The remarkable contributions of seven leading mathematicians were celebrated at the Australian Mathematical Society’s (AustMS) Annual Meeting opening event at La Trobe University, Melbourne, on Tuesday 9 December 2025.
The conference, which is closing in on its 70th anniversary, brings together academics from across Australia and further afield for four days of thought-provoking discussions spanning the world of mathematics.
On opening the event at La Trobe’s Agora Theatre, AustMS President Aidan Sims FAA FAustMS congratulated the 2025 medal and prize winners for their outstanding contributions and achievements.
The Society’s most prestigious honour, the George Szekeres Medal, was awarded to Enrico Valdinoci, University of Western Australia. This medal recognises research excellence and outstanding support of the mathematical sciences. While Enrico boasts and outstanding track record for delivering outstanding scientific achievements, their most recent results concerning nonlocal minimal surfaces and phase coexistence models have been regarded as landmark in their respective fields.
Associate Professor Ramiro Lafuente, University of Queensland, was awarded the 2025 AustMS Medal. This medal is awarded to members of the Society within 15 years of completing their PhD in recognition of distinguished research in the mathematical sciences. Ramiro’s research focuses on the interplay between geometry, symmetry and differential equations, and involves the development and application of techniques from various areas of mathematics, including Riemannian geometry, Lie theory, gauge theory, algebraic geometry and partial differential equations. In his work, he has successfully addressed several longstanding open problems, establishing himself as a leading figure in the field. His contributions have appeared in some of the most prestigious mathematics journals.
The 2025 AustMS Medal
The 2025 Gavin Brown Prize for best paper was awarded to Paul Norbury, the University of Melbourne, for his paper: “A new cohomology class on the moduli space of curves”,
Geometry & Topology, 27(7), 2695-2761. This influential paper charts new directions for research into geometry. The paper links a geometric construction in algebraic geometry to a universal object in integrable systems with immediate applications to a variety of problems in geometry.
See the full list of winners below:
2025 AustMS Medal
Ramiro A. Lafuente, University of Queensland
2025 George Szekeres Medal
Enrico Valdinoci, University of Western Australia
2025 Gavin Brown Prize
Paul Norbury, University of Melbourne
For the paper: “A new cohomology class on the moduli space of curves”
Geometry & Topology, 27(7), 2695-2761.
2024 Mahony-Neumann-Room Prize
Russell Edson, Judith Bunder, Trent Mattner, Anthony Roberts
For the paper: “Lyapunov exponents of the Kuramoto–Sivashinsky PDE”
The ANZIAM Journal, 61(3) (2019), 270-285.
2025 Mahony-Neumann-Room Prize
Justin Forlano, Tadahiro Oh, Yuzhao Wang
For the paper: “Stochastic nonlinear Schrödinger equation with almost space-time white noise”
J. Aust. Math. Soc. 109 (2020), no. 1, 44–67.
AustMS Award for Teaching Excellence
Emily Cook, Swinburne University of Technology
AustMS Award for Teaching Excellence (Early Career)
Ravindi Nanayakkara, PhD, AFHEA, La Trobe University
About AustMS
The Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS) is the national society of the mathematics profession in Australia. Founded in 1956, their mission is the promotion and extension of mathematical knowledge and its applications. They represent all professional mathematicians in Australia, both pure and applied.
By Robbie Byrne
