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Money doesn't grow on trees – but gold does. At least, it will if Andrew Harris has his way. Harris is perfecting a technique known as 'phytomining': enhancing the natural ability of plants to take up trace elements through their roots into their cells.

He's had the most success with gold, growing alfalfa plants that hold one fifth of their dry weight in gold nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are highly valued in medicine, chemistry and art, and until now have had to be produced using toxic solvents.

According to Harris, the first applications for phytomining will probably be in cleaning up mineral pollution around mine sites. But he has a much grander vision for his work. "The mine of the future should be indistinguishable from a forest," he says.

After undergraduate studies in chemistry and chemical engineering, Harris worked for a mining company and was disturbed by their environmental practices. "I decided I could make an impact by coming up with products and processes that maximise resource and energy efficiency and minimise environmental impact," he says.

He won a scholarship to Cambridge, where he completed a PhD on clean coal technology and renewable energy, staying on as a research fellow until his return to Australia in 2004.

In his eyes, Harris' most significant work was the part he played in developing a sustainable pulping process that uses straw to make paper instead of woodchips. (Currently being commercialised in the U.K. and China.)

At the University of Sydney, his group is also working on clean coal technologies and renewable fuels. And they've made huge advances in the large-scale production of carbon nanotubes: a super-strong, elastic, lightweight material of the future. Harris hopes his main contribution will be creating practical solutions: "I'd like to come up with technologies you can go into your local hardware store and buy, that will improve your sustainability outcomes tenfold."

For a full list of the winners of Cosmos Bright Sparks – the country's top 10 scientists under 40 as selected by COSMOS magazine – click here.