The Malaspina Awards is an honour bestowed by the Spanish Embassy in Canberra and the Association of Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific (SRAP) to individuals and organisations who have made a significant contribution to the scientific and/or cultural relationship between Spain and Australia.
The award will be presented in two categories, an individual category and one for organisations. The name of the award acknowledges the Spanish scientific expedition led by Alejandro Malaspina, which arrived into the area that is today known as Sydney in 1793, this was the first foreign mission to visit the British colony just five years after the arrival of the First Fleet.
The 2025 Malaspina Awards have been conferred to
- Dr Pep Canadell (Individual)
- SKA Observatory (Organisation)
Dr Canadell is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. Through his leadership at CSIRO and global engagement with the Global Carbon Project, he coordinates the development of global, regional, and national greenhouse gas budgets. His work also examines the size and vulnerability of Earth’s carbon sources and sinks, such as forests and wetlands. He investigates how land-based carbon sequestration can support pathways to net-zero emissions, as well as the risks of abrupt impacts and ecosystem collapse under climate change, particularly due to wildfires, a key driver of changes in both Australia and Spain.
The work on greenhouse gas budgets constitutes the international reference standard in the field, underpinning the Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for which Dr. Canadell has served as a coordinating and lead author for the past 20 years. This work also contributes to the state of the climate reports of the World Meteorological Organization, both assessments serving the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement.
Spain and Australia share a strong national commitment to scientific discovery through radio astronomy. Both countries are contributing to the SKA Regional Centre Network (SRCNet) that forms the scientific core of the SKAO. The Spanish prototype, developed by Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), was the first operational version of the international network that will deliver SKA telescope data to astronomers globally.
The continued support and technological development of the SKA Regional Centres Network will enable sharing of expertise across the globe that benefits Spain and Australia, including through potential advancements in AI and Machine Learning that support national science strategies. Hundreds of scientists and engineers from both countries contributed to the SKA project over 30 years, through international SKA design consortia, global data access networks and SKA scientific working groups.
Spanish industry is participating actively in the construction of SKA-Low radio telescope in Western Australia.
The 9 th Malaspina Awards are sponsored by Navantia Australia. Each award is embodied by the statuette “Heart”, designed by the internationally renowned Spanish artist Óscar Martín de Burgos.
The Malaspina Award ceremony will take place at the Australian Academy of Science in Canberra on Friday 15 May 2026, 11am-1pm.