Murdoch tops WA's share of Commonwealth funding

CULTURAL heritage, mining and agricultural productivity, and animal health were the big winners out of Murdoch University’s success in the latest round of Australian Research Centre (ARC) Linkage Project grants.

Murdoch University topped the nation looking at funding on a per capita basis, receiving 11 grants valued at $2.733 million over five years.

The Commonwealth Government will provide funding of $47.5 million over the next five years through this program, which requires the development of strategic research alliances with industry through joint projects with the aim of applying advanced knowledge to problems or providing opportunities to obtain national economic or social benefits.

“Ranking sixth out of 38 universities nationally, with 42 per cent of applications successful, is an exceptional achievement and testimony to the strong industry links the University has built,” Murdoch University Vice Chancellor, Professor John Yovich said.

“The breadth of our success across the academic disciplines of the University also highlights the research intensive nature of Murdoch’s staff.

” Receiving 5.7 per cent of the total national funding, Murdoch University has a rosy future in research, and will continue to provide valuable solutions for Western Australia’s mining, agricultural and biotechnology industries, and to make major contributions to preserving the State’s environmental and cultural richness.

Murdoch’s Australian Research Centre Linkage Project grants:

• Creating an historical mosaic of the central heritage area of Fremantle from settlement until the present day, which will be produced as a scholarly work and in an interactive documentary form. ($195,000)
• Protecting WA’s eucalypt plantation industry from exotic diseases ($84,000)
• Helping WA’s sandalwood industry (worth $12 million in export income annually) to grow new trees through boosting populations of endangered native rat-kangaroos that store the seeds of the trees. ($84,099)
• Developing vaccines to control swine dysentery (pigs) and intestinal spirochaetosis (pigs and chickens). Both infections are major issues in animal health, for which there are currently no effective vaccines available. ($690,000)
• Investigating ways to reduce the impact of Alternaria disease, which is potentially a major issue for Paulownia plantation managers in WA. ($160,000)
• Finding ways to help environmental managers and community groups to effectively restore urban bushland remnants. ($340,000)
• Developing teaching methods to enhance the use of information and communication technologies in early childhood learning. ($150,000)
• Investigating new ways for Australia’s alumnia industry (worth $6 billion annually in exports) to remain competitive through increasing productivity, minimizing energy and cutting Greenhouse emissions. ($320,000)
• Designing better anodes, which will have major impact on the energy consumption of industry. ($69,099)
• Developing new treatments for Cryptosporidium and trypanosome parasites, which have an impact on the health,survival and economic development of millions of people worldwide. ($310,000)
• Development of a vaccine against fleas. ($240,000)