The Australian National University (ANU) has honoured its top performers for 2018 at the 2018 Vice-Chancellor's annual Awards Gala Dinner, naming Emeritus Professor Frank Jackson AO the recipient of the 2018 Peter Baume Award, the highest accolade for ANU staff.

Emeritus Professor Jackson is an influential philosopher who's highly cited work has been the inspiration for a British documentary and appears as a central theme in David Lodge's novel Thinks.

ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt AC said Emeritus Professor Jackson had made an outstanding contribution to his field.

"Professor Jackson is a leader in his field and an amazing role model for the many up and coming researchers at ANU, particularly those in the highly regarded School of Philosophy," Professor Schmidt said.

"I congratulate Professor Jackson on this well deserved recognition for his outstanding contribution to ANU over more than three decades."

Emeritus Professor Jackson said it was a great honour to be recognised by the University where he has spent more than 30 years of his career.

"I'm delighted, surprised and honoured," he said.

"I am enormously appreciative of the support that the philosophers at ANU and the University itself has given me throughout my career,

"The ANU is a great place to be a researcher, I was delighted when I got the job in 1986 and I'm delighted to still be here as an Emeritus Professor in 'pretend retirement'."

Professor Jackson said philosophy at ANU was on the rise and encouraged young students thinking about their future studies to explore what philosophy has to offer.

"Philosophy at the ANU has a lot of momentum, there are lots of very high quality graduate students and researchers," he said.

Emeritus Professor Jackson served as Director of the ANU Research School of Social Sciences from 2004 to 2007, and as Director of the ANU Institute of Advanced Studies from 1998 to 2001. Professor Jackson was appointed as Distinguished Professor at ANU in 2003 and became Emeritus Professor in 2014.

The Peter Baume Award is named after former ANU Chancellor, Professor the Hon. Peter Baume AC.