Archived News for Research Sector Professionals

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has announced changes to its policy on the dissemination of research findings, requiring  that that any publications arising from an NHMRC supported research project must be deposited into an open access institutional repository within a twelve month period from the date of publication. 

Kangan Institute's Automotive Centre of Excellence in the Docklands, Victoria, has been launched as the largest and most advanced automotive training and research facility in the southern hemisphere following the completion of the $84 million Stage 2 of the training facility.

 La Trobe University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding twith Indian ICT company, HCL Technologies o collaborate in research, development and commercialisation activities. The collaboration will focus on research and development for Intelligent Transport Systems.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and RMIT have announced a breakthrough in energy storage and power generation.

The Federal Government has announced improved indexation arrangements that will inject an extra $367 million over the next four years to assist universities meet the cost of research and training.

Dr Greg Ayers has announced his resignation as the Director of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) following ongoing health issues.

A team of physicists from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has created a working transistor consisting of a single atom placed precisely in a silicon crystal.

The Queensland Government has awarded eight Health Research Fellowships totalling $3.9m  to support the research of Queensland Government workers.

A new report, Science and Research Collaboration between Australia and China has been released which provides a detailed analysis of the growing links between Australia and China.

One of Australia's foremost water policy experts, the University of Adelaide's Professor Mike Young, has been appointed to the Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser Chair of Australian Studies, a visiting professorship at Harvard University.

Mike Young is Professor of Water Economics and Management at the University of Adelaide and was founding Executive Director of the University's Environment Institute.

After three years leading the Environment Institute, Professor Young has stepped down from that role to continue his research, based in the University's Faculty of the Professions.

He will take up his visiting professorship at Harvard in 2013 where he will work in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences for one year.

"Establishing the Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide has been a rewarding experience. I'm now looking forward to focusing on my main research interests - water, climate change and resource management issues," Professor Young says.

"Fresh water is one of the world's scarcest resources. By 2030, the OECD predicts that more than half of the world's population will have experienced water scarcity challenges similar to those experienced by Australians over the last decade.

"Australia is recognised as an international leader in water management. We've made many mistakes but we've learned some valuable lessons as well. We have a lot to offer.

"At Harvard, I'll be aiming to translate the Australian experience in water management into recommendations that are internationally applicable," he says.

Professor Young is a Member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. He was 2008 South Australian of the Year (Environment), is a winner of the Land and Water Australia Eureka Prize for Water Research, received a Centenary Medal for contributions to environmental economics, and established CSIRO's Policy and Economic Research Unit with offices in Adelaide, Canberra and Perth.

Researchers from Swinburne University of Technology and Suntech Power Holdings have developed the world's most efficient broadband nanoplasmonic solar cells.

Victoria will be home to one of Australia’s fastest supercomputers and the world’s greenest supercomputer, the IBM Blue Gene/Q, which will be housed at the Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative (VLSCI) hosted by the University of Melbourne, and is aimed at advancing the study of human disease.

Federal Minister for Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans, will lead an Australian delegation to China and Italy to promote Australia’s bid to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has released a publication Ten of the Best Research Projects 2011, which profiles ten leading research projects undertaken by NHMRC-funded researchers.

Federal Minister for Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans, has addressed the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI), where he reiterated the importance of the mathematical sciences to the future prosperity of the country.

Edith Cowan University (ECU) and Intellectual Ventures (IV®) have signed an agreement under which ECU researchers will create certain new inventions and innovations that IV will invest in and work to commercialise.

The University of Canberra has announced in a statement that it tripled its research income last year.

Winners of Research and Innovation Postgraduate Scholarships through the Northern Territory Research and Innovation Fund have been announced by the NT Minister for Business and Employment, Delia Lawrie.

The Northern Territory Research and Innovation Postgraduate Scholarships annually offer assistance to students who are enrolled in a postgraduate degree and are undertaking research that is aligned to the Northern Territory Government’s research priorities.

Scholarships are drawn from a fund totalling $1.2m over three years held in trust at Charles Darwin University, and used to further the successful applicant’s research — for example, to purchase equipment required for research, or to undertake study-related travel.

“Scholarships are awarded for applicants with outcomes that have potential in solving a problem, addressing an issue of significance, or developing an opportunity in the social, environmental or economic areas,” Ms Lawrie said.

“Applications have increased 400% in the last two years, a testament to the growth of creativity and innovation in Territory students.

Scholarship winners include:

Emma Ligtermoet

Australian National University Australian Capital Territory/Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Darwin

Indigenous use of plain resources; implications for climate change adaptation

Claire Treilibs

Flinders University, South Australia

Population dynamics of the endangered Slater’s Skink, Liopholis slateri

Jenny Molyneux

University of Adelaide, South Australia

Management and special ecology of the brush-tailed mulgara (Dasycercus blythi) in Central Australia

Tjanara Goreng Goreng

University of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

The impact of elders on community development/private enterprise development in the Anangu Pitjanjatjara lands near Uluru Kata Juta National Park

Peter Novak

Charles Darwin University

Ecology and management of Macrobrachium rosenbergii in Northern Australia

Jenny Buckworth

Charles Darwin University:

Effectiveness of various models of preservice teacher placement

Matthew Brien

Charles Darwin University:

Improving survival rates of hatchling saltwater crocodiles to one year

Information on the scholarships, and Northern Territory Government Research Priorities can be found at www.innovation.nt.gov.au.

The Western Australian Science and Innovation Minister John Day has launched three new programs to build industry, science and innovation in Western Australia.