Wollongong makes 'top 10' research group

Nov 06, 2003

The University of Wollongong's long-standing claim of being a research-intensive institution has received a major boost following its inclusion in a "top 10" table of universities in relation to funding received from the hotly-contested Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grants.

Wollongong came in at outright eighth on the table surpassing universities much larger in size. In fact, UOW landed in fifth spot on the "top 10" table based on the size of the University's operating grant.

The Federal Government has announced UOW will receive ARC funding worth $6,688,982. Wollongong joined other Australian universities competing for more than $248 million over three years for 965 projects starting in 2004.

One of the big winners from the latest round of funding has been the ground-breaking work into superconductivity and energy storage materials by Professor Shi Dou and his team in the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials (ISEM).

Superconductivity is a holy grail of science with its promise of transmitting and using electricity with near perfect efficiency and much higher capacity. The recent Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to researchers in superconductivity. The Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to researchers for the invention of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) in which superconductors are the heart.

Professor Dou's team received eight grants worth $1,904,450 for research areas such as:

* Developing innovative materials with high hydrogen storage capacity and long cycle life for energy conversion applications, eg, for hydrogen storage/fuel-cell vehicular applications

* Developing nano-structured superconducting materials (materials at the minute level) for applications such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging

* Developing a novel technology for manufacturing flexible coated conductors to enhance the current-carrying ability of high-temperature superconducting coatings for future long-length high power applications

* Developing large-scale rechargeable lithium batteries for power storage and electrical vehicles to provide sustainable energy for transportation and reduce greenhouse emissions in urban areas

* Developing sulphur-containing cathodes materials and polymer electrolytes, enabling electric vehicles to be a technically competitive and environmentally superior transportation option

* Frontier T-ray (terahertz radiation) technology to solve problems in semiconductor nanostructures and emerging problems in fields as diverse as biophysics and national security

The ARC funding to UOW also includes the awarding of an Australian Professorial Fellowship to a researcher of world-class renown, Associate Professor Mats Olsson.

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Margaret Sheil, described Professor Olsson's Fellowship to UOW as a real coup for the University, to attract a world leader in evolutionary biology with a tremendous future ahead of him.

Media please note:

If you wish to learn more about the work of UOW's superconductivity team contact in the first instance, Dr Alexey Pan, who has received a Fellowship to work with Professor Dou. He can be contacted on 4221 5727.Fellowship winner Associate Professor Mats Olsson can be reached via 4221 3013.

For general information about the latest research grants success contact: the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Gerard Sutton, on 4221 3909.

For more information, contact:

media@uow.edu.au
University of Wollongong
Ph: (02) 4221 5942; fax (02) 4221 3128