Writer Tabitha Carvan's winning story shines a light on the emotion and collaboration behind scientific achievement.
An essay on the quiet beauty of thesis tributes has won the prestigious UNSW Press Bragg Prize for Science Writing 2025.
'The unexpected poetry of PhD acknowledgements' by Tabitha Carvan takes readers on an emotional journey, highlighting the often moving, funny and touching notes of thanks academics write to mark the end of their dissertations.
The story will appear alongside the 39 shortlisted pieces in The Best Australian Science Writing 2025, NewSouth's annual collection featuring the finest Australian science writing of the year.
Ms Carvan spent six months reading and collecting thesis acknowledgements. She said the experience was emotionally akin to witnessing loved ones reunite at the arrivals gate at an airport.
"Every single acknowledgement is unique, and there's something very raw and vulnerable about them," she said.
"While each thesis contains careful, reasoned findings and figures, on this page, the author releases all their emotion."
Some of her favourites include an astrophysicist who ended his thesis with, 'you are all precious, like stardust' or the scientist who wrote of how the words get caught in her throat when she tries to express her gratitude.
Ms Carvan said one of the most-repeated phrases in the acknowledgements is: 'I could not have done it without you.'
"Ultimately, this is a story about community. You need community to do the work of science and to support the work of scientists, and you need to be able to have those interactions that can give you a breakthrough. It is lonely work, so the community is essential," she said.
Ms Carvan said she hoped the piece allows readers to appreciate the effort and sacrifice behind scientific research.
"It's a tough time to be a university researcher, and it feels particularly special to be able to get the voices of these PhD researchers shared widely so that people can see how much work goes into producing a thesis," she said.
UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Quality Professor Merlin Crossley, one of the judges for the 2025 Bragg Prizes, congratulated Ms Carvan.
"Tabitha Carvan's piece uniquely captures an often-overlooked aspect of science. Her analysis of the acknowledgement sections of theses reveals the breadth of emotional connections with co-workers and supporters that enable progress in research. Her essay beautifully showcases the humanity in science," he said.
Ms Carvan is a writer based in Canberra and is currently working on her second non-fiction book. Her work has been featured in publications including the Guardian, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, The Saturday Paper, Galah, Australian Geographic and three previous editions of The Best Australian Science Writing.
Ultimately, this is a story about community. You need community to do the work of science and to support the work of scientists and you need to be able to have those interactions that can give you a breakthrough.
Bragg Prize runners up
Runners-up prizes were awarded to Angus Dalton for his essay 'The night I accidentally became a corpse flower's bedside manservant' and to James Purtill for 'Air conditioning quietly changed Australian life in just a few decades'.
The UNSW Press Bragg Prize for Science Writing is an annual prize for the best short non-fiction piece on science written for a general audience. The winner receives $7000, and the two runners-up each receive an award of $1500. The prizes and associated events are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund and UNSW Science.
The 2025 Best Australian Science Writing anthology
All shortlisted and winning stories are published in The Best Australian Science Writing 2025, NewSouth's annual collection of the finest science writing of the year, which is now in its 15th year.
This year's anthology was edited by science writer Zoe Kean and the ABC's health and science reporter Tegan Taylor. Internationally recognised recycling science expert, UNSW's Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla, wrote this year's foreword on the need for a sustainable future.
Scientific topics raised in the anthology range from the climate crisis to the role of gender in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders.
The book and the prizes support UNSW's strategy to inform public debate about issues that directly have an impact on the community.
