I was inducted as a Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences (QAAS) in 2023. The Academy promotes excellence in the arts and sciences, stimulates activity in those areas that lie at the intersection between disciplines, and provides independent scholarship and advice for social and public policy. Fellowship recognises a candidate’s eminence in the arts or sciences or both and/or their significant contributions to the arts and/or sciences as a practitioner.
I was named a Distinguished Member of the international Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for outstanding scientific contributions to the field of computing. Distinguished members are nominated and selected by their peers for a significant level of accomplishment and impact in the field of computing. I was among 63 members worldwide who were honoured this year, and the only one in Australia. I am the first academic at QUT to receive the honour.
I currently serve a three year term on the Australian Research Council’s College of Experts. To support the advancement of knowledge and contribute to national innovation, the ARC engages an ARC College of Experts to play a key role in identifying research excellence. Its members are experts of international standing drawn from the Australian research community: from higher education, industry and public sector research organisations.
The Rapid Analytics Interactive Scenario Explorer (RAISE) Toolkit co-designed by UNSW, QUT Design Lab, Omnilink and FrontierSI received the 2020 NSW award and also the 2021 National Award for Cutting Edge Research and Teaching by the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) in recognition of an outstanding achievement in planning research. It is awarded for a substantial piece of research that makes an outstanding contribution to the understanding of issues relating to planning in Australia. The award seeks to recognise work that extends planning debate with an evidence basis.
Australia’s annual Good Design Awards program is one of the oldest and most prestigious international design awards in the world, promoting excellence in design and innovation since 1958. It is recognised by the World Design Organization (WDO) as Australia’s peak international design endorsement program. In 2020, the QUT BeefLedger project was recognised as a Good Design Australia Award Winner in the commercial services category, and the BeefLegends community engagement component won a Good Design Australia Award in the design strategy category.
The Publons Peer Review Awards honour the top 1% of reviewers in each field who performed the most verified pre-publication peer reviews on Publons during the 2017 / 2018 award year.
The Australian Computer Society (ACS) made me a Fellow for “a sustained and distinguished contribution to the field of computer science. Foth is the international thought leader who coined the term urban informatics – now adopted by universities and industry worldwide. Foth’s work makes clear how academic research can successfully respond to societal challenges.”
The Distinguished Speakers Program is an outreach program of ACM that brings distinguished speakers from academia, industry, and government together to give presentations to ACM chapters, members, and the greater IT community in a variety of venues and formats.
Nominated by the Smart Cities Council Australia / New Zealand, I was shortlisted and won the Gold Disruptor Award in the ICT Researcher of the Year category of the ACS Digital Disruptors Awards 2017. The awards honour the efforts of Australia’s ICT professionals, recognising the teams and individuals at the forefront of digital disruption.
I received a Young Tall Poppy Science Award 2013 by the Australian Institute of Policy & Science (AIPS) recognising Queensland’s best scientists, combining world-class research with a passionate commitment to communicating science.
In addition to previous QUT Vice-Chancellor’s Performance Awards in 2007 and 2008 for my research work “in recognition of a significant and superior contribution to the work of the University,” I received a team-based VC Performance Award in 2012 for the outstanding research performance of the Urban Informatics Research Lab under my direction and leadership.
For Discussions in Space, my lab has been recognised twice as the AIIA 2012 iAwards Queensland State and National Merit Recipient in the Research & Development category. Developed by my PhD student (and later DECRA Fellow) Dr Ronald Schroeter, Discussions in Space is a hybrid mobile phone and public screen application that allows passersby to contribute content via SMS or tweets. Developed as part of my ARC Linkage LP0776341 with Brisbane City Council, it has now been used successfully in a variety of other contexts. In collaboration with Federation Square Melbourne, it forms part of their regular programming of their iconic big screen and engages with visitors during events such as Oprah’s visit, New Year’s Eve, Cadel Evans’ 2011 Tour de France victory parade, and the Queen’s Royal Visit.
In 2011, I was inducted by the planning, design and development site Planetizen to the world’s top 25 leading thinkers and innovators in the field of urban planning and technology.