Transformative UQ research centres to tackle global challenges
The University of Queensland will establish three new ARC Centres of Excellence to tackle major challenges and opportunities.
UQ was the only university to have received funding for three Centres in this round, and the only university to have ever been awarded three CoEs in two consecutive rounds.
The ARC funding for the three Centres totals $105 million, and with today’s announcement UQ becomes the most awarded university since the inception of the CoE scheme.
The Australian Research Council has announced funding for the 2023 ARC Centres of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology (led by Professor Warwick Bowen); for Indigenous Futures (co-led by Professor Brendan Hokowhitu, Distinguished Professor Aileen Moreton-Robinson, Professor Bronwyn Fredericks, and Professor James Ward) and for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide (led by Professor Xiwang Zhang).
UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said the announcement was an exceptional result that demonstrated the transformative nature of research underway at the University.
“I’m particularly delighted that UQ will be hosting the first ever Indigenous-led Centre of Excellence, utilising Indigenous knowledges in unique trans-disciplinary, cross-sector designed research,” Professor Terry said.
“The ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures aims to transform the life chances of Indigenous Australians and enhance our understanding about the complex nature of intergenerational inequity, working with communities, government agencies and practitioners.
“The ARC Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology will be the first national centre at the interface of quantum science and biology, partnering with industry and government to drive Australian innovation across manufacturing, energy, agriculture, health, and national security.
“And by researching opportunities to convert carbon dioxide into valuable products, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon (GetCO2) aligns economic and environmental incentives to transition to a sustainable and profitable carbon-neutral economy.”
The three centres will be highly collaborative with multiple research investigators and partnerships including many other universities, governments, CSIRO, community organisations and industry nationally and across the world.
Professor Terry has offered her congratulations to the successful teams and said the bids had been supported by a large team of people working behind the scenes to help the Centres of Excellence to fruition.
ARC Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology
Centre Director: Professor Warwick Bowen
UQ Chief Investigator: Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Professor Jennifer Stow, Professor Alan Rowan, Dr Allison Fish, Emeritus Professor Alan Mark
Partners: The University of Melbourne; Flinders University; University of Technology Sydney; University of Wollongong; Olympus Australia Pty Ltd; IBM Corporation; GenieUs Genomics Pty Ltd; Q-CTRL Pty Ltd; Intelligent Imaging Innovations, Inc.; Elemental Instruments Pty Ltd; Orica Australia Pty Ltd; Silanna Semiconductor Pty Ltd; Protein Evolution Ltd; Defence Science and Technology Group; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation; Department of Environment and Science; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of California, Berkeley; University of Ulm; French National Centre for Scientific Research; University of Victoria, Canada; University of Exeter, UK; University of Surrey; University of California, Irvine; University of Glasgow, UK; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, US; Medical University of Innsbruck; Delft University of Technology, Netherlands; University of Stuttgart; Johns Hopkins University
ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures
Centre Directorship Team: Professor Brendan Hokowhitu, Distinguished Professor Aileen Moreton-Robinson, Professor Bronwyn Fredericks, Professor James Ward
UQ Chief Investigators: Dr Marnee Shay, Mrs Susan Beetson, Professor Gail Garvey, Dr Carmen Parter, Professor Roxanne Bainbridge
Partners: University of the Sunshine Coast; The University of Western Australia; University of Technology Sydney; The University of Melbourne; Griffith University; Charles Darwin University; The Australian National University; University of Southern Queensland; Auckland University of Technology; Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi; The University of Auckland, NZ; University of Alberta, Canada; The Lowitja Institute; AIME Mentoring; Australian Institute of Health And Welfare; Cyp Properties Pty Ltd; Commonwealth Department of Health; The Dhadjowa Foundation Ltd; Australian Human Rights Commission; Institute for Urban Indigenous Health Ltd; National Indigenous Australians Agency; South East Australian Aboriginal Justice Services Limited; Stronger Smarter Institute Limited; Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited; The Trustee for Port Curtis Coral Coast Aboriginal Peoples Charitable Trust; National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation; SNAICC – National Voice For Our Children (Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Corporation)
ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide
Centre Director: Professor Xiwang Zhang
UQ Chief Investigator: Dr Ruth Knibbe, A/Prof Thomas Rufford, Dr Jingwei Hou, A/Prof Simon Smart, Professor Darren Martin, Professor Andrew Whittaker, Prof John Zhu, Professor Suresh Bhatia
Partners: RMIT University; The University of New South Wales; The University of Sydney; The University of Adelaide; Monash University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Toronto, Canada; University of Texas, Austin; University of Delaware; Technical University of Denmark; University of Surrey; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation; Zeotech Limited; Advanta Seeds Pty Ltd; Hazer Group Limited; Johnson Matthey Technology Centre; GrapheneX Pty Ltd; Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd; Grains Research and Development Corporation; Oakley Greenwood Pty Ltd; Department of Environment and Science