28 September 2007

	Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik. Photograph: Erica Harrison.

The School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering’s Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik has been named as one of Australia’s top 10 young scientists in the 2007 Cosmos Bright Sparks Awards.

Professor Barner-Kowollik, an ARC Australian Professorial Fellow, was nominated for his work in polymer science at UNSW’s Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design.

The Bright Sparks Awards are given by science magazine Cosmos and are decided by an expert advisory panel.

Cosmos editor-in-chief Wilson da Silva said the awards recognised outstanding research and contributions to knowledge.

“Australia produces some of the finest scientists in the world, and many of them show exceptional talent early in their careers. The Bright Sparks Awards is our way of giving this excellence the recognition it deserves,” he said.

“These young men and women will have a resounding impact on society for generations to come.”

Professor Barner-Kowollik’s research is focused on improving the performance of synthetic polymers at molecular level to produce substances which can be used in a broad range of applications including drug delivery inside the human body.

“We provide techniques to make these complex polymers that can be used in these applications – it’s fundamental enabling science,” Professor Barner-Kowollik said.

The 34-year-old told Cosmos magazine the key to his success in research was “perseverance”.

“Not giving up in the face of adversity because in reality most things you try don’t work the first time,” he said.

Professor Barner-Kowollik was not the only UNSW researcher honoured in the Bright Sparks Awards: Associate Professor Alex Hamilton of the School of Physics in the Faculty of Science was also named in the brilliant top 10.