Almost two decades after pioneering high-speed wireless now used by almost a billion people each day, John O'Sullivan has won one of Australia's top science gongs.

The CSIRO scientist was awarded the prestigious Prime Minister's Prize for Science for 2009 for his WiFi technology now found in millions of laptops, printers, wireless access devices and even Nintendo's Wii.

One of Australia's most significant scientific breakthroughs, Dr O'Sullivan and his team found a way to speed up wireless networks in 1992 - a problem that had previously stumped international scientists.

The idea has since generated a massive windfall for the CSIRO to the tune of $205 million and counting.

Dr O'Sullivan was given $300,000 at a gala event in Canberra on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the award recognised Dr O'Sullivan's major contribution to astronomy as well as his groundbreaking Wifi technology.

"While looking for exploding black holes Dr O'Sullivan created a technology that cleaned up intergalactic radio waves," Mr Rudd said.

"Then in 1992, he and his colleagues at CSIRO realised that the same technology was the key to fast reliable wireless networking in the office and home.

"Their patented invention is now built into international standards and into computers, printers, smart phones and other devices used by hundreds of millions of people every day.

Mr Rudd called it one of the most significant achievements in CSIRO's 83-year history and said it illustrated how scientific research can be turned into real and practical solutions.

Dr O'Sullivan and the CSIRO team beat 22 international labs to solve the "multipath" problem - or the interference caused by reflected radio waves which slows down network speeds.

They found a way to accelerate them by splitting radio channels apart, essentially turning a one-lane road into a super highway and making wireless about five times faster.

But recognition has been a long time coming.

The CSIRO was forced to wage a long-running legal battle against big computer companies such as Microsoft for using the technology for free.

Out-of-court settlements and lucrative licensing deals have given the CSIRO one of its best performing inventions, from which it is contributing $150 million back into science research.

Dr O'Sullivan said the idea was born out of a need to "cut the wires".

"And to cut the wires, we needed to make it as fast as the wires," he told AAP.

Seeing the technology in use in millions of devices around the globe, "I can't help but feel proud," he said.

"Even though we thought it had huge potential, I'm just blown away with how many applications there are now."

Among the other winners, Michael Cowley took out the Science Minister's Prize for Life Scientist of the Year for breaking the link between fat and diabetes, while Amanda Barnard was named the Physical Scientist of the Year for her work in nanotechnology.