ARC Linkage Projects success for ANU

The Australian National University (ANU) has received more than $1.7 million in Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Projects grants.

Five projects led by ANU researchers - two from the College of Health and Medicine (CHM), and one each from College of Asia and the Pacific (CAP), College of Art and Social Sciences (CASS) and the College of Science (CoS) ­- have been successful in round 1 of the Linkage Projects grants.

The Linkage Projects grant opportunity supports projects which initiate or develop long-term strategic research alliances to apply advanced knowledge to problems, acquire new knowledge, and as a basis for securing commercial and other benefits of research.

ANU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) Professor Keith Nugent, congratulated the Linkage Projects grant recipients on their success.

"Out of seven applications that the ANU submitted, five grants were awarded with an overall success rate of 71.4 per cent. This was the highest success rate among the Group of Eight, which is a terrific outcome," he said.

"At ANU, we hugely value the importance of collaborative relationships and building strategic alliances with government and industry. 

"This funding will support the ANU to continue to deliver excellence in all its partnerships."

The ARC Chief Executive Officer, Judi Zielke, said that collaborative research is fundamental to transforming industries, building communities and strengthening the Australian economy. 

"By supporting the development of partnerships, the ARC encourages the transfer of skills, knowledge and ideas as a basis for securing social, commercial and other benefits of research," Ms Zielke said.

The successful ANU Linkage Project Round 1 grants:

·      Professor Chris McAuliffe (Research School of Humanities and the Arts, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences), Dr Raquel Ormella (School of Art and Design, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences): Dialogue with Difficult Objects: Mediating Controversy in Museums, $404,596.

·      Professor Kathryn Glass (Research School of Population Health, ANU College of Health and Medicine), Associate Professor Robert Clark (Research School of Finance, Actuarial Studies and Statistics, ANU College of Business and Economics); Associate Professor Aparna Lal (The National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, ANU College of Health and Medicine): Surveillance and Sampling to Maintain Absence of Pests and Diseases, $552,033.

·      Dr Dave Pasalich (Research School of Psychology, ANU College of Health and Medicine), Dr Stewart Sutherland(ANU College of Health and Medicine): Promoting Child and Carer Wellbeing and Placement Stability in Kinship Care, $319,981.

Associate Professor Mathias Sinning, Professor Robert Breunig (Crawford School of Public Policy, College of Asia and the Pacific), Dr Ralf Steinhauser (ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences): The Use of Nudges as a Local Government Environmental Policy Instrument, $136,994.

·      Dr Ludovic Rapp, Professor Andrei Rode, Associate Professor Steve Madden (Research School of Physics, ANU College of Science): Ultrashort Pulse Laser for Ultra-Hard Machine Tools Processing, $308,586.

·      Professor Sharon Bessell at the Crawford School of Public Policy (within CAP) will participate in an externally led Linkage Project led by the University of Tasmania. 

Visit the ARC Website for more information