Crawford School's Professor Miranda Stewart receiving her Vice-Chancellor's Award from Professor Ian Young. Photo: Stuart Hay.
ANU media and outreach awards
The work of College of Asia and the Pacific academics at bringing their research to wider public attention was recognised last Wednesday at the 2015 ANU Media and Outreach Awards.
College academics were nominated in almost every category, and performed particularly well in the Op-Ed Writer of the Year Awards, which was won by Crawford’s Professor Miranda Stewart, with College academics also receiving four of the six highly commended awards.
Three of the five winners of the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Advancing the Reputation of the University Through Media were also from the College: Dr Clarke Jones, Professor Miranda Stewart, and Professor Peter Drysdale and Dr Shiro Armstrong (joint award).
The full list of winners and placegetters, along with their citations, is below. We warmly congratulate all the recipients on their sterling media and outreach work this year.
Quirkiest/Most Unusual Story Award
Highly commended: Dr Julien Louys for the discovery of giant rat fossils; and Mr Billy Ó Foghlú for using 3D printing to recreate an iron-age horn.
Innovative Communications Project Award
Winner: Professor Simon Haberle for the Canberra Pollen Project, which uses a website and free smartphone app to give daily measures of pollen in the air and forecasts for the week, allowing hayfever sufferers to manage their day accordingly.
Emerging Media Talent Award
Highly commended: Dr Adam Henschke
24/7 Award for Most Impressive Media Performance
Often when a story breaks, our academics are the first point of call for journalists looks for a leading authority on a particular issue. This sometimes means that they are taken away from their day jobs to provide ongoing commentary and this award celebrates their efforts in doing so.
Winner: Dr Clarke Jones for his consistent and impressive media performance in 2015 on topics including radicalisation, to the Russian Metrojet air disaster and national security.
Highly commended: Dr John Blaxland
Op-Ed Writer of the Year
Winner: Professor Miranda Stewart. Professor Stewart’s ability to put together a well-argued media-ready op-ed has seen her published across Fairfax, the ABC and the Australian Financial Review. She has helped drive the media agenda on the topic of Australian tax issues establishing herself as a leading voice in the field.
Highly commended: Professor Hugh White; Professor Warwick McKibbin; Professor Rory Medcalf; Professor Tessa Morris-Suzuki
Public Policy Award
Highly commended: Professor Peter McDonald for being a prominent voice and advocate for the continuation of the Australian Census.
Vice-Chancellor's Award for Advancing the Reputation of the University Through Media
Dr Clarke Jones
Clarke Jones’ commitment to media has made him an ever-present ANU voice throughout 2015. With the opening of the new Counter Terrorism Hub in August, Clarke has almost single-handedly kept ANU at the forefront of debate and research into de-radicalisation.
Professor Miranda Stewart
Professor Stewart has worked tirelessly to build the profile of the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute and the Crawford School of Public Policy.
Professor Peter Drysdale and Dr Shiro Armstrong
The East Asia forum is a superb example of ANU outreach, engaging with policy makers and academic thinkers in Australia and across the world. It is a publication with impact that informs public debate and set the agenda. It reaches beyond the blog and magazine, with pieces regularly appearing in national media. Peter Drysdale, Shiro Armstrong and the team at EAF have made an outstanding contribution to ANU outreach.
