2026 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes winners

Marine Heatwave Forecasts, CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology

Marine Heatwave Forecasts delivered Australia’s first operational long-range forecasts for unusually warm ocean temperatures. Developed by the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO from 2020 to 2025, the service gives marine industries, conservation managers and coastal communities weeks to months of warning, helping them to prepare early and protect vulnerable ecosystems.

EcoCommons Australia, QCIF Digital Research

EcoCommons Australia integrates thousands of environmental datasets from different institutions into an easy-to-use, cloud-based platform to help tackle climate change, species loss and ecosystem management. Finding hidden populations of endangered species and helping more than 2,000 researchers and government agencies make faster decisions about conservation priorities are two key benefits.

Associate Professor Helen Paterson, The University of Sydney

Associate Professor Helen Paterson is advancing how police and courts understand victim-survivor testimony in domestic and family violence cases. Her research shows how repeated abuse and coercive control affect memory, informing improved interviewing practices, credibility assessment, and legal interpretation to support more accurate investigations and fairer justice outcomes.

Professor Ivan Kassal and Associate Professor Ting Rei Tan, The University of Sydney

Achieving a step change in the way quantum computers can simulate complex molecular function, Professor Ivan Kassal and Associate Professor Ting Rei Tan improved quantum resource efficiency by more than a million-fold, leading to advances in materials, energy and drug discovery. They use one of Australia’s most powerful quantum devices.

Women’s Microbiome Innovation Group, Melbourne Sexual Health Centre; Monash University; and Alfred Health

Women’s Microbiome Innovation Group challenged the prevailing dogma that bacterial vaginosis is a bacterial imbalance and proved it is sexually transmitted. The StepUp trial showed treating male partners improves bacterial vaginosis cure and is cost-effective. Partner treatment is transforming global clinical practice for an infection affecting one in four women.

C2X, RMIT University

C2X integrates CO2 capture and conversion into a single process, reducing the cost, energy loss and engineering complexity of traditional systems. This practical and novel pathway to lower-emission fuels and value-added chemicals has been demonstrated with Victorian industry partners, including major industrial emitters and biogas manufacturers.

Dr Aidan Cashin, UNSW and Neuroscience Research Australia

Dr Aidan Cashin is changing chronic pain care by determining which treatments help, why they work and how to deliver them widely. His research clarified whether back pain medicines help or harm, developed a non-drug program that improves recovery and is now shaping clinical training, digital care and international trials.

Professor Vincent Gramoli, The University of Sydney and Redbelly Network

Professor Vincent Gramoli researched and designed the Redbelly Blockchain, commercialising it with Redbelly Network. The cybersecurity software innovation enables users to exchange assets more securely, safeguarding Australia’s financial resilience. It is one of the fastest blockchains in production and was selected by the Reserve Bank of Australia to participate in the Project Acacia research initiative.

Professor Georgina Long AO, The University of Sydney and Melanoma Institute Australia

Professor Georgina Long transformed melanoma care by pioneering neoadjuvant immunotherapy, given before surgery, and leading international drug development. Her research reduced recurrence or death risk by 68%, lifted survival 10-fold in stage IV disease and 24-fold in brain metastases, and created tools to identify patients needing new approaches.

Professor Yansong Shen, UNSW

Professor Yansong Shen has developed a low-cost, scalable, portable process to recover the valuable metals and silicon from used solar panels. With an estimated 60–78 million tonnes of panels requiring recycling by 2050, this end-to-end technology could recover valuable metals, including silver, and support more sustainable solar-waste management.

Dr Jane Tiller, Monash University

Dr Jane Tiller led a research-driven campaign that in 2026 helped ban Australian life insurers from using genetic test results to discriminate in underwriting. By uniting researchers, clinicians, patient groups and policymakers, she removed a major barrier to potentially life-saving genomic testing, expanding opportunities for equitable access to preventive medicine.

Distinguished Professor Maree Teesson, The University of Sydney

Distinguished Professor Maree Teesson is an international leader in mental health and substance use research, especially the overlap between these disorders. As Director of the Matilda Centre, the largest research centre of its kind, she has advanced prevention and treatment, including school-based programs reaching 300,000 students in Australia and overseas.

Associate Professor Karen Lamb, University of Melbourne

Associate Professor Karen Lamb has ensured Australian statisticians’ careers are enriched by mentorship. She created the Statistical Society of Australia’s national mentoring program, supporting more than 200 statisticians, and assisted mentoring program development in the UK, New Zealand and Canada. Her inclusive approach builds confidence, leadership and belonging in STEM.

Miyawaki Forest Program, Murdoch University

Since 2021, the Miyawaki Forest Program has brought more than 5,200 participants together to plant 22 fast-growing forests in schools and communities. Through planting, nurturing, observation and experiments, participants have greened local landscapes and reconnected with nature, while the forests have increased biodiversity and reduced local temperatures.

Dr Lila Landowski, University of Tasmania and Science and Technology Australia

Dr Lila Landowski makes neuroscience accessible through her TEDx talk, viral videos and media appearances. She has appeared in hundreds of stories, reaching more than 46 million people in the past year, translating brain science, combating misinformation as a World Health Organization Fides ambassador and inspiring diverse audiences into STEM.

Liam Mannix and William Davis, The Age and Brisbane Times

After four years of research, Liam Mannix and William Davis published their investigative articles revealing major scientific misconduct at leading research institutions, including the fabrication of animal experiments for drugs in development. Read by more than 130,000 people, the articles revealed science’s dark underbelly and led to calls for reform.

Published in The Age on Saturday 26 July 2025 and Sunday 27 July 2025.

OurFutures Vaping Program, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney; University of Queensland; Curtin University; Monash University; UNSW; and University of Newcastle.

OurFutures Vaping Program empowers adolescents to avoid vaping through evidence-based digital lessons co-designed with students and teachers. Trialled in 40 schools, it reduced the odds of vaping by 65% after one year. It has now reached more than 300,000 students, providing practical health and wellbeing education nationwide.

Science Gallery Melbourne

Through co-design, free access and inclusive practices, the University of Melbourne’s Science Gallery empowers underrepresented communities in STEM. Blending science, creativity and culture, its exhibitions and programs have attracted 350,000 people since 2021 and achieved inspiring levels of engagement with young women, diverse and disadvantaged audiences.

Poppy H,, Homeschool Perth, WA

Poppy’s delightful, humorous film How the Brain Processes Patterns focuses on her love of optical illusions, including one on a wall near her dance studio, and the neuroscience behind them. She conducted a study to see whether adults or children are more likely to be deceived by these illusions.

Millie B., Karrinyup, WA

In Freshwater Turtle Nesting: From Patterns to Protection, 13-year-old Millie explains that freshwater turtles follow predictable patterns when choosing nest sites. As an official Turtle Tracker volunteer in Perth, she reveals how these patterns can predict nesting hotspots with 90% accuracy and guide local protection measures, such as turtle-safe roads.