On 2 October 2025, dozens of staff, students and families of donor families gathered that the Indooroopilly Mine site for the SMI Memorial Awards, a full-day program which included presentations from the award recipients, student poster displays, an industry led panel discussion and a keynote address.
Highlights from the day
- A keynote speech from Simon Michaux
- A panel discussion moderated by Ekaterina Savinova, featuring Vigya Sharma, Leigh Staines, Simon Michaux and Russ Eley.
- An impromptu speech by Agnes Whiten, detailing many of the hidden contributions to SMI history.
- Olivia talking about the importance of family as she accepted her prize in front of SMI staffer Mitchell Alexander and many members of the Alexander family
- A heartfelt, person speech by Kym Runge about Dee Brawshaw.
- A funny, curiosity-fuelling speech by Kerry Young.
The University of Queensland's Sustainable Minerals Institute 2025 Memorial Awards Winners
Ian Morley Prize: Carolina Carvajal Gutierrez
Bill Whiten Memorial Prize: German Lastra Yanez
Alban and Barbara Lynch Award: Victor Tolentino
Dee Bradshaw Travel Scholarship: Bora Aska
Dan Alexander Memorial Prize: Olivia Mejías González
Michael F Young Memorial Prize: Joy Marisol Maniaul
People's Choice award winners: Lexi Kng Bioantika and Angel Gomez Velazquez
This day couldn't have happened without our generous sponsors:
Evolution Mining
JKTech Pty Ltd
Banksia Minerals Processing
Also, a big thanks all the other professional staff, academic staff and students who made this event happen!
Photos
