One of Durrant-Whyte's autonomous robots, which is used for counting cuttlefish on the ocean floor.
Credit: Hugh Durrant-Whyte
Hugh Durrant-Whyte, an engineer at the University of Sydney, won one of the awards for his critical role in raising the profile of Australian robotics.
Credit: ATSE
John Hopwood, a molecular geneticist with the Children, Youth and Women's Health Service in Adelaide, South Australia, has developed drugs for two well known lysosomal diseases - Hunter's Syndrome and Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome.
Credit: ATSE
Hopwood's treatments have improved the quality of life for sufferers worldwide. "It's the greatest kick, that biomedical research has been recognised as a worthwhile recipient of this award," said Hopwood.
His team discovered that lysosomal storage disorders are caused by genes, which produce faulty proteins.
Lysosomes are compartments inside cells, which recycle used-up cell components for re-use elsewhere in the cell. When the lysosome is faulty, materials that should be released for re-use, build-up inside it and cause it to swell until it fills the entire cell.
Hopwood devised a way of producing the correct proteins in a lab, which can be purified and infused into a patient's bloodstream, replacing the body's own dysfunctional proteins.
He is also currently developing a screening technique for newborn babies, which he hopes will allow patients to be diagnosed and treated before irreversible symptoms appear.
Reliable wind power
Alan Langworthy, managing director of Powercorp, in Darwin, also took an award for his contributions to renewable energy in remote communities.
In rural areas, isolated grids can black out if connected to a renewable energy source such as a wind generator, due to fluctuations in supply.
Langworthy developed a grid control mechanism that smooths out these fluctuations, allowing renewable energy sources to be used more reliably. His systems are now delivering reliable power in the Australian outback, of a quality equal to the power supply of large cities.
Other winners are leading Australia in fields such as mobile phone technology, overcoming Internet congestion, and mineral floatation processes.
THE FULL LIST OF 2009 ATSE CLUNIES ROSS WINNERS
• Alan Langworthy, Powercorp, Darwin – for remote renewable power
• Chris Nicol, Embedded Systems NICTA, Sydney – for mobile phone technologies
• Hugh Durrant-Whyte, University of Sydney, Sydney – for research into field robotics for Australian conditions
• John Hopwood, Children, Youth and Women's Health Service, Adelaide – for research into lysosomal disease treatments
• Zigmantas Budrikis, Antonio Cantoni and John Hullet, Western Australian Telecommunications Research Institute, Perth – for solving broadband Internet congestion problems
• John Ralston, University of South Australia, Adelaide – for mineral flotation processes (Lifetime Contribution Award)
