Over $10m in ARC Future Fellowships awarded to Monash researchers

Monash University has received the second highest number of ARC Future Fellowships nationally with over $10 million to support their research projects.

The funding will support mid-career researchers in various disciplines across Monash, including the Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science and the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.

The researchers include Dr Bill Corcoran, from the Faculty of Engineering, whose project has been fully funded to discover how global internet data rates can be expanded through emerging optical technology.

Dr Corcoran said his research will support the backbone of the internet with data growing exponentially by 25 per cent each year.

“This project aims to come up with new methods to increase the data capacity of existing optical fibre systems by five to 10 times. If successful, the next technologies planned could be directly ‘plugged into’ existing fibre optic networks to help future-proof critical infrastructure like the NBN,” Dr Corcoran said.

“The fellowship is a way for me to go from an ‘up-and-coming’ researcher, to showing that I’m really able to change the way we use optical communications around the world.”

Associate Professor Adrian Carter, from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, received more than $1 million to generate Australia’s first responsible innovation framework of neurotechnology.

Associate Professor Carter said the fellowship enables inclusion and representation of people affected by mental illness and neurological diseases.

“My hope is that this fellowship will ensure that advances in neuroscience research are able to benefit all Australians, particularly underserved populations, while maximising people’s privacy, agency and participation in the process.”

Under the ARC Future Fellowships scheme, the Australian government has provided more than $94 million to support 100 mid-career researchers with their research projects. The Future Fellowships provide four-year fellowships to promote impactful research on national and international levels.

Monash University President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Gardner AC said the number of projects funded under the Future Fellowships program highlighted the strength of research across multiple faculties at Monash.

“This funding will support critical research being undertaken in medicine, science, pharmacy and engineering, bringing new and innovative insights to some of the world’s greatest challenges,” Professor Gardner said.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Rebekah Brown said the fellowships are recognition of the excellence of performance and impact of mid-career researchers at Monash.

“These Future Fellowships reflect the diverse talent and skills of our research community and the high quality of their work. I want to congratulate all our recipients for their incredible work and I am eager to see the impact they will continue to make in Australia and internationally.”

The funded projects include: