Prof Guan Yeoh for being selected as one of 58 finalists in the 2026 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes

🎉 Congratulations to Centre Chief Investigator Prof Guan Yeoh for being selected as one of 58 finalists in the 2026 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes for his outstanding contributions in Societal Impact in Science.

A world-first fire-retardant paint is being used to protect homes and communities from fires, thanks to the work of Prof Yeoh and his team of engineers at UNSW.

“Our goal was to reimagine a common household product to better protect homes from fire. We elevated the paint by supercharging it with special additives, and in a eureka moment, it worked,” said Prof Yeoh.

That paint is already being used on homes in Australia, Canada and the United States, and there has been interest in introducing it to Europe.

“When we started, we thought it would be a big achievement to protect even one house from burning down. If we could get a community to adopt it, that would be even better. Now, we’ve sold enough paint to protect thousands of homes across multiple countries, which is incredible,” Prof Yeoh said.

“I feel very honoured and privileged that the Eureka Prizes has recognised this innovation, and that this product is being increasingly used to safeguard homes and help to limit the spread of fires.”

Find out more about the world-first fire-retardant paint here.