UQ tops the nation in ARC Linkage-Project grants

The University of Queensland has topped the nation in total projected funding for the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage-Projects scheme for 2002.

A total of $8.91 million in projected funding has been awarded to UQ for the industry-collaborated projects, $1.5 million more than its nearest counterpart, the University of New South Wales.

The grants, which were recently announced by Federal Education Minister Dr David Kemp, are part of a $294 million package for 1284 new research projects starting in 2002.

“This is an outstanding result for the University which further affirms the relevance of our research to our industry collaborators,” Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hay said.

“Of the 462 Linkage-Project grants awarded to Australian universities, 35 were made available to UQ researchers. This is the second highest number of grants awarded to any institution.”

Aside from the ARC funding, industry collaborators will contribute a further $12.95 million to the UQ projects.

“The diversity of UQ research areas was recognised in the Linkage-Project scheme, including psychology, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, metallurgy, aerospace engineering, pharmacology, ecology, social work and veterinary sciences,” Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Siddle said.

* The recently established Pyrometallurgy Research Centre (PYROSEARCH) in UQ’s School of Engineering secured the largest overall Linkage-Project grant.

The team, under the supervision of PYROSEARCH Director Associate Professor Peter Hayes and Research Director Dr Evgueni Jak, were awarded a 5-year grant worth $299,000 in the first year (2002) and a total of $1,379,000.

Research into the health of the Great Barrier Reef and Moreton Bay also attracted substantial funding with a five-year Linkage-Project grant valued at $887,000.

* UQ was also awarded six 2002 Linkage-Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) grants, valued at $2.45 million in collaboration with researchers from other institutions and industry partners, who will contribute an additional $2.72 million.

Along with Monash University, this was the equal highest number of LIEF grants to be awarded to any Australian university.

UQ’s < a href="http://www.imb.uq.edu.au/">Institute of Molecular Bioscience was awarded the largest single LIEF grant of $735,000 for the establishment of a Queensland proteomics research facility.

* The University also performed well in the Linkage-International category where it obtained two International Fellowships worth a total of $111,144.

* Thirty-two Australian Postgraduate Awards (Industry) were also made available for UQ students to undertake a research higher degree in collaboration with an industry partner.

Media: For further information, contact Joanne van Zeeland at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2619).