The IGNIS Mission engaged Year 7 to 11 students from 23 high schools across Western Australia.
The School of Engineering's IGNIS Mission, led by Executive Dean Professor Paulo de Souza, has been nominated for the Science Engagement Initiative of the Year award.
ECU is leading five Australian universities in collaboration with NASA to study lightning and fire through the IGNIS mission, providing research data for global scientists and fire investigators.
The IGNIS mission will be conducted over three stages, the first of which is an airborne survey of southwest Western Australia to map temperature signatures across the state, as well as lightning activities. This first stage was completed by ECU's Aviation division and private companies earlier this year.
The second stage of IGNIS would involve a launch of a 12U satellite to map and track thermal and lightning patterns from Low Earth Orbit, while the inspirational third stage would involve a deep-space mission, which is aimed at observing the interaction of solar activity and lightning on Jupiter and one of its moons called Io.
As part of the IGNIS collaboration, ECU this year launched an internship program, under which Year 7 to 11 students from 23 high schools across Western Australia, including three schools from regional Western Australia, were offered an internship program with the IGNIS project.
The IGNIS student internship program allows students to work directly with ECU School of Engineering academics and researchers, as well as aerospace industry professionals, NASA scientists and Aboriginal rangers. The internship program empowers students through immersive opportunities traditionally only found in university settings and allows them to become active contributors to the research.
In addition to teaching students how to conduct advanced data analysis and interpretation, the hands-on experience also focuses on all the research and mechanics necessary to ultimately understand what is required to build a satellite that will completement IGNIS project.
"The IGNIS mission represents a significant collaboration that not only advances our scientific understanding of lightning and fire but also showcases ECU's leadership on a global stage," Professor Paulo de Souza said.
"Being recognised as a finalist in the Science Engagement Initiative of the Year category of the Premier's Science Awards is a testament to the dedication of our entire team. We are immensely proud to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers through our student internship program, ensuring that the impact of IGNIS extends far beyond research and into education and community empowerment."
Professor Gina Trapp
ECU recognised for creating healthier food futures
Professor Gina Trapp has been selected as a finalist in the Mid-Career Scientist of the Year category, in recognition of her work in food environments and public health nutrition.
Professor Trapp leads a multidisciplinary 'Food Environment' team of 26 researchers within the Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute at ECU. She has advanced the field by pioneering research on how the built environment influences children's diet and physical activity, co-developing innovative tools such as the Australian Food Atlas, originally developed as the WA Food Atlas, now being adopted by policymakers.
Professor Trapp's findings have shaped urban planning and public health policy, creating healthier environments where children live, learn and play. She is ECU's youngest appointed female Professor and has received numerous awards recognising her as a leading Australian scientist.
"I'm honoured to be recognised alongside such outstanding scientists. This nomination reflects not just my work, but the incredible dedication of my Food Environments Team and our collaborators, who share a vision for creating healthier environments for children and families across Western Australia," she said.
Dr Liezhou Zhong
Dr Liezhou Zhong has been nominated as a finalist in the Early-Career Scientist of the Year category, in recognition of his work in novel food technologies and nutrition research.
Dr Zhong is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute. He leads the Future Foods & Digital Gastronomy Laboratory, where his work explores how novel food‐processing technologies, such as 3D food printing, can enhance nutrition and health.
His research spans areas including 3D-printed and texture-modified foods, aged care nutrition, health benefits of plant-based foods, diet and lifestyle, food and nutrition literacy, and machine learning/AI in nutrition.
"I'm truly grateful for this recognition. I'm so proud to showcase how our NHIRI team and the Future Foods & Digital Gastronomy Lab are using food and nutrition science to tackle major health challenges and enhance wellbeing," Dr Zhong said.
Dr Eben Afrifa-Yamoah
Recognition for big data analytics
Dr Eben Afrifa-Yamoah from the School of Science has also been nominated as a finalist in the Early-Career Scientist of the Year category, for his work in analysing complex, high dimensional data sets, particularly in medical and environmental sciences.
Dr Afrifa-Yamoah co-leads the Mathematical Applications and Data Analytics (MADA) research group and serves as unit set coordinator for Data Science. His work spans time-series forecasting, spatio-temporal modelling, machine learning, causal inference and psychometrics, with applications in medical, environmental and other multidisciplinary fields.
"Being nominated for the Early Career Scientist of the Year is both humbling and energising. This recognition affirms the value of the work I've been fortunate to pursue, but more importantly, it inspires me to keep pushing boundaries and exploring new frontiers.
"I'm immensely grateful to the many collaborators, mentors, and students who have shaped my research journey—this nomination is as much theirs as it is mine," he said.
Dr Rina Wong
Teaching excellence
School of Medical and Health Sciences lecturer Dr Rina Wong has also been nominated, for the STEM Educator of the Year – Tertiary award.
Dr Wong teaches units such as Applied Microbiology and Introduction to Haematology.
As a scientist-artist, she also seeks to inspire next generation scientists, including community outreach, invited talks, stage shows, authoring and illustrating her picture storybooks 'My Mad Scientist Mummy' and 'My Mummy's Pet Parasites'. Her science outreach work provides a valuable platform for mentoring scientists-in-training to communicate their passion to the general public including young children and people with special needs.
"As a finalist for the WA Premier's Science awards, I'm both humbled and thrilled. I am passionate about making complex science fun and accessible in the tertiary teaching space. As a scientist with a creative streak, I use non-traditional approaches and multi-modal engagement beyond the microscope and classroom," Dr Wong said.
"This award is an amazing encouragement and recognition in my personal journey and I thank the community and my ECU students from Applied Microbiology and Introduction to Haematology in shaping me to become the educator I am today."
ECU Alum Christopher Lambe, who completed his Bachelor of Education in 2002, has been nominated for the STEM Educator of the Year – Schools award, while Dr Janene Sproul, who completed her Bachelor of Health Science at ECU in 2025, was also nominated for the STEM Educator of the Year – Tertiary award.
The Premier's Science Awards program recognises and celebrates the outstanding scientific research and engagement taking place in Western Australia. The awards are a keystone in the Western Australian Government's efforts to raise the profile of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in WA. Over the years, awards alumni have become important ambassadors for the state, helping to inspire future generations to take up courses and careers in STEM.
