Three QUT researchers have been honoured this week with prestigious national awards for their respective research and leadership across Antarctica, air quality and property law.
Distinguished Professor Lidia Morawska
Distinguished Professor and Australian Laureate Fellow Lidia Morawska, from the QUT School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, has been awarded the 2024 Australian Institute of Architects Queensland President's Prize.
The honour from the Australian Institute of Architects recognises Professor Morawska's outstanding contributions to the profession of architecture, particularly in advancing the understanding of indoor air quality, and its crucial role in building design.
Professor Morawska is recognised as one of the world's foremost authorities in atmospheric, aerosol and exposure science in the context of indoor air quality and building infection transmission.
Through over 1100 publications, she has ushered in new science and driven changes in the interdisciplinary field of air quality and its impact on human health and the environment.
Her focus is on airborne particles, both anthropogenic and natural, such as nanoparticles, ultrafine particles, and particles people emit when they breathe.
A strong advocate for air quality standards, she recently led a group of international experts who presented a blueprint for national indoor air quality performance standards for public buildings.
This recognition is the latest in a list of honours for Professor Morawska that includes the 2024 Planetary Health Award from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
In 2021, TIME magazine named her one of the world's 100 most influential people for her leadership role in assembling an international team of more than 200 scientists and public-health authorities to convince the World Health Organisation to recognize the role of aerosols in spreading SARS-CoV-2.
"Every drop of water we drink and every piece of food we put in our mouth is highly regulated – yet the indoor air, which we take into our lungs 12 times a minute, over 90 per cent of our time, is not regulated at all," Professor Morawska said.
"This work has the potential to touch billions of lives in the next decade by enhancing safety from airborne transmission of infections in indoor spaces."
Professor Sharon Christensen
Professor Sharon Christensen, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at QUT, has been awarded the Queensland Law Society's highest accolade, the President's Medal for 2025.
The award recognises Professor Christensen for her outstanding contribution and commitment to the profession and in particular her significant contributions to the review and reform of Queensland's property laws.
As one of Australia's leading experts in property law, Professor Christensen's research has been influential in driving government policy, law reform and industry change at the intersection of property laws, consumer protection and emerging technologies.
This has led directly to legislative reforms, enhanced consumer protection in land transactions, efficiencies in the conveyancing process and lowered compliance costs of property sellers and buyers in Queensland, as well as informing law reform both nationally and internationally for information disclosure and electronic land transactions.
"I am deeply honoured to have been awarded the President's Medal, recognising my service to legal education and my contributions to property law reform in the face of technological change," Professor Christensen said.
"Thank you Queensland Law Society for this incredible accolade. I am also grateful to my colleagues, mentors, and the wider legal community for their unwavering support and shared commitment to advancing our profession. I look forward to furthering our collective efforts in education and law reform as we approach the commencement of property law reforms."
Associate Professor Justine Shaw
QUT Associate Professor Justine Shaw has been named the 2025 Tasmanian recipient of the Australian Awards for Excellence in Women's Leadership.
The prestigious award celebrates exceptional Australian women and gender-diverse people who encourage change and make important contributions to advancing equity across all facets of society.
Professor Shaw, from the QUT School of Biology and Environmental Science, is an internationally recognised leader in Antarctic and conservation science. Her research focuses on the interface of policy, governance and ecosystem science.
Interested in understanding the way in which species interact with each other and how this shapes ecosystems, her research examines the role of environmental factors in influencing species abundance, distribution and occurrence.
Committed to tackling gender equity, Professor Shaw also mentors a new generation of Antarctic scientists through her work with the ARC's Securing Antarctic Environmental Futures program. She is a co-founder of Homeward Bound, a leadership training program for women in STEMM which culminates 12 months of training with a voyage to Antarctica, and co-founder of Women in Polar Science, an interdisciplinary professional network. She lives in Tasmania where she is hosted by her industry partner the Australian Antarctic Division in Hobart.
"As a woman working in leadership, I am incredibly honoured to receive this award. In my career I work with various government and professional organisations, providing advice on how to generate diversity in award recipients. I have written articles and given interviews on how to improve and foster diversity in award schemes, yet I have never been someone to receive awards," Professor Shaw said.
"My leadership learnings span a range of institutions and organisations, from remote Antarctic field camps to government advisory committees, boards of not-for-profit organisations and local community groups. Some rigid and structured and others more flexible and dynamic. It's critical we remember leaders come in many different forms, and different situations call for different styles of leaders."
Main photo (left to right): Associate Profesor Justine Shaw, Distinguished Professor Lidia Morawska, Professor Sharon Christensen
