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Media Release
$500,000 for Australian Learned Academies
29 January 2007
Research into the solar system, biofuels, nanotechnology, professional development for early-career researchers, humanities infrastructure, and creativity and innovation will each receive a funding boost under the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Linkage Learned Academies Special Projects (LASP) scheme, the Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop, announced today.
“The Australian Government will support six LASP projects beginning in 2007 with funding of $502,000 over three years, averaging $83,667 a project,” Minister Bishop said.
“LASP supports Australian Learned Academies to pursue important programs of research in the natural and applied sciences, technological development and applied technology, the social sciences and the humanities.
“In this round, LASP funding is being provided to four Academies to conduct projects that address the National Research Priority areas Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries ($308,000) and An Environmentally Sustainable Australia ($194,000).”
The ARC funding will support:
- research into the full range of skills required by postdoctoral fellows and early-career researchers to make them highly effective professional researchers, including an understanding of how to protect intellectual property and commercialise research (Australian Academy of Science);
- development and implementation of the first decadal plan for Australian space science through the identification of goals and capabilities to understand our solar system and its effects on life on earth, thereby providing the scientific links from the earth's surface to the distant cosmos (Australian Academy of Science);
- senior energy specialists and nanotechnology researchers to shape the future path of energy research in Australia to, for example, ensure that our high use of fossil fuels for energy generation has a minimal impact on climate change, improve our quality of life and develop new knowledge-based industries to maintain economic growth (Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering);
- senior bioenergy specialists and researchers to develop non-fossil fuel energy systems for transport fuels and strategically position Australia in the sustainable production of biofuels (Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering);
- a definitive study of the current practices and future requirements, including infrastructure, of humanities researchers in Australia (The Australian Academy of the Humanities); and
- a multidisciplinary team of social science researchers to examine factors and conditions conducive to creativity (the generation of novel ideas) and innovation (the process of making ideas useful through application and implementation) in the Australian setting (Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia)
For more information, visit www.arc.gov.au.
Media Contacts: Ms Bishop’s Office: Tory Vidler 0414 228 727
Australian Research Council: Fiona Skivington 0412 623 057
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