Offered annually, the scholarship provides a $20,000 grant to support a new or continuing honours or postgraduate student enrolled in an Australian tertiary institution.
The successful applicant will be undertaking research contributing to the water-related knowledge of the Lake Eyre Basin. This could include investigating current and emerging challenges to the health or sustainable use of the basin, or generating critical hydrological, ecological, cultural or social knowledge about the basin.
The scholarship program seeks to improve understanding of the basin to support informed policy, management and decision making. It also focuses on the development of future scientists and helps to foster links between academia, the wider community, and governments.
The scholarship is currently on hold. For further information, and to be added to the distribution list for when this opportunity is advertised, please email lebsecretariat@dcceew.gov.au.
About Justin Costelloe and his legacy
Dr Justin Costelloe was a senior research fellow at the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Melbourne 1. He was held in great esteem for his exceptional contributions to the Lake Eyre Basin community through the science of hydrology and ecology. He held a member position on the Lake Eyre Basin Scientific Advisory Panel for several years providing expert hydrological and ecological advice on matters relating to the condition of the Lake Eyre Basin rivers.
The 2023 Scholarship
The successful candidate for the 2023 scholarship is Linda Main of Griffith University. She is using the funds to research machine-learning methods for observing frogs in vulnerable aquatic environments.
Previous scholarship recipients
2020
Awarded to Ms Georgia King, a Griffith University Honours student. She used the funds to contribute to her research of feral populations of red-claw crayfish and how the risk they pose to Lake Eyre Basin’s unique aquatic ecosystems.
2021
Awarded to Mr Brock Hedges, a University of Adelaide PhD student. He used the grant to undertake research into the conservation and management of Australian freshwater granite rock-holes under climate change.
2022
Awarded to Ms Zoe Ford from the University of New South Wales. Zoe will use the funds to conduct a social-ecological study of the Malkumba-Coongie Lakes Ramsar site.
1A separate, University of Melbourne Justin Costelloe Award also exists. This award and the Justin Costelloe Scholarship are entirely mutually exclusive and unrelated.