Nine outstanding Australian researchers have been awarded John Stocker Postdoctoral Fellowships and Postgraduate Scholarships that will allow them to continue to conduct advanced research in their respective areas.

 

The recipients, who represent fields in areas as diverse as computer engineering, astrophysics, mining exploration and mathematics, were awarded the endowments by Minister for Innovation Senator Kim Carr under the Science and Industry Endowment Fund (SIEF).

 

Professor Stephen Hanly, a Cambridge University PhD in mathematics with broad research experience in computer engineering, was named as the inaugural CSIRO-Macquarie University Chair in Wireless Communications. The Chair position is an initiative of the Science and Industry Endowment Fund which will see Professor Hanly’s research funded for seven years with a $2 million grant.

 

Currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore, Professor Hanly will take up his appointment at Macquarie University in January 2012.

 

The recipients are as follows:

 

SIEF John Stocker Postdoctoral Fellowships – 2011

 

Candidate

Project Title

Location

Dr Navid Nourani

Image-based automated macrobenthic species identification, counting and sizing

University of Sydney

Dr Robert Thorne

Biological origin of Fe pisoliths - success in mineral exploration and clues to life on Mars

CSIRO

Dr Caroline Bull

The interactive impact of psychological stress and malnutrition on genome stability and telomere integrity

CSIRO

Dr BiQing For

The interaction of the Magellanic clouds with the Milky Way

University of Western Australia

Dr Hannah Lomas

A paradigm shift in desalination membrane technology

University of Melbourne

Dr Kaikai Shen

Genetic influences on brain functional and structural connectivity

CSIRO

 

 

 

SIEF John Stocker Postgraduate Scholarships – 2011

 

Candidate

Project Title

Location

Mr Vikram Ravi

Probing galaxy formation by searching for gravitational wave signals

University of Melbourne

Mr Aaron Song

 

Functional conjugated polymers

 

University of Melbourne

Mr Ashley Jones

Non-coding RNAs in the epigenetic regulation of seed development

Australian National University

 

 

More information on the Science and Industry Endowment Fund can be found here