Today, Australian Research Council (ARC) Chief Executive Officer Judi Zielke PSM announced more than $28 million in funding for 35 new research projects under the ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) scheme.
Zielke says that the LIEF scheme is an integral part of the ARC's Linkage Program which supports national and international collaboration and research partnerships between stakeholders in research and innovation, including higher education providers.
"The LIEF scheme provides funding to research collaborations for the acquisition of research equipment and infrastructure allowing Australian researchers to undertake excellent basic and applied research and training," Zielke says.
"This funding ensures Australian researchers have world-class infrastructure to support their transformative research across a wide range of disciplines."
The University of South Australia will receive $530,000 to establish a state-of-the-art atomic force microscopy facility in South Australia. Led by Associate Professor Anton Blencowe, the project aims to deliver eco-friendly resource recovery and energy production, future foods and cures, and advanced (bio)materials.
Other universities that will receive funding include:
The University of Newcastle ($450,000): establishing a state-of-the-art non-invasive imaging facility to study the anatomy of cells, tissues, and organs of animals. This capability will advance the protection of endangered Australian species and the eradication of feral pests.
James Cook University ($350,000): establishing a quarantine glasshouse enabling scientists based in the Australian tropics to develop plant biosecurity research programs addressing plant biosecurity risks from and for Northern Australia.
The University of Queensland ($860,000): to build an open-access cryogenic facility in the only deep underground physics laboratory in the southern hemisphere. This facility will provide extreme shielding from sources of noise, enabling ultra-precise experiments for fundamental science and contribute to advancing manufacturing capabilities.
University of Tasmania ($500,000): establish particle-level sorting capability to capture information about the inner workings of cells and animals in high definition, furthering the study of the impact of ageing and environmental stressors on human, animal and plant biology.
For further information about the infrastructure, equipment and facilities being funded by the ARC through the LIEF scheme, please visit Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) | Australian Research Council
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