Media Release

Wednesday, 2 October 2002

The University of Adelaide continues to be recognised for the quality of its research, with the University winning more than $10.7 million in the latest funding round from the Australian Research Council (ARC).

In the funding announced today by the ARC, Adelaide will receive:

• $8.25 million in large "Discovery" grants for 36 research projects
• $1.05 million for nine research projects linked to industry partners
• $1.47 million towards four new infrastructure, equipment and facilities based at the University of Adelaide.

At a State level, the University of Adelaide received 36 of the 61 Discovery grants awarded in South Australia. Adelaide continues to outperform for its size, receiving the fourth-largest infrastructure allocation in the country.

"We are very pleased with the continued success of our researchers in securing funding from the Australian Research Council," says the Vice-Chancellor, Professor James McWha.

"Per researcher, the University of Adelaide is among Australia's best- performing research institutions, with our research producing great benefits for the State, the nation and the international community. This latest funding announcement reinforces the University's reputation for quality research, and further demonstrates our commitment to working with industry and other research organisations," he says.

Among the Discovery projects funded at Adelaide are:

• $630,000 over five years for a study of the "plasticity" of the brain and its link to motor control and learning (Physiology)
• $625,000 over five years for a study of the evolution of reptiles and birds (Environmental Biology)
• $342,000 over three years to investigate a new technology for active noise control (Mechanical Engineering)
• $258,000 over three years to examine issues associated with globalisation, sustainable development and the role of the World Trade Organization (Economics)
• $246,000 over five years to investigate changing work/life patterns and preferences among Australians (Social Inquiry)

A major industry project involving the University's School of Chemical Engineering and United Water International Pty Ltd has received $229,000 over three years to investigate the desalting of reclaimed wastewater at Virginia, a major horticultural region in South Australia.

The new facilities to be established at the University of Adelaide with ARC funding are: a facility for molecular evolution and ecology, a high-speed cell sorter and analyser, a supercomputing facility, and a new spectroscope designed to support research of interest to the wine and biotechnology industries.