Professor Iain Murray named WA tech achiever of year

Professor Iain Murray was named 2026 Achiever of the Year at Western Australia's INCITE Awards, the top honour in the state's longest-running technology awards programme.

Murray, a professor at Curtin University and a disability and technology advocate, was recognised for nearly 35 years of work in inclusion, mentorship and innovation in the state's technology sector. He founded CAVI at Curtin in 2002, creating a pathway for blind Western Australians to gain Cisco certifications previously seen as beyond reach.

Awards organisers said CAVI graduates now secure jobs at a rate of 75% to 90%, compared with a national blind employment rate of 62%.

The award followed a nomination from Murray's student Shanelle Tennekoon, who was also among this year's winners. Tennekoon received a Merit in both the Diversity and Digital Inclusion Solution of the Year and Research and Development Solution of the Year categories for SmartWheel, an AI guidance system for powered wheelchairs.

The annual INCITE Awards are run by WAITTA, the Western Australian Innovation, Technology & Talent Alliance. The programme also serves as the state pathway into the national iAwards, with winners and Merit recipients progressing to the next stage.

Other Honours

CorePlan won the Dr Mal Bryce WA Tech Company of the Year Award for its drilling management platform. Professor Girish Dwivedi was named WA Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year for building health technology businesses from Australian research and for bringing together researchers, clinicians, investors and industry.

The programme introduced two new prizes. Rio Tinto received the inaugural Chief Judge Award for Integrated System Modelling, a platform that combines digital supply chain and mine simulation models in a self-service web application.

The inaugural Lead Judges' Choice Award went to Pattricia Ruth Das of Southern Cross College for AI Safety Guard, a driver fatigue detection device that uses computer vision to monitor signs including eye closure, yawning and head droop, then triggers a sound alarm and scent release.

Category Winners

Winners were also announced across nine solution categories covering government, industry, artificial intelligence, business, student work, inclusion, sustainability, research and start-ups.

LipReader, by Jason Hall, Fiona Stanley Hospital and South Metro Health Services, won Digital Government Solution of the Year and also took the Diversity and Digital Inclusion Solution of the Year title. Organisers described the AI lipreading phone app as the world's first co-designed, fully integrated version of its kind.

Heat-Trap Solutions won Industrial Technology Solution of the Year for a system used in emergency eye and face wash supply in mining and other high-risk settings. Agili8 won Artificial Intelligence Solution of the Year for XRAI Vision.

Hola Health won Technology and Business Solution of the Year for its telehealth platform. In the student category, Argus Sentinel, a Curtin University team project, took the award for an Android anti-malware system using behavioural monitoring and machine learning.

Materia Health's MateriaPOD won People and Planet Solution of the Year for a portable, reusable organ and tissue preservation device. Hypatia won Research and Development Solution of the Year for a browser-based precision psychiatry platform, while PlanAI by ThorAI Group won Start-Up Solution of the Year.

Record Entry

This year's programme drew more than 120 nominations, a record for the awards, organisers said. Finalists reflected activity across sectors including healthcare, mining, agritech and digital services.

INCITE Awards Co-Chair and WAITTA Board Director Cameron Zivkovic highlighted Murray's role among this year's nominees.

"This year's nominees remind us that tech can have a positive impact, and we saw this come through from every nominee, finalist, merit recipient and winner, especially 2026 Achiever of the Year Professor Iain Murray AM. Congratulations Professor Murray on being awarded INCITE's supreme award. Through research, teaching, mentorship, and advocacy, you have made Western Australia a more capable, more inclusive, and more innovative technology sector," Zivkovic said.

INCITE Awards Co-Chair and WAITTA Board Director Jess Etheridge said the programme had expanded beyond a single annual ceremony.

"This year has been truly exceptional. This milestone 35th INCITE Awards received more than 120 nominations - a record-breaking year for this program. Over the past three years, we've deliberately evolved INCITE from a single awards night into a year-round program with masterclasses, webinars, mentoring, networking opportunities, and strengthened pathways through to the iAwards and APICTA for West Australians. That sustained focus is one of the reasons we've seen record nominations this year, and why this community remains as vibrant, connected and impactful as it is today," Etheridge said.