2022 Science and Innovation Awards

Grants to realise big ideas for agriculture from young rural innovators

Congratulations to our 2022 Science Award winners!

Congratulations to Dr Stephanie Kerr from the Queensland University of Technology who was awarded the ultimate honour of the Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia’s Award for her project Molecular speed breeding in macadamia.

We also congratulate all the winners of the 2022 industry category Science Awards and their innovative research projects.

Download the winners’ booklet (PDF 4.5 MB) and find out about each winner and the project they will work on over the next 12 months.

Recipient	Sponsor	Project
Mingkai Jiang	Forest & Wood Products Australia	Cost-benefit analysis of soil amendment to increase carbon sequestration of Australia plantation trees.
Stephanie Kerr	Hort Innovation	Engineering elite tree crops cultivars.
Bobbie Lewis Baida	Australian Wool Innovation	Scrotal thermoregulation of the ram: effects of heat stress on reproductive performance.
Xiaoqing Li	Cotton Research and Development Corporation	Traceable cotton fibres.
Amy Moss	Australian Eggs	A practical strategy to implement precision nutrition for layer hens via liquid mineral inclusion to drinking water.
Sonya Moyes	Australian Meat Processor Corporation	Impact of residual glycogen on sensory attributes of Australian lamb.
Samantha Sawyer	Wine Australia	Sniffing smoke taint – Sensing phenols in the vineyard and the winery.
Thomas Schmidt	CSIRO Biosecurity digital innovation	Building a leafminer genomic databank to track incursions and adaptation.
Lauren Staveley	Australian Pork Limited	Qualitative behaviour assessment to define worker attitude and labour disparity between confinement free and traditional farrowing crates.
Valentin Thépot	Fisheries Research and Development Corporation	Seaweed as a natural feed supplement to boost growth and immunity in farmed crustaceans.
Ashiwin Vadiveloo	AgriFutures Australia	Wastewater grown microalgae as a source of biofertilizer and bio-stimulant for emerging crops.
Jaco Zandberg	Grains Research and Development Corporation	Silencing the frost damage caused by ice nucleating bacteria in Australian fields.

Winners have each been granted funding to undertake a project on an emerging scientific issue or innovative activity which will contribute to the success of Australia’s agriculture sector. The Awards aim to encourage science, innovation and technology in rural industries and help to advance the careers of young scientists, researchers and innovators through national recognition of their research ideas. The Science Awards have already helped 284 young Australians make their ideas a reality and showcase their talent to the world.

2022 Science Award partners

We thank our partners for their support and commitment to the 2022 Science Awards and for fostering young innovators finding solutions for the agriculture sector. Discover more about our Science Award partners: