AI innovation protecting biodiversity wins global award for Swinburne researcher

As the world marks International Women’s Day 2026, Swinburne University of Technology is celebrating the achievements of one of our leading women in STEM.

Ts Dr Lee Sue Han, lead researcher in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation at Swinburne’s Sarawak campus, has been named a 2025 Inspiring Women in Science Award winner in the Scientific Achievement category. The award is presented by Nature Awards. Dr Lee is one of the few Malaysian researchers to receive this international honour.

“Being recognised as a winner is deeply meaningful to me, as it affirms the global relevance of AI-driven research in biodiversity conservation and underscores the importance of interdisciplinary approaches connecting technology, ecology and sustainability,” Dr Lee said. 

Her work comes as this year’s International Women’s Day UN Women Australia theme, Balance the Scales, highlights the importance of equality and opportunity for women. International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8, honours the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women while acting as a global call to action for accelerating gender equality. 

“This recognition provides a powerful platform to inspire more women and girls to pursue careers in STEM, and to demonstrate how science and innovation together can drive meaningful environmental change,” Dr Lee said. 

Innovation in AI-driven biodiversity

Dr Lee’s work applies AI, computer vision and pattern recognition to support plant biodiversity and sustainable agriculture. Her team develops models that can identify plant species even in complex environments with limited data, helping to monitor forests, guide conservation decisions and protect ecosystems. 

“This work aims to revolutionise how AI models operate in real-world, data-scarce conditions, paving the way for more scalable and sustainable biodiversity monitoring solutions,” she explained.

Dr Lee is a key contributor to the international Pl@ntNet initiative, which encourages citizen science and large-scale plant documentation. She contributed to the launch of the Malaysia Flora Project, a platform that enables communities to identify and record plant species. The project now serves as a key national reference for plant recognition, while empowering students, researchers and the public to participate in biodiversity monitoring.

Building on this, Dr Lee leads Swinburne’s participation in the Pl@ntAgroEco project, which integrates AI technologies into sustainable agroecology monitoring. The project supports biodiversity-informed agriculture, helping balance food production with ecosystem health. Locally in Malaysia, she collaborates with the Sarawak Forestry Corporation to develop an AI-powered park guiding system, which promotes biodiversity education and enables real-time monitoring of ecosystems.

Dr Lee’s work demonstrates how women in science are shaping the future of technology and research. 

“As a woman in science, I hope this recognition encourages more young women to explore how technology and research can make a lasting difference,” she said. 

“Innovation grows when diverse voices come together to solve real-world challenges.”