22 October 2008

UNSW Engineering has achieved a strong result in the lastest round of ARC Discovery funding outcomes, with a 34 per cent increase in funding starting in 2009 compared with 2008.

Faculty researchers have been allocated a total $6.7m across 18 grants, a significant increase on the $5.1m awarded in 2008. Average grant size for the Faculty has also increased substantially, up to $374,000 in the latest round from $300,000 a year ago.

The Faculty of Engineering’s share of funding accounts for 25 per cent of ARC Discovery funding received by UNSW as a whole in the latest round.

Professor Rose Amal, from the School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, received the largest grant for the Faculty and second-largest for UNSW, with $1.38m awarded over five years. Professor Amal and Dr Wey Yang Teoh’s project is the design of integrated photocatalytic systems for simultaneous clean energy generation and wastewater remediation.

The Faculty’s second-largest grant, of $510,000 over three years, was made to Associate Dean (Research) Professor Laura Poole-Warren and Dr Penny Martens from the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering. They will be working with Professor Bernie Tuch of the Diabetes Transplant Unit and Professor Kristi Anseth from the University of Colorado on research into approved hydrogel systems for encapsulation of pancreatic islet cells.

Another major grant was secured by Dr Bill Peirson, Director of the Water Research Laboratory in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Dr Peirson is researching forecasting of wave breaking in directional seas with Professor Michael Banner from the Faculty of Science and French mathematician Professor Frederic Dias.

UNSW Engineering researchers received $2.34 million in the latest round of Linkage Projects funding across seven grants.

For the full lists of ARC Discovery and Linkage Project funding outcomes go to:

http://www.arc.gov.au/applicants/fundingoutcomes.htm

Dr Bill Peirson.