UQ leads the way in research excellence

The amazing science of constructing materials atom by atom may seem like science fiction, but researchers at The University of Queensland are getting ever closer to making it science fact.

And that work has been given a huge boost with the announcement of more than $7 million in funding over five years towards an Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre for Functional Nanomaterials to be led by Professor Max Lu from UQ’s School of Engineering.

Professor Lu, a renowned researcher in the field of nanotechnology and ARC Federation Fellow, said the establishment of the new Centre would push the boundaries of nanotechnology even further.

“I’m delighted this Centre was approved,” Professor Lu said.

“Not only will it allow us to grow our research even further but also give a boost to nanotechnology in Australia.”

He said the work of the Centre would build on existing research of those involved, including new forms of sustainable energy that are both efficient and cheap, as well as the incredible potential of biomaterials and engineering tissue for organ replacements.
UQ’s will also be the lead partner in two other ARC Centres Centre for Genome-Phenome Bioinformatics and the ARC Centre for Complex Systems.

Professor Mark Ragan, from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience, will lead the ARC Centre for Genome-Phenome Bioinformatics that received almost $4 million in funding to examine, through advanced computing techniques, how the genome comes to life in the mammalian cell.

The Centre will develop advanced bioinformatic strategies, software and databases, and integrate them with existing tools to produce a prototype of a Visual Cell.

This dynamic 3-D computer model will make it possible to manage and understand large, complex bio-data sets and will help position Australia at the leading edge the bio-based industries of the 21st Century.

“This funding recognises the growing importance of bioinformatics in Australia,” Professor Ragan said.

“And the research itself will eventually allow us to predict how the mammalian genome forms and functions, which will have wide-ranging applications across many areas of science.”

Professor Peter Lindsay, from UQ’s School of Information Technology & Electrical Engineering, will head up the ARC Centre for Complex Systems that received $4.5 million in funding.

The new Centre will conduct world-class basic and applied research on questions fundamental to understanding and managing complex systems.

The research will be based around applications in air traffic control, genetic regulatory networks and the evolution of economic systems and promises fundamental breakthroughs on how such complex systems can be managed and controlled.

UQ was the only Queensland university to receive funding in yesterday’s $47 million announcement and was also the lead partner in more ARC Centres than any other university in the country.

Together with the Centres of Excellence announced late last year, the University is sharing in funding totalling more than $71 million out of the almost $140 million pool.

UQ’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor David Siddle, said he was delighted with the announcement of three additional ARC Centres.

“When combined with our leadership of the Centre of Excellence for Integrative Legume Research, our partnership in four other Centres of Excellence announced last year, and the Special Research Centre in Functional and Applied Genomics, UQ now has an outstanding profile in ARC-funded centres”, Professor Siddle said.

Media: For more information contact Professor Max Lu (telephone 0402 892 799), Professor Mark Ragan (telephone 07 3365 1160), Professor Peter Lindsay (telephone 07 3365 2005) or Andrew Dunne at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2802).