Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the government and on behalf of the people of Australia, I want to express my sincere congratulations to Professor Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, who has been jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Professor Robson and his colleagues have been working on cutting-edge research into metal-organic frameworks that can trap, store and absorb gases. As I understand it, this research brings a whole new class of solid matter into existence. The nature of Professor Robson's work is molecular, but the scale of its significance is absolutely enormous. As the prize committee pointed out, this world-leading research has the potential to address 'some of humankind's greatest challenges': harvesting water in arid environments, delivering precise drug doses to cancer patients, capturing carbon, storing and transporting hydrogen, and so much more. These are global challenges, but they are also Australian challenges, and our nation will be better able to meet those challenges and seize the opportunities they present thanks to this landmark Australian scientific research. Professor Robson's work really matters—pun intended.

But there's been a clear theme in the coverage of this honour this morning, and that is his humility. He has been researching, teaching and inspiring people at the University of Melbourne for nearly 60 years. He will inspire countless others with this outstanding achievement, of which all Australians should be proud. It's an achievement for Professor Robson but also a huge achievement for Australian science, for the Australian Research Council, which has backed this research over decades, and for Australia's research sector more broadly. On behalf of the government, I warmly congratulate Nobel Prize winner Professor Robson.

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