Eureka Prize named in honour of the late Prof Peter Cullen

Land & Water Australia has re-named its Eureka Prize for Water Research and Innovation Award as the Land & Water Australia Professor Peter Cullen Eureka Prize for Water Research and Innovation.

Cullen, who served as a Director of Land & Water Australia for six years immediately prior to his death in March 2008, worked in the field of natural resource science for more than 35 years and in 2004 was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to freshwater ecology. Given his dedication to the area, it is fitting that the Water Research and Innovation Award carry his name.

The Land & Water Australia Professor Peter Cullen Eureka Prize is awarded for scientific research that will potentially lead to substantial change in the way Australia manages, uses or protects its water resources, particularly in rural Australia. The emphasis is on the originality of the research, its practical benefit and its clear communication with the right audiences, which was Cullen’s particular ability.

Land & Water Australia has been proud to support past winners of the Water Research and Innovation Award, who include Professor Matthew England and his team for identifying the link between Indian Ocean surface temperatures and rainfall patterns in Western Australia; Professor Shahbaz Khan and his team for their research into water-efficient irrigation; and Professor Mike Young and Jim McColl for developing a framework to improve Australian water rights systems.

Entries for the 2009 Eureka Prizes are now open. For more information, visit http://www.austmus.gov.au/eureka/.