





Funding and Grants

OI SCHOLARSHIPFor the next generation of marine researchers
ABOUT THE AWARD
Robson & Robertson Awards
Thanks to the generous contributions of the Jock Clough Marine Foundation, the UWA Oceans Institute is proud support the next generation of marine researchers. The Robson and Robertson Awards honour Professor Alan Robson AO CitWA and Emeritus Professor Alistar Robertson for their integral role in the establishment of UWA’s Oceans Institute. These awards are designed to encourage early career researchers across any marine discipline, giving these emerging marine experts a boost through providing opportunities to undertake fieldwork, access key equipment, travel, and otherwise enrich their research while under the OI organisation.
R&R Fellow
5-year fellowship to support an outstanding early career researcher
R&R Young
Scholar Program
Funding of up to $15,000 for PhD students
Many of our most pressing environmental challenges are long-term and require many years of data to develop effective management responses. Having this stable position supported by the Robson and Robertson Award has allowed me the time and space that very few early career researchers get to tackle these problems in a comprehensive manner
THE FUTURE OF OUR OCEANS
Young Scholar Program
The Robson and Robertson Awards also provide opportunities for outstanding young scholars to undertake exciting and innovative oceans research via the annual R&R Young Scholar Award.
This award supports a cohort of PhD students with funding up to $15,000 each.
The award is allocated after assessment by established leaders in marine science in Western Australia, based on the credentials of the researcher, quality of the project, alignment with identified strategic area, and the potential research impact.
The Robson and Robertson Young Scholar Program covers experiment expenses, training, conference attendance, fieldwork, further study, and other opportunities to start these emerging scholars on strong research foundation.
Just like the leaders that these Awards honour, recipients contribute significantly to research into the future of our oceans.
YOUNG SCHOLAR PROGRAM
Meet the 2024 Award Winners

YOUNG SCHOLAR PROGRAM
Congratulations to the 2024 Award Winners
This year fifteen PhD students were awarded a total of $125,000 through the 2024 Robson and Robertson Young Scholar Program to further their doctorate research.
- Aidan Archer, School of Earth and Oceans, Experimentally resolving the forces from mis-aligned waves and current
- Océane Attlan, School of Biological Sciences, Decadal changes in seaweed communities and ecosystem functions along Western Australia's coastline
- Teresa Baptista Nobre, School of Earth and Oceans, Enhancing adaptive genetic variation through selective breeding in Acropora tenuis and Acropora millepora in Ningaloo Reef
- Yanyan Dong, School of Agriculture and Environment, A comparative study of tourists visiting Pacific Island destinations - marine environmental impacts
- Anna Faber, School of Molecular Sciences, Ocean Heroes – Unleashing Western Australian Marine Microbes in the Battle Against Plastic Pollution
- Nina Ho, School of Biological Sciences, Unravelling Flowering Phenology and Seed Ecology of Tropical Seagrasses in Western Australia
- Dinh Khanh Le, Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy, Valuing beaches and coastlines to improve coastal management
- Alfredo Marchiò, Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre, Saving the taxonomic knowledge of glass sponges
- Jessica Pearce, School of Biological Sciences, Population genomics of tiger sharks along their latitudinal extremes
- Michael Peterson, School of Earth and Oceans, The Capacity of Bioengineered Structures to Mitigate Wave-Driven Flooding and Erosion
- Bryan Tan, School of Earth and Oceans, Efficient Hydrodynamic Models for Resonant Wave Energy Converters
- Jurgen Valckenaere, School of Biological Sciences, From Theory to Practice: enhancing coastal resilience by Greening the Grey
- Hannah Whitaker, School of Biological Sciences, Improved monitoring of marine heatwaves and identification of climate refugia in Western Australia’s marine parks
- Luka Wright, School of Biological Sciences, Pushing beyond field and convention in carbon burial experimentation
- Dinah Yunitawati, School of Agriculture and Environment, Stakeholders Interactions in Transboundary Maritime Cooperation: A Case Study of the Arafura and Timor Seas