The 2024 Frater and Career Development Awards have been announced, celebrating 11 exceptional individuals who will now have the chance to expand their knowledge, refine their skills and pursue advanced training opportunities. 

The annual Frater Awards provide ANFF staff, engineers and administrative professionals alike, with the opportunity to foster technical and professional growth through both national and international experiences. Named in honour of Dr Robert Frater AO, ANFF’s first chairman and a pioneering figure in advanced microelectronics and former Deputy CEO of CSIRO, these awards continue his legacy of developing technical excellence. This year, ANFF also recognized 3 outstanding staff with the prestigious Career Development Award. 

ANFF CEO Jane Fitzpatrick praised this year’s recipients, stating, ‘At ANFF, we count ourselves lucky to have the calibre of people we do working together in our organisation. They are the bedrock of our success. This year’s winners exemplify how our staff want to keep getting better and better to ensure that ANFF continues to provide the best in innovation support.’ 

Dr Jeff Yun Huang, a Senior Professional Officer at ANFF Queensland, is deeply honoured to receive a Frater Award, saying, ‘This award offers me a unique opportunity to visit Bruker Nano Surface – Atomic Force Microscopes in Santa Barbara, California, where I will continue to expand my knowledge and expertise. Winning a Frater Award further fuels my passion for pushing the boundaries of electrical material measurement and advancing innovative technologies for the energy materials community. I’m excited about what lies ahead.’

Frater Awardees: 

Brendan Byatt, University of Wollongong – QMS Internal Auditing  

Pradip Singha, Griffith University – Advanced Training in Ellipsometry Data Analysis 

Tai-Jie (Denny) Yun, Flinders University – Certified Professional for Medical Software (CPMS) 

Yun (Jeff) Huang, University of Queensland – AFM Training for Electrical Measurements 

See Yoong Wong, La Trobe University – CMSS Capabilities on Diamond Analysis 

Ricky Tjeung, Hazem Abdelmaksoud and Dan Smith, Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication – Maintenance and Process Training at Oxford Instruments Factory (UK) 

Career Development Awardees: 

Laurence Deziel, University of Adelaide – Australian Science Communications (ASC) Conference 

Juan (Jane) Li, University of Queensland – Exploring Nano 3D Printing Capabilities in ANFF-VIC 

Derui Yin, University of Sydney – Technological Exchange and Collaboration with ITRI, Taiwan 

The excitement of ANFF-OptoFab Adelaide’s Marketing & Communications Officer Laurence Deziel was evident: ‘I am thrilled to have won a Career Development Award! This will take me to the 2025 Australian Science Communicators (ASC) conference, where I’ll gain valuable insights and skills in science communication for my work with ANFF. I’ll also visit the ANFF Hubs across Victoria to explore their facilities and marketing strategies. Big thanks to ANFF for this amazing opportunity!’  

Frater Award Coordinator Matthew Wright encourages all ANFF staff to consider applying for future Frater Awards: ‘As you gain experience and training, both overseas and within Australia, you’ll bring back new insights and new ways of doing things. You’ll be sharing that with your colleagues, and ANFF will be able to deliver more to a wider audience.’ 

These awards highlight ANFF’s commitment to fostering professional growth and innovation within the organization. Congratulations to all the awardees! 

To view video highlights from the 2023 Frater Award winners, go to this link.