The David Syme Research Prize is an annual award administered by the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

for the best original research work in biology, physics, chemistry or geology, produced in Australia during the preceding two years, particular preference is given to original research to enhance industrial and/or commercial development. The Prize was created at the university in 1904 when

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

newspaper publisher and owner of ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

David Syme David Syme (2 October 1827 – 14 February 1908) was a Scottish-Australian newspaper proprietor of ''The Age'' and regarded as "the father of protection in Australia" who had immense influence in the Government of Victoria.C. E. Sayers,Syme, Da ...

made a £3,000 bequest for the foundation of the prize. The first prize was awarded in 1906. The publishers of ''The Age'' have continued to fund the award. The prize consists of a medal and of the interest from the original bequest (since 2020 an amount of the order of A$10,000), which may be topped-up further by the publishers. The recipient(s) of the award is chosen by a council selected from the university's Faculty of Science.

Recipients

Source
University of Melbourne
*1906 –

Edward Henry Embley Edward Henry Embley (28 February 1861 – 9 May 1924) was an Australian physician who studied the effects of chloroform on the human body. Embley was born at Castlemaine, Victoria, younger son of Richard Edward Embley, a baker, and his wife Ma ...

*1907 – Harold Launcelot Wilkinson *1908 – Basil Kilvington *1909 – Harold Ingemann Jensen *1910 –

Henry George Chapman Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

*1911 –

Georgina Sweet Georgina Sweet (22 January 1875 – 1 January 1946) was an Australian zoologist and women's rights activist. She was the first woman to graduate with a Doctor of Science from the University of Melbourne, and was the first female acting pr ...

*1912 – Charles Oswald ; George Larcombe *1913 –

Thomas Harvey Johnston Thomas Harvey Johnston (9 December 1881 – 30 August 1951) was an Australian biologist and parasitologist. He championed the efforts to eradicate the invasive prickly pear. Life and times Johnston was born in 1881 at Balmain, Sydney, Austral ...

*1914 – Joseph Mason Baldwin *1915 –

Ernest Clayton Andrews Ernest Clayton Andrews BA, FRS (18 October 1870 – 1 July 1948), commonly referred to as E. C. Andrews, was an Australian geologist and botanist. Early life and education Andrews was born in Balmain, New South Wales, second child of noted artis ...

, for his works on 'The

Cobar Cobar is a town in central western New South Wales, Australia whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier Hig ...

Copper and Gold Field' and subsequent surveys *1916 –

Charles Hedley Charles Hedley (27 February 1862 – 14 September 1926) was a naturalist, specifically a malacologist. Born in Britain, he spent most of his life in Australia. He was the winner of the 1925 Clarke Medal. Early life Hedley was born in the vicara ...

*1917 –

Henry Joseph Grayson Henry Joseph Grayson (9 May 1856 – 21 March 1918) was a British-born Australian nurseryman and scientist, best known as the designer of a machine for ruling diffraction gratings. Grayson was born in Worrall, near Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, ...

*1918 –

Thomas Griffith Taylor Thomas Griffith "Grif" Taylor (1 December 1880 – 5 November 1963) was an English-born geographer, anthropologist and world explorer. He was a survivor of Captain Robert Scott's Terra Nova Expedition to Antarctica (1910–1913). Taylor was a se ...

*1919 – Frank Leslie Stillwell *1920 – Frederick Chapman *1921 –

Neil Hamilton Fairley Brigadier Sir Neil Hamilton Fairley, (15 July 1891 – 19 April 1966) was an Australian physician, medical scientist, and army officer who was instrumental in saving thousands of Allied lives from malaria and other diseases. A graduate of the ...

*1922 –

Henry George Smith Henry George Smith (26 July 1852 – 19 September 1924) was an Australian chemist whose pioneering work on the chemistry of the essential oils of the Australian flora achieved worldwide recognition. Smith was born at Littlebourne, Kent, Englan ...

*1923 – Frank Longstaff Apperley *1924 – Loftus Hills *1925 – James Stanley Rogers *1926 – Ernst Johannes Hartung *1927 – Harold Robert Dew ;

Ethel Irene McLennan Ethel Irene McLennan (15 March 1891 – 12 June 1983) was an Australian botanist, mycologist and educator. Personal life and early career The daughter of George McLennan and Eleanor Tucker, she was born in Williamstown, Victoria and was edu ...

*1928 –

Oscar Werner Tiegs Oscar Werner Tiegs FRS FAA (12 March 1897 – 5 November 1956) was an Australian zoologist whose career spanned the first half of the 20th century. His contribution to the division of the phylum arthropoda into two parts, one including insect ...

*1929 – Charles Albert Edward Fenner for his thesis, ''Adelaide, South Australia A Study in Human Geography'' *1930 – Reuben Thomas Patton *1931 – Cecil Ernest Eddy ; Samuel John King *1932 –

Arthur William Turner Arthur William Turner OBE FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international water ...

*1933 –

Ian William Wark Sir Ian William Wark CMG CBE FAA (8 May 1899 – 20 April 1985) was an Australian chemist and scientific administrator. He was the recipient of the ANZAAS Medal The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZ ...

*1934 – Walter George Kannaluik ; Leslie Harold Martin *1935 – Rupert Allan Willis *1936 –

Donald Finlay Group Captain Donald Osborne Finlay, DFC, AFC (27 May 1909 – 18 April 1970) was a British athlete and Royal Air Force officer. Athletics career A member of Milocarian Athletic Club and Surrey Athletics Club (based in Kingston upon Thames), h ...

; Fergusson Thomson *1937 – Austin Burton Evans ;

Roy Douglas Wright Sir Roy Douglas Wright (7 August 190728 February 1990) was an Australian physiologist and eminent academic administrator. Biography He was born in Central Castra, Tasmania. He became Professor of Physiology at the University of Melbourne from 1 ...

*1938 – ''No award'' *1939 – William Davies *1940 –

Edwin Sherbon Hills Edwin Sherbon Hills (31 August 1906 – 2 May 1986) was an Australian geologist, a Foundation fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and at the time of his death was regarded as one of Australia's "most eminent scientists and most accomplishe ...

; Howard Knox Worner *1941 – Frederick Alexander Singleton *1942 – Everton Rowe Trethewie *1943 – Brian John Grieve ; Victor David Hopper *1944 – George Baker ; Francis Norman Lahey *1945 – John Stewart Anderson ; Frank Herbert Shaw *1946 – H. Leighton Kesteven ; Fletcher Donaldson Cruikshank *1947 – Avon Maxwell Clark *1948 – Keith Leonard Sutherland *1949 –

Frank John Fenner Frank John Fenner (21 December 1914 – 22 November 2010) was an Australian scientist with a distinguished career in the field of virology. His two greatest achievements are cited as overseeing the eradication of smallpox, and the attempted con ...

*1950 –

Curt Teichert Curt Teichert (May 8, 1905 in Königsberg, East Prussia – May 10, 1996 in Arlington, Virginia) was a German-American palaeontologist and geologist, noted for his contributions to geology, paleozoic stratigraphy and paleontology, Cephalopoda ...

*1951 – Alfred Gottschalk ; Hill Wesley Worner *1952 –

Henri Daniel Rathgeber Henri Daniel Rathgeber (11 June 1908 – 20 July 1995) was an Australian physicist who studied cosmic rays but considered his most important contribution to be an economic theory that explain how entropy causes unemployment. Education Rath ...

; G. Reid *1953 – Douglas Frew Waterhouse ; Francis Patrick Dwyer *1954 – Alexander McLeod Mathieson ; Alexander Thomas Dick *1955 – Herbert George Andrewartha ; L. C. Birch *1956 – Charles H.B. Priestley *1957 – Leonard Ernest Samuels *1958 – Jack Hobart Piddington *1959 – Ronald Drayton Brown ;

Wilbur Norman Christiansen Wilbur Norman "Chris" Christiansen (9 August 1913 – 26 April 2007) was a pioneer Australian radio astronomer and electrical engineer. Family The son of Wilhelm Christiansen (1883-1920), and Ilma Clarice Christiansen (1885-1983), née Jones, W ...

*1960 – W.D. Jackson ; Brian Milton Spicer *1961 – Leo Michael Clarebrough ; Michael H. Loretto *1963 – Frank William Ernest Gibson *1964 –

Donald Metcalf Donald Metcalf AC FRS FAA (26 February 1929 – 15 December 2014) was an Australian medical researcher who spent most of his career at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne. In 1954 he received the Carden ...

; Arthur William Pryor ; T. Sabine ; D. Walker ; B. Hickman *1965 – L.R. Clark ; John Melvyn Swan *1966 – L. Nichol ; Guy Kendall White *1967 – Norman Keith Boardman ; L.F. Henderson *1968 – R.M. May ; T.A. O'Donnell ; J.V. Sullivan *1969 – R. Colton ; Alfred James "Jim" Pittard ; Alan Kenneth Head *1970 – James Howard Bradbury ; J.R. Egerton ; M.E. Hargreaves ; Winfred Nayler *1971 – Arthur James Dyer ; Bruce B. Hicks *1972 – Richard Limon Stanton *1973 – Malcolm A. S. Moore for his research work in the study of

myeloid leukaemia Myeloid leukemia is a type of leukemia affecting myeloid tissue. Types include: * Acute myeloid leukemia * Chronic myelogenous leukemia * Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia * Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm See also * Hematological mali ...

*1974 – David Leslie Kepert *1975 – Garth William Paltridge *1976 – David H. Solomon *1977 – Ian Hamilton Holmes *1978 – Alan M. Bond *1979 – John Warwick Anderson *1980 – Le Roy Freame Henderson ; William Hugh Sawyer *1981 – Frank Andrew Smith ; N.A. Walker *1982 – Suzanne Cory; Jerry Mckee Adams *1983 – Jacob Nissim Israelachvili ; L.A. Bursill *1984 – Ronald Cooper *1985 – Greg Dusting *1986 – Roger J. Summers *1987 – Anthony James Underwood ; H.M. Geysen *1988 – Ronald Holden Vernon *1989 – James B. Reid *1993 – Philip Beart *1994 – Stephen Hyde ; Steven Prawer *1995 – Igor Bray *1997 – Ralph MacNally *1998 – Paul Mulvaney *1999 – Anthony Weiss *2000 – Geoff McFadden – ''

Plasmodium ''Plasmodium'' is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects. The life cycles of ''Plasmodium'' species involve development in a blood-feeding insect host which then injects parasites into a vert ...

'' research ; Mark HumphreyWar on malaria wins Melbourne scientist Syme Research Prize
, 17 May 2001, University News *2001 – Richard O'Hair ; Mark Graeme Humphrey *2002 – Calum Drummond *2003 – Graham Baldwin ; Bernard Luke Flynn *2004 – David Jackson for commercialisation of synthetic peptide technology ; Trevor Lithgow for discovery of the protein Omp85. *2005 –

Brendan Crabb Brendan Scott Crabb FASM (born 13 September 1966) is an Australian microbiologist, research scientist and director and chief executive officer of the Burnet Institute, based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Background and early career Educa ...

– malaria research at the

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute WEHI (), previously known as the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, and as the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, is Australia's oldest medical research research institute, institute. Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, who won the Nobe ...

Dr Brendan Crabb wins David Syme Research Award
9 June 2006, WEHI News *2006 –

Christopher Chantler Professor Christopher T. Chantler is an Australian physicist, currently at University of Melbourne and an Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society who has had works published in the ''Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data'', the ...

; Mark Rizzacasa *2007 – Stuart Wyithe *2008 – David C.S. Huang *2009 – Michael R Kearney *2010 – Harry Quiney *2011 – Robert Scholten *2012 – Lars Kjer-Nielsen *2013 – Andrea Morello *2014 – Spencer Williams *2015 – Paul Donnelly ; Dr Peter Macreadie *2016 – Igor Aharonovich ; Cynthia Whitchurch *2017 – Wai-Hong Tham *2018 – Luhua Li *2019 – Luke Connal *2020 – Fan Wang ; Marco Herold *2021 – Nicolas Flament

References

{{reflist Australian science and technology awards University of Melbourne Awards established in 1904 1904 establishments in Australia