Western Australia’s Medallion Ceremony was celebrated at Government House, followed by the annual dinner at the Perth & Tattersall’s Bowling & Recreation Club, where the 2025 New Fellows were warmly welcomed by the Churchill Fellowship community.

Associate Professor Manickam Minakshi Sundaram was awarded the Churchill Medal in recognition of the successful completion of a Churchill Fellowship. The medal was presented by His Excellency the Honourable Chris Dawson AC APM, Governor of Western Australia, at Government House during the 2025 Medallion Presentation Reception. Manickam expresses deep gratitude to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for providing an exceptional opportunity to advance his understanding of world‑leading laboratory practices in electrochemistry.

Through the Fellowship, Manickam established international collaborations with leading researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (Germany) and the National Institute for Materials Science (Japan). These collaborations explored the feasibility of sodium‑based energy storage technologies and led to the development of a unique synthetic methodology for producing nanostructured sodium materials to support future renewable energy needs.

The research addressed several key dimensions:

• Societal: Identifying sodium‑ion batteries as a viable alternative to lithium‑ion cells, leveraging sodium’s natural abundance and low cost to support carbon‑free transportation.
• Economic: Designing efficient and cost‑effective sodium polymer composite materials capable of delivering high capacitance, excellent efficiency, and strong power density.
• Environmental: Demonstrating the potential for sodium‑based energy storage devices to provide reliable power in regional Australia without reliance on diesel fuel.
• National: Publishing outcomes in high‑impact international journals and presenting findings at major conferences, thereby contributing to Australia’s scientific leadership in energy storage research.

Following the successful completion of the Fellowship, Manickam was honoured to receive the Churchill Medal at Government House.

Photo credit:  The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust