Two University of Newcastle (UON) academics have been honoured with prestigious accolades at the 2014 NSW Science and Engineering Awards. UON’s Professor Nick Talley received the ‘Excellence in Biological Sciences’ award, while Professor Behdad Moghtaderi (pictured) was the recipient of the ‘Renewable Energy Innovation’ award. The NSW Science and Engineering Awards recognise the achievements of leading researchers and their efforts to generate economic, health, environmental or technological benefits for the state.

Professor Talley is an internationally renowned gastroenterological research leader, who specialises in unexplained disorders affecting nerves and muscles of the gut. He has been credited with a number of seminal breakthroughs, and his latest work involving the link between the brain and the gut has the potential to revolutionise thinking across the field.

Professor Moghtaderi is a world-leader in energy technologies research, and was awarded the innovation prize for his GRANEX™ heat engine invention. The engine turns low-grade heat sources that may not otherwise be viably usable into emissionfree electricity. It can be applied to a range of diverse heat sources, including renewable energy, process industries, transport systems and commercial and residential buildings.