The University of Queensland will share in more than $30 million in Federal Government funding for major national research facilities.
Federal Industry, Science and Resources Senator Nick Minchin today announced more than $155 million for 15 projects including three associated with The University of Queensland and its partners.
These were:
o a $14 million upgrade of the capability of the Australian Genome Research Facility (AGRF) and the development of an Australian Genome Program;
o $4.8 million for the Australian Computational Earth Systems Simulator (ACESS); and
o $11.5 million for the establishment of a Nanostructural Analysis Network Organisation (NANO).
UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hay congratulated applicants on their outstanding success and said the facilities were the next logical development in the formation of the so-called Smart State. They would create more jobs and opportunities for Queensland, and enhance its international reputation.
"UQ will host both the successful Queensland proposals (AGRF and ACESS) and is associated with one of the two nodes (NANO) announced today for the State under this program," he said.
"The clustering of state-of-the-art facilities in Queensland further complements key research initiatives such as the $105 million Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), the $60 million Institute in Biomaterials, Bio-engineering and Nano Applications, the Sustainable Minerals Institute and the $40 million Centre of Excellence in Food Science and Technology.
"The $30 million worth of major national research facilities in which UQ will share will ensure the momentum built up over the past few years continues."
Director of the AGRF and Co-director of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience Professor John Mattick said genomic exploration was vitally important to current biological science and medicine, and to the development of biotechnology in Australia.
"The AGRF is one of the most successful and productive existing national research facilities serving research groups in universities, medical research institutes, CSIRO, hospitals, state departments and industry throughout Australia, along with collaborative research projects with organisations in Europe Asia and North America," he said.
"Expanding and upgrading the AGRF's facilities with this funding addresses the rapidly growing demand for DNA sequencing and genotyping, currently almost at full capacity and expected to grow as the impact of the sequencing projects takes hold.
"The planned expansion of AGRF's facilities to more advanced services for genetic analysis, fulfils the proper purpose of a national facility to have its technology base at the cutting edge."
Major partners in NANO are UQ, the universities of Sydney, New South Wales and Western Australia with the University of Melbourne a contributing partner.
According to Associate Professor John Drennan of UQ's Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis (CMM), the Federal funds will purchase four new pieces of equipment for the network including a transmission cryo-electron microscope costing several million dollars to be housed at UQ.
Dr Drennan said scientists from around Australia would have access to the world-class network of equipment, introducing new advanced capabilities for the characterisation and manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular levels.
"Good characterisation is vital to the advancement of nantechnology in this country. Nanotechnology forms the basis of quantum computing, emerging novel chemical systems and drug delivery."
Founded in 1989, the CMM is home to $12 million worth of state-of-the-art equipment accessed by 20 staff for their research. The new microscope will be housed in a specially designed room in the University's $105 million Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) due for completion in 2002.
Director of the Queensland University Advanced Centre for Earthquake Studies (QUAKES) Professor Peter Mora said that the Australian Computational Earth Systems Simulator (ACESS) would provide a computational virtual earth facility serving Australia's national needs.
"It will empower the Australian earth science and industrial communities with a computational virtual laboratory facility with a never before seen capacity that will fuel earth systems science and technology innovations, economic development, hazard management and environment management through the 21st century," he said.
"ACESS will act as an international focal point in earth systems simulations resulting in collaborations with major overseas research programs and extending Australia's world renowned expertise in this field."
Professor Mora said the predictive capability and research provided by ACESS would "fuel scientific breakthroughs, new predictive minerals exploration capabilities and industrial innovations. These will include vastly improved tools for mitigation and prevention of natural and human-induced geohazards, and may potentially lead to a breakthrough in developing earthquake prediction methods," he said.
"There is potential for high-tech spin-offs involving novel mining and materials engineering technologies, for massive economic returns through a vastly more competitive mining and exploration sector, and growth of new markets in mining and simulation software."
ACESS will provide integrated software systems for multi-scale and multi-physics simulations of earth systems, combined with the parallel supercomputer hardware required for 3D simulations.
Media: For more information, contact Professor John Mattick (telephone 07 3365 1805) for the AGRF, Associate Professor John Drennan (telephone 07 3365 6353 or mobile 0401 993 881) for NANO, Professor Peter Mora (telephone 07 3365 2128) for ACESS or Shirley Glaister at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2339).
