Academy Fellow Distinguished Professor Lidia Morawska has been awarded the Prime Minister's Prize for Science for redefining air pollution science and vastly improving how the world mitigates pollution risk.
Elected to the Academy in 2020, Professor Morawska is one of the world's foremost authorities on airborne particles, in the context of atmospheric pollution, and its impact on human health and the environment.
President of the Australian Academy of Science, Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC, said this award is a fitting recognition of Professor Morawska's many years of work to advance clean indoor air.
"Lidia's research extends beyond an academic pursuit; her tireless advocacy has elevated air quality from a niche concern to a global public health priority," Professor Jagadish said.
Professor Morawska was named one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people in 2021 for convincing the World Health Organization to acknowledge COVID-19 could be spread through the air, particularly indoors.
In 2024, Professor Morawska led a multidisciplinary team of experts from around the world to develop a blueprint that can be used as a mandate for indoor air quality.
In a video produced by the Academy about this blueprint, Professor Morawska noted that every drop of water we drink from the tap and the food that we eat are both highly regulated.
"Indoor air, which we take into our lungs 12 times a minute, is not regulated at all."
Watch: Why we need a mandate for indoor air quality
Poor indoor air quality poses significant health risks to Australians, who spend around 90% of their time indoors, with exposure to pollutants linked to respiratory illness, allergies, and chronic health conditions.
To galvanise global action on clean indoor air, Professor Morawska took part in organising a high-level, Academy-led event which took place on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly in September 2025.
At this event more than 150 organisations signed a global pledge to formally recognise clean indoor air as essential to health and wellbeing.
"Lidia has been essential to the international effort calling for recognition of clean indoor air as a fundamental human right," Professor Jagadish said.
Congratulations are also due to internationally recognised chemical engineer Professor Yao Zheng, awarded the Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year.
Professor Zheng discovered a method for producing ultrapure hydrogen directly from untreated seawater via electrolysis.
In 2024, Professor Zheng won the Academy's Le Fèvre Medal for his cutting-edge work which is part of the essential wave of disruptive and transformative innovation and research aimed at building more sustainable societies.
Watch: Could the future of clean energy be sea water?
The Academy congratulates all the recipients of this year's prizes, which represent Australia's highest recognition of scientific excellence.
