Improving health and wellbeing of young people, creating better Indigenous languages records, and applying animal image processing to current robotics are just some of the commendable research projects that will be undertaken by 150 new Future Fellows.
Minister for Education, the Hon. Christopher Pyne MP, announced $115 million for the Fellowships today under the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Future Fellowships scheme.
The Future Fellowships scheme promotes research in areas of critical national importance by supporting outstanding mid-career researchers to conduct their research in Australia.
Minister Pyne said the Future Fellowships scheme played an important role in building Australia’s research capacity, now and in the future.
“This is why the Abbott Government committed to ongoing support of this scheme in the 2014–15 Federal Budget. 100 four-year Fellowships will be awarded each year, securing our research future.
“It is crucial that we provide support for the nation’s most highly qualified mid-career researchers. We need to ensure that Australia’s best minds stay in this great country to do their research, which in turn bolsters our capacity to innovate,” Mr Pyne said.
Future Fellows include:
Associate Professor David Lubans, from the University of Newcastle, who will use his fellowship to explore how changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviour of young people influences their health and wellbeing.
Dr Nicholas Thieberger, from the University of Melbourne, who will investigate new tools and research methods for creating better records of Indigenous languages in Australia and the Pacific.
Dr Ajay Narendra, from the Australian National University, who will analyse visual information processing in animals that will have applications in computer vision and robotics.
Dr Katherine Szabo, from the University of Wollongong, who will develop tools to allow archealogists to better interpret the nature of different shell artefacts and the social contexts of their production which will enhance our understanding of Melanesian societies and their transformations through time.
A breakdown of funded projects per state and university is attached. More information about these Future Fellowships can be found on the ARC website or in the media announcement kit.
“Congratulations to all the new Future Fellows whose hard work make outstanding contributions to grounder breaking research,” Mr Pyne said.
