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"Who's who" judge Eureka Prizes
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
What do a high-school teacher, an astronaut and a neuroscientist have in common? They are just three of the many professions represented on the 2008 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes judging panels.
Among the 73 individuals involved in prize judging is Francesca Calati, winner of the 2007 Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools; Dr Paul Scully-Power AM, Executive Chairman of Prime Solutions Pacific and Australia's first astronaut (and the only panel member who can operate a full pressure flying suit!); and Professor Elspeth McLachlan, Co-Director of the Spinal Injuries Research Centre at the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute and world authority on neural pathways within the autonomic nervous system.
The 2008 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes judges are collectively the "Who's who" of Australian science, science communication and education. They work in universities, schools, media, research institutes, industry, science centres and government departments across Australia. For a full listing of panel members see our Judges page.
Judging the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes is a massive job and goes something like this:
A large package of entries arrives on each judge's doorstep by the end of May.
Where a judge reads, evaluates, analyses and critiques these entries is up to them. Some judge on the weekend, some judge 30,000 feet in the sky, some judge on holidays and others judge late at night, when all their paid work is done.
And spare a thought for the judges of Sleek Geeks Science Prize, who watch hundreds of short films made by high-school students on topics that have ranged from Newton's Third Law, meiosis and mitosis to discovering the answer to that age-old question - "Can my dog smell?"
Sometimes deciding the winner is easy, sometimes it can be tough. Each judge ranks the entries against the published criteria. In June, panels discuss and debate rankings and, guided by a Conflict of Interest policy, decide as a group on finalists prior to identifying an outright winner.
When the official judging process is over, judges look forward to joining their peers - and another 900+ colleagues - to let their hair down (or in some cases put it up) at the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes Gala Dinner for the official announcement of winners.
The Australian Museum and individual prize sponsors are deeply indebted to members of the 2008 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes judging panels who freely give their time and expertise.
