"It's the sheer scale of it," said Lisa Harvey-Smith, who on Wednesday night won the Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Australian Science Research.

"There are no bigger questions than the ones being asked by astronomers. Where do we come from, where are we going and are we alone?"

Dr Harvey-Smith, a CSIRO radio astronomer, is project scientist for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a radio telescope in Western Australia that is allowing scientists to ask fundamental questions about the nature of our universe, including how galaxies are formed.

But as a child in Britain in the 1980s and '90s there were other influences that brought Dr Harvey-Smith to think about the final frontier.

"As a kid, it was BBC TV shows like Tomorrow's World and watching Helen Sharman​ become the first British woman in space that made me wonder what the future would be like," she said

And she said even "a weird, old man" like Patrick Moore presenting The Sky At Night, was a "great role model, even for a girl".

"His passion shone through. People who are clearly knowledgeable about their area are great role models," she said

And few show such passion for astronomy in Australia today than Dr Harvey-Smith. Her Eureka award "recognises her enthusiasm for the project and her capacity to articulate complex science to the general public with an insatiable appetite for all things astronomy".

But what brought her from England to Australia?

"Australia is extremely good at astronomy - radio astronomy in particular," she said. "It's great to be in a country where astronomy is a priority."

Her work on ASKAP is helping to lay the ground for the Square Kilometre Array to come in five years or so. It will be the largest radio telescope in history, spanning two continents [Australia and Africa].

"We will see further, deeper and fainter than we ever have before," Dr Harvey-Smith said. "We will be able to better understand black holes and witness gravitational wave events, not just from those waves but from the light they emit, as well."

The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes were celebrated on Wednesday night at Sydney's Town Hall.

Other winners include University of Wollongong's Gordon Wallace, who has taken the Eureka Prize for Leadership in Innovation and Science.

Professor Wallace's research is in "intelligent polymers" and bionics. Using these "smart plastics" he 3D printed structures that can promote muscle and nerve cell growth and produce artificial muscles around carbon nanotubes.

His earlier research assisted with the development of the well-known cochlear implants. "We learnt that organic materials can interest more effectively with nerve cells," he said.

He has taken this work to develop a $25 millon centre for electromaterials science in Wollongong.

There were 16 prizes awarded representing the very best of Australian science. Australian Museum director Kim McKay said: "These awards represent not only the best in research but also in often overlooked areas, such as mentorship, promotion of research and school science."

A full list of winners can be viewed at the Australian Museum website.