Awards and honours
Dr Christine Durham (MEd 1992)
Teacher and disability advocate Dr Christine Durham (MEd 1992) is Victorian Senior Australian of the Year 2014. Dr Durham’s life was turned upside down when she sustained a serious brain injury in a horrific car accident. Determined to return to teaching, she used her experience to inspire her students. In 2012 she completed a PhD examining ways to empower people with brain injury.
Distinguished Australian historian and former Dean of the Faculty of Arts Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Blainey AC (BA(Hons) 1950, MA 1955, LLD 2007, Queen’s College) has been awarded the University’s inaugural Tucker Medal. The award recognises his contributions to the University, the Faculty of Arts and to public life.
Professor Susan Elliott
The University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Engagement), Professor Susan Elliott, has been named the Vice-President of the Asia-Pacific Association of International Education (APAIE). Professor Elliott (MB BS 1982, MD 1992) is the first Australian and first female academic to hold the position at APAIE, which promotes the internationalisation of higher education in the Asia-Pacific region.
Professor Patrick McGorry AO
Professor Patrick McGorry AO (MD 2002), Executive Director of Orygen Youth Health, is the first researcher outside the US to win the National Alliance on Mental Illness Scientific Research Award. The award, presented by the USA’s largest grassroots mental health organisation, recognises Professor McGorry’s role in developing treatments for young people with mental disorders, and the influence he and colleagues have had on health policy. Professor McGorry has also been voted President-Elect of the Schizophrenia International Research Society and will take up the position in 2016.
Professor Patrick McGorry AO
Professor Peter Singer AC (BA(Hons) 1968, MA 1969, Ormond College) has been named the world’s third most influential contemporary thinker in a study conducted by Swiss think tank the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. He was the only Australian in the top 100. The study measured the significance of thought leaders’ networks across countries and subject areas, as well as their presence on social media.
Researcher, educator and mentor Emeritus Professor Simon Turner (BVSc(Hons) 1972, DVSc 2011, Ormond College) has been awarded the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) Founders’ Award for Career Achievement. Professor Turner was the first University of Melbourne veterinary graduate to become a member by examination of the ACVS, and the only Australian veterinarian to date to be recognised by the American Veterinary Medical Association for lifetime achievement in research.
Eight University of Melbourne alumnae were included in the 2014 Victorian Honour Roll of Women. Honour roll inductees are recognised for their remarkable leadership and expertise in a range of fields. The Melbourne alumnae included were: Professor Marilyn Anderson (BSc(Hons) 1972); Dr Helen Durham (BA 1989, LLB(Hons) 1991, SJD 2000); Professor Mary Galea (BA 1986, PhD 1992, GDipEpid&Biostat 2004); Professor Christine Kilpatrick (MB BS 1976, MD 1986, MBA (Exec) II 2007); Fiona McLeod SC (BA/LLB 1987, MPub&IntLaw 2012), The Honourable Nicola Roxon (BA/LLB(Hons) 1990); Professor Emeritus Sally Ann Walker (LLB(Hons) 1976, LLM 1980, Janet Clarke Hall); Dr E Marelyn Wintour-Coghlan (MSc 1963, PhD 1972, DSc 1988).
Professor Sam Berkovic (Bachelor of Medical Science 1974, MB BS 1977, MD 1984)
World-leading clinical neurologist Professor Sam Berkovic (Bachelor of Medical Science 1974, MB BS 1977, MD 1984) was just one of many alumni to be rewarded in this year’s Australia Day Honours. Professor Berkovic was recognised as a Companion of the Order of Australia, along with fellow alumni, renowned physicist Professor Bruce McKellar (DSc 1976, Ormond College) and Professor Ed Byrne (DSc 1995), Vice-Chancellor of Monash University.
Four Melbourne alumni, including three current staff members, have been elected to the Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science in recognition of their outstanding contributions to and application of scientific research. The School of Botany’s Professor Barbara Howlett (BSc(Hons) 1969, PhD 1981, University College), the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Professor Ivan Marusic (BE Mech&ManufEng (Hons) 1986, PhD 1992) and Professor Ingrid Scheffer (PhD 1998) from the University and Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health joined alumnus Professor Craig Moritz (BSc(Hons) 1979, Trinity College), now at Australian National University, on the list.
Eye health expert Professor Hugh Taylor AC, Melbourne Laureate Professor and the University’s Harold Mitchell Chair of Indigenous Eye Health, has been named President of the International Council of Ophthalmology. Professor Taylor (Bachelor of Medical Science 1970, MB BS 1971, Grad.Diploma – Ophthalmology 1975, MD 1979, LLD 2012, Ormond College) is the first from the southern hemisphere to be appointed to this role.
Professor Emeritus Miles Lewis AM (BArch(Hons) 1967, BA 1970, PhD 1973)
Professor Emeritus Miles Lewis AM (BArch(Hons) 1967, BA 1970, PhD 1973) is the winner of the 2014 Neville Quarry Architectural Education Prize, awarded by the Australian Institute of Architects. The prize recognises his teaching in architectural history and heritage and his decades of influence on heritage and conservation.