UNSW will receive just on $11.5 million in Linkage Grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the highest level of funding for any university in the country, it was announced today.
UNSW will receive just on $11.5 million in Linkage Grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the highest level of funding for any university in the country, it was announced today.
The ARC has awarded UNSW $11,410,443 to support 22 projects, well ahead of any other university. This represents some 18 per cent of the $63 million worth of Linkage Grants awarded nationwide.
The grants to UNSW bring with them contributions from industry partners of an additional $21 million.
UNSW receives four grants that attract funding of more than $1 million each. The largest, worth $1.6 million over six years, goes to a team led by Professor Martin Green from the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, for a project targeting a new generation of low cost silicon solar cells that will significantly reduce the costs of generating electricity from sunlight. The collaborating organisation is CSG Solar Pty Ltd.
A grant of close to $1.3m over five years goes to a team including four academics from the Australian School of Business, plus international collaborators. Led by Professor Michael Sherris from Actuarial Studies, the researchers will work on a project on managing risk with insurance and superannuation. The partner organisations for this research are the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority, PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia and the World Bank.
Researchers led by Professor Rick Cavicchioli from the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, in the Faculty of Science, are awarded $1.1 million over four years for work on improving the sustainability of Australia's water resources through diagnosing and treating foulants on water recycling membrane filters. The partner organisation is Aeris Technologies Ltd.
A team led by Professor Aibing Yu from the School of Material Science and Engineering in the Faculty of Science leads a team that will receive $1.06 million for multi-scale modeling related to blast furnace ironmaking, a key operation in the steel industry. A major aim of the project is to reduce the environmental impact of the operation.
"This is a great result for UNSW", says Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Les Field. "It shows UNSW as the national leader in engaging with industry, government, and the community to find real solutions to real problems.
"It also builds on a number of major successes for the University in the research area in recent months, including the three Federation Fellowships awarded to UNSW academics in April - the largest number of these prestigious fellowships to be awarded for 2008 to any Australian research institution," says Professor Field.