Young scientists nominated for leadership award

Publication date
Wednesday, 18 Mar 2015
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Four young scientists from across the ACT and NSW have been nominated for the Australian National University Science Leadership Award.

This year’s finalists include Ethan Butson a 19-year-old inventor, Dr Michael Bowen a young researcher looking at neurological disorders, Sarah Verdon a speech pathologists and educator and mathematician Adrian Dudek from ANU.

Adrian Dudek is a 25-year-old PhD student with a passion for inspiring others in mathematics and has designed an engaging maths program for Year 5 and 6 students that is run out of Melba Copland Secondary School. 

“The point is to help the students see that maths can be both exciting and useful. We want them to enjoy the activities and then associate that enjoyment with maths. This will inspire them to keep on doing it,” he said.

“Some students start to thrive and you can see them pick it up and really start loving maths. It’s the sort of work that I like doing because they’re from schools that are considered to be disadvantaged yet we can still offer them something original and stimulating.”

Adrian is driven to share his passion for mathematics with the community and he feels that all researchers should actively communicate the importance of their work.

“I think that people have a right to ask, why is your work useful? Why is science useful? And I think we should have good answers to those questions,” he said.

After completing his undergraduate studies in Western Australia, Adrian moved to Canberra to understand more about the most mysterious phenomenon in mathematics: the prime numbers.

“People have been interested in prime numbers for thousands of years, just out of pure human curiosity. And while it is easy to tell somebody what a prime number is, it is often difficult to answer questions about prime numbers beyond that,” he said.

“My research centres on the behaviour of the prime numbers. This is a really exciting area of maths where chaos and order seem to get along with each other quite well.

“It’s also a very small area of research in Australia. There’s my supervisor and me and his two other PhD students and that’s pretty much it for this kind of prime number research in Australia.”

Adrian adds that having skills in mathematics can be very valuable, because it makes you question the world.

“When you do a major in mathematics you get some really powerful tools. Not only do you get critical thinking and quantitative skills, but maths can be very useful if you link it with other areas of science, computing or finance,” he said.

The Science Leadership Award recognises talented young scientists and students who are at the forefront of their fields, those who are hoping to create change for the future.

Each category winner will receive $2,000 for their contribution to their chosen fields of endeavour. The overall winner will be selected by the judging panel and will be presented with another $2,000.

Winners will be announced in Sydney at the Gala Dinner Presentation at the SMC Conference and Function Centre, on Saturday 21st March 2015.

Visit Awards Australia for more information of this year’s finalists.