ANU receives $35 million research funding boost
FollowThe ANU has won more than $35 million in prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) grants for 90 projects, enabling world-class research across the university.
“These grants allow the ANU to build on its strengths and further enhance the University’s reputation as a world-leader in research,” ANU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Margaret Harding said.
“The ARC Discovery Program schemes are not only a key source of much-needed funding, but are highly prestigious grants for researchers and a measure of research quality. We congratulate the research teams on their success today.”
ANU has been awarded 62 Discovery Projects and Two Discovery Indigenous Projects providing funding from three to five years. ANU also secured 23 Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards to support our best and brightest new academic talent for three years.
ANU had the highest success rate of 25.9 per cent for the Discovery Projects scheme, and the best success rate among the Group of Eight Universities for early career researcher awards, at 21.9 per cent.
The two Discovery Indigenous proposals submitted by ANU were both successful, reinforcing Indigenous Studies as a unique strength of ANU.
The main project, to be led by Professor Mick Dodson AM, Director of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies, will research the prevalence of deficit discourse, which frames indigenous identity in a narrative of negativity and deficiency.
Professor Dodson’s project was awarded $456,000 over three years.
Professor Chennupati Jagadish, from the Research School of Physics and Engineering, was awarded two successful projects worth $1.5 million.
The projects aim to develop a new photocatalyst for water splitting, for generating clean hydrogen as a new energy source. He also aims to develop a new class of semi-conductor nanotechnology for high efficiency solar cells, UV LEDs for solid-state lighting, and for water purification.
“I’m absolutely delighted, and I’m grateful for the ARC for this funding which will allow us to be able to do this exciting research,” Professor Jagadish said.
In social policy, Dr Ida Kubiszewski, from the Crawford School of Public Policy, was awarded more than $300,000 to research sustainable wellbeing in Australia, exploring the relationship between social, economic and environmental indicators and subjective wellbeing – all mapped to show local and regional factors.
The ARC also announced three ANU Linkage Infrastructure projects, including almost $1 million to build a new national electron microprobe facility that will be developed in partnership with University of Melbourne, Geoscience Australia, and three other universities.