, leading to a key discovery.
“All the shrimps in the aquaria shot forward to wave at her,” he said.
“I knew I had discovered colour vision in a crustacean.”
Professor Marshall established that mantis shrimps have the world’s most complex colour vision system, with 12 chromatic channels, compared to humans’ three.
His work has contributed to a number of translational applications including cancer detection and memory storage.
UQ’s Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology Director Professor Alan Rowan (pictured left) told the Academy his team discovered a new polymer in 2011 while developing counterfeit-proof banknotes.
“This gel was found to be the first genuine biomaterial, which mimics the mechanical properties of the human body’s collagen and fibrils,” Professor Rowan said.
“The discovery has helped drive a new field of stress-stiffening smart materials and aided in our understanding of how cells work.”
Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Høj AC congratulated Professor Marshall and Professor Rowan, and noted that both have a passion for science communication.
“Justin has made fundamental contributions to sensory neuroscience and ecology,” Professor Høj said.
“These include the discovery of the world’s most complex colour vision system, the first demonstration of sensitivity to circularly polarised light in any animal, and discoveries defining modern visual ecology in both vertebrates and invertebrates.
“UQ is also tremendously proud of Alan’s research and leadership at the AIBN – one of UQ’s ‘big three’ bio-institutes.
“He is well known for his seminal work in diverse fields ranging from single enzyme studies, single molecule magnets, organic solar cells, biomimetic catalysis, through to biohybrid catalysis, biomimetic gels and polymer therapeutics.
“The research of Alan and his teams is likely to be world-changing in medicine, energy and biotechnology.”
Academy President Professor John Shine AC congratulated the 24 new Fellows for making significant and lasting impacts in their scientific disciplines.
He said 42 per cent of this year’s new Fellows were women, and he encouraged the STEM sector to continue to nurture diversity in all its forms “so that the STEM workforce reflects the composition of our society”.
He said the Fellowship now had 559 Fellows, of whom 90 are women.
The list of all 2020 Academy Fellows is here, and the full list of UQ’s AAS Fellows is here.
About UQ: UQ is proud to have 40 members of its academic community holding fellowships in Australia's prestigious learned academies.
Contact: Bronwyn Adams, UQ Communications, ph +61 (0)405 661 856, b.adams@uq.edu.au.
