2023 Laureate Profile: Professor Catherine Stampfl – 2023 Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship

Administering Organisation: The University of Sydney

Fellowship Project Summary

FL230100176 - Computational design of frontier materials for sustainable technologies

Professor Stampfl’s project will focus on new catalysts and advanced new materials that speed up carbon dioxide transformation and efficient ammonia production to manufacture sustainable fuels and chemicals and enable new technologies such as for renewable energy. This research will develop a computational platform that uses powerful supercomputers, accurate simulations of atoms and artificial intelligence to overcome challenges in rapidly identifying and testing new materials. The breakthrough theoretical and computational methods expected to be delivered will advance Australia’s renewable energy and emerging quantum technology industries and inform the development of sustainable manufacturing.

Ambassadorial and mentoring role

Professor Stampfl will use the Georgina Sweet Fellowship to endorse two key activities.

The first activity is to support a minority group in engaging more strongly in STEM; namely, to provide stimulus and encouragement to female students from rural and remote parts of Australia to study the Sciences at University. Professor Stampfl will establish 20 Georgina Sweet Rural and Remote Science Awards of $3,875 (4 per year, for five years) made to outstanding year 12 female students from rural and remote parts of Australia to study Science at an Australian university.

The second activity is to support early career researchers. The challenge in productivity for young parents striving for an academic career does not stop after returning from parental leave. Professor Stampfl will create 10 research awards of $2,000 (two per year, for five years) to support early career parents in their research, to be used flexibly in support of their research trajectories.

Australian Research Council funding: $2,920,000