At the first Q-Index Awards held on Sunday the 22nd of May, 52 leading researchers from The University of Queensland were honoured as leaders in their diverse fields of discovery.
UQDI Institute Director, Professor Matthew Brown, was one of those 52 awarded.
The Q-Index was launched last year and provides each UQ academic with an individual composite index of research performce over a rolling six-year period, plus the current year to date. Data is drawn from eSpace, Research Master and SI-net. The system allows each staff member to see details of how their individual rating has been calculated, as well as a comparison against an average of their peers.
The inaugural event, held at Customs House to commemorate and recognise the 52 leading researchers from The University of Queensland, was attended by State Treasurer Andrew Fraser, Queensland Chief Scientist Dr Geoff Garrett, and Professor Robin Batterham, President of the Australian Academy of Tecnological Sciences and Engineering.
Also in attendance were past and present Australian Research Council Federation fellows, ARC Laureate fellows, Queensland Smart State Premier's fellows and National Health and Medical Research Council Australia fellows. UQ's ISI Highly cited authors were also present at the celebration dinner, recognised as the top 0.5% of world leading reseachers.
The researchers with the top 25 composite Q-Index scores were:
Professor Paul Alewood - Institute for Molecular Bioscience / School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Professor Bhesh Bhandari - School of Agriculture and Food Sciences
Professor Suresh Bhatia - School of Chemical Engineering
Professor Wendy Brown - School of Human Movement Studies
Professor Matthew Brown - UQ Diamantina Institute / Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Professor Justin Cooper-White – Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology / Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Professor David Craik - Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Professor Stuart Crozier - School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
Professor Bernard Degnan - School of Biological Sciences
Professor Joe Diniz Da Costa - School of Chemical Engineering
Professor David Fairlie - Institute for Molecular Bioscience / School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Professor Paul Hodges - School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg - Global Change Institute
Professor Jurg Keller - Advanced Water Management Centre / School of Chemical Engineering
Professor Peter Koopman - Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Professor John Mattick - Institute for Molecular Bioscience / School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Professor Gerard Milburn - School of Mathematics and Physics
Professor Jochen Mueller - National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology
Professor Lars Nielsen - School of Chemical Engineering /Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Professor Robert Parton - Institute for Molecular Bioscience / Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis
Professor Stuart Phinn - School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management / Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Professor Hugh Possingham - School of Biological Sciences / School of Mathematics and Physics
Professor Gail Williams – School of Population Health
Professor Alpha Yap - Institute for Molecular Bioscience / School of Biomedical Sciences
Professor Zhiguo Yuan - Advanced Water Management Centre / School of Chemical Engineering
Recipients of this category each receive $2,000.
UQ's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Max Lu, thanked the researchers for their excellent work and their ongoing passion and dedication.
“This is an exciting year for research at UQ,” said Professor Lu, speaking after the ceremony.
“In January, the Federal Government's Excellence in Research for Australia survey confirmed UQ as one of the nation's top two universities, measured on a combination of research quality and breadth.”
ERA reported that research at UQ is above world standard in more broad fields than at any other Australian university, reflecting UQ's leading global role in many areas of discovery.
