Pollution researcher named top emerging scientist

John Watt won his prize for research into the growth of nanoparticles for use in improving air quality. Photo / Richard Robinson

Wellington doctoral candidate John Watt was today named the top emerging scientist in the Prime Minister's science awards for his research aimed at reducing vehicle exhaust pollution.

Mr Watt, who last year won $10,000 as part of his MacDiarmid young scientist of the year prize, today collected $150,000 - including $100,000 to be used to further research and commercialise his prize-winning technology - from Prime Minister John Key, who presented $1 million in science prizes at Auckland's Stardome planetarium.

The presentations included the $500,000 top prize to two Industrial Research Ltd scientists developing superconductor technology, Dr Bob Buckley and Dr Jeff Tallon. The Prime Minister's prizes were introduced last year to boost the profile of science, mark scientific achievements and the impact science has on New Zealanders' lives and are designed to attract more young people into science careers.

Mr Watt, 28, won his prize for research into the growth of nanoparticles for use in improving air quality by reducing toxic exhaust emissions.

His findings are helping with the development of a cheap and effective way of removing toxic pollutants from vehicle exhausts, which has potential for reducing the risk of asthma, cancer and premature death.

The Victoria University scientist has devised techniques to manipulate the size and shape of palladium, an expensive precious metal used in car exhausts. His chemistry discoveries create nano-size palladium which achieves much better performance than conventional palladium and is also much cheaper.

Recently returned from a United States conference on materials science, Mr Watt has joined Victoria University's business arm, Viclink, to commercialising new nanotechnology.

He will develop international collaborations as part of that process while waiting on assessment of his doctorate thesis, on the characterisation and self-assembly of nanoparticles.

Mr Watt said winning the prize would help accelerate commercialisation of his research and also allow him to further his career in New Zealand.

He said the awards lifted the profile of science in New Zealand, where the number of science graduates was small compared to other professions.

Another winner was a Wellington journalist, Elizabeth Connor, 26, who took the Prime Minister's inaugural science communication prize, also worth $150,000.

"I've got this idea we can build a new Kiwi identity around creativity and innovation. We have some great science entrepreneurs in New Zealand," she said.

After studying physics and maths at Victoria University, she gained a masters in science communication from London's Imperial College.

She has worked on research projects through the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology where she also started her science communication career. She has written a series of success stories on MacDiarmid researchers, a book Tools for Transformation on the institute's equipment and transforming research relationships, and has produced a case study on Canterbury's BlueFern supercomputing centre.

"I want to focus on the mystery, intrigue and uncertainty of science," she said. "Science is often considered as the source of all answers, but science is full of mystery - there is so much we don't know. I want to inspire people with the same sense of wonder that drives scientists," she said.

Other prize winners were:

Morrinsville College teacher, Dr Paul Lowe, for his creation of new teaching programmes which are turning science into a popular subject and improving learning attitudes among students. Dr Lowe receives $50,000 and Morrinsville College receives $100,000.

The Prime Minister's 2009 Future Scientist Prize has been presented to an 18-year-old student who has made ground breaking discoveries about the physics of light. Stanley Roache, a former student from Onslow College in Wellington, wins a scholarship worth $50,000 to help pay for his tertiary studies.

- NZPA