Industry-linked projects receive peak body funding

These innovative research projects aimed at solving real-world problems have been awarded funding under the latest round of Australian Research Councils Linkage grants.

Professor Duncan Ivison, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) congratulated the research groups saying “Our world-class researchers are committed to working closely with industry and community to find novel ways of translating their work into practical solutions through partnerships with industry.”

Professor Robyn McConchie from the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment received a $2.2M Industrial Transformation Training Centres grant and will work closely with multiple industry partners in the creation of the ARC Training Centre in Food Safety in the Fresh Produce Industry.

The centre’s aim is to create an innovation platform of food safety researchers and industry personnel who can significantly advance the safety of fruit and vegetables in Australia.

Other project leaders to be awarded grants include:

• Professor Albert Zomaya    partnering with Jemena Electricity Networks (VIC) Ltd to design, implement, and integrate solutions to manage resources in cloud data centres (CDCs)
• Professor Alan Fekete will work with Mongodb Australian Pty Ltd on research outcomes that allow developers and database administrators to predict how systems will behave in conditions difficult to simulate directly 
• Professor Dagan Feng  together with Royal Prince Alfred Hospital researchers will develop methods of extracting  disease patterns from medical imaging data, using deep learning, smart image processing, machine learning and statistical modelling to quantify and model patterns
• Associate Professor Vincent Gomes  will continue his work on a non-toxic and non-invasive method to monitor the progress of tissue regeneration and wound healing with the company Evonik Industries Ag
• Professor Seok-Hee Hong’s project will design, implement and evaluate visualisation methods for massive multivariate network data sets in collaboration with Oracle Corporation Australia Pty Ltd
• Dr Laurence Macia is working with Pfizer Inc, US to understand the role of macronutrients on gut homeostasis and its relation to a broad range of inflammatory diseases, including type 1 diabetes and asthma
• Professor Linda Barwick  will work with the Warlpiri Media Association and Kurra Aboriginal Corporation  to understand the reasons behind the reported decline in knowledge of songs among younger generations at Yuendumu in the past 40-50 years
• Dr Thomas Balle  aims to alleviate neuropathic pain by developing drugs and good tool molecules targeting GABA-A receptors and will work with Synthesis Research Pty Ltd and Saniona A/S
• Professor Marcela Bilek is partnering with Velus A/S and Viridian Glass to develop large vacuum insulated windows with higher insulation performance than triple glazing
• Dr Helena Nguyen   with numerous healthcare and hospital partners will investigate how silence emerges in teams, what sustains it, and how it affects error and safety outcomes
• Professor Robert Slonim  working with the Sydney Opera House Trust to understand customers’ philanthropic motives within the customer-organisation relationship
• Associate Professor Daniela Traini will develop nano-particulate systems based on a single platform technology that can be delivered as an aerosol with the Aradigm Corporation.

The ARC Linkage Projects scheme provides funding to support research and development collaborations between university researchers, industry and other research end-users. The scheme also provides opportunities for internationally competitive research projects to be conducted in collaboration with organisations outside the higher education sector, targeting those who have demonstrated a clear commitment to high-quality research.