Shaun Johnstone, who passed away in December 2019, was a FLEET Research Fellow working with Prof Kristian Helmerson at Monash University. Honouring Shaun’s brilliant contributions to physics, the annual Shaun Johnstone Prize is awarded for the best paper written by a Monash PhD student in experimental physics or astronomy. We remember Shaun’s generosity, both in giving back to his local community and family in Warrandyte, and equally evident in his worklife, for example in his support of the Monash undergrad physics community, optics society and the remarkable number of hours he spent in schools outreach on behalf of Monash and FLEET.