Associate Professor Andrew Guzzomi was named WA Innovator of the Year in 2016 for co-inventing a tool that helps regenerate mine sites and degraded farmland. It works by repeatedly exposing plant seeds to flames, removing fluffy appendages and making them easier to handle, store and transport. The tool enables mechanised planting and reduces costs. Prof Guzzomi delivered the tool in partnership with the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority. He was also named an emerging innovator at the Innovation of the Year awards in 2019 for Weedchipper, a device that can till specific weeds for the purpose of large-scale weed control which helps reduce the use of herbicide. As a senior research fellow at the University of WA, Prof Guzzomi is designing a new agricultural engineering masters program, a process he said he had supported by pursuing collaboration across faculties. He had 23 papers published in peer-reviewed international journals, and has twice won faculty excellence-in-teaching awards.
