Professor Graeme Clark honoured in Pause Awards “Hall of Fame”

Professor Graeme Clark AC, the pioneer of one of Australia’s greatest bioengineering achievements, the Bionic Ear (cochlear implant), was inducted into the Pause Awards Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Melbourne on 2 December 2024.

Developed and commercialised during the 1970s and ’80s, Professor Clark’s multi-channel cochlear implant was the first device to allow severely to profoundly deaf people to understand speech and has brought the gift of hearing to deaf children and adults around the world, with the help of industrial partner Cochlear Limited.

“I feel very honoured to have been inducted into the Pause Awards Hall of Fame,” Professor Clark said. “For me, the Pause Awards signify being imaginative and curious on the one hand and taking discoveries through to industrial and commercial development on the other hand.”

The Pause Awards celebrate transformative achievements and creative breakthroughs in Australia’s business landscape, spotlighting individuals who exemplify innovation and the courage to create change.