Defence scientists celebrated for innovation

The contribution of Defence scientists has been celebrated at this year’s Defence Science and Technology Achievement Awards, held at a ceremony in Edinburgh, South Australia.

Scientists were recognised for contributions such as leadership in autonomous cyber operations, technical expertise in the effects of ageing on munitions, and collaborative research in emerging learning trends.   

Joanne Culpepper, Neal Winter, Tony Shao and Noel Richards were recipients of the award for Science and Engineering Excellence for their project Mirage, a world-leading capability that brings together technical artistry and innovative science to create a visible signature evaluation tool, delivering probability of detection estimates for maritime targets. 

Throughout the development of the project, the team continuously improved research techniques and the incorporation of new data, and invested in the STEM pipeline through hosting and mentoring university students.

The ceremony also included eight awards under the auspices of The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP), Australia’s most significant multilateral program of international science and technology collaboration with the United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada and New Zealand.

Chief Defence Scientist, Professor Tanya Monro AC, said the awards recognised outstanding contributions made by Australian Defence scientists locally and overseas.

“Australia’s future defence capability depends on a successful science and technology research program that supports Defence’s ability to remain at the technological cutting edge, and today we are celebrating the people who are delivering this,” Professor Monro said.

“The range of awards, both in Australia and within the Defence-related laboratories of our partner nations through the TTCP, are testament to Australia’s contribution to international scientific excellence.

“It is wonderful to celebrate the ingenuity and the impact of Australian scientists both at home and afar, across a range of collaborations involving over 1000 defence scientists from the member countries.”

Award categories and recipients are detailed below:

CDS Fellowship

• Dr Sanjeev Arulampalam
  • ‘Multimodal Information fusion based Robust Target Motion Analysis for Undersea Warfare’.

TTCP Awards 2022

• Personal Achievement Award
  • Dr Damian Marriott.
• Distinguished Service Award
  •  Dr Ian Lochert
• Team Achievement Award
  • Human Resources Technical Panel
    • CAPT P O’Brien
    • LTCOL G Thomas
• Team Achievement Award
  • Additive Manufacturing Community of Interest
    • Dr Steve Galea
• Team Achievement Award
  • Polymers and Coatings Technical Panel,
    • Stefan Danek
    • Christopher Lyons
    • Lindsay Wake
    • Robert Hook
    • Thomas Clayton
    • Lance Kelly
    • Rodney Borg
    • Joanne Culpepper
    • Ian Kermonde
    • Vivienne Wheaton
• Team Achievement Award
  • Materials for Sustainment for Military Platforms Technical Panel.
    • Dr Qianchu Liu
    • Dr Chris Wallbrink.
• Team Achievement Award
  • Energetic Materials and Propulsion Technology Technical Panel. 
    • Alexander Siegler
• Team Achievement Award, Principal’s Commendation for Impact
  • Contested Urban Environment Strategic Challenge
    • Lin Zhang
    • Justin Fidock
    • Neil Gordon
    • Guy Blucher
    • Glenn Burgess
    • Michael Royce

DSTG Achievement Awards for 2022

• Outstanding Contribution to Defence Outcomes:
  • Dr Ribelito Torregosa and Dr Weiping Hu.
• Outstanding Contribution to Defence Outcomes within the Classified Domain:
  • The Advanced Material Propeller Team
• Outstanding Communication of Science and Technology
  • Dr Sophie Calabretto.
• Science and Engineering Excellence
  • Mirage Team of Joanne Culpepper, Neal Winter, Tony Shao, Noel Richards.
• Outstanding Early Career Achiever
  • Franke Agenbag
• Outstanding Corporate Contribution
  • Emma Barker and the ADSTAR Team.
• Janis Cocking Award For Leadership
  • Deanne Bateman.
• Outstanding contribution to Collaborative Partnerships:
  • Joint winners Dr Dana Michalski; and
  • The Structures and Materials Experimentation Collaborative Research Program. Ben Main, Alex Shekhter Franca Placidi, Robert Peile, Simon Barter (RMIT), Pier Marzocca (RMIT).
• Outstanding Technical Excellence
  • John Dunn; and
  • Glenn Burgess.

Media note:

Some recipients are available for interview. Please reach out to the media contact below for interview requests.