Awards and Achievements - January 2021

The University of Western Australia has a continual roll call of awards, scholarships and prizes presented to staff and students.

To recognise these achievements, an article is published on the UWA news page on the website and in UWA Forward on the first week of every month. If you know of great awards or achievements across the University please email [email protected]

Name: Albert (Al) Williams, UWA Business School
Achievement: UWA Business School Board member Albert (Al) Williams will return to the US next year to take up a promotion as VP Corporate Affairs at Chevron, while continuing his role with UWA. As Managing Director of Chevron Australia, based in WA, Mr Williams has brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Business School Board.

Business School Advisory Board chair Diane Smith-Gander AO said there was no more important role than the one Al was returning to at Chevron’s headquarters.  “Chevron’s reputation strikes to its ability to recruit talent, liaise with government and enjoy the support of communities.  Al is a warm and thoughtful man with deep industry experience,” she said.

Name: Belinda Teh, UWA Law School graduate
Achivement: Belinda has been nominated for the 2021 WA Young Australian of the Year. Belinda graduated from UWA in 2016 with a Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Commerce in 2016 and has contributed towards advocacy for WA’s Voluntary Assisted Dying bill.

Name: Jay Jay Jegathesan
Achievement: Graduate Jay Jay Jegathesan from UWA, and staff from the UWA Graduate Research Centre have produced a short film on mental health and self-reflection that has been longlisted for an Academy Award.

Mr Jegathesan is also the writer and narrator of the film. The film 'The Quiet', explores the impact of isolation on people by telling the story of an astronaut pondering on the quietude of space, where is comes across a startling self-reflection. The film is part of 96 films to be shortlisted for an award, including films from filmmakers such as Dreamworks, and Pixar.

Name: Rob Donovan, UWA School of Human Sciences
Achievement: Adjunct Professor Rob Donovan has been appointed to Chair the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Social Sciences Expert Group. Adjunct Professor Donovan has been involved with WADA since its inception and was a founding member of WADA’s Education Committee.

“Like many social and health areas, our focus in anti-doping is primarily on prevention of doping occurring in the first place, with one of the primary pillars of prevention being values-based education. However, just as in many other areas, our focus is also shifting to identify early indicators of susceptibility to doping and to support athletes at the various stages and situations during their career where they might be more vulnerable to offers of banned substances," Adjunct Professor Donovan said.

Congratulations UWA staff and students.