Macquarie University Secures New ARC Funding to Enhance Industry Collaboration
Associate Professor Noushin Nasiri and Dr Théotime Colin, both from the Faculty of Science and Engineering, and Dr Madeline Taylor from the Faculty of Arts have been awarded a total of more than $1.3 million, which will support their respective research projects and strengthen industry-collaboration skills.
The Industry Fellowship scheme aims to drive research collaboration and help early career researchers achieve translation and commercialisation outcomes.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Sakkie Pretorius congratulated the University’s successful applicants.
“This is a wonderful chance for our researchers to build industry experience and expertise while also developing meaningful solutions to industry issues,” he says.
“The opportunity to hone their skills in research translation and commercialisation will be invaluable and is in keeping with Macquarie University’s commitment to fostering research partnerships with real-world impact.”
Fifty projects have been funded nationally, for a total of more than $22 million.
The successful Macquarie University projects are:
From lab to field: smart sensing technologies for future farming
Associate Professor Noushin Nasiri, School of Engineering
This project aims to solve the long-standing industry challenge of establishing a non-invasive early-stage pregnancy detection system on farms. Using novel sensing technologies, the university–industry partners will significantly improve livestock and dairy productivity and animal welfare, as well as reduce costs and rates of operator injury. The outcomes will include enhancing the selectivity of gas-sensing technologies and gaining advanced knowledge on mass-producing gas sensors. The potential economic, commercial and social benefits will help not only the industry partner but also a wide range of industries, from food and agricultural industries to environmental monitoring sectors.
Industry partner: Agscent Pty Ltd
ARC funding awarded: $485,649
New methods to protect honey bees from Varroa destructor mites
Dr Théotime Colin, School of Natural Sciences
The most destructive pest of the honey bee is the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. This pest arrived in Australia in 2022 and eradication efforts failed in September 2023. This pest must be managed if Australia’s honey bee industries are to survive. The aim of this project is to develop a new chemical-free mite-control method. In collaboration with two beekeeping companies, this project will exploit a specific sensitivity of the mite to heat to create a heat-based control method for commercial hives. The outcome will be a new, robust method for mite control to enhance bee-hive health and management. This will benefit sustainable apiculture in Australia, which is vital for both pollination of food crops and honey production.
Industry partners: Australian Honeybee Pty Ltd; Swagman Honey Pty Ltd
ARC funding awarded: $447,511
The Foundational Australian Agrivoltaics Regulation Model (FAARM) Project
Dr Madeline Taylor, Macquarie Law School
This project aims to design a just and efficient solar energy legal framework to assist Australia in meeting its ambitious renewable energy targets. Although other countries are moving to co-locate solar facilities with agriculture, uptake of this solution in Australia is stymied by a lack of agreed-upon legal principles and conflicts over land use. This project brings government, industry and research together to accelerate Australia’s adoption of agrivoltaics and generate significant socio-economic and environmental benefits. Expected outcomes include a comparative agrivoltaics database, an industry-responsive regulatory model and co-designed strategic guidelines, which will boost Australia’s decarbonisation efforts and agricultural resilience.
Industry partners: Department of Primary Industries; Spark Renewables Pty Ltd
ARC funding awarded: $453,691