Biography:Corey Tutt

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Corey Tutt

OAM
Corey Tutt
Tutt in 2019
Born
New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
  • Research assistant
  • Director & CEO, DeadlyScience
Known forDeadlyScience founder
2020 NSW Young Australian of the Year
Websitedeadlyscience.org.au

Corey Aden Tutt OAM is an Aboriginal Australian STEM professional, author, social entrepreneur and the founder of DeadlyScience, an initiative that provides STEM resources to remote schools throughout Australia. In 2020 he was named the NSW Young Australian of the Year.

Early life

Tutt grew up in the Illawarra, New South Wales, and is of Kamilaroi heritage.[1][2] He attended Dapto High School,[3] where his favourite subjects were science, agriculture, and history.[4]

In 2011, after a close friend committed suicide, Tutt became a travelling alpaca shearer throughout Australia and New Zealand, before eventually rediscovering his love for science.[5]

Career

Tutt at the 2023 NSW Premier's Literary Awards

Tutt began his career as a zookeeper on the NSW South Coast,[6] then spent time as an alpaca shearer travelling throughout Australia and New Zealand.[5]

In 2018, Tutt founded DeadlyScience to "provide science books and early reading material to remote schools in Australia".[7]

In 2019, he started working as a research assistant at the University of Sydney's Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use.[8][9]

In 2022, Tutt authored the award-winning best seller, The First Scientists: Deadly Inventions and Innovations from Australia's First Peoples,[10][11] illustrated by Archibald Prize-winning artist Blak Douglas.[12]

In 2023 Tutt arranged for seven Yorta Yorta students from Shepparton in Victoria to meet seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton.[citation needed]

In June 2023, Tutt released This Book Thinks Ya Deadly, featuring the profiles of 80 Blakfellas who are doing deadly things across sport, art, activism and science, through to politics, education and literature. The book is illustrated by Molly Hunt.[13]

Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles, illustrated by Ben Williams, was published in 2025.[14]

DeadlyScience

Tutt founded DeadlyScience while working at Sydney University. Originally working two jobs to fund DeadlyScience, he set up a gofundme page that attracted over A$240,000 in donations,[15] after realising that there was a school in remote Australia who had only fifteen books in their library.[16] Starting off by sending his own books and other resources, including telescopes to remote schools, Tutt started coordinating donated resources, including books from high-profile scientists such as Brian Cox and Karl Kruszelnicki. By 2020 he had delivered 7,000 books and 200 telescopes to over 100 schools and foundations. He wants to encourage Indigenous students in remote communities to pursue a career in STEM.[17]

He particularly wants to ensure that every remote Australian school has resources that tell the true history of Australia's first scientists, such as Bruce Pascoe's book, Dark Emu.[18]

From 2019, Tutt founded a series of Deadly Junior Scientist Awards, aimed at inspiring Indigenous students to engage with STEM and to examine local wildlife and land in a scientific way.[19][18]

In 2020, DeadlyScience began assisting with rebuilding schools affected by devastating bush fires which ravaged most of the South Coast of New South Wales. They did this by providing books and resources to schools that have been destroyed by fire. DeadlyScience also successfully raised A$7,000 for Broome Primary School in Western Australia that was burnt down by an arson attack. Tutt said on the ABC Nightlife program "Schools are the heartbeat of our community and for our community in Broome we stand with you during this dark time". In 2020 he was awarded NSW Young Australian of the Year.[18][20][8]

In 2021 Tutt led a project to provide food and educational supplies to Aboriginal families in NSW struggling with COVID-19. During the floods on the Mid-north coast of NSW in 2021, when Telegraph Point Public School was destroyed by flooding, Tutt donated books to replace the books lost by the school.[21]


Tutt appeared on Wil Anderson's podcast Wilosphy, in which he spoke about overcoming trauma as a child to create DeadlyScience.[22]

By October 2021, DeadlyScience had distributed more than 25,000 books and other STEM resources to over 110 communities around the country.[23]

In April 2022 Tutt worked with McLaren Formula One team and software company Smartsheet to feature the DeadlyScience logo on the side of both McLaren cars for the Grand Prix in Melbourne.[citation needed]

In 2022 DeadlyScience donated Lego to over 200 schools across Australia.[citation needed]

In November 2022 Tutt organised a bus for Cabbage Tree Island School after the devastating floods that destroyed their school. Tutt also gave every child, from three schools devastated by the floods, a brand new book so they would not lose their passions for STEM.[citation needed]

Other roles and activities

Tutt is a member of the equity and diversity committee at Science & Technology Australia.[3]

As of 2021, Tutt was playing rugby union for the Port Macquarie Pirates.[24]

Recognition and awards

  • 2019: AMP Foundation Tomorrow Maker[25]
  • 2019: STEM Champion Award, in the 2019 Indigenous STEM Awards[19][26]
  • 2020: ABC Trailblazer Heywire[17]
  • 2020: Indigenous STEM Champion CSIRO[27]
  • 2020: NSW Young Australian of the Year[18][28]
  • 2020: One of ten Human Rights Heroes at the substitute Human Rights Awards[29][30]
  • 2021: The Australian Museum's Eureka Prize for STEM Inclusion, with Team DeadlyScience:[31][23]
  • 2022: Finalist, NSW/ACT Indigenous Achievement Award[32]
  • 2022: Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)[33][28]
  • 2022: The First Scientists: Deadly Inventions and Innovations from Australia's First Peoples, winner, Book of the Year for Younger Children at the Australian Book Industry Awards[34][35][36]
  • 2023: The First Scientists: Deadly Inventions and Innovations from Australia's First Peoples, winner, Children's Book of the Year[10] and shortlisted for the Indigenous writers' prize, both at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards[11]
  • 2026: Shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Prize for Children's Literature for Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles[37]
  • 2026: Shortlisted for the Children's Book of the Year Award: Edith Pownall Award for Caution! This Book Contains Deadly Reptiles[38]

References

  1. ↑ Snowden, Angelica (16 January 2020). "How toilets in space hit a chord for Corey". https://www.theaustralian.com.au/science/corey-tutt-how-toilets-in-space-hit-scientific-chord/news-story/9266468b074f56d5d543e939e796ea42. 
  2. ↑ "One person's passion for learning is supporting countless others in remote parts of Australia" (in en-AU). https://education.abc.net.au/newsandarticles/blog/-/b/3169667. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Crabb, Brendan (2019-11-05). "Former Dapto High student wins NSW Young Australian of the Year award" (in en). https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/6476836/former-dapto-high-student-wins-nsw-young-australian-of-the-year-award/. 
  4. ↑ "Deadly Science founder" (in en-AU). https://careerswithstem.com.au/profiles/corey-tutt-deadly-science/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The Year That Made Me: Corey Tutt 2011" (Audio). 15 March 2020. https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/sundayextra/the-year-that-made-me-corey-tutt/12046188. 
  6. ↑ "Corey Tutt - The Power of Deadly Science" (in en-AU). https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/podcast/corey-tutt-the-power-of-deadly-science/. 
  7. ↑ "About Us" (in en-AU). https://deadlyscience.org.au/about-us/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Revealed: the Australians who inspired you". 21 January 2020. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/the-australians-australian-of-the-year-award-2020-full-list-of-nominees/news-story/f431de81f52dfc25fe32f190434360c4. 
  9. ↑ "Meet the man on a mission to bring science to Indigenous students". 15 May 2019. https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2019/05/15/meet-the-man-on-a-mission-to-bring-science-to-indigenous-student.html. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Dow, Steve (2023-05-22). "'Significantly shocking': debut author Debra Dank breaks records at NSW premier's literary awards" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/22/significantly-shocking-debut-author-debra-dank-breaks-records-at-nsw-premiers-literary-awards. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "NSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2023 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 2023-03-02. https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2023/03/02/227642/nsw-premiers-literary-awards-2023-shortlists-announced/. 
  12. ↑ Story, Hannah (2023-05-22). "Debut author scoops $85,000 in literary prizes with memoir" (in en). https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/debut-author-scoops-85-000-in-literary-prizes-with-memoir-20230511-p5d7og.html. 
  13. ↑ CircleSoft. "This Book Thinks Ya Deadly! A Celebration of Blak Excellence" (in en). https://www.megalongbooks.com.au/p/this-book-thinks-ya-deadly-a-celebration-of-blak-excellence. 
  14. ↑ Syron, Mikele (2025-02-25). "'Deadly Reptiles' is using cold-blooded creatures to revive First Nations Language" (in en). https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/deadly-reptiles-is-using-cold-blooded-creatures-to-revive-first-nations-language/4sa8rrz5w. 
  15. ↑ "Corey Tutt named NSW Young Australian of the Year" (in en-AU). https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2019/11/05/corey-tutt-named-nsw-young-australian-of-the-year.html. 
  16. ↑ "Meet the man building libraries in remote communities - by post" (in en). https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/meet-the-man-building-libraries-in-remote-communities-by-post. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "The young Trailblazers making waves in regional Australia". 6 February 2020. https://www.abc.net.au/heywire/heywire-project-trailblazers-abc-2020-winners-announcement/11927574. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 "Australian of the Year Awards". https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/honour-roll/?view=fullView&recipientID=2207. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "2019 Indigenous STEM Awards winners". 7 February 2020. https://www.indigenous.gov.au/news-and-media/stories/2019-indigenous-stem-awards-winners. 
  20. ↑ "'Deadly Science' founder named NSW Young Australian of the Year" (in en). 5 November 2019. https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2019/11/05/deadly-science-founder-named-nsw-young-australian-year. 
  21. ↑ "Tutt inspires future change-makers with Deadly Science". 10 May 2021. https://www.portnews.com.au/story/7245684/tutt-inspires-future-change-makers-with-deadly-science/. 
  22. ↑ "WILOSOPHY with Wil Anderson: WILOSOPHY with Corey Tutt on Apple Podcasts". https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/wilosophy-with-corey-tutt/id951354264?i=1000464640019. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Australian Museum Eureka Prize: Corey Tutt and Team DeadlyScience STEM Inclusion winners for 2021" (Audio + text). 8 October 2021. https://www.abc.net.au/radio/canberra/programs/mornings/eureka-stem-inclusion-winner-corey-tutt-deadlyscience/13576690. 
  24. ↑ Smith, Douglas (26 July 2021). "'Shattered': Aboriginal rugby player allegedly racially abused by spectator". https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/shattered-aboriginal-rugby-player-allegedly-racially-abused-by-spectator/1sqw1ht8b. 
  25. ↑ "Corey Tutt". https://www.ampstomorrowfund.com.au/tomorrow-makers/2019/corey-tutt.html. 
  26. ↑ Johnston, Rae (6 February 2020). "Awards shine a spotlight on Indigenous STEM superstars". https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2020/02/06/awards-shine-spotlight-indigenous-stem-superstars. 
  27. ↑ "2019 Indigenous STEM Awards finalists". https://www.csiro.au/en/Education/Programs/Indigenous-STEM/Programs/AWARDS/Winners-and-Finalists/2019. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Rubbo, Luisa (13 June 2022). "Deadly Science founder Corey Tutt receives Queen's Birthday Honour for service to Indigenous STEM". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-13/deadly-science-founder-corey-tutt-queens-birthday-honour/101142408. 
  29. ↑ "Celebrating the 2020 Human Rights Heroes". https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/celebrating-2020-human-rights-heroes. 
  30. ↑ "Human Rights Heroes Campaign Finalists". 7 December 2020. https://humanrights.gov.au/human-rights-heroes/human-rights-hreroes-campaign-finalists. 
  31. ↑ Smith, Kate (2021-09-02). "2021 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes finalists" (in en). http://australian.museum/get-involved/eureka-prizes/2021-eureka-prizes-finalists/. 
  32. ↑ "Previous Finalists". https://awardsaustralia.com/young-achiever-awards/nsw/previous-finalists/. 
  33. ↑ "Mr Corey Tutt". https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/2011351. 
  34. ↑ "2022 Archives". 20 June 2022. https://abiawards.com.au/year-won/2022/. 
  35. ↑ "2022 ABIA winners announced". 9 June 2022. https://publishers.asn.au/Web/Web/Latest/APANews/20220614_ABIA_Winners_Announced.aspx. 
  36. ↑ "‘Love & Virtue’ wins ABIA book of the year 2022". 10 June 2022. https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2022/06/10/215493/love-virtue-wins-abia-book-of-the-year-2022/. 
  37. ↑ "Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2026 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 2025-12-10. https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2025/12/10/321084/victorian-premiers-literary-awards-2026-shortlists-announced/. 
  38. ↑ "CBCA 2026 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2026-03-31. https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2026/03/31/326807/cbca-2026-shortlist-announced/. 



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