Making a difference: Outcomes for ARC supported research

Making a difference: Outcomes for ARC supported research

Making a difference Outcomes of ARC supported research 2017–18

THE AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL The Australian Research Council (ARC) is a Commonwealth entity within the Australian Government. The ARC’s purpose is to grow knowledge and innovation for the benefit of the Australian community through funding the highest quality research, assessing the quality, engagement and impact of research and providing advice on research matters. The ARC funds research and researchers under the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP). The NCGP consists of two elements—Discovery and Linkage. Within these elements are a range of schemes structured to provide a pathway of incentives for researchers to build the scope and scale of their work and collaborative partnerships. The majority of funding decisions under the NCGP are made on the basis of peer review. The ARC evaluates the quality of research undertaken in higher education institutions through the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) program. ERA is an established evaluation framework that identifies research excellence in Australian higher education institutions by comparing Australia’s research effort against international benchmarks. ERA assesses quality using a combination of indicators and expert review by research evaluation committees. The ARC is also responsible for developing and implementing an Engagement and Impact (EI) assessment, announced by the Australian Government in December 2015 as part of the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA), which assesses the engagement of researchers with end-users, and shows how universities are translating their research into economic, social, environmental and other impacts.

ISSN - 2209-6000 (Print) Published: August 2018 The Australian Research Council acknowledges the Traditional Owners and custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to them, their cultures and Elders past, present and future. Please note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this publication may contain names and images of deceased persons. © Commonwealth of Australia 2018 All material presented on this website is provided under a CC Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence with the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, the Australian Research Council (ARC) logo, images, signatures and where otherwise stated. The details of the relevant licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website as is the full legal code for the CC Attribution BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence. Front cover image: Aerial drone flying over wheat field. Image credit: The University of South Australia. Inside cover image: Saltmarsh wetland. Image credit: The University of Newcastle. Back cover image: Songlines are the ways of passing on knowledge from Nation to Nation right across the continent. Minyari artists camp (front from left) May Wokka Chapman, Thelma Judson, Mulyatingki Marney, Karen Rogers, Ngalangka Nola Taylor, Nancy Martu Jakulyukulyu (back) Renelle Simpson, Rachael Handley. National Museum of Australia Photo: Rebecca Dagna.

FOREWORD On behalf of the Australian Research Council (ARC), I am pleased to share with you the 2017–18 edition of Making a difference—Outcomes of ARC supported research . Now in its second year, this publication is intended as a snapshot—just a glimpse—of the extensive outcomes that arise from the diverse research being carried out across the country, with the support of the Australian Government through the funding schemes of the ARC’s National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP). Through the NCGP, the ARC supports high-quality fundamental and applied research and research training. ARC fellowships and grants are awarded to eligible organisations to support individuals and teams to undertake research projects and collaborations, participate in cooperative initiatives and establish large-scale research hubs and centres Under the funding schemes of the NCGP, we support research covering all disciplines—from the humanities and social sciences (HASS) disciplines through to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines 1 . We also support researchers across all career stages, from early career researchers embarking on their careers to established and esteemed researchers who are leading the country, and indeed the world. Every day, we are impressed by the fascinating stories of innovation, discovery and collaboration involving ARC-funded researchers. Whether it is a three-year Discovery Project, a four-year Future Fellowship, or a seven-year ARC Centre of Excellence, the tangible benefits of ARC-funded research are clearly visible.

Image: Professor Sue Thomas Image credit: Norman Plant Photography

By sharing just a handful of these research stories and outcomes, we hope to convey the importance . and impact of ARC-funded research—remarkable research that is delivering social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits and really making a difference to all Australians. These stories emphasise the immense value of publicly-funded research in Australia, and are sure to engage and inspire the wider community.

Professor Sue Thomas Chief Executive Officer Australian Research Council

1 Clinical and other medical research is primarily supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

CONTENTS

Understanding our world and translating fundamental research 6 EXPLORING VISION IN ANIMALS 7 VIRTUAL PLANT CELL EXPLORES THE INNER WORLD OF A PLANT 8 ARC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE CONTRIBUTES TO INTERNATIONAL EFFORT IN GRAVITATIONAL SCIENCE 10 SCIENTISTS ONE STEP CLOSER TO UNDERSTANDING WHY NERVES DEGENERATE 11 BREAKTHROUGH TECHNIQUE DEVELOPED TO MAKE ULTRA-THIN METAL OXIDES

Working with industry and generating economic impacts 15 RESEARCHERS HELPING RASPBERRY FARMERS TO IMPROVE YIELD AND QUALITY 16 RESEARCHERS GROW WORLD-FIRST PANAMA DISEASE-RESISTANT BANANAS 17 UNLOCKING THE FOOD VALUE CHAIN 18 WORLD-FIRST TECHNOLOGY TO SIMPLIFY COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION OF ROCK LOBSTERS 21 LOW COST PRECISION AGRICULTURE FOR AUSSIE FARMERS

Developing innovative technologies THE FUTURE OF 24 ROBOTICS—SEEING AND UNDERSTANDING SUPERLASER TO SAFEGUARD 25 AUSTRALIA NEW NANOMA TERIALS OPEN 26 THE DOOR FOR INNOVATIONS STRETCHABLE METAL OXIDE 27 FILMS HERALD A REVOLUTION IN WEARABLE ELECTRONICS 28 SHARK-DETERRENT SURFBOARDS

Striving for educational and social outcomes 48 RESEARCH INCREASES FOSTER CARER PLACEMENTS 49 SHINING A LIGHT ON THE INVISIBLE FARMER 50 BIG >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72

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