Â鶹ֱ²¥ has celebrated its world-class research community and most prominent media performers at the 2025 Research Excellence and Impact Awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The annual event recognises Curtin\u2019s excellence in research, engagement and media outreach including its significant real-world impact for people, communities and the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among this year\u2019s award winners were Early Career Researcher of the Year Dr Chloe Maxwell-Smith<\/a>, who was recognised for her work influencing health policy locally and abroad, including UK cancer rehabilitation guidelines and a behaviour change manual for physiotherapists at Royal Perth Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evolutionary biologist Professor Morten Allentoft<\/a>\u2019s internationally renowned studies of ancient DNA saw him take out Mid-Career Researcher of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By revealing common ancestries, Professor Allentoft\u2019s insights help to break down barriers between different groups of people and have made their way into history books, museum exhibitions and classrooms worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering<\/a> had two winners in Professor Mohamed Shahin<\/a> and Professor Michele John<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Professor Shahin\u2019s work includes pioneering \u201cbio-cementation\u201d, which uses bacteria to bind and self-repair road materials as a green alternative for road construction which improves durability and lowers maintenance costs while contributing to Australia\u2019s 2030 net-zero goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Professor John was named Sustainability Researcher of the Year for allowing educators to develop their sustainability knowledge via The Routledge Handbook of Global Sustainability Education and Thinking in the 21st Century.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The first sustainability focused resource book of its kind, Professor John\u2019s handbook empowers educators to understand and address complex challenges such as climate change and has already had an international impact, being downloaded in 57 countries so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr Cass Lynch<\/a> and the Art of Peace team, both from the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry<\/a>, were named Indigenous Researcher and Research Team of the Year respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Koreng Wudjari Noongar woman, Dr Lynch rescued a colony of trapdoor spiders \u2014 Dr Lynch\u2019s totem \u2014from an area of Porongurup Range National Park flagged for construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr Lynch successfully relocated the colony, with the project\u2019s findings being discussed in Australian Geographic, keynote speeches, panels, art installations, schools and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art of Peace is a partnership with the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) combining in-country research and collaboration with creative communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, and Timor-Leste to bring artistic works addressing trauma, recovery and reconstruction to Perth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hundreds of thousands of visitors attended The Art of Peace: Art After War exhibition at AGWA \u2014 including many student groups \u2014 and was also integrated into Curtin\u2019s undergraduate units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n