Ethan Butson is a scientist, not a cover model.
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So it was a shock to the Mangerton science whiz when he received a call confirming his photo would appear on the 2015 Wollongong Yellow Pages and White Pages phone books.
"I was really surprised when I got that nomination call. I was dumbstruck for a few days," the 19-year-old said.
"Then when I got the call [to say he would appear on the cover] it was actually quite humbling that people had acknowledged me and thought that I had done really good work."
The teen has made a name for himself in recent years, collecting numerous awards for inventions that use technology to help humanity.
Among them is the SMART (stroke management with augmented reality technology) system, a camera-based device that helps people overcome stroke and vision impairment, and a device that reduces the effects of skin burning associated with radiotherapy. He has also been named NSW and Australian young scientist of the year.
Despite the various accolades and growing number of media appearances, the budding inventor joked that he "is a scientist, not a cover model" and not used to seeing his face on the front of the phone book.
However, the reluctant cover boy, who is studying advanced science at Sydney University, said he hoped the exposure might help spark more interest in his work.
"A lot of my work is at a prototype stage, so to get it out there in the community it needs one extra step to get it commercialised," he said.
"Any extra level of interest because of [the phone book cover] will be a great help."