$4.3 million to support ten new collaborative research projects—including projects that will develop ultrasensitive biosensors, inform strategies for fire and flora management in fire-prone areas, and provide new insights into Australia’s deep Indigenous heritage—will be provided under the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Projects scheme.
ARC Chief Executive Officer, Professor Sue Thomas, said the successful Linkage Projects announced by Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham today, involve significant collaboration.
“The Linkage Projects scheme is defined by its collaboration—these research projects all involve significant partnerships between higher education researchers and other parts of the national innovation system, from governments and community organisations, through to business and industry,” said Professor Thomas.
“Supporting these projects will be 18 partner organisations, who, in addition to ARC funding, will provide a further $7.1 million in cash and in-kind over the duration of the projects.”
The new projects awarded funding today include:
- $645,000 to Professor David Lindenmayer at The Australian National University, who will work with the Department of Defence and Parks Australia to look at strategies for fire and flora management in Australian fire-prone ecosystems.
- $215,480 to Professor Andrew Martin at The University of New South Wales, who will collaborate with The Council of the King’s School to develop new generation advances in science motivation and engagement.
- $662,432 to Professor Kirill Alexandrov from The University of Queensland, who will collaborate with Molecular Warehouse Pty Ltd to develop ultrasensitive biosensors to collect physiological and environmental information rapidly and at low cost, outside of specialised laboratories.
- $880,000 to Professor Andrew Gleadow from The University of Melbourne who will collaborate with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and others to develop a robust time scale for the known aboriginal rock art sequence in the Kimberley, Western Australia.
- $490,000 to Professor Lorenzo Faraone from The University of Western Australia, who will work with Aselsan A.S. to develop high-performance, lower cost infrared sensors with application in industry sectors such as defence, environmental monitoring and medical imaging.
From 1 July 2016, the ARC commenced accepting proposals under the Linkage Projects scheme on a continuous basis—a significant move away from the previous ‘one round per year’ approach, with successful grants announced on a continuing basis throughout the year.
More details about the Linkage Projects announced today are available from the ARC website.