Outstanding research students heralded by Monash
Emeritus Professor Mollie Holman, pictured here in 1978. Image courtesy of the Monash University Archives.
The winners of a suite of prestigious Monash University graduate research awards were announced this week.
The annual awards include the Mollie Holman Doctoral Medal, which is awarded to the best PhD thesis in each faculty, and the Vice-Chancellor’s Commendations for Thesis Excellence, which recognise outstanding research from Doctoral and Masters students.
Professor Zlatko Skrbis, Vice-Provost (Graduate Education), said the calibre of nominations this year were particularly high.
“These awards are among the highest academic honours the University bestows, and mark the recipients as researchers of the highest order,” he said.
Award criteria include the quality and scope of the research conducted, and the publications and patents that arise directly from the thesis.
Established in 1998, the Mollie Holman Medal is named after the late pioneering physiologist, Emeritus Professor Mollie Holman AO, in honour of her significant contributions to science and education.
Professor Holman joined Monash in 1963 and was a significant contributor to the growth of the field of physiology in Australia. She was given a personal Monash chair as professor of physiology in 1970, which she held until her retirement in 1996, after a remarkable career as a researcher and a mentor.
2014 Mollie Holman Doctoral Medal winners
- Helen Johnson, Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture
- Jessica Taft, Faculty of Art
- Carla Ferraro, Faculty of Business and Economics
- Anne Suryani, Faculty of Education
- Piyal Wasantha Pallewela Liyanage, Faculty of Engineering
- Janina Boughey, Faculty of Law
- Phong Nguyen, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science
- Claudine Kraan, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science
- Edwin Tan, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Lisa Candish, Faculty of Science
Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence
- Ananta Neelim, Faculty of Business and Economics
- Donna Whelan, Faculty of Science
- Michelle Henstridge, Faculty of Science
- Piers Gooding, Faculty of Law
- Hong Ng, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for Masters Thesis excellence
- SM Abdullah, Faculty of Information Technology
- Gabrielle De Vietri, Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture
- Mark Saward, Faculty of Arts