Professor Veena Sahajwalla is Australia’s leading expert on the sustainability of materials. This year she has been named as one of the 16 finalists in the Celestino Eureka Prize for promoting understanding of science. The awards are presented by the Australian Museum and are given annually in four categories including research and innovation, leadership, and science engagement.

Highlights

• Prof Sahajwalla is the Hub leader of the National Environmental Science Program - Sustainable Communities and Waste hub
• She has won Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship in 2014 and is the inventor of ‘green steel’
• Prof Sahajwalla is the recipient of the Environmental Technology Award in the US

Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla is the brain behind Australia’s innovative ‘green steel’ technology which is about using waste tyres in steel manufacturing processes instead of coal. She has devoted her abilities, knowledge, and energy to combat the waste-creating economic processes. 

Prof Sahajwalla said, "We all like to recycle but when there are scientific solutions to develop alternative materials, it serves the purpose."

Speaking to SBS Hindi, she said that these scientific solutions would bring new technologies, open up the doors for manufacturing industries, generate employment, and benefit the environment.

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For moving towards a greener future, Prof Sahajwalla has highlighted the role and collaboration of the community, manufacturers, various investors, and researchers giving scientific solutions.

Collaboration is hugely important for working towards scientific solutions. Coming together for the research, using the resources i.e. community, industry body and the manufacturers - and we can take things to another level.

Professor Veena Sahajwalla at her lab Source: zSmart Centre/Anna_Kucera

Listen to the podcast interview with Prof Veena Sahajwalla:-

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Prof Veena Sahajwalla is among the finalists for Eureka Awards 2021

SBS Hindi

04/10/202113:05

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Prof Sahajwalla is the inventor of polymer injection technology, known as 'green steel'. Explaining her invention, she said “the waste tyres and plastics are used in the furnace to make steel. Waste tyres provide the carbon required replacing the need for coal.”

Tyre trash led to achieving new and sustainable ‘green steel’ innovation, said Prof Sahajwalla

The Mumbai-born scientist shared how the seeds of recycling and looking into the waste as a valuable resource were sown in her childhood. 

“Recycling is in our DNA. Everyone has this urge of sharing or passing on things that may not be useful to one but might be for someone else. So we all have it in our system. We just need to take the responsibility to manage the waste/recycle and collaborate for scientific solutions," she said.

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Professor Veena Sahajwalla Source: zSmart Centre

Prof Sahajwalla has previously won the Eureka science award in 2005 in the scientific research category. She is currently the founding director of the Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) Centre at Sydney's University of New South Wales.

The Eureka award winners will be announced on 7 October 2021 at a live broadcast event. The Eureka Awards offer $160,000 in prize money, across a broad spectrum of research from environmental to innovative technologies, defence, and mentoring.

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