Dr Marie Kawaja and Dr Cameron Muir have both been shortlisted for the Australian Historical Association's 2012 Searle Award. 

The Serle Award is a biennial prize to commemorate the contribution to Australian History of Geoffrey Serle (1922–1998) and is intended to assist early career researchers publish recently completed theses.

Kawaja is a Postdoctoral Fellow at ANU's School of History. Her thesis, 'The Politics and Diplomacy of the Australian Antarctic 1901-1945' accounts the untold history of Australia’s acquisition of Antarctic territory, including the politics, diplomacy, intrigue and Australia’s significant role in the 1959 Antarctic Treaty negotiations.

Muir is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Centre for Environmental History. Muir's environmental history thesis 'Broken Country: Science, Agriculture and the "Unfulfilled Dreams" of Inland Australia, 1880 to Present' examines what happens when a narrow set of values dominates the knowledge of place. 

Also shortlisted for the 2012 Serle Award are:
Bill Garner, 'Land of Camps: The Ephemeral Settlement of Australia' (University of Melbourne)
Agnieszka Sobocinska, 'People's Diplomacy: Australian Travel, Tourism, and Relations with Asia, 1941-2009' (University of Sydney)
David Stoneman, 'The Church Act: The expansion of Christianity of the imposition of moral enlightenement?' (University of New England)