The World-first Citizen Science Wins Eureka Prize

A team of Deakin researchers from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences has been awarded a prestigious Australian Museum 2020 Eureka Prize for a world-first initiative that monitors the health of Victoria's coastline.

Image Courtesy: David Kennedy

A world-first initiative, the Victorian Coastal Monitoring Program (VCMP) is empowering local communities to predict how beaches respond to storms and rising sea levels. Using lightweight drones, citizen scientists produce 3D models that precisely measure shoreline change. The open-source data informs coastal management and policy decisions.

Associate Professor Dan Ierodiaconou is co-developer of the VCMP and team leader on the project. Project partners on the VCMP are the Department of Land, Water and Planning, The University of Melbourne, Monash University, and Propellor Aerobotics.

The project team also includes the Deakin Marine Mapping Group based at Warrnambool campus as well as Post-doctoral students Dr. Blake Allan, Mary Young, Rafael Carvalho, and Stephan O’Brien; PhD students Nicolas Pucino and Yakup Niyazi; Research Assistant Sam Wines; and Senior Marine Technical Officer Paul Tinkler.

Congrats to the team and the DU Marine Mapping Group!

A full list of Eureka Prize winners can be found here.