The 2009 NZ Branch Clean Air Achievement Award was presented to John Watt.  John has just completed his third year as a PhD student at Victoria University Wellington).  He was named the 2009 MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year for his work in developing a cheap and effective way of removing toxic pollutants from vehicle exhausts. Mr Watt's breakthrough research involves "growing" nanoparticles of palladium.  By manipulating the size and shape of the nanoparticles - the first time anyone has been able to fully track the growth of palladium nanoparticles and learn how to change their normal structure  - the cost-effective of using the expensive metal (up to $11,000 a kg) in practical applications, such as catalytic converters on motor vehicles, can be significantly improved.