The University of Queensland has again topped the nation’s universities in funding for Round 2 of the Australian Research Council’s 2004 Linkage Projects announced today (June 28).
UQ`s ARC Linkage Projects for the round are worth $19.4 million, made up of $7.4 million in ARC funding, and $12 million in industry partner contributions.
This is on top of $19 million which UQ attracted in the first round of ARC Linkage Projects funding for 2004, making a total of $38.4 million for ARC Linkage Projects funding for this year.
“I’m absolutely delighted with the 75 percent success rate of our researchers in attracting 24 projects in this latest round,” said Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor David Siddle.
“UQ has attracted funding for 57 projects over the two rounds, and our $38.4 million funding is well ahead of the next highest amount attracted by a competitor university of $22 million,” he said.
“This is a truly outstanding result and affirms UQ as the leading University in terms of industry interactions.”
Eleven of the 24 grants in the latest round were won by the University’s Engineering, Physical Sciences and Architecture Faculty.
Grants to UQ included:
• Professor Jean-Paul Franzidis of UQ’s Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre at Indooroopilly, and colleagues have been awarded $1.75 million for a project to improve understanding of froth flotation, one of the most important processes in the recovery of valuable minerals for ore.
The project aims to develop a computer model that will predict flotation response. The model will be validated on full-scale flotation plants in Australian mineral processing operations. The industry partner is the Australian Mineral Industries Research Association (AMIRA) International.
• Professor Stuart Crozier of the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, and colleagues, have attracted $1.3 million funding for a project using magnetic resonance imaging technology for orthopoedic imaging. The project is expected to lead to better technology for imaging joints under loaded movement, and consequently, improve understanding of joint function and disease. This technology will provide unique ability in Australia and brings together highly skilled groups in biomedical engineering, medical equipment manufacturing and design and musculo-skeletal imaging. Industry partners are Sothernex imaging group Ltd and Siemens Medical Solutions Pty Ltd.
Other funded projects attracted by UQ researchers include:
• The causes and consequences of marital separation and divorce in Australia;
• Catalytic conversion of waste plastics to hydrocarbon fuels;
• Efficient organelle transformation;
• Internet companies and consumer behaviour;
• The link between environmental stress and disease onset in prawn aquaculture;
• Nano-scale catalyst systems for hydrogen generation for fuel cells;
• Stability analysis and control for large-scale power systems;
• How Shakespeare has been spoken and staged in Australia 1910-2003;
• Combining molecular plant physiology and breeding to improve canola performance in dry environments;
• Identifying models of personal and community resilience that enhance psychological wellness: a Stanthorpe study;
• The preservation and management of koala genetic diversity using reproductive biotechnology and molecular genetics;
• Groundwater dynamics at the ocean-aquifer interface;
• An ecological genomics approach to understanding host-parasite interactions;
• Life cycle measures of cost effectiveness for 4D CAD in design and construct projects;
• Development of a new diet to improve insulin sensitivity and manage weight in healthy cats;
• Investigating demand diversity and appropriate new generation entry into electricity market simulation tools;
• Metal injection moulding of aluminium.
• An integrated environment for verification of large-scale railway interlockings;
• Training for critical thinking and decision making under stress associated with workplace accidents;
• Mineral physics and crystal chemistry of Ni-Co-Laterite deposits.
• Interactions between young people and the police; and
• Environmental toxicology of marine turtles in the South Pacific region.
Media: For further information contact Jan King at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 1120 ).
