The prestigious Graduate
Awards are the University Foundation’s highest annual
awards. An initiative of the University Foundation, they are
intended to recognise high achieving University of Tasmania
graduates and diplomates.
In addition to excellent academic performance, recipients
of these awards are expected to have the potential to shape
the world through their vision, leadership and professionalism
and to be an inspiration to the community at large.
The awards are presented annually in March at the Foundation
Awards Dinner.
Click To
Make a Nomination for 2009.
Past Recipients:
2008 marked ten years of the Foundation Graduate
Awards. An update on all our award winners follows.
1999
Dr Jeremy Austin PhD ’95
Dr Austin completed a PhD in evolutionary genetics at UTAS in
1994. His research included one of the first DNA-fingerprinting
studies in Australia. At the Natural History Museum, London,
Jeremy pioneered research on ancient DNA from extinct species.
In 2005 he became an ARC Senior Research Associate in the newly
formed Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of
Adelaide and is currently the Centre Director. Jeremy has been
involved in DNA testing of ‘the Hobbit’, Homo floresiensis,
from Indonesia and the Genographic project aimed at understanding
human origins and migrations through DNA testing.He is also
involved with genetic research to help save the Tasmanian devil.
Associate Professor Michele Sale PhD ’95
Associate Professor Sale completed her PhD at UTAS in population
and evolutionary genetics of Eucalyptus in 1995. Combining
her skills in molecular genetics with the study of endocrine
disorders, Michele became the Director of the Genetic Epidemiology
Unit of the Menzies Centre in 1998. She recently moved to
the University of Virginia as a founding member of the Center
for Public Health Genomics, where she is an Associate Professor
of Medicine and Assistant Director of Molecular Genetics.
Michele continues to research the genetics of complex diseases
including diabetes, atherosclerosis and stroke.
2000
Mr John McCann BA ’85
John McCann graduated from UTAS in 1985 with a BA. He is the
inaugural CEO of the Tasmanian Electronic Commerce Centre,
which leads the development of communication and technology-based
innovation in the Tasmanian business community. He successfully
secured TasCOLT, Australia’s leading optic fibre project,
to its home and business trial and is interim Chair of the
Australian Nano Business Forum, and Oversight Committee member
for the Victorian Government’s Innovation Partnering
Programme.
Dr Fiona Stennard PhD ’95
Dr Stennard completed her PhD at UTAS in 1995 in the molecular
biology of gene structure and regulation. In 1995 she took
a postdoctoral position at the Wellcome/CRC Institute of Cancer
and Developmental Biology at the University of Cambridge in
the United Kingdom, researching the genetic direction of embryonic
development. On winning the Howard Florey Postdoctoral Fellowship
of the Royal Society, Fiona returned to the study of heart
development and disease at the world-renowned Victor Chang
Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney.
2001
Dr Anthony Fist BAgSc (Hons) ’81
Dr Fist graduated from UTAS with first class honours in agricultural
science in 1981. In 1987 he became the Agricultural Research
Manager at Tasmanian Alkaloids, where he led the team that
developed ‘Norman’ – the first commercial
poppy producing thebaine as its main alkaloid, rather than
morphine. Since ‘Norman’s’ release, the
thebaine content has been increased nearly three-fold, adding
considerable value to the return for poppy growers and the
Tasmanian economy.
Dr Gwynne MacCarrick PhD ’07
Dr Gwynne MacCarrick graduated with an arts law degree from
UTAS in 1996. Since then she has travelled the world in defence
of human rights, working as a human rights lawyer for the
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (from Bosnia and
Herzegovina) at the International Court in The Hague. She
continues to enhance her skills in humanitarian crisis management
and prevention, and hone her knowledge of the needs of refugees,
and last year completed her PhD in law at UTAS.
Dr Scott Ragg PhD ’95
Dr Ragg graduated with a PhD from UTAS in 1995 and became
a Research Scientist Fellow in the Oncology and Immunology
Laboratory at the Royal Hobart Hospital. He was then awarded
a Research Fellowship with the John P Robarts Research Institute
in Ontario, Canada. After returning to Tasmania he was appointed
Research Fellow in the Division of Clinical Sciences at UTAS
before establishing a diagnostic and research laboratory at
the Royal Hobart Hospital, specialising in stem cell transplants
to replace bone marrow in patients with leukemia and advanced
cancers.
2002
Mr Saul Eslake BEc (Hons) ’79
Saul Eslake graduated with honours in economics from UTAS
in 1979. He is one of Australia’s pre-eminent economic
analysts and has a national and international profile as Chief
Economist of ANZ. He served on the Howard Government’s
Trade Advisory and Foreign Affairs Councils, is currently
a director of the University of Tasmania Foundation, and is
having a significant impact on the Tasmanian community as
Chair of the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board.
Professor Anne-Louise Ponsonby PhD ’93
Professor Ponsonby was part of the team at the Menzies Research
Institute that made the breakthrough research on SIDS and
babies’ sleeping positions. Anne-Louise now heads the
Research Group on Environmental and Genetic Epidemiology,
Infection, Immunity and Environment at the Murdoch Children’s
Research Institute, is an Honorary Professor at the Menzies
Research Institute and Adjunct Professor at the Australian
National University Medical School. Her current work involves
investigating why immune disorders are increasing in incidence
among Australian children.
2003
Professor Timothy McCormack LLB (Hons) ’82
Professor McCormack graduated with honours in law from UTAS
in 1982. He is the Foundation Australian Red Cross Professor
of International Humanitarian Law at the Melbourne Law School,
the Foundation Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Military
Law and was also recently appointed Adjunct Professor of Law
at UTAS. From 2002 to 2006 he acted as amicus curiae on international
law matters to the judges at the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. Tim also travelled
to Guantanamo Bay to provide expert advice for the defence
of David Hicks.
Ms Elizabeth Thomas BA ’83
After graduating with a BA from UTAS in 1983, Elizabeth became
the first female to hold the position of Public Trustee of
Tasmania and only the second female Public Trustee appointed
in Australia. She was also the youngest Public Trustee and
one of the few non-lawyers to be appointed to the position.
Today Elizabeth is a business consultant. She is a director
on the board of The Public Trustee, a member of the Police
Review Board and the Tasmanian Gaming Commission and a director
of Hobart Water, the University of Tasmania Foundation and
the Tasmanian Police Tertiary Education Board of Management.
2004
Dr Sarah Pethybridge PhD ’00
Dr Pethybridge is a Senior Research Fellow in Plant Pathology
at UTAS with the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research
and, with two American colleagues, is Editor-in-Chief of the
Compendium of Hop Diseases, a practical reference guide for
industry, growers and the scientific community. Her research
into blight disease has been adopted across Tasmania, having
a significant impact on the disease epidemiology and management
in the multi million dollar pyrethrum industry.
Ms Brenda Richardson BSc (Hons) ’87
Brenda Richardson graduated from UTAS with first class honours
in mathematics in 1987. She joined Ford Australia the following
year and is currently Vice-President of Information Technology
and Business Initiatives, with responsibility for all the
IT requirements across Australia and New Zealand and providing
leadership in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2000 she became
the first Australian woman to serve on the operating committee
of Ford Australia. In this capacity she helps guide the business
decisions for a 5000-strong workforce.
2005
Mr Patrick Hall BFA ’87
Patrick Hall graduated from the UTAS School of Art in 1986
in furniture design and printmaking. His art practice ranges
from studio furniture to public art commissions and he is
one of Tasmania’s most loved and respected designers,
having established a significant national and international
reputation. He has exhibited widely including the National
Sculpture Prize, Canberra and Sculpture, Objects, Functional
Art (SOFA), Chicago and New York and is currently undertaking
a teaching residency at the Jam Factory Centre for Craft and
Design in Adelaide.
Dr Robert Mensah PhD ’91
Dr Mensah came to UTAS School of Agriculture from Ghana to
do his PhD and successfully developed a fungal insecticide
to control one of the major pests in the cotton industry.
His research minimises the use of harmful and heavily polluting
insecticides and saves the Australian cotton industry over
$100 million a year and has attracted international commercial
partners. He is currently a Director, Research Leader and
Principal Research Scientist of the Centre of Excellence for
Cotton & Pulses & Oilseed Improvement at the Australian
Cotton Research Institute in NSW.
2006
Dr Robert Banks BAgSc (Hons) ’79
Dr Banks is currently MLA’s Manager, On-Farm R&D
for Southern Australia and manages a portfolio of research,
development and extension for sheep and beef cattle. He previously
oversaw the extension, research and technical development
of LAMBPLAN at the Meat Research Corporation and, as the National
Coordinator, enabled its commercialisation nationally. Robert’s
work has been recognised via a Clunies-Ross Award and a fellowship
from the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding
and Genetics.
Dr Roger Chung PhD ’03
Dr Chung has become synonymous with Tasmanian neuroscience
breakthrough, innovation and collaboration, particularly in
relation to brain injuries and repair, Alzheimer’s disease
and motor neurone disease. His research work has identified
a protein that helps the brain heal itself, with potential
widespread clinical application, and is conducted within the
NeuroRepair Group of the Menzies Research Institute at UTAS.
2007
Professor Nicholas Ashbolt PhD ’85
Professor Ashbolt is an internationally renowned scholar in
the field of environmental pathogens and microbial risk assessment,
and Head of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
at UNSW. He has an outstanding research record and is an inspirational
teacher. His leadership is international in scope and has
been recognised by the World Health Organisation. Nicholas
is now a world leader in sustainable water use and reuse,
and he was recently appointed Senior Water Microbiologist
for the US Environmental Protection Agency – the first
non-US citizen to be appointed to such a senior post.
2008
Mr Malcolm Wilson BSc (Hons) ’88, BCom
’93
Malcolm Wilson graduated from UTAS with an honours degree in
science and spent the early years of his career at Pasminco,
also studying part-time for his commerce degree. He worked in
management consulting and banking before undertaking senior
management roles at Pasminco, Australian Vinyls Corporation
and the Australian Magnesium Corporation. Malcolm joined
BHP Billiton in 2004 and is currently based in The Hague as Financial Controller
of the Group's centralised Marketing Operations. This part of the BHP Billiton is responsible
for the sale and distribution of all the Group's products worldwide, which had a sales value of over US$60B last finanical year.
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