QUEENSLAND’S WOMEN SHINE AT SMART WOMEN – SMART STATE AWARDS

The spotlight shone brightly on Queensland women last night with the presentation of the prestigious Smart Women – Smart State Awards.

The Minister for Women, Linda Lavarch, announced the winners at a glittering ceremony at Parliament House in Brisbane.

“This year’s awards have once again uncovered some of Queensland’s unsung heroes and rising stars,” Mrs Lavarch said.

“The winners this year are working on a range of diverse projects from reducing nitrogen in stormwater, uncovering therapies for renal disease and running biotech laboratories, to measuring tyre-road noise.

“A 68% jump in nominations from 2005 shows that Queensland women are recognising the value of public recognition for their projects.

“Most of the judges have been with the awards program for the full four years it’s been running and they continue to be impressed when the bar is raised each year.”

The Smart Women – Smart State Awards are run by the Queensland Government’s Office for Women and showcase Queensland women working in or studying science, engineering, or information and communication technology.

“The award winners and other nominees show us what can be achieved with hard work and a passion for these exciting and often top-earning careers,” Mrs Lavarch said.

“Queensland must continue to run programs that encourage women into fields where you would normally see a larger proportion of men.

“In this way, the state will make the most of its intellectual resources and see a rebalancing of women’s economic and leadership roles in the community.”

The awards are sponsored by The University of Queensland, Trackstar Alliance, Department of Education, Training and the Arts, Department of Local Government, Planning and Sport, Department of Main Roads and Queensland Transport, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Department of Emergency Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland Treasury, and the Department of State Development.

Other sponsors and supporters include Queensland Police Service, Griffith University and New Scientist magazine.

For more information, go to www.women.qld.gov.au/smartwomenawards.

Media inquiries: Paul Holmes, Linda Lavarch’s office, 3239 6400 or 0407 378 796

The 2006 award winners are as follows:

Secondary School Student (sponsored by the Department of Education, Training and the Arts) - Zoe Brown, Somerville House, Brisbane

Zoe is a year 12 student who has undertaken two cutting-edge biology research projects. ‘Cutting edge cancer research’ required her to work closely with the Mater Medical Research Institute (MMRI). Zoe’s work on conditioning regimens on Graft-versus Host response, has met legitimate aims for the MMRI. It is envisaged Zoe’s research will benefit patients requiring transplantation to attempt the cure of leukaemia or cancer. Zoe’s second project, ‘Zonation of epiphytic mangrove algae’, was undertaken with the University of Queensland. Research centred on the algae being used as an indicator of nutrient levels, contributing to a greater knowledge of a mangrove ecosystem ultimately allowing for better management of the areas.

Undergraduate Student (sponsored by Queensland Transport and the Department of Main Roads) - Rachelle Willis, Griffith University, Nathan

As waterways throughout the world become increasingly polluted creating ecological imbalances, Rachelle’s investigation into nitrogen speciation, removal processes and stormwater quality improvement devices has identified solutions to reduce nitrogen in stormwater flowing into waterways in South East Queensland and Moreton Bay, thus protecting dugongs and sea grass forests and maintaining the fisheries and other marine life.

Postgraduate Students (sponsored by the University of Queensland) - Naomi Diplock, University of Queensland, Gatton

PhD student Naomi Diplock is investigating the use of a naturally occurring fungus as a potential biological control agent for Parkinsonia, one of Australia’s top 20 weeds, with promising results. Parkinsonia is a threat to Australia due to its invasiveness into other ecosystems and already covers one million hectares of land.

Research Scientist (sponsored by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries) - Professor Melissa Little, University of Queensland, Brisbane

To progress the research of alternative treatments for chronic renal disease, Professor Little has established the Renal Regeneration Consortium, a national collaborative and multidisciplinary research team. During the past five years, Melissa has defined six possible long-term therapies that may be pursued to treat renal disease.

Women in Business (sponsored by the Department of Local Government, Planning and Sport) - Janine Garrett, Toowong, Brisbane

Janine is the CEO of Toowong-based Charm Health Pty Ltd. She has created ‘Charm’, an oncology information management solution designed to support multidisciplinary teams involved in the care of patients with cancer. The Charm system automatically generates a complete treatment calendar with all doctor appointments, pathology/radiology orders, pharmacy and day unit requirements mapped out for the patient’s entire treatment schedule.

Women in the Community (sponsored by the Department of Emergency Services) - Samantha Faint, Clermont

Samantha’s impact in the local community goes well beyond her role with Queensland Health. Sam identified that the local Indigenous community was experiencing day-to-day difficulty due to a lack of basic information and communication technology (ICT) skills, ability to recognise and capitalise on their natural resources, and capacity to bring their products or talents to the marketplace. Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities have benefited from the ICT and administration skills training programs that she has developed.

Women in the Public Sector (sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency) - Felicity Roberts, Townsville

North Queensland Biotechnology Education Centre (NQBEC), the dream of Head of Science at Kirwan State High School, Felicity Roberts, transforms the traditional science classroom into an interactive laboratory. The centre, running at the high school, enables students to witness real-life research, experience ‘hands on’ science in the fully equipped laboratory and engage in ethical debates with key community members.

Women in Engineering (sponsored by TrackStar Alliance) - Gillian Adams, Spring Hill, Brisbane

Gillian Adams is Managing Director of ASK Consulting Engineers in Springhill. Gillian’s project ‘Road Ear’ has seen the development of Australia’s first Close Proximity (CPX) method test rig for dynamic measuring of tyre-road noise which has a big impact on the lifestyle of roadside communities. The CPX procedure isolates noise emitted from the interaction between a tyre and the road surface excluding other noise sources. The Road Ear will assist in many relevant environmental planning related activities.

Student Encouragement Award (sponsored by Queensland Treasury) - Bronwyn Galletly, University of Queensland, Brisbane

Bronwyn’s project will help us to understand if animals in the marine environment can evolve in response to environmental pollutants commonly found in coastal regions of Queensland. Bronwyn’s project has investigated the underlying genetics of pollution resistance and the potential of marine organisms to evolve in response to varying levels of copper pollution.

Professional Acknowledgement Award (sponsored by Department of State Development) - Roeina Edmund, Manunda

In 2005, Roeina Edmund completed her Certificate Four in Aeroskills through Aviation Australia, graduating with the AAA (Attitude and Adaptability Award) and becoming Australia’s first Indigenous woman to qualify as an aircraft mechanic. Roeina is currently completing a four-year aircraft maintenance engineering apprenticeship with Aero Enterprise and hopes to eventually work with the Australian Defence Force.