Alan Finkel
Melbourne biotechnology entrepreneur Dr Alan Finkel received Australia's Clunies Ross Science and Technology Award last night for his creation of a global multimillion dollar biotechnology business built on measuring the electrical potential of nerve and muscle cells.
Receiving his citation and medal at a gala dinner in Melbourne, he called for a national effort to increase the community's awareness and appreciation of the role of science and technology in society and the economy.
"Science and technology is changing our lives, and we need to understand the implications - both good and bad," said Finkel. "Australia also needs a new generation of science entrepreneurs who can harvest scientific knowledge and turn it into new jobs and industries.
"And we all need a level of science literacy that will help us make rational decisions about the introduction of new technologies - such as DNA profiling, GM and nanotechnology," he said. "As a child and a student, I loved good science writing. But there's not enough of it, especially in Australia. That's why I've underwritten a new national science magazine, COSMOS."
COSMOS will cover on 'the science of everything' - from human biology and medicine, the environment, archaeology, space and astronomy, to information technology, society and social research.
"We need more science entrepreneurs like Alan Finkel - people who are willing not just to do the science, but to get out and talk about it," said Editor of COSMOS, Wilson da Silva. "We're delighted that Alan has agreed to help establish and lead Luna Media, the publishing company behind COSMOS."
In the early 1980s, Finkel invented a new way of measuring the electrical activity of nerve and muscle cells - information that's essential in understanding how our nerves and muscles work - and how they are affected by disease and drugs.
The company he formed, Axon Instruments Inc, now dominates the global market for these essential scientific devices and was recently acquired by the much larger U.S. biotechnology instrumentation company, Molecular Devices. Finkel continues as Chief Technical Officer at Molecular Devices - guiding the development of a new range of technologies.
