The University of Newcastle now ranks eighth in Australia for the highly competitive Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project grants thanks to its strong partnerships with industry.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Mike Calford, said the University had more than doubled its share of the national funding allocation for Linkage Project grants.

“Linkage Project grants are essential in securing important research collaborations for industry-oriented research and training, and applied outcomes. In just one year Newcastle has jumped from 11th to eighth place, demonstrating the strength and importance of our industry partnerships.

“I congratulate all research teams in securing ARC funding and I commend them for their ongoing work in partnering with industries of importance to regional Australia.”

Today’s funding announcement from the ARC comprises $6.7 million for Discovery Projects, $2.4 million for Linkage Projects and $900,000 for Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities funding.

In total, the University has been awarded $10 million for 33 projects across a diverse range of fields including sociology, health, humanities, mathematics, engineering, psychology and science.

Professor Jenny Gore and colleagues will receive $634,880 for a study designed to inform intervention programs for school students in the middle years (aged 10-14) to help achieve greater participation in schooling and higher education for children from low socio-economic status backgrounds.

The project will examine the complex relationships among factors that shape the career and educational aspirations of students across the Hunter, Central Coast, North Coast and Northern Sydney regions.

Professor Robert Antonia, Associate Professor Lyazid Djenidi and colleagues have been awarded grants totalling $895,000 for two projects in the field of interdisciplinary engineering. One project aims to gain a better understanding of turbulence, leading to more efficient combustion, energy savings and a reduction in emissions. The other will study turbulent flows over rough walls.

Other Newcastle projects announced by the ARC today included:

• $387,000 to Dr Frini Karayanidis and colleagues to examine how the brain adapts to novelty and change in the context of the unpredictability of the world
• $380,000 to Dr Rob Atkin and colleagues to develop ways to better use ionic liquids in electrochemical devices such as capacitors
• $330,000 to Professor Keith Jones to help better understand the control of chromosome division during female meiosis
• $260,000 to Dr David Luban and colleagues to design a school-based program to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour in adolescent boys from disadvantaged backgrounds

Visit www.newcastle.edu.au/news/2011/11/01/australian-research-council-grants.html for a full list of grant recipients.

Visit the Australian Research Council website www.arc.gov.au/