Associate Professor Ronika Power, one of Australia’s foremost experts in bioarcheology studying human skeletons and mummies), and Dr Simon Clulow, a conservation biologist who works on “de-extinction” (resurrecting extinct species) are two of four Macquarie University scientists awarded Tall Poppy accolades for excellence in scientific research and science communication.
The Tall Poppy Campaign, created in 1998 by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science, recognises the achievements of Australian scientists through the prestigious annual Young Tall Poppy Science Awards.
By bringing together the fields of science, technology, humanities, mathematics and medicine, Professor Power details the health, lifestyles and environments people experienced as long as 10,000 years ago.
Professor Power collaborates across Australia, the UK, Europe and Canada and has generated high-impact publications across a variety of fields.
Professor Power was recently awarded the Australian Academy of the Humanities’ 2019 Max Crawford Medal, Australia’s most prestigious award for achievement and promise in the humanities.
Dr Simon Clulow has garnered considerable media attention, particularly his involvement on a cutting-edge collaborative de-extinction project that saw the revival of live embryos of an extinct frog species through cloning.
He also recently called for the establishment of a sanctuary for frogs in Papua New Guinea, buying time for a cure for chytrid fungus in the only place currently free of the devastating pathogen.
Dr Clulow’s published work includes 58 peer-reviewed papers a book chapter on amphibian assisted reproduction and a book, A Complete Guide to Frogs of Australia.
The other two Macquarie University’s researcher named as Tall Poppies are Dr Noushin Nasiri, an engineer working with nanotechnology, and Dr Chris Reid whose research looks at biological complex systems such as ant colonies, honeybee hives and slime moulds.
