A mathematics trailblazer, a scientist who has made major contributions to the field of rare genetic disorders and a Noongar culture conservationist from The University of Western Australia are among the Western Australian nominees for the 2022 Australian of the Year Awards.
Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Cheryl Praeger, whose 40-plus year career at UWA has involved everything from modern computer cryptography and secure banking, to getting images captured in outer space back to earth, is a nominee for Senior Australian of the Year.
Professor Praeger was only the second and youngest woman in Australian history to become a professor of mathematics – at age 35 and with two children in tow. In 2019, she won Australia’s most prestigious science accolade, the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science.
Her work as an international academic focused on sophisticated theoretical research in group theory – making impossibly difficult problems manageable. Now 73, Professor Praeger is passionate about mentoring young scientists, especially woman, and encouraging more girls to study maths.
Winthrop Research Professor Nigel Laing, an exceptional advocate for health, research and teaching who has identified the genetic cause of more than 30 diseases, is also a nominee for Senior Australian of the Year.
Professor Laing began his career as a developmental neurobiologist, researching how motor neurones and muscles interact in the developing embryo, before retraining in molecular genetics.
His investigations into Australian families with dominantly inherited diseases saw him identify many genetic causes – including mutations in the SOD1 gene causing familial motor neurone disease.
In 2015, Professor Laing, now 67, was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). A teacher and mentor, he continues to work to improve the lives of people with genetic disorder.
Whadjuk Noongar elder, Professor Len Collard is an Australian Research Council Chief Investigator with the School of Indigenous Studies at UWA and a nominee for the Local Hero award.
Professor Collard’s academic work has put Noongar cultural research on the local, national and international stage. In 2011, he conducted a three-year study of Noongar place names and created a public website, using a database which includes 25,000 Noongar words for different places around the south-west of WA.
In 2014, one of his biggest achievements was helping lead the creation of the first Australian bilingual Aboriginal Wikipedia, an innovation to preserve Noongar Culture in the digital domain.
Now 61, Professor Collard’s research has encouraged communities to broaden their understanding of the unique characteristics of Australia’s Aboriginal people and has contributed to improving the appreciation of Aboriginal culture and the heritage of the south-west of WA.
Award recipients across four categories from Western Australia (Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year and Local Hero) will be announced in Perth on November 4 before joining other state and territory recipients as finalists for the national awards announcement on 25 January 2022.
For more information on the Australian of the Year Awards click here.
