Adriana Verges finalist for the Eureka Prizes 2021


Our member, Associate Professor Adriana Verges (UNSW), is a finalist for the prestigious Eureka Prizes 2021 in the category “Celestino Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science“.

Adriana says:

As an ecologist, I feel that science communication and engaging with the general public has never been more important. Although our scientific understanding of the world is increasing at a very fast rate, there is a growing mistrust of experts and a growing disconnect between what we know and how we act. Marine restoration projects like Operation Crayweed and Operation Posidonia are collaborations with artists and local communities, where we are using science and storytelling to re-establish important lost underwater ecosystems and raise awareness of the challenges they face.

 

Such inter-disciplinary projects could never work without the engagement of many passionate members of the community. We hope projects like these can inspire more of us to see that when we lend nature a helping hand, its ability to heal and flourish is both extraordinary and essential.

The 2021 Eureka Prize winners will be announced during a live broadcast event on Thursday 7 October.

Regardless the final outcome these are great news. Congratulations Adriana!


Angel.Lopez-Sanchez

About Angel.Lopez-Sanchez

A/Prof Ángel R. López-Sánchez is an astrophysicist and science communicator working at the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Macquarie University (MQ). He is a recognised expert in the study of how the gas is converted into stars in galaxies and how this affects galaxy evolution. He graduated in Theoretical Physics at the University of Granada (2000) and completed his PhD Thesis in Astrophysics at the prestigious “Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias” (IAC, Spain) and the University of La Laguna (Spain) in 2006. He moved to Australia in 2007, joining CSIRO “Astronomy and Space Science” to perform radio-interferometric observations of gas-rich galaxies at the Australian Telescope Compact Array. In 2011 he joined the Australian Astronomical Observatory and Macquarie University combining instrumentation support, research, lecturing, and outreach. He was appointed as a full-time research academic at the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at Macquarie University in May 2023. He is the president of the association of Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific (SRAP), the vice-president of the Astronomical Association of Córdoba (AAC, Spain), representative in the Andalusian Astronomy Network (RAdA), and member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the Spanish Astronomy Society (SEA), and the Australian Astronomy Society (ASA). He is a globally-recognised science communicator, with visibility in Spanish and Australian printed, broadcast, and social media. He is also a passionate amateur astronomer that uses his own equipment for capturing the beauty of the Cosmos. His stunning astronomy time-lapse videos and photos have received +1/2 million views in YouTube and have been seen in TV channels in USA, Australia and Spain, science museums worldwide, and textbooks.