John Curtin Distinguished Professor Zongping Shao from the Centre for Advanced Energy and Technologies (CAEMT) has been recognised by the MDPI Sustainability Foundation with the World Sustainability Award (WSA) for 2026. Professor Shao will receive a prize of $100,000 USD, which will be officially presented during the World Sustainability Forum 2026.

The 2026 WSA recognises one individual researcher whose work has left a significant academic or societal contribution to sustainability. This couldn’t be more fitting for Professor Shao’s pioneering contributions to sustainable energy materials and technologies that enable a zero-carbon, sustainable future.

His list of achievements is extensive including having invented a new mixed oxygen-ion and electronic conducting perovskite material, developed membrane-based direct seawater electrolysis for green hydrogen production and published more than 1,000 scientific papers (including five in Nature).

A massive congratulations to Professor Shao on this remarkable achievement.