Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Australian scientist honoured with top awards

An Australian-born chemist and microbiologist has received two of the world's most prestigious scientific awards.

Professor Jillian Banfield, who was born in Armidale, has received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth and Environmental Science and is one of five women receiving the L'Oreal-UNESCO award recognising exceptional women in science.

The awards acknowledge her groundbreaking research into how microbes alter rocks and interact with the natural world.

Professor Banfield, who is based at the University of California, Berkeley has used the awards to plead with the Australian Government to give its scientists more support.

"I think that the universities have suffered tremendously from underfunding and defunding in Australia," she said.
Professor Banfield receives $US100,000 in recognition of her contributions to science.

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