2021 Eureka Prize finalists announced
Professor Anita Ho-Baillie (left) and Dr Tess Reynolds have been named finalists in the 2021 Eureka Prizes for Science.
Awarded annually, the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes are Australia’s most comprehensive national science awards, honouring excellence across the areas of research and innovation, leadership, science engagement, and school science.
This year’s finalists from the Faculty of Science and Faculty of Medicine and Health have been recognised for their contribution to scientific research and outstanding early career research.
Finalist Eureka Prize for Scientific Research
Professor Anita Ho-Baillie
John Hooke Chair of Nanoscience, Sydney Nano Institute & School of Physics, Faculty of Science
Professor Anita Ho-Baillie on solar cells
Silicon-based solar cells have supplied us with clean energy for decades, now an evolution in solar energy is underway.
Professor Anita Ho-Baillie and her team are looking beyond silicon solar to create the next generation of solar cells, by harnessing metal halide perovskites, which have strong light absorption properties.
These new solar cells are cheaper to produce, can be printed on any surface, and are more energy efficient.
While unprotected perovskite can be damaged by heat and moisture, Professor Ho-Baillie’s team are providing innovative solutions to help perovskite cells surpass tough, solar industry standards.
The Extending Life Expectancy of Next Generation Solar Cells team
Professor Anita Ho-Baillie and team finalist colleagues from UNSW.
Professor Anita Ho-Baillie, John Hooke Chair of Nanoscience, University of Sydney
Dr Martin Bucknall, Principal Scientist (Small Molecule Analysis), UNSW
Dr Lei Shi, UNSW
Finalist Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher
Dr Tess Reynolds
Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine and Health, ACRF Image X Institute
Dr Tess Reynolds on ACROBEAT
Cardiac motion is a major challenge for 3D imaging, resulting in blurred images that make it difficult to provide accurate treatment.
Dr Tess Reynolds’s ACROBEAT technology enables 3D imaging hardware to calculate heart movement and select the best time to acquire clear images.
It has the potential to transform 3D image guidance and change the way we treat cancer and cardiovascular disease.
The technology can be used to guide radiotherapy to organs impacted by cardiac motion and allows surgeons to scan patients mid-operation, to check that heart valves or pacemakers have been placed accurately.
Dr Reynolds’s research partnership with Siemens Healthcare, who provided specialised equipment to integrate ACROBEAT with the robot and x-ray imaging system, has the potential to transform 3D image guidance and change the way we treat cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Dr Tess Reynolds from the Faculty of Medicine and Health.
