Deakin Institute for Frontier Materials Professor Luke Henderson has won the prestigious R.K. Murphy Medal from the Industrial Chemistry Division of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI).
The R.K. Murphy Medal, the highest prize awarded by the Industrial Chemistry Division of RACI, is awarded for outstanding achievement in the chemical industry in Australasia.
As part of the Chemeca2025 conference in Adelaide, Prof Henderson was presented his medal at the Awards of Excellence Gala Dinner. The award recognised his outstanding contribution to industrial chemistry, specifically in the field of translational materials science where he has been at the forefront of developing innovation next generation structural materials with enhanced functionality, sustainability and commercial viability.
“This award is the result of the tireless work of my research group over the years,” Prof Henderson said. “The award is more theirs as it is mine, and I’ll always be indebted to them.”
Prof Henderson currently leads a team of material scientists, chemists, and engineers at Deakin Institute for Frontier Materials who focus on the modification and manipulation of surface chemistries of carbon fibre and composites to create new advanced materials.
In 2023, he was only one of 25 researchers from across Australia to be awarded a Mid-Career Industry Fellowship from the Australian Research Council. As part of his fellowship, he was awarded more than $1 million from the ARC and $1.4 million from Deakin University and industry for the four-year project to develop a recyclable carbon fibre composite capability for Australia.