Monash University’s anthropologist receives $3M ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship
Integral to a safe, inclusive and fair future society, Australia aims to be a top ten digital economy and society by 2030 as well as net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Professor Pink, Director of the Emerging Technologies Research Lab, will advance these national priorities by investigating how future human values, practices and trust can be leveraged for technologically-supported environmental sustainability.
‘Receiving the prestigious Australian Laureate Fellowship is an immense honour. With this opportunity, I’m excited to help shape our society and country by delivering and mobilising new knowledge of how human values and practices will shape the future, and the consequences they will have for digital and net zero transitions,’ said Professor Pink.
‘I am grateful for the support and embrace this Fellowship as a call to lead, innovate and make a lasting impact.’
Her research will deliver large qualitative models of possible Australian futures backed by quantitative forecasts. These outcomes will help governments, policymakers, industries and not-for-profits develop reliable and inclusive infrastructure, technology, services and training – enabling sustainable economic transitions across energy, automation and other areas.
Overall, her project will build the knowledge and skills to design viable and realistic pathways to 2030 and 2050.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Rebekah Brown, congratulated Professor Pink on her remarkable Fellowship and innovative research project.
“ARC Laureate Fellowships are one of the highest honours in Australian research and this award is a real credit to the strength and vision of Professor Pink’s research.”
“Her work brings together interdisciplinary partnership across the humanities and science and technology which is a really exciting collaboration. Congratulations to Professor Pink, and the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture and the Faculty of Information Technology.”
“We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to Professor Sarah Pink for her achievement in being awarded the highly prestigious Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship,’ said Professor Carsten Rudolph, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology.
“This Fellowship recognises her leadership and impact, bridging the humanities, social sciences and technology to create a better future society in Australia – with the potential to translate the outcomes on a global scale.”
Professor Shane Murray, Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture said, “The ARC Laureate Fellowship is a wonderful acknowledgement of Professor Pink’s significant research impact. The complexity of the challenges facing us today demand an integrative, interdisciplinary and creative approach and Professor Pink’s work, and that of the Emerging Technologies Research Lab, is a direct reflection of that principle and approach.”
Professor Pink is internationally-renowned for developing innovative digital, visual and sensory research and dissemination methods, and engaging in interdisciplinary projects to address contemporary issues and challenges.
In 2021, she was named one of The Australian’s top 40 lifetime achievers in research, and in 2023 she was awarded two honorary doctorates – one in Information Technology at Halmstad University and the other in Technology and Society at Malmö University.
Professor Pink has more than 20 years’ experience working with academic and industry partners internationally, and is a frequent keynote speaker globally. She has also produced documentaries such as Smart Homes for Seniors and Laundry Lives. Her latest book, ‘Emerging Technologies / Life at the Edge of the Future’, was published in 2022.
Reflecting the Australian Government’s commitment to research excellence, the Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme supports world-class researchers to conduct ground-breaking, internationally-competitive research.