Judges

Bernie Hobbs

A regular panellist on the ABC's New Inventors, Bernie Hobbs has always had a thing for science. And while she’s spent some time actually doing it, her real passion is for talking (and talking, and talking) about science.

A former teacher and medical researcher, Bernie’s been talking, writing and having a beer or two over science at the ABC since 1997. Whether it's through her weekly radio shows, award-winning websites, Science in the Pub or the experiMENTALS, her mission is to convert the "science=yawn" crowd. Bernie is in awe of inventors who don't just feel passionate about things - they've busted a gut to literally "make" a difference.

Sally Dominguez

Sally Dominguez never stops designing. First houses and interiors, then furniture and now inventions in energy and building - any thing which helps "green" our daily life. Sally's multi-award-winning Nest highchair is held in Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum and sold world-wide. Her Rainwater HOG modular tank featured on The New Inventors in 2005 is sold around the world and recently won a Spark Design Award for its functionality and innovation.

Sally writes on design, sustainability - and cars! - for a range of Australian publications. Her own architectural work, products and inventions have been widely published locally and overseas. Sally judges design for Standards Australia and cars for the world's oldest Car of the Year award. Sally loves to teach and is inspired by pretty much everything but especially by her kids Olivia and Dot, the writings of Dr Seuss, and talking to other inventors.

Professor Veena Sahajwalla

Professor Veena Sahajwalla, FTSE, FIEAust, is passionate about her research on Sustainable Materials Processing; she leads a research team at The University of New South Wales (UNSW) and works with many companies across the globe. She is the Director of Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology (SMaRT@UNSW).

Veena has received many International and Australian awards. The most recent was the 2008 New South Wales Scientist of the Year Award in the category of Engineering Sciences for her research on recycling waste plastics in steelmaking, a process which she invented. Veena also received the 2006 Environmental Technology Award from the Association of Iron & Steel Technology in the United States. In 2005, she received the Eureka Prize for Scientific Research.

Veena was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) in 2007 and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Australia in 2005.

Veena completed her Masters degree at the University of British Columbia and her PhD at The University of Michigan. She is passionate about science and engineering, and gets a real thrill from talking about inventions.